HOUSTON - Hair care products maker Farouk Shami wants to turn on its head the old story about manufacturing jobs migrating to cheap labor markets.

Shami's privately held Houston company, Farouk Systems, makes hairstyling appliances in China and South Korea.

Shami, worried about the lead paint discovered in Chinese-made toys and about maintaining the reputation of his company's line of hair styling products, is planning to move 1,000 to 2,000 manufacturing jobs from Asia to Houston over the next year or so.

"People want 'Made in the USA' " on the products they buy, Shami said.

For years, U.S. jobs have migrated overseas as manufacturers seek out cheaper labor markets. But examples of manufacturing jobs moving from foreign shores to these are a rarity.

Shami hopes to be at the head of a trend of bringing manufacturing jobs back to America.

Born in suburban Jerusalem in what was then British-controlled Palestine, Shami emigrated to the United States in 1965 and went to work as a hairdresser.

Allergic to the ammonia in hair dye, he developed an ammonia-free hair lightening and color system and in 1986 launched Farouk Systems.

Over the years, Farouk Systems developed other hair care products, including shampoos, conditioners, dryers and the company's most famous product -- its line of CHI ceramic flat irons.

Last year, Farouk Systems racked up $1 billion in sales. It employs about 2,000 worldwide, including about 600 in Houston.

The company produces its shampoos and conditioners in Houston, its irons and blow dryers in Asia.

Farouk Systems ships its hair styling tools to market by air. But shipping costs have nearly doubled over the last year, Shami said, as air carriers raised fares in response to rising fuel costs.

Shami also is concerned that the reputation of his products, which he calls the "Rolls-Royce" of hair style appliances, could be compromised by counterfeit products out of China.

And he thinks that through greater automation, he can limit labor costs by by making his products in Houston. An item that would take 70 workers in China and 20 minutes to make can be built with five workers in about five minutes in Houston, Shami said.

With the lower costs, absence of import duties and greater sales from a "made-in-the-USA" label, Shami expects Farouk Systems can offset most of the higher labor costs in Houston.