Mauldin, S.C.-based textile manufacturer Mount Vernon Mills Inc. has expanded its chemicals business during 2007 through the acquisition of several chemicals companies and will offer the products of that business domestically and internationally in both textile and non-textile industry markets.

Companies acquired in 2007 include Apollo Chemicals; Sage Technology; FCI Technologies; American Manufacturing International; and Chemical Technologies, which includes Callaway Chemicals, Crompton & Knowles and Yorkshire Pat-Chem. New plant locations include Graham, N.C., Opelika, Ala., and San Pedro Sula, Honduras — all of which are ISO 9002-certified. The acquisitions have added 75 employees to the chemical group’s employee base of 50.

“These performance and specialty products are extensions and complements to the products currently produced at our Phil Chem plants in Greer and Ware Shoals, S.C.,” said William E. “Bill” Duncan, vice president, Mount Vernon Mills. He added that certain recently acquired products will be manufactured in Ware Shoals.

According to Mount Vernon, its chemicals business has increased twelve-fold since it acquired Phil Chem in 2003, and it now sells its products in 20 countries, with a significant proportion going to Central America. The company expects the recent acquisitions will enable a substantial expansion of sales in Asia. Currently, the company sells 65 percent of its chemical products for use in preparation, bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing of yarn, fabric and apparel. The balance is sold for such non-textile applications as adhesives, plastics, personal care and metalworking.

“This expansion is a natural extension of our total vertical capabilities to control every aspect of textile manufacturing, from fiber to finished product,” said Roger W. Chastain, Mount Vernon’s president and CEO. “Chemistry and textile technology go hand in hand in the making of every type of fabric — woven, knitted or nonwoven. In order to gain product superiority, many times it is the proprietary chemical formulas that distinguish the product. Our commitment is to be America’s premier textile enterprise in the Western Hemisphere, the biggest market in the world, with 40 countries and 891 million [in] population. Using a strategy of major capital investments that keep us vertical and independent gives us competitive advantages for our customers benefits.

“‘Always the low price’ is not always the best deal,” Chastain continued. “Many shoppers are now finding that to be true. With continued disillusionment on the safety of imported products, especially from China, we believe the opportunity is at hand to provide the quality product, the reliable service and the integrity to back it up, that removes doubt and risk for the retailer’s customers. Made in America resonates louder and louder.”

October 9, 2007