Bobbin for business
Week of August 13, 2001
Sewn products reps head to Orlando
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ORLANDO, FL — In this city brimming with magic, members of the sewn products industry will be looking for a little enchantment of their own during the Bobbin World trade show this week.
More than 600 exhibitors will be showing their latest wares during this worldwide sewn products expo, slated for Wednesday through Friday at the Orange County Convention Center.
An accompanying conference program will offer sessions that address the hottest topics in the sewn products industry.
Debuting at the event is Windows To Your World, a new approach to trade show marketing that features a virtual and physical streetscape that has been used by registered buyers before the show and will be used by attendees during and after the event.
At the show, a life-size streetscape entrance will welcome buyers, and showrooms will bring to life the industry segments of apparel, upholstered furniture, home textiles, transportation interiors, leather goods and footwear, technical textiles, fabrics and trims and services.
Electronic search engines will direct the buyers to the technology, services or products they need.
On display at the show will be an unparalleled assortment of products and services, including software, supply chain management tools and e-business solutions; CAD and pre-production technology; machinery, parts and supplies ranging from sewing machines to packaging equipment; fabrics and trims; consulting; and global production resources.
The show has been selected by the United States Department of Commerce to participate in its prestigious International Buyer Program. The program puts Bobbin in constant contact with more than 200 consulates and embassies throughout the world.
Continuing with Bobbin World’s focus on the sewn products industry as a whole, the seminar package has been redirected to address each specific segment of soft goods manufacturing, mirroring the Windows To Your World theme.
“We’re excited about the 2001 conference program,” said Stephanie Woodhouse, group conference manager of the Bobbin Group. “We’ve designed the sessions to provide more value to each attendee and have invited experts from each industry segment to lead the seminars. So many daily changes in technology and trade issues demand that we provide a cutting-edge education package for the industry.” 
In the news ...
Week of August 13, 2001
DC visit by Palmetto VP ‘productive’
By Devin Steele
Gladys Beattie, vice president of Greenville, SC-based Palmetto Loom Reed, has experienced first-hand the effects unfair trade has had on domestic manufacturing, particularly textiles. As such, she keeps herself well-informed on the subject.
As Palmetto’s customer base has dwindled, the company has been forced to reduce its work force by about 25 percent over the last couple of years.
So she was more than ready to bend President Bush’s ear at the White House on July 31.
Beattie was one of about 40 people invited by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), along with the Small Business Association (SBA), to meet with the president about trade policy. Bush, however, used the occasion to push “trade promotion authority” (TPA) and didn’t take comments.
Although she didn’t get the chance to voice her opinion to the president, she did make her case to staff members of various elected officials from South Carolina.
Trade promotion authority, known previously as fast-track authority, would allow Bush to negotiate deals that then must be passed or rejected by Congress without amendments. TPA is favored by the NAM, but Beattie opposes giving the president such unilateral power, she said.
“All of the conservative politicians from textile districts feel threatened that Bush will give away some more of the manufacturing base,” said Beattie, whose family-owned company provides loom reeds to weaving customers. “So they’re scared to death of not having that kind of power to lobby for various deals. On the flip side, you can’t negotiate trade very well with countries that simply won’t trade with the United States.”
Beattie made it clear to the NAM and SBA members on hand that she is against trade promotion authority, she said, “and not because I don’t trust George Bush, but George Bush is pro-free trade. But, I’m sorry, any way you look at it, in a commodity-type business like we’re in, where lots of different countries can make what we make, they’re all targeting us because we’re the healthiest economy around right now.
“So, they’re taking advantage of the strong dollar and illegal transshipments from the bought-off border patrol. That alone, someone needs to hear. It’s just killing us. Why do you even have quota reductions over a period of time? The whole purpose of that is to give you time to strengthen your domestic industry. Well, we’re still getting killed.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick did take questions following the president’s spiel. Beattie said she raised her hand, but wasn’t called on.
“A fellow from the steel industry pretty much spoke what I had on my mind and that is that 25 percent of the steel business is in Chapter 11 and this is happening in part because of illegal transshipments from the Far East,” Beattie said. “And he said that many other manufacturing industries and sectors have been affected also, not to mention the fact that we’re at a 12-month low in general manufacturing.”
During his remarks, Bush told the group to have faith in his negotiating judgment and that he will “not sell out your industry.”
“And I’m going to hold him to that,” Beattie said. “I’m going to beg to see him personally if he goes back on that because if this TPA does pass, he’s going to have a lot of power.”
Analyst diagnoses industry’s ailments
By Devin Steele
MYRTLE BEACH, SC — The U.S. textile industry has been bludgeoned by a gang of factors in recent years, but recovery to competitive levels is possible if certain things fall into place, according to industry analyst Kay Norwood.
“I feel like the bearer of bad news here,” she said after painting a drab but realistic picture of the industry to members of Textured Yarn Association of America (TYAA) during their Summer Conference here recently.
Norwood, senior vice president and assistant director of research for Wachovia Securities, Charlotte, NC, noted that the industry has been battered on several fronts, not the least of which is the anemic domestic economy.
“The industry is in a really difficult position right now,” she said. “A lot of its troubles are because of the economy and that will change. We don’t know when, but it will. We are not in a recession and we probably will not officially be in a recession. And, if (Federal Reserve Chairman) Alan Greenspan has anything to say about it, rates will go lower and things will tip up at some point. Whether that’s the fourth quarter or the first quarter of next year remains to be seen.”
The industry also is being challenged by retail pressures, overcapacity, financial burdens and trade issues, she said.
But first, on the economic side, consumer confidence has declined over the last year, for a number of reasons — among them, higher living costs and the layoff wave that continues to ripple from the burst of the dot-com bubble last fall. For the textile industry, that lower consumer confidence means people aren’t buying as many non-necessities.
“What apparel and home fashions have in common is fashion,” Norwood said. “They’re not necessities anymore. So manufacturers and retailers have to come up with products that consumers feel like they just have to have and the name of that tune is fashion.”
The economic downturn has not been led by housing, though, as housing starts and turnover numbers are still close to historic highs, she noted. However, consumers are deviated from associated spending patterns, she said.
“There is a much longer lag time than we see typically, with the purchase of furniture, new window products, bedding, towels or what have you,” she said. “But, obviously, at some point this is going to contribute to an increased rate of demand for textile products.”
Another challenge the industry is facing is the unrelenting pressure companies are getting from the retail sector. She pointed out that 25 years ago, department stores accounted for almost all of the primary textiles sold in the U.S. That number is now below 20 percent as the mass and specialty channels have stepped up.
Department stores are trying hard to keep their traditional customers by offering higher quality and more differentiated products. Mass merchants, however, are bucking for those customers by offering higher quality at lower prices and by stocking brands formerly found only in department stores.
“What this means to the textile industry is an increasingly complex manufacturing mix because you’re trying to do all of these different products for the department stores, plus all of these different products for the mass channel,” Norwood said. “It’s very difficult to manufacture that kind of mix effectively, but it has also created a tremendous pressure on prices in the industry.”
The glut of retail space also is beginning to rear its head through a number of liquidations, she added, and that has strained pricing. Still-viable competitors lower their prices to match liquidation prices, so in times like these, retailers become their own worst enemies, she said.
Price pressure also is coming from manufacturers that are carrying too much inventory and are being forced to slash prices, she noted.
“Other manufacturers tend to follow that pricing because, otherwise, they’re going to be hurt a great deal,” she said. “As a result, even companies that are doing a good job on the manufacturing and inventory management side are getting clobbered.”
Likewise, raw materials are keeping selling prices under pressure, too, she said.
Trend watchers kick tires
By Alfred Dockery
ATLANTA — The Textiles In Automotives Conference held recently at the Sheraton Galleria here featured knowledgeable speakers who covered wide-ranging topics in automotive textile applications.
The conference, which was co-sponsored by Industrial Textile Associates and Textile World magazine, included presentations on trends in automotive interior design, the use of phase change materials for air conditioning, forces driving airbag growth and new developments for tires, hoses and belts.
George Moon, George Moon Design, Southfield, MI, made an impressive keynote speaker. Moon is a veteran auto interior designer. He selected his first fabric, a Chatham flat woven in a Black Watch plaid pattern, for the 1959 Buick Invicta.
In his remarks, Moon compared finding the next hot, new automotive interior design to Alice’s pursuit of the white rabbit. He said he believes that the next wave of designs will be dominated by luxurious surfaces and technical structures.
One of the most important coming trends is that generation Y has begun to reach driving age and will put 80 million new drivers on the road in the next eight years. The trends and fads these young drivers inspire will control the mass market, he said. Their love of high-tech sports equipment will definitely have an impact on automobile design, he added.
“We have to be responsive to the younger generation of car buyers,” Moon said. “Automotive textiles needs to be coming along with the new materials that they’ll react to. These materials will tend to be more technical, more colorful and more innovative in how they’re made. These new drivers are a very technical group.”
For example, he predicts that new suspension fabrics, inspired by the Herman Miller Aeron office chair, will gradually make auto seats much thinner.
Moon came out strongly against “design by committee” and the constant price pressure, which he believes keeps automotive fabrics from being as rich and sumptuous as they can be.
“We have to fight vigorously to keep fabrics from being commodities,” Moon said. “We need the innovative, wonderful color and texture and all of the other properties that fabrics bring. We just have to prevent the purchasing and engineering people from forcing this into some commodity-like sheet metal.”
One of the high spots of Moon’s presentation was a short video he shot at the recent Paris Auto Show. He said he believes that U.S. automobile manufacturers could still learn a great deal about fit and finish from the Europeans. One example is the Volkswagen Lupo, a small, sporty car not sold in the United States.
“The Lupo is an exemplary application of new materials — textiles, vinyls, plastics and other surface coverings,” Moon said. “These materials were exquisitely trimmed on the seats and doors, every seam straight and clean.”
Mayfair begins layoffs
SPARTANBURG, SC — Still awaiting word from its lender on a new long-term financing plan, fabric maker Mayfair Mills has begun laying off employees amid dwindling production.
The financially strapped company laid off about half of its 825 employees the last week of July and may lay off the rest in the next week or two if a financing package doesn’t come through from Wachovia Bank, according to President Frederick B. “Rick” Dent Jr.
The layoffs at the three South Carolina facilities — the Pickens Plant in Pickins, the Baily Plant in Arcadia and Glenwood Plant in Easley — are expected to be temporary if a lending plan is received, Dent said.
Weaving production at the three plants has been curtailed by about 50 percent in the past month as the company has completed production of existing orders, he said.
Mayfair announced in March that it would close plants in Starr, SC, Arcadia, SC, and Lincolnton, GA, eliminating 425 jobs, after failing to obtain further credit.
Last month, as a cost-saving measure, the company terminated the 401(k) plans of its remaining employees. Funds in the plan, which have been frozen, will be dispersed to employees after approval by the IRS, Dent said.
Mayfair makes printcloths, broadcloths, poplins and medium-weight fabric for industrial, apparel and home-furnishings markets.
Collins & Aikman to buy Textron unit
TROY, MI — Collins & Aikman, which makes automotive floor mats and acoustic systems, said Tuesday that it will buy Textron Inc.’s automobile trim business for about $1.3 billion.
With the purchase of Textron’s TAC-Trim division, C&A will become a major supplier of integrated cockpits and automotive plastics in North America and Europe.
Collins & Aikman will acquire the unit for $1 billion in cash, $245 million of C&A preferred shares and 18 million in C&A common stock, valued by Textron at $90 million.
Upon completion of the deal, Collins & Aikman will have annualized 2001 sales of $3.9 billion, more than 25,000 employees, 123 plants and facilities and operations in North and South America and Europe.
ITS gets Raitech machines
SPRINGFIELD, NJ — Independent laboratory Intertek Testing Service (ITS) has purchased 14 Raitech QuickTemp water temperature control units for use in its fabric and garment testing center.
“We’ve heard good things about the Raitech products through The Technical Institute, the AATCC and the trade generally,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, Intertek Lab Manager, Ph.D., and a veteran in laboratory management and practices.
ITS conducts a broad range of testing services and product evaluations for a roster of clients that includes retailers, manufacturers, international traders and brands. The company has been in operation for nearly a century.
EVS installs three systems
YOQNEAM, ISRAEL — Elbit Vision Systems (EVS) Ltd. announced that three of its I-TEX automatic fabric inspection systems are being installed at Sai-Lakshmi’s new state-of-the-art vertical textile plant in South India.
EVS’ I-TEX 100 and I-TEX 200 systems are already operating at Nahar Fabrics, Ltd., and Oswal Cotton Mills, Ltd., both belonging to Nahar Group — India’s leading textile manufacturer and exporter, located in the northern state of Punjab.
The I-TEX 100 system is used for inspection of greige 100 percent cotton and cotton polyester fabrics. The I-TEX 200 system inspects processed and finished cotton and cotton blend fabrics for shirting and bottom wears.
Additionally, the systems are being used successfully throughout Europe, the Far East, and the United States.
CHT R. Beitlich holds Customer Symposium
ROCK HILL, SC — CHT R. Beitlich Corporation, formerly Catawba Charlab Incorporated, held a Customer Symposium recently at the Baxter M. Hood Conference Center here.
About 70 people attended the program to get technical updates on the subjects of pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing. Representatives from CHT’s technical department in Germany presented information that may prove helpful to participants as they adapt to the dramatic changes occurring in the industry, said a company official.
Several new products were introduced and illustrated during the conference. Management representatives from the company’s facility in Charlotte, NC, emphasized their goal of quickly bringing the full expertise from CHT’s worldwide experience to the U.S. textile market.
This has been a major objective of CHT since its recent acquisition of Catawba Charlab Incorporated, according to a company representative. Management also said that CHT is the largest privately owned chemical company in the world dedicated only to textile chemicals and colors.
The company strongly believes the textile industry needs continuous innovation and world-class technical capabilities, the representative said.
Uster part of upgrade
CHARLOTTE, NC — Zellweger Uster, Inc. announced that it is participating in Fruit of the Loom’s renovation of Leesburg Yarn Mills in Leesburg, AL.
Uster quality systems will measure and control the quality at spinning and drawing, which will be complemented by the extensive Uster yarn-testing laboratory.
The Uster Quantum Yarn Clearers will be installed on all Rieter R20 open end spinning machines, making this the largest single installation of it’s type in the world. The system will provide continuous control of yarn faults, excess count variation and continuous measurement of critical yarn characteristics, such as % CV, Classimat.
In addition, Uster Sliver-Guard will be installed at the drawing process to assure consistent quality sliver will be available for spinning. The sliver will be continuously monitored for unacceptable variations in sliver weight, Uster % CV and frequency of thick places.
Editorial
Week of August 13, 2001
Slater among esteemed company
ROGER MILLIKEN has received just about every award imaginable for his six decades of service to the textile industry. Early next month, he will earn perhaps the ultimate recognition when he is inducted into the Textile Hall of Fame at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA.
Milliken, chairman and CEO of Milliken & Co., Spartanburg, SC, is among esteemed company, as he will be joined by Samuel Slater — known as “The Father of American Industry.” Some may say that Slater is among esteemed company as part of Milliken’s class.
Duke Energy, a curious selection given that it isn’t a person, will also be tapped. But the company’s contributions to the growth of the U.S. textile industry over the last century cannot be underestimated.
The honor for Milliken no doubt has less to do with longevity and more to do with his company’s longtime success in innovation, environmental stewardship, safety and quality improvement. And the company’s commitment to success to in those areas starts at the top. He has been a hands-on leaders throughout his career, particularly in technological matters, and, 85, he continues to put in long days.
“Mr. Milliken’s company associates are excited and proud that he would be among the inaugural inductees to the American Textile Hall of Fame,” Richard Dillard, director of public affairs for Milliken & Co., said in a statement. “We know first-hand how he has devoted his life to fighting for the American textile industry. His leadership is legendary for quality and technological excellence in manufacturing and nowhere will you find someone more passionate about preserving American jobs.”
MILLIKEN INDEED has been a strong defender of the American way. He helped create the Crafted With Pride in USA Council and his battles to protect jobs in this country are well documented.
He has earned a few adversaries along the way for his protectionist stance on trade issues, most notably the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). His position on such matters probably, more than anything else, led to his split with the American Textile Manufacturers Institute.
Some may call him foolish or “old school” by refusing to welcome globalization with open arms. But, trust us, Roger Milliken is no fool. His company record in the aforementioned fields is proof that he knows a thing or two about running not only a successful business but one that is envied among peers and other corporations outside the industry.
Some of his allies will tell you that his foresight during the NAFTA debates is becoming legendary. Count all the mill closings and layoffs, they will say.
BUT WHATEVER your opinion is of this titan textile leader, it’s hard to argue his selection as a charter class member of the new Hall of Fame. He deserves to be enshrined, if anybody does.
And, by the way, the Textile Hall of Fame is an idea whose time has come. We commend the museum staff, its board of governors and board of trustees for bringing the concept to fruition.
We’ll be interested to see how inductees will be honored. Will bronze busts, along with personal and company items, be on permanent display?
Can’t wait.