"Made in America” Footwear Day

Wednesday, July 18^th, 2012

New Balance Co-Hosts News Conference in Washington, D.C. to Urge Support for Domestic Footwear Manufacturing

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Balance:

WHO:	US Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)
	US Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts)
	US Representative Michael Michaud (D-Maine)
	US Representative Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts)
	US Representative Niki Tsongas (D-Massachusetts)
	Rob DeMartini, President and CEO, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
	Raye Wentworth, New Balance Plant Manager, Norridgewock, Maine
	Brendan Melly, New Balance Plant Manager, Lawrence, Massachusetts
	Tom Luck, New Balance store owner, Ohio
	Wesley McCluney, New Balance store owner, Alabama/Georgia
	John Strojny, New Balance store owner, Delaware/Virginia/Washington DC
	New Balance manufacturing associates from Maine and Massachusetts
	Norman Cook, Executive Vice President, Kamik Footwear/Genfoot
	Joe Bichai, Vice President of Manufacturing, Kamik Footwear/Genfoot
WHAT:	US footwear manufacturer New Balance and RPFMA (Rubber and Plastic Footwear Manufacturers Association) co-host a news conference on Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of supporting domestic footwear manufacturing, and keeping jobs in the USA, in light of ongoing negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership and changes to US trade policy.
WHEN:	Wednesday, July 18, 2012
	11:30 am – 12:00 noon
WHERE:	Capitol Visitor Center - Senate Visitor’s Center (SVC) Room 214
	Washington DC
	The Capitol Visitor Center is located beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street

About New Balance

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA, has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is currently the only athletic shoe company that manufactures footwear in the U.S. with 25% of our U.S. footwear shipments produced at five New England facilities. The company also operates a manufacturing facility in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 4000 associates around the globe, and in 2011 reported worldwide sales of $2.04 billion. To learn more about how New Balance Makes Excellent Happen, please visit http://www.newbalance.com.

About RPFMA

The Rubber and Plastics Footwear Manufacturers Association (RPFMA) was formed in June 1986. Prior to that date, the industry operated for many years as the Footwear Division of the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) with offices in Washington, DC. The Association is singularly dedicated to represent the industry in domestic trade and legislative issues of importance to the members.

The primary focus is to protect the remaining US rubber footwear industry against imports by maintaining the existing duty rates on the categories of rubber (non leather) footwear still manufactured in the US by the Association's members.

The RPFMA represents almost all of the rubber and plastic footwear produced in the United States. Both the waterproof footwear segment and the fabric/plastic upper-rubber soled footwear producers are part of its membership. New Balance, the only remaining US manufacturer of athletic footwear, has been a member since 1978.