New Balance upgrades vast factory in Massachusetts to boost manufacturing footprint in US

New Balance is working to further broaden its presence in the United States despite issues with the global supply chain. The Boston, Massachusetts headquartered footwear manufacturing company is looking to achieve its goal, starting with the upgrading of its massive plant in Methuen.

CNBC noted that while most retail companies today are struggling to maintain relationships with foreign manufacturers and vendors due to the pandemic uncertainty, New Balance is doubling down on its presence in the North American market. Part of its plan is to set up the new factory, and the move is said to have been decided as prominent business leaders are mulling whether globalization is coming to an end.

This is because the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has further disturbed businesses around the world. The situation has changed so many things in the trade that many economies are on the decline.

In fact, BlackRock’s chairman and chief executive officer, Larry Fink, said last week that Russia’s actions against Ukraine had turned the world order that had been in place since the end of the Cold War upside down. He said that over time, there is a possibility that American companies will lessen their reliance on foreign economies to grow, and this is sort of bad news for global trade.

“It’s part of our overall mantra of controlling our destiny, which has really come into play in the last couple of years with Covid,” New Balance president and chief executive officer, Joe Preston, said in a phone interview with CNBC. “The supply constraints have certainly impacted our business, but we were still able to grow revenue by over 30% in 2021.”

In any case, the New Balance factory is said to occupy a space measuring 80,000 square-foot and the company invested around $20 million for its renovation. At this time, it was reported that the plant employs 100 people, and they are those who make the brand’s popular sneaker model called the 990v5 running shoes.

The company said that it would be adding more workers to double the number of its workforce as well as production capabilities before this year ends. With added workers, New Balance estimated it would be able to manufacture additional 750,000 pairs of sneakers per year. The boost will also help the company realize its goal of bolstering its presence in the market.

Meanwhile, The Eagle Tribune reported that the locals celebrated the re-opening of the New Balance factory in Methuen. This is because the sneaker maker has been a big help to the people and local government there.