Bollman is betting it can succeed with U.S. workers — and by making Kangol, its most important brand, the old-fashioned way.
The employee-owned company raised more than $100,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to ship dozens of knitting machines from China to Pennsylvania, then got to work refurbishing the ancient, clattering workhorses that have been knitting the fabric used in Kangol caps for nearly 80 years. American workers also had to learn how to sew, shape and embroider the distinctive headwear, a popular style of which, the Wool 504, retails for $48.
Nearly a year later, Bollman’s overall cost per hat is still twice as high as it was in Asia, partly because the Pennsylvania crew can’t yet produce as many hats in a day as their more experienced counterparts at the now-shuttered factory in Panyu, in southern China. But the cost per hat was three times as high initially, and the company says it expects continued improvement.
Inside Bollman’s 19th century, red-brick factory in Pennsylvania Dutch country, Amaryllis Garman, 38, carefully places a piece of knitted fabric on a machine that joins both ends to form the familiar Kangol flat cap, taking care to ensure a straight line. The job requires patience and hand-eye co-ordination, and comes with a steep learning curve.
When Garman started, she could make 10 hats a day. She’s up to about 250 now and hopes to become still more efficient.
“I was ready to give up,” Garman said with a rueful laugh. “Very difficult, but once you accomplish it, it’s a good feeling.”
Bollman has spent more than $1 million to shift production to Pennsylvania, putting a financial strain on a company whose brand lineup also includes Helen Kaminski and Country Gentleman. There was no profit sharing in 2016, and, for the first time in 31 years, the company did not make a contribution to its employee stock ownership plan.
The Adamstown factory is responsible for about 20 per cent of Kangol production, with the rest coming from plants in England, Italy, Taiwan, China and Vietnam.
The venerable hatmaker, which has produced just about every style over its long history, from trilbies and pork pies to bowlers and berets, is no stranger to adversity. Foreign competition forced painful layoffs at the Pennsylvania factory last decade as Bollman’s domestic production declined from 3.2 million hats in 2005 to about 460,000 last year. The experience prompted Rongione to start American Made Matters, an advocacy group that encourages consumers to buy U.S.-made goods.
Bollman acquired Kangol, an English brand that gained cachet in the U.S. when hip-hop pioneers like Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J began sporting it, in 2001. By then, production had already moved to China.
Bollman has to start making money on its U.S.-made Kangol headwear or it’ll eventually have to ship production back overseas, Rongione said.
But the CEO said he remains optimistic.
“This is not yet a success story,” Rongione said, “but we have great confidence we’re going to get there. … This is near and dear to our hearts.”
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Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
