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Eleven thousand pairs a day. Three welted lines. Building for the US since 1997.
AFPL Global manufactures boots and footwear to your specification in Kanpur, India. Thirteen production lines across six constructions, on one campus.
What we build
The line this factory was built on.
AFPL started with western boots in 1997 and was running a thousand pairs a day by June 1998. It is still the category the floor knows best. Men's, women's and youth western, alongside work and utility boots, casual and dress-casual, and stitched uppers as a standalone line.
Construction
Goodyear welted, on three dedicated lines.
Welting cannot be automated and it does not run well as a changeover. It needs its own lines and its own trained hands, which is why we built three: two Goodyear welted rubber and one Goodyear welted leather.
Lasting and finishing, in order
Goodyear welted rubber, Goodyear welted leather, Blake stitch, Waterproof, Stuck on
Composite toe, Anti-puncture, Oil and chemical resistant, Slip resistant, ASTM standard approved
Certifications
Certified, audited, and checkable.
Three ISO management systems certified by KVQA Certification Services and valid to October 2028. AEO Tier 2 with Indian Customs to June 2028. An independent C-TPAT compliance audit by URS Certification Limited. Certificate numbers, scope and validity are published in full.
ISO 9001:2015
Quality management
ISO 14001:2015
Environmental management
ISO 45001:2018
Health and safety
Sedex member
Ethical trade
C-TPAT compliance
Audited by URS, not CBP membership
AEO Tier 2
Indian Customs, WCO framework
US compliance
US regulations, and what we supply against each.
Six obligations reaching US footwear brands between now and 2027. Open any row to see what we can put behind it.
UFLPA, forced labour In force
US Customs and Border Protection operates a rebuttable presumption and can detain cargo on forced labour grounds. What we hold: ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety, certified to October 2028, Sedex membership, and on-site training centres. Buyer-appointed auditors get the same access as the third-party inspectors already working inside our process.
California SB 707, textile EPR 1 Jul 2026
Producer responsibility organisation membership is required and footwear is in scope. What we hold: FSC-certified cartons and standardised packing protocols, with product and packaging weights supplied per programme for your reporting.
California AB 1817, PFAS in textiles 50 ppm from 1 Jan 2027
The total fluorine threshold tightens from 100 ppm to 50 ppm, with footwear named. What we hold: materials pre-certified against international standards and revalidated in our own labs before they enter production. Test scope is confirmed per programme rather than claimed in advance.
TSCA section 8(a)(7), EPA PFAS reporting Window opens 31 Jan 2027
Manufacturers and article importers report historic PFAS presence. What we hold: material declarations from our named component vendors, supplied per bill of materials.
CPSIA, children's product safety In force
Applies to youth footwear. What we hold: in-house labs running flex, abrasion, bonding, slip resistance and hydrostatic tests, validated against US, EU and Asian requirements.
FTC labelling In force
Country of origin marking and materials content. What we hold: labelling and barcoding built to your specification at the packing line, not corrected at the port.
We do not publish a compliance claim we cannot evidence. Send us the due diligence template your team actually uses and we will mark it up with what we can supply today and what we cannot.
Common concerns
Five things buyers ask about Indian manufacturing.
Every one of them is fair to ask. Here is what we can show you against each.
Indian factories slip on dates.
Thirteen production lines, category-specific development pods, and line balancing built to hold a calendar rather than absorb a delay. Mezzanine loading bays run loading and unloading at the same time, so dispatch does not become the bottleneck when three programmes ship in one week.
The shipment never matches the sample.
An eight-step quality control inspection runs from incoming raw material through to sealed cartons: cutting, upper, lasting, sole, final inspection, an acceptable quality level test, and third-party inspection. External inspectors open and test 5 to 6 percent of outgoing cartons before anything leaves.
Nobody there runs welted construction at real volume.
Three of our thirteen production lines are dedicated to Goodyear welt: two welted rubber and one welted leather. They are not a changeover on a cemented line. Welt attaching plants sit in the closing and lasting hall alongside the rest of the machinery.
Once the PO is placed it is a black box.
You get a named contact on our export desk, and our working day runs into your morning, so questions are answered the same day rather than the next one. We are also building Pulse, an order visibility platform that will show what is in production, what is in transit and what is running late without you having to ask.
Labour standards are the risk nobody actually audits.
ISO 45001:2018 certified to October 2028. Sedex membership. On-site training centres, an infirmary and doctor's room, a canteen and recreation space. Your own auditors work on the same access as the third-party inspectors already inside our process.
Shipping and customs
How your order gets from Kanpur to your warehouse.
Mundra
Containerised export to the US East and West Coast.
Nhava Sheva
A second gateway, so a congested port is a reroute rather than a delay.
IGI Delhi
Airfreight when a season demands it. Kanpur has direct road access to all three.
AEO Tier 2
Our Authorised Economic Operator status lets us seal containers with customs compliance on site, which shortens lead time. It is granted by Indian Customs and works on the export side. It is not a US authorisation and we do not present it as one.
Packing discipline
FSC-certified cartons, standardised packing protocols, and labelling and barcoding built to your specification at the line.
High-security seals
Tamper-proof seal containers on every shipment, audited on site against the C-TPAT minimum security criteria.
Working together
How we work with your team day to day.
Working hours that overlap
Our day runs into your morning. Sample feedback, approvals and production questions get answered the same day rather than the next one.
Factory visits
Arranged on request, whenever you want to see the floor in person. There is also a full 360 walkthrough on this page, with no form in front of it.
Bring your own auditors
Buyer-appointed inspection agencies and social auditors work inside our process on the same access as the third-party inspectors already there.
In development
Pulse, our order visibility platform.
We are building Pulse so that the status of your order is something you can look at rather than ask for. It is in development now, and we will bring partners onto it as it goes live.
Illustrative. Pulse is in development.
Your orders in one place
Every order you have placed with us, and where each one currently stands.
Order analytics
Volumes, categories and history across everything you have run with AFPL.
Where it has reached
What is in production, what is in transit, what is on time and what is running late.
Factory tour
Walk the floor from where you are.
A 360 degree walkthrough of the factory. No form, no login, no sales call first.
Next step
Tell us what you are building.
Send us the specification and you will get real numbers rather than a range. You will hear from a person, not an autoresponder, within one business day.
We do not publish minimum order quantities or lead times, because both move with construction, materials, colourways and season. Send the brief and you will get a real figure.
Questions
The ones that come up first.
Are you C-TPAT certified?
Not by US Customs and Border Protection, and we say so rather than letting the logo imply it. C-TPAT is a CBP programme and CBP certifies its members directly. What we hold is an independent audit against the same minimum security criteria, carried out on site by URS Certification Limited, certificate 608UK/EN, valid to 14 July 2027.
Does your AEO status help our US clearance?
On the export side, yes. AEO Tier 2 is granted by Indian Customs under the WCO SAFE Framework and lets us seal containers with customs compliance on site, which shortens lead time out of India. It is not a US authorisation.
What is your minimum order quantity?
It moves with construction, materials and the number of colourways, so we quote against your brief rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most enquiries. Welted carries different economics to cemented, and a repeat behaves differently to a new development.
Can we appoint our own inspection agency?
Yes. Third-party inspectors already work inside our process, opening and testing 5 to 6 percent of outgoing cartons. Your agency gets the same access.
Do you build to ASTM safety standards?
Our work and utility constructions include composite toe, anti-puncture, oil and chemical resistant and slip resistant builds to ASTM standard approved specifications. Confirm the exact standard and class with us against your programme.
What quality process do you run?
An eight-step quality control inspection before anything ships: raw material, cutting, upper, lasting, sole, final inspection, an acceptable quality level test, and third-party inspection on 5 to 6 percent of outgoing cartons. Our in-house labs run flex, abrasion, bonding, slip resistance and hydrostatic tests, validated against US, EU and Asian requirements.
Which ports do you ship from?
Sea freight through Mundra and Nhava Sheva. Airfreight through Indira Gandhi International in Delhi. Kanpur has direct road access to all three.
How do you protect unreleased designs?
Role-based access to files and bills of materials, controlled sample-room permissions and monitored prototype dispatch. Access control combines RFID and biometrics with real-time monitoring, more than 480 AI-powered cameras cover the site, and over 2,500 lockers with multi-layer access control sit outside the production areas. Networks are protected by firewalls, encryption and intrusion detection.
Can we visit the factory?
Yes, and we will arrange it. There is also a full 360 degree walkthrough on this page, with no form in front of it, if you want to see the floor before you travel.
Can you provide client references?
Our clients' names are covered by our agreements with them, which is the same protection we extend to you.