New Balance Shoemakers 'Job Swap' with No. 20 Home Depot Pit Crew

BOSTON, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- New Balance, the only athletic company that still produces footwear in the United States, celebrates the unique skills of its domestic manufacturing workforce through an online video debuting today that captures a "job swap" day at their Skowhegan, Maine factory with the No. 20 Home Depot Pit Crew.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100609/LA18195)

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100609/LA18195)

"A winning pit stop requires flawless teamwork, coordination, consistency and skill all packed into an incredibly short period of time," says Eric Groen, Rear Tire Carrier on the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.  "We had heard the same could be said about making a pair of shoes so we traveled to New Balance in Maine to engage their team in a job swap."

With "play-by-play" commentary by Dr. Jerry Punch, a well-known motorsports broadcast announcer, the video follows the pit crew from the No. 20 Home Depot team as they work manufacturing New Balance 993 running shoes.  New Balance associates then perform a pit stop to see exactly which job is tougher; making shoes or doing a pit stop.

"Our associates have passion and pride in their craftsmanship, and their teamwork, coordination and skills have enabled us to withstand economic challenges and remain strong," says Patrick Welch, Skowhegan production manager at New Balance.  "We are proud of our American workforce and of the jobs they do every day to keep our company growing."

The video can be seen at New Balance's website at newbalance.com/jobswap as well as on New Balance's Facebook and YouTube fan pages.  Promotional support includes banner advertising on NASCAR.com and Motorracingnetwork.com.

New Balance highlights its commitment to American workers through a national awareness campaign this summer including dedicated in-store materials as well as footwear hangtags and box stickers that highlight footwear models as either Made or Assembled in America.

New Balance has five U.S. manufacturing facilities in Boston and Lawrence, MA and Norway, Norridgewock and Skowhegan, ME as well as one in Flimby, U.K.  One out of every four pairs of shoes the company sells in North America is made in the U.S.

In 2009, Joe Gibbs Racing announced a partnership with New Balance to supply pit crew and workout training footwear for each of their three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams and two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams.

About New Balance:

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host.  New Balance employs more than 4000 people around the globe, and in 2009 reported worldwide sales of $1.65 billion.  For more information please visit http://www.newbalance.com.

About Joe Gibbs Racing:

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program that includes two full-time NASCAR East Series teams.  Its driver lineup consists of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup Series; Hamlin, Busch, Logano, Brad Coleman and Matt DiBenedetto in the Nationwide Series; as well as Max Gresham and Brett Moffitt in the NASCAR East Series and Darrell Wallace, Jr. in its driver development program. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships, and two Nationwide Series championships along with more than 100 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500. JGRMX is the organization's Motocross race team which debuted in 2008 and features riders Josh Grant and Justin Brayton.

SOURCE New Balance