Local Enterprise & Jobs

Kitsbow was a cycling apparel company that relocated its manufacturing to Old Fort, North Carolina, bringing domestic made-to-order production and dozens of jobs to a rural Appalachian community.

For decades, Old Fort, North Carolina, experienced the decline of the manufacturing economy that once sustained many small Appalachian communities. In 2019, Kitsbow Cycling Apparel chose a different path, relocating its manufacturing operation from California to the former Parker Hosiery building in Old Fort. The company built its business around domestic, made-to-order apparel production at a time when most apparel manufacturing had moved overseas. The move brought dozens of jobs to the community, offering competitive wages, health benefits, and opportunities for employee ownership. When COVID-19 disrupted communities across the country, Kitsbow pivoted production to manufacture personal protective equipment for frontline workers, delivering nearly 88,000 masks and face shields in a matter of days.

In 2022, Abundance Angels recommended a total of $40,000 across two convertible note investments. The capital supported a company working to demonstrate that manufacturing jobs could still be created and sustained in rural America.