New Era to close its Derby, NY plant

[johnnysama 717]

https://buffalonews.com/2018/11/13/new-era-plans-closure-of-derby-manufacturing-plant-in-march-2019/ - Sad news: New Era Cap will close down its plant in Derby, NY next March.

 

All I can say is "What a shame". I haven't bought any new caps from them in a while, and I probably might not anymore.

[San Diego 460]

I can't bring myself to spend nearly 40 dollars on a baseball cap. 

[Green27 168]

Simply another big corporation outsourcing jobs to cheaper labor. Can't say I'm shocked. 

[Webfooter 886]

Unless companies face penalties for off-shoring production, things like this are always going to happen.

[Cosmic 5,687]

It's a real shame. Not only was it local to me, but there was something special about baseball caps still being made in the good ol' US of A in the same place that they have been since FDR.

[Kaz 1,369]

Sounds like the company has moved onto a new era

[Cosmic 5,687]

There are some rumblings from local and local/national politicians about trying to change New Era's mind, but since they didn't try to do the government handout route before they announced their decision, IMO it doesn't look good. It seems like New Era just doesn't want to operate a factory anymore.

[Marlins93 644]

The last time I went cap shopping, I found that nearly all of the ones I sorted through were defective in one way or another. Most of it was random/missing threads and misaligned seams. Is it common for New Era caps to have this many flaws? I had assumed that they were already manufactured overseas and  was floored that they cost $36.

[ebod39 80]

They're still going to make the on-field MLB 5950 in the USA at their Miami facility which right now only produces apparel.

I'm curious as to whether they will move the equipment from Buffalo to Miami or start fresh. Some of that equipment, especially the hat blockers are very old

and part of what gives New Era it's authenticity. Secondly, will they start making the retail 5950 overseas now?

[dont care 3,557]

12 hours ago, ebod39 said:

They're still going to make the on-field MLB 5950 in the USA at their Miami facility which right now only produces apparel.

I'm curious as to whether they will move the equipment from Buffalo to Miami or start fresh. Some of that equipment, especially the hat blockers are very old

and part of what gives New Era it's authenticity. Secondly, will they start making the retail 5950 overseas now?

Everything but the onfield hats will be made overseas

[ElwoodCuse 185]

That's how it always is. The teams get stuff made here, the fans get stuff made overseas

 

Hockey jerseys went to crap when only the teams got ones made in Canada

[ptaylor 21]

On 11/18/2018 at 7:08 AM, dont care said:

Everything but the onfield hats will be made overseas

So will only the players get the quality USA-made caps? Or will they make them for retail too...

[dont care 3,557]

2 hours ago, ptaylor said:

So will only the players get the quality USA-made caps? Or will they make them for retail too...

They will be few and very far between, they are just keeping a plant in Miami open to make the onfield caps to satisfy their contract with the MLB.

[BelfourThibault 101]

That's a shame. I have a love/hate relationship with New Era, because when you are lucky enough to find the perfect 5950, there's nothing better. But I have 5 or 6 of them that I really like and absolutely cannot wear. Almost all of them are sizing and shape issues, but it's mostly just inconsistency across the board. I stopped ordering them online long ago because of this, and local selection can be lacking unless you are in the team's region. 

[Bucfan56 8,524]

20 hours ago, ptaylor said:

So will only the players get the quality USA-made caps? Or will they make them for retail too...

 

The teams themselves won’t even have it that good. New Era switched their US made caps over to an imported polyester material (rather than the once common Cool Base material that was GREAT) a few seasons ago and it’s absolute TRASH. It’s so bad that the construction differences between caps stitched here vs caps stitched by 5 year olds in Malaysia, which used to be a night and day difference, is now barely noticeable. They ALL suck. 

 

And don’t expect to EVER see US made caps from certain teams again. You may still find some ok deals on game worn caps from a few teams who list them for sale at the stadium or online, but those prices are gonna go WAY up. But some teams, like the Yankees, turn all that stuff over to game-worn dealers like Steiner who mark that up 10,000%, if they ever even sell them at all.  

 

Also smaller hat retailers, such as Hat Club who basically specialize in US made poly customs, are absolutely :censored:ED. That’s what kills me the most about this move. There were still ways to get quality US made caps if you knew how to look for them. That market just got tied to a tree and shot. 

 

Like I said before, this move has been in the cards for quite awhile now. But that doesn’t make this suck any less. The retail market for one of my absolute favorite hobbies (collecting USA made poly New Era 59Fifty caps) has basically vanished overnight. 

 

I dunno. I’m trying to look on the bright side. Maybe this will increase the value of my collection. 

 

[zigbazah 360]

That's a shame. Best wishes to those who will lose their jobs. 

[Ice_Cap 15,852]

I apologize for not seeing this sooner. Locked thread due to political bickering.

[officeglenn 1,383]

Re-opening this thread with political references removed. It's an important enough topic to a forum dedicated to sports logos and uniforms.

 

A warning to all to not bring politics back into this discussion, whether explicit or implicit. Anyone who does so will be issued warning points and possible suspensions.

 

EDIT: And seriously, if stuff like this comes up, report it or tag a mod to get our attention.

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by officeglenn

[Bucfan56 8,524]

Much appreciated.

[PittsburghSucks 182]

Glad to see this reopened. I smh when I saw it was closed. Should have just removed offending posts in the first place.