Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont will invest $500 million in its Cooper River, S.C., plant to build a
facility for the production of DuPont™ Kevlar® para-aramid fiber for industrial and military
applications. Construction, scheduled to begin this month, will require more than 400 contract
workers, while the new operation, expected to commence in 2010, will create 100 permanent jobs.

The Cooper River plant currently employs 60 workers in the production of DuPont Hytrel®
thermoplastic polyester elastomer used primarily in automotive applications.

The new project is part of a previously announced expansion that will increase Kevlar
production capacity by more than 25 percent globally. The expansion also includes a $50 million
investment to increase Kevlar polymer production at DuPont’s Spruance plant in Richmond, Va.
According to the company, the expansion represents the largest single investment and the largest
capacity expansion for the para-aramid fiber since its introduction in 1965.

“The new plant at Cooper River, together with our other global assets, will help DuPont meet
strong and growing global demand for Kevlar,” said Thomas G. Powell, vice president and general
manager, DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems. “It also will allow us to put our innovative science to
work to develop new, differentiated Kevlar products using the latest new fiber technologies that
protect people and processes.”

January 8, 2008

The International Textile Group Inc. (ITG), Greensboro, N.C., has named Thomas E. McKenna to
succeed John L. Bakane as president of its Cone Denim division. Bakane retired from the company in
December 2007.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone of Tom’s experience and knowledge to lead our denim
division,” said Joseph L. Gorga, president and CEO, ITG. “Having grown up in denim, Tom understands
the denim market and the global landscape of the industry. We look forward to his leadership and
many contributions as we move ahead.”

McKenna began his career with ITG Cone Denim in 1981 as a sales representative in New York
City for the company’s predecessor, Cone Mills. After holding sales and management positions in the
United States, he opened the company’s first international sales office in Brussels, and in 1995
moved to Singapore to become director of marketing for the Asia/Pacific region. Later returning to
the United States, he assumed several executive positions including executive vice president, denim
merchandising and marketing, for Cone Mills; and was promoted to president, sales and marketing,
for Cone Denim following the formation of ITG in 2004 through the merger of Cone Mills and
Burlington Industries.

January 8, 2008

Every year in January, the world’s home textile industry gathers in Germany for an event at the
Messe Frankfurt GmbH exhibition center. This year’s Heimtextil, the International Trade Fair for
Home and Contract Textiles, will open its gates Jan. 9-12, 2008. Most of the global producers,
wholesalers and retailers, as well as interior architects, designers and decorators will be in
Frankfurt am Main for the fair.

Impressive Figures

Last year, 2,863 exhibitors from 68 countries participated in Heimtextil, the biggest event
for the home textiles trade around the globe. Fifty-nine percent of visitors came from Europe, and
some 37 percent came from Asia. The visitor side is also characterized by a high degree of
internationality, combined with a high level of buying authority. The almost 86,000 visitors came
from 127 countries. Sixty-nine percent of visitors hold executive or managerial positions in the
trade, sales, export, industry and purchasing fields; and are authorized to make purchasing
decisions on behalf of their companies.

Optimized Structure

Heimtextil 2008 is said to be distinguished by an improved structure for the range of premium
home and household textiles, as well as by several special shows and events that will reveal the
latest trends and give young designers the chance to present their ideas. So that visitors can
better find their way around the broad spectrum of products to be seen, the hall structure of
Heimtextil 2008 has been optimized and adapted to visitor needs. Additionally, simplified names for
the product groups — such as sleep and dream, which is now known as bed; and fresh and splash,
which is now known as bath — will make orientation even easier.

“The show will be embedding the subjects and innovations of the home textiles sector in a
concept full of highlights,” said Olaf Schmidt, vice president, Textile Fairs, Messe Frankfurt.
“The concept has generated a positive echo on the exhibitor side. Just before the start of the
exhibition, one can say said that the number of exhibitors will be comparable to last year’s
total.”

Revised Product Presentation

A cornerstone of the forthcoming Heimtextil will be — analogously to the premium segment for
household textiles — the revised product presentation for home textiles based on the “More”
concept. The aim of this concept is to create greater transparency at the fair and offer easier
access to the range of products. This year, visitors will find manufacturers of premium textile
furnishings under the heading “More.” For the first time, Heimtextil 2008 will also provide an
exclusive forum for producers and suppliers of high-grade home textiles.

“More Clarity” and “More Style” put the focus on household textiles from the bed, bath and
table segments. In Hall 9.1, in which “More Clarity” is to be located, European textile
manufacturers of classic designs, some of which work with small, exclusive batches, will present
their top products. “More Style”, which is to be located in Hall 9.2, will bring together
international brands with fashion- and trend-oriented designs.

Merging The Indoor And Outdoor Areas

The “Outside In” special show in Hall 3.1 will showcase extravagant home textiles as part of
a modern urban villa and garden at Heimtextil. In this area, the show takes up the current
architectural trend towards merging the indoor and outdoor areas of the home. Three cubes will
house the sleeping, living and dining sections of the home. A fourth cube will contain a bar and
catering facilities. Visitors will be able to stroll on a small boulevard through the area. Small,
wooden gangplanks will lead to the themed cubes. Tables with benches will be embedded in the lawns
to provide an opportunity to sit and rest for a while.

Have a splendid 2008. See you in Frankfurt am Main.



January 8, 2008

Greenville-based wool spinner Kentwool has become the first company in the Western Hemisphere to
receive Usterized quality certification from Uster Technologies AG, a Switzerland-based
manufacturer of online and laboratory textile-quality-monitoring systems. Kentwool, a 164-year-old
company that supplies superfine wool yarn to high-end apparel brands such as Italy-based Loro Piana
S.p.A. and Irvine, Calif.-based St. John Knits Inc., is one of approximately 45 companies in 13
countries worldwide to have received the certification.

Uster — which maintains technology centers in Switzerland, the United States and China; and
operates six service centers worldwide, including two in the United States — awarded the
certification following a two-month audit process conducted at Kentwool’s 100,000-square-foot
manufacturing facility in Pickens, S.C. The audit covered manufacturing and operational categories
including Kentwool’s quality management system, which demonstrated consistent, sustainable
capability to test yarn quality.

“Achieving this unique quality certification from the most respected textile quality firm on
the planet, coupled with our ability to produce the finest wool yarn in North America, confirms we
are on track to achieve our vision of becoming the premier wool innovation and manufacturing
company in the world,” said Mark Kent, president and CEO, Kentwool.

January 8, 2008

Sweden-based Eton Systems AB has expanded its North American operations to meet increasing demand
in bedding and other textile market segments.

As part of the expansion, Eton has entered into a marketing partnership with West Babylon,
N.Y.-based Galkin Automated Products, a manufacturer and marketer of automated workstations and
production equipment for mattress and other sewn-products markets. Galkin will market Eton’s line
of computerized conveyor and shop floor data collection solutions to North American mattress
manufacturers.

Eton’s expansion efforts also include a reshuffling of internal sales and marketing
positions. Gary Freedman, Latin American sales manager, will also now focus on strategic business
development activities in North America. Per Bringle, appointed North American area manager in
2007, has worked to focus Eton’s development efforts on high-potential, fast-growing market
segments.

National Allergy Supply Inc., a producer of healthy bedding mattress and pillow
encasements, recently ordered additional Eton workstations.

In other company news, Eton recently sold a second line of 15 Unit Production System
workstations — used in the sewn-products industries to automate material flow and minimize material
handling during the manufacturing process — to be installed at National Allergy Supply Inc.’s
Cornelia, Ga., facility. National Allergy, a Duluth, Ga.-based manufacturer and marketer of healthy
bedding mattress and pillow encasements, installed its first line of Eton workstations at the
Cornelia plant in August 2007.

“Our first Eton installation worked so well that we knew immediately that we wanted more,”
said Lee Hardy, general manager and vice president of manufacturing, National Allergy Supply. “In
just a few months, we have far exceeded our original expectations by achieving an 80-percent
increase in productivity with Eton. The second line will enable us to incorporate all current
production on Eton, as well as provide for expected growth in sales.”



January 8, 2008

Albany International Corp., an Albany, N.Y.–based manufacturer of custom-designed paper machine
fabrics and process belts used in the production of paper and paperboard, will close its forming
fabric manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ala., as a result of a shrinking customer base in
North America and the need to balance paper machine clothing production capacity with expected
demand.

The closure, which will affect 90 employees, will commence over the next few weeks.
Manufacturing capacity will be transferred from the Montgomery facility to other Albany
International sites in North America. The company expects to complete the transition by the end of
August 2008.

Shuttering of the Montgomery facility follows the closure of dryer fabric manufacturing and
press fabric manufacturing operations in New York, announced last August. Transition of those
operations to other facilities in North America is expected to be complete by the end of this
month.

January 8, 2008

World Trade Centers Holdings (Cyprus) — a member of the New York City-based World Trade Centers
Association and licensee and owner of 15 World Trade Centers in Cyprus, the Middle East and North
Africa — has entered into an agreement with supply chain solutions provider TradeCard Inc., New
York City, whereby it will offer a customized white-label version of the TradeCard Platform to
corporate buyers in the aforementioned regions. The platform is particularly suitable for customers
in such industries as apparel, home furnishings and footwear, among others.

A new company, TradeCard Holdings Cyprus Ltd., will be formed as part of the agreement, and
will operate under the name TradeCard MENA. The new company will supply customers with access to a
hosted document management and financial settlement platform via the Internet or through
integration with back office systems, enabling users to transact with TradeCard’s 3,000 buyer and
seller members worldwide.

“The value that the TradeCard MENA platform brings to companies in the Middle East and North
Africa as well as Cyprus is massive,” said Barry Lites, CEO, TradeCard MENA. “Globalization demands
a certain level of automation. The platform achieves this in ways that internal ERP systems never
could — by connecting both buyers and their suppliers in a single electronic environment,
eliminating paper and providing both parties with innovative trade finance services.”



January 8, 2008

Wellman Inc., a Fort Mill, S.C.-based producer of plastic packaging, fibers and engineering resins,
has donated machinery valued at more than $3 million to the Textile Technology Center at Gaston
College, Belmont, N.C. The machinery, previously on loan to the center, is used to perform fibers
and resin testing.

The center, chartered by the State of North Carolina in 2005 to be a Center of Excellence,
serves more than 200 textile businesses within the textile product supply chain. Yarn and fabric
formation services are available via the center’s pilot yarn spinning plant. Fiber, yarn and fabric
testing and evaluation services, as well as defect analysis, also are available. The center also
provides consultation on process improvement and product innovation, and tailored training.

“Wellman strongly supports the Center of Excellence concept,” said Steve Ates, vice
president, sales and marketing, Wellman. “We hope that other suppliers to the textile industry
follow our lead and donate to the Textile Technology Center. Shared resources that support
innovation and improved productivity are vital to the long-term success of our industry.”

December 27, 2007

Effective Jan. 1, 2008, BASF AG, Germany, will raise the global price of acrylic monomers.

Price increases in Europe, Africa and the Middle East include glacial acrylic acid and ethyl
acrylate by 70 euros per metric ton; n-butyl acrylate by 100 euros per ton; and 2-ethyl hexyl
acrylate and methyl acrylate by 120 euros per metric ton.

Price increases in North and South America include glacial acrylic acid and ethyl acrylate by
$66 per metric ton; and n-butyl acrylate, methyl acrylate and 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate by $110 per
metric ton.

Prices also will increase in Asia, depending on product and region.

December 27, 2007

Malwee Malhas Ltd., Brazil, has added four new Thies dyeing machines to its existing line of
pressure drying equipment supplied by Germany-based Thies GmbH & Co. The new machines will
enable the company to expand its ability to keep up with changes in styles and to experiment with
new fabrics and colors.

Malwee — a manufacturer of branded fitnesswear, and children’s and young adult’s casual- and
beachwear — has installed a Thies Luft-roto plus SII fabric-dyeing machine for processing all types
of fabrics, fibers and blends; a soft-TRD DS XL fabric-dyeing for crease-sensitive fabrics, as well
as pile and wool fabrics; a mini-soft TRD for small production runs and sample dyeing; and a
five-kier eco-bloc quattro yarn dye house machine, which handles high levels of batch-to-batch or
machine-to-machine production.

Thies’ Brazilian distributor, Petersen Matex Imp. e Exp. Ltda, provided the new machinery and
will handle its service and maintenance.



December 27, 2007