From the beginning, Portsmouth, Ohio settled in the early 1800s, was a manufacturing town. After the Civil War, it became a center for shoemaking and by the turn of the century, was home to big companies like the Selby Shoe Company.
In the 1890s, Charles Mitchell developed a machine to dispense shoelaces. The machine impressed management at Selby's so much that a representative of the company convinced Charles to move to Portsmouth to manufacture his machine.
| 1902 |
Mitchellace was started by assembling shoelace dispensing machines. |
| 1903 |
Mitchellace took over the actual manufacture of the machines in its own factory. Soon the company decided to make its own shoelaces and purchased six new, revolutionary braiding machines. D.D. “Dave” Mitchell joined the company and was one of the first people to learn the operation of the braiding machine. |
| 1909 |
Shoelaces became the company's major product and the manufacture of the dispensing machines was discontinued. |
| 1912 |
Dave took over the factory and ran Mitchellace for the next 50 years. |
| 1959 |
Dave contracted with Tye-Rite, Inc. to manufacture packaged shoelaces for the retail trade.
This arrangement resulted in the first line of blister packed shoelaces marketed in the country. |
| 1962 |
Mr. Kerry Keating, husband of Dave Mitchell's granddaughter, Vicky, assumed management of the company when Dave passed away in 1962. |
| 1964 |
The Marsh Shoe Lace Company of Los Angeles, California was acquired. Equipment was moved to Portsmouth. |
| 1967 |
The Diamond Braiding Mills of Tarpon Springs, Florida was purchased. This acquisition increased manufacturing capacity by 50%. |
| 1969 |
Kerry Keating and Sylvan Orloff purchased controlling interest in Mitchellace, Inc.
Later, Mitchellace, Inc. acquired Tye-Rite, Inc. of Des Moines, Iowa. This acquisition combined sales with manufacturing, creating a strong management team. |
| 1971 |
Mitchellace acquired the Joyal & Van Dale Company, increasing manufacturing capacity by almost 70%. This made Mitchellace a major source of supply to both packaged shoelace customers and shoe manufacturers. |
| 1979 |
Mitchellace purchased the former Williams Manufacturing Company building on Murray Street and moved hundreds of braiding machines right across the road from a three story brick building on Eighth Street to the 365,000 square foot, 6 story building. Kerry brought his three sons on board in the business. |
| 1980 |
Many shoe companies began moving production overseas and the industry shifted. Mitchellace became a more direct supplier to the retail trade and concentrated heavily on packaging. |
| 1985 |
Kerry Keating acquired controlling interest in the company. |
| 1990 |
Shoelace manufacturing and sales continue to increase. |
| 1991 |
Shine Rite, a complete line of shoe polish was introduced allowing Mitchellace to offer our customers a complete Shoe Care Program. |
| 1996 |
Expansion of Mitchellace began with the construction of a manufacturing facility in Honduras. |
| 2002 |
Kerry Keating's sons Steve, Tom and Mitch Keating acquired controlling interest in the company. |
| 2003 |
Expansion of Mitchellace continues with the purchase of the General Shoelace Company, William Jette, Inc. and Milton Fabrics. |
| 2004 |
Mitchellace achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification. |
| Today |
Mitchellace is one of the largest shoelace manufacturers in the world, producing over four million pairs per week. Shoelaces are not the only product, however. New products are produced every week and much of our growth is projected to come from the area of webbings and industrial braids. Webbings are commonly used as carry straps for bags or products that resemble flat roping such as for use in the marine industry. We also anticipate some inroads with automobile manufacturers for products like seat belts or cording used in SUVs. |
