Auburn Manufacturing

Auburn Manufacturing is owned by Kathie Leonard, who serves as president and CEO.[11][12] Leonard founded the company at the age of 27, growing it into a business with two locations and about 50 employees.[13][14]

Before Auburn Manufacturing, Leonard began her career at a Lewiston, Maine mill that produced an industrial fabric to replace asbestos.[15] She is an advocate for female entrepreneurship, saying that it creates “ladders for women.”[16]

Kris Profenno serves as Auburn Manufacturing's shipping and logistics coordinator, working with Roger Millett to ensure product deliveries are intact and on time.[17]

Auburn Manufacturing is critical of “China’s cheating” when it comes to trade, and the company has secured two legal victories against Chinese competitors.[18][19][20] The first victory came in 2017, after Leonard took on China in a trade lawsuit that found silica products to be subsidized by the Chinese government and “dumped” into the U.S. market.[21] The second victory came in 2023, when the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that Chinese dumping negatively affects Auburn Manufacturing and other U.S.-based manufacturers.[22]

Because of Auburn Manufacturing's legal disputes with China, the company works closely with federal lawmakers.[23][24] In 2022, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) visited one of the company's plants.[25][26] Auburn Manufacturing also hosted former Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) in 2016.[27]