K1 Sportswear of Cloquet, a leading sports apparel manufacturer, recently opened a hockey apparel manufacturing branch in Paynesville.
The branch is named KPayne LLC, after the parent company's name and the plant's location in Paynesville.
Though K1 now produces hockey and lacrosse jerseys, as well as sports jackets and other sports apparel, hockey jerseys remains to the company's main product, which are produced in 18 colors and with seven different types of fabric.
The manufacturing is done in two parts and at two places. First, the material is mostly cut in Cloquet and second the jerseys are sewn at at KPayne LLC, where cutting is kept to bare minimum. Thereafter the finished jerseys are transported to Cloquet for sending to customers.
Shortly, it is likely that KPayne LLC will eventually ship finished products directly to customers, informed Steve Guzy the plant manager at KPayne LLC.
The ultimate goal of the company is to manufacture 1,500 per week, as against the current level of 1,000 per week.