C
ash flow. It’s the name of the game in any textile business. That is, in any textile
venture that wants to stay in business. Yet, many textile owners get so caught up in the day-to-day
operations of the business that they fail to devote enough time to “big picture” cash flow
management. Cash flow pressures have been greatly heightened in the industry by the offshore
manufacturing boom, increased competition and the capital intensive rush to automation.

Alice Magos is the advice columnist for America Online’s Business Owner’s Toolkit. In her “
Ask Alice” column, she is often queried about cash management concerns by textile business owners.
Magos contends that a focus on enhancing cash flow can keep a textile company up and running, even
if the red ink has been flowing.

“Cash flow is king,” advises Magos. “Even if profitability has eluded you, survival can be
attained if cash flow is maintained. Planning around cash flow is essential.”

Effective Cash Management

In the good old days in the textile industry (pre-NAFTA), one always effective strategy was to
increase sales. A well-run company could closely manage its gross profit margin and operating
expenses. Consequently, more sales meant more profits. This credo does not always hold true today,
however. In fact, many textile firms have found the opposite to be true as higher sales have led to
bigger losses.

As we enter the new millennium in the textile industry, there is a new cash management game.
In order to play, you often must find ways to enhance cash flow without increasing sales. Magos
refers to this practice as “bootstrapping.”

“Bootstrapping is the first line of defense for a textile business experiencing cash flow
problems,” explains Magos. “Bootstrapping is a buzzword that basically means generating needed
funds by deftly managing your cash inflows and outflows. Improving cash flow should be a daily
task, like housekeeping. Monitoring, forecasting and analyzing cash flows is essential to liquidity
and profitability, even for the Fortune 500 crowd.”

Following are five practical suggestions to follow that will provide immediate enhancement to
your bank balance.

Accounts Receivable Collection

Unless factoring is used, the typical textile firm has a significant portion of its balance
sheets tied up in receivables. And slow accounts receivable collection can cause a major drain on
cash flow.

For instance, a textile company with $12 million in annual sales generates about $1,000,000
per month in gross revenue. If customers are paying 30 days from the date of invoice, then the
company has accounts receivable of about $1,000,000 (30/360 x $12 million) at any given time.
However, if customers generally are 10 days behind in payments to the textile company, accounts
receivable would be approximately $1,333,333 (40/360 x $12 million). This represents a direct drain
on cash flow of $333,333.

Brad Moser is a partner with Gilliam, Coble & Moser LLP, Burlington, N.C. His CPA firm
works with more than 25 textile-related companies in the Piedmont region of the state. Moser says
that accounts receivable collection is a key to successful cash flow management for any textile
business.

As Moser points out, good accounts receivable management is a two-step process. “All invoices
should be sent on a timely basis,” he says. “Many small business owners lose cash flow by delaying
the sending of invoices. And, of course, it is vitally important to follow up with a good
receivables collection program.”

If you already have a good accounts receivable collection program in place and are still
having major cash flow problems, factoring might be your next step. Many textile business owners
resist factoring due to the perceived high costs and a fear that their customers will resist. And
while factoring fees and interest rates are considerably higher than those paid for conventional
bank asset-based lending lines of credit, the cash flow improvement can be dramatic for a textile
concern.

Some other benefits of factoring include:

• elimination of a credit department could reduce the number of employees, as well as
charge-offs from uncollectible receivables;

• may allow your company to take discounts from suppliers;

• credit information available on customers in a broader geographic range;

• faster growth; and

• factoring does not count as debt on your balance sheet and can free up availability for
additional bank borrowings for capital expansion and other needs.

Improve Profit Margins

No
matter how you slice it, there are three ways to improve your gross profit margins (calculated by
subtracting your direct costs from your total sales revenues) — raise prices, reduce direct costs
and change your product mix. Raising prices can cause a catch-22 in that you may lose sales. But if
you take a sensible approach to price increases (i.e. pass along price increases from your
suppliers) and stay in line with the competition, you should be able to periodically raise the
prices on your different products and services.

There are other ways to improve gross profit margins. Job cost every potential order to
ensure its profitability. If you can’t make money on an order, don’t take it or consider
outsourcing it to someone who can produce the goods profitably.

Check your control system for ordering inventory and supplies. It is recommended to
centralize this process to ensure efficiency. Every textile company should have one person who is
dedicated to ordering raw materials and supplies for the plant and office. Along the same lines, it
is very important to return damaged materials immediately.

Change your “product mix.” Push the more profitable items. For instance, if you have just
installed a new wet processing technology that enhances profitability, shift your marketing efforts
to this area so your existing and potential customers will consider you as a source.

Consider adding ancillary products. If your company manufactures women’s hosiery, and you are
already selling to one or more super retailers, find a source for another related product (i.e.
another line of women’s hosiery or a line of men’s hosiery) to sell. With the growing industry
trend toward outsourcing, you can leverage your marketing efforts by finding another source for
certain items and reselling them to your existing customers.

Take Advantage Of Terms

While it is certainly important to pay suppliers in a timely manner, it is generally not a good
idea to pay early. Yet many textile owners pride themselves in paying suppliers 10 days before
bills are due.

If you purchase anything on terms or on account, this is one area that procrastination pays.
Wait until the day a bill or invoice is due to pay it. Your cash flow will be enhanced, and your
valued supplier relationships will not be harmed because you will still be paying on time.

“Take advantage of the terms your vendors will allow,” Moser said. “Don’t abuse the
opportunity to delay payment, but you also don’t want to pay as soon as you receive the invoice.”&
amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /font>

Controlling Operating Expenses

It is often the intangible operating expenses that are paid the least attention by textile
business owners but which drain cash flow the most. Areas such as personnel expenses, utilities,
insurance and telephone service can substantially deplete cash flow without the owner even
realizing it is happening. Long-distance telephone service can be shopped. There have been some
great long-distance telephone service wars going on over the past few years.

Utilities expenses can be lowered by minimizing the use of electricity and by adjusting the
plant thermostat upward or downward a few degrees during the summer and winter months. In fact,
most utility companies offer a free on-site consultation to help you reduce your energy usage.

And there are several different ways to save on insurance costs. Even if you don’t own your
own building, you still have to purchase insurance for your equipment, inventory and other
contents, as well as for workman’s compensation and life, health and disability insurance. And
whether or not you provide these benefits for your employees, you must maintain them on yourself.
Different insurance companies have varied rates for the myriad of insurance services offered, and a
little shopping might go a long way in enhancing your bottom line.

Personnel expenses can often be the hardest to control and can really sap cash flow; however,
if you will keep a close eye on employee downtime and minimize overtime, you will see positive
results in the bank balance.

“Payroll costs are big for any textile business,” Moser said. “Take a look at peak times and
make sure they are covered. But during downtimes, try to cut back on the number of employees on
hand. And a close eye should always be kept on overtime.”

In fact, Moser said that a close eye should be kept on all operating expenses. He suggests on
an at least annual basis, taking a close look at the income statement and picking out the five
biggest expense items.

“Figure out which of the five biggest expense items can be cut back during the coming year,”
advises Moser. “In fact, you should periodically review the entire income statement and ask
yourself if some of the expenses are needed at all. For instance, if you are having your facility
cleaned weekly, you might be able to save a lot of money by cutting back to every other week. The
same could be true for, say, waste removal.”

Go See Your Banker

Nearly all textile business owners use outside financing to help start or expand the business.
But many don’t realize that banks are sometimes flexible on repayment terms. If you are looking for
ways to enhance cash flow, more favorable loan terms might just be the ticket.

For instance, on a $600,000, four-year loan at 9 percent, the monthly payment would be about
$15,000. By simply extending that same loan to a five-year payback, the monthly obligation drops to
$12,500. This translates to a monthly savings of $2,500 and annual cash flow enhancement of
$30,000.

A second key cash flow enhancement tool offered by your bank is cash management services. If
your textile company isn’t currently set up on a cash management program with a bank, ask your
banker to make a cash management presentation.

Tom Bennett is manager of the Treasury Management Services Group for First Charter, Concord,
N.C. During his 14 years in banking, Bennett has worked with dozens of textile companies and says
there are a myriad of excellent cash management services now available to textile concerns that
will enhance cash flow.

“There is much more available to smaller textile companies than there was even five years
ago,” Bennett said. “Most textile companies with which I have worked use factoring or asset-based
lending to finance accounts receivable. Bank cash management services are a critical component in
concert with this type of borrowing to maximize cash flow for the company.”

As an example, Bennett sites the ability of a bank to analyze “mail float” for a customer. He
recently called on a textile company in a rural location. Some of their checks were taking as long
as 10 days to arrive at the company’s doorstep. Then because of the rural location, the bookkeeper
would sometimes wait a couple of days before making a trip to the bank to deposit the funds.

“We advised this client to set up a lockbox in Charlotte, a major city that was nearby,”
Bennett said. “The cash flow improvement was significant because all funds were becoming available
several days sooner.”

According to Bennett, some of the cash management services offered by banks include:

• On-Line Balance Reporting And Funds Transfer — Allows you to access your business accounts
with an on-site PC terminal and modem. Says Bennett: “Good, timely cash management information
allows the textile company to make wiser, quicker decisions.”

• E-Commerce — Bennett says more and more companies are using business-to-business
e-commerce. Cash flow is enhanced since the textile company agrees with the customer when the
invoice will be paid electronically, thereby eliminating late payments.

• Account Reconciliation — A listing of your checks paid in order of serial number or date
that is available on paper, tape, diskette, CD or by data transmission via the on-site PC terminal
and modem referenced above.

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) Services — Facilitates electronic funds transfers to replace
paper transactions and wire transfers. ACH can also be used to initiate debits and credits
electronically.

• Automatic Investment Plans — Also known as “sweep accounts,” these plans automatically
sweep collected DDA (demand deposit account) funds that exceed your target balance to eliminate
service charges into overnight investments such as Master Notes and Repurchase Agreements. These
generally offer more attractive yields than those offered by money market accounts and CD’s.

• Cash Concentration — This service moves funds from your company’s accounts at other
financial institutions to your primary account. This service is ideal for multiple location textile
businesses that do not have access to the same bank in each location.

• Controlled Disbursement — This service eliminates idle balances on deposit in anticipation
of checks clearing. It improves cash forecasting and earnings potential and provides absolute
control over disbursements.

• Inclearing Report — Bennett singles this service out as one of the most beneficial
controlled disbursement services offered by banks. The Inclearing Report is provided by the bank
via the Federal Reserve and includes all checks that will clear that night.

• Lockbox — With a lockbox, the textile company’s customers mail payments to an exclusive
Post Office Box. The bank processes the mail, deposits checks and sends remittance documents and
copies of the checks to the textile company. The deposit amount is reported daily to the firm.
According to Bennett, a lockbox is usually required in factoring and asset-based lending
arrangements.

• Imaged Lockbox — This service allows the textile company to go on-line and view an image of
every item that goes through its account each day. Bennett sites a hosiery company that uses this
service, even though the annual fees involved were $8,000 higher than for the same information
availability on paper.

• Letters Of Credit — If you are dealing with a supplier who requires a deposit for goods
shipped, a letter of credit could be an effective cash management tool. Most suppliers will readily
accept bank letters of credit (the bank substitutes its credit rating for yours and charges a fee
for the service) in lieu of cash deposits on orders taken.

With the challenging trends facing the textile industry, an effective cash management
strategy is critical to the company’s ability to be a survivor. It is hoped that some of these
suggestions will aid you in keeping the cash flowing into rather than out of your textile
business.

What Should You Do With Your Excess Cash Flow?

If you are generating excess cash flow in your textile concern, the next key question is “what
should you do with it?” The decisions you make can be critical in this area. Ken Anderson, who has
more than 15 years of experience with The Principal Financial Group, advises that effective cash
flow management starts with the objective of the cash.

“The first thing I ask the textile business owner is ‘what will the cash be used for,’”
explains Anderson. “It is important to know if the excess cash will be used to pay taxes, fund
expansion or buy equipment.”

“The key is to focus on whether the excess cash is short term, mid-range or long term,”
continues Anderson. “This directly affects the various investment options for the company. And for
any term, I perform a risk assessment to find out the risk tolerance of the business owner. Any
investment strategy must be in line with the risk tolerance level of the business owner.”

If the textile company is going to need access to the cash within one to three years.

Anderson says that is a short-term need. Anticipation that the cash will be needed within
three to five years represents a mid-range need. A long-term investment strategy should be employed
if the business will not need the excess cash for at least five years.

“For short term excess cash, I recommend safe investments,” says Anderson. “In a case like
this, you won’t have time to regain the funds if they are lost in a higher risk investment.”
Anderson recommends three basic options for short-term excess cash flow — government secured
treasury bonds, bank certificates of deposit and high-grade commercial bonds.

“With a mid-range strategy, you can be a little more aggressive,” advises Anderson. “If the
money isn’t needed for three to five years, some can be put in equities. But I recommend only blue
chips with a high dividend payout level. Even with a mid-range strategy, however, only a portion of
the funds should be put in equities.”

With a long-term investment strategy, Anderson recommends a multi-asset, multi-manager,
multi-style, multi-market asset allocation approach. This enables the textile business owner to “
hedge” investments over a long term by balancing a standard deviated risk level with acceptable
returns. Anderson sites the Frank Russell Investment Management Company, Tacoma, Wash., as the top
company in this field.

In situations in which sustained excess cash flow levels are anticipated, Anderson also
recommends that the textile business owner consider executive compensation and profit sharing plans
to make sure the cash flow remains strong.

“Sharing excess cash flow with employees and key executives is a form of investment in that
you are investing in your people,” says Anderson. “It increases employee morale, which typically
leads to better operating efficiency and lower turnover. Your people will work harder for you if
they know you are looking out for them.”

Anderson sites incentive pay, employee bonuses and qualified retirement plans such as 401(K)
and pension plans as excellent benefits to offer to keep your good employees from leaving. He also
says that most businesses have a few key senior-level employees who are vital to the success of the
operation and who are primarily responsible for the excess cash flow of a business. Explains
Anderson: “Ask yourself the question, ‘is there anyone in the organization whose loss would cripple
my operation?’ If there are one or two or more, put in a plan to incent them to stay.”

For senior-level employees, Anderson says that non-qualified retirement plans are the most
effective and efficient tools to keep them on board. In fact, non-qualified retirement plans are
often referred to as executive compensation plans, because they are usually offered only to the
owner or the senior management team of a business. “With a non-qualified plan, you pick and choose
the benefits and who will have something special done for them,” says Anderson.

Anderson says there are a number of different non-qualified plans that can be undertaken.
However, he sights three different plans that are typical for small businesses. Below is a quick
overview of these three options. An insurance agent can explain them to you in far more detail.

According to Anderson, an executive bonus plan is common for a new or emerging small
business. The business pays a tax-deductible bonus which is used to pay life insurance premiums,
deducts the bonus as a normal business expense and reports it as “other compensation” on the
employee’s W-2. The employee owns the policy and reports the bonus as taxable income.

It is advantageous for the key employee in several ways. An executive bonus plan can be
custom-fit to meet the employee’s needs and objectives, it provides insurance protection for a
spouse and/or family in the event of death, it provides potential cash-value growth that may
supplement retirement income and taxes are paid only on the premium amount.

As the owner of the policy, the key employee holds the rights to all cash dividends, policy
loans and withdrawals. In short, an executive bonus provides an easy way to provide a benefit other
than cash for a small business looking to reward a few key employees or even just the owner.

Anderson says that split dollar plans are more common with maturing small businesses.

The company pays all or part of the premium for a key employee’s life insurance policy. A
portion of the death benefit and policy cash values (equal to the premium paid by the employer) is
assigned to the business. The employee pays a minimal income tax on the cost of the policy’s
current economic benefit.

At a future date, usually triggered by the retirement of the employee, he or she uses cash
values to repay the premiums the company paid. The split-dollar agreement is terminated, and the
policy and its benefits belong solely to the employee.

According to Anderson, deferred compensation delays payment of a portion of a highly paid
employee’s income (and taxes) until retirement when his/her income level presumably will be lower.
It also provides funds in case of early retirement or disability.

Editor’s Note: J. Tol Broome Jr. is a freelance business writer and has been in banking for 17
years in commercial lending. He is currently a regional loan administrator with BB&T,
Winston-Salem, N.C. Broome’s work has appeared in numerous business and trade publications.

April 2000

W
hen addressing the question “What will yarn preparation look like in the future?” there
are two different approaches. The first is the safer approach of looking at possible progressions
and developments in the existing technology, then predicting where this will lead in the future.
The second approach is not to be restricted by today’s technology. Starting only with the premise
of needing to translate bales of fiber into a strand, which is suitable to feed into a spinning
machine. In the present article, it is hoped to combine aspects of both of these approaches. Thus
not only will possible developments in processing stages be discussed, but also in some cases the
need (or techniques adopted) for the process may be questioned. An inherent assumption is also that
the properties of the fibers used will not radically change in the foreseeable future.

There is no doubt that the current trend for greater use of monitoring and control devices
will continue, as will the development in off-line testing equipment. This can be a double-edged
sword. While these systems provide data on the process and product that was not previously
available, they also provide the challenge of how to use the data. There are obvious benefits in
using data on fibers to optimize bale lay-down, or to determine drawframe performance by monitoring
sliver regularity. Unfortunately, there is presently a surfeit of results and the channelling of
data (preferably obtained from both on-line and off-line sources and collated into usable
information) to the appropriate individual, is a necessity, if these systems are to have any
long-term usefulness.

One of the major concerns expressed by spinners is that the current grading of cotton does
not reflect the ultimate quality of the yarn. Some spinners would prefer less effectively ginned
fiber, if this caused less fiber damage.

Opening

A
historical overview of the offerings by different machinery makers clearly shows that there has
been a rationalization in units used for opening and cleaning. Whereas, in the past there seemed to
be a multitude of apparently different concepts for opening and cleaning fibers. A cursory perusal
of the current offerings of machinery makers shows that there essentially seems to be a few core
components that can be modified to cater for different demands in terms of opening and/or cleaning.
An example of this is the Cleanomat/Tuftomat
(Figure 1) unit offered by Trützschler, where the basic design can be altered in terms of
number of rollers, roller covering and use of trash removal (mote knives) or “plain” under-screen.
By using the correct combination, it is claimed that optimum opening and cleaning can be achieved
with minimum fiber damage.

It is hard to foresee any major developments in bale opening systems, which are presently
available for either batch or continuous processing. Even in “batch” processing (normal bale
lay-down), it is currently possible to process almost 200 bales and up to three different bale
groups. Similarly the use of multimixers will be the integral component for efficient fiber
blending. With current production rates potentially well in excess of 1,000kg/hour, it is believed
that future developments may be aimed at improving quality rather than productivity.

Recent developments that will continue to grow in importance are:

• Fine Particle Cleaners (dedusting units): the successful use of high-speed spinning
machines (rotor, jet and vortex) requires that the feedstock is cleaner. For example, in rotor
spinning, fine dust particles in the feed lead to rotor deposits that not only reduce processing
efficiency, but can also result in moir — defects in the fabric. Similarly with jet/vortex
spinning, the presence of fine trash particles in units incorporating small holes to twist the
fibers could result in excessive wear and/or blocked channels that would in turn change product and
process quality.

• Foreign Parts Detection (metal, foreign fibers, etc.): as the feed to the opening process
becomes more automated, there is little opportunity for visual inspection and thus automatic
detection and elimination of unwanted material at an early stage is now a critical component of an
opening line. There are distinct benefits to early detection and removal of unwanted fibrous
material since later processing stages open up and spread out these “foreign fibers.” This can
result in the contamination of many yarn packages. Developments in automation coupled with advances
in image processing will further improve the efficiency of these units.

Carding

High-production
carding currently equates to throughputs of about 100kg/hour (maximum 120kg/hour) for a meter-wide
card. If developments in other carding technologies such as nonwovens are considered, there is no
doubt that further improvements in processing speed will be achieved in cotton cards. This may
however necessitate developments in the output from the card, such as dual doffers or some
alternative output format to the current sliver. This latter approach, which is used in woolen
processing, has been the subject of several research projects and includes the possibility of
spinning directly from the card.

While there has been continuous improvement in carding technology and in associated process
and product control, these seem to have come of age and rather than simply being “crowd-pullers” at
machinery shows, they now present an alternative approach to maintaining high quality in carding.
Multiple liquor-in rolls have been tried in the past, and this approach is being promoted by
Trützschler and is claimed to give better fiber opening. Other manufacturers have incorporated
modifications to the feed/liquor-in region aimed at better cleaning and minimum fiber damage.

Recent machinery exhibitions have unveiled several interesting developments from different
card manufacturers, each of which leads to a minor improvement. However, if these could be
integrated into one unit there is potentially a major change in the control of the carding process.
These developments include both new and established ideas:

• integrated flat grinding has been available for several years;

• automatic measurement of flat setting is now available;

• motorized flat setting
(Figure 2) is a possibility;

• an integrated cylinder grinding system
(Figure 3) was recently made available. This consists of a grind-stone mounted under the
cylinder which traverses the cylinder at intervals calculated by software (based on production and “
experience values”);

• autolevelling systems and the monitoring of sliver regularity is almost a standard
accessory; and

• automatic nep counting at the doffer is an established technology but this now forms the
basis of “intelligent grinding management.” Data from the automatic nep sensor can provide a useful
indication of appropriate times to grind the flats (i.e. when there is an unacceptable increase in
the level of neps).

It is thus evident that it is possible to measure sliver quality in terms of uniformity and
neps and, furthermore, the factors primarily responsible for sliver quality (i.e. the condition of
the card clothing and flat setting) can be adjusted. Thus, rather than grinding and adjusting card
settings on a fixed time interval, it is now potentially possible to make these adjustments when
the quality of the sliver approaches some predefined limit.

The possibility of incorporating a drafting head between the card and the coiler unit is not
new and has been the basis of earlier autolevelling systems and also an approach to eliminating
drawframe passages. A drawback of these systems was that they operated at very low drafts and this
could result in grouping of fibers, which became evident in subsequent drawing processes. The
recently introduced IDF (integrated drawframe) from Trützschler is claimed to overcome the earlier
limitations by operating at significantly higher drafts between two and three. Indeed it is claimed
that significant improvements in fiber straightening (resulting in greater fiber length and yarn
strength)
(Figure 4) can be achieved at drafts greater than two.

There are differences of opinion over the use of an integrated drafting system as an
alternative to a drawframe passage (since this reduces the doubling and hence blending potential of
the processing line). However, this approach may become a standard feature of “cards of the future”
should double doffers become a necessary requisite for higher productivity.

The other technology, that may re-emerge, is the use of a direct link between card and
drawframe. While this has been proposed several times previously, any future balance in production
levels of cards and drawframes may re-establish interest in this approach.

Combing

Combing
preparation is potentially totally automated, including the transfer of laps to the comb, and it is
unlikely that any major developments will be seen in this area. Unless there is a radical departure
from the current design of combing machines, it is unlikely that they will make any significant
increases in speeds beyond 400 nips/minute. An area where improvements may be seen is the automatic
setting of the comb to achieve some preset quality standards.

The use of imaging systems on the combed web can be used to assess not only the nep and trash
particle content, but potentially could also determine fiber length and fineness. The data from
these sensors could be part of a system that self-adjusts the comb settings and thus yields
consistent quality.

Drawing

Drawframe speeds have peeked at about 1,000m/min. Autolevelling systems are available from all
drawframe manufacturers, as is the possibility of automatic can change and the potential of a
material handling (can transport) system. It is likely that there may be greater use of rectangular
cans (originally promoted by Rieter with their CUBI can system), since these not only provide
better use of the available space under modern spinning frames, but also offer easier handling in
an automated transport system. The relative advantages and disadvantages of reducing drawframe
passages are still the subjects of debate, but it is likely that there will be a move to the use of
integrated drawing systems where two drawframes are essentially combined into one unit.

Systems of this type were proposed almost 50 years ago by Toyobo
(Figure 5) for cotton spinning and more recently by Sant’Andrea Novara and OKK for worsted
processing and it seems logical that such a set-up should figure in a drawing line of the future.
As mentioned earlier, the old idea of linking several cards to a drawframe may also reappear if
production levels can be matched. The drawframe of the future may also be “smarter” than today,
where it responds to data input from previous machines and/or integrated sensing systems.
Potentially the machine may optimize draft, ratch, and production speed based on values of fiber
properties (obtained from high-volume tests) and regularity of the final sliver.

Roving Frame

There has been a question mark over the future of the roving frame for the last 40 years, but it
still forms the feedstock for ring spinning. There is, however, current renewed interest in the use
of higher drafts on the ring frame and this leads to the possibility of using heavier feedstock.
Thus, it is possible to eliminate the roving frame and use a lightweight sliver to feed the ring
frame. A further route to improving the total efficiency of the ring spinning process is to utilize
heavyweight rovings in terms of both roving count and package size and weight (up to 5 kg). The use
of heavy rovings offers several advantages:

• the production of the roving frame is greatly increased;

• automatic doffing of the roving frame is a well-developed technology;

• automatic transport of rovings and creeling of ring frame is easier to perform than the
transport of sliver cans; and

• space requirement at the ring frame is significantly less than with sliver feeds.

As indicated above there is unlikely to be any major increases in productivity of the
machines utilized in spinning preparation and likely benefits will probably be achieved by
increases in the throughput weights rather than speed. The possibility of shortened processing
routes should not be discounted for certain types of yarn, but while direct spinning from the card
may be an interesting research topic, it is extremely unlikely to be of any commercial
significance. The greater availability of cheaper and more powerful microprocessors; cheaper and
more sophisticated imaging systems; cheaper variable speed motors and drivers; and access to more
data on fiber and sliver quality will inevitably result in smart, more integrated machines, which
automatically respond to compensate for changes in quality.

Editor’s Note: William Oxenham is professor, associate department head and graduate
administrator in the Department of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management in the College of
Textiles at North Carolina State University. Oxenham earned his bachelor’s degree and doctorate at
the University of Leeds, England.

April 2000

C
otton Incorporated has started the millennium on the right foot with the opening of its
new world headquarters in Cary, N.C. The newly built 125,053-square-foot facility will consolidate
the two research operations the company has in Raleigh, N.C. (Crabtree and Neil Street), along with
product marketing and integrated technical marketing. Approximately 110 of the company’s 160
employees will be in the Cary facility. Anything directed towards consumer trade, general promotion
and public relations will remain in New York City.

Construction of the new facility was funded by the Cotton Board, Memphis, Tenn. Estimated
costs are more than $10 million, which, according to Cotton Incorporated President and CEO J.
Berrye Worsham, was within the budget approved by the Cotton Board. Worsham said they have
estimated that by consolidating the Raleigh facilities and downsizing the New York City office,
they will save approximately $1 million annually in rent. Money that, according to Worsham, will go
back into the cotton program.

All Under One Roof

The
plan to consolidate facilities in Cary got off the ground in 1996, when Hurricane Fran hit, causing
floods throughout the region. Cotton Incorporated’s Crabtree facility had two feet of water in it,
and the damage done totaled $750,000.

In December of 1996, the board asked Cotton Incorporated if they could move the Crabtree office.
The first thought was to expand the Neil Street facility, but it was soon decided that it would be
more cost-effective to build a new facility that would house both the Crabtree office and the Neil
Street facility. After numerous location scouts, an area was found that suited the company’s needs
in the Weston Office Park. Worsham said the search was concentrated in the Raleigh area.

“We like the area for a number of reasons,” he said. “For one, we have a good talent pool of
young people in the textile industry. You have the North Carolina State University School of
Textiles. You also have Duke and North Carolina nearby. So you have a good group of young people
interested in technology.

“Also you are close to the spinning activity in North Carolina, which is the largest area as
far as cotton spinning, and we’re within driving distance of the major textile mills. So this is a
good area between the talent pool and our customer base.”

Another advantage is that the new facility is near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport,
which makes customer travel to the facility much easier.

“It took about a year to develop plans and get the team together that was going to put
together the building; the builders, the architects and engineers,” Worsham said. “We really had to
do it right up front. We’re not like the sports complex down the road that started out as a
$40-million project and ended up as a $160-million project. We couldn’t have those kinds of
overruns. We had to get everything laid out just right in the beginning, to minimize change-overs
and lost time.” The company broke ground in October 1998 and moved into the completed facility in
December 1999. The official opening is set for April 18, 2000.

Research And Development

Consolidating
facilities has brought the company closer together, making it more of a team-based environment.
With the old set-up, R&D personnel were driving back and forth between the two facilities. Now
they just have to walk down the hall.

The building was designed with workflow in mind. It is divided into two buildings connected
by a glass walkway. The front building is a two-story facility made up of offices that surround the
perimeter of the building. And even in the offices, cotton tests are being done — all of the
carpeting in the offices is cotton blended with nylon or polyester. The carpet in the executive
suite is cotton/wool. The carpet in the high-traffic areas, such as hallways and stairs, and in lab
buildings is commercial-grade nylon.

Through the glass walkway on the second floor is the testing facility. This was designed so
the cotton travels in a big circle. The warehouse is in the back corner, where the bales of cotton
are delivered. There is also a large warehouse area for storing fabric test rolls.

The cotton then travels to the Carding Lab. During
ATI’s visit, none of the machines in the lab were up and running yet. Some were
still in the process of being put back together from the move. Through a set of double doors is the
fully equipped Spinning Lab. Machines stood in the ready for the main switch to be thrown. Dr.
Preston Sasser, senior vice president, managing director, research, pointed out that each lab has
independent temperature and humidity controls. In the lab building, steam and hot water are used
for heat, while steam is used for humidity.

In the Knitting Lab, Sasser explained that each knitting machine was taken apart section by
section, brought to the new facility via truck, and put back together. The doors of the Knitting
Lab were specially designed to be tall enough to fit the knitting machines through them. The
hallways around the lab are wide enough to move machinery through.

The Applications Lab is the largest lab in the new facility. Its 24-foot-high ceiling is a
criss-cross of silver and white pipes and tubes.

Because it would not be cost-efficient to air condition such a large area that is
continuously running hot water and steam into machines, above each work station is a pipe that
dispenses cool air and mist onto the worker below.

All of the water used in the dyeing and other applications is drained from the machines into
trenches built into the floor. The waste water is stored outside of the facility. Sasser said
Cotton Incorporated discussed the disposal of the waste water with the town of Cary. The town has
enabled the company to release the waste water into the town sewage system at a rate of no faster
than 20 gallons per minute. A special meter keeps track of the water to make sure that it is being
released properly.

The chemical storage area is specially designed so if ever the sprinkler system comes on, the
water that comes down in that area stays in that area until the water can be tested before it is
pumped out.

The entire lab area is surrounded by research offices and smaller testing labs. There are
also several fabric libraries that store small swatches of every fabric the company has made, along
with every characteristic of that particular fabric. These libraries are identical in every office
of Cotton Incorporated.

A new development at the facility is a room that was made to be a life-sized light box.
Separate lighting systems representing natural, incandescent or fluorescent lighting can be used
individually or together to see the variations of dyed fabric.

Also, Cotton Incorporated is working with Raitech Inc., Charlotte, N.C., by using its
Quickwash™ line of testing instruments in the labs at the new facility. Sasser said that using the
Quickwash saves a lot of time and fabric because sample tests can be completed in minutes rather
than hours.

Meeting Customer Demands

Customer
satisfaction is extremely important to Cotton Incorporated. Throughout the moving process, the
company was, for the most part, able to keep up with the needs of its customers.

“We continued to service the textile industry,” Worsham said. “One of our jobs in the textile
area is not just to do research, but to take presentations and information and visit textile
companies here in the United States and around the world.”

One thing did work in Cotton Incorporated’s favor in that most of the machinery was being
moved in November and December, when most of the mills are down for the holidays.

“We do still have the fabric development up and running,” Worsham said. “Some of our weaving
research is contracted out, so that is not affected. We can still visit mills and solve technical
problems over the phone, that hasn’t changed.

“This research center was developed to help further the interest of cotton. I think it will
be a benefit to the cotton producers. I think it will be a benefit to the cotton textile mills, as
well as the manufacturers and retailers that process cotton.”

April 2000

A
long with the freezing temperatures, ice and snow that covered a large part of the nation
this winter, a ray of warmth emerged. In January, international forecasters, stylists, studios and
a small group of fabric companies presented trends for Spring/Summer 2001 and beyond. Their message
is optimistic. After a decade of black and grey, color returns. Fabrics will be light, fluid and
refined, woven or knitted in blends of natural and man-made fibers. Prints make a comeback.

Freedom Of Movement

Jean
Hegedus, DuPont Lycra® marketing knitwear manager, noted that sweaters are a fast-growing category
in women’s apparel. Elasticized sweaters are growing more rapidly than the category as a whole.

“In December ’99 we ran a sweater survey on our Lycra website. Respondents’ comments fell
into three categories, softness, comfort and freedom of movement, and shape and newness retention,”
Hegedus said.

Hegedus also pointed out that Lycra low-power yarns, which were developed specifically for
knitwear applications, have less “snapback,” allowing better control of garment weight and sizing.

Sheila-Mary Carruthers, global knitwear consultant for DuPont Lycra presented colors and
fabrics for Spring 2001. Developmental fabrics showed a variety of constructions, weights and
textures all knitted in yarns containing Lycra from global resources.

One group of soft sheer fabrics, knitted with Supplex®, polypropylene, acrylic, rayon or
cashmere with Lycra, had a touch of metallic glimmer. A clear, mid-level color palette was shown in
shades of cream, skin pink, clay mauve, turquoise and earth hues. Fabrics in this group were
knitted with yarns from international spinners including Unifi/L Payen & Cie., Saint Lievin and
Loro Piana.

Another group of fabrics has surface detailing and strong color contrasts. Dry-hand and rough
textured fabrics, with knops and boucles are knitted in blends of Lycra with linen or cotton. Yarn
resources include Wykes, The Lurex Co. and Rignasco.

A third range, inspired by pop art, features graphic prints, stripes and checks in bright
shades of red, pink and green with touches of neutrals, black and white. Cauilliez Freres, Luigi
Botto and Elate are some of the yarn resources.

One collection was created to demonstrate how a variety of different fabrics can all be made
using the same equipment. Extra-fine merino/Lycra from Luigi Botto in a feather weight single
jersey; a hairy, bulky fabric containing wool/mohair/Lycra yarns from Raumer; a thick crochet look
in silk/Lycra from Filiatura Botto Poala; and a tuck construction in cotton/Lycra from Cauillez
Freres were all knitted on the same Stoll machine.

The Technology Of Comfort

Presenting color trends for Solutia, consultant Phil Shroff said: “Fiber innovation continues,
with technology coming up with modifications that take care of the concerns of modern society.” His
examples are “antimicrobial, antifungal and antiodor properties for underwear and socks,
antiallergens to provide freshness in home textiles, UV protection, antistatic and antimagnetic
properties, moisture absorption and moisture transport for comfort, temperature control and muscle
stimulation for performance enhancement and aromatics for relaxation.”

Shroff showed six groups of colors. A range of neutral tints is sandy in feeling. There is
very little grey. Intense whitened pales and sherbet midtones are used tonally, with white as
accent. There are eight vibrant shades in the brightest range. A second group of brights is warm,
deep and spicy. Darks are “to be applied on satin finishes to look like liquid metal.”

Fabrics Shroff recommends include crepes and crepons with a crisp, dry hand, silky organzas,
sensual satins and soft spongy surfaces. Tie-dyes, ikats and burn-outs are mentioned, along with
double-faced fabrics and rubber touches.

Return To Elegance

Angelo Uslenghi, who heads a committee that sets trends for the Italian textile trade show Moda
In Tessuto, held in Milan twice a year, previewed Spring/Summer 2001 to New York designers and
press.

“Sloppy is out,” he said. “There will be a return to elegance and fluidity. There is a
symbiosis of nature and technology. A new generation of man-made fibers has the look of natural
fibers, and natural fibers are copying the easy-care and performance characteristics of man-made
fibers.

“New finishing treatments give fabrics a light coating. They can be lubricated, moisturized,
hydrated, lightly chintzed or slightly soaked with polyurethane. The hand is sometimes a bit soapy
or peach skin to the touch,” he added.

Specific fabrics mentioned by Uslenghi include crepe, voile, fine jersey, georgette, mesh,
rip-stop, chambray, etamine, cloque, canvas, muslin, drill and denim. Fabric surfaces are often
bubbled and puckered, or they can be open with eyelet or laser cut patterns. Stretch is a
given.

IFFE Under New Management

Advanstar Communications has taken over management of IFFE (International Fashion Fabrics
Exhibition). The next IFFE, April 11-13, will have a new layout, new exhibitors and expanded
display areas.

A group of trend forecasters met in January to select color and fabric directions to be shown
at IFFE. Their conclusions confirm a return to color, ranging from soft cosmetic shades, earthy
clay and terra cotta tones, creamy and sandy neutrals, full pastels with a high-tech quality,
sunbaked darks and two ranges of bright colors.

Fabric choices include crisp sheers, open lacy looks, wrinkles, pleats, nylon rip stop, light
taffeta, shantung, linen, poplin, twills and denim.

Metallics will continue, sometimes with a matte luster. Light chintz surfaces were also
mentioned. Washed and faded surfaces and stretch are other trends to look for.

The committee noted patterns and prints are making a strong comeback. The range goes from
blurred water color florals and soft botanical prints on sheers, to Hawaiian surfer motifs, madras
plaids, tropical designs, stripes, dots and spots and summer paisleys.

Prints In The Spotlight

Spring/Summer 2001 will be a big print season,” said Massimo Iacoboni, organizer of Printsource,
a show selling surface designs from more than 20 studios. “We were surprised by the turn out of
buyers, considering the weather. The January event was our best attended ever.”

This sentiment was echoed by Eileen Mislove of Inprints, where 15 design studios exhibited
prints and patterns. “Business was up 10 percent.”

London Portfolio, a group of eight British designers that exhibited at Inprints, noted that
for the past two years embroideries have sustained their business.

The Colorfield, another Inprints exhibitor, also reported that embroideries are beginning to
taper off, prints have returned. Small to large multi-floral designs, brightly colored tropicals,
spots and dots and stripes are among their best sellers.

At Printsource, Tom Cody, who sells his designs to international textile companies and
designers, agreed. “Embroideries are still selling, but 2001 is all about color, and that bodes
well for prints. At the moment we are selling dots, tie-dyes, tropicals, op-art and pop art. There
is a lot of interest in a refined, up-scale hippie look which is slightly reminiscent of the ’60s
and ’70s,” he said.

The Design Library, also at Printsource, has the world’s largest archives of documentary
designs, some dating back to early 1700. In addition to selling antique swatches, designs are
available on CD-ROM. There are three sections — florals, geometrics and ethnics — which include
conversational and period styles. There are 484 color images in the floral section.

Italian Collections

A contingent of Italian textile companies, selling under the banner Texitalia Club, brought a
first look at fabrics for Spring 2001 to New York. Although lines were incomplete and buyers were
filling in with orders for Fall, what did turn up gave a reality check to forecasters.

Cotton knits, cotton/nylon wovens with a crisp or soft hand, and ultra-light faux snake are
some of the new items at Nello Gori (Francesca De Vito). Technical fibers are also in this line,
including Amicor antibacterial acrylic from Acordia and DuPont’s Kevlar.

Milior (Gordon Textiles) continues with technical innovation. They are showing antistatic and
antimagnetic treatments.

At Picchi there is crinkle stretch, sheer coated fabrics, printed linen and many bright
colors. Manteco Mantellassi (Andrew Koenig) has linen/viscose shantung, chambray, and bold stripes.
There is stretch, double-faced and washed linen at Linea Emme (International Textile Workshop).

Linea Tessile Italiana (Horne & Weiss) has developed linen gauze with a very soft hand.
They sell it printed with large scale boarder designs and enormous flowers. Linen denim is a fabric
they introduced a year ago. They are showing it in two weights, dyed in shades of green or brown as
well as indigo.

March 2000