SKOWHEGAN, Maine — New Balance is investing $65 million to add a 120,000-square-foot factory to the existing five-story Skowhegan manufacturing facility.
The expansion will bring 200 new jobs, which will double the facility's production, the company said.
"Our associates have proven that Skowhegan makes some of the best footwear in the world and is the right place to expand," Dave Wheeler, New Balance's Chief Executive Officer, said.
New Balance owns five manufacturing facilities in Maine and Massachusetts, employing about 1,300 workers and being the only major athletic shoe manufacturer that's kept factories in the U.S., a release said.
"You've done what many said could not be done. You have kept the 'Made in the USA' label alive and thriving," Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.
New Balance Skowhegan currently employs about 270 associates, and that number will double once the expansion is complete by the end of 2024.
"What's happening here today, I think, is a predictor of things to come," Senator Angus King, I-Maine, said. "All over America factories are expanding and opening and jobs are being created in manufacturing, which 10 years ago people said 'Oh that's impossible. Everything's going to low-wage countries. That's where it's all headed,' and that was the trend for so many years. But now it's changing."
New Balance is also renovating 20,000 square feet of the existing five-story facility.
"No words I like to hear any better than 'Made in the USA,' and that's what New Balance is about," Governor Janet Mills, said. "My administration will continue to do our part by investing in workforce training programs so you have the staff you need to fill the jobs you're creating."
The shoe brand owns three manufacturing facilities in Maine in Norridgewock, Norway, and Skowhegan. The Boston-based company bought the Skowhegan facility in 1981, bringing a significant amount of jobs to central Maine.