Moving crews load up equipment from Nationwide Glove Co. in Metropolis on July 16 as the factory in Metropolis has officially closed. — Planet photo by Michele Longworth
Equipment from the Metropolis location was being transported to corporate headquarters in Harrisburg.
"Nationwide Glove Co. Inc. regrets to announce the permanent closure of its Metropolis factory," said Terry Clark, president of Nationwide Glove Co. Inc.
According to Steve Barham, a former supervisor at the factory, the less than 10 employees had been laid off for the past three months in hopes that more work would materialize.
But, it did not and Barham said the decision was made to close the Metropolis factory.
In a statement from Clark, she explained the Market Street plant opened in 1978 and at one time employed about 40 local residents. Clark said Nationwide Glove, founded in Chicago in 1917, is a manufacturer of cut-and-sewn U.S. military gloves.
"Because of declining orders, largely the result of reductions in military troop strength in recent years, the company has been compelled to consolidate all its operations in its Harrisburg plant," said Clark.
Formerly the Good Luck Glove Co., Nationwide began in Metropolis in 1917 at 17th and Market streets and expanded in the 1940s to a location on Public Works Drive, which was destroyed by fire in April 2002.
According to an article published in the Planet in 2002, in its heyday, the factory was the third largest glove maker in the United States. Its primary product was work gloves, but it also produced a complete line of military gloves.
Bernard Lurie ran the company for many years. Lurie sold the business to Joseph Shmikler, who moved the operations to Marissa and Oklahoma in the early 1980s.
The United States military was the largest customer of Nationwide Glove Co. Inc. and its affiliate, Midwest Glove Co. Inc., which have manufactured gloves for American soldiers since the First World War.
Nationwide Glove Co. Inc. was originally founded by the late Harry Applebaum, a young Polish-Jewish immigrant in Chicago during World War I.
Nationwide Glove began manufacturing gloves in 1940 in Pontiac.
According to Clark, the Metropolis factory is being offered for sale by the company and inquiries may be directed to Nationwide.
"We wish Metropolis and its people success. We are thankful for having the privilege of being part of this fine community for almost 25 years," said Clark.
