I saw this article today on First Tracks. What a real downer to see an American Company go overseas. I own Redfeather Snowshoes, which were made in Leadville, Colorado. Having the "Made in the USA" label is important to me. Question is, what is there left that is made in the US now that Tubbs and even Carhartt are gone?
My prayers go out to those families who have lost jobs
Stowe snowshoe manufacturing headed to China
September 9, 2004
Associated Press
STOWE — The Tubbs snowshoes manufacturing operation will be moving to China next year, eliminating between 60 and 70 full- and part-time jobs in Vermont, a former company official said.
Tubbs' parent company, K2 Inc., is expected to close the Stowe facility in February. In April administrative jobs in Vermont will also be eliminated or transferred to Washington state, where K2's winter sports group is based.
A total of 27 full-time and 30 to 40 seasonal jobs will be lost as a result of the move, said Ed Kiniry, the former chief executive officer of WinterQuest LLC, which sold Tubbs in October. Kiniry has stayed on under contract until October 2006.
Five or six jobs in marketing, sales and product development will remain in Vermont, he said.
The company's move out of Vermont was inevitable, Kiniry said.
"Tubbs was finding that one of the growing competitors was a China manufactured product that retailers were getting more margin on. It clearly was going to happen. We couldn't put our head in the sand," he said.
Tubbs started as a snowshoe and ski company in Norway, Maine, in 1840 when William Tubbs mastered steam bending ash. He made snowshoes that went to both world wars and up Mount Everest.
Tubbs joins a growing list of brands with a strong Vermont identity that have left the state.
Mad River Canoe, which was based in Waitsfield, left for North Carolina in 2001 after the company merged with one based there. A major portion of Jogbra, which was founded in Vermont, also went to North Carolina in 2001 when Champion Activewear decided to move distribution and administration to that state.
The Ethan Allen Interiors furniture plant in Island Pond closed during the same year and a second plant in Randolph closed in 2002.
Kiniry said the company is offering a generous severance package along with helping former employees find other jobs.
K2 is in the process of expanding its manufacturing plant in China to 2 million square feet and 10,000 employees. About 60 percent of the company's products are made there, Mendenhall said.
Based in Carlsbad, Calif., K2 owns more than 35 brands ranging from Shakespeare fishing and Rawlings sporting goods to Ride snowboards and K2 skis. The company does $1.3 billion in annual sales, Mendenhall said.
My prayers go out to those families who have lost jobs
Stowe snowshoe manufacturing headed to China
September 9, 2004
Associated Press
STOWE — The Tubbs snowshoes manufacturing operation will be moving to China next year, eliminating between 60 and 70 full- and part-time jobs in Vermont, a former company official said.
Tubbs' parent company, K2 Inc., is expected to close the Stowe facility in February. In April administrative jobs in Vermont will also be eliminated or transferred to Washington state, where K2's winter sports group is based.
A total of 27 full-time and 30 to 40 seasonal jobs will be lost as a result of the move, said Ed Kiniry, the former chief executive officer of WinterQuest LLC, which sold Tubbs in October. Kiniry has stayed on under contract until October 2006.
Five or six jobs in marketing, sales and product development will remain in Vermont, he said.
The company's move out of Vermont was inevitable, Kiniry said.
"Tubbs was finding that one of the growing competitors was a China manufactured product that retailers were getting more margin on. It clearly was going to happen. We couldn't put our head in the sand," he said.
Tubbs started as a snowshoe and ski company in Norway, Maine, in 1840 when William Tubbs mastered steam bending ash. He made snowshoes that went to both world wars and up Mount Everest.
Tubbs joins a growing list of brands with a strong Vermont identity that have left the state.
Mad River Canoe, which was based in Waitsfield, left for North Carolina in 2001 after the company merged with one based there. A major portion of Jogbra, which was founded in Vermont, also went to North Carolina in 2001 when Champion Activewear decided to move distribution and administration to that state.
The Ethan Allen Interiors furniture plant in Island Pond closed during the same year and a second plant in Randolph closed in 2002.
Kiniry said the company is offering a generous severance package along with helping former employees find other jobs.
K2 is in the process of expanding its manufacturing plant in China to 2 million square feet and 10,000 employees. About 60 percent of the company's products are made there, Mendenhall said.
Based in Carlsbad, Calif., K2 owns more than 35 brands ranging from Shakespeare fishing and Rawlings sporting goods to Ride snowboards and K2 skis. The company does $1.3 billion in annual sales, Mendenhall said.