50 years for Canadian components manufacturer
03/10/2012
The Ontario-based manufacturer started life in a small rented facility in New Hamburg, Ontario in 1962, as a supplier to the local electronics industry. It was founded by Dermot and Una Sweeny. By the mid-1960s it had begun to make steel shanks for the footwear sector and moved to new premises on the city of Waterloo in 1968.
Commitment to innovation led to the development by Swenco of the first North American-made premoulded insole in 1976.
In 2004, it set up a joint-venture to make steel toe caps for safety shoes in southern China and in 2008 developed Swen-Flex, its first non-metallic, puncture-resistant material for midsoles. It also produces Steel-Flex, a steel-based midsole that it still manufacturers in Canada.
Share this story:
