inc. type private industry outdoor apparel founded 1830 in pennsylvania founder john rich headquarters woolrich pennsylvania u.s. area served international key people john ranelli chairman of the board nicholas brayton president 1 products outdoor apparel ; blankets revenue us 250 million 2013 2 number of employees about 500 as of 2008 3 website www.woolrich.com woolrich index.jsp woolrich inc. is a united states clothing company based in pennsylvania since 1830 . 4 history edit woolrich inc. founded in 1830 by john rich and daniel mccormick is the oldest manufacturer of outdoor wear in the united states . the company was founded for the purpose of manufacturing fabric for the wives of hunters loggers and trappers . later the company also outfitted clothing supplies to the american civil war . 5 6 and richard e. byrd s 1939 1940 antarctic expedition . 7 the 1830 wool mill was located on little plum run in dunnstable township clinton county pennsylvania . wool production stopped there around 1843 1845 because of insufficient water supply . the company bought 300 acres at chatham s run in nearby pine creek township in 1834 and built a sawmill . rich bought out mccormick s interest in 1843 and by 1845 the company moved to a new mill at the chatham s run location . the 1845 mill no longer exists in its original configuration but its location remains the site of woolrich s main operations which developed into a company town now known as woolrich pennsylvania . 8 9 the 1830 mill was later used for storage and residential purposes ; known as the rich mccormick woolen factory it was added to the national register of historic places in 1985 . 10 another member of the rich family robert f. rich headed woolrich for many years and was also a longtime republican member of the u.s. house of representatives . serving 18 years between 1931 and 1951 he became known as a vocal opponent of the new deal 11 12 and like many other members of his family an important supporter of lycoming college . 13 after camping grew popular in the 1970s woolrich suffered in the 1980s due to other companies wanting to compete . for many years their competitors have been l.l.bean eddie bauer the timberland company the north face patagonia 6 and columbia sportswear . 14 in 1990 woolrich let go of half of their 2 600 employees 6 nationwide by then president s. wade judy 15 due to fewer orders . 16 that same year the company also closed six plants in pennsylvania nebraska and colorado for about five years and outsourced the work to mexico leaving them with about 1 400 employees . since then the employment numbers have continued changing with about 500 as of 2008 3 and about 200 in 2013 . 2 in 1998 woolrich provided the clothing used in the film the horse whisperer . 6 in 2007 the company s long time president and ceo roswell brayton jr. died after collapsing at the woolrich headquarters . he was a sixth generation member of the rich family and joined the company in 1977 and became president in 1996 and ceo the next year . 17 the current president nick brayton and vice president joshua rich represent the seventh and eighth generations of the rich family to serve in the management of the company . 18 in january 2013 john ranelli was named president and ceo of central garden & pet company and retained his non executive chairman of the board title at woolrich . 19 in may the company announced they had plans to move more of their workforce to the united states . 2 in september 2013 woolrich partnered with portland product werks ppw to manufacture shoes a new line for woolrich . ppw is led by sean beers a former employee of columbia sportwear a woolrich competitor . they debuted the woolrich footwear line at the salt lake city outdoor retailer winter market in january 2014 las vegas in february and in fall 2014 in new york . 20 in 2014 woolrich collaborated with dogfish head brewery by releasing the limited edition pennsylvania tuxedo a spruce enchanced pale ale . 21 22 in 2015 the company celebrated and achieved its 185 year anniversary with an art gallery show at its store in new york . 23 references edit woolrich original family members brayton rich named president and vp international . prnewswire.com . 13 march 2012 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . a b c rolley bob may 15 2013 . woolrich inc. passes the torch . sungazette.com . a b woolrich to close jersey shore sewing plant . lockhaven.com . 15 april 2008 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . woolrich part of the fabric of u.s. history . cbs news . 8 july 2012 . retrieved 22 january 2016 . worden amy 20 august 2004 . woolrich draws fire for selling forest lands outdoor clothing maker draws fire for selling its forest lands . philadelphia inquirer . retrieved 22 january 2016 . a b c d kinney david 14 february 1999 . woolrich inc. fights back . record journal . associated press . retrieved 7 january 2013 . it s back in the black for woolrich inc. . los angeles times . 31 may 1999 . retrieved 22 january 2016 . megan e. baker and alan jalowitz rich in tradition pennsylvania center for the book fall 2010 spring 2011 . russell e. eshleman jr. firm roots unbroken by growth the philadelphia inquirer december 21 1988 . susan b. hannigan and g. jean may may 1985 . national register of historic places inventory nomination form rich mccormick woolen factory pdf . archived from the original pdf on 8 june 2012 . retrieved 22 january 2016 . robert rich industrialist associated press in pittsburgh post gazette april 30 1968 . robert f. rich at the biographical directory of the united states congress . john f. piper lycoming college 1812 2012 on the frontiers of american education lexington books 2011 isbn 9781611483703 p. 405 & passim . excerpts available at google books . sean beers . the wall street journal . 27 february 2002 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . woolrich seeking to dress up 168 year clothing tradition . the philadelphia inquirer . 18 january 1999 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . digest . washington post . 6 october 1990 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . woolrich ceo roswell brayton jr. dies after collapsing . boston.com . associated press . 13 march 2007 . retrieved 7 january 2013 . josh baron wooly mammoth go magazine december 2012 . john r. ranelli named president and ceo of central garden & pet company . central.com . 7 january 2013 . retrieved 15 may 2013 . allan brettman 18 september 2013 . woolrich teams with portland footwear company . the oregonian . retrieved 22 january 2016 . 15 cant miss things im delmarva in 2015 . the daily times salisbury . 8 january 2015 . retrieved 25 january 2015 . dogfish head from extreme beer to nautical apparel . businessweek . 10 june 2014 . retrieved 25 january 2015 . woolrich celebrates 185 years with a gallery show for new york fashion week . forbes.com . september 9 2015 . retrieved 22 january 2016 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title woolrich & oldid 743917142 categories companies established in 1830outdoor clothing brandsclothing companies of the united statesmanufacturing companies based in pennsylvaniaprivately held companies based in pennsylvania1830 establishments in pennsylvaniahidden categories use dmy dates from january 2016 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages deutschitaliano edit links this page was last modified on 12 october 2016 at 01 04 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this 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