'Real American flags' stitched in Carson City manufacturing site

The striping machine at North Bay Industries' Carson City manufacturing site at 715 Industrial Park Drive stitches together long rows of red and white fabric, accounting for seven short stripes that sit beside the stars and the six long stripes lining the bottom of the American flag.

The striping machine at North Bay Industries' Carson City manufacturing site at 715 Industrial Park Drive stitches together long rows of red and white fabric, accounting for seven short stripes that sit beside the stars and the six long stripes lining the bottom of the American flag. Photo by Faith Evans.

By Faith Evans

Friday, September 24, 2021

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North Bay Industries might have the most patriotic manufacturing site in Carson City.

Tables draped with red and white stripes, boxes and laundry carts filled with star-spangled banners — from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, the location is filled to the brim with handmade American flags.

“These flags are 100 certified cotton grown in the United States. American brass in the gromets. One-hundred percent made right here,” CEO Robert Hutt told the Nevada Appeal. “It’s the real American flag.”

Hutt opened NBI’s Carson City facility in February 2020, and he’s been hiring all through the pandemic.

NBI is a California-based nonprofit serving adults with disabilities and helping them find work. NBI was established in 1968, and Hutt took over as CEO in 1996.

Every month, he delivers 6,912 flags to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Unlike the Department of Defense, the VA requires that any flags sent to veterans’ families be sourced and assembled entirely in the United States.

Hutt runs the only operation on the west side of the Mississippi River that meets the VA’s standards, offering all-American flags.

Flags that are ready to be shipped are packed individually into cardboard boxes so that the U.S. Postal Service can send them directly to veterans’ families. Photo: Faith Evans/Nevada Appeal

 

As a government contractor, he’s had more job stability for himself and his employees through the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean it’s been a cake walk.

“The most challenging thing through the pandemic has been employee attendance because, understandably so, employees are worried,” Hutt told the Appeal. “Even now, we miss about 30 percent of our workforce every day.”

He said that he’s been taking greater precautions to help his staff feel safer coming to work. He has enforced daily temperature checks and mask-wearing, even when it wasn’t required by the state.

Despite the rocky pandemic start, Hutt added he has still enjoyed his time in Carson City so far. He’s hoping to move more of his products to the city and steadily increase employment.

“We’re really proud to make the flag here. I think a lot of employees take pride in what we do,” he said.

Because he calls his product the "real American flag," Hutt runs his website at www.realamericanflag.com. Visit his site for details about the flag making process, caring for flags, or to purchase a flag.

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