KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sandlot Goods, a versatile textile manufacturer of personal accessories and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), is pleased to announce the launch of a new baseball hat manufacturing line. Over the past several months, Sandlot’s team of 25 has been acquiring the machinery and knowledge needed to manufacture hats, a longtime dream of founder and owner Chad Hickman. “With most major hat manufacturers moving their production overseas, there is a space and a need for a classic American made ball cap. I’m a hat wearer, always have been, so the dream of making hats came naturally to me. We’ll start with a casual wool leather strap back with the hope of someday making an on-field hat worthy of the MLB.”
That dream has now been realized. Sandlot begins selling their first felt baseball hats this week. Beginning as rolls of wool felt, each hat comes into being through an intensive 25-step process, punctuated by the final button on top. From raw materials to a finished product, the new baseball hat line creates a robust manufacturing channel that shows substantial potential both within the Kansas City market and beyond.
Since its founding in 2013, Sandlot has promised long-lasting durability in products that grow better with time, most evidenced by an exclusively USA-made line of leather goods that patina with use. As Sandlot’s expertise and product lines have grown, this new product line marks a new beginning for the growing manufacturing company.
As a testament to the creative culture in Kansas City, and the renewal of local manufacturing, Sandlot is debuting its new baseball hat line that reimagines the original Baldwin KC hat design. Recognizing the impact Baldwin’s designs had on the KC community, and the importance of respecting intellectual property, Sandlot, through its partners Made in KC, contacted Baldwin’s legal representative who confirmed that there was nothing Baldwin could identify that would prevent Sandlot and Made in KC from beginning to make their version of the KC logo hat. Sandlot is excited to build upon the legacy of an iconic KC branded product, and will add multiple unique design elements that are only possible through owning the entire manufacturing process.
The next generation KC Hat will be distinctly Sandlot, and Sandlot is excited to share this product with the Kansas City community.