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Buckeye Beat: Cleveland's Last Suit Factory

Suit factory worker

Read the script:

[KENNETH] WE LOVE THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES THAT ARE MAKING HIGH-END GARMENTS.

[RICK] KEYSTONE TAILORED MANUFACTURING IS THE FAMILY OWNED COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTINUATION OF SUIT MAKING IN NORTHEAST OHIO. IT'S REHABBED FACTORY OPERATES FROM THE SAME BROOKLYN FACILITY WHERE JUST A FEW YEARS AGO HUGO BOSS MADE MEN'S CLOTHES. HISTORICALLY IT BEGAN AS THE JOSEPH AND FEISS COMPANY, A MAJOR EMPLOYER IN CLEVELAND'S GARMENT HEYDAY, DURING THE DECADE SURROUNDING THE TURN OF THE 18TH CENTURY.

KEYSTONE HAND ASSEMBLES MEN'S CLOTHING HERE, PRIMARILY FOR CHICAGO'S W DIAMOND GROUP, CLOTHES BRANDED AS HART SCHAFFNER & MARX, AN UPSCALE LINE FOR WHICH BLAZERS AND SPORTS COATS ROUTINELY SELL AT THE $400 AND UP PRICE POINT. BUT HERE THE DOLLARS THAT TRULY MATTER ARE THOSE THAT LINE THE POCKETS OF LONG-TIME WORKERS.

KENNETH RAGLAND IS THE PRESIDENT OF W DIAMOND GROUP. HE SAYS THE FIRST STEP IN MAKING A SUIT, IS PREPARING THE FABRIC THEY BUY FROM ITALY OR ASIA.

[KENNETH] THERE'S A PAPER PATTERN, WE LAY THAT PATTERN OUT ON TOP OF THE FABRIC, AND WE HAVE A MACHINE THAT ACTUALLY CUTS THE FABRIC INTO THE VARIOUS BODY PIECES, A SLEEVE, A LEG. ONCE THE FABRIC'S BEEN CUT, THE FABRIC IS BROUGHT UPSTAIRS FROM OUR CUTTING ROOM AND THEN IT'S MOVED TO TWO DIFFERENT AREAS. WE HAVE A PANT SHOP, THAT IS SEWING THE PANTS. COAT SHOP SEWING THE COAT.

SO ONE PERSON IS NOT SEWING THE GARMENT FROM START TO FINISH. THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT SPECIALIZES ON THE PANT LEGS, ANOTHER PERSON IS SPECIALIZING ON THE WAIST BAND. AS THE GARMENT GOES THROUGH, THE COMPONENT PIECES EVENTUALLY DO GET TO A POINT TO WHERE THERE'S A FINAL ASSEMBLY POINT, AND THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF OPERATORS THAT ARE ACTUALLY SEWING THE FINISHED GARMENT. FROM THERE IT GOES TO A PRESSING ROOM WHERE THE GARMENT IS ACTUALLY PRESSED LIKE A DRY CLEANER WOULD DO. AT THAT POINT, PUT IT IN A POLY BAG, IT'S READY TO BE SHIPPED.

[RICK] EACH WORKER HAS THEIR PRECISE TASK AND THE COMPANY IS LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO HELP. RAGLAND SAYS THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE CLOTHING BACKGROUND, JUST A SOLID WORK ETHIC.

[KENNETH] A LOT OF THE SKILLS THAT YOU SEE HERE ARE VERY TRANSFERABLE. PEOPLE OUT OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY, EITHER GOING TO OR COMING FROM. YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT WAS SEWING, YOU KNOW, SEAMS ON CARPET PIECES OR ON SEATS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO THERE'S MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR WHAT WE SEEN CALLED A CUT AND SEW BUSINESS AND THOSE SKILLS BECOME VERY TRANSFERABLE.

[RICK] HE BELIEVES CLEVELAND COULD BE A GARMENT CENTER AGAIN, NOT ON THE SCALE OF THE 1920S BUT SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH.

[KENNETH] WHAT MAKES CLEVELAND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS, IS OTHER PEOPLE IN CLEVELAND THAT ARE STARTING UP BUSINESSES, AND SHOWING THE INITIATIVE TO TRY AND GROW A BUSINESS FROM THIS AREA SPECIFICALLY FROM A DESIGN AND FROM AN AESTHETIC POINT OF VIEW.

[RICK] AND FOR A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GUY WHO ALSO SPENT YEARS IN NEW YORK'S FASHION DISTRICT, RELOCATING TO CHICAGO AND COMING TO CLEVELAND, SEVERAL TIMES EACH MONTH, HAS PROVEN TO HIM THAT THE MIDWEST IS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF PROVIDING EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS DONE, NO NEED TO OUTSOURCE, NO NEED TO HAVE THIS WORK FINISHED OVERSEAS. IT IS A BY AMERICA ATTITUDE BUT HAVING THE SEWING, THE ASSEMBLING, THE FINISHING WORK DONE IN BROOKLYN MADE FINANCIAL SENSE AS WELL.

[KENNETH] WHAT IT WAS TO US, AN OPPORTUNITY, AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME IN, ACQUIRE A FACTORY THAT HAD CAPABILITIES, HAD EQUIPMENT, MACHINERY, JUST THE EQUIPMENT AND THE MACHINERY IN THE BUILDING TO GO OUT AND REPLACE EVERYTHING THAT'S HERE, WOULD EASILY AS A STARTUP, TWO AND A HALF TO THREE MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE, AND YOU JUST DON'T GO BUY THAT EQUIPMENT EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.

[RICK] NOR COULD THEY FIND WORKERS WITH 15 TO 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE BUILDING, A PLUS THAT HELPED SEAL UP THE DEAL.

[KENNETH] SO THIS IS A FAMILY BUSINESS TO US. WHEN WE ACQUIRED THE FACTORY FROM HUGO BOSS, THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE ENDEAVORED TO BRING OUT WAS THIS IS A FAMILY COMPANY. THERE'S NO PRIVATE EQUITY, THERE'S NO HEDGE FUND MONEYS, NO PRIVATE MONEYS, IT'S MY PARTNER AND MY, OUR PERSONAL MONEY THAT WERE PUT INTO THIS FACTORY AND CONTINUE TO BE PUT INTO THIS FACTORY. WE FEEL THAT WE'VE TREATED OUR PEOPLE THE WAY THEY WANT TO BE TREATED, THAT IS AS HUMAN BEINGS WITH A SENSE FAIRNESS AND SENSE OF EQUALITY, AND IT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE, AND WHY WE CONTINUE TO BE HERE, AND WHY WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE A LONG TIME.

[RICK] KEYSTONE TAILOR DOES SOMETHING ELSE RARE IN THE INDUSTRY THAT ANY ONE OF US CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, PRODUCING THEIR EXCESS MATERIAL INTO SUITS ANYWAY, ALONG WITH EXTRAS OF SOME OF LAST YEAR'S MODELS AND SELLING IT RIGHT OUT OF THE FACTORY AT DEEP DISCOUNTS. EMPLOYEES BUY HERE, BROOKLYN RESIDENTS TOO. U.S. SENATOR, SHERROD BROWN OFTEN TALKS OF HAVING SUITS THAT WERE MADE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO,

[SHERROD] IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SUIT TODAY, IT SAYS HUGO BOSS, IF YOU LOOK INSIDE THE SUIT, IT SAYS MADE BY UNITE HERE WORKERS.

[RICK] HE WAS AMONG THOSE WHO FOUGHT ALONGSIDE UNION'S AND HOLLYWOOD ACTORS TO KEEP THIS PLACE ALIVE WHEN HUGO BOSS WANTED TO LEAVE IN 2010. RAGLAND SAYS THAT LOYALTY REMAINS.

[KENNETH] YOU KNOW THE GOAL HERE IS TO GROW THE FACTORY AND CONTINUE TO HIRE BACK. THEY'RE CURRENTLY TALKING ABOUT THE FACILITY LETTING OUT IT'S OWN WAISTLINE AND IN A TWIST, MANAGEMENT CREDITS THE UNION HERE FOR A RELATIONSHIP HE TERMED PHENOMENAL. THE UNION FRANKLY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR ACQUIRING THIS FACTORY A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AGO AND IT JUST FEELS REALLY, REALLY GOOD TO US.

[RICK] WHETHER CLEVELAND TURNS TO FORMER GARMENT GLORY UNKNOWN, BUT THIS PLACE AND IT'S HISTORY ARE HERE LONG-TERM. THE FUTURE YOU MIGHT SAY ALL BUT SEWN UP.