Tredair

Tredair is a brand of British-made footwear produced by White & Co., a shoe design company in Northamptonshire. The company ran factories from 1890 to 2003 making classic men's footwear, sports footwear, cricketing shoes, utility footwear to government specification during the early 1940s, a military contract for the Australian Army, and safety footwear employing significant numbers of people at White's Shoe Works in Daventry town centre, then in the village of Earl's Barton at a 1960s ex-Barker's factory on Station Road. Until 1983, when the Dr Martens brand changed ownership, White & Co shared the work of producing Dr. Martens boots with companies including George Cox, NPS, Hawkins, and near-neighbours WJ Brookes. For a short time from then until the contract expired they produced boots labelled "Dr Martens Tredair", and then "Tredair" using their own patented foam-injection system to make a bouncier mid-sole than the traditionalfelt. Their patent number was 2292878B. Gripfast shoes were made by the same company.

In 2003 the company adopted a felt and foam combination for their mid soles, and closed the factory to move remaining production to NPS, a former cooperative, which continues to make shoes in the UK town of Woolaston. Since Dr. Martens moved their production to China in 2003, British manufacturers like Tredair and Solovair have become more sought after.

External links

White and Co's Tredair website Photos and survey of the Station Road factory before demolition for a housing development.