ARCATA, Calif., Jan. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Rope
Company (www.sterlingrope.com) has been named the overall winner of
the third-annual American Made Outdoor Gear Award. The award
was announced last night during a ceremony at the Outdoor Retailer
Winter Market in Salt Lake City,
UT.
Conceptualized and hosted by Kokatat Inc., (www.kokatat.com) the
leading US manufacturer of technical apparel and gear for paddle
sports, the American Made Outdoor Gear Awards were open to all
American manufacturers with a compelling story.
"Sterling's story of creating not only a strong domestic
manufacturing company, but helping grow domestic within their
community is to be commended and celebrated," said Jeff Turner of Kokatat, the founder and host of
the American Made Outdoor Gear Award.
Sterling of Biddeford, Maine,
has been producing premium safety rope, cord, and hardware for
climbers, first responders and arborists since 1992.
"It is an honor to be recognized among this great group of
manufacturers and brands especially since three of the finalists
were from our great state Maine,"
said Carolyn Brodsky, president of
Sterling Rope. "It is fabulous
that Kokatat does this program and I want to thank them for helping
to elevate the Made in America conversation in our market."
As winners of the American Made Outdoor Gear Award, Sterling
will take one-year ownership of the "Sassy" travelling trophy -- a
two-foot tall, hand carved, redwood Sasquatch from Humboldt County, CA.
Over 110 of the most innovative domestic manufacturers in the
outdoor market entered the third-annual "Sassy" award program – a
long overdue chance to raise a glass to the leaders in American
made quality, craftsmanship and creativity in the outdoor
world.
Kokatat's hosting of the awards is rooted in its own history, as
the brand's founder and president, Steve
O'Meara, recognized from the start that keeping production
local was necessary in order to control quality and continually
develop the finest and driest paddling apparel in the world.
The 2015 American Made Outdoor Gear Awards harvested a variety
of intriguing data regarding US manufacturing and
sourcing. A sample of statistics from entries
include:
- 42% of applicants were founded in the last 10 years;
- 76% of applicants created new manufacturing jobs in the last
year totaling almost 1000 new jobs;
- More than 64% of the applicants reported that 90% or more of
all the goods they sell are made in the US.
The data also revealed interesting geographical insights.
Over half of the applicants representing 26 states hailed
from six states: California,
Colorado, Maine, North
Carolina, Oregon, and
Washington. Sixty-one percent of respondents source a
component of their product within 50 miles of their facility.
In addition to the overall winner, winners in several categories
based on company size were also awarded. The category winners
received a miniature version of the Sassy award during the Outdoor
Retailer Winter Market celebration.
Category winners of the 2015 American Made Outdoor Gear awards
include:
- Under 10 Employees
- Voormi (www.voormi.com) of Pagosa Mills, CO, wool apparel
manufacturer.
- 10 to 50 Employees:
- Dahlgren Footwear (www.dahlgrenfootwear.com) of West Linn, OR, a sock manufacturer.
- 50-100 Employees:
- Polar Bottle (www.polarbottle.com) of Boulder, CO, water bottle manufacturer.
- 100+ Employees:
- Cascade Designs (www.polartec.com) of Seattle, WA, producer of various outdoor
products including the MSR, Therm-a-Rest, and SealLine brands.
For additional information about the 2015 American Made Outdoor
Gear Award visit www.americanmadeoutdoorgearawards.com. For
more details about the results please email
hello@palemorning.com.
About the American Made Outdoor Gear Award:
Founded by Kokatat and shared with the Outdoor Industry,
the American Made Outdoor Gear Award is a celebration of
American manufacturing. First awarded in 2013, the American
Made Outdoor Gear Award recognizes companies with compelling
domestic manufacturing stories. Finalists are announced
annually on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and the winners are recognized at
an awards ceremony during the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market.
The company with the best "made in America" story receives one-year
ownership of the 'Sassy' travelling trophy -- a hand carved,
3-foot-tall, redwood Sasquatch from Humboldt County, CA -- and all category
winners receive miniature versions of the award. Along with
highlighting company stories, the program tracks domestic
manufacturing trends and insights in the outdoor industry.
Learn more at www.americanmadeoutdoorgearawards.com and follow us
on Twitter at @AMOGAward.
About Kokatat Inc.:
Kokatat has been manufacturing paddling gear in
Arcata, California for more than
40 years. At a time when many technical apparel brands
were moving manufacturing offshore, Kokatat continued to
invest in infrastructure in the United
States. Kokatat founder Steve
O'Meara was committed to the development of the finest and
driest paddling apparel in the world and recognized the
need to control and continually evolve the development of our
dry wear. In the early days, Kokatat worked closely with
W.L. Gore & Associates, makers
of GORE-TEX®, to refine the sewing and sealing techniques
required for full immersion suits and tops. Today, our
hands-on approach to manufacturing continues to set the standard
in paddling apparel. Into the water with
Kokatat! Please visit www.kokatat.com and follow Kokatat
on Facebook and Twitter "@kokatat".
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SOURCE Kokatat Inc.