From East Street to Berkeley Avenue: How Lions Industries Grew in Kinston

Lions Industries for the Blind has worked from four addresses in Kinston since 1971: East Street, East Lenoir Avenue, West Vernon Avenue and, since 2002, Berkeley Avenue. Each move tells part of a longer story about a workplace that began as a request from the state and grew into a federal supplier with a 40,500 square foot building. Here is that story in order.

From a request to a charter, 1960s to 1971

In the late 1960s, the N.C. Division of Services for the Blind asked the Kinston Host Lions Club to establish a facility for people in the area who are blind or visually impaired. The Host Club and the Ram Neuse Club spent two years studying the idea, and a charter was issued. Nobody built a factory on a hunch. The community looked at the need first, then committed. A request, two years of study by two clubs and then a charter is the order you'd want for something meant to last.

In April 1971, Eastern Carolina Industries for the Blind, Inc. was founded on East Street in Kinston. That is the origin of the company you can call today. The name was different, but the purpose was already the one in our mission: work for people who are blind, with income and dignity attached.

1975 to 1986: a new name, a national partner and a bigger floor

In 1975 the company moved to a larger facility on East Lenoir Avenue. The charter was amended, and the name became Lions Industries for the Blind, Inc., which is where the short form LIB comes from.

In 1976 the company became a project of the entire Lions District and associated itself with National Industries for the Blind, the non-profit through which federal work is assigned to affiliated agencies. That association is the reason the military and federal agencies became our customers.

In April 1981 the company moved to West Vernon Avenue. By 1986 the building at 2600 West Vernon had been expanded to 13,700 square feet. For a few years that was the whole operation: a smaller floor, a smaller crew and fewer products than you'll find on today's list. The West Vernon years also carry the earliest product on our list, since the cleaning swabs date to 1980, just before the move.

2001 and 2002: Graphic Solutions and Berkeley Avenue

In 2001 the company started LIB Graphic Solutions, its apparel decoration division, which does screen printing, embroidery, direct-to-garment printing and promotional items. The division describes its customers as running “from leading accredited national universities to the hottest restaurants on television.” The next year, in October 2002, the company moved to its present location at 4126 Berkeley Avenue, a building of 40,500 square feet.

That is nearly three times the 13,700 square feet at West Vernon. More floor space means more machines and more people at them, which is what a company with this mission wants.

If you pass the building, you'll see the monument sign out front. It reads Lions Industries for the Blind, Inc., and below the name it carries the ISO 9001:2015 certified company mark, certificate no. A-702, along with the AbilityOne Program mark and the LIB Graphic Solutions mark.

The record with the federal customers

Alongside the moves, the product list grew. We've been the sole supplier of small arms cleaning swabs since 1980. The Marine Corps name and service tapes followed in 1992, the cloth mailing bag and maintenance manual case in 1995, and the Air Force name and service tapes and engraved name tags in 2002.

The dates at a glance

• Late 1960s: the N.C. Division of Services for the Blind asks the Kinston Host Lions Club to establish a facility; two years of study follow.
• April 1971: Eastern Carolina Industries for the Blind, Inc. is founded on East Street.
• 1975: move to East Lenoir Avenue; charter amended; renamed Lions Industries for the Blind, Inc.
• 1976: becomes a project of the entire Lions District and associates with National Industries for the Blind.
• April 1981: move to West Vernon Avenue; expanded in 1986 to 13,700 square feet.
• 2001: LIB Graphic Solutions begins.
• October 2002: move to 4126 Berkeley Avenue, 40,500 square feet.

Fifty years, in April 2021

In April 2021 the company marked 50 years. Neuse News covered the milestone under the headline “Lion Industries celebrates 50 years of service to the community.” Fifty years is long enough that a person who started here in the early days could have spent a full career at the work. Neuse News also ran a story that October under the headline “Lion's Industries for the Blind celebrates World Sight Day 2021.”

We thank the N.C. Division of Services for the Blind, National Industries for the Blind, the AbilityOne Program, our Board of Directors, and the Kinston Host and Ram Neuse Lions Clubs. Without all of them, the building on Berkeley Avenue would not be there.

If you live in Kinston and have driven past the building on Berkeley Avenue, now you know what happens inside. To ask about our work or our history, call (252) 523-1019, Monday through Thursday, 7 AM to 5:30 PM, or read about the company on the about page.