Committment

I am a fourth generation hatter.
During my 25 year career I have experienced some unusual events:
Fire has burnt our factory to the ground, destroying every piece of equipment and material. Hurricane has swept off part our roof and blown out most every window. Suppliers have gone out of business forcing us to incorporate their services into our system. Lately, the importing of cheap overseas product has flooded the marketplace and had the effect of shutting or consolidating over 70% of the independent US headwear factories.

Yet, each year, I have continued to invest in both machinery and personnel training, updating not only our process but our people as well. Our skilled and experienced workforce is cross-trained in a multitude of departments. Each department is evaluated by the operators, supervisors and administration for efficiencies and design improvements. This has led to a multitude of both factory and product innovations as leaders of the headwear industry.

Our factory was the first to offer the CoolMax™ elastic FitsAll™ sweat, the first to offer the crushable and packable SoftStraw™, the “first and only” to offer Weatherall™ water-repellency treatment to all straw and felt products, the “first and only” to offer Quickfit™ a removable Velcro™ fitted sweat, the first to show that straw could be laminated to twill, making the Uncrushable™, thereby preventing an expensive Panama hat from cracking, and also the first to make the StrawBlock™ twill underbrim to straw, providing both maximum sun protection and durability to the straw hat.

Our innovations and styling have been copied around the world. As a designer and producer of headwear I commit each day to improve in both categories of the science and art of hat-making. For four generations the KORBER factory has been known for its determined skill and perseverance. With the support of our distributors we will continue to innovate and provide our services to the trade.

Thank you,
Richard Silverstein
rick@korberhats.com