Dutch boots made for walking in the desert – 750,000 of them

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch shoe manufacturer Emma Safety Footwear just received its largest-ever order: the army of Abu Dhabi has signed a contract for 375,000 pairs of desert boots, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday.

Based in Kerkrade in southern Limburg province, the company signed the contract last week in the Gulf State in the presence of Dutch ambassador Frank Mollen. The order totals more than $11m, or about $30 a pair. The first 150,000 pairs of boots will be delivered next year, the remainder will follow in 2019 and 2020.

Dutch State Mines

Emma Safety Footwear has its origins with the former Dutch State Mines, southern Limburg province’s large coal mining operations which were closed in the early 1970s. At that point the specialised shoe plant which had made heavy boots for the miners was switched over to commercial production.

Emma Safety Footwear has worked with the Abu Dhabi army since 2014. The boots are not completed in Kerkrade. Instead, the Dutch company prepares the material there which it then sends to its partner NFSSP in Abu Dhabi where they are assembled.

Emma has developed many types of boots for NFSSP, including officers shoes for men and women and 8,000 pairs of boots for the country’s air force.

Emma director Tom Hermans expects more orders from the Middle East and won a big order from the Kuwait Oil Company last year, the paper said.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation