A small town like Windham and a small and rural state like Maine do not get recognized very often on a national level. However, when Windham High School graduate Michael Lyons and his manufacturing company, Rogue Industries, were asked by designer Ralph Lauren to produce 3,000 leather belts for Team USA for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Maine was put on the map.
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| Rogue Industries, led by Michael Lyons of Windham, was given almost two years of time by designer Ralph Lauren Corporation to source material and do all the preparation necessary to produce 3,000 belts worn by members of the U.S. Olympic Team during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
He grew up in Windham and graduated from Windham High School in 1977. Originally, Lyons was running a small publishing house and injured his back. His doctor told him that his back issues are because of him sitting on his bulky wallet, causing problems with his spine. Lyons set out to find a wallet that would comfortably fit in his front pocket but had no luck. So, he decided to design his own wallet, one that was curved and would comfortably fit in his front pocket.
“We kind of accidentally went into the design world of leather goods,” says Lyons. “Our original design was one wallet and one collar; now, we have more than 100 stock keeping units. We went into women’s tote bags, belts, crossbody clutches, coasters, and many more high-quality designs.”
The company’s designs drew the attention of the Ralph Lauren Corporation, who then called Rogue Industries. Lyons said he was certain that they had the wrong phone number. But Ralph Lauren officials had done their homework and knew exactly who they were speaking to.
“We were given almost two years ahead of time to source the material and do all the preparation which was necessary,” says Lyons. “Ralph Lauren was speaking to Sea Bags in Portland, asking them if they know of anyone who can make very high-quality products, and Sea Bags referred us.”
Lyons says that his first reaction to the order was one of disbelief.
“Did Ralph Lauren really want us to do something with such a huge amount of visibility,” said Lyons. “My second reaction was, we need to get to work. We did this for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, they hired us to do this as a private label effort on their behalf for the U.S. Olympic Team. Our customer here was the Ralph Lauren Corporation.”
Ralph Lauren partnered with many manufacturers across the United States to produce Team USA’s uniform, including Rogue Industries, which assembled and manufactured Ralph Lauren’s Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies Webb Belt.
“What they did is they went out and worked with only eight other companies across the United States such as Rancourt in Lewiston who made shoes for Team USA, so there were two of us from Maine,” says Lyons. “They would then go to different companies for the jackets, for the shirts, and for the pants.”
Every single component, and absolutely every single detail that was used in the making of these belts had to be sourced from the United States.
“The hard part was not so much the as actual production as much as it was finding the right suppliers,” says Lyons.
According to Lyons, the thread, the leather, the cotton webbing, and every single component had to be obtained from a company located in the United States.
“Finding companies that still make product in the United States is incredibly challenging,” says Lyons.
Once all the components were found and once the production of the belts was started, it took Rogue Industries about 120 days to complete the belts for Ralph Lauren Corporation.
If there is a lesson for us to take away from this, it is that hard work pays off, and Michael Lyons and Rogue Industries are proof of that. Their company’s motto is “Quality or Quantity” and that was evident for all to see during the Olympic Games earlier this month in France. <
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