contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . october 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message type private industry headwear apparel accessories founded 1920 headquarters buffalo new york u.s. key people ehrhardt koch founder 1920 1953 harold koch president ceo 1953 1984 david koch president ceo 1982 2000 christopher koch president ceo 2000 present products headwear baseball cap 59fifty apparel and accessories revenue unknown operating income unknown net income unknown number of employees 300 buffalo ny 1 200 worldwide website neweracap.com since 1920 new era has been hand crafting the finest headwear in the world . today with apparel and accessories lines the brand is a market leader rooted in sports and an influencer of street and lifestyle culture around the globe . with over 500 licenses in its portfolio new era is the brand of choice in the worlds of sport fashion music and entertainment . the company is headquartered in buffalo n.y. and its products are sold in more than 80 countries . for more information on new era s global offices and partnerships visit www.neweracap.com and social channels neweracap . contents 1 the foundation in 1920 buffalo ny 2 labor history 3 cap recalls 4 see also 5 references 6 external links the foundation in 1920 buffalo ny edit ehrhardt koch borrows 5000 from his aunt and starts up his own cap company e. koch cap co. at the same time joe amerien left the miller company and was ehrhardt s first employee . production started on the third floor of 1830 genesee street on the corner of bailey ave. in buffalo n.y. the company started with 14 employees including ehrhardt s sister rose . ehrhardt s son harold and rose s son wally domas soon started working there well before graduating from high school . in 1920 the company produced 60 000 caps . 1922 e. koch cap co. is officially named new era cap company . new era would produce a full line of men s casual and uniform caps but few sporting goods products . new era s line in the 1920s included caps like the newsboy an eight panel wool cap with a short bill and a loose fitting crown top as well as fedoras . 1932 baseball enjoying massive popularity . harold koch decides that the time is right to get into the sport cap business and convinces ehrhardt to design new era s version of the baseball cap . 1934 new era s first major league baseball mlb caps are produced the cleveland indians home and away caps . there was no such thing as exclusive licensing back then so each year the various companies would compete for each individual team s business as well as for minor league international league college teams and local league teams which made up the bulk of the industry back then . new era s motto in those days was quality first quantity will follow . early 1940s new era provides caps to a long list of local minor league college and canadian baseball teams as well as blank caps that local outfits around the country would sew lettering or patches on as needed . new era also makes more major and minor league baseball caps now but the majority of these were private labels for wilson and spaulding . new era manufactured the finished unlabeled caps and wilson and spaulding would add their own labels and sell them directly to the teams . mid 1940s honus wagner then coaches for the pittsburgh pirates requested a special custom new era pittsburgh cap as he was having trouble finding a cap that fit his unusually large head . new era was happy to oblige the legend s request . world war ii war rations create a severe shortage of fabric especially in colors . cream uncolored fabric was bought on the black market and then dyed in the koch s home washing machine before assembly into caps . the color varied from batch to batch but the customers are happy to be getting caps at all . late 1940s new era debuts its adjustable size cap . ehrhardt worries that they won t look as good as the fitted caps but the sheer volume of orders couldn t be met any other way and they sold very well . 1950 new era is supplying caps to the brooklyn dodgers cincinnati reds cleveland indians and detroit tigers as well as to other teams under the private labeling with wilson and spaulding . new era was by this time the only independent cap maker supplying mlb teams . 1954 new era s fitted pro cap is modernized redesigned and named the 59fifty aka the brooklyn style cap by harold koch who introduces many design improvements and innovations while head of new era . early 1960s harold and david koch call for the end of new era s private label business for the mcauliffe stall and dean brands a challenge that would take most of the 1960s to meet . to win the business of its competitors incentives were offered including cap cleaning and reconditioning . by 1965 new era is supplying caps to about 10 of the 20 mlb teams . 1969 new era supplies special caps for the apollo 11 moon mission s splashdown recovery effort on the uss hornet . all future moon shot recoveries were also supplied with these unique handmade caps . 1974 20 of the 24 mlb teams sign with new era at this point and business continues to grow every year in all sports from a local to national level . 1976 david s son chris koch starts working at new era while he s still in high school . by 1979 chris is working at the swan street buffalo n.y. plant during the day and attending college courses at night . 1979 new era tried a direct marketing tactic . the company runs an ad in the sporting news offering pro fitted baseball caps to anyone who sent in a check or money order for 12.99 . the response is overwhelming and helps shape the future of the fan driven pro licensing business that hit the big time in the 1980s . early 1980s the 80s are a decade of consistent steady growth for the company with david koch leading the way . by this point new era is selling product to college sports local aaa and international baseball tennis golf custom special orders the military and 23 of the 26 mlb teams . mid 1980s the multi head barudan automated sewing machines revolutionize manufacturing for new era allowing a major increase in the rate of producing embroidered caps . 1986 in conjunction with mlb new era unveils its diamond collection pro 59fifty cap the same 59fifty as before but now sanctioned as an official on field product . late 1980s wearing the cap the pros wear is now a major driver of new era s consumer fan business . 1993 new era is granted the first exclusive license with mlb to produce the on field baseball caps for all teams . it had been 59 years since harold koch had secured the cleveland indians as their first one year account in 1934 and what had been earned team by team since then was now official across the league . 1993 chris koch becomes president of new era and david koch becomes ceo . new era opens a distribution center in hamburg n.y. to handle increasing capacity needs . 1996 filmmaker spike lee personally requests a red new york yankees cap from new era starting both a fashion trend as well as a long relationship with new era . the ability to make caps in colors outside major leagues style guides opened the door for the biggest era in new era history and the entry into the lifestyle and fashion category . embraced by the entertainment world because of its authenticity and ability to customize headwear new era would embark on a journey of collaboration that would begin to be seen on screen on stage and in videos of many tastemakers artists musicians and celebrities around the globe . lee directed the company s first national tv ads in 1997 and continues to direct ads for new era . 1997 new era unveils its first new logo in a generation the flag which will appear on all new era headwear from then on and become a fashion statement in its own right . 2001 chris koch is named ceo and begins an era focused on global expansion and building the new era brand name across sport and lifestyle segments . 2003 new era s globalization having started in 1998 in canada expands rapidly with offices opening in europe japan and australia all within a two year period . 2005 new era unveils its new blue box or lock up logo which incorporates the flag logo and its new slogan the originators of the true fitted . 2006 new era severely outgrows its derby facility as its headquarters . after a nationwide search the company chooses the local former federal reserve bank building in downtown buffalo for its new world headquarters . the company returns to downtown buffalo where it had been 86 years earlier . 2007 the 59fifty cap under goes the largest re design to date . making the decision to add true performance to the on field cap the innovation team works with suppliers and engineers to develop a cap the keeps the wearer cooler dryer and eliminates staining . the company then underwent a massive market clean up of all older product to allow for a clean and fresh launch globally . this trend of innovation and improvement would continue on through the rest of the decade with the interaction of the diamond era cap in 2013 . this purpose build cap was developed with the player in mind . offering new technologies and materials into the players everyday work out regiment . 2010s while new era had long been associated with the sport of baseball the company focuses on delving into football and other sports leagues . in 2012 it acquires full exclusive sideline rights for the national football league nfl . in 2013 new era signs with big bash league as their official cap provider . moving down the field even further new era signs an additional deal in 2015 with manchester united landing on soccer fields across the pond . it was announced on august 13 2016 that new era and the buffalo bills reached an agreement for naming rights for ralph wilson stadium . 1 the bills and new era officially announced the stadium s new name of new era field five days later on august 18 2016 . 2 new era will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020 . labor history edit new era has had two labor situations in its 88 year history clarification needed . one in 2001 with the communications workers of america and another in 2007 8 with the international brotherhood of teamsters . cap recalls edit in the summer of 2007 new era voluntarily pulled three styles of new york yankees hats from shelves across the country because the designs on the caps were seen to be gang related . there were three caps that stood out ; two with a bandanna like pattern around the top and one with a gold crown . brian martinez an nypd detective involved with peace on the street said bandannas represent gang flags new era is making it really convenient for gang members because now your flag is part of your hat . the patterns on the hats were similar to the flags of the crips the bloods and the latin kings