Obama pointed to Cardinal Fastener as an example of how traditional U.S. manufacturers can reinvent themselves by focusing on the emerging alternative energy economy. “The story of this company, which began building wind turbine parts just two years ago and is now poised to make half its earnings that way, is that a renewable energy economy isn’t some pie-in-the-sky, far-off future. It’s happening all across America right now. It’s providing alternatives to foreign oil now. It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now.”