A-B Emblem’s decades of experience making patches for the U.S. military branches didn’t prepare it for the 2019 launch of Space Force, the first new branch of the armed services
in 73 years.
Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, the first chief of Space Operations, didn’t want an embroidered patch. Rather, he requested a patch made from a PVC-like, rubbery material, says Andrew Nagle, co-CEO of the Weaverville company.
“What he neglected to realize, there was no domestic industry base for PVC patches. It was all made in China,” says Nagle. “So, in the middle of COVID, we bought machinery, didn’t know what we were doing, and taught ourselves how to make these PVC patches for Space Force.
“Fortunately, there aren’t a lot of guardians. There’s less than 10,000.”
Space Force needed A-B Emblem and its predecessor company because of the Berry Amendment, which since 1941 has required that the military buy American-made clothing and textiles. Yarns, fibers, fabrics and components must also be made in the U.S.
For decades, the law has undergirded A-B Emblem, which gets its fabric from Greensboro-based Burlington Industries and yarn from Fil-Tec in Pennsylvania.
About 95% of A-B Emblem’s output at its Buncombe County plant involves making embroidered patches and other insignia for the armed forces.
Over the last 10 years, A-B Emblem has fulfilled about $11 million worth of Department of Defense contracts. Last year, it made about 2 million patches
for the U.S. armed forces, says Nagle.
The company’s other high-profile client, NASA, has been a customer since 1963, when A-B Emblem manufactured the space agency’s iconic “meatball” logo patch.
A-B Emblem has been the exclusive patch maker for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration since the 1970s and its products have flown into space with astronauts aboard the Apollo vehicles, Space Shuttles, Expedition and more recently, NASA SpaceX Dragon Missions. Several astronauts have toured the plant over the years and then made subsequent visits to area schools.
Henry Conrad founded the business in 1941 near the Hudson River in West New York, New Jersey. He moved the company in 1963 to a small hill in Weaverville, a town of fewer than 5,000 residents about 10 miles north of Asheville.
Nagle is married to Henry Conrad’s granddaughter, Lisbeth, and has been with the company since 1991. It now reports about $20 million in annual revenue, including its other operations, consisting of a plant in Mexico that opened in 1996 and another in China that launched in 2005.
The two foreign operations employ about 100 workers each and act as separate businesses. Patches made for state and local public safety groups, associations and private sector companies make up about 70% of the business, with work for the U.S. government accounting for the balance. MADE IN THE USA
Production workers in Weaverville earn an average of about $21 an hour, or $43,680 a year for a 40-hour work schedule. That’s more than $11,000 less than the current average wage in Buncombe County of $55,416.
The days of workers leaving farms to take manufacturing jobs ended in Buncombe County years ago, says Nagle. Major local employers such as aerospace companies Pratt & Whitney and GE Aerospace now pay much more than the area’s current average wage, and more than A-B Emblem can afford, he says.
“There’s more jobs in western North Carolina than there are people looking for jobs, so that poses our biggest challenge here.”
The company computerized most of its machinery in the 1990s, but some tasks remain arduous. On a recent visit, two women were stationed at sewing machines putting the finishing touches on an American flag that will adorn a military uniform.
Their hands move fast, and they’ll complete about 300 patches every hour. “That’s the hardest job in the plant,” says Nagle. At another work station, Nagle’s niece, Gracie Franzi, learns about the business on the production floor, manning a laser that cuts out the familiar “NB” logo for the Boston-based sportswear company New Balance.
“I love New Balance,” says Nagle. “You can buy a tennis shoe from New Balance, 100% made in China for around 100 bucks. And you can buy a tennis shoe made by New Balance, 100% made in the United States for $300.
“I have a pair of $300 running shoes. I don’t wear them very often, but I want to support New Balance.”
FOREIGN PRODUCTS AND TARIFFS
Most of the commercial patches, including those made for police and public safety organizations, come from the family’s businesses in Mexico and China. A notable exception is the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which wants its patches made
in America.
Workers at the plant near Mexico City make about $4 an hour, while those at the Chinese site earn about $3 an hour. U.S. officials and humanitarian organizations have criticized the Chinese government for poor working conditions and, in some cases, human trafficking. But the Nagle family says their workers in China have a positive quality of life and are allowed to return to their homes daily, rather than sleep in cramped dormitories.
“When you go to the factory, you ask, ‘How are we treating you,’” says Nagle. “The majority of textile workers are women, right? Do you treat them like you want to? Would you be proud to take your mother into that factory?”
Those questions are important. “I look at everybody and appreciate each person,” he says. “Everybody is an important part, an integral part in making this.”
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have hurt China, he adds. To truly level the playing field would require 700% tariffs on textiles, Nagle contends, pointing to the pay differential between U.S. and Chinese workers.
“We don’t necessarily make a ton of money in what we make in China. We sell it at a cheaper price. We don’t make it in China and sell it at a domestic price, right? That wouldn’t work,” he says.
To be sure, things would be easier if all the patches were made in the U.S., says Nagle. “Does the American consumer really care?” asks Nagle. “The simple answer is no. We shop with our wallets.”
The military spending that supports the North Carolina plant fluctuates, with a down period in sales a few years back forcing the company to reduce its factory payroll to about 20 workers. Sales from the Mexico and Chinese plants helped sustain the company during that slow time.
“We’re meeting the needs of the customers with each of the different factories we have,” says Lisbeth Nagle. “I love the way it’s developed because I think it’s made us a really stable company, having the capacity here, the capacity in China, the capacity in Mexico, for the different needs.
THIRD GENERATION
The company is proud of the family heritage that began when Albin Wunderlich started an embroidery business in 1892 in the small town of Oelsnitz, Germany. Wunderlich’s grandson, Henry Conrad, left Germany in 1929, arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Christmas Eve with $4.68 in his pocket. It was the beginning of
the Great Depression.
A dozen years later, Henry started Conrad Embroidery, then a decade later, in 1951, he founded company, A-B Emblem, incorporating the first initial of his children’s names, Annerose and Bernhard. Conrad moved south when corrupt New Jersey officials sought kickbacks, the family says.
Conrad considered several locations in South Carolina before settling on Buncombe County, though he received no incentives. He was impressed that town officials pledged not to bother him, his family says.
At 84, Bernie Conrad still serves as a consultant for the family business. Nagle and Bernie’s son, Paul Conrad, have been co-CEOs since 2017. Lisbeth rejoined the company about five years ago, and several third-generation members also work there.
“We want to leave the company stronger for the next generation,” says Lisbeth Nagle. She finds inspiration daily as she walks past her grandfather’s photograph in the business office.
“I say, ‘Opa (German for grandfather), I hope we make
you proud.’” ■