With a newly expanded production facility now open in Logan, UT, the sock manufacturer is working to “cut production lead times with innovative speed to market programs,” Chandler told SGB.

Writer: Carly Terwilliger

Sock manufacturer Walt USA opened its newly expanded U.S. production facility on June 9. With customers that include Nike, Asics and New Balance, the company knits more than 6 million pairs of socks per week for both sports and fashion brands.

Director of Sales and Marketing for the Americas Dave Chandler spoke with us about Walt, its new production facility and what’s different about innovation and development in the U.S.

Congratulations on the new Logan, UT production facility. What new capabilities does Walt gain with this addition? The expansion of our Logan, UT production facility has been in the works for the past two years. With the encouragement of a number of our customers, we have structured our new OEM operation to meet the growing “Made in the USA” demand as well as establish a new development center in Logan so that we can communicate with our customers during U.S. working hours. Our ultimate goal is to cut production lead times with innovative speed to market programs. In addition to our OEM operations in knit hosiery we are adding in-house embroidery, wet processing, quality control laboratory as well as direct to garment capabilities.

How would you describe your role at Walt, and how has it changed during the expansion of the company’s U.S. OEM business? As Director of Sales and Marketing for the Americas, my primary role at Walt is to support our Design/Development and Sales teams while working on a daily basis with our key accounts. The majority of our production is still produced at our China headquarters in Haining; we average six million pairs of socks per week, which takes a tremendous amount of planning and coordination.

With our new Logan facility coming on line, I am spending more time establishing our new Design and Development space and working with our sales team to promote our new domestic capabilities. In Logan, we will replicate our China development center with a dedicated development department starting with two knitting machines per needle count which include 84, 108, 132, 144, 168 and 200 needle counts.

Is the innovation and development process different in the U.S. compared to overseas? If so, how? It is our goal to make our U.S. innovation and development process just as effective as our China operation, but with the advantage of being no more than a few-hour flight from any U.S. location. This will allow our customers’ design and development teams to visit Logan on a regular basis and work with our teams, saving both time and money.

Are there any upcoming technology breakthroughs you can share with us? We work with each of our customers developing new innovative proprietary technologies, which we go to great lengths to keep separate and confidential. Knitting machine technology continues to evolve, especially with new toe closing techniques. Walt USA knitting machines incorporate the latest innovations and are very efficient. Also, we are one of a few hosiery manufacturers that presently have 3D direct-to-sock printing.

What challenges has Walt faced leading up to the grand opening on June 9? The two greatest challenges have been identifying and securing experienced staff as well as developing domestic yarn partners. After close to a 20-year hiatus in our industry’s domestic textile infrastructure, we have lost a generation of skilled technicians as well as other critical positions. This is coupled with the fact that today only a small portion of yarn is produced in the U.S., which is a challenge for every domestic producer.

That said, we are working with the Manufacturing Solutions Center as well as other partners to develop and train a new generation of future textile leaders. We are also establishing new relationships with several big and small U.S. yarn producers.

How will the new facility change Walt’s relationship with OEM partners like Nike and Asics? In today’s competitive market environment, speed-to-market is taking a front seat for all brands. We are working with each of our partners to develop innovative domestic programs.

Photos courtesy Walt USA