The 20-year commitment from Product Architects to keep the manufacturing of its Polar Bottle brand of insulated water bottles in the United States was recognized with an award last week at the leading outdoor industry trade show in Salt Lake City.
The Boulder, Colorado-based company was honoured with a 2015 American Made Outdoor Gear Award at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show, in the 50-100 employee category – one of only five category winners from an entry pool of 300 companies.
The award, founded by California paddle sports apparel company Kokatat, recognizes outdoor brands that have committed to manufacturing and sourcing domestically.
Since it was founded in 1994, Product Architects has — alongside significant growth over the years — kept its manufacturing operations at the company’s Colorado headquarters. The company has worked hard to find stateside suppliers for the materials used in its bottles and has managed to do so for all but a few materials.
Currently, the company’s entire range of plastic insulated bottles are made in Colorado with American made components. Even the boxes used to ship the bottles are from a domestic US supplier. The only products that are not entirely American made are the stainless steel used in the Thermaluxe bottle and some components of the company’s Cenote Hydration System. These parts are ‘responsibly produced in China’.
“For us, keeping our manufacturing in the United States has been a no brainer,” said company President Judy Amabile “From a business standpoint, it reduces shipping costs, lets us manage our inventory and quickly adjust production to consumer demand, and helps us ensure the quality of our products. Most importantly, it has allowed us to create more jobs in the United States and ensure the people who produce our bottles have a safe working environment and are paid a living wage.”
Amabile accepted The American Made Outdoor Gear Award, which comes in the form of a carved wood Sasquatch trophy, at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show last week. Another Colorado company, wool apparel manufacturer Voormi, was also recognized for its commitment to American manufacturing with an award. The Sterling Rope Company — an outdoor safety rope manufacturer based in Maine — was named the overall winner.
