Buford-based Okabashi Brands, which helped make a name for itself by making shoes in America, plans to announce an expansion Friday that will add jobs here while taking the company into a new line of its business.
The company, maker of Okabashi and OKA b. label footwear, plans to start producing private label shoes. The move could mean an additional 150 jobs at its factory in Buford, the company said.
“We’ve never done private label before,” spokeswoman Adina Neufeld said. The company has received many requests to do so over the years, she added.
No timetable for the expansion was announced Wednesday.
Okabashi, a 27-year-old family-owned firm, makes recyclable casual shoes including flip-flops. It sells the Okabashi brand in drugstores, and the higher-priced OKA b. is sold in spas and other retailers.
The brands are in more than 20,000 stores around the world.
Less than 2 percent of the shoes sold in the U.S. are made in this country. Okabashi keeps costs and prices down by using automation and by eliminating waste, allowing it to compete with overseas brands.
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