Sultex Ltd., Switzerland, has received machinery orders from denim weavers in Iran and
Turkey.

Iran-based Zarjean ordered 60 Sulzer Textil G6500 rapier weaving machines for its Ilam plant in
western Iran. They will be used to weave high-quality, fancy denim fabrics.

“The outstanding performance and the high versatility of the G6500 together with the unbeatable
after-sales service of Sultex made it very easy to decide between several suppliers,” said S.M.
Behbahani, Zarjean’s owner.

High-quality denims are among the fabrics woven using Sultex’s G6500 and P7300 HP weaving
machines.

Two Turkish denim weavers have ordered a total of 106 Sulzer Textil P7300HP projectile weaving
machines. The machines will be installed in plants in eastern and central Turkey for the production
of high-quality, vintage and fancy denim.

According to Sultex, the P7300HP, introduced in May 2004, produces denim fabric with a compact,
uniform surface and a silky touch. The company also has received large orders for the machine from
manufacturers in Iran, Italy and Japan.

January 2005

WestPoint Stevens Inc., West Point, Ga., has signed a licensing agreement with Charisma® brand
owner Official Pillowtex LLC to market the Charisma line of luxury bed and bath textiles. Official
Pillowtex LLC is a consortium of companies formed to acquire the assets of Pillowtex Corp. after
the Kannapolis, N.C.-based home textile manufacturer shut down in 2003.

WestPoint Stevens is forming a new Charisma Home Division to market the brand. Products will
include fashion bedding, decorative pillows, bath textiles and accessories, blankets, throws, and
down and down-alternative products. They will be sold in select department stores and upscale
catalogs.

Judi Alexander – formerly vice president, marketing, Basic Bedding Division – has been
named vice president, Charisma Home.

In related news, the company will integrate its Basic Bedding Division’s marketing, product
development and sourcing functions under the leadership of Ida Moran -formerly vice president,
basic bedding sourcing – who has been named vice president, marketing, product development and
sourcing.

The alignment was made in response to substantial growth of the company’s global sourcing
activities. “The synergy of the three functions will be much stronger in a consolidation under the
direction of one person,” said Arthur Art Birkins, president, Basic Bedding Division.

January 2005

Springs Industries Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., will close two bedding plants and one rug plant on
February 1. The affected plants include the Lyman Fabrication Plant, Lyman, S.C.; the Wamsutta
Plant, Anderson, S.C.; and the Ellijay Plant, Ellijay, Ga. Approximately 730 employees will lose
their jobs.

The Lyman and Wamsutta operations have been shifting to other Springs facilities over the past
year. The company manufactures its Regal® line of accent rugs at the Ellijay Plant, and will
continue their production at its Calhoun, Ga., and Nashville, Tenn., rug plants.

In statements announcing the closings to Springs employees and provided to

Textile World
by the company, Springs Chairman and CEO Crandall Close Bowles said the elimination of
quotas has accelerated imports of certain products that compete with Springs products.

“You are all aware that we source some products from China, Brazil, Mexico and other countries,”
Bowles said. “Our policy is to make things here unless pricing gets so low that we are not
competitive. Then, we must look for other ways to supply the product to our customers or we will
lose the business.To those of you wondering about the future, I can say with confidence that our
long-term outlook is positive,” she said. “We will continue to manufacture in the [United States],
though at a reduced size, based on flexible capacity, fast turnaround, short lead times, and lower
required levels of inventory. Our company will compete based on our strong retail relationships, a
broad product offering, well-known brands, and design and product development expertise. These
strategies will enable us to emerge from the current challenging industry transition as a strong
and growing company.”

January 2005

Bruckner Trockentechnik GmbH and Co. KG and m-tec Textilmaschinen GmbH have decades of
international experience in the field of carpet finishing. Recently, both companies have agreed to
cooperate in the carpet domain.This cooperation offers the customers the advantage of a complete
solution with state-of-the-art technology from one single source for coating, drying and shearing
processes, since each company complements optimally the respective technological core competence of
the other partner – application and drying technology by Bruckner – shearing technology by
m-tec/Menschner.

Often, this final finishing of carpets is carried out in a continuous operation inline. The size
of the particular finishing range depends on the necessary capacity. The modular layout of the
Bruckner dryer DUO-THERM allows the adaptation to any drying capacity. The same principle applies
to the number of shearing heads of m-tec TSH at different required machine speeds. The companies
have agreed on a worldwide cooperation in sales and planning. In addition, one of the companies
will assume the leadership in order processing until commissioning.

Press Release Courtesy of Bruckner and M-Tec

January 2005