Quabaug and Vibram invest in military production

Quabaug and Vibram aim to attract customers for their US-made military specification sports shoe solings.

Following the US Defense Department’s decision to make US-produced sports shoes available to the nation’s military recruits, Quabaug and Vibram – partners for 50 years – have invested $1.2 million in new equipment for the production of solings for American companies which are planning to make athletic footwear for service personnel.

During the past six months, four new presses – costing more than $400,000 – have been installed in Quabaug’s 225,000-square-foot factory. With US offices in Concord, Massachusetts, Vibram already supplies Quabaug-made soles to shoemakers for various boots used by US military personnel. The company is reportedly optimistic that US-based shoemakers will also buy sports shoe solings from Vibram and Quabaug.

Laws established on the eve of the Second World War require that many of the items purchased by the US military should be made in the USA. However, although the Air Force, Army and Navy provide new recruits with cash vouchers to purchase athletic footwear, no preference is given to domestically manufactured products.

In an investigation conducted by the Pentagon earlier this year, no domestic footwear manufacturer was found to sells sports shoes that met the ‘made in the USA’ requirements. However, a number of shoemakers that were capable of producing such footwear were identified.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the July/August 2014 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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