The Thorogood Story
An true American success story.
The Weinbrenner Shoe Company is the achievement of Albert Weinbrenner, the son of a German immigrant and cobbler. Albert began his apprenticeship at age 13 working for his father. By his early 20's, in his spare time, Albert was designing work boots specifically for the trade jobs his friends had around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1892, at the age of 27, Albert started his own cobbler business with partner Joseph Pfeifer.
Weinbrenner and Pfeifer enjoyed immediate success - becoming
well known for the new fangled "jobber" boots they made. So, from the start, innovation and craftsmanship have been at the
heart of the company's success.
By 1908, Weinbrenner's reputation for making quality-affordable work boots expands tremendously. As a result, five distribution centers are built around the country to help insure speedy delivery of footwear to customers - this is when our famed Wing and Wheels logo is born. Back then and even more today, it symbolizes our determination to be self-relient and steadfast to react to our customer’s needs.
Leading the way through innovation.
Weinbrenner is a leading manufacturer and innovator in the footwear industry, initiating many of the significant occupational safety features that are common today. Over the last 120 years we have collected countless patents for footwear safety and comfort designs, and manufacturing technologies. In 1919, Weinbrenner was recognized for building the first self-sustaining factory in the country - with a steam generating power plant in the basement.
We are constantly exploring new opportunities to improve safety, comfort and performance in every product we make. Our benchmark for quality is high - demanding nothing less than what our customers should expect in premium handcrafted footwear.
Dedicated to quality craftsmanship.
The Weinbrenner Shoe Company is employee-owned; unique in the footwear industry. Our domestic product originates from our two manufacturing plants in northcentral Wisconsin (USA) and is managed in partnership with members of local labor unions.
