Bates lands military boots contract

The company has won a five-year deal to manufacture combat boots for the US Marines.

Bates Footwear, a brand of USA-based Wolverine World Wide (WWW), is reportedly adding production lines and hiring new workers to fulfil two recently announced major contracts. A five-year deal worth $30.5 million (£21.4 million) to manufacture temperate weather combat boots for the US Marines follows a $27 million (£18.9 million) contract to produce some 300,000 pairs of boots for the Afghan military.

Federal law requires US troops be issued only with American-made boots or shoes, and WWW is said to be the only US supplier with the capacity to make all the different kinds of footwear sourced by the country’s military. In addition to the footwear ordered for Afghan soldiers and the US Marines, WWW is currently servicing a $5.7 million (£4 million) contract for combat boots for the Coast Guard, a $33.2 million (£23.2 million) order for Oxford dress shoes placed by the US Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, and a deal worth $39.2 million (£27.5 million) for leather dress shoes for the Navy and Coast Guard.

The Wolverine brand is said to dominate the US military dress shoe business, claiming more than a 90 per cent of the market share.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 4 of the May 2016 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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