Aalfs Manufacturing

             Over 100 Years of Success...
                  A Brief History

• 1892 Mr. H.A. Baker begins manufacturing overalls, pants, and shirts, occupying 7,500 square feet of a building located on Fourth Street between Jones and Jennings Streets in Sioux City, Iowa. 

• 1929 The Baker Company moves into the Boston Block that Aalfs Manufacturing continues to occupy. At that time Aalfs Paint and Glass owned the building and occupied most of the first two floors. 

• 1939 On December 1, 1939, the Company becomes the Aalfs-Baker Manufacturing Company, with Mr. Wilbur Aalfs as president. 
* A 1941 catalog listed over 75 major items that were sold by Aalfs-Baker, including shirts, pants, sweaters, ties, shoe strings, gloves, caps, suspenders, etc.
* During World War II, denim was sold on an allotment basis. Since the Aalfs-Baker Company was newly organized, and showed a lot of promise of success, they were sold enough denim to keep the Company producing.
* The Company maintained good relations with suppliers, and as the Company demonstrated that it could produce a quality garment, the availability and supply of denim became more plentiful. Some of the garments produced during the war years went to the military services in the form of pants and fatigue shirts.

• 1943	The first contract with JCPenney is established. 
*A sewing plant is opened in Le Mars, Iowa. Over the course of the next fifty years Aalfs would open manufacturing plants in:
- Sheldon: A sewing facility in 1955.
- Spencer: A sewing facility in 1962.
- Bridgeport Complex (Sioux City): A complete cutting, sewing, laundry, finishing, and distribution center facility was opened in 1977.
- Yankton: A press/finishing facility in 1993.

• 1952	The wholesaling of additional lines of men’s furnishings is discontinued and the sales department is eliminated. The Company begins manufacturing jeans exclusively. 
*The Company continues to enjoy expansion, as the demand from JCPenney as well as the availability of materials continue to grow.

• 1959 The Aalfs-Baker Manufacturing Company officially becomes Aalfs Manufacturing Company.

• 1985 Aalfs opens its first plant in Arkansas in Mena. Soon after, four additional Arkansas plants were also opened:
- Arkadelphia: A sewing facility opened in 1988.
- Malvern: A sewing facility opened in 1990.
- Glenwood: A sewing facility opened in 1993.
- Texarkana: A distribution center opened in 1994.

• 1999 Aalfs closes all five manufacturing facilities in Iowa and South Dakota. 

• 2001 Aalfs closes the manufacturing facilities in Mena, Arkadelphia, Malvern, and Glenwood, Arkansas. A new product development center is created and implemented in the Mena facility. 

• 2002 Aalfs consolidates warehousing operations by relocating its’ distribution center back to Mena, Arkansas. The Texarkana, Arkansas, distribution center is closed in March. 

• Today Aalfs produces top quality garments for such companies as JCPenney, Tommy Hilfiger, GAP, Old Navy, and Harley Davidson, just to name a few. With our Corporate office in Sioux City, Iowa, Sales and Marketing office in Dallas, Texas, Distribution Center in Mena, Arkansas, and manufacturing partnerships in Mexico (seven), Aalfs Manufacturing continues to look forward to another 100 years of success.

COMPANY EXECUTIVES 

Chief Executive Officer - John “Jack” Aalfs 
President - Brad Fritts
VP of Finance - Barbara Benson
VP of Marketing - Neal Stringer
VP of Production Planning – Larry Ney
VP of Administration - Doug Boden
VP of Corporate Assets - Andy Rodawig
VP of Operations - Mike Hoagland
VP of Sales - George Wiederecht