Santorum sweater orders great for Bemidji business

Bill Batchelder is the fourth-generation owner of the apparel company Bemidji Woolen Mills. On Jan. 12, he got a phone call from the presidential campaign of former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. The campaign was searching for an American company to manufacture Santorum's signature sweater vests.

Since then, the company's business has tripled from its usual monthly levels, Batchelder told Tom Crann of All Things Considered Thursday.

"I thought it was going to be 25 sweater vests...and that was going to be the end of it," Batchelder said. "It's been almost too good to be true; it's just like a gift from God coming out of the clouds."

Santorum's orders from Bemidji Woolen Mills totaled $38,800 in January and almost $100,000 in February, according to campaign finance records. Santorum's campaign sold the sweater vests online and gave them to supporters.

The extra business has allowed the company to hire back two longtime seamstresses and one new full-time worker. On a good day, the five sewing machine operators can churn out 100 sweaters a day. Filling the order will still take some time, Batchelder said, the company still has a backlog of 3,000 sweaters to deliver.

But the owner of Bemidji Woolen Mills also has something he hasn't told Santorum yet.

"We've been making Obama blankets up here for four years," Batchelder said. "Even though I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, I do very much respect the office of the Presidency, I respect people on both sides of the aisle."

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