Bollman Hat Company was once situated in 1868, in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, United States. Bollman Hat Company hence manufactures men’s and women’s hats in Adamstown and has 300 employees placed on four continents.

Historical Background 

At the time that George Bollman set up his hat manufacturing facility in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, in 1868, the region was once domestic to many hat makers due to getting right of entry to abundant water. Hat manufacturing required an exceptional deal of sparkling water to each function the machinery and to felt wool. Today, producers use other skills to strengthen equipment and mills and use water reclamation technological know-how to decrease water usage. This has enabled making and different fabric manufacturing to go to websites that would otherwise be much less suitable.

Hat making was, for many years, the most crucial enterprise in Lancaster and Berks County, the place Adamstown is located. Bollman Hat Company grew to be one of the first-rate acknowledged hat makers in the region, offering hat bodies to hat makers up and down the east coast. Over time they hence bought out the majority of the other hat makers in Adamstown. Hat making is nevertheless the major manufacturing company in Adamstown. Bollman is one of solely two hat makers closing in this area.

The hat-making records is evident in the region, with many street names reflecting hat companies, or processing. In addition, the many antique shops have names reflecting the neighborhood hat-making history and are frequently placed in former hat buildings and other factories.

At the modern time, Bollman is the only hat maker nevertheless working begin (wool) to end (hats) in Adamstown. As Bollman Hat Company received different brands which include Bailey, Betmar, Country Gentleman, Helen Kaminski, and Ignite, as correctly as world rights to Kangol Headwear, Bollman become a global company.

Bollman Hat Company is also a non-public label hat maker for different trend designers, along with Marc Jacobs and Samuel L. Jackson and companies, such as Cabela’s Sporting Goods.

It was once introduced in February 2009 that Bollman had been reviewing their international operations, inserting 33 jobs and the future of the Kangol head office in the Cleator, England in doubt. Currently, the Kangol manufacturer has moved to America and is designed in New York City and Manufactured in each foreign place and in the Adamstown plant. Bollman Hat Company hence now distributes to seventy-seven countries.

American made clothing and textiles

Prior to the Seventies, the majority of clothing worn by Americans had been made in the USA. After the tariffs, as well as restrictions on imports, were lifted, many manufacturing jobs left the United States. The material and garb industries were, in particular difficult hit.

Bollman Hat Company had to downsize drastically and lay off over 100 workers owing to the expanded competition of less luxurious imports. This led to the overall founding of American Made Matters with the aid of Bollman CEO, Don Rongione. American Made Matters functions as being a Trade Association and lists member businesses that manufacture merchandise in the USA on their website and even on the social media channel.

According to some analyses, after the monetary downturn in the 2000s, there has been a revival of pastime in American Made products, which has helped the closing American textile and clothing companies. However, others dispute this claim, arguing that US manufacturing has continued to decline in view that the recession!

Company organization

Bollman Hat Company was headquartered by way of Mr. George Bollman in 1868. Bollman was a family-owned commercial enterprise for most of its history. Bollman grew to become an employee-owned enterprise in 1985.

The employer is headquartered in Adamstown PA, with wool scouring amenities in Texas and showrooms and sales and graph places of work in New York City and Sydney, or in Australia. Other showrooms include London, Denver, or Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Popularity In Celebrity, television, and films

  • Bollman Hats have included many Hollywood actors from Humphrey Bogart to Fred Astaire and from Samuel L. Jackson to Nicole Kidman; as musicians from Run DMC to Eminem and from Pete Townshend to Ne-Yo; athletes from the Michael Jordan to Donovan McNabb and from Chi Chi Rodriguez to Jimmy Rollins.
  • Some splendid moments in celeb records include: Bailey Hats had been the issuer of reputable hats for the side of Mickey Mouse Club, the space patrol as well as Hopalong Cassidy.
  • Samuel L. Jackson wore a complete Kangol hat in the film Jackie Brown.
  • W journal has featured a number of celebrities sporting Bollman owned manufacturers on their covers.
  • Kaminsky Hats maintains a celeb watch, with snapshots of famous actresses wearing their hats.
  • Kangol berets are much well known and were worn through many celebrities, from General Bernard Law Montgomery to LL Cool J
  • Various Kangol and even Bollman Hat brands were used in the film New Jack City.