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Article: He wins when folks pedal with DeFeet.(PEOPLE, Shane Cooper )(Biography)
- Article from:
- Business North Carolina
- Article date:
- November 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Business North Carolina. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Nine years after he started Hildebran-based DeFeet International Inc., Shane Cooper watched his 25,000-square-foot apparel factory burn. The fire broke out Oct. 20, 2001, when a fluorescent-light ballast overheated and exploded. "It's hard to watch nine years of business burning out of control and not know what you're going to do."
Today, DeFeet has more than twice its original space and is back making socks for cyclists, runners and snow skiers. It also makes apparel such as cycling jerseys and bibs.
Cooper, 41, grew up in the textile and apparel business. In 1967, his father brought the family from England to the United States and serviced knitting ...