Dayton Manufacturing Facility Celebrates Five Years

Dayton Manufacturing Facility Celebrates Five Years

August 29, 2024 | By Mike Renfro, Director of Operations and CI at LION 

Dayton, Ohio has a special place in LION’s heart: over 125 years ago, our operations began there as a dry goods store. We still have roots there today, which is why we’re thrilled to be celebrating five years since the opening of LION’s manufacturing facility in the Gem City. 

Since we first opened our doors in 2019, our growth has been non-stop. What began as three sewing lines and one cutting line is now the facility where the turnout gear for some of the largest fire departments in the country – including the FDNY and the Chicago Fire – is crafted. Not only that, but we’ve gone from zero employees to nearly one hundred talented employees, and I’m proud to say that fourteen of the 100 have been here since day one. 

Our Dayton team is culturally diverse, representing fifteen countries and ten languages. This not only makes us unique from other similar operations in the U.S., but is also one of the driving factors of why people want to come and work with us. We encourage our team members to bond over their shared and different cultures – some of our favorite days in the office are our potlucks, where everyone brings a dish from their home country! Having such a diverse workforce isn’t just great for the delicious food we get to try; we all improve and grow when we learn from each other and work towards a common goal, too.

As we celebrate five years since our opening, one of the things we’re proudest of is our impact in the community, amongst uniformed personnel, and on American manufacturing as a whole. In Dayton, we’re always seeking opportunities to engage with local businesses, organizations, and schools, including through a Christmas donation-based raffle and supporting our peers after the devastating tornado in 2019. We work closely with the Dayton Sewing Collaborative on a number of programs and efforts, including hiring from their members and donating fabrics, and in exchange, our new hires receive crucial sewing training. We’ve hosted firefighters from Ecuador, Chile, Alaska, Hawaii, and the 48 continuous states for tours of our facility, as well as training using our gear. Additionally, all the turnout gear that we make at the Dayton facility is entirely U.S. based, and the majority of our materials are sourced here as well. Keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and in turn, providing nearly one hundred jobs to the local community, is of the utmost importance to our business. 

We’ve had a great five years and we can’t wait for what’s next. Our growth and positive impact in the community have been huge, and going forward, we hope to continue the momentum and bring in more employees, more contracts, and more jobs to Dayton. We’d like to give a thanks to the entire LION family for their support over these five years, and most importantly, to the team working daily in the Dayton facility! Thanks for all your hard work, and here’s to many more great years.