Annapolis-based Made Plus makes use of additive manufacturing, and its CEO believes its primed for growth.
Shoe manufacturer Alan Guyan believes that every step matters.
The founder and owner of Maryland-based Made Plus prioritizes this for the young company’s activewear shoe customers. He also applies the “every step matters” principle in the Made Plus manufacturing process used to create his sustainable and comfortable brand of active lifestyle footwear.
“We took a 300-plus step process and reduced it down to 50 steps,” said 46-year-old Guyan.
Made Plus focuses on comfort, design and sustainability and does all its manufacturing in a small shop in Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay city that is home to the United States Naval Academy. A nearly 10-year veteran of the shoe division at Under Armour, Guyan decided to bring his 3D additive manufacturing expertise to his own startup company that is closer to American consumers.
“I just saw the value of trying shoes, the way we make footwear for consumers and saving a lot of waste in the process,” said founder and CEO Guyan. “I wanted to have more hands on the product through the entire process to allow me to make changes and adjust the go-to market strategy on what we buy and make.
“Having manufacturing at my fingertips is a very key aspect of the business. One, for innovation; two, for better marketing; and three, for being able to change real time in season, unlike other brands that work on an 18-to-24-month calendar.”
Guyan began planning and raising capital for Made Plus in 2021. By June 2023, he had built a factory and product line and began selling his active wear shoes online. The first two successful product lines were the Skiff1 and Skiff2 shoes, so named because of the extensive boating community in Annapolis.
Made Plus skiff shoes are a quick-drying, breathable knitted upper and a non-marking rubber outsole. Each pair is made with 100% recycled yarn, repurposing 6.5 plastic water bottles.
Currently, Made Plus offers shoes for casual wear, boating and pickleball. The Plus in Made Plus comes in as the fledgling company offers its footwear in additional categories such as Made Plus Outdoor, Made Plus Run, and Made Plus Pickleball.
“We have three SKUs (stock keeping units) right now,” said Guyan. “The Skiff1, which is a hybrid active/lifestyle shoe. We have the Skiff2, which is more of a performance active/lifestyle. And the Bangr, which is a pickleball version and is really made for all racket sports.
“We are about to launch another pickleball shoe and a running shoe which will be our first in the running shoe category. Launch date will probably be sometime in December.”
Approximately 80% of the shoe’s construction is the knitted upper part, which is made from American-sourced raw yarn that is retwisted in Annapolis and put on a knitting machine that knits the flat textile uppers into shape.
“We go through a series of bonding and stitching processes and then we lick and stick the bottom outer sole to create a finished product,” said Guyan. “We’ve streamlined the process and create very little waste.”
Unfortunately, the rubber bottoms and soles are imported.
“There is no supply chain in the United States to supply rubber for us. It doesn’t exist,” said Guyan. “We would love to buy domestically sourced rubber outer soles at fair market value price, but the reality is that it doesn’t exist.
“Now, in the future we may build a supply chain selfishly for ourselves and some of the major rubber companies are considering bringing some domestic supply into the states, but right now that is a service designed for military boots, and not the athletic space.”
Boston-based New Balance offers a line of shoes that are made in the United States and worn by the U.S. military, but the bulk of its collections are sourced from overseas. The overall success of the New Balance brand helps to subsize its American made shoe manufacturing.
Guyan sees a parallel between New Balance and his Made Plus footwear.
“If any company is close to us in what we do, it is New Balance,” said Guyan. “New Balance owns its own factories, and similar to what we do they import some goods, finished or not, and then they do the assembly. That is only about 10% of their overall unit production that is done in the states. 100% of our production is done in the states.
“Our yarn is sourced local, which is the majority of the shoe body. The textile upper, that is actually knitted and retwisted in our factory and all assembled and made here. We are not bringing in finished shoes.”
While Made Plus keeps some of its more popular colored shoes in stock, a customer’s request is often made to order, which reduces overproduction waste. Through the Made Plus website, customers can design their preferred shoes with a color choice, designs, accents, and logos. There are millions of possible combinations.
The use of REPREVE recycled yarn and fabric is what gives Made Plus shoes their lightweight, breathable feel while keeping plastic waste out of landfills and oceans. The factory generates only a small amount of scrap and any that accumulates is used for prototypes and material testing.
Made Plus is on a favorable growth pattern and is ready to expand. There are 15 people employed in its shoemaking factory, but a larger manufacturing capability is in plans for the near future.
“We have been doubling revenue since we started. We are equipped to be modular-scaled,” said Guyan. “Right now, we are at a function point where we need to scale bigger and to sell more shoes. We need to get bigger.
“Right now we are focused on active lifestyle, which can mean from the office to the sailing or boating community. It can be office casual. It can be team sports. Or it can be racket sports.”
Made Plus shoes are available in a large assortment of colors and have only a + sign graphic stitched near the laces to identify the brand. They look sleek and clean with minimal accents unless, of course, you prefer to custom order a particular look.
“We are extremely committed to making stuff in America. We spent a fortune doing it, and we are continuing to spend a fortune to continue to do it,” said Guyan. “We are very committed to the United States and are very committed to making shoes in the United States and employing our community and team members.”
Guyan is aware of the obstacles of shoe manufacturing in America and knows it will take years of building the brand before it becomes a major competitor to the Nike, adidas and Hoka brands.
But he is confident in his strategy.
“We take market share is how we compete,” he said. “We remove market share they are not serving and we take that piece. As we continue to grow, we take more of that piece. We get more mature; we look at another category that they are underserving and take more of that.
“This is how this business works because the market has already been served in some cases. People are getting their footwear and now it is our job to be aggressive, play offense and come and take it.”
Made Plus shoes are competitively priced in the luxury footwear space and sell from $165 to $200. Made Plus has a retail store in downtown Annapolis but most sales are from online customers. To shop for Made Plus go to www.madeplus.com
The Alliance for American Manufacturing does not receive a commission from purchases made through the above links, nor was the organization or author paid for favorable coverage.
Labeling Note: This story is intended to highlight companies that support American jobs and that make great products in the United States. We rely on the companies listed to provide accurate information regarding their domestic operations and their products. Each company featured is individually responsible for labeling and advertising their products according to applicable standards, such as the Federal Trade Commission’s “Made in USA” standard or California’s “Made in USA” labeling law. We do not review individual products for compliance or claim that because a company is listed in the guide that their products comply with specific labeling or advertising standards. Our focus is on supporting companies that create American jobs.
For more on the Federal Trade Commission’s standards for “Made in USA” claims and California’s “Made in USA” labeling law, please also read this guest post by Dustin Painter and Kristi Wolff of Kelly Drye & Warren, LLP.