In a corner of Kentucky just outside of Louisville, family-owned shoe company Keen is opening a new factory this month.
The move fits neatly into the "America First" economic vision championed by the Trump administration - an emblem of hope for a manufacturing renaissance long promised but rarely realised. Yet beneath the surface, Keen's new factory tells a far more complicated story about what manufacturing in America really looks like today.
With just 24 employees on site, the factory relies heavily on automation -sophisticated robots that fuse soles and trim materials - underscoring a transformation in how goods are made today.
Manufacturing is no longer the labour-intensive engine of prosperity it once was, but a capital-heavy, high-tech enterprise.
To my knowledge, and as somewhat reflected in the article, they're not even really made in America, but this is mainly just where foreign manufacture pieces are assembled.
The article does address that a little more, showing Keen is working on trying to source more US made parts, but due to the limited manufacturing here and its increased labor cost, that's a challenge.
I'm on my third set of Keens, and they are far and away my favorite work boots. I've had one of the higher end non-US ones and 2 US ones. They've all been amazing, but the width of my most recent pair feels like it was made on a narrower last, but it's also my first leather pair, so they may just need more break in.