Suit production began on Aug. 14, 2015, at Keystone Tailored Manufacturing LLC in Brooklyn, Ohio, the men’s suit plant Hugo Boss had planned to close. The deal saved more than 180 jobs, according to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office, and made the plant the second in the USA to make Hart Schaffner Marx suits.
From closure notice to new owner
- In December 2014, Hugo Boss announced it would close the Brooklyn plant. The closure was set for April 2015.
- Workers United, which represented the plant’s workers, also represented W Diamond Group’s Hart Schaffner Marx factory in the Chicago area, which was struggling to hire skilled sewers. Union leaders proposed that W Diamond chief executive Doug Williams take over the Ohio plant, The Plain Dealer reported.
- On March 20, 2015, Brown announced that Keystone, a new company created by Williams, had reached a deal to buy the plant’s assets and offer jobs to its employees. Brown said he arranged the first meeting between Keystone and Hugo Boss.
- Under the deal, W Diamond agreed to a long-term supply contract for Keystone to make Hart Schaffner Marx suits, sport coats and trousers. The workers remained represented by Workers United.
Public support
The Plain Dealer reported that Cuyahoga County approved a $650,000 loan, the city of Brooklyn gave $150,000 in grants and JobsOhio made a $420,000 grant. Public property records showed the building sold for $1.8 million. The union signed a three-year contract with the new company.
A plant saved twice
Workers had kept the plant open once before. Hugo Boss sought to close it in 2010 but reversed course after a union campaign. Williams said the company expected to make more garments in Brooklyn than the plant had in recent years, for Hart Schaffner Marx and “additional American designers that value Made in the USA.”
Later in 2015, a new union apparel shop in Portland, Maine, began making USA-made fleece (our coverage of American Roots).
Source & credit
Sources: Office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown: “Sen. Brown Joins Business Leaders, Local Officials, and Workers to Mark Beginning of Suit Production at Keystone Manufacturing Plant in Brooklyn Today”, Aug. 14, 2015; Cleveland 19 (WOIO): “Suit production begins for Hugo Boss”, Aug. 14, 2015; WWD: “Doug Williams Saves Ohio Hugo Boss Plant”, by Jean E. Palmieri, March 20, 2015; The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com: “How Hugo Boss plant became Keystone Tailored Manufacturing”, by Olivera Perkins, Sept. 4, 2015.