Textile co. eyes bigger slice of military market

SWIFT ACTION: Fred Nunes, vice president and general manager of Rhode Island Textile Co., has joined the shoemaker in lobbying Congress to amend the procurement law so soldiers’ sneakers must be 100 percent U.S. made. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
SWIFT ACTION: Fred Nunes, vice president and general manager of Rhode Island Textile Co., has joined the shoemaker in lobbying Congress to amend the procurement law so soldiers’ sneakers must be 100 percent U.S. made. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

For decades the military has provided a lifeline for American manufacturers such as Rhode Island Textile Co. in Pawtucket competing against cheaper overseas factories.
Rhode Island Textile makes parachutes, elastic chords, boot laces, webbing and various pieces of clothing for the armed forces and estimates that military orders account for 30 percent of sales.
The military market has remained strong for domestic manufacturers in large part because of the Berry Amendment, a U.S. law that requires most of their equipment come from American producers.
Most of the equipment, but not all.
Some items that soldiers use in the course of their service, such as athletic shoes, fall into a legal gray area and military branches have handled them outside the procurement process used for uniform items.
Sneakers in particular have been provided to soldiers through a voucher system allowing them to buy the footwear through a cash allowance.
Now Massachusetts shoemaker New Balance wants to extend the “Made-In-America” requirement to athletic shoes, as well as boots and fatigues.
New Balance already sells sneakers to the Navy, but believes the entire military athletic-shoe market, which it estimates at around $15 million per year, should be filled by American manufacturers.
Rhode Island Textile is one of New Balance’s suppliers and has joined the shoemaker in lobbying Congress to amend the procurement law so soldiers’ sneakers must be 100 percent American-made, similar to boots and fatigues.
“There is not enough manufacturing in this state and we need some jobs for people so we can have a middle class,” said Fred Nunes, vice president and general manager of Rhode Island Textile. “We could add another 20 or 30 jobs here in Rhode Island.” To get the military to add sneakers to its American-made shopping list, U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., have co-sponsored an amendment to the Berry law. In June, the U.S. House voted to include it in the annual defense appropriations bill that funds the military.
First passed during World War II, the Berry Amendment requires each piece of all military uniforms to be 100 percent American made, including all components and fabric. In addition to sneakers, women’s undergarments, purses and high-heeled shoes have been exempt from the Berry Amendment.
New Balance is currently the only company to make a Berry-compliant athletic shoe and sells it to the Navy, which has chosen to buy American even if it doesn’t have to.
Mark Wright, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense, said the agency did not have an official position.
If the Senate passes the Michaud-Tsongas amendment, it would make the armed forces go through a competitive bidding process for American-made athletic shoes once it certifies at least two Berry-compliant sneakers on the market.
Rhode Island Democratic Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse did not immediately return calls seeking comment on their positions on the amendment.
Right now, the New Balance 950 model is the only Berry-compliant shoe on the market, but New Balance Public Affairs Director Matt LeBretton said other companies have expressed interest in jumping in if the law is changed.
At Rhode Island Textile, which was founded in 1913, has two Pawtucket plants and 130 workers, Nunes said work on a military sneaker contract could boost full-time employees by 20 percent. •

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