Senator Collins Announces New Balance Contract to Produce Athletic Shoes in Maine for the U.S. Military

Defense Logistics Agency could purchase up to 540,000 pairs of Maine-made New Balance athletic shoes for American servicemembers over the next three years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that New Balance has been awarded a contract by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to provide athletic shoes for members of the U.S. military. The shoes will be produced at the New Balance Central Maine facility in Skowhegan.

Under the three-year contract, DLA could purchase up to 540,000 pairs of New Balance athletic shoes, with a minimum purchase of 22,000 pairs annually.

"New Balance is a great American company, and it is terrific news that more of our nation's servicemembers will now be outfitted with high-quality athletic shoes made right here in the United States. Maintaining a strong American footwear supply chain is important to our national security and helps ensure that our servicemembers have access to the best equipment when they need it most. I have worked closely with New Balance for years to support American footwear manufacturing and to strengthen the domestic industrial base that our military depends on. This contract builds on that longstanding partnership and is a major win for New Balance, its hardworking employees in Maine, and for American manufacturing," said Senator Collins.

"New Balance is proud to have been awarded this contract to provide our U.S. service members with our specialized MADE in USA 0430 athletic footwear for basic training," said Kevin McCoy, Vice President for MADE at New Balance. "Senator Collins' strong leadership and relentless support for American manufacturing have helped to ensure our country's military recruits will receive high-quality athletic shoes produced by our skilled associates in Central Maine."

Senator Collins has long worked to support New Balance and American footwear manufacturing. She and other members of the Maine Delegation successfully secured a provision in the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Department of Defense to provide military recruits with American-made athletic footwear in accordance with the Berry Amendment. The provision allowed domestic manufacturers such as New Balance to compete for military footwear contracts. In 2018, the DLA awarded New Balance a $17.3 million contract to provide American-made athletic shoes to military recruits, which were also produced in Maine.

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