Carhartt, a Dearborn manufacturer of premium work wear, is expanding its operation with support from a $937,500 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant expected to generate a capital investment of $4.65 million and create 125 new jobs.
Carhartt plans to expand in areas such as product design, digital marketing, customer care, and operations in response to increased demand. The company plans to hire high-wage professionals, with wages averaging about $45 per hour plus benefits. Positions may include web developers, marketing specialists, sales representatives, and customer service personnel. It recently has invested $32 million in its three facilities at its Dearborn location.
“We’re excited to bring more high-paying jobs to Michigan,” says Susan Telang, CFO at Carhartt. “Our business continues to grow year over year and partnering with the MEDC allows us to expand our employee base by adding top talent and, at the same time, continue to invest in our home state where Carhartt was established in 1889.”
Carhartt, founded in Detroit in 1889, generates its sales primarily from wholesale distribution to retailers throughout North America and Europe, but also sells directly to consumers through company-owned stores, e-commerce sites, and the industrial industry. Headquartered in Dearborn, Carhartt employs more than 5,500 associates worldwide with more than 600 employees in Michigan.
“Congratulations to the entire Carhartt team on its continued growth and success,” says Quentin Messer Jr., CEO of the MEDC and president and chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund. “We’re pleased to celebrate your expansion in Michigan, and we appreciate your vote of confidence in our state and in our workforce.
“We’re proud to join our local partners as we celebrate this longstanding Michigan company’s expansion and look forward to working together to grow fashionably, add jobs, and provide greater opportunity for our friends and neighbors in southeast Michigan.”
The city of Dearborn has offered to assist the company with expedited and streamlined permitting for the expansion efforts. For information on careers with Carhartt, visit here.
In addition, Carhartt announced in 2019 that it was dedicating the third floor of its Cass Avenue retail location to ISAIC. The organization transformed this retail space into a national center of excellence for sewn trades, offering training in both traditional skills and emerging apparel technologies. Carhartt is also supporting the organization’s launch plans via an in-kind donation of apparel manufacturing equipment.
