New Balance, San Antonio Shoemakers win $156.9 million in military contracts

New Balance and San Antonio Shoemakers were each awarded a three-year contract to provide training shoes for military recruits. U.S. Air Force basic trainees receive their initial gear, including athletic shoes, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, in February 2019. (Sarayuth Pinthong/U.S. Air Force) The Defense Logistics Agency has awarded two U.S. athletic shoe manufacturers contracts worth a combined $156.9 million to provide training shoes for military recruits through 2029. The agency’s Troop Support division awarded San Antonio Shoemakers and New Balance Athletics Inc. three-year, fixed-price contracts for an indefinite number of shoes, according to a Sept. 17 news release on the Pentagon’s website. San Antonio Shoemakers received the larger contract, worth $98 million, to continue supplying its SAS Mission One athletic shoes to the military.

The Texas-based company received a $90.5 million contract in 2023 that expired March 21. It got its first government contract in 2017. New Balance received a contract worth nearly $58.9 million and is expected to begin supplying its Made in USA 0430 athletic shoe next year, according to the company’s Sept. 18 news release. “New Balance is proud to have been awarded this contract to provide our U.S. service members with our specialized Made in USA 0430 athletic footwear for basic training,” Kevin McCoy, a company vice president, said in the release. A collection