CARTHAGE, MO. – A national shoe manufacturer is working to take over a plant in Carthage that was closed by another manufacturer in early 2020.
Carthage City Council heard on first reading a recommendation from the Carthage, Jasper County’s Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board to approve property tax breaks for Belleville Boot Co., based in Belleville, Illinois, for improvements to the former Justin Boot factory at 2236 Missouri Ave. in Carthage.
The Council is expected to finalize the tax relief at its 6.30pm Tuesday meeting.
Telephone messages left with Belleville Company representatives last week have not been returned.
According to information in the tax break application, the company intends to buy and renovate the former Justin Boot factory and create up to 158 new jobs in the city at an average annual wage of $ 32,688 for a total wage of approximately $ 30 $ 5.1 million annually. Health benefits are also offered to full-time workers.
The company is expected to invest approximately $ 2.7 million in the purchase and renovation of the Carthage facility, with approximately $ 350,000 eligible for the proposed tax break.
The tax incentives are expected to cost the city, Carthage School District, and Jasper Counties $ 3,500 per year, or a total of $ 35,000, over a 10 year period.
The Enlarged Business Zone Act requires the company to create at least two jobs for 12 months with wages above the county average.
According to its website, the company was founded in Belleville in 1904 and received its first military shoe order from the federal government in 1917 during World War I. It re-produced boots for the military during World War II and expanded into athletic shoes in the 1960s in the United States. The company claims to be the oldest and leading supplier of combat boots for the US military.
The company has three manufacturing facilities – one in Belleville, one in DeWitt, Arkansas, and one in Forest City, Arkansas. The Carthage facility would be the company’s first expansion into Missouri.
Justin boot clasp
Justin Boot employed 171 people at the plant when it closed for good in June. The plant was one of the 14 largest employers in Carthage when it closed.
In a notice letter filed by Justin Boot on March 31 to adapt and retrain workers, the company said it had closed its Carthage and Cassville plants on March 20, but hoped to reinstate workers when operations reopen, “hopefully in less than six months. However, with the ongoing unprecedented public health crisis surrounding the coronavirus, it is uncertain when and / or if this will happen. “
In early July, the company announced that it would permanently close the factories.
“Closing Justin and Chippewa’s factories in Cassville and Carthage, Missouri was a difficult decision made in unprecedented times,” the company said on social media. “Unfortunately, economic realities have forced us to make difficult decisions that are necessary to uphold the legacy of our brands in the future. We recognize the skills that have been put into Missouri-made shoes over the years. So we asked our employees in Missouri to consider moving to one of our other factories. Making high quality boots is an art and we value their skills, loyalty and dedication. “