Weinbrenner Shoe

What Weinbrenner Shoe does

Weinbrenner Shoe Company is a private, employee-owned American manufacturer of occupational work boots founded in 1892 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and now headquartered in Merrill, Wisconsin. The company designs, manufactures, and sells job-fitted footwear under its Thorogood brand, introduced in 1917, with styles engineered for specific trades including mining, quarrying, agriculture, railroad, foundry, and oil and gas drilling. Its core product is durable, occupation-specific work boots where functional differentiation comes from trade-specific design rather than fashion or technology.

The company operates domestic manufacturing facilities in Merrill and Marshfield, Wisconsin, with a new $14.5 million, 70,000-square-foot purpose-built factory opened in Marshfield in June 2026 to replace a 1935-era plant. Production is performed by a unionized workforce organized under UFCW locals #688 and #717, and the company has held continuous U.S. manufacturing operations since the 1930s. Ownership is held by employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) established in 2000, with no external parent company or institutional investor disclosed.

Weinbrenner distributes primarily through an authorized B2B dealer and reseller network that requires verified dealer accounts, and in 2026 added a direct-to-consumer flagship retail store co-located with the new Marshfield facility. Pricing is negotiated through dealers rather than published publicly. The company does not disclose revenue or financial results, and its operations are concentrated in Wisconsin with end customers distributed across multiple U.S. occupational segments.

Name

Weinbrenner Shoe

Legal name

Weinbrenner Shoe Company

Website

https://weinbrennerusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1892

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Weinbrenner Shoe Company is an employee-owned U.S. manufacturer of Thorogood brand job-fitted work boots, founded in 1892 and operating Wisconsin factories serving occupational segments including mining, agriculture, railroad, foundry, and oil and gas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Work Boots

NAICS

Footwear Manufacturing (3162), Footwear Manufacturing (31621)

SIC

Footwear, (No Rubber) (3140), Leather & Leather Products (3100), Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments (2320)

akta.pro primary industry

Work, Safety & Protective Footwear Manufacturing (Steel-Toe/ESD/Slip-Resistant) (IMAOAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Work, Safety & Occupational Footwear (CRAAACAE), Boot Manufacturing (Work/Fashion/Western/Combat) (IMAOAIAF)

Keywords

• Work boots
• Occupational footwear
• Safety boots
• Job-fitted footwear
• American-made boots

Headquarters

HQ city

Merrill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Work Boot and Footwear Sales: Primary revenue from manufacturing and selling job-fitted work boots and occupational footwear under the Thorogood brand. Products are designed for specific trades and professions requiring durable, comfortable footwear.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Weinbrenner Shoe Company manufactures and sells job-fitted work boots and occupational footwear under the Thorogood brand, which was introduced in 1917. The company designs boots tailored to specific occupations including miners, quarry workers, farmers, railroad workers, foundry workers, and oil well drillers, with a focus on durability, comfort, and performance. Production occurs at the company's Wisconsin-based facilities under an employee-owned ESOP structure.

Product overview

Weinbrenner Shoe Company is an employee-owned American manufacturer specializing in job-fitted work boots and footwear. The company's primary product offering is the Thorogood Footwear brand, introduced in 1917, which produces occupation-specific work boots designed for durability, comfort, and performance. Weinbrenner operates domestic manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Marshfield, and Merrill locations) and has maintained a commitment to American-made production since its founding in 1892. The company serves various trade industries including mining, quarrying, farming, railroad, foundry, and oil drilling sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Thorogood: Job-fitted work boot brand introduced in 1917, designed for specific occupations including miners, quarry workers, farmers, railroad workers, foundry workers, and oil well drillers. Currently the leading footwear brand in its markets.

Products and services

• Thorogood Footwear Job-fitted work boots designed for comfort and performance, including styles tailored for specific occupations such as miners, quarry workers, farmers, railroad workers, foundry workers, and oil well drillers. The leading footwear brand in its markets, manufactured domestically in Wisconsin.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Wolverine World Wide: Publicly held footwear company owning work and heritage brands including Wolverine, Harley-Davidson Footwear, and Cat Footwear, with significant work-boot exposure and dealer/retail distribution overlapping Thorogood's channels.
• Caterpillar Footwear (CAT Footwear): Licensed work and casual footwear built on the Caterpillar brand, distributed by Wolverine World Wide; directly competes with Thorogood in the work-boot segment serving construction, industrial, and trades workers.
• Danner Boots: Heritage American work and outdoor boot brand (owned by LaCrosse Footwear) manufacturing occupational, hunting, and uniform footwear in the U.S., with a comparable job-fitted heritage and dealer/DTC retail model to Weinbrenner.
• KEEN Utility: Work and safety footwear line of KEEN, a privately held American footwear company; competes in occupational and safety boot categories with overlapping industrial and trades customer segments.
• Georgia Boot: Work boot brand under Rocky Brands focused on farm, ranch, and industrial occupations; shares the same occupational buyer base (farmers, oil workers) and dealer-led distribution channel as Thorogood.
• Red Wing Shoes: Privately held American work boot manufacturer founded in 1905, also serving industrial and occupational trades with a strong domestic manufacturing footprint and dealer-based distribution model directly comparable to Weinbrenner/Thorogood.
• Rocky Brands: Publicly traded maker of Rocky, Georgia Boot, and Durango work and western footwear, with comparable occupational and western boot lines and similar dealer-based distribution; competes directly with Thorogood in the work-boot category.

Regional players

• Justin Boots: Western and work boot brand under Berkshire Hathaway's Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Footwear, with strong overlap in occupational, agricultural, and oilfield footwear markets common to Thorogood's core customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Timberland PRO: Work-focused sub-brand of Timberland (owned by VF Corporation), offering occupational and safety footwear to industrial buyers with a much larger corporate parent and broader portfolio; competes in the same end markets as Thorogood.

Others

• Carhartt: Privately held American workwear brand whose boots and rugged apparel serve the same skilled-trades and industrial buyer base; not a direct footwear competitor at Weinbrenner's scale, but an ecosystem partner/adjacent brand frequently cross-shopped with Thorogood.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thorogoodshoes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Weinbrenner Shoe