Two Harbors company makes military gear in U.S., Puerto Rico

• Granite Gear production work

Granite Gear employee John Nelson of Two Harbors removes a piece of fabric from a computer-controlled fabric cutter while producing parts for a tactical pack at the company’s facility in Two Harbors last month. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Talk about it

A few weeks ago we presented a Business Monday report on Granite Gear, a Two Harbors company celebrating 25 years in the outdoor gear business.

The July 18 story mentioned that the company had a contract making backpacks for the U.S. military, and it also reported that, as it grew, the company had shifted much of its production to Vietnam and China.

Readers called and wrote to question whether that arrangement was appropriate or even legal.

That prompted us to review the story and discover that one sentence was inadvertently deleted, leaving a misleading impression.

While the company has part of its outdoor gear made overseas, particularly in China and Vietnam, all of its military packs and gear are made of U.S. materials and are built in the United States and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, company officials say.

The company began marketing gear to the military in 2008 and now offers more than 70 kinds of packs, packing systems, medical and rescue gear and weapons cases in its tactical line. Its Chief Patrol Pack is used by Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, Naval Special Warfare teams and Green Berets.

Tags: two harbors, business, military