Key Takeaways
• Sourcing Footprint Expansion: World Emblem (asi/98264) is opening a Dominican Republic factory to strengthen its supply chain, improve efficiency and support North American clients.
• Diversification Trend: The move comes as more suppliers are spreading production out to more countries to mitigate tariffs and enhance manufacturing resilience.
When it comes to geographic sourcing diversification, Counselor Top 40 supplier World Emblem (asi/98264) is taking action.
The Florida-headquartered manufacturer of emblems and patches announced June 10 that it has signed a long-term lease for a new factory located in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.
“After a thorough search, we selected the Dominican Republic for its business-friendly environment, skilled workforce and proximity to our clients in the United States,” said Randy Carr, CEO of World Emblem.
World Emblem already has plants in Georgia, Texas, California, Mexico and Canada, an on-shored/near-shored network that Carr said helps provide swift production and delivery of customized emblems and multi-textured products to clients in North America. The Dominican Republic facility will further augment the sourcing footprint.
“As we look to further expand the range of products and services we provide to new and existing customers,” Carr said, “this factory will enable us to strengthen our supply chain, enhance efficiency and continue to grow the company.”
“We are delighted to welcome World Emblem to the Dominican Republic, which will provide a stable, supportive business environment for the world’s leading provider of emblems and patches.”
Victor (Ito) Bisonó, minister of industry and commerce, Dominican Republic
World Emblem said that construction of the approximately 100,000-square-foot facility is on track to begin this month, with work scheduled to wrap up in early 2026. It’s a from-the-ground-up, entirely new facility. Out of the gates World Emblem will hire 100 local people to work in the plant. With time, up to 500 jobs will be created as a result of the factory, said Carr.
“We are delighted to welcome World Emblem to the Dominican Republic, which will provide a stable, supportive business environment for the world’s leading provider of emblems and patches,” said Victor (Ito) Bisonó, minister of industry and commerce of the Dominican Republic. “With our skilled and growing workforce, strong partnership with the U.S., and proximity to World Emblem’s customers, our country is the ideal place for the company to continue to grow its business.”
World Emblem’s efforts are part of a notable promotional products industry trend that began less than a decade ago and that has picked up steam again in light of the U.S.’s 2025 import tariff initiatives: Suppliers are increasingly trying to geographically broaden their sourcing, spreading production to a greater number of countries to bulwark their supply chains and, in cases where possible, move manufacturing closer to North America.
“This new facility expands our production footprint by 15%, increases capacity, and adds a second nearshore hub to create built-in redundancy,” Carr told ASI Media. “This reduces lead times, improves responsiveness and ensures greater delivery reliability—especially in the event of geopolitical disruption, natural disasters or regional labor issues.”
Carr elaborated that the Dominican Republic offers a duty-free trade advantage under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, which he said helps the supplier sidestep recent and potential tariffs impacting imports coming from Asia. “It also gives us a strategic hedge against escalating geopolitical and trade volatility by diversifying our manufacturing risk outside of Mexico and China,” Carr told ASI Media. “This positions us to remain competitive on cost, speed and compliance—regardless of which way global trade winds blow.”
Based on reported 2023 North American promotional product revenue of $100 million, World Emblem ranked 20 on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry. The firm produces and ships 250 million products a year for sports headwear, footwear, sports garments, uniforms, and other apparel.
