Before a single pound of yarn can be spun or a yard of fabric can be woven, a capital investment must be made to secure the means of production. In a positive sign, capital investments by America’s textile industry have surged during recent years, driven by growing demand for innovative textile products, expanding exports and greater recognition of the added value of domestic sourcing. In the most recent government statistics, annual capital investments by U.S. textile mills reached nearly $1.7 billion in 2015, a 75 percent increase from $960 million in 2009.
National Spinning Co. Inc. — a Washington, N.C.-based, employee-owned company founded in 1921 — is one such example of how demand for technically advanced textiles is driving capital expenditures in America’s textile industry. Nonwovens are textiles made from long fibers, bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment instead of being woven or knitted together. In 2012, National Spinning identified this market as a growth opportunity to complement its long-held leadership in specialty yarns.
To execute its strategy, National Spinning acquired a nonwoven fabric manufacturer in Lincolnton, N.C. Soon, the company was supplying a wide range of innovative fabrics for the automotive, home appliance, construction, noise abatement, insulation and bedding markets from its Carolina Nonwovens division. Its entry into the nonwovens business was so successful that National Spinning had to quickly consider expansion options.
“We weren’t able to expand at the existing location, and we couldn’t find a suitable existing building within a 20-mile radius, which was essential because we were committed to keeping our existing employees onboard with the expansion,” said Jim Booterbaugh, president of National Spinning. “That’s when we decided to go ‘greenfield’ and build a new plant on an 11-acre site nearby in Maiden, N.C.” By designing a new manufacturing center from the ground up, National Spinning built a facility tailored to its nonwovens business. The new facility emphasized a simplified workflow, enhanced flexibility, improved quality, increased efficiency, space for ancillary services and a positive work environment. Grand opening festivities for the $12 million, 92,000-square-foot manufacturing center — projected to create 65 new jobs — were held in July 2016.
Technology A Major Factor In Capital Investments
Continual innovations in textile equipment and processes also are driving capital investments by U.S. textile companies as illustrated by a recent expansion by Wichita, Kan.-based INVISTA, an international leader in the production of nylon, spandex, polyester and specialty materials.
In August 2016, Invista announced a $30 million expansion of its fiber manufacturing plant in Camden, S.C. This investment represented the industry’s first one-step, small-lot capability specifically for solution-dyed nylon 6,6 — a form of nylon with superior resilience and stain resistance for carpet.
“Our mill customers and the design community rely on Invista to offer a palette of hundreds of solution-dyed nylon 6,6 colors for each of their unique design preferences,” said Marc Ahrens, vice president of Invista’s specialty flooring business. “The new technology is expanding our capability to offer sophisticated color families while improving service.”
Invista developed its new, proprietary small-lot technology by working closely with Germany-based equipment supplier Trützschler GmbH & Co. KG, which supports manufacturing and customer service sites all around the world. The variety of small-lot nylon 6,6 fibers are initially being offered under Invista’s Antron® Lumena™ brand to serve expanding global markets.
Perceptions Shifting Toward Domestic Sourcing
Yet another factor favoring capital investments by the U.S. textile industry is a growing recognition that sourcing offshore is not always as profitable as sourcing regionally or even locally for brands and retailers. While conventional wisdom has long held that clothing and home furnishings must be sourced from Asia to be price-competitive, recent research illustrates that certain initial cost advantages can quickly disappear due to the inherent disadvantages of sourcing overseas.
“Sourcing products from Asia requires long lead times, which can result in a mismatch of production and consumer demand,” said David Sasso, vice president of sales for Buhler Quality Yarns, Jefferson, Ga., a producer of luxury-branded yarns made using Supima cotton. “When a brand orders so far ahead of the market, it can easily order too much product, which results in heavy discounting, or it can order too little, which means it won’t meet demand. The goal of our industry is to help brands document the real costs of sourcing abroad.”
To create greater efficiency and speed-to-market in the apparel supply chain, Buhler Quality Yarns is one of many advocates for an interactive cost-calculating tool innovated by MIT’s Sloan School of Management. By working with the National Cotton Council and others who specialize in supply chain processes and technologies, Buhler is using the tool to deepen the apparel industry’s understanding of how to more accurately value the time and risk involved with offshoring.
“This new tool enables brands to analyze the variables that can turn an initial price advantage from Asia into money left on the table because of having to order several weeks ahead of the market,” Sasso said. “We also emphasize to our customers the risks involved in international shipping and the potential loss of intellectual property when working with non-domestic sources.”
For Sasso, one of the strongest arguments for domestic sourcing is the opportunity for brands and various elements of the textile supply chain to collaborate in creating value-added products that will inspire consumers to buy.
“When the supply chain starts thinking like a consumer, we can come up with so many ideas that can help designers create better products that improve margins for everyone,” he said. “We know that by sourcing domestically, this type of collaboration is far easier and far more effective.”
Editor’s Note: This article appears in Textile World courtesy of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) as part of the “American Textiles: We Make Amazing™” campaign. NCTO is a trade association representing U.S. textile manufacturing. Please visit ncto.org to learn more about NCTO, the industry and the campaign.
The entrance to Pailung’s Open Innovation Lab — the fabric candy store
Pailung sought to gain understanding of fabrics and fabric construction to enhance its technology offerings for manufacturers.
By Jim Kaufmann, Contributing Editor
You may not have heard of the Pailung Machinery Mill Co., but if you are involved with weft knitting in any way, you really should get to know them. Pailung — based in New Taipei City, Taiwan — is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of circular and flat weft knitting machines. Literally, thousands of its machines are in use throughout the world, producing weft knit fabrics for a multitude of industries and applications. However, if you speak with Pailung’s Chairman and Principal Owner James C. C. Wang, he will tell you simply that, “it’s really all about the fabrics.” This philosophy, which evolved out of a specific conversation years ago, has become one of the guiding principles propelling Pailung to become not only a leading weft knitting machine manufacturer, but also a valued solutions provider to the textile industry.
Wang’s father and two uncles founded Pailung in 1977. The company began making circular knitting machines in a small factory not far from its current headquarters. Those machines were sold primarily to fabric producers in Taiwan and China. Wang joined the company in the mid-80s after earning a degree in Electronic Engineering and fulfilling a two-year commitment to the military in Taiwan. He worked in different areas throughout the company eventually becoming chairman in 2013. Pailung has experienced consistent growth and prosperity under Wang’s direction. In 2009, the company acquired a majority stake in Vanguard Supreme, the only remaining U.S.-based manufacturer of circular knitting machines, located in Monroe, N.C. “We’ve learned so much from Pailung,” said Bill Moody, president, Vanguard-Pailung. “They’ve been a good partner and their focus on innovation and the customer has helped us to expand our presence as well.”
It was a comment from a customer years ago that prompted Wang to reexamine Pailung’s business philosophy and future direction. During that iconic discussion, “The gentleman looked at me and said ‘you’re just a machine builder, what do you know about fabrics?,’” recounted Wang. “At that moment, I realized that if Pailung was ever going to be the premier weft knit machine supplier to the world, we needed to have a complete understanding of fabrics and the techniques and technologies involved in making them. How can we expect to build better machines if we don’t completely understand the fabrics that we can make on them?” That specific customer exchange led directly to a fundamental change in business philosophy, which included the creation of Pailung’s Open Innovation Lab, the expansion and diversification of its machine offerings and a new emphasis on all aspects of the weft knit supply chain. The results of these efforts have positioned Pailung as a global leader in weft knitting technology.
James C. C. Wang, chairman ,and principal owner Pailung Machinery Mill Co.
Innovator And Solutions Provider
The Open Innovation Lab is a cornerstone to Pailung’s ambition to be a textile industry solutions provider. It was originally created as a vehicle to drive innovation within Pailung and to understand what types of fabrics its growing line of machines could produce, but has evolved into much, much more. “We now develop fabrics to inspire the markets to inspire the customers” said Wang, who challenges the lab’s fabric designers to create at least 200 new knit designs each year, with 20 or more of them expected to be so unique that they haven’t been seen before. Wang stressed that “developing better fabrics helps us to develop better machines and more accurately anticipate customer’s needs.”
The Open Innovation Lab is available to collaborate and cooperate with all tier levels of Pailung’s customer base. It has grown to become a resource for brands hoping to create a new edge, designers and manufacturers searching for inspiration or a different look and feel, innovators hoping to prove a new concept and others simply looking for that intangible spark. As a result, the Open Innovation Lab has evolved into a repository containing a wealth of information. All around — on shelves, tabletops and racks — are untold numbers of knit samples created over the years on Pailung equipment. In addition, there are between 6,000 and 7,000 rolls of different fabrics in storage that customers can choose samples of, compare to others or simply gain motivation from. And for customers who aren’t able to visit the Open Innovation Lab frequently enough, Pailung now sends out swatch books with new and varied fabric designs quarterly to provide inspiration. A variety of dedicated sample machines staffed with talented technicians can turn around customer samples within two to six weeks depending on the level of complexity. As fashion product cycles continue to change faster and with customers looking for more turnovers, seasonal or otherwise, the resources provided by the Open Innovation Lab quickly become invaluable to those who are able to use them.
However, the Open Innovation Lab is not only dedicated to the fashion industry. New applications and endeavors outside of the traditional textile industry are being created on a more frequent basis as the industry continues to evolve into new frontiers. Currently 70 percent of Pailung’s weft machine customers are in the apparel and fashion industry segment. Wang believes this percentage will drop over the next five years to 40 percent with the remaining 60 percent comprised of industrial, technical, smart textiles and unknown new sectors. “We want to help define, redefine and create new product categories for the textile industry. The Messe Frankfurt-owned trade fair Techtextil currently identifies 12 sectors. We want to help define and create what comes next — it’s a natural progression,” Wang professed. The resources available through the Open Innovation Lab certainly present nothing to contradict this notion, nor does Pailung’s research and development philosophy.
Company Culture
Pailung approaches each market segment and, in fact, every country they sell products to individually, complete with separate strategies. Wang’s perception is that: “Every segment is different and views their products as such. So, you have to respect that and modify your sales efforts to also respect each perspective.
“When we go into a new industry, we have to treat it as a blank sheet of paper and we’re at the start of writing a new story,” Wang said. “We have to understand the customer’s needs and not have any pre-conceived notions of what they need. We must be a sponge and have a humble attitude in order to receive, understand and absorb as much as we can. We need to live for that learning.” For example, Pailung is working with several different companies to create weft knit uppers for running shoes. “If we want to deal with the shoe industry effectively, we have to understand what it takes to make shoes,” Wang said. “And the same goes for any other industry we may enter.”
Like other successful companies, Pailung’s employees are the driving force to its culture. “Teamwork is the key,” Wang said. “Getting all the different mindsets, creative fashion designers, engineers, programmers and workers on the shop floor, to work together as one is critical to our success. Effective communication between departments is a must.” Continuous efforts to train every Pailung employee is an ongoing process that never stops. “We have to control our own future, so we will always spend on training our employees, especially those new to the company, so we always have a new breed in the offing ready to go” Wang said. Every employee at Pailung is encouraged to learn through the training programs provided by the Open Innovation Lab, many of which are also offered as a service to Pailung’s customers.
The intricacies of a Pailung circular knitting machine
Machines
Pailung is a leader in weft knit technology and continues to spend aggressively on research and development. Its machine offerings are virtually unlimited, which include up to 85 different circular weft machine configurations from very basic to extremely complex. Pailung manufactures approximately 60-percent of each machine’s components in house, including critical items such as cams, carriers and cylinder boxes. The rest are purchased from approved suppliers, many of whom have established long-term relationships.
“All of the machine technology is 100-percent Pailung technology,” said Mason Chao, Pailung’s sales representative for flat knitting equipment. “The customers always want more and we strive to provide it.”
Pailung added flat knitting machines to its lineup a few years ago because it felt weft knit technologies could be transferred between flat and circular configurations to produce even more interesting fabrics. One of Pailung’s new flat knit machines is capable of knitting spacer fabrics where the in-line spacing can vary in thickness from 3 millimeters (mm) to more than 15 mm should the application call for it.
Weevknit technology blurs the lines between knit and woven fabrics.
As fabric preferences change, the machines used to make those fabrics also need to change. Pailung has seen significant growth in the sports, exercise and outerwear markets — including the recent efforts to create knit shoe uppers — and has created machine characteristics to address the specific needs of these areas. Home textiles markets — including mattress ticking, blankets and the upholstery markets — also show great interest for the new WeevKnit line of circular and flat knitting machines recently developed by Pailung. WeevKnit fabrics exhibit the look and feel of wovens, but maintain many of the characteristics recognizable in knits, which Pailung believes will help interior designers by allowing for better contours and curves. In automotive applications, Honda now uses WeevKnit fabrics in some sport utility vehicles, and Hyundai incorporated WeevKnit fabrics into the Sonata’s upholstery.
MultiFleece™ is another example of machines changing to meet the designer’s needs. Pailung’s MultiFleece machine technology incorporates jacquard needle selection capabilities on both sides of the fabric. This allows a designer the freedom to create completely different patterns on the front and fleeced sides and fully integrated into the fabric construction. Pailung also has developed new and improved techniques to allow for inverse plating with smooth intarsia color transitions, virtually seamless reverse plaiting techniques and exponentially increased patterning effects and color change capabilities. Textiles are about look, touch and feel and Pailung’s advances in weft knit technology and techniques appear to broaden and in many cases blur these boundaries.
There was a big trend and push a few years ago for seamless garment technology, but according to Wang, after looking at the data, there was not a real cost or performance advantage for seamless garments in most applications when compared to traditional circular knits with cut-and-sew processing. So, efforts to create knitting machines in this area were reassigned to other applications viewed as more probable opportunities.
“You have to adapt to the industry needs, wherever they may lead,” Wang professed. However, as the number of diverse machines and differences in each grow, they still need to be serviced and maintained. Pailung’s machine designers have learned to standardize, modulize and simplify the machine designs wherever possible to keep service and parts supply needs to a minimum.
“Competition is always there,” Wang said. “Cheaper labor countries are always there. We’re not concerned about this because they’ve always been there. We have to control our own destiny. Organizationally, we need to remain flexible and adapt as necessary. For example, if a new technology takes off, how do we manage and keep it, as well as everything else, on track? It’s not easy, but we need to do it to continue to grow,” Wang added. It helps as Wang noted to have a: “customer base that is very critical, which helps us to stay focused. They expect functionality, reliability and productivity and we must deliver all three!”
Latest Developments
Pailung’s Spinknit technology — a new circular weft machine concept to be introduced this year, which allows sliver to be directly fed into the knitting machine where it is first drafted into yarn then knit into fabric via one continuous process — is one example of the need for this adaptive approach. “Customers for this technology may be fiber and yarn spinners,” Wang said. “We’ve never sold to spinners before. What is their mindset? How are they different from our traditional customers? How do we adapt to meet their needs?” Wang inquired.
Adapting to meet the needs of a constantly changing marketplace is at the root of Pailung’s success. Remaining interested in any and all opportunities certainly has played a large role as well. “I’m optimistic that knits can be used almost anywhere,” Wang said. “We’re still young, interested and growing and want to have a larger role in the industry as a textile player to contribute our results to other industries wherever useful.” After all, it is all about the fabrics.
DuPont™ Sorona® contains 37-percent renewable plant-based ingredients and is used in a variety of applications across the apparel industry.
The acceleration of bio-based textiles can revolutionize the apparel industry’s future
By Renee Henze
Over the past several years, sustainability has transitioned from a buzzword to a critical part of business operations across sectors and is playing an increasingly significant role in material sourcing. Companies are implementing sustainability initiatives as key components to corporate social responsibility efforts with a focus on truly minimizing the impact made on the environment in the products and services they deliver. More frequently, businesses across industries are realizing both the social and economic impact of their production choices. They are considering the source of materials and exploring and incorporating recycled or naturally derived ingredients — developing consumer products that deliver on consumer performance needs. Private and public sector organizations are embracing their role as leaders, working diligently to create industry-wide policies and programming that embrace set standards for eco-minded products, from life-cycle assessments to eco-labeling. The textile industry specifically has a significant opportunity to reduce its footprint and create a sustainable model of eco-friendly fabrics, with long-term potential to transform the apparel market.
The Need And Demand for Sustainability
The rising use of sustainable materials is a direct result of the increasing recognition by the global community that it needs environmentally responsible products on a mass scale. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs expects that the world population will increase by 33 percent by 2050, reaching nearly 10 billion people.1 Simultaneously, researchers anticipate that global energy consumption will rise by 56 percent by 2040, with fossil fuels continuing to supply nearly 80 percent of world energy demand.2 As a direct result of this population and energy usage growth, the sustainability of the goods and services we consume becomes a critically important consideration. Without a conscious effort to reduce impact, there is the potential for rapidly growing, negative ecological consequences that will affect generations to come.
The negative environmental impacts of the apparel industry are well-recognized. Due in part to trends in style and consumer purchasing habits, the fashion industry ranks as one of the greatest contributors to the pollution of fresh water.3 Fast Fashion — the cultural phenomenon that encourages the purchasing of less durable and often inexpensive trending clothing — results in the mass production of garments that are rarely produced with eco-friendly practices in mind. Furthermore, it has created a throwaway culture where society accepts wearing garments only a handful of times before discarding them. Americans alone throw away 70 pounds of usable textiles per person every year, which equates to a staggering total of 25.5 billion pounds of waste.4 From manufacturing and sale to end of use, it’s abundantly clear that there is a need for a more thoughtful and responsible approach to the textile industry.
Inconsistent with current consumer consumption habits, data suggests that 84 percent of consumers want to purchase sustainable products and 71 percent are willing to pay more for them.5 “Slow fashion,” the growing initiative that aims to encourage consumers to purchase and maintain high-quality clothing with a long-term mindset, is gaining momentum. Many designers and brands also are working to extend the life of garments and recycling materials. Where-based Patagonia, for example, is committed to responsible sourcing across its operations and uses materials such as 100-percent organic cotton, alternative natural fibers like hemp, recycled nylon, polyester and wool.6 Swedish brand Filippa K implements sustainability in several innovative company initiatives with a goal of making its entire collection sustainable by 2030. Its garments are available for rent, offering consumers an approach to sustainable consumption, and it collects old Filippa K products to sell in its own secondhand store or donate to a humanitarian organization.7 High-fashion luxury brands are also adopting more responsible materials with designers such as Stella McCartney utilizing fibers made from plastic objects collected from oceans.8 Despite these strides, more than three-quarters of consumers never actually invest in sustainable apparel, demonstrating the inconsistency between consumer intention and action.9 This disparity can be attributed to consumer concerns about the credibility and performance of the product, signifying a major opportunity in the market to develop eco-efficient products that do not compromise on performance. By creating textiles that meet performance needs, the apparel supply chain can reimagine a more environmentally friendly industry and be the leaders of significant change.
Combining Sustainability And Performance For A Bio-Based Solution
Approaching material development and manufacturing with a smart and mindful eye toward environmental impact can play a fundamental role in increasing the sustainability of the apparel industry. Greater scrutiny and attention across the multiple steps and components of the apparel supply chain has led to environmental and social improvements in the areas of development, processing and finishing. From a fiber standpoint, using recycled fibers and fabrics is gaining traction, while other forms of innovation, such as bio-based textiles, are achieving rapid momentum and adoption. Renewable plant-based ingredients, such as starch or cellulose, make up many bio-based products, offering an alternative to petroleum-based products. As a result, bio-based fibers and fabrics reduce dependence on fossil fuels, also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions during production as compared to traditional man-made materials.
Although bio-based materials have an evident positive impact on the environment, consumers still perceive sustainable products as lacking the performance attributes that they desire. Therefore, to truly capture their attention and interest, naturally derived materials must also offer relevant and lasting performance benefits. DuPont™ Sorona®, for example, contains 37-percent renewable plant-based ingredients, but also elevates the performance of fabrics. Sorona brings stretch and recovery, softness, moisture wicking and durability to a variety of applications and end uses across the apparel industry. The combination of sustainability and performance converge to elevate the standards of the apparel market and help lead the transformation of the textile industry.
The Industry-Wide Opportunity
According to recent research published by Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, bio-based textiles are more frequently entering the design, development and commercial offerings of global apparel brands. With an aim to discover how companies are thinking about and incorporating the use of bio-based textiles into their products, researchers conducted a global study involving stakeholders across the apparel value chain, from raw material developers and fiber spinners to fabric mills and brands and retailers. The study found that 54 percent of respondents cited customer demand as a key driver in their use of bio-based materials. In addition, despite consumer perceptions that eco-efficient products do not perform well, the supply chain understands the sustainability and performance value that these materials can offer with 47 percent of respondents also stating high performance as a primary reason for using bio-based materials rather than non-bio-based ingredients. Consequently, 55 percent of those surveyed along the supply chain said they are looking to increase their use of bio-based materials in the next three years, signifying the potential for both significant growth in products that utilize bio-based ingredients and the sales of those products.10
The Future Of Bio-Based Apparel
Given the environmental need, market demand and real growing interest by the apparel supply chain, the bio-based segment is well-positioned for major advancement. In 2005, bio-based materials, including textiles, accounted for 7 percent of all global sales.11 Specifically within the chemical sector, bio-based materials accounted for approximately $77 billion in value.11 It’s estimated that by 2020, the global market will grow to $250 billion, and by 2030, one-third of chemicals and materials will be sourced from biological ingredients.11 Additionally, global production capacity of bioplastics in the textile market are estimated to rise 169 percent from 2013 to 2018.12
Sustainability-minded fabrics will also continue to gain momentum through the support of major apparel industry initiatives. The San Francisco-based Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) — an alliance for sustainable production across the apparel, footwear and home textile industries — has developed a series of monitoring tools known as The Higg Index to help companies assess sustainability efforts. The Index enables brands, retailers and production facilities to measure their ecological, social and labor impacts and identify opportunities for improvement. Textile Exchange — a global nonprofit driving environmentally responsible practices in the value chain based in O’Donnell, Texas — developed a benchmarking program that seeks to identify fibers and materials that are socially and ecologically progressive. Many companies are also implementing life cycle assessment modeling within their own businesses by analyzing environmental effects across all stages of a product’s life. This includes production, distribution, in-use and end-of-use/life stages.
As renewably sourced textiles become widely explored and adopted, the apparel industry is well-poised to revolutionize fashion by not only reducing its environmental impact today but also creating a more sustainable future.
Spinners and industry insiders interviewed by Yarn Market say they are optimistic that the improved results of the past few months will continue through the third quarter of the year.
“I would say I feel good about where we are and how the next few months look,” said one multi-national spinner. “We are getting good week-to-week results, but we haven’t yet built a substantial backlog.” He maintains an inventory correction is still in progress with a number of major customers. “We knew there was an excess of inventory; we just didn’t realize how big it was.
I believe some major customers still have inventory they need to move. Once that happens, I believe we will start to see bigger orders come in. That will create some longer-range opportunities.”
Another spinner commented: “Many ring-spun yarns are still in demand. Blends are still moving well. I’ve seen some improvement in 100-percent combed cotton yarns. OE products are still sluggish, and a lot of that is because the market is currently oversupplied.”
From a yarn broker: “Specialty yarns are strong — but they’ve been pretty solid all along. I’ve seen some improvement in size of orders, as well. Overall, I am happy with where we are at the moment, but there is still room for improvement. I hope — and believe — that business conditions will continue to improve for us as the year progresses.”
Opportunities For Growth
Several spinners are seeing niche products as an opportunity for growth. “One of the things that works in our favor is our research and development capabilities,” said one spinner. “We have developed a reputation as an innovator, and we have customers coming to us asking for us to help develop a yarn that fills a specific need.”
Another spinner commented: “There are a lot of opportunities out there for development of yarns for technical and specialty applications. We have been working to further develop better fire-retardant products, for example. And there are new opportunities every day for new high-technology applications.”
The demand for advanced products is one of the reasons for the resurgence of the U.S. textile industry, sources say. As a result, textile colleges and schools are once again turning out high numbers of graduates. For example, a late June news release from the American Chemical Society read in part: “… the high-tech nature of modern textiles and a drive for productivity has increased the demand for experts, including polymer chemists and dye specialists. For example, the North Carolina State University College of Textiles reported its largest-ever graduating class this year. And if the past is any indication, most are likely to find jobs within three months of earning their degrees. In a field once marked by rampant job loss, stability is returning with a new focus on advanced specialty products.”
Beyond high-tech applications, rising wages in China and other countries, along with higher infrastructure costs, have resulted in numerous programs returning to the Western Hemisphere. “Our industry is the most technically advanced in the world,” said one industry expert. “Productivity and efficiency enables us to be competitive even with low-wage countries. And our industry is unmatched in product quality, delivery and service. There are going to be bumps in the road from time to time, but I think the future for U.S. textiles is bright and that you will continue to see growth.”
Added another spinner: “Barring some unforeseen upheaval, our industry is healthier today than it has been in many years. More and more customers are realizing the advantages that can be had by placing programs with U.S. companies.”
Cotton Prices
For the week ending June 29, the price for the base quality of cotton (color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength 27.0-28.9, uniformity 81.0-81.9) in the seven designated markets measured by the USDA averaged 66.85 cents per pound. This is the lowest weekly average since August 19, 2016, when the average was 66.94 cents. The weekly average was down from 66.99 the previous week, but up from 63.44 cents reported the corresponding period a year ago. The ICE October settlement prices ended the week at 69.05 cents, compared to 68.03 cents the previous week.
Articles in this issue of Textile World lean heavily on the technical side. This wasn’t intentional, but it illustrates the continued emphasis on innovation and investment in the industry. On the back of solid Techtextils in Germany and Chicago, and with INDA’s RISE® conference and IFAI Expo 2017 on the horizon, the industry’s appetite for exploring technical textiles is significant.
Traditional textiles are still important sectors, and are benefiting from near shoring and Made in America trends. Investment continues to expand as the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) states in “Annual Capital Investments By U.S. Textile Mills Surge,” in this issue.The article states: “In a positive sign, capital investments by America’s textile industry have surged during recent years, driven by growing demand for innovative textile products, expanding exports and greater recognition of the added value of domestic sourcing. In the most recent government statistics, annual capital investments by U.S. textile mills reached nearly $1.7 billion in 2015, a 75 percent increase from $960 million in 2009.” The interesting aspect of this trend is that capital expenditures are thought of as a dependable leading indicator with the exception of a major economic disruption or force majeure.
Energy prices are low with gasoline in the $2.15 to $2.25 range and some consumers are finding prices under $2.00 per gallon. Consumers are optimistic, manufacturers are optimistic and retailers are trying to figure things out.
Edward Gregor’s article, “New, Emerging And Disruptive Technologies,” in this issue is very enlightening on how the industry is changing. He says a great deal by stating: “New technologies are positioned to become potential market leaders in the increasingly sophisticated world of textiles.” Gregor continues with profiles of new advances and the companies driving the developments forward.
China also continues to invest in the United States, this time through Key Safety Systems (KSS) — a division of China-based Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. — which has announced its intention to acquire substantially all the assets of automotive safety systems supplier Takata Corp. for $1.588 billion. Takata’s Kernersville, N.C.-based high-performance textile and composites manufacturer Highland Industries Inc. is included in the transaction and will become part of KSS.
The editors and staff of TW, Textiles Panamericanos and TW Asia would like to express condolences to the families and friends of two great industry leaders for their recent losses.
Paul T. O’Day recently passed away, having led the American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA) from 1984 to 2017. “Famously courteous and humble, Paul won heated policy debates through the power of his extraordinary intellect, his expansive institutional knowledge and his total command of the subject matter at hand,” said Auggie Tantillo, president and CEO, NCTO.
Industry pioneer Gerold Flessner also recently passed away at the age of 92. Known for significant innovations in textile, man-made fiber and nonwovens technology, his innovations impacted textiles in a meaningful, positive way.
Both men, with their great talents, made U.S. textiles and textiles in general better with their dedication, vision and loyalty to the textile industry.
McAdenville, N.C.-based Pharr Yarns has announced a new brand identity for the company to unite its five business units under one parent brand. Moving forward, the parent will be known simply as Pharr and its family of companies includes: Pharr Fibers & Yarns, a McAdenville-based carpet fiber and yarn producer; high performance yarn manufacturer Pharr High Performance (HP), McAdenville; Dalton, Ga.-based Phenix Flooring, a producer of residential carpet and distributor of hard surface flooring; Strand Hospitality Services, a hotel management services company, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Belmont Land & Investment, a diversified real estate company, Belmont, N.C.
“It was important that our core values — Family, Innovative, Responsive, Strong Relationships and Trustworthy — came through in every application of the new Pharr brand,” said Merrie Barnett, vice president, marketing, Pharr. “From the logo to type treatments, all the way to how each individual brand’s color palette and logos worked together, it was imperative that those five values were infused in everything we did.”
In response to surging volumes of aggressively-priced low melt polyester staple fiber (PSF) imports from Korea and Taiwan, Livingstone, N.J.-based Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America has filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission requesting that the government investigate the dumping and resulting injury to the domestic industry, and to impose anti-dumping duties on the imports of low melt PSF from the aforementioned countries. The document states that volumes of imports of these fibers have increased more than 31 percent from 2014 to 2016, and have continued to rise during the first quarter of 2017.
“The U.S. companies producing low melt polyester staple fiber have suffered for years against rising volumes of dumped imports from Korea and Taiwan,” said Paul Rosenthal of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, counsel for Nan Ya. “The domestic industry needs trade relief from unfair import competition so that the business can thrive and continue providing critical manufacturing jobs in the United States.”
Milltown, N.J.-based textile convertor Jason Mills LLC recently celebrated a 10-year anniversary as a provider of knit industrial textiles. The company originally was incorporated in 1976 as a manufacturer of fabrics for laundry bags, but in 2007, long-time employee Michael Lavroff purchased the firm. In its current incarnation, Jason Mills is combining product design and engineering with finishes and fiber technologies to expand into markets including personal/occupational safety, automotive, aeronautical and healthcare textiles. “To borrow the mantra from Apple, Jason Mills wants to be where the puck is going, not where it’s been,” said Lavroff.
The Nonwoven Institute (NWI), Raleigh, N.C., recently celebrated the grand opening of a new Advanced Spunmelt and Hydroentangling Pilot Facility on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University (NC State). The state-of-the-art facility —designed as a testbed for education and industry — was made possible through the support of NC State, as well as industry partners Reicofil, Andritz, Hills, A. Celli among other supporters.
The center houses a Reicofil 1-meter-wide bicomponent RF®4 spunbond line as well as Hills bicomponent and monofilament die packs, a thermo-bonding calendar from Andritz, two Perfojet hydroentanglement units and a high-speed A. Celli winder.
NWI reports its research and development efforts have generated 80 U.S. and international patents. “We create not only jobs, but new industries,” said Behnam Pourdeyhimi, executive director, NWI. “We make things that haven’t existed — new applications.”
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