HORD’S CONTAINER SERVICE (704) 466-6008 Volume 135 • Issue 29
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
kmherald.com • 704-484-1047
75¢
Appalachian Gear Company ramps up production with new KM facility Appalachian Gear Company, an outdoor lifestyle company specializing in American-made performance apparel and gear, is proud to announce its expansion into a new manufacturing facility in Kings Mountain. The move allows the brand to significantly increase production of its award-winning All-Paca™ products, while creating jobs in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Over the past 30 years, Appalachian Gear Company’s founders watched apparel manufacturing leave the United States. Since getting started in Charlotte in 2018, App Gear Co has always manufactured 100% of its fabric in its own facility, with product assembly taking place at various factories across the Southeastern U.S. As demand grew for the brand’s unique performance Hoodies, Crews, accessories, and gear, it became clear it was time to find a larger space that could accommodate the pace of manufacturing needed to
Workers install machinery in new Kings Mountain facility. Photos by Appalachian Gear Company
Pictured left to right: John Gage and Mike Hawkins in the new KM plant. keep up. As a result, App Gear Co’s founders returned to their roots and relocated
to historic Kings Mountain, where they started their first-ever manufacturing op-
eration. By staying in North Carolina, App Gear Co is able to have better oversight of the manufacturing process, ensure the production of higher quality garments and gear, and guarantee employees have a safe working environment. “App Gear Co really started growing two years
ago as more people began to find out about us, and then COVID struck,” says John Gage, co-founder of Appalachian Gear Company. “Ironically, 2020 was the year that our brand’s public awareness exploded, and we really struggled to keep up with demand in the face of global supply chain issues
that impacted our flow of raw material from Peru. I know to a lot of folks, the decision to find a bigger, better space to grow our business in the midst of all that was unthinkable, but we just see it as staying true to the entrepreneurial spirit that helped us start the brand See FACILITY, Page 4A
Butler continues the family’s reputation for quality auto service By Loretta Cozart
Attention to detail in the brickwork and color set the home apart as one built by a man of wealth. Photos by Loretta Cozart
When Mike Butler decided to open Butler’s Garage in 1995, little did he know that his son, Bryan, who was about to graduate college at UNC-Charlotte, would follow in his footsteps twenty-four years later. Mike started the business after taking early retirement from Winn-Dixie when the Kings Mountain store announced it was closing. He opened a onebay garage at 205 E. King Street and over the years, the business expanded to three-bays. “Opening a garage wasn’t such a far reach for my dad. His father, Claude ‘Smokie’ Butler, was a backyard mechanic who taught his kids mechanical See BUTLER, Page 4A
Library renovations now complete City of Kings Mountain adopts new Unified Development Ordinance By Loretta Cozart
During the last year, Mauney Memorial Library has undergone some much needed renovations, including a new roof, plasterwork, paint, window restoration, new storm windows, and
new flooring. The efforts taken by the city have returned the luster to this community landmark. One of the first projects was to restore the windows throughout the home, and there are more than forty of them. Each window had to be removed and taken offsite to clean, remove years of old paint, repaint, and See LIBRARY, Page 5A
By Kimberly Herndon, Senior Planner, City of Kings Mountain Planning Department
On Tuesday, June 29, City Council adopted the City of Kings Mountain Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO provides regula-
Pictured left to right: Mike and Bryan Butler in front of the new eight-bay facility at 404 E. King Street. Photo by Loretta Cozart
tions for land use and development in the City of Kings Mountain and its Extra Territorial Jurisdiction. The new ordinance replaces the City of Kings
Mountain Zoning Ordinance, originally adopted in December of 1996, and the City of Kings Mountain Subdivision Ordinance, originally adopted in April of 1996, and all of the subsequent amendments. These ordinances had long served the community. With changing times, it was time
for the ordinances to changes as well. The need for a UDO came about as a result of a number of factors. In 2019, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted a complete reorganization of the state’s planning and development See ORDINANCE, Page 8A
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