Culp To Close Two Plants

High Point, N.C.-based upholstery
fabric and mattress ticking manufacturer Culp Inc. has announced it will close two North
Carolina-based plants as part of a revised strategy in its US upholstery fabrics operation.

The company will close its weaving plant in Graham, moving some of the production from that
facility to its Anderson, S.C.-based plant and overseas to its Shanghai plant, and contracting with
other weavers to provide a small quantity of that production. The Anderson plant — its last
remaining upholstery-weaving plant in the United States — will produce both velvets and decorative
fabrics.

Culp also will shutter its yarn-manufacturing plant in Lincolnton and outsource its
specialty yarn production.

According to Robert G. Culp III, the company’s chairman and CEO, the closures, expected to
be substantially complete by the end of April 2007, will result in the loss of approximately 185
jobs.

The announcement of the plant closures comes on the heels of Culp’s posting of a profit for
the second quarter (Q2) of fiscal year 2007 — its second consecutive quarterly profit following
losses going back two years. Profits in the company’s upholstery fabrics segment were largely due
to its operation in China, as US-based production has been shrinking, while production in China has
grown steadily and significantly. Q2 sales of non-US-produced upholstery fabrics represented
approximately 58 percent of Culp’s total upholstery fabric sales for the quarter. In addition, even
as the sales of China-produced fabrics have grown, overall sales volumes have dropped, registering
a 17.4-percent decline in Q2 2007 compared with year-earlier sales.

“We have made considerable progress in changing our product strategy, reducing our
manufacturing complexities and improving our cost structure in the US upholstery fabrics business,
Culp said. “At the same time, we have been aggressively growing our China-produced business.
However, the lower sales volumes in our decorative fabrics and yarn plants are having a significant
impact on the profitability of our overall upholstery fabrics business. By further consolidating
our US manufacturing operations and utilizing lower-cost manufacturing alternatives, we are
reducing our operating costs and improving our domestic capacity utilization.”

November 1, 2006

TEXMAC Premieres


L
 everaging India’s growing strength in the global textile industry, TEXMAC India 2007
International Textile Machinery Exhibition will premiere Jan. 17-20, 2007, at the Pragati Maidan
Exhibition Centre in the country’s capital of New Delhi. More than 15,000 registered visitors
expected at the show’s first edition will view the latest machinery, products and services from a
wide range of exhibitors – situated among 15,000 square meters of hall space.

According to the show’s organizers – Internationaler Messe- und Ausstellungsdienst GmbH
(IMAG), Munich, and Fair Design India Pvt. Ltd. (FDI), New Delhi – TEXMAC capitalizes on the high
manufacturing capabilities and growth potential of India’s textile industry. Accounting for 3
percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 24 percent of all Indian exports, and as the
second-largest employer behind the agriculture sector, the textile and apparel industry is a
significant contributor to India’s economy. Factors that may further strengthen the industry
include investments in new technologies and planned modernization of certain subsectors, the
removal of European Union (EU) and US import quotas, the reduction of import duties for textile
machinery, and economic reforms – such as the 10th Five Year Plan of India (2002-07) and the
privatization of government-owned enterprises. India’s textile production has increased by 33
percent since 2003, and total production value by 2010 is projected to be US$85 billion, the
organizers report.

IMAG and FDI have touted the exhibition as a centralized marketplace for textile machinery.
Products on display will include: washing, bleaching, dyeing, printing, and finishing machinery and
accessories; spinning, weaving, knitting, nonwovens, and make-up machinery and accessories; and
other machinery and accessories. Vendors of dyestuffs and chemicals, testing and recycling
equipment, transport and handling machinery, software, and other goods and services also will be
present. Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Turkey, China and Taiwan, Korea, Belgium and the United
States are among the countries and locales that will take part in the exhibition’s national
pavilions.

texmac


Worldwide Support


Support from the New Delhi-based Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and its 16
affiliated member associations, as well as from the Milan-based Association of Italian Textile
Machinery Manufacturers, has contributed to the organizers’ outreach efforts to textile
representatives in India and in neighboring countries. In addition, the India Trade Promotion
Organisation has approved the show; and the British Textile Machinery Association; Indo-German
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi; Swissmem Textile Machinery Division, Switzerland; and
Textile Machinery Manufacturers and Accessories Manufacturers Association, Turkey, have consulted
with organizers.

IMAG and FDI have promoted the event to potential attendees from India, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh and Pakistan through press conferences, media partners including trade journals and the
daily press, direct mailings, and travel packages tailored to visitors from significant textile
manufacturing hubs in India and abroad. Major companies in the textile industry have included the
show in their exhibition programs, the organizers note. Among the targeted visitor groups are
representatives of textile, spinning, weaving, knitting and dyeing mills; clothing machinery
manufacturers, wholesalers and importers; wholesalers, distributors and retail associations; the
textile machinery industry; trades and crafts; and services, research and education. As of Textile
World’s press time, 206 companies from around the world had expressed interest in exhibiting at
TEXMAC India 2007.

According to organizers, the show will be scheduled biennially and the exhibition space of
future editions may grow.


ATEXCON


CITI’s Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) will occur concurrently with TEXMAC on January 18
and 19 at the Hotel InterContinental, New Delhi. The conference’s second edition will build on the
success of the December 2005 event. Inaugural conference attendees – including suppliers and buyers
from India, Bangladesh, China and other Asian countries; European machinery manufacturers and
consultants; and industry representatives from the United States and Europe – gathered to trade
information about trends, prospects and the future of the Asian textile and apparel industry. Fiber
and yarn, technical textiles, technology developments, home textiles, and garments and
international trade were the subjects of business sessions addressing the premiere edition’s theme
“Emerging Trends in Asian Textiles.”

The theme of ATEXCON 2007 will be “Competing Through Productivity Gains.” On the first day,
as part of that theme, attendees will hear speaker presentations and examine case studies about
managing productivity in the textile industry, and productivity and cost competitiveness in the
apparel sector; and will partake in discussions about those topics. A second business session will
concentrate on technology developments, including smart fibers, the future of spinning capacities,
technical textiles, weaving and processing innovations, and smart garments. Asian textile and
apparel corporations also will present their findings and will lead discussions about growth
through value addition during the third session.

On the second day of the conference, capacity building trends and requirements will be the
focus of the fourth session. Attendees will discuss and listen to presentations about investment
trends and financing requirements. The textile and apparel industries in Asia, the United States
and EU; and the trends and prospects of intra-Asian trade flows will be among the topics examined
during the final business session, focusing on international trade.

For more information about TEXMAC, contact Catherine Schultheiss (international)
49-89-949-22-124; schultheiss@imag.de; or L. Shyamsundar (In India) 91-9811355527; fdi@vsnl.net;
www.texmacfairs.com. For more information about ATEXCON,
contact the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry 91-11-23325012; mail@citiindia.com;
www.atexcon.com.

November/December 2006

Mohawk Announces Net Earnings Increase

Calhoun, Ga.-based Mohawk Industries Inc. announced a 10-percent increase in its third-quarter net
earnings and diluted earnings per share (EPS) over third-quarter 2005 figures. Net earnings and EPS
totaled $127,708,000 and $1.88, respectively. Net sales for the quarter, valued at $2,024,019,000,
increased 19 percent over third-quarter 2005 figures.

The company attributed the sales growth to its recent acquisition of Belgium-based Unilin
Holding NV, hard surface sales growth and price increases.

“I am pleased with our results for the quarter in light of the current business environment,”
said Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, chairman and CEO. “Our business is better balanced to minimize the
impact of changing economic and industry cycles than in the past. The diversification of our
product offering with a full line of soft and hard products, participation in all sales channels of
residential and commercial, and our broader geographic exposure in Europe improve our position.”



October 31, 2006

Kelheim Fibres Opens Shanghai Office

Germany-based Kelheim Fibres GmbH has
opened its first office in Asia. The Shunlong-Kelheim Fibres office, located in Shanghai, will
serve as Kelheim Fibres’ and its Dolan GmbH subsidiary’s representative in China, Hong Kong and
Taiwan.

“Chinese fiber producers cannot yet meet the current market need for specialty fibers,” said
Robert Gregan, CEO, Kelheim Fibres and Dolan. “China’s five-year plan focuses on the development of
textile and nonwoven specialties — this is a major opportunity for us now that we are actively
working the Chinese market.”

Li Zhen, manager of Shundong-Kelheim, and his staff will provide customer and technical
assistance to existing customers, as well as develop new Asian markets for the company.

October 31, 2006

Uco Raymond Opens Mill In Romania

Belgium-based Uco Raymond, one of the
top five denim producers in Europe, has opened a denim mill in Romania. The increase in production
capacity will enable the company to respond to increasing competitive pressure from nearby Turkish
denim manufacturers.

The company hopes to expand the mill, which currently employs 41 people, to 200 employees in
the near future.



October 31, 2006

Erhardt + Leimer Offers ELCOUNT Pick- And Course-counter

Germany-based Erhardt + Leimer GmbH
reports its newly developed ELCOUNT automatic pick- and course-counter provides contact-free,
reliable pick and course density control owing to a newly designed charged-couple device (CCD)
matrix camera with built-in circular illumination, and closed loop control owing to a newly
designed feed-forward/feed-back control algorithm.

According to the company, the new device offers single-sided detection and the largest
detection area possible, does not require a speed reference for measurement, can provide static
measurement and instant calculation, and adjusts automatically for brightness. The system functions
in conjunction with the Windows® XP operating system, and offers an easy-to-use operator interface
and Ethernet communication between the camera and the computer. The company also offers its
customers a global technical support network.

October 31, 2006

Rieter Supplies Largest Pelletizing System

Germany-based Rieter Automatik GmbH,
a unit of Rieter Textile Systems, recently completed delivery of a M-USG automatic underwater
strand pelletizing system that features a 1,200 millimeter operating width for up to 152
3-millimeter-width strands, throughputs up to 20,000 kilograms per hour and a cooling length of 7
meters, making it the largest such system ever built, according to the company.

The system includes a SG 1200 strand die head with automatic start-up wiper; M-USG 1200 H
pelletizer with stand-by cutting head, diverting pellet conveyor line with double pumps for the
pellet water slurry; two CENTRO 2200 centrifugal pellet dryers; a set of spare parts; and system
control.

October 31, 2006

Negotiations On United States-South Korea Trade Pact Break Down

Negotiations on a United States/South
Korea free trade agreement (FTA) have broken down primarily because of differences over trade in
textiles and apparel, and farm commodities. The suspension of talks and the wide differences that
still exist on what the agreement should encompass make it extremely unlikely the two governments
can reach an agreement in time to meet a year-end target. That target is important, since President
George W. Bush’s authority to negotiate agreements under procedures that require only an up or down
vote in Congress expires in July.

South Korea is strongly opposed to increasing imports of rice and other agriculture
commodities, and it complains the United States is unwilling to open its markets for textiles and
apparel free from a strict rule of origin that would prohibit inputs from non-participating
countries.

Going into the four days of negotiations, Assistant US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler
said the United States, in “a clear desire to make progress,” had offered a set of improved tariffs
covering textiles and apparel, industrial goods and farm products. Cutler said the offer places
more than $1.3 billion in a shorter time frame for tariff reductions.

US textile manufacturers have expressed considerable concern about a United States/South
Korea FTA in view of Korea’s highly developed textile industry. They would not like to see an
agreement at all, but if one is negotiated, they will press for a tight rule of origin. Textile and
apparel importers, on the other hand, see a Korea FTA as an opportunity to develop a network
between Korea and other countries that have FTAs with the United States, and those linkages could
result in greatly expanded trade.

At this point, it will require a good bit of give and take by both countries before an
agreement can be reached that will satisfy the legislatures of both countries.



October 31, 2006

Fi-Tech To Represent Gerold Fleissner Nonwovens

Fi-Tech Inc., Richmond, Va., has
announced it will represent Gerold Fleissner Nonwovens GmbH & Co. KG, a Germany-based
manufacturer of equipment for the filtration and high-loft nonwoven industries. The company’s
product line includes horizontal ovens, longitudinal in-line slitters, cross-cutting systems,
winding and stacking machines, and components for finishing processes.

Don Gillespie will serve as primary contact for capital equipment machinery sales and
technical service.



October 31, 2006

Interface To Offer Common Stock

Interface Inc., Atlanta, has
announced plans to sell 5 million shares of its Class A common stock in an underwritten public
offering. The underwriters also will be granted an option to buy an additional 750,000 shares of
the stock to cover any over-allotments.

The shares will be issued under the company’s current shelf registration statement filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to repay outstanding debts and possibly for general
corporate purposes.

October 31, 2006

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