Boston-based New Balance Athletics Inc. has completed a $65 million, 120,000-square-foot addition to its Skowhegan footwear factory.
The opening Sept. 22 was attended by U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, along with U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District.
“This is a great day for Skowhegan, for the entire state of Maine, and for the American manufacturing industry. New Balance’s $65 million investment in this factory is a testament to an increased demand for that ‘Made in USA’ label here and around the world, a label New Balance keeps alive and well in the footwear industry,” Collins said.
The project was designed and constructed by Leominster, Mass.-based Green Leaf Construction, and included the renovation of 20,000 square feet of existing space.
The factory, at 17 Walnut St. in Skowhegan, was purchased by New Balance in 1981. The company broke ground on the expansion in June 2023.
With an additional Maine factory in Norway, along with stores in Skowhegan, Oxford and Kittery, New Balance now employs 600 in the state.
Running boom
The 119-year-old company was acquired by Jim and Anne Davis in 1972, at the dawn of the running boom in the United States. The brand has always been prominent at the Boston Marathon and other major sporting events.
The Davises bought the Skowhegan factory in 1981, and later expanded to Norridgewock and Norway. The Norridgewock factory closed last year and operations were consolidated in Skowhegan.
At the opening ceremony Monday, New Balance announced a $75,000 gift to Main Street Skowhegan to support the River Park project as well as donations of running and hiking footwear to the town’s outdoor gear lending library.
New Balance operates a total of four manufacturing facilities in Maine and Massachusetts, with a fifth scheduled to open in Londonderry, N.H., this fall. That build is being managed by Consigli Construction Co.’s Manchester, N.H., office. A sixth factory is located in Flimby, U.K.
The privately held company employs 12,000 associates around the globe, and in 2024 reported worldwide sales of $7.8 billion.
New Balance is the only major athletic shoe manufacturer that has maintained factories in the United States.