On Saturday I played in a beach volleyball tournament with my girlfriend. We ended up winning our division of co-ed doubles which came with a $60 prize (we got our entrance fee back). It was a great day despite the 94 degree heat, but it was definitely exhausting… and painful. The pain only came during my last match when I realized that I had developed some pretty nasty burns/blisters on the arches of my feet from playing barefoot for 9 hours on the scalding hot sand. Obviously I need to purchases something to protect my feet for my next tournament, and I was considering the Fivefingers shoes from Vibram (it turns out that they don’t do all that well in the sand, so I’ll need to get sand socks). Vibram is an Italian company (their U.S. office is in Concord, MA) that is the “world leader in high performance rubber soles, targeted to the outdoor, work, recreation, fashion, repair and orthopedic markets.” They’ve been around for 73 years, but they seem to have recently hit a tipping point in terms of brand recognition. The Fivefingers shoes are totally odd looking, but they apparently offer some really great benefits for your feet. I saw my first pair on a good friend who has recommended quite a few companies that we’ve featured (so he’s an in the know kind of guy), and since I saw them on him, I keep spotting them all over the place. I also know of Vibram because they make the soles that are used for my fishing boots (they grip slippery rocks that other soles would slip on).

Get a Grip on Vibram

Vibram is already producing 35 million soles each year, which makes sense because they truly are a technological leader in the footwear category. The interesting development is Vibram’s increased focus on its own brand. Most of the soles that they produce are for partners who manufacture and brand their own shoes. Now that Vibram has had such a big success with the Fivefingers, I imagine that they’ll look to expand their own consumer product line. I’ve been meaning to feature Vibram for at least a year, but only now have I found enough information to give you a good start on learning about jobs with them. Most of their operations are based at their headquarters in Italy, but the U.S. office in Concord, MA does seem to be growing. There isn’t a specific Jobs page for it, but on Vibram’s Contact page they list staff@vibram.com as an address to which you can send a job application. Additionally, there is a Jobs page for Brookfield, MA based Quabaug Corporation, which is the exclusive North American manufacturer for Vibram. It’s hard to say what kind of opportunities might be available, so I’ll leave it up to you to find out by reaching out to the folks at Vibram.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Vibram.com
• Contact Vibram
• About Vibram
• Vibram’s History
• Management at Vibram
• Vibram Facts & Figures

Do you own any Vibram products?

We've identified Vibram as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• apparel
• international
• Italy
• manufacturing
• Massachusetts
• sports

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