Origin®
Farmington

There’s a question we’re asked quite often: Why do you do it? Why work so hard to bring back manufacturing that’s been surrendered to overseas companies? The answer is simple. Because not existing, not trying is to accept things as they are. And we can’t do that. It’s just not in us to surrender our birthright and the promise of the American Dream. Because we all know what surrender looks like. Friends and relatives who’ve had their livelihoods stripped from underneath them and sold to the lowest bidder… China. Abandoned mills, empty train yards, decaying infrastructure, and tenements gone to seed. Communities that once supported themselves and thrived with vital industry now just sad reminders of what used to be.

So we set out to bring it all back. Even when they laughed at us. Especially when they laughed. In 2011, we drew a line in the dirt. Not a narrow track but a trench raked with a boot heel. It was an act of raw emotion and perfect clarity. The near surrender of American Industry was leaving our country vulnerable, our communities gutted, and our knowledge base depleted. So we chose a different future – one where we weren’t waiting for someone else to step up. By sweat, nerve, and sheer will, we put that vision in motion with our own hands: We cleared a swath of forest in the foothills of western Maine. We built a 7,000 sq. ft. timber-frame manufacturing facility. We rescued a historic loom and gave it a second chance to craft the American Dream. And then we just kept going – building, growing, learning, improving.

It’s been 12 years of heavy lifting. Of salvaging looms and repairing machinery left to rust on the heap. Of retrofitting factories. Of seeking out a dying breed of craftsman and attaining knowledge on the verge of oblivion. Of teaching ourselves a lifetime of skills. Of building teams and best-in-class products. Of growing with the needs of our customers. And of paying a steep price for the lessons learned along the way. (We call those lessons “tuition payments.”) But we never stopped grinding, pushing ahead. We knew what we were rebuilding and what was at stake: pride, hope, and healing this bruised and battered American Dream. Today, we occupy 230K sq. ft. of manufacturing space across four facilities in two states and employ over 400 people. And we’re just getting started.