WestPoint Home Announces Plant Closures

Home fashions producer WestPoint Home Inc., West Point, Ga., reports it will close its sheet
weaving Calhoun Plant, Calhoun Falls, S.C., in May 2006, in an effort to consolidate domestic bed
products manufacturing. The Calhoun Falls closure follows the companys recent decision to close the
Clemson Greige, Finishing, Fabrication and Distribution operations, Clemson, S.C., in April
2006.

Some 300 Calhoun facility workers and about 290 Clemson Centre employees will be affected by the
closures, according to Elinor Crowder, assistant vice president, communications, WestPoint Home.
The company will maintain Clemson Centre offices for such functions as product development,
finance, information technology and customer service and planning.

Saying that the company appreciated the efforts of its associates throughout the years, John
Hurston, vice president, manufacturing, added that the Calhoun Falls closure is another necessary
step in the company’s strategy for realigning and streamlining our domestic manufacturing.

“To compete successfully in the global market, we must gain the most effective balance between
what we manufacture domestically and what we can best source,” Hurston said.

March/April 2006

AF&Y Adds Capacity, Jobs

Because of a doubling in demand for
its Marquesa® and Innova® high-performance yarn in the past two years, Chapel Hill, N.C.-based
American Fibers and Yarns Co. (AF&Y) is increasing its extrusion capacity by 30 percent and
texturing capacity by 25 percent. The increase is occurring mostly at its Bainbridge, Ga., plant,
which also houses the AF&Y Technology Center. In connection with the expansion, the company
expects to hire 25 to 30 new employees.

According to AF&Y, its yarns increasingly are replacing cotton, polyester and acrylic in
apparel, upholstery, mattress fabrics, and other home and contract textile applications. This
growth in demand, coupled with the doubling of the company’s export business every year for the
last three years, spurred the decision, AF&Y reported.

In other company news, AF&Y’s Marquesa® man-made yarn technology is now featured in
Cologne, N.J.-based Absecon Mills Inc.’s Cantara fabric collection, which features cotton’s look
and feel with yarn-inherent stain resistance, durability, colorfastness and bleach
cleanability.


March/April 2006

Textile Mill Expansion New Operations Announced In Carolinas

Expansions and launches of new
textile manufacturers in North and South Carolina are mitigating some of the effects of shuttered
textile operations announced in recent weeks and months. The news involves moves by three companies
that plan to expand and add employees to existing operations, or are newly formed with plans to
take over abandoned facilities and operations.

Suminoe Textiles of America Corp., a Gaffney, S.C.-based subsidiary of Japan-based Suminoe
Textile Co. Ltd., will invest $8 million to add 45,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 55
employees to its operation. The company, which opened the Gaffney plant in 2004 to manufacture seat
covers and head liners for Japanese auto makers Honda, Nissan and Toyota, will employ a total of
130 people upon completion of the expansion.

Tahoe LLC, Blacksburg, S.C., is investing $3 million to purchase the defunct Elizabeth
Weaving mill and begin producing woven textiles for home decorating. The fabrics will be marketed
under the Elizabeth Home Fabric and Elm Road Classic brands.

Tahoe, formed in 2005 through a merger of commission weaver Elite Textile, Albermarle, N.C.,
and National Contract Associates, Roswell, Ga., currently employs more than 50 people in its new
venture.

In Tarboro, N.C., newly formed Tarboro Textiles LLC is essentially a reincarnation of the
Tarboro workforce formerly employed by Glenoit Fabrics (HG) Corp., New York City, to manufacture
sliver knit fabrics for faux fur.

Glenoit closed its Tarboro plant in
late 2005 with the intention of moving its production to China and Canada. Instead, Tarboro
Textiles, owned and operated by former Glenoit Fabrics Plant Manager Jerry Howard, has resumed that
production under contract to Glenoit in the Tarboro plant. Howard has already hired 73 former
Glenoit employees and expects ultimately to employ a total of 140 people.


March/April 2006

Encouraging Signs


E
 arly 2006 activity continues to hold up tolerably well despite still-rising import
levels. The January report from the Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management – a
grassroots group that surveys the nation’s leading purchasing executives – puts textiles and
apparel on the list of industries reporting growth in both new orders and production. To be sure,
the sample of firms queried is small and might well be slightly off the mark.

Nevertheless, these findings lend credence to the feeling that the bottom isn’t about to drop
out from under the textile market. In any event,

TW
 ‘s near-term forecasts for domestic production of basic textiles like yarns and fabrics over
the next six months or so suggest little more than a 4-percent annual rate of decline. Moreover,
any losses in this sector could be partially offset by steady to even a bit higher activity in the
more highly fabricated home furnishings and floor covering areas.

BFChart0206


A Long Look Ahead


There’s also some indication the long-term prognosis for the industry isn’t all that bad. Key
evidence here comes from brand-new production projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
A just-released 10-year study calls for an average annual decline of only about 3.2 percent overall
for basic textile mills – with no specific subsector expected to experience any catastrophic
decline. While hardly bullish, this does seem to suggest the American textile industry is here to
stay. In looking a bit closer at three key basic textile subgroups, a 3.7-percent average annual
decline over the next decade is seen for fabric mills; 2.8 percent for textile and fabric finishing
and coating mills; and 2.4 percent for fiber, yarn and thread mills. Moving over to the textile
product mill area, some small gains are forecast – 2.5 percent overall – with a higher 3.1-percent
advance seen for textile furnishing mills. On the other hand, as might be expected, apparel
manufacturing output will continue to disappoint, falling by about 2.9 percent annually over the
next 10 years.


A Smaller Workforce


The downward pressure on textile and apparel employment, however, looks a little more
disturbing, primarily because of expectations for continuing solid industry productivity gains –
advances that will allow each employee to turn out more units of product for each hour worked. More
to the point, BLS projections call for these substantial productivity advances: 3.5 percent a year
for basic textile mills; 4.5 percent for textile product mills; and 5.8 percent for apparel. While
all this should be great for holding costs down, such efficiency gains will tend to intensify job
losses, which for the basic textile mill sector are as follows over the next decade: overall, 6.7
percent a year; fabric mills, 7.5 percent; and textile and fabric finishing and coating mills, 6.2
percent. Average job declines for the textile mill product sector should be somewhat more modest –
about 2 percent a year, with the textile furnishing mills subsector dropoff put at only 1.3 percent
a year. Look for considerably rougher sailing for the hard-pressed apparel industry, where an
average annual 8.7-percent employment decline is anticipated.


Imports


Some hints on how the ongoing US/China trade conflict may play out are emerging. US
officials, in an effort to slow down Chinese import gains, are not calling for much tougher
enforcement of existing trade laws. Results of next month’s Washington meeting between President
George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao will also bear close monitoring. White House
officials are expected to argue the yuan is still grossly undervalued and press for a much more
significant upward yuan revaluation, pointing out the US trade deficit with China – the largest for
any single country – rose to a record $202 billion last year – more than 20-percent above 2004’s
level. The textile and apparel subsector deterioration was even greater – with 2005 Chinese
incoming shipments here soaring 44 percent on a square-meter-equivalents basis. To be sure, 2005
overall textile and apparel imports rose by a much smaller 8.3 percent, but only because the huge
Chinese influx was partially offset by sizeable declines in shipments from Taiwan, Hong Kong and
Korea.



March/April 2006

Victoria’s Secret Tests For Snags With SnagPod®


KASnagColumbus, Ohio-based lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret — a segment of Limited Brands
Inc., also based in Columbus — is using England-based James H. Heal & Co. Ltd.’s SnagPod®
instrument to identify fabrics that are likely to snag.

The octagon-shaped SnagPod uses four snagging bars outfitted with pins that are inclined
forward in the direction of rotation to catch on the surface of a garment. Four fabric samples are
tested simultaneously through 2,000 revolutions in 30 minutes. The snagging-resistance tester is
available as an additional test chamber for Heal’s ICI Pilling Tester or a later generation of its
Orbitor pilling and snagging test system.

“With snagging, testing the correlation between test data and what actually happens in the
marketplace with existing test methods has proved difficult,” said Glyn Raven, textile manager,
Victoria’s Secret. “As we build a database, we hope to be in a position where we can relate
anecdotal performance at the customer level and data from the SnagPod so that we can continue to
deliver great products to the Victoria’s Secret brand.” 

March/April 2006

China Trade Review Raises Questions


T
 he Bush administration’s highly touted “ top-to-bottom review” of its trade policies with
China has created considerable interest among textile manufacturers and importers, and they are
closely watching how the rhetoric will be translated into action. In the report, the administration
used some of its strongest language in discussing trade with China, saying the United States’
bilateral trade relationship with China “ lacks equity, durability and balance.” The report,
entitled “US Trade Relations: Entering a New Phase of Greater Enforcement and Accountability,” says
“the time has come to readjust our trade policy with respect to China.”

The report calls for expanding the US Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) ability to monitor
Chinese trade and determine whether China is living up to its obligations under the rules of
international trade. In order to do that, the USTR will create a China Enforcement Task Force
headed by a chief counsel for China trade enforcement. It also will add personnel to its Beijing
office in order to expand its information-gathering, enforcement and negotiating capabilities. The
USTR will deal with protection of intellectual property rights as well as such issues as market
access, subsidies and structural problems like currency manipulation that have been bones of
contention with companies and industries doing business with China. The report also promises to
strengthen the executive-congressional partnership on China trade and provide congressional members
and staff with regular briefings about the administration’s China trade policy.

In a letter forwarding the report to key members of Congress, USTR Rob Portman said: “We are
entering a new phase in our bilateral trade relationship, and we must readjust our trade priorities
and resources accordingly. China as a mature trading partner should be held accountable for its
actions and required to live up to its responsibilities.”

While welcoming the report and its high-sounding rhetoric, textile lobbyists in Washington
are concerned about what it all actually means in terms of concrete results. Lloyd Wood of the
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition said the report does not have a “roadmap for actions”
for the US government to correct what he sees as major problems. He said the only time anything
meaningful on Chinese textile trade has come about was a result of actions such as the safeguards
that resulted in an agreement to impose quotas on 34 categories of textiles and apparel. He added
that China understands the stick better than the carrot, and there is “too much carrot and not
enough stick in our trade relations with China.”

At a news conference discussing the report, Portman cited the textile safeguards-related
agreement as an example of a “good, tough, but balanced agreement.” NCTO’s Cass Johnson voiced his
concern over rhetoric versus action by saying the language was harsher than ever before, but no
punitive actions were mentioned. He added he hopes the report sets the tone for “more aggressive
action.”

The nation’s retailers —the largest importers of textiles and apparel — see some positive
aspects of the report and nothing that appears to raise any red flags. One concern, as with textile
manufacturers, is how the report will be used as a basis for taking action. Eric Autor, the
Washington-based National Retail Federation’s international trade expert, sees it as a “fairly
objective report” that addresses the benefits of trade with China, as well as some of the problems.
He says retailers agree China should live up to its international obligations, and stronger
enforcement of US and international trade laws is called for where that is not happening. However,
he added, actions should not be taken unless they are appropriate and address real solutions to
problems.

 


US Textile Makers Don’t Like Korean FTA

US textile manufacturers are not at all pleased with the Bush administration’s plans to
negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, fearing it has a potential to lead to
significant market disruption. Textile importers and a number of other industries, on the other
hand, feel it can be a very good thing. At the present time, the United States has a $2 billion
textiles and apparel trade deficit with South Korea, and a large portion of that is in textiles.

In an effort to gain support for the proposal, USTR Portman, along with South Korea’s
minister of trade, announced plans to move forward with the FTA at a ceremony at the US Capitol
attended by a number of congressional supporters. Following the ceremony, some 30 members of
Congress wrote President George W. Bush citing support from agriculture, automobile, motion picture
and pharmaceutical industries, which see it as an opportunity for greater market access to the
world’s 10th-largest economy. At the ceremony, Portman said, “[F]ew countries better represent the
promise of open markets, democracy and economic reform than Korea.”

Textile interests see the pact in an entirely different light. NCTO’s Johnson says the
textile trade deficit with Korea could only get worse under a FTA. Unlike other recently negotiated
FTAs, he does not see many opportunities for US textile exports because Korea has a large,
competitive textile industry, partly caused by currency manipulation that discourages imports, and
also because Korea subsidizes exports. He expresses the fear that Korean imports to the United
States could increase substantially, and he charges that in the past, Korea — with its border with
China — has been a major source of transshipments of textile products from China. As a result, he
says, any pact would have to provide for tough customs enforcement.

On the Korean side of the ledger, that nation’s agriculture interests are strongly opposed to
any agreement that would open markets to US farm products. With big companies with global interests
supporting the legislation, and Korean farmers, textile manufacturers and others concerned about
it, there could be a real battle over this one.


Importers See No Post-Quota Surge

Textile and apparel importers say that, contrary to some expectations, there has been no major
surge of Chinese imports following the removal of quotas in January 2005. Laura Jones, executive
director of the New York City-based United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel
says an analysis of 2005 trade data shows a 10-percent increase in textile and apparel imports —
pretty much the same as increases under the quota system. Jones recalls there was an initial surge
of clothing imports from China immediately following the removal of quotas, but she says this was
the result of the Bush administration saying it was considering negotiating new quotas on
particularly “sensitive” products, which it eventually did on 34 product categories of textiles and
apparel. She said importers last January feared there would be new restraints within months of the
new year, so many companies rushed to bring goods in early.

Jones contends that instead of a surge from China, there has been a shift among suppliers
that reflects many changes in Asia rather than a major shift from other regions to China. Jones
said importers are looking down the road to 2008, when all quotas on textiles and apparel from
China will be removed, and she hopes warnings of an import surge will not be repeated.

Cass Johnson, president of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations
(NCTO), took exception to Jones’ data, saying the 10-percent increase was for all apparel imports.

He said an $8-billion increase in Chinese imports did amount to “a flood,” and, he added, “
Our industry is lucky the US imposed safeguards on China before it could be wiped out.”

He pointed out that in apparel categories where there were no safeguards, Chinese imports
rose nearly 40 percent.


March/April 2006

DyStar Introduces Procion Ternary Combo

Procion Fast H-EXL ternary
combination is the latest offering from Germany-based DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co.
Deutschland KG.

The Procion Fast H-EXL ternary combination — comprised of metal-free Procion Fast Red H-EXL,
Procion Fast Yellow H-EXL and blue formazan dye Procion Fast Blue H-EXL — was developed for hot
dyeing processes and offers a range of pale to medium shades with high light- and wet
lightfastness. The company reports the colors are easily reproduced and reliable because of the
similar migration, substantivity and reactivity properties of the dyes, which can be combined with
other dyes in the Procion range. The dyes also meet key specifications of the England-based Marks
& Spencer chain of retail stories.


March/April 2006

Ensuring Quality Through Technology


I
 t is common practice for customers of fiber producers, nonwovens manufacturers and
textile finishers to demand steady product quality. Quality-conforming production of goods with
defined properties therefore requires the observation of relevant characteristics. For this
purpose, quality assurance and surveillance systems must be used. A basic requirement of these
systems, however, is the acquisition of all relevant technological parameters and technical machine
data.

In the past, test samples usually were taken during individual production stages. The test
results were available at a later date when it was no longer possible to influence running
production. Conclusions as to necessary modifications of the production parameters could be drawn
only by comparing shift reports.

However, direct monitoring of the production process lately has come to the fore, and
individual process stages can be influenced directly. Production without on-line process monitoring
would be unthinkable today.

As a result, ever more complex demands are made on measuring and testing technology, and
on-line measuring systems are required.

 
FleisAqua
Fleissner’s AquaJet spunlace system is equipped with a process control system to control
and monitor the production process.

On-line process monitoring allows the
acquired data to be evaluated immediately so production parameters can be influenced directly. This
results in uniform quality, high productivity and minimized raw material losses.

When looking at the production of nonwovens for technical textiles, there are four main
processes:

• fiber opening/blending;

• web formation;

• web bonding; and

• enhancement/finishing.

The first three stages are combined into a continuous process. Set-point entries for areal
weight, production speed, drafting and web structure — machine direction/cross direction ratio or
cloudiness, for example — and comparison with actual values provide the base for controlling
nonwovens production. The individual stages are connected using a process control system (PCS).
Such large data quantities can no longer be processed using conventional control techniques.

All current process data and fault messages are provided through interfaces, enabling
statistics generation with regard to failure frequency of certain machine components for quality
assurance and to do preventive maintenance work.


Process Control Systems

During the past few years, there have been enormous innovations in drive and control
engineering for textile machinery construction. The trend has gone from simple independent machine
control systems equipped with a minimum of operating and indicating elements to complex PCSs for
machines or processing lines.

This development has been necessary to meet the increasing demands made on energy
utilization, waste reduction, environmental protection, operating staff savings, fabric qualities
according to ISO 9000 standards, and production outputs for ever smaller lots.

PCSs for controlling and monitoring production processes are an integral part of all machine
control systems today. A programmable logic controller (PLC)-based machine control system in
combination with computerized instrumentation and control machine technology has become the
standard for textile machinery manufactured by Germany-based Fleissner GmbH, which has successfully
used PCSs for years.

Staple-fiber processing lines, spunlace lines for nonwovens and technical textiles,
open-width washing machines, raw wool scouring machines, carpet dyeing lines and similar complete
lines from Fleissner are always provided with a PCS. Man-to-machine communication in small lines or
individual machines mostly takes place via fully graphic operator terminals.

 
FleisCarp
A PCS is standard equipment on Fleissner’s continuous carpet dyeing and printing lines.

The following machine control systems
are used in practical operation:

• conventional control systems including relay controls and mini-PLC;

• operator terminal with PLC; and

• industrial personal computer (PC) with PCS.

Continuous production lines today are delivered with a PCS and industrial PC because of the
large amount of data that must be processed.

Modern flexible production lines require a large number of technological parameters and
provide a lot of process information. This information can only be entered and represented by means
of modern man-machine communication.

A clearly structured operating panel with simple mechanisms for operation, parameter
assignment and listing is essential for high acceptance by machine operators.

Numerous ways of representation and an integrated alert processing system enable quick and
extensive diagnostics, and thus serve to reduce machine standstills.

The degree of automation and the efficiency of modern textile machinery and man-made fiber
lines are determined mainly by the control and instrumentation system used.


Advantages Of Automatic Process Control

The fully automatic PCS developed by Fleissner is used to optimize economic
production efficiency and the quality of the fabricated products.

This PCS enables automatic calculation and optimization of all required machine parameters by
specifying technological conditions.

A fully automatic PCS provides the conditions required for quality assurance systems to
comply with ISO 9001:

• cost-efficient operation by optimizing energy consumption;

• optimum product quality by automatically establishing process parameters;

• quick and reproducible product changes by recipe management;

• easily retraceable line status representation with all required machine parameters on a
full graphics color monitor;

• monitoring of limit values for actual process values and set-point entries;

• recording of measured values in trend form and storing for long periods (line
optimization/quality control);

• password entry to avoid unauthorized access;

• possible connection to higher-order process control systems; and

• simple operation with an easy-to-understand user interface.


Complete Line Control Systems, Technical Concepts

The basic system comprises a PLC combined with an industrial PC in various
configurations. This industrial PC replaces conventional control system interfaces such as function
tables, control desks, display panels and equipment for recording and displaying data.

The number of operating elements is thus reduced to a few essential functional components.
All control information to the line and status reports from the line pass through the programmable
control(s) to the system computer.

The individual PLCs of complex line configurations are connected with the system computer by
a data bus. Regardless of the scope of required control technology, the system uses standard
hardware and software components.

The modular hardware component design optimizes circuit diagram preparation. A modular
software system for PLC and visualization is also required for efficient line control system
planning.

Basic control elements include the following:

• basic functions such as lamp test and others for general control functions;

• operating functions such as manual/automatic/inching and others;

• fault detection and evaluation for auxiliary equipment including emergency stops and
voltage control;

• detection/monitoring of technological functions including infrared (IR) limit switches;

• set-point generation for transport drives;

• set-point generation for temperature control loops and software controller blocks;

• modules for IR exhaust air flaps position selection and detection;

• modules for linking visualization components in the operator terminal; and

• drive coupling through analog signals or bus systems.

 
FleisPCS
Fleissner’s PCSs, such as the one for the AquaJet spunlace system, display machine
parameters including production information, among other data.

 

Basic modular design concepts also
are found in the structure of the visualization program. Based on a fixed framework structure, the
following individual technological features are incorporated in the PCS system:

• menu for selecting the desired submenu;

• line/machine overview with essential machine parameters;

• system overview display of machine including production information, rates and downtimes;

• recipe management;

• log management;

• alert and message overviews;

• entry listings of parameter changes;

• trend displays;

• graphic overview displays of temperatures and pressures;

• entry screens for set points; and

• service screens for machine settings such as controller parameter assignment and entry of
basic set points.

Recipe management usually is included when using a PCS. Product-specific recipes that can be
selected by product names are used to store all relevant setting data for the process. When
changing products, the complete data set of all set-point parameters can be transmitted to the PLC
simply by selecting the respective recipe name, ensuring short changeover times for product changes
and high reproducibility of technological data.


Operation

Individual operators are assigned passwords for different access authorization levels, allowing
them to change parameter values, operating modes, listing functions and other parameters. Functions
not enabled on the respective access level are not displayed in the screen menu, thus facilitating
operation and improving safety.

All PLCs can be provided with an optional serial interface that links them to other
computers. All current process data, status and alert indications are provided through this
interface.

Apart from hardware and software for quality control, startup and maintenance service also is
essential to a quality assurance system. It is becoming increasingly common to connect the
customer’s PCS to the machinery manufacturer via a modem to ensure a quick solution by remote
diagnosis in the event of a malfunction. Experienced electrical specialists therefore are able to
attend to the customer throughout the process from order placement to machine delivery. This is a
prerequisite for optimum service and safe, reliable production conditions.

Editors Note: Alfred Watzl is director, sales and marketing, Fleissner GmbH.

March/April 2006

Saurer Purchases Fincarde

Switzerland-based Saurer Management
AG has acquired the entire capital of Italy-based textile machinery manufacturer Fincarde Group,
making Saurer a source for complete lines for carded nonwovens.

Fincarde, which was created in 2002 when Octir and FOR merged and has a turnover of
approximately 13 million euros, will become part of Saurer’s Neumag business.

Additionally, Saurer has increased its ownership in Germany-based Autefa automation GmbH by
9 percent to 60 percent. Autefa manufactures packing systems and automation solutions for fiber
production and processing.

With the technologies of Fincarde, Autefa and Austria-based Dr. Ernst Fehrer AG, which
Saurer acquired in 2005, Saurer’s Neumag brand will be able to offer solutions for the entire
carded nonwovens process, the company reports.


March/April 2006

Nilit Purchases INVISTA Facility, Nylon Product

Israel-based nylon producer Nilit
Ltd. recently purchased INVISTA’s nylon apparel fiber facility in Oestringen, Germany, and nylon
apparel fiber from Invista’s plant in Gloucester, England, for an undisclosed price. The deal
closed at the end of February, according to Donna Hill, sales and marketing manager, Nilit America
Corp.

Nilit will obtain the exclusive license in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the
trademarks Tactel®, Cordura® and Supplex® under the deal. Invista will continue operating the
Gloucester facility, selling produced goods through Nilit.

“The combination of Invista’s apparel fiber production, including its premier brands, with
Nilit’s innovative Sensil® specialty polyamide yarns, customized polymers, unique spinning
techniques, innovation and history of long-term relationships is very promising,” said Michael
Levi, chairman, Nilit.

William Ghitis, president of Apparel, Invista, added that the agreement allows Invista to
reinforce its European position and focus on its Lycra® brand in that market.


March/April 2006

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