Barbour Corporation

Barbour Corporation, originally known as the Brockton Rand Co, was founded in 1892 by John Barbour. At that time, Barbour manufactured several leather shoe components. During the early part of the twentieth century, the focus of the business became Barbour's famous leather shoe welting. Barbour Welting Company was an innovator in its field, patenting many inventions that aided the U.S. shoe industry’s growth to a position of world dominance in the last century. A little known fact is that most of the American soldiers who fought in both World Wars I and II went to battle in combat boots constructed with Barbour Welting. Barbour also contributed to the war effort by manufacturing woolen fabric products such as blankets, though these activities were discontinued after the war. Today Barbour Welting Company is the only remaining manufacturer of leather shoe welting in the U.S. and Canada. The company continues to prosper in the 21st century thanks to worldwide demand for its superior quality products.  Over the years, the activities of the business have changed and evolved. In the 1960's we began manufacturing and merchandising finished vegetable-tanned leather for men's belts, briefcases, women’s handbags and other leather accessories. This division was sold in 1998. In 1971, we entered the field of plastics to satisfy a growing demand for a lower cost alternative to leather welting. In the early eighties, we saw other opportunities in plastics, which led to diversifications into other market segments. Barbour Plastics, Inc. currently has the most extensive line of extruded moldings, trims, and components for the boat-building industry. Other diversification projects followed, leading to what is today a manufacturing operation serving a multitude of OEM applications in many industries.