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A factory in Shepherdsville, Kentucky reliant
on automation looks to help a shoe manufacturer
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navigate tariffs and labor shortages.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Keen
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Footwear recently closed its facility in
Portland, Oregon with plans to relocate
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production to a 60,000 square foot site in the
Bluegrass state scheduled to open next month.
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The company expects the new location to nearly
double its domestic output and credits that
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growth to increase automation.
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Kean noted that the Kentucky plant’s automation
would support the 24 workers it plans to
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initially hire.
According to the journal, the machinery would
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handle mundane tasks, allowing the employees to
focus on more detailed work.
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The report mentioned that Keene plans to expand
its payroll as it increases production.
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The development arrives at a timely moment amid
US President Donald Trump’s multiple tariff
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threats.
However, the Journal reported that Keen Chief
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Operating Officer.
Paramal said the decision to invest in US
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manufacturing predates the latest trade war
drama.
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Founded in 2003, Kean began domestically
producing footwear in 2010 in response to
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rising Chinese manufacturing costs and a desire
to diversify sourcing.
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Keane has since shifted production of its
hiking shoes,
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thick-soled sandals, and work boots out of
China.
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Now, the company makes a third of its shoes at
its factories in the Dominican.
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Republic, Thailand and the US.
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The rest comes from contract manufacturers in
India, Vietnam,
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and Cambodia.
Kean can avoid the new tariffs on Chinese
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imported goods, but the same could not be said
for the nearly 1.2 billion pairs of shoes
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shipped from China last year.
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This compares to the approximately 25 million
pairs manufactured annually in the US,
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according to the footwear distributors and
retailers of America.
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I’m Nolan Bilstein.
This is manufacturing now.