HENDERSON (KTNV) — When someone says Levi Strauss, most people wouldn't think Nevada Built. But it turns out the jeans Levi's is making at its Henderson facility are being sold around the country.
13 Action News anchor Todd Quinones went inside and shows you how you can tell if a pair of Levi's are Nevada Built.
BURNING JEANS
It is the burning issue. Laser beams being used to create designer jeans.
"This is so wild. This is amazing. It's doing it so quickly," said Todd.
"So now it's burning the pattern onto the jean," said Hazel Branch with Levi Strauss.
"I'm smelling, like, a little burn. So the jeans are actually getting burned right now?" asked Todd.
"It is," said Hazel.
In just seconds, Hazel says customers can have jeans with set patterns.
"These are the Pokémon balls, Pikachu," said Hazel
"Then this obviously, you got Disney here as well," said Todd.
YOUR OWN DESIGN
Or people can make up their own designs.
"If you go online and order something, you can put a pattern. My boss even put his face on there. So you can create your pattern and this will create that pattern for you," explained Hazel.
"Our segment is Nevada Built and when you think Levi's, you think, well, they're a global company... The one thing that's really kind of cool is if you do see patterns like this on your jeans somewhere, chances are at least pretty good they came from Henderson. Is that correct?" asked Todd.
"Yes, yes, yes. It is done right here in Henderson," confirmed Hazel.
"See that is wild and that's great," said Todd.
"We're really proud of that," said Hazel.
"I don't think people realize that. I didn't realize that," said Todd.
OVER 40 YEARS
All of this is happening inside Levi's building off St. Rose Parkway, next to the Henderson Executive Airport.
"We've been here since 1998. I mean we've been in Henderson actually over 40 years. But in this facility since 1998," said Hazel.
"And this is no small facility," said Todd.
"We can set about a little over 15 football fields in here. So it's that big," said Hazel.
Levi's ships thousands of jeans in all kinds of styles out of this building, that come from all over. But Hazel tells me this automated laser technology is only being done here in Henderson.
DONE IN SECONDS
"In the past, you had to do this by hand. So it takes a long time to get it done. But now it would take 30 seconds to get it done. So we can get it to the consumers way faster," explained Hazel.
The history of Levi Strauss goes back to the 1800s, and what's happening in this Henderson facility is considered an important part of the company's future.
RESPONDING TO MARKET DEMAND
"The styles are always changing and this is about being able to keep up with those style changes," said Todd.
"Yeah, I mean with the competition right now, it's very important for us to be agile and be able to just respond quickly to the market... So depending on what the style is with this, we can respond... Just giving the customers more control and giving them the ability to customize, personalize their apparel," said Hazel.
"It's a Levi's signature, but it's also a Henderson and Nevada-built signature, too," said Todd.
"Yes, exactly," said Hazel.
Levi's in Henderson is currently hiring. They're looking to fill dozens of positions. So if you're interested, it's a good idea to reach out to the company.
