A-B Emblem’s decades of experience making patches for the U.S. military branches didn’t prepare it for the 2019 launch of Space Force, the first new branch of the armed services
in 73 years.
Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, the first chief of Space Operations, didn’t want an embroidered patch. Rather, he requested a patch made from a PVC-like, rubbery material, says Andrew Nagle, co-CEO of the Weaverville company.
“What he neglected to realize, there was no domestic industry base for PVC patches. It was all made in China,” says Nagle. “So, in the middle of COVID, we bought machinery, didn’t know what we were doing, and taught ourselves how to make these PVC patches for Space Force.