St. Charles County has approved an expansion of a Nike subsidiary building that makes soles for their footwear.
This week, St. Charles County officials approved Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation’s 75,000-square-foot expansion that would manufacture Nike’s AIR technology, the sole of Nike’s shoes that allow the shoe to be more lightweight and cushioned.
Nike states the AIR soles allow the shoes to compress to reduce the force of impact and are made up of pressurized air inside a tough, flexible bag.
The facility located at 8 Research Park Drive in the Missouri Research Park is only one of two in the United States that makes the soles for the company and employs 640 employees.
According to the St. Louis Business Journal, the building is owned by Nike when they bought the facility in 2006 from the University of Missouri. Currently, the building has a value of $10.8 million.