Culp Inc., High Point, N.C., reported sales and earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year
ended May 2, 1999. Net sales for the quarter totaled $132.2 million compared with $135.8 million
during 1998.Net income for the quarter was $2.9 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared with
$4.2 million, or $0.31 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998. For the year, net
sales increased to $483.1 million compared with $476.7 million in fiscal 1998.Net income for the
year was $3.1 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, compared with $15.5 million, or $1.19 per
diluted share in fiscal 1998.JPS Textile Group Inc., Greenville, S.C., announced results for the
second quarter and six months ended May 1, 1999.For the second quarter, there was a net loss from
continuing operations of $3.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared with net income from
continuing operations of $2.3 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal
1998.The reported net loss for the quarter was $26.3 million, or $2.63 per diluted share, compared
with net income of $2.9 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the same period in 1998.For the
first half of fiscal 1999, there was a net loss from continuing operations of $3.1 million, or
$0.31 per diluted share, compared with net income from continuing operations of $3.8 million, or
$0.38 per diluted share for the first half of fiscal 1998.Kellwood Co., St. Louis, reported record
sales and earnings before unusual items for both the fourth quarter and the year ended April
30.Sales for the year increased 3 percent to $2.15 billion, from $2.09 billion last year.Net
earnings declined to $1.95 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, due to special charges totally
$62.34 million taken in the fourth quarter. Earnings before unusual items and income taxes
increased 16 percent or $101.5 million, from $87.6 million for the same period in 1998.Diluted
earnings per share before unusual items increased the sales and earnings of Koret Inc., which was
merged into Kellwood in April 1999.Sales for the fourth quarter were a record $628.4 million, up 6
percent from $594.9 million a year ago.Texfi Industries Inc., New York, recently announced a loss
of $3.202 million, or $0.36 per basic and diluted share, for its second quarter ended April 30,
1999, compared to a loss of $2.768 million, or $0.31 per share, for the same period last year.Net
sales in the second quarter 1999 declined by 31.2 percent, to $23.438 million, from $34.084 million
for the second quarter 1998.Total costs dropped by 28.9 percent, to $24.693 million, from $34.738
million in the same period of 1998.

August 1999

Springs Industries Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., recently announced that it is expanding distribution of
its Springmaid® brand to the mass merchant channel in order to better align its value.
Historically, Springmaid has been positioned in department and specialty stores, as well as
selected national chains. The new distribution begins with shipments in spring 2000.The company
said that the decision creates the opportunity for more consumers to purchase the Springmaid brand
where they shop.Our objective is to sell Springs branded products in all channels of distribution,
said Thomas P. OConnor, Springs executive vice president. By maintaining the Wamsutta® brands
current distribution through department and specialty stores and by maximizing our private label
and valuable licensing opportunities, we are in a better position to be in front of all consumers
with products from Springs.

August 1999

Carpeting Futures
A look at one of the most important shows in the carpet industry. The DFCMA (Dalton
Floor Covering Marketing Association) sponsors a Carpet Technology Show every two year. This years
event will be held September 14-16 at the NorthWest Georgia Trade and Convention Center, Dalton,
Ga. This show allows carpet industry vendors to showcase their machinery, equipment, services and
supplies to the industry. What To Expect For ’99Wanda Ellis, executive director of the DFCMA,
said the 1999 Carpet Technologies show is sold out: We actually have less exhibitors than normal
this year but only because exhibitors are taking larger spaces. They realize the importance of
being where the action is to make the right contacts to do business with carpet manufacturers. We
expect to feature some new and updated technologies that are helping to drive the growth of our
industry.Ellis conveyed that kicking off the show will be a golf tournament held at the Barnsley
InnandGolf at Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, Ga. Exhibitors and members will be supplying players
and this will be a charity tournament for the Red Cross.Some of the other planned activities at the
show include a round table discussion, a seminar by the British Wool Bureau, and other speakers who
will be covering changes in the rug market and carpeting branding (name recognition). There will
also be a technical speaker that will address backings being introduced into the industry. There
will be something for everyone, including many featured events focusing on education, knowledge and
a realm of other opportunities for carpet mills. ExhibitorsNew exhibitors this year include
Bruno Machinery, Southern Technical Specialties, Van De Wiele, American Schonherr, Frueden Spunweb,
General Design and British Wool Marketing Board. The show is appealing to a broader range of
business as it becomes better known.It has helped that we took flyers to the Asia Floor Show and
Domotex in Germany. New contacts and other referrals are now wanting more information. Weve been
having at least one international visitor each month, Ellis said.Today, most manufacturers think in
terms of efficiencies and make use of resources to help maintain and grow profitability. The Carpet
Technologies Show allows the opportunities for diversity of products for the industry.Mahlo of
America, Germany, represented in America by Bob Harrell, Harrell Machinery Sales, has developed a
beta ray gauge which measures the precise amount of latex to go on carpet backings, proportional to
the amount of beta rays measured on the receiver end which is based on the thickness of the carpet.
Mahlo of America has another machine that electronically sees carpet patterns to make sure they go
through tufting and coating processes as straight as possible.Advanced Bio Systems, a wastewater
treatment company, has recently begun offering its services to textile companies.Representative
Harry DeLoach said the company uses the same technology that has been used to treat wastewater in
the pulp and paper business for 18 years. The reasoning behind this is because plants have
tremendous costs associated with treatment of wastewater or sludge disposal, and he noted this
technology should save money.Carpet Tech ExhibitorsAB Carter Inc.Gastonia, N.C.Booth #
250Accu-Cut/Brockie InternationalClermont, Fla.Booth # A1-33Advanced BioSystems, LLCRoebuck,
SC.Booth # 902Aircond Corp.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 148Alcon Systems Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # A2
26.American FiltecoMachinery Corp. (AFMC)Marietta, Ga.Booth # A 3American Line Corp.Gastonia,
N.C.Booth # 512America SchonherrDuncan, S.C.Booth # 807, 809American Suessen Corp.Charlotte,
N.C.Booth # 301American Superba Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 331/430Appalachian Electronic Inst.
Inc.Ronceverte, W.Va.Booth # 537Armstrong World IndustriesGreenville, S.C.Booth # 504BandJ
Machinery Co. Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 542Babcock Textilemaschinen GmbHGermanyBooth # 507Barmag
AGGermany Booth # 710, 712, 714Belmont Textile Machinery Co.Mt. Holly, N.C.Booth # 417, 516Belt
Shop Inc.Blemont, N.C.Booth # 702BetacontrolBooth # 710, 712, 714BlakeandPendletonDalton, Ga.Booth
# 541, 543Blue Ridge PrintingKnoxville, Tenn.Both # 606Briggs-Shaffner Co.Winston-Salem, N.C.Booth
# 550British Wool Marketing BoardEnglandBooth # Lower ConcourseBruno Machinery Corp.Troy, N.Y.Booth
# B3-16Card-Monroe Corp.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 205Carolina Specialty Inc.Sanford, N.C.Booth #
404Carolmac Corp. Greensville, S.C.Booth # 701Carpet and Rug InstituteDalton, Ga.Booth # Lower
ConcourseCarpet Industry Clearinghouse Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 105Chattanooga Tufters
Inc.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 131Chemfab Corp.Woodstock, Ga.Booth # 902Chiron Technology
Inc.Charlotte, N.C.Booth # 608CIMS Dalton, Ga.Booth # 117Cobble/Tufting Machine Co.Dalton, Ga.Booth
# 317, 416CommunicationsandElectronics Inc.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 242Consolidated BalingMachine
Co. Inc.Jacksonville, Fla.Booth # 900Control Corp. of AmericaRichmond, Va.Booth # 810Cope Machinery
Co. Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 245CORfine Inc.Muncie, Ind.Booth # 405Crosrol Inc./James H. Heal Co.
Ltd.Greenville, S.C.Booth # 503Daikin America Inc.Orangeburg, N.Y.Booth # 234Dawson Textile
MachineryGreensboro, N.C.Booth # A1 32Don Johns Inc.Lawrenceville, Ga.Booth # 521Dystar
L.P.Charlotte, N.C.Booth # 616Eagle PartsandMachinery Inc.Chatsworth, Ga.Booth # 150, 248Edwards
Technical Sales Co.Norcross, Ga.Booth # 600Electric System Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 335, 434Eltex
U.S. Inc.Greer, S.C.Booth # 431EMS/ESIDalton, Ga.Entrelec Inc.Irving, TexasBooth # B2 8Epic
Enterprises Inc.Southern Pines, N.C.Booth # 605ErhardtandLeimer Inc.Spartanburg, S.C.Booth #
505Essex Inc.Winston-Salem, N.C.Booth # 349Etowah ChemicalChattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 249Euromac
Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 305Excel MachineandSupply Kings Mountain, N.C.Booth # 348Exim Ltd./Tranoco
Inc.Greenville, S.C.Booth # A2 31FeilandDavidson Inc.Greensboro, N.C.Booth # 503Fi-Tech
Inc.Richmond, Va.Booth # 523Fiber ControlsGastonia, N.C.Booth # A2 27-30Fife Corp.Oklahoma City,
Okla.Booth # 801Fisher-RosemountRoswell, Ga.Booth # 530Fleissner GmbHandCo.Germany Booth # 613,
615Fletcher International Inc.Southern Pines, N.C.Booth # 412, 313Fortress TechnologyCanadaBooth #
443FranklandThomas Inc.Greenville, S.C.Booth # 517Freudenberg Spunweb Co.Durham, N.C.Booth #
901General Design Inc.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # B2 2-4Gilbos of AmericaCharlotte, N.C.Booth # 710,
712, 714GPL Plastics MachineryCharlotte, N.C.Booth # 710, 712, 714Grainger Industrial SupplyTucker,
Ga.Booth # 802Harrell Machinery Sales Dalton, Ga.Booth # 401Heatco Inc.Acworth, Ga.Booth #
610Hi-Tech ControlsandAutomationDalton, Ga.Booth # 439, 450, 548, 549Host/Racine Industries
Inc.Racine, Wis.Booth # A1 37ICBT Inc.Greensboro, N.C.Booth # 223Industrial BeltingandSupplyDalton,
Ga.Booth # 241Ingersoll-Rand Co.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 140-146International Baler
Corp.Jacksonville, FlaBooth # 900International PressandShear Corp.Baxley, Ga.Booth # 900Interstate
Industrial Electronics Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # B2 9-11J. Zimmer Maschinenbau GmbHAustriaBooth #
804Jem PrintingRome, Ga. Booth # 135Kaeser CompressorsMarietta, Ga.Booth # 903, 904Keith
Manufacturing Co.Madras, Ore.Booth # 719, 720KustersBooth # 217/213Lawson-Hemphill Sales
Spartanburg, S.C.Booth # 703Lessco Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 123M-tecBooth # 213, 217Mahlo America
Inc.Spartanburg, S.C.Booth # 401Marsh Micro SystemsChattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 612Mart Corp.Sanford,
N.C.Booth # 800MitterBooth # 213, 217Moisture Register ProductsTyron, Ga.Booth # 602MSS
ServicesDalton, Ga.Booth # 201Multi State Sewing SupplyandEquipment Corp.Haleyville, Ala.Booth #
815N. Schlumberger (USA) Fort Mill, S.C.Booth # 815N.C. Carpet Equipment Newark, N.J.Booth #
300National Carpet Equipment Inc.Brooklyn Park, Minn.Booth # 300Nedgraphics Inc.Chattanooga,
Tenn.Booth # 143NITTA Corp. of AmericaSwanee, Ga.Booth # 811Norville IndustriesDalton, Ga.Booth #
340PAF Sales, LLCGreensboro, N.C.Booth # 413Panda ProductsCartersville, Ga.Booth # 812Paragon
Plastics Inc.Union, S.C.Booth # B3 14, 15Perpetual Machine Co.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 323Pierret North
AmericaSpartanburg, S.C.Booth # 132Plantex Amchinery Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 141Pleva USACharlotte,
N.C.Booth # 519Polyfil N.V.BelgiumBooth # A1 35, 36Praxair Surface TechnologiesCharlotte, N.C.Booth
# 715Precision LoopersDalton, Ga.Booth # A1 34Pruetts Supply Inc.LaFayette, Ga.Booth # 309Roden
Electrical Supply Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 613, 615Saurer Textile SystemsCharlotte, N.C.Booth #
423Schoen Machinery Inc.Beverly, Mass.Booth # 403Sellers of AmericaDalton, Ga.Booth # 109Shell
ChemicalsVarnell, Ga.Booth # 441SMLAustriaBooth # 713SmythandCompanyMontgomery, Ala.Booth #
700Southeast Industrial Dev. Assoc.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 611Southern Technical Specialties
Inc.Eastman, Ga.Booth # 817Stangdridge Color Corp.Social Circle, Ga.Booth # 400Scientific
Technologies Inc.Fremont, Calif.Booth # 701.SunbrandAtlanta, Ga.Booth # 435, 534Sybron Chemical
Inc.Wellford, S.C.Booth # 601Talladega MachineandSupply Co.Talladega, Ala.Booth # B1 1Tapistron
Internationals Inc.Ringgold, Ga.Booth # 231, 237Tex AmericaCharlotte, N.C.Booth # 713 Textile
Management Systems Inc.New Orleans, La.Booth # 803, 805TextileWeb Inc.Greensboro, N.C.Booth #
345Textube Corp.Greer, S.C.Booth # B2 7Trumeter Co. Inc.Deerfield Beach, Fla.Booth # 539Tuftco
Corp.Chattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 341, 440Universal Textile Sales Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 618, 619Van
De Wiele of AmericaGreer, S.C.Booth # 818, 819W.T. Hollis Co./Bowman Dunn Mfg.LaGrange, Ga.Booth #
705Waring Products Inc.Dalton, Ga.Booth # 705Waste Technology Corp.Jacksonville, Fla.Booth #
900Baling presses.Whitfield Oil Company Inc.Chickamauga, Ga.Booth # 350, 438Whitin Roberts
Co.Sanford, N.C.Booth # 814Yesco Industrial SupplyChattanooga, Tenn.Booth # 800Zenith PumpsSanford,
N.C.Booth # 609Zima Corp.Spartanburg, S.C.Booth # 213, 217

 
August 1999

HarrietandHenderson Yarns Inc., Henderson, N.C., recently held a ceremony to celebrate its new
spinning facility in Cedartown, Ga.Approximately 240 people attended the open house. Guests
received a tour of the facility after opening comments from local and state politicians and several
members of HarrietandHendersons management team. Georgia State Sen. Nathan Dean (D), a native of
Cedartown, presented a Georgia state flag to Marshall Cooper, HarrietandHendersons chairman and
CEO.The new facility is the companys eighth yarn manufacturing facility and has the capability to
manufacture 40 million pounds of open-end cotton annually.The 200,000-square-foot facility opened
in October 1998 and has been running at full capacity since December. It was built in a
straight-line design with a layout designed for maximum efficiency. All of the manufacturing
equipment was supplied by Rieter Corp.All data is monitored through the SpiderWeb® system.

August 1999

A Hybrid Market
New developments in nonwovens are stemming more from evolution than from
revolution. New product research and development is the lifeblood of almost every
business. However, there is no simple route to developing new products. With few exceptions, most
new products result from evolution in technology rather than revolutions in technology. Many new
products are developed by combining existing materials or processes to form a new product which is
a hybrid. Hybridizing can then be considered as a process for developing new products. It can be
considered that whole field of nonwoven technology as a hybrid, since nonwoven technology
represents the combining of several basic technologies such as textiles, paper and polymers.

 Spunbond/Meltblown (SMS) ProductsKimberly-Clark has been the pioneer in combining
meltblown nonwovens with spunbonds to develop a whole family of new products. The SMS products that
have been developed by using a layer of meltblown polypropylene sandwiched between two layers of
polypropylene spunbond are used for surgical wrap and for limited use in protective clothing and
for automobile protective covers. Another development using combination technologies by
Kimberly-Clark is their Coform system. This system creates a blend of meltblown polypropylene
microfibers and powdered materials which is then formed onto a spunbonded carrier sheet.The
semi-molten meltblown fibers, combined with the pulp and powdered materials, acts as a
chemical-free adhesive system.The combination web formed by this process becomes a dimensionally
stable, absorbent structure, even when it is wet. Thinsulate3Ms Thinsulate is used for apparel
and footwear insulation. This product is made by incorporating a carded web of heavier denier
crimped polyester fibers into a microdenier meltblown polypropylene web. The finer microdenier web
provides the insulation properties and the carded web provides resilience for the composite
structure. Water Blocking TapesThe swelling layer consists of a lightweight nonwoven coated
with a chemically pure cellulose that is aerodynamically applied to become a super absorber.
Super-absorbent fibers in the form of nonwovens produced by dry-laid processes are also used in
this application. The backing layer is a polyester nonwoven such as a spunbond, or a dry-laid
fabric reinforced with a polyester scrim.Many communications cables and fiber-optic cables contain
a paraffin-like, highly viscous filling compound as a water-blocker in the cable core assembly. A
swelling tape is applied to the filled cable core to seal off any cavities under laminated
sheaths.To prevent the petroleum jelly from penetrating the nonwoven and impairing its swelling
properties, polyester film is laid longitudinally over the cable core assembly and to wrap the
swellable nonwoven around it in a second manufacturing step. Printed Circuit BoardsTo create a
circuit board, a series of procedures must be followed. A circuit board is made by producing an
isotopic aramid nonwoven, impregnating the nonwoven with the crosslinking resin system, drying the
prepreg and obtain B stage crosslinkage, laminating it with copper foil in a roller laminator under
clean room conditions, and then hardening the composite material for five hours at 120oC.A major
advantage of this system is that the layers are bonded without using a solvent-containing
adhesive. Battery SeparatorsComposite products have been developed for open systems of
nickel-cadmium secondary cells. These cells are used in airplanes, rail vehicles and emergency
generating sets. The electrolyte carriers used are polypropylene or polyamide nonwovens, combined
with cellophane films or hydrophilic polypropylene membranes. Filtration ProductsCartridge
filters can be formed by meltblowing or spray spinning techniques. Celanese Fiber Co. developed the
Hytrex cartridge filters by using a spray spinning technique to produce a shaped cartridge filter
of varying density. The Hytrex process and trademarks were sold to Osmonics Inc. which now markets
these filter products. The Pall Corporation produces shaped cartridge filters by a modified
meltblowing technique. Automotive ProductsThe application of polyethylene to jute carpet
backed automotive carpeting to aid in its forming was an important development in the 1960s.
Freudenberg Spunweb Co. has successfully introduced their Lutradur spunbonded polyester fabrics for
moldable automotive carpeting.The high strength and ease of molding of the Lutradur permits the
carpeting to have a deep draw configuration without encountering problems with punctures from high
heels or similar hazards.Freudenberg in Germany developed a molded sound-absorbing automotive
engine cover using polyester nonwoven fabric. Freudenbergs pleated polyester nonwovens are now used
for air filtration media for car interiors.DuPont has done extensive work in developing moldable
automotive and tractor seating fabrics that incorporated their Lycra® spandex to facilitate fabric
molding. Molding Of FabricsCutting and sewing have been the traditional methods of joining and
shaping textile fabrics into three-dimensional shapes.The felting of animal fibers into end items,
such as hats, was one of the earliest methods of directly forming and molding fibers into a final
product. Felts are also made in block form and other shapes by felting the wool or other animal
fibers within a shaped form.Until thermoplastic fibers became available, it was not possible to
directly form or shape fibers other than through felting. Garment MoldingGarment molding
presents one of the most challenging areas for development of fabric molding technology. In the
early 1970s, Teijin of Japan developed techniques for molding womens dresses using tubular
double-knit polyester fabrics.With the increasing array of nonwoven fabrics now available, it is
expected that molding and forming will continue to grow for specialty products such as automotive,
filtration and other industrial products.The commercialization of limited use and disposable
garments using molding technology for hospital/medical and clean room applications is also expected
to increase.

August 1999

Unifi Technology Group, Charlotte, N.C., the newly formed consulting company of Unifi Inc., has
announced that it will merge with the automation solutions provider, CIMTEC, Charlotte, N.C. The
newly merged company will be called Unifi Technology Group.Unifi Technologys current expertise
includes solutions in integrated manufacturing, factory automation and e-commerce. These solutions
use Enterprise (ERP) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) products and internally developed
software tools.CIMTEC has provided automation solutions to U.S. manufacturers since 1988. It
specializes in applying leading-edge technology and automation to the factory floor.Our newly
merged organization will provide solutions that integrate the factory floor with internal business
systems and ultimately extend out to the supply chain, said Ralph Mayes, president and CEO of Unifi
Technology.Unifi Technology and CIMTEC recently partnered to link the enterprise system and factory
floors of Unifis new state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. This partnership created a systems
architecture that provides real-time data for decision making and processes hundreds of thousands
of transactions per day, the companies said.Mayes said that one value-added service Unifi
Technology will provide to manufacturing clients is a methodology that allows a large amount of
real-time data from the factory floor to be linked to the ERP system and run as a mission-critical
application.We see this as a tremendous opportunity in the textile industry since most ERP systems
are not linked directly to the factory floor, he said. The industry is going to have to address
this issue as systems are extended to embrace supply-chain management and e-commerce.

August 1999