Parkdale’s willingness to invest and forward-looking thinking have set the company on a path for the next 100 years.

By Rachael S. Davis, Executive Editor

Cotton has played a large role in the history of the U.S. textile industry, and the U.S. cotton supply chain is one of the most well developed in the world. One of the largest influential players in the U.S. cotton supply chain is yarn spinner Parkdale Mills Inc., Gastonia, N.C., today operating with Chairman and CEO Anderson D. “Andy” Warlick at the helm.

“Parkdale is the largest customer of U.S. cotton and a cornerstone of the U.S. textile industry,” said Gary Adams, president and CEO, National Cotton Council. “Over the years, Parkdale has made numerous positive contributions to the U.S. cotton industry and continues to be an active participant in the work of the National Cotton Council.”

Parkdale was chartered 1916, and began turning the first spindles in 1918. The first year, Parkdale produced 425 tons of thread in one manufacturing location. Fifty years after the charter, the company opened a second plant, Parkdale Mills Plant #2 in Gastonia, which doubled the company’s production capacity. Today, the privately-held company operates 25 plants, in addition to research and development and distribution centers in the United States, Mexico and South America.

Cotton will always play a significant role at Parkdale, but there is a lot more to the Parkdale story than just cotton.

Innovation & Automation, Automation, Automation

Parkdale is committed to technology and adopting innovative solutions to stay competitive. The company is known for seeking technology and driving innovations in yarn spinning.

One example of the company’s forward way of thinking is the redesigned sliver can Parkdale uses. The company worked with a supplier to redesign the shape and increase the size of the standard sliver can to increase efficiency by reducing the number of can changes.

According to Rieter America LLC — a Spartanburg, S.C.-based supplier of systems for short-staple fiber spinning — Parkdale has been a very open minded customer, and one that is always open to new products and innovations. “The company actively seeks technology, and is an early adopter of technologies when it makes sense to Parkdale and its customers,” said Thomas Kuettel, president and CEO, Rieter America. “Parkdale adapts steadily to changing market trends and requirements to remain one of the market leaders.

“Rieter concentrates in evaluating new market trends, and Parkdale acts as a very important partner,” said Kuettel. “We have common interests in developing new products.”

One of the biggest reasons Warlick sees for Parkdale’s continued success is the company’s willingness to adopt automation technologies.

“We are committed to robotics in a way that no other U.S. company is,” Warlick said. “We have funded research, we buy prototypes, and have an open door for any type of new automation.”

Automation also helps address the increasingly difficult time the industry has in finding qualified, trained employees who are willing to work in manufacturing. According to Warlick, Volvo — a company with name prestige and offering good wages — has a difficult time attracting qualified technical help for a new plant in Charleston, S.C.

“That’s why Parkdale uses so much robotic automation today,” he said. “To put in a greenfield operation in this country is almost impossible because you cannot find qualified, trained help. It just reemphasizes the fact that we need to automate and consolidate.”

Diversification Versus Verticalization: U.S. Cotton, Blended Yarns

In 2007, Parkdale acquired U.S. Cotton, a manufacturer of cotton health and beauty aid products. This expansion allowed Parkdale to grow, and to leverage its existing cotton supply chain without creating conflicts with its customers.

However, the price of cotton peaked at historically high levels in 2011. This price hike, coupled with competition from ever-improving man-made fibers including polyester, led many spinning companies to change their product mix. Parkdale was not alone in its move to develop blended yarns, and also recognized that polyester yarns and blends are here to stay even as the price of cotton has dropped.

“The consumer today views polyester a lot differently than they did 30 years ago,” Warlick said. “If they want it, we will make it.”

Sustainability, JV With Intrinsic

“We’re focused on sustainability and the environment,” Warlick mentioned. “We were one of the first companies to zero landfill, first to offer organic cotton. We have a R&D group working on biodegradable products and polymers that use less water, less energy and fewer dyestuffs.”

Most recently, Parkdale Advanced Materials Inc., an innovative fibers and yarns division of Parkdale, announced a partnership with Hayward, Calif.-based Intrinsic Textiles Group LLC. The two companies have formed Intrinsic Advanced Materials, a joint venture company to commercialize CiCLO™ Sustainable Textile Technology.

Intrinsic Textiles Group developed CiCLO as an answer to the plastic microfiber problem as well as to reduce the amount of plastic accumulation in landfills caused by discarded textiles. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports approximately 5 percent of mass in landfills is textile waste. More than 60 percent of textiles produced today are made using man-made materials, which translates into more than 40 million pounds of man-made textiles hitting the landfill in the United States alone, according to Intrinsic. The amount of microfiber pollution in oceans has not yet been quantified, but early studies and mounting evidence suggest it is an issue that requires further study and attention.

The CiCLO technology, when incorporated in man-made materials such as polyester during manufacturing, allows these materials to biodegrade in a way that is similar to natural materials when in wastewater treatment plant sludge, seawater and landfill conditions.

“Parkdale is contributing considerable resources and expertise to enable CiCLO to lead the textiles industry in sustainable solutions,” said Andrea Ferris, CEO of the new joint venture and CEO of Intrinsic Textiles. “Their partnership presents a powerful opportunity for us to significantly scale up manufacturing and quickly make product available to customers worldwide, ultimately making the greatest environmental impact.”

“The Parkdale team has been working with Intrinsic Textiles Group for quite some time to vet CiCLO technology,” said Charles Heilig, president and CEO of Parkdale. “We’re confident that CiCLO is the best solution for synthetic microfiber pollution and unrecycled textile waste. The joint venture is a strategic fit, leveraging each company’s strengths, and represents Parkdale’s commitment to continual innovation for our customers. We couldn’t be more excited to help bring CiCLO to market.”

Leadership

Warlick has become one of the most respected leaders in the textile industry, after leaving Milliken for Parkdale in 1984 to work for his father-in-law, the venerable Duke Kimbrell.

“Parkdale remains one of the largest cotton spinners in the world, despite the tremendous challenges and obstacles that the U.S. textile industry has faced over the past two decades,” said J. Berreye Worsham, president and CEO, Cotton Incorporated. “Andy has done a great job as the leader and successor of a cotton textile legend, Duke Kimbrell.”

As a leader, Warlick believes in the inverted pyramid model. “I believe in the upside down pyramid, and I’m at the bottom because if I’m helping everyone else be successful, I’m going to be successful.”

He also believes in youth. Warlick was 32 when he was named president and COO in 1988. At that time, Chairman and CEO Kimbrell was 65. “What made us a great team, was the age difference,” Warlick noted. “Working with a chairman and CEO who was 65, created a wonderful environment that allowed us to experiment, change and innovate — see the textile world from a fresh set of eyes so to speak, and not accept the status quo just because it was the way we had always done things. Today, we have some plant managers that are in their 20s and 30s, and their job is to keep us from getting complacent!”

As for the future of Parkdale’s leadership, the company has a strong team of executives, most with many years of service.

Charles Heilig runs Parkdale Mills and John Nims leads the U.S. Cotton business.

Warlick’s own son, Davis Warlick also is learning the family business from the ground up as his father once did. Currently, Davis manages Parkdale International and is responsible for the businesses in Mexico and Colombia.

Washington Engagement

“I view industry leaders as companies that take a cutting edge role in regard to innovation and are quick and responsive in terms of investment, investing even in difficult times when most people would be conservative,” said Augustine Tantillo, president and CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations. “But also from a policy standpoint, Parkdale has been a leader in the policy arena for decades. And that comes from an embedded view and understanding that government policy is critical in terms of creating that environment that makes it conducive to manufacture in this country and specifically to produce textiles, and I think it’s for that reason that Andy has been a highly engaged member of NCTO. He’s a past chairman of NCTO, he serves on our board and he has had no interest in delegating these responsibilities even though he’s running a multi-billion dollar business. Because he wanted a hands-on approach to how Washington was viewing our industry and decisions Washington was making in terms of impacting our industry.

“In the arena that I operate in, he’s been an outspoken, highly engaged and critical leader with a very hands on approach to the policy making process, that has benefitted not only Parkdale, but the industry as a whole to have that kind of engagement and leadership.

“Andy is a private person, and does a lot of things very low profile, but that doesn’t mean he’s not intensely engaged,” Tantillo said. “I think that’s what might confuse some people at first because while we don’t see the big press campaign with Parkdale, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any lack of intensity.

“It is a very personality driven company,” Tantillo continued. “Andy is a very significant personality in the sense that he knows what he wants and he knows the vision for the company. So he has had a major impact on shaping and on the course for Parkdale.

“As an example of his lower key personality, Parkdale celebrated its 100th birthday recently, and you would not have known it. Andy’s view is hey, I’m looking to the future. Yep, we’re celebrating 100 years, and that’s a great accomplishment, but it’s the next 100 I’m focused on,” Tantillo concluded.

“I think if you’re trying to maintain the status quo, then you’re going backwards,” Warlick said.

An ancient Arabic proverb states: “What is coming is better than what is gone,” and this certainly seems to be the case for Parkdale.

Warlick’s Thoughts On Trade, Challenges Facing The U.S. Textile Industry

President Trump is the first president in my lifetime to acknowledge that the system does not work for American manufacturers. We have lived and died in a system that rewarded us for leaving the United States to manufacture overseas. We as a nation have the lowest duties of any industrialized country in the world. We have opportunities to export if, and only if, we are treated the same at most foreign borders. Twenty-percent VAT taxes and duties on our products and zero percent on theirs? I am not talking about other inequities like currency manipulation or direct government support. This, unfortunately, has been described as “free trade!”

Would we, as a nation, accept that U.S. Olympic athletes had to run a 120 meter race against the world running 100 meters? We certainly would not, yet this ignorance has been accepted and promoted by some of the most respected economists in our country! The world of trade sans the U.S. is a mercantilist trade environment.

One of the great disappointments that I have is that we’re not growing this hemisphere as far as output is concerned. The greatest challenge is keeping business in this hemisphere. We do not have the growth in knitting, weaving, or dyeing and finishing to grow in this hemisphere. We need new investment downstream or else we will experience negative growth as a yarn industry.

Yarn plant investments are expensive and a fashion shift from ring spinning to open-end spinning, or from open-end to ring, can strand a lot of capital and cause plant closures.
In addition, energy costs — which have always been one of our advantages — are starting to go up double digits and that’s going to continue, taking away competitiveness.

Hopefully, these issues can be addressed in the near future.

November/December 2018

Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA will bring the best in fabrics and apparel resources to the Javits Center in January.

TW Special Report

Atlanta-based Messe Frankfurt Inc.’s Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA events will return to the Javits Center in New York City January 21-23, 2019, for the Winter editions.

Texworld USA — an apparel sourcing event for buyers, research and product development specialists, designers, merchandisers and overseas sourcing professionals — offers attendees “the opportunity to meet directly with a wide range of manufacturers from Asia, the Middle East, North America and from many other regions from around the globe.” The show is produced in partnership with Austria-based Lenzing.

Items on display at the show are organized into 16 categories including cotton; denim; embroidery/lace; faux fur; findings, trims and accessories; functional fabrics; jacquards; knits; linens; novelties; prints; shirting; silk; silky aspects; wool; and yarns.

Apparel Sourcing USA — a long-term joint venture partnership between Messe Frankfurt and the China-based Sub-Council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT-TEX) — is designed to offer apparel brands, retailers, wholesalers and independent design firms a dedicated sourcing marketplace for finding the best domestic and international apparel manufacturers. According to Messe Frankfurt, Apparel Sourcing is the only event on the East Coast to focus on sourcing finished apparel, contract manufacturing and private label development. For Winter 2019, organizers will group products into the following 21 categories: activewear, polo shirts/shirting, knits/tops, sweaters, dresses, suiting, ties/ascot, denim, pants/bottoms, loungewear/ sleepwear, intimates/shapewear, socks/hosiery, gloves, outerwear/coats, hats/headwear, swimwear/resortwear, uniforms/workwear, jewelry, shawls/ scarves and labels.

The January 2018 edition of Texworld USA attracted 260 exhibitors and more than 3,700 attendees from 50 countries; while Apparel Sourcing USA saw 100 exhibitors and 600 attendees from 25 countries in January 2018.

Education, Event Highlights

Visitors to both events will have the opportunity to view trends for Spring/Summer 2019-20 created by Texworld USA Art Directors Louis Gerin and Gregory Lamaud.

According to organizers, other highlights of the Winter 2019 editions of Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA include:

• A wide list of exhibitors from India, China, Turkey, Taiwan, and more;
• The return of Local Loft, which features domestic manufacturers who can meet low minimum requirements;
• Resource Row with expanded offerings in sustainability, technology and trends;
• SPOTLIGHT on sustainability;
• Seminar series organized by Lenzing featuring relevant industry issues; and
• Textile Talks on the show floor covering hot topics including fabric innovation, sustainable processes and trade; and the Explore the Floor series where visitors have the opportunity to participate in guided tours with industry experts.

“For our winter 2019 edition we continue to heavily concentrate on bringing our attendees the best in fabric sourcing with a curated group of international exhibitors focused on bringing high quality products at a reasonable price,” said Jennifer Bacon, show director, Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA. “Our seminars and floor sessions have evolved by featuring discussions on the latest technologies, inspiring seasonal trends, textile innovations and more. The upcoming show spotlights sustainability and will educate attendees on conscious sourcing in today’s climate from industry experts.”

Registration is complimentary for qualified trade industry professionals. Messe Frankfurt recommends that attendees preregister online, but it also is possible to register on-site using a business card and photo identification. The show is open January 21 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on January 23.

For more information about Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA, please visit texworldusa.com and apparel sourcingshow.com.

November/December 2018

The 2019 edition of Techtextil North America heads to Raleigh, N.C., to locate near the heart of the North American textile industry.

TW Special Report

Things are going to look a little bit different at the upcoming Techtextil North America 2019 show, the 16th edition of the event to be held February 26-28, 2019. First, is the Raleigh Convention Center venue in Raleigh, N.C. Techtextil North America’s “West coast” edition held in odd-numbered years, is held in different cities — most recently in Chicago, Houston and Anaheim — unlike the even-numbered year show, which is always held in Atlanta. According to organizer Atlanta-based Messe Frankfurt Inc.: “The relocation to Raleigh brings the show back to the heart of the North American Textile Industry, with drive-in access for many leading global companies and within minutes of one of the best airports in the U.S. — Raleigh-Durham International Airport.” North Carolina is actively involved in the textile industry with more than 700 textile manufacturing locations and more than 42,000 industry workers, reports Messe Frankfurt.

Second, is Atlanta-based organizer Messe Frankfurt’s partnership with North Carolina State University’s (NC State’s) Wilson College of Textiles for the event. Locating the show in Raleigh presented the opportunity to collaborate with the university — well known as a hub for textile research and development — and name the Wilson College of Textiles the first official academic partner of Techtextil North America. Messe Frankfurt hopes the partnership will offer multiple benefits:

• Faculty and staff from the Wilson College of Textiles will be involved in educational opportunities at the show.
• Participating companies will have access to the latest textile research occurring at NC State, and the college’s undergraduate and graduate programs will gain exposure through special feature areas on the show floor.
• A career fair, to be held February 28 at the Wilson College of Textiles, will help facilitate careers and partnerships between students and show attendees.

“The [Wilson] College of Textiles at NC State University is proud to be the first academic partner for Techtextil North America,” said Dr. David Hinks, dean and Cone Mills Professor of Textile Chemistry, College of Textiles. “Our partnership with Techtextil North America is an ideal way to achieve our joint goal of advancing the textile industry.”

As always, Techtextil North America will feature a high-quality symposium; Tech Talks on the show floor hosted by The Nonwovens Institute; and its annual Graduate Student Poster Program, which will also be open to undergraduate students for the first time. “The Lab” testing demonstration and learning area, is a new feature on the show floor that will highlight technology for textile testing and standards. In addition, on Wednesday, February 27, an after-hours networking reception will be hosted at NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles during which tours of the college and NWI will be offered. Tickets for the event are limited and can be purchased during registration, or on site at an increased cost.

“We are thrilled about this new endeavor and our first ever official academic partnership with North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles,” said Kristy Meade, Show Director, Technical Shows: Textiles, Sewn Products, Equipment and Technology at Messe Frankfurt North America. “Through our collaboration, Techtextil North America 2019 will serve as a direct link between innovators of industry and the next generation of textile professionals, and we hope to create an engaging environment that sparks new ideas, partnerships, and industry growth.”

For more information about Techtextil North America 2019, visit techtextilna.com.

November/December 2018

The collocated IFAI Expo and CAMX shows brought the biggest and best of the industrial and specialty fabrics and composites industries to Dallas.

By Jim Kaufmann, Contributing Editor

Another year, and another tradeshow — well, two actually, given the collocation of CAMX 2018 and IFAI Expo 2018 — are in the books. And as an astute textile industry executive once suggested: “The textile industry is the most incestuous industry I’ve ever been a part of. Your customers are your suppliers. Your suppliers’ suppliers may be your suppliers or competitors or customers. Your competitors could be your best allies on any given day, or not! It’s crazy! Everyone knows everyone or knows someone who knows everyone else. That six degrees of separation theory is really maybe at most two or three degrees in the textile industry, if that.” The recent collocation of IFAI Expo and CAMX 2018 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas proved to be a further example of the blurring of lines between the textile industry, the applications it serves and how business lines continue to evolve in the 21st century.

IFAI Expo is organized by the Roseville, Minn.-based Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), and CAMX, the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo, is produced by the American Composites Manufacturers Association and Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering. Together, the events made for a good fit and a rather compelling view of one segment of the textile industry’s future. “Being a first time visitor, this was an eye-opening experience for me,” noted Jacob Chess, who will soon obtain his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University. “Understanding how companies from all facets of the textiles and composites industries meet to discuss business and share technologies was extremely useful and inspiring for my impending career.”

Overall the composites segment of the textile industry continues to expand and prosper and this was evident in the size of the CAMX portion of the show featuring roughly 550 exhibitors ranging from inputs and fabric suppliers to molding components and end-product manufacturers.

IFAI reported more than 800 exhibitors between the two shows, and therefore hosted fewer booths compared to previous independently-held shows. However, it could be easily argued that numerous companies exhibiting on the CAMX side typically were regular participants at IFAI shows.

Regardless of the numbers, Steve Clarke, president of TEAM Inc., Woonsocket, R.I., felt: “CAMX and IFAI both had lots of new companies and products, or at least ones I hadn’t noticed at previous shows. Both shows provided plenty of opportunity to meet people, either existing contacts, old friends or new people for the first time.”

Both shows also offered the requisite assortment of specific seminars, workshops and informal gatherings and technical sessions throughout the show floors along with numerous industry specific awards targeting a variety of honors. For complete listings of award winners, please visit the IFAI and CAMX websites.

The general consensus of most attendees and exhibitors at both shows was that attendance seemed on the lighter side this year, which could partially be attributed to the weather in Dallas which was cold and raining throughout. But overall, the mood was positive both on the show floor and at the after parties where Texas brisket, music, mechanical bulls and armadillo races — yes, there were real armadillos — welcomed invitees. According to Steve Warner, former IFAI President and publisher of the BeaverLake6 Report covering the technical textiles industry: “Even though this event left me wanting more, the most positive take away was the simple fact that the IFAI and CAMX organizations had the market savvy to get together. It’s a natural fit and these shows should absolutely collocate again.”

November/December 2018

INDA’s recent RISE® Conference offered attendees a look at new applications and market segments for nonwovens and engineered materials.

By Rachael S. Davis, Executive Editor

With an arsenal of quality control technologies to choose from, textile manufacturers have all manner of ways to control product quality. But there is one thing that will always remain beyond the industry’s control, and that’s the weather. Many a meeting, conference and trade show have been impacted by weather-related events over the years — think Techtextil North America 2015 in Houston, CAMX 2017, or the National Council of Textile Organization’s 2018 Annual Meeting. Unfortunately, the Cary, N.C.-based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), was the latest group to deal with weather woes, as the dates for its 2018 Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics (RISE®) Conference collided with the impending landfall of Hurricane Florence.

However, proceedings for the eighth edition of the conference — held at the Raleigh Marriott City Center, Raleigh, N.C. — suffered only minor disruptions as INDA worked to retool the program and accommodate speaker’s and attendees’ travel needs ahead of the hurricane. All presentations were given on the first two days of the conference so the third day could be used as a travel day. According to INDA, the weather threat did not significantly impact attendance with almost all preregistered guests participating in the conference as planned.

RISE focuses on emerging technologies and ideas with the aim of connecting innovations with real-world applications. Attendees were treated to presentations on a wide variety of topics including biomimicry, medical nonwoven developments, material science developments, web formation technology, e-textiles and standards, and microfibers in the marine environment.

“RISE is a valuable eye-opener for new applications and market segments,” said Paul Latten, director of research and development, SENW – Southeast Nonwovens Inc., Clover, S.C.

During the conference, attendees listened to presentations from each of the three RISE Innovation Award finalists — DiviDiaper Inc., Freudenberg Performance Materials’ Evolon® New Generation – Bedding Application; and Suominen Corp.’s Suominen Intelligent Nonwovens™ — and voted for their favorite innovation. DiviDiaper took home the top honor for its divided diaper design created to separate solid and liquid contents for infection and sores reduction and prevention. “We are delighted to win the award,” said Tivon Jeffers, inventor and CEO, DiviDiaper.

“With nonwovens being engineered materials that provide solutions for performance challenges that are continuously developing, the RISE conference serves the need to expose industry technology scouts to new approaches and open minds to new concepts,” said Dave Rousse, president, INDA. “This year’s focus on biomimicry hit that mark, as did our other content. Everyone charged with bringing new thinking to their company’s product development activities should have RISE on their ‘must attend’ list of events.

The next RISE conference will take place in September 2019.

November/December 2018