Italy-based San Grato CMT has introduced the OptiMix automatic doffing system to unload packages
from open-end frames with a minimum of doffer stops.An optimization system at the core of OptiMix
sends commands to the open-end frame to set the number of packages to be unloaded and to unload
them on the assigned chain. OptiMix operates either manually or in automatic, optimized mode.
January 2001
JPS Industries Inc., Greenville, S.C., completed a transaction selling the assets of its apparel
division to JPS Acquisition Corp., a new, privately held company formed by two veteran textile
executives H. Doug Kingsmore and Jerry E. Turner. The sale includes its apparel manufacturing and
administrative facilities located in South Boston, Va.; Greenville, S.C.; and Laurens, S.C.; as
well as sales offices in New York City and Los Angeles.The purchase price of the assets is
approximately $27 million, with future consideration in the form of an earn-out based on earnings
before interest, depreciation and amortization, as defined, for the 24-month period immediately
following the sale.
January 2001
ATLANTA, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ — The Board of Directors of OxfordIndustries, Inc. (NYSE: OXM) today
declared a cash dividend of $.21 per share on Common Stock payable March 3, 2001 to stockholders of
record onFebruary 15, 2001. This is the 163rd consecutive quarterly cash dividendsince Oxford
became publicly-owned in 1960. The Board of Directors also issued a new stock repurchase
authorization for up to 1,000,000 shares of the company’s common stock. In accordance with the
authorization, the company expects to repurchase its shares from time to time in privately
negotiated and open market transactions. As of January 8,2001, the company had 468,227 shares
remaining in its previous 1,000,000 share authorization announced in April, 1999.
Safe Harbor Statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements with
respect to anticipated future results, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. These risks and uncertainties
include,but are not limited to, general economic and apparel business conditions,continued retailer
and consumer acceptance of company products, and global manufacturing costs.SOURCE Oxford
Industries, Inc.Copyright 2001 PR Newswire
FIBERBUYS.COM OFFERS NEW FEATUREFiberBuys.com announced it now offers a supplier contact feature for all products facilitating quicker, easier communication between buyers and sellers via e-mail. The feature allows buyers that have a question about a specific product to contact suppliers directly, eliminating time spent making subsequent phone calls and faxes. A clearinghouse for surplus fiber, FiberBuys.com recently partnered with Martin Color-Fi and Wellman, presenting the need to streamline communication between buyers and sellers. To utilize the supplier contact feature, customers simply log on to the FiberBuys.com Web site, click on the envelope-shaped icon adjacent to the specific product and type their question or concern in the text space provided. An e-mail is sent directly to the supplier of the designated product, enabling customers to inquire about quantity, product features and even the price of a particular product.”FiberBuys new supplier contact feature allows us to better serve our customers,” stated Patricia Liskoff, director of operations for FiberBuys.com. “By enhancing our communication capabilities, we are able to facilitate quicker, more complete service with a level of personal attention that often times is a challenge with online transactions. The supplier contact feature gives us the ability to find out what our buyers really want and to get it to them in the most efficient, effective manner.”November 2001
Chemical TreatmentandFinishingBy William C. Smith, Consulting Editor Laminate Faster, More CompetitiveNew flat-bed laminating system uses special techniques to provide uniform bond strengths at much faster speeds.
Fabrics bonded to foam have been used for many years for a variety of consumer and industrial applications to achieve bulk, soft hand, sound dampening and the like. A favorite method of bonding such fabrics has been flame laminating whereby polyester foam is passed by a flame, which literally melts the surface of the foam and a fabric immediately laid onto the melted foam and combined by pressure at the laminators nip roll. The melted foam acts as an adhesive for bonding the fabric to the foam for subsequent processing. A second pass may laminate the same or a different material on the opposite side, depending on the needs of the target end use. The process is fast, efficient and doesnt require an oven. But it has major drawbacks: The burning/melting foam produces heavy smoke and toxic fumes such as hydrogen chloride and/or cyanides which must be properly handled with ventilation and incineration or other pollution abatement equipment. Many places have banned or severely restricted further installations of flame laminating, and those in place have been forced to install expensive treatment equipment.Many other laminating systems use solvent-based adhesives, often to create a vinyl or urethane film-fabric-film sandwich, in the case of tarpaulin or signage fabrics, or two fabrics combined with an adhesive in the middle, such as for convertible tops. These solvent systems must also have the abatement equipment to handle the off-gases and by-products. Aqueous systems are available, and are successful for some applications, but for many others, they have inadequate performance properties of the laminates for the specified application or require more expensive processing techniques. New processes have been developed aimed at replacing flame laminating and solvent processing. They include the use of hot-melt adhesives, adhesive films and other non-solvent, environmentally friendly systems. These accomplish the task in many applications, but also have limitations. Slower line speeds are required for most systems, and uniform bond strength is often a problem.A new contender is on the horizon: flat-bed laminatingnot conventional flat-bed laminating, used successfully in many garment applications, but a newly developed flat-bed laminating system using special techniques that provide uniform bond strengths and speeds approaching those of flame laminating. It is more attractive economically than most systems now in use and can be competitive with flame bonding. Using separate heating and cooling chambers and a top and bottom belt transport system, with even pressure and heat through the oven, are some of the techniques that allow production at a comfortable speed of 30 mpm, up to three times the normal speed of in-place flat-bed laminators. Though flame laminating can approach 40 mpm, aside from the pollution problem, there are limitations on the types of foam or other substrates it can use. Among other things, they must be meltable. The new Bondtex flat bed laminating system can use many types of substrates, including the less expensive polyurethane or ether-based foam materials. Glenro Inc., a long-time leading supplier of process heating engineering and equipment, ovens and after-treatment equipment, fume oxidizers and now flat-bed laminating systems, acquired the Bondtex technology in the first quarter of 2001 from Textile SystemsandSupply of Los Angeles. Nick Pourmand, the Bondtex developer, has joined Glenro, designing laminating systems and working with customers on trial runs and developing specific techniques based on the end use.
A full-scale demonstration line in Los Angeles enables customers to evaluate the new laminating system first hand.Jim Alimena, Glenro marketing manager, says the acquisition of Bondtex laminating technology provides the company a way to expand its offering to textile companies trying to add value to its products. “Many potential users of this laminating technology are already using (our) infrared and hot-air heat processing equipment. Many laminating lines require an infrared preheater to prepare the fabric for lamination. (We have) been applying infrared to fabric webs for over four decades.”Pourmand tried to work with flat bed laminating 11 years ago, importing a state-of-the-art machine to use powder bonding for textiles, leather and vinyl materials, but found it wonting. The heat and pressure was “just not right,” and he couldnt get the bonding he needed. So the machine was sent back. After 3-4 years more of working with other suppliers and trying to improve the process, he finally “found a solution.” A first step was to improve laminate bonding by heating the materials to be bonded prior to going through the oven in the transport belt. Time through the oven was too short, so he added continuous pressure to the material as it goes through the oven. But uneven heating was a concern. Pourmand found full-width top and bottom belts and multizone heating provided the uniform heating needed. But after heating and bonding, the materials have to be cooled. Most systems use a single transport belt, with a cooling section at the end, but still within the oven, thus, causing the heating and cooling cycles to “fight or compete,” resulting in having to run at slower speeds to properly bond and cool the combined materials. Thus the transport belt is heated then cooled, then heated, etc. The laminate in the Bondtex system is cooled in a separate section with an independent conveyor system. Since the same belt is not used for both heating and cooling, line speeds can be increased because the belt in the heating section does not have to be constantly brought back up to temperature. By placing the cooling unit outside the oven, with its own transport belts, speeds could be increased.Pourmand still needed more heat to further increase speeds. “One cant just increase the length of the heating chamber,” he says. “Its not cost effective.” Using infrared heaters on the substrate(s) before going into the heating was the solution. The flatbed oven doesnt have to do the melting of the adhesive used (web, film or other types) but only bonding. The infrared preheaters soften the adhesives and the two materials being bonded.
This diagram shows the components of the new flat-bed laminating system.“The primary purpose of the IR,” he says, “is to get the BTUs where you want themin the centerto heat up the surface of the substrates for introduction of adhesives.” A major reason of the success of the system is the unique use of IR technology, a Glenro specialty. Nip rolls are no longer needed in the system. Applying adjustable pressure control to the laminate, in the oven, with pneumatic cylinders on the top belt, is another key to good bonding. Others, says Pourmand, use floating flatbeds. Multizone heaters avoid edge loss. And, of course, extensive computer controls are an important key to accurate and reliable reproducibility. Each products parameters can be programmed into the computer and each run will be “exactly the same” as the previous ones.”Every good technology in the field has previously come from Europe,” says Pourmand. The Bondtex system is the only high-speed, high-end system developed and made in the U.S.Thomas Van Denend, product manager, Lamination, says, “The Bondtex system is high-performance bonding in a compact, clean process.” He points out a host of adhesives can be used, “just about anything” can be bonded. Dry adhesives store in powder, film or web form. There are no liquids involved, few regulatory concerns, little or no clean-up, quick turn-around times and often no venting requirements.Van Denend says Glenro is more solution driven rather than hardware driven. Theres a full-scale demonstration line in Los Angeles for customer evaluation. A small line at Glenros headquarters in Paterson, N.J., is being upgraded so customers can work directly with Glenro on the East Coast to run samples. EMS-Chemie, Sumter, S.C., an adhesives manufacturer, has a small lab type evaluation machine for its own trials as well as use by potential customers for trying their own products in the development process (EMS says they did blind testing and found the Bondtex machine to be the most versatile and superior in many processing areas). Glenro works with several major adhesive manufacturers to develop techniques for using their materials on the Bondtex line. The cost of “about a half million dollars” is competitive with other systems, especially considering no venting, pollution handling, regulatory or special adhesive storage problems are involved. Widths to 87 in. are available.Applications for fabrics from this system include automotive interior materials (long a critical and demanding end use for headliners and trim), medical fabric and film combinations, intimate apparel (fabric-foam-fabric combinations for bra molding, for instance), upholstery, aerospace (panel lamination for interiors of aircraft), moldable laminate panel office partitions and many more. The advantages of the machine drives development for even more demanding applications.Is this the “laminating system of the future” Only time will tell. To be sure, it is not the “do all, end all,” but, for many applications, it is superior to what is out there and may indeed replace flame lamination in many uses.
With the covers removed, you can see the inside of the exit end of the new flat-bed laminating system, which can compete with flame laminating systems.November 2001
Cotton Incorporated, New York City, reports that third-quarter 2000 unit sales of denim bottomswear
increased 6.3 percent, a 3.2-percent gain compared with the same period last year. According to the
consumer data from the NPD group, this was the strongest third-quarter gain since 1995.Both adult
denim markets were strong, with advances of 9.6 percent in the mens market and 5.6 percent in the
womens market for the quarter. Increases in the childrens markets ranged from 1.5 percent for boys
to 6.9 percent for girls.For the first nine months of the year, unit sales of denim bottomswear
grew by 5.1 percent over 1999. By age and gender, year-over-year gains in denim bottomswear ranged
from 6.3 percent in the girls market to 6.5 percent each in the mens and womens markets. Unit sales
of total bottomswear (denim and nondenim) expanded at a rate of 6.6 percent over the previous year
for the first nine months of 2000. Sales were strong in the adult market, with gains of 7.0 percent
and 7.9 percent posted by the womens and mens markets, respectively.Mass merchants, the major
retail distribution channel for denim jeans, accounted for 41.3 percent of all denim jeans sales
for the first nine months of 2000, an increase of 1.2 points compared with the same year-ago
period. National brands accounted for nearly 57 percent of all unit sales of denim jeans for the
period. By gender, national brands represented a large share; in the mens market at 65 percent and
in the womens at 50 percent.The Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor confirms that the United
States really is a denim nation owning, on average, a total of seven pairs of jeans each. American
men and women wear jeans, on average, three to four times per week.
January 2001
DALTON, Ga., Jan. 4 /PR Newswire/ — Shaw Industries, Inc. (NYSE: SHX),announced that at a special
meeting of shareholders held today, its shareholders approved the previously announced acquisition
of Shaw Industries,Inc. by an investor group led by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: brKA brKB).The
acquisition is expected to become effective on January 8, 2001. As a result, shareholders of Shaw
Industries, Inc. will receive $19.00 in cash for each share of common stock that they own at the
time of the merger. Beginning on or about January 9, 2001, shareholders of record at the effective
time of the merger will be provided with letters of transmittal for delivery of their stock
certificates to the exchange agent in order to receive the merger consideration.SOURCE Shaw
Industries, Inc.Web Site: http://www.shawinc.com Copyright 2001 PR Newswire
Vanity Fair Corp., Greensboro, N.C., announced a series of actions to position the company to
achieve its long-term earnings growth target of 8 to 10 percent. Now is the time to take a hard
look at our portfolio of businesses and our operations and determine the optimal mix for the
future, said Mackey McDonald, president and CEO.Specifically, the company plans to exit
nonstrategic workwear businesses, implement a new jeans strategy in Japan, consolidate several
distribution centers in both the United States and Europe, reorganize the Latin American jeans
business and restructure its international intimates business to improve the profitability of its
discount store locations.In conjuction with these actions, the company will take a charge to
fourth-quarter earnings of approximately $120 to $140 million, or $0.68 to $0.79 per share. The
cash requirement related to these actions is approximately $40 million.
January 2001
It is not likely that many textile companies have embraced the concept of product development
with more vigor than Sapona Manufacturing Company in Cedar Falls, N.C. But then, perhaps not many
companies have had to endure so much change while finding a way to remain profitable. Sapona has,
over the course of its long history, been a cotton ginning and spinning operation, a weaving
company, a silk spinner and a manufacturer of nylon hosiery yarn. On more than one occasion, the
company has had to suddenly shift gears as the proverbial rug was jerked out from under it.Perhaps
that situation goes a long way toward explaining the companys near obsession with experimentation
today. There are some days, quips Steele Redding, the companys CEO, that I think Im just in the
sample business.A typical day at Sapona finds Redding, President Dean Lail, Vice President of
Manufacturing Johnny Knowles, Plant Manager Joe Kearns, and Research and Development Manager Walt
Sweeney looking at various ways to combine new yarns, blends, textures and techniques to come up
with unusual properties that fit specific needs in the market. To determine the knitting properties
of the new products, particularly in the growing seamless market, Sapona maintains its own Santoni
SM8 circular knitting machine (See New Generations In Seamless And Sliver, ATI, October 2000).
Many of the experimentations undertaken by Sapona are the result of specific requests by
customers. Others, though, are for the companys own internal use in the quest to develop new yarns
and combinations.Today, the company could perhaps best be described as a solutions provider for
hosiery, seamless bodywear and other knit and woven applications. Sapona processes mid- to
fine-denier synthetic yarn, including textured nylon and covered spandex. Process options Sapona
makes available to its customers include stretch or set, false-twist texturing, package-dye tube
winding, cone winding, assembly winding, air covering, ring twisting and two-for-one twisting.
Various options of yarn type, ply, twist, air entanglement, finish and dye are
available. Joint Venture With Celanese AcetateAn example of Saponas product development
efforts can be found in the recent announcement of a joint product development effort with Celanese
Acetate. The resulting yarn, called Celanna®, is an unusual combination of cellulose acetate
air-entangled with various other fibers, resulting in enhanced physical properties and fashion
design features, Lail said.Within the Celanna brand concept, according to Lail, initial offerings
will include blends of Celanese acetate and nylon fibers. These blends, he said, will create
aesthetically pleasing knit and woven fabrics that offer comfort and performance; feel smooth
against the skin; and have a luxurious, flattering drape and a soft, fluid hand.In addition, Lail
said, Celanna is breathable and moves moisture well. The addition of nylon to the mix yields a
strong, extensible fiber that is easy to process.For extra stretch, Celanna is offered as an
air-covered yarn with spandex, Lail said. Plus, Celanna blends open new markets for acetate such as
seamless bodywear because they are washable in some constructions. Other end-use markets for
Celanna knits and wovens include softly tailored womens and mens sportswear, dresses and mens
contemporary shirts, sweater knits for men and women, and upholstery.Under agreement with Celanese
Acetate, Sapona will be the sole source for several acetate blends under the Celanna trademark.
Sapona has put forth extensive development effort and capital expenditure to produce new Celanna
quality yarns. Customized SSM high-speed precision winders are employed to air-entangle the various
blends. Sapona and Celanese are teaming up to develop yarns, fabrics and processes that will help
speed up the introduction of a broad range of new knit and woven apparel products.In addition to
the Santoni knitting machine and the SSM winders used for Celanna, Sapona also employs SSM
air-covering machines; Rieter/ICBT autodoffing texturing machines; Rieter/ICBT covering and
air-covering machines; Rieter/ICBT two-for-one twisters; and Barmag texturing and twisting
equipment. Overall, Sapona has spent more than $12 million for new equipment in the past few
years.Despite the intense quest for new products, more than 50 percent of Saponas business remains
in hosiery, and the company goes to considerable lengths to ensure the needs of those customers are
met daily.We know you are supposed to keep as little inventory as possible, Redding said. But we
have established a relationship with our customers in which they have come to rely upon us for
immediate shipment of what they need. So we try to anticipate that demand and always have product
ready. Adds Lail: As a customer-driven operation, Sapona offers same-day or next-day shipment for
stock yarns and immediate action on special orders.Obviously, knitters make up a large portion of
Saponas customer base for its products. Often, knitting mills will approach Sapona with the
opportunity to solve a specific challenge. But the company is also marketing directly to the
designer and retailer.Our objective is to get people closer to the end of the selling cycle excited
about what we are doing here, Lail said. Sapona’s HistoryKeeping people excited has been on
the Sapona agenda for many years. The company was the first textile plant in Randolph County, N.C.,
and among the first in the South. The original company was established by an act of the North
Carolina General Assembly on Feb. 1, 1829. Among the founders was an ancestor of current CEO Steele
Redding.The original plant was built on the north side of the Deep River. Machinery was shipped by
rail to Greensboro and hauled by horse-drawn wagons to Cedar Falls, which is a few miles from
Asheboro. Manufacturing did not begin until 1836. The current plant was completed in 1896. It was
originally a cotton-weaving plant equipped with 100 looms.During the early years, the only power
available was water power from the Deep River, which was diverted into a raceway leading under the
plant to a huge water wheel. The motion of the wheel was conveyed to the plant by a system of ropes
and pulleys that were connected to looms by leather belts.In the 1940s, weaving became unprofitable
for Sapona, and management decided to sell the looms and convert to a silk-throwing operation.
AcmeandMcCrary Hosiery Mills in Asheboro was using large quantities of silk, giving Sapona a ready
market for the new product.
From 1936 until 1941, the use of silk by AcmeandMcCrary Hosiery increased at a rapid rate,
and the facilities were expanded to meet the growing need. Then, in August of 1941, as World War II
engulfed more and more nations, disaster struck the hosiery industry when an embargo was placed on
the importation of Japanese silk. Thus, the hosiery manufacturers were deprived of their basic raw
material.After World War II, Sapona, thanks in large part to the technical knowledge the company
had gained in nylon processing during the war, was among the first plants in the world to be
selected by DuPont to process nylon. New equipment had been purchased and plans drawn for a large
addition to the mill. This foresight was soon justified because the unique heat-setting properties
of nylon resulted in the gradual replacement of full-fashion stockings with the no-seam variety. In
the 1950s, a nylon thread was devised that was capable of stretching to twice its original length
and, in 1954, a new machine became available that combined several steps into the false-twist
method of producing stretch yarn. Using this method, Sapona developed a customer base of knitters
of socks and tights that has taken the company through to the current day. Throughout its history,
Redding said, Sapona has enjoyed a reputation of superior service and quality. The company was ISO
9002-certified in 1999.We have three specific goals, Redding said. Number one is to provide our
customers with what they need when they need it. Two is to continuously improve quality,
productivity and versatility. Three is to develop and motivate our co-workers.This past year,
Sapona enjoyed an on-time delivery rate to its customers of 99.4 percent. Less than .05 percent of
product was returned as defective.For Sapona, adds Redding, the most important thing is to remain
focused on innovation. This company has been nestled alongside the Deep River since 1836. Weve
maintained that longevity by both anticipating and adapting to the changing needs of the
marketplace. Knitters, designers and retailers can continue to look to Sapona Manufacturing for
innovative solutions that add value to their products.
CEO Steele Redding, President Dean Lail and Vice President Johnny Knowles examine fabrics
made from new blends developed by Sapona.
January 2001
According to figures released by the Belgium-based European Disposables and Nonwovens Association
(EDANA), production of nonwovens in Western Europe grew by 8.8 percent in 1999 to reach 909,800
tons. Nonwovens include unique, engineered fabrics used in such products as baby diapers, wipes,
surgical drapes, filtration, packaging, vehicle headliners, roofing and crop protection.When
measured in square meters, the percentage increase was about 10 percent with 23,238.9 million
square meters produced.In less than 10 years, the output of the Western European nonwovens industry
has doubled. Guy Massenaux, secretary general, EDANA, stated, In 2001, I expect nonwovens
production to grow again sizably.Polypropylene is the most important polymer used in the nonwovens
industry in fiber or granule form, amounting to 492,300 tons of the 909,800-ton total.EDANA
estimates the 1999 turnover in the industry to be about EUR 3600 million, showing no increase
compared with turnover in 1998.
January 2001
