Local company goes to White House for "Made in America Showcase"

It was a big honor for a valley business, as they were invited to the White House to take part in a "Made In America Showcase".

From selling their custom made lanterns out of their showroom in Mesa to showcasing their product at the White House, the owners of Lanternland are still in disbelief about the weekend they just had.

"It was almost kind of surreal to actually -- you know, I'm a kid from Arizona. Whoever thought I would be in the White House?" said Mike Renneman, Chief Operating Officer of Lanternland.

Two weeks ago - Renneman and his partner, Andrew, received a call. Both at first thought it was a hoax, as it was someone asking if they'd like to go to the White House for the "Made in America Showcase". After digging deeper, however, they discovered that it was no joke.

"We basically had a week to get a bunch of product together to ship there, because it had to ship a week before the event and get it there," said Renneman. "It was a mad rush."

A mad rush that was well worth it. On Monday, the two had a conversation with Mike Pence, and listened to Donald Trump speak, all while showcasing their custom lanterns, made from copper and brass.

"We make everything to order, right here in our factory here in Mesa," said Renneman. "It's all made completely from scratch from hand. It comes in as flat sheets of copper and leaves one of these nice looking pieces."

Although the 12 employees with the company couldn't tag along, they were proud knowing their work made it all the way to Washington, D.C.

"There is a quality product still made here in the United States, and there's still people that want to make that quality product here, and we're one of them," said John Labosky.