In Nottawa Township, where open farmland and small businesses shape the landscape east of Three Rivers, a quiet manufacturing operation is turning out hundreds of boot uppers a day through a process that depends as much on skilled hands as it does on machinery.
Heirloom Stitching, an Amish-run facility led by owner Sam Bontrager, produces boot uppers for partner brands including Thorogood and Sloggers. At full pace, the operation can turn out up to 600 a day. What moves through the building, though, is not a finished boot. The stitching work is done here, then the product moves on so partner companies can add the sole and complete final construction.
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