Made (Again) in the U.S.A.

With annual sales of $6.5 billion from more than 100 disparate brands, Jarden Corp. of Rye, N.Y., is what used to be known as a conglomerate. It makes, among other things, canning jars, matches, skis, toasters, rope, tents, apparel, fishing gear, sponges, baseball bats and football helmets--many of them under formerly distressed brands like Coleman, Rawlings and Sunbeam, which founder Martin Franklin and CEO James Lillie have bought and rehabbed.

It's also at the forefront of a trend, the rehab of American manufacturing. Wages in China, where many basic goods sold by companies like Jarden have been produced cheaply for decades,...