Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) is bringing the production of their children’s toy and moldable putty, Play-Doh, back to the United States. Play-Doh was last produced in the United States in 2004 and has been outsourced since. Now, Hasbro looks to add a production facility in East Long Meadow, Massachusetts in addition to current factories in China and Turkey.
Executives of Hasbro say the decision does not relate to President Trump’s plans to bring back manufacturing to the United States. Rather, the new United States manufacturing plant, expected to be in production as early as the latter half of 2018, is being built to accommodate increased Play-Doh demand in the past five years.
The Wall Street Journal says more than 3 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold in its history and Hasbro produces 500 million cans a year. The company employs 5,400 globally and about 2,600 of their employees are located in the United States.
First used to clean wall paper, Joe McViker of Rainbow Crafts Company re-created Play-Doh as a children’s toy. When Hasbro acquired his company in 1991, it became one of their core brands.
Hasbro’s shares gained 0.94%, closing at $97.78, on Friday. Today, the company closed down 0.26% to $97.53.
On response of the news release, Hasbro Chief Executive Brian Goldner stated, “We’re not replacing volume, we’re adding volume.”
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