Glovers grip new markets to keep their hands in the industry - includes related articles - Cover Story

In the glove industry, entrepreneurial companies and U.S. production prosper alongside high-volume importers - despite a traditionally low-tech production environment dependent on antiquated equipment and highly skilled sewers.

Welcome to Gloversville, NY. Population: 17,000. It's a quiet town spotted with the remnants of a leather manufacturing mecca, a downtown that's changed little in the past century and even an iconic theater called The Glove. It makes you want to close your eyes and picture the streets in the early- to mid-1900s, teaming with the thousands of workers that helped make this community, along with the surrounding towns in Fulton County, the glove capital of the world and home to an estimated 300 manufacturing companies.

Listen hard and you almost can hear the sounds of sewing machines echoing through the vacant Victorian buildings, which produced approximately 90 percent of the world's leather gloves. Listen again and you realize that the faint sounds are not imagined, but real, coming from a handful of small operations - less than 10 - run by the industry's remaining glove stalwarts.

Today, Gloversville represents a small town with a big lesson for the sewn products industry. The lesson is that entrepreneurial spirited makers and U.S. production can prosper alongside high-volume importers - despite a traditionally low-tech production environment dependent on antiquated equipment and highly skilled sewers, both of which can be extremely difficult to find these days. Just ask Sam Greco, who two years ago, instead of retiring, decided to open Samco Co., a 45-employee government contract glove operation.

"My background has been in the glove industry ever since I was 15," recalls Greco. "Late in life I was in a position to get a government order, and I was fortunate to be able to hire a work force that was familiar with the product."

Samco currently is producing 300 dozen pair of unisex, black leather-lined gloves per week - delivering at 15 percent to 20 percent ahead of schedule, Greco proudly notes - and the company is looking to expand. The government is starting to use longer contracts, he explains, which will provide a more stable environment in which to increase production.

Even with this advantage, Greco, a gregarious talker and former politician, is quick to point out that the glove industry is a difficult endeavor. "We are competing for workers in lower income levels, and the incentive isn't too great to work when they can get welfare," laments Greco. "By the same token, if workers become adept, they can make between $12 and $15 per hour [although it is only a small percentage of the workers that ever reach this level, he adds]. ... For the majority, it may not be a high-paying job, but hopefully we can keep getting orders and keep these people working."

Made in America means a lot to Greco - as he will tell you again and again - but it's not easy surviving in a low-cost-per-item environment. "The sewn products industry doesn't always get a fair shake because U.S. industry tends to focus on high-ticket items, such as aircraft. So our trade balance is very misleading," he explains. "It looks like it is fairly close with the rest of the world when you consider dollars, but the percentage of man-hours those dollars represent is much greater overseas. That hurts the bottom line of our economy.

"If all the glove factories in Fulton County and Montgomery County went full blast for the next eight to 10 years, it would amount to maybe one airplane!" Greco shouts. "So the thing that scares me the most today is the bottom line. The needle trades need support and there are opportunities, but it's being overlooked in this country."

While Greco's busy crusading for the glovers in downtown Gloversville, other newcomers to the county's glove industry are looking for niche markets to target using U.S. production resources. Manzella[R], for example, which specializes in athletic and performance gloves made from fabrics including W.L. Gore and Associates' WindStopper[TM] and Polartec[TM] Fleece, successfully is producing technical fleece gloves at its 40-employee Amsterdam, NY, manufacturing facility. The Buffalo, NY-based company, which also makes hats and related accessories, produces its own brand and private label merchandise for many catalogs, including Cabela's, J. Crew and REI.

Prior to the opening of the facility, which was converted from a coat manufacturing plant, Manzella specialized in knit gloves which were outsourced to producers in the southeastern United States. Today, the knit business continues and the company also supplies commodity-type gloves, mostly in fleece, which are sewn at a contract facility in Monterrey, Mexico.

Staying away from commodity items has been the key to success in the United States, says Tim Baker who, along with his brother Jeff, started the cut and sew operation for 13-year-old Manzella. "Here we try to stay with fabrics that are new, and we do palm patches and other things that will make the price-value relationship better, so that we can afford to have a little larger labor cost and still meet price points that the consumer will pay.

"I also think that to have a competitive domestic factory, you have to be good at small-lot runs, offer high quality and fast turnaround times," adds Baker. "And you have to be good at many things at once, so you are not isolated by having to find a customer that is looking to make millions of some product in one year. Right now, for example, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 different purchase orders running. Some of them are as small as 36 pair and some are as large as 3,600 pair."

Manzella also is flexible in its approach to working relationships, and the company currently subcontracts a small portion of production space. In the arrangement, Baker manages small-lot production and six employees for one of its customers. "It's like a business within an existing business. It cuts down on some of our overhead, and at the same time I can provide quick response. The company does a lot of its palming [sewing leather palm patches on gloves] overseas, and we can cut down lead times on fill-in work from two months to two days."

Another venture Manzella is looking to undertake is the production of S'warms[R], a unique, patented variation on the mitten developed by Peter Van Bergen, a Williamsburg, VA, patent attorney and triathlete enthusiast. Initially developed for running, the "thumbless" mitten with a pocket allows the wearer to easily push back the gloves into what he likens to a leg warmer for the arm.

"Typically, when you are running, you are warmed up after a couple of miles, and you don't want gloves or mittens anymore, so you end up taking them off and throwing them on the side of the road or stuffing them in the elastic of your shorts," says Van Bergen. "I wanted something that would keep me warm, but I wanted to get it out of the way when I didn't need it anymore."

Van Bergen's initial objective was to combine the dexterity of a thin runner's glove with the warmth of bulky layered gloves and mittens. Hence, the pocket with an opening. He developed the first prototype with a home sewing machine, and then debuted S'warms to the consumer market three seasons ago as part of a QVC home shopping program showcasing products from a different state each week. It happened by chance, says Van Bergen, when he saw an ad in a local paper and signed up to take part in a QVC trade show. Buyers for the channel chose his product, and he then had to scramble to have several thousand units produced through a licensee arrangement. The product sold out in minutes on the air.

The next objective, relays Van Bergen, is to expand the product line to include matching accessories, such as hats, scarves and fleece pullovers with S'warms attached, as well as to reach new markets such as children's wear and people with arthritis and other circulatory problems. Another avenue will be the promotional products market through college and sports logos.

This is the type of unique product than can be produced in the United States at a profit, notes Philip Rossinsky, president of Sewing Plus Corp., who is coordinating production for the product line. "And companies like Manzella are able to produce here because they run smaller lots and unique or gimmicky gloves, like S'warms.

"We got involved with the product in 1996 because we have resources in the glove industry. We now are making good headway with a full line," explains Rossinsky. "There also have been recent developments in sublimated printing of fleece that should help the promotional end of the business."

The Big Boys

While Samco and Manzella may be among the few companies still housing true production in Fulton County, even the giants of the glove industry, which have evolved into global producers, still maintain strong ties and a presence in Fulton County with headquarters and distribution centers. In fact, two of the glove industry's top three players, Fownes Brothers & Co. Inc. and The Grandoe Corp., still remain private enterprises based in the area.

As Andrew Gluckman, product manager at Fownes Brothers explains, "We are one of the oldest privately held companies in the United States, and the fact that we are a glove manufacturer is truly extraordinary. We were established in 1777 as an England-based company and it was purchased by the Gluckmans in the 1930s. ... We are not a 'corporation,' and our owner and CEO Tom Gluckman is directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, making a lot of the decisions in design and manufacturing."

Today, Fownes is best described as a cold weather accessory company, producing a wide range of coordinated products that complement gloves, including hats and scarves. In addition to leather, the company also manufactures products in knit, fleece and other fabrics for its own label and under private label programs with catalogs and department stores. All of the company's goods are produced by subsidiaries in the Far East, and the majority are then delivered to an Amsterdam, NY, distribution center.

"As with most American industries that are labor intensive, there was a need [for the glove industry] to go offshore," explains Gluckman. "Leather gloves in particular are more labor intensive than other types of gloves, and in the 1950s we moved to Puerto Rico and then into the Philippines in the late '50s. We also have a wholly-owned factory in mainland China that we opened in 1985.

"We don't contract," Gluckman adds, "which gives us a benefit over many of our competitors, and having our own people in charge gives us better control of quality and deliveries."

A very diversified player in the volume business, The Grandoe Corp. has been based in Gloversville for close to 100 years. Producing a variety of dress and casual gloves, as well as sports gloves for skiing, snowboarding and other outdoor activities, the company currently has numerous product lines and develops private label brands for the likes of L.L. Bean, JCPenney Co., Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's, just to name a few.

Diversity is key in maintaining a large glove business, says Rennie Sanges, manager, "but the glove industry isn't going to set the trends. We can't come out with colors that don't match outerwear. We need to know what materials are going to be popular and then choose ones that work from a functional point of view in our market."

One of Grandoe's claims to fame is the patented Glove Component System[R], a layering concept that offers a removable lining and shell that can be worn separately or together. The company also is well known for high-quality men's and women's leather gloves. Engineering, design and pattern work for the products are housed in Gloversville, where there also is a sample and R&D department with 10 to 20 employees, depending on the time of year, and a central distribution center. As for production, it moved offshore in the 1950s, and today Grandoe produces the majority of its gloves in wholly owned manufacturing facilities in China and India. (The remainder of production is sourced through contractors in the Far East.)

Behind The Scenes

Rising labor costs were not the only factor that influenced Grandoe and other leaders of the glove business to move production to the Far East and other countries with low wage rates. Another big consideration was the fact that - with the exception of fully fashioned knits - automating the glove industry is a difficult prospect. First, it's a small sector that receives little, if any, attention from equipment developers.

As Sanges explains: "If everybody in the glove industry wanted the same attachment, you're probably only talking numbers in the hundreds, so most [equipment] companies don't want to tool up for us."

Additionally, "Leather gloves are one of the most difficult leather products to make because, unlike in luggage or garments, you want the leather to stretch, and stretch evenly," says Sanges. Hence, each piece of leather must be individually cut. Today, the majority of the work is done on clicker dies, whereas in the past, each piece of leather was individually stretched and "table cut," a hand method in which each glove size is measured and stretched to the exact amount of leather needed. Cut fabric gloves typically are die cut as well. Manzella, for example, uses a traveling head to cut eight ply, or four pair, of fleece gloves at one time.

Whether in the United States or the Far East, you're likely to see the same equipment in a glove sewing operation. The standard tools of the trade, in addition to die cutters, include a spattering of Pique sewing machines, which were produced by Singer Co. in the 1930s up until the mid-1940s. "The Pique machine is one of the only machines ever produced for gloves that has a thin post that the operator can fit the glove over to sew in areas such as the fingers," explains Rossinsky. His company, Sewing Plus, is the primary U.S. dealer and parts supplier for the glove industry, as well as a supplier of new and used equipment for other sewn products markets.

The machine, which produces a special two-thread chainstitch that gives the seams good elasticity, has a 3 1/2-inch post that is less than 1/2 inch in diameter. Today it is used for operations including tipping (attaching the finger tips of a two-layer glove so that removing the hand does not pull the inner layer out), attaching leather palm patches and partial assembly. An example of the latter is a dimensional glove construction containing a fourchette, a continuous piece that runs between the fingers.

In another application, Samco has several units dedicated to making half-inseams on military gloves. "I was fortunate enough to acquire the Pique machines years ago," comments Samco's Greco. "Most companies don't have this equipment, and I think I have an advantage because it makes a better glove."

Rossinsky estimates that there are hundreds of Pique machines currently in the United States. The balance primarily is in China and Manila. "When Singer discontinued the machines, they began to dry up and people were buying them and then stripping them for parts," he relays. "However, we now have Pique machines in stock, and spare parts are available."

Master of the Trade

Full Pique-produced gloves, which have intricate lap seams that are sewn 1/16 inch from the seam edge, are a rare find today. One company in Gloversville that still maintains the craft is Pique Glove Ltd. Owner Peter Kiernan, who at one time worked for The Grandoe Corp. and was one of the developers of the Glove Component System, operates a small-scale, 12-employee production shop and retail/catalog operation that sells high-end gloves and contracts design and development work.

"We're trying to do things the way they used to be done," says Kiernan, whose family has been in Gloversville and in the industry for four generations. "Obviously it demands a higher price, but we feel there is a market for it. We can make 60 to 70 pairs a day in a relaxed atmosphere. So we are building a product that we are proud of at a level we are comfortable with."

In the area of design and development, Kiernan works with companies to take ideas from concept to finished product. For example, he says, "A producer of fabrics or insulation may want to see their materials turned into finished products for promotionals. We also have a large customer base of what I call glove jobbers. These are companies that produce gloves, but not in their own factories. They are reluctant to send their new ideas and samples to contractors that also produce for their competitors."

Other specialties for Pique Glove include repair work on defective imported merchandise, government development - including a chemical warfare glove for the Gulf War - and the creation of an ergonomic glove with anti-vibration and anti-shock padding for Chase Ergonomics.

"We have also worked with companies that want to expand their product lines," adds Kiernan. "We are dealing with a changing business world, and domestic glove manufacturers are having a hard time keeping their factories filled. As a result, we have companies that want to get into new areas. In this case we will show them how to make a particular glove and then set up the patterns. We have even sent our staff to customers' factories to train them."

Pique Glove and its unique niche approach to the glove industry are just what Gloversville needs to come full circle and reestablish some of its glove and leather products industry, believes Vincent DeSantis, a Gloversville attorney who is working diligently to revitalize the downtown area, including the town's historic Glove Theater.

"Gloversville has a very deep-seated, rich character," says DeSantis. "In recent years I realized there was a potential for growth. I see it developing with a boutique, yet industrial flavor that capitalizes on the glove and leather heritage that we have here. ... For example, in conjunction with The Glove [restoration] we hope to develop the upper levels of our downtown buildings for artisan studios and light manufacturing companies."

Milestones in reaching his goal include representing Lacrasia Duchein and Jay Ruckel, who own a glove manufacturing and retail establishment in New York City. In October 1997, they purchased the defunct Rubin Gloves factory in Gloversville, NY. The couple now plans to refurbish the old mill, a landmark in glove history that still contains its original equipment, and begin small scale production. Eventually, they plan to open a retail store and continue to grow production.

DeSantis now is betting that soon he won't have to close his eyes to imagine many buildings humming loudly with sewing machines.

RELATED ARTICLE: THE LURE OF LEATHER

Why Gloversville, NY, and not Gloversville, Ohio or New Hampshire? Simply put, it was the water. To make leather gloves, you need leather. And to make leather, you need water.

In the late 1800s, Fulton County, which is at the base of the Adirondack Mountains, offered both an abundance of water and hemlock trees, a natural source of tannin, which is required for the leather tanning process. Today, chemical processes have replaced natural tannins, but the leather industry has remained in the area with companies including JBF Industries and the conglomerate Colonial Tanning, Sunderland Merchandising and G. Levor Co.

The type of leather used most often in products such as dress and military gloves comes from the hair sheep, explains Dan Hannis, president of JBF Industries. "It gives a stronger stitch than woolly sheep [leather], meaning there is less chance of the stitch tearing."

Hannis, a 20-year leather industry veteran, recently purchased JBF Industries from the Perella family, which has been involved in the leather and glove industries for three generations. He estimates that JBF currently supplies 75 percent of the U.S. glove industry's sheepskin, which is imported primarily from Africa.

The Colonial Tanning conglomerate, on the other hand, processes a wide variety of skins, including sheep, deer and goat, for many segments of the market, says Lauren Berner, who heads up sales. Skins such as goat, which are rugged, currently are used in work gloves, while deer is used more in finer leather products.

Not far from their counterparts on the U.S. glove manufacturing end of the business, Fulton County's tanners also face competition from other countries with low-cost labor and fewer environmental regulations. However, both Hannis and Berner are optimistic that both sectors can survive in the United States with the right approach.

"I think there is enough work for those who have survived," comments Berner, "especially if companies are willing to work with small orders, because you can't do that in China."

"We have to compete by providing top quality, and we have been perfecting [processing] formulas for more than 50 years," says Hannis, who adds that the company recently invested in a $700,000-plus effluent pretreatment system.

"I believe we are all going to survive with hard work," Hannis remarks. "What we need to do is put on the table world-class leather and gloves that are still affordable and competitive. Can we do it? Yes we can."

RELATED ARTICLE: CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

William Lebouvier may not be a glover from Gloversville, NY, but you won't find too many people who have been in the trade longer than the owner of New York City's Glamour Glove Co. He started out in the early 1940s, and has prospered through all of the ups and downs that the market sent his way.

Lebouvier started out in the glove business with his uncle, who later left the industry to take up potato farming in Long Island, NY. It was just after World War II, when Japan began to undercut U.S. manufacturers, and Lebouvier made the decision to stay in the glove industry and entered into partnership with a well-known salesman. The original plan was to make samples, but Lebouvier quickly switched to production because "samples couldn't make any money." Three years later, he bought out his partner and has been on his own ever since.

The glove industry is not a high-volume business anymore, says Lebouvier, who at one time employed 275. "It's been hard, because the size of the orders is now a lot less. I remember when Sears, Roebuck used to buy 600 or 700 dozen of one size in an order that was about 5,000 dozen. And Kmart, they used to order by the truckload in the 1960s.

"But if you don't change, you die," says Lebouvier, a feisty individual whose 30-employee company sells retail through distributors and produces gloves for a long list of top designers, which he prominently displays in the reception area. He also handles government contract work, produces a small array of industrial gloves and even recently started making hats - because one of his employees knew how to sew them.

Lisa C. Rabon is senior editor of Bobbin.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Miller Freeman, Inc.
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