by 
Thorogood Boots, one of America’s last large-scale domestic work boot manufacturers, is in expansion mode.
On Wednesday, the company opened its new $14.5 million manufacturing facility and flagship store in Marshfield, Wis., marking Thorogood’s first-ever retail location. The 70,000-square-foot facility is operated by Weinbrenner Shoe Company, the parent company of the Thorogood brand.
According to Thorogood, the new flagship store is designed to give customers a direct view into the production floor so they can watch the boots being made while they shop and marks the first time in the brand’s 134-year history that the public can see the manufacturing process firsthand.
The new Marshfield facility is one of three Wisconsin manufacturing locations operated by Weinbrenner, which has invested in two significant facility expansions in the state since 2022. The company stated that the new facility replaces Weinbrenner’s Third Street building, which operated continuously since 1935 and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.
As for the new facility’s design, Thorogood noted that the single-floor layout is “purpose-built for modern production efficiency, improved employee health and safety, and expanded manufacturing capacity.” Construction was completed with a strong commitment to union labor, the company explained, with nearly 80 percent of construction contracts awarded to unionized firms, including Newton Electric, IBEW Local 388, and NECA. (Weinbrenner’s manufacturing workforce has been unionized since the 1940s and is currently represented by UFCW Locals 688 and 717.)
Jeff Burns, president of Weinbrenner Shoe Company, said in a statement that the new facility reinforces the shoe firm’s commitment to Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin is our home and always will be,” Burns declared. “Our new facility is what it looks like when a company puts its convictions on paper, and in this case, in concrete and steel. Thorogood makes boots for the people who build things, and we believe that work deserves to be done here, by American workers, with Wisconsin hands. Opening this store alongside the factory means anyone who wants to understand what that commitment looks like can walk in and see it for themselves.”
Approximately 80 percent of Thorogood footwear is manufactured in Wisconsin, including many of its best-selling styles. Thorogood Boots are union-backed and employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) established in 2000. Weinbrenner Shoe Company was founded in Milwaukee in 1892.
