Click on the graphic below and you'll get a larger image that you can actually read.
Note that there have only been 6 days since I've been here that the high temperature was above freezing. And look at all those negative numbers! Gotta love it.
Friday, February 9, 2007
How cold is it?
I think this chart I've been keeping says it all. :-)
Click on the graphic below and you'll get a larger image that you can actually read.
Note that there have only been 6 days since I've been here that the high temperature was above freezing. And look at all those negative numbers! Gotta love it.
Click on the graphic below and you'll get a larger image that you can actually read.
Note that there have only been 6 days since I've been here that the high temperature was above freezing. And look at all those negative numbers! Gotta love it.
LL Bean's sole returns to Maine: February 8, 2007
check out this article from the Morning Sentinel. I love it on two counts: 1. What a great boon to the Maine economy and a great decision by LL Bean. 2. Check out the use of "from away". They really do use that phrase around here. :-) It's in the newspaper, so it must be true!
By TREVOR MAXWELL
Blethen Maine Newspapers
Ever since Leon Leonwood Bean hired a factory in Boston to make rubber soles, outsourcing has been the little secret of the legendary Maine Hunting Shoe.
For most of the past century, the soles of L.L. Bean's boots were -- as a native might put it -- from away.
Except for a short stint in Lewiston, the soles were manufactured in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and most recently in Arkansas. They are shipped to the Bean factory in Brunswick, to be joined with the leather upper of the famous boots.
Later this year, though, the entire process will return to Maine.
L.L. Bean is spending about $1 million on equipment to make the rubber soles, and the company expects to sign a lease soon for manufacturing space in southern Maine. When the new shop becomes operational this fall, it will employ eight or 10 shoemakers, producing thousands of soles for several Bean boot designs.
The decision runs counter to the trend of manufacturing moving out of Maine. "It is a huge statement on their part to do something like this," said Tom Yake, a retail analyst from Kennebunk. "They could have left it in a number of other states, or even taken it offshore."
Because L.L. Bean is a private company, it has more leeway to make decisions that might not look good from an immediate financial standpoint, but could have benefits down the road, Yake said. He said the change is smart marketing from a social perspective.
"Companies that have such folklore and tradition, they need to do everything they can to maintain that image," Yake said. "This may also relate to some underlying psychology that they want to get back to the basics."
Company officials said the change is a small bright spot in Maine manufacturing, a sector that shed more than 10,000 jobs between 2001 and 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Having the rubber sole shop in Maine will give Bean a higher level of quality control than it has over the contract operation in Arkansas, said Carolyn Beem, manager of public affairs.
The move is also definitely about pride, Beem said. L.L. Bean ranks high on the short list of images and brands associated with Maine -- think lobster, Poland Spring and Portland Head Light -- and the Bean boot is still the company's best-known commodity.
"It means a lot to us," to make the boots in Maine, Beem said. "It is a signature product for us, so we have always been protective of the quality. It has also become a signature product for the state."
Company chairman Leon Gorman, president Chris McCormick and other top officials made the decision in November to manufacture the soles in Maine, Beem said. That news was shared with employees a few weeks ago.
"They are extremely excited," said Jack Samson, who heads up Bean's manufacturing division at Brunswick. "The fact that the soles are going to be made by L.L. Bean employees, that is the best part. To see jobs come back to Maine, to see a heritage product like this come back, is incredible."
Samson and others within the manufacturing division proposed the changes several months ago.
"We just felt it was the right thing for us, from the standpoint of quality, and keeping the brand and the boot here in Maine," Samson said. "It is great to see it come home."
The company is still trying to find the right location for the new shop, Samson said. He hopes to lease space near Brunswick, so the two components of boot construction will be close to one another.
Smaller pieces of the boot, such as the laces and eyelets, are purchased from firms in California and Rhode Island. Bean employs about 400 people in its manufacturing division, and about 3,800 year-round employees overall.
L.L. Bean markets 24 styles of Bean boot on its Web site, ranging in price from $59 for the low-cut rubber mocs, to $159 for the 10-inch insulated hunting boots.
There have been a handful of technological changes to the classic Bean boot over the years, including a new leather coating and steel shank added in 1999. But the basic design remains as it was in 1912, when L.L. Bean made the first pairs in the basement of his brother's apparel shop.
Company lore has it that Bean sold 100 pairs of boots that first year, with his personal guarantee. Ninety pairs were returned after the soles separated from the leather uppers.
The story goes that Bean refunded the purchases, corrected the problem and borrowed more money to make more boots. He contracted with a factory outside of Boston that could produce high quality rubber soles at a reasonable price, Beem said. The return of those 90 boots set the foundation of a liberal returns policy that remains a hallmark of the company.
For competitive reasons, Beem would not say how many pairs of Bean boots are produced or sold annually. She also would not name the contracting firm in Arkansas, or discuss how the relocation to the Maine shop will affect the company's finances.
"Sales are significant enough for us to make this investment," she said.
By TREVOR MAXWELL
Blethen Maine Newspapers
Ever since Leon Leonwood Bean hired a factory in Boston to make rubber soles, outsourcing has been the little secret of the legendary Maine Hunting Shoe.
For most of the past century, the soles of L.L. Bean's boots were -- as a native might put it -- from away.
Except for a short stint in Lewiston, the soles were manufactured in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and most recently in Arkansas. They are shipped to the Bean factory in Brunswick, to be joined with the leather upper of the famous boots.
Later this year, though, the entire process will return to Maine.
L.L. Bean is spending about $1 million on equipment to make the rubber soles, and the company expects to sign a lease soon for manufacturing space in southern Maine. When the new shop becomes operational this fall, it will employ eight or 10 shoemakers, producing thousands of soles for several Bean boot designs.
The decision runs counter to the trend of manufacturing moving out of Maine. "It is a huge statement on their part to do something like this," said Tom Yake, a retail analyst from Kennebunk. "They could have left it in a number of other states, or even taken it offshore."
Because L.L. Bean is a private company, it has more leeway to make decisions that might not look good from an immediate financial standpoint, but could have benefits down the road, Yake said. He said the change is smart marketing from a social perspective.
"Companies that have such folklore and tradition, they need to do everything they can to maintain that image," Yake said. "This may also relate to some underlying psychology that they want to get back to the basics."
Company officials said the change is a small bright spot in Maine manufacturing, a sector that shed more than 10,000 jobs between 2001 and 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Having the rubber sole shop in Maine will give Bean a higher level of quality control than it has over the contract operation in Arkansas, said Carolyn Beem, manager of public affairs.
The move is also definitely about pride, Beem said. L.L. Bean ranks high on the short list of images and brands associated with Maine -- think lobster, Poland Spring and Portland Head Light -- and the Bean boot is still the company's best-known commodity.
"It means a lot to us," to make the boots in Maine, Beem said. "It is a signature product for us, so we have always been protective of the quality. It has also become a signature product for the state."
Company chairman Leon Gorman, president Chris McCormick and other top officials made the decision in November to manufacture the soles in Maine, Beem said. That news was shared with employees a few weeks ago.
"They are extremely excited," said Jack Samson, who heads up Bean's manufacturing division at Brunswick. "The fact that the soles are going to be made by L.L. Bean employees, that is the best part. To see jobs come back to Maine, to see a heritage product like this come back, is incredible."
Samson and others within the manufacturing division proposed the changes several months ago.
"We just felt it was the right thing for us, from the standpoint of quality, and keeping the brand and the boot here in Maine," Samson said. "It is great to see it come home."
The company is still trying to find the right location for the new shop, Samson said. He hopes to lease space near Brunswick, so the two components of boot construction will be close to one another.
Smaller pieces of the boot, such as the laces and eyelets, are purchased from firms in California and Rhode Island. Bean employs about 400 people in its manufacturing division, and about 3,800 year-round employees overall.
L.L. Bean markets 24 styles of Bean boot on its Web site, ranging in price from $59 for the low-cut rubber mocs, to $159 for the 10-inch insulated hunting boots.
There have been a handful of technological changes to the classic Bean boot over the years, including a new leather coating and steel shank added in 1999. But the basic design remains as it was in 1912, when L.L. Bean made the first pairs in the basement of his brother's apparel shop.
Company lore has it that Bean sold 100 pairs of boots that first year, with his personal guarantee. Ninety pairs were returned after the soles separated from the leather uppers.
The story goes that Bean refunded the purchases, corrected the problem and borrowed more money to make more boots. He contracted with a factory outside of Boston that could produce high quality rubber soles at a reasonable price, Beem said. The return of those 90 boots set the foundation of a liberal returns policy that remains a hallmark of the company.
For competitive reasons, Beem would not say how many pairs of Bean boots are produced or sold annually. She also would not name the contracting firm in Arkansas, or discuss how the relocation to the Maine shop will affect the company's finances.
"Sales are significant enough for us to make this investment," she said.
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