Burlington Industries Williamsburg Plant, Caswell County, N.C., part of the Burlington House
Division, recently renovated its fabric inspection room by installing 15 custom-designed machines
built by McCOYandDUKE Inc., Greenville, S.C.The Williamsburg Plant was built in 1966 and was
originally setup to weave drapery fabrics. It now produces mattress ticking, both fancy Jacquard
and dobby upholstery; drapery styling and bedding.Over the years, Burlington has updated the
equipment at the Williamsburg plant. In this latest modernization, the decision was made to improve
the material handling portion of production. In order to improve cost and safety conditions, the
company decided to renovate the approximately 11,000-square-foot area that housed its fabric
inspection room.We wanted to get our inspection department onto the same level of world-class
manufacturing as our weaving operation, said Joe Hatzopoulos, plant manager of the Williamsburg
Plant.Burlingtons approach was to involve both management and associates in selecting and
developing the system for automating the plants cloth room.This project is an excellent example of
how textile companies and vendors can work together to streamline production and improve workplace
conditions.

Burlington’s recent cloth room renovation has drastically reduced the manual handling of its
fabric. The Williamsburg Plant, which employs approximately 600 people, produces 1 million
yards of fabric per week. The company wanted to improve its time in/time out and the overall
quality of its fabric. It determined the best way this could be done was by reducing the handling
of the fabric.We wanted to get away from the manual handling of our fabrics to eliminate several
processes. One in particular was batching and shearing. We wanted to reduce not just the manual
handling but reduce the overall handling of all our fabrics, said Hatzopoulos.Burlington has always
been a corporation willing to seek out state-of-the-art equipment, and this plant has been one of
the flag ships of the division as far as capital investments. Beginning The ChangeAfter
looking at several solutions and companies, Burlington chose to work with McCOY/HOUSTON (as the
company was called at the time) because of the companys ability to create custom-built inspection
equipment that fit Burlingtons needs.From the beginning, the two companies worked in tandem to
redesign the cloth room. Burlington wanted as many of its cloth room associates to be involved in
the design and layout of the area as possible. Burlington believed that its employees some of whom
had been with the company since the plant opened could provide valuable insight.I have been in the
textile sales business for probably 25 years and this is one of the first times that I have seen
this many people be involved in the decision, said Ron McCoy, McCOYandDUKE.Some members of the
production team were sent to McCOYandDUKE to get an in-person look at the design process.We sent a
second shift supervisor and two or three other employees to Greenville to find out more information
about the equipment, to serve as our experts, said Hatzopoulos. Benefits Of Installation

As expected, the new machines have dramatically reduced downtime while also reducing cost.
The new system allows for a flow of fabric rolls from the weave room to the inspection area. The
rolls are moved via conveyors from the weave room to the inspection floor. As the rolls come down
the conveyor they are directed to the next available inspection station. These dump stations are
fully automated.When the fabrics come from the weave room they are not even touched by an employee
in the inspection department until they are actually in the cradle of the inspection frame,
Hatzopoulos said. At that part of the frame, the inspector has to thread up the fabric.This new
system of delivering the fabric rolls eliminates a 25-year-old process known as the Eagle system.
The Eagle system used a claw-like mechanism to carry rolls of fabric to the sort location. Because
the system moved overhead, and had problems with misplaced sorting and mis-drops caused by
mechanical failure, it was the number one safety concern in the facility. The new system not only
eliminates the safety problems, but it also eliminates delays that occur from inaccurate fabric
roll placement.The biggest improvement occurred at the inspection stations. A full roll of fabric
can move down to the station from the conveyor system to await inspection. When the in-use roll is
out of fabric, the empty core automatically disengages from the work station and is sent to the
return conveyor system located directly below the main conveyor system. The cores are then returned
for use on the production floor.No longer is he or she having to lift a center mandrel, pull it
out, push the roll of cloth on the conveyor system, put a whole new tube on the air mandrel, put it
back, insert it, position it, Hatzopoulos said.Now it is just a simple procedure of laying a
three-inch paper tube onto two rollers to start-up.Eliminating the manual removal of these cores
not only reduces downtime, but also improves safety. The empty cores are heavy, some weighing up to
50 pounds. In the past, the inspectors, a large percentage of which are women, had to manually
remove and disengage the empty cores. The new system reduced the handling of these cores, allowing
for vastly improved workplace ergonomics.What we wanted to get away from was a lot of the lifting,
a lot of the pushing and pulling and handling of our fabrics,said Hatzopoulos. The number one
reason is for the safety of our employees, and number two is the reduced amount of handling of our
fabrics is going to ensure a more quality product.The core return system eliminated the need for
having associates walk around the area collecting, setting up and taking off cores. Avoiding
DelaysThroughout the entire renovation process, the Williamsburg Plant maintained full production
by using a satellite inspection area for several months. While this required an increase in manual
labor, there were no accidents during the transition stage, a point Burlington proudly points
out.For as big as this cloth room was, and for the work that had to be done, and what was brought
in it probably could not have been any better than the way it was handled, said McCoy. They lost
very little downtime compared to what it could have been. Steps To The FutureThese
improvements have allowed Burlington to continue to compete in this ever changing and high
competitive market. In todays market, there are more and more shorter runs and more and more style
changes, said Hatzopoulos. Our division is very fashion- and speed-oriented, and they are two of
the major factors within Burlington House. McCoyandDukeMcCOYandDUKE Inc., Greenville, S.C., began
operation in 1995 as McCOYandHOUSTON. The companys principals, Ronald J. McCoy and Charles E. Duke
along with project engineer John Malone together have 75 years combined experience in the textile
industry. The company can produce custom-built machinery for many areas of the textile industry.
These included greige mills, dye and print ranges, nonwovens, process lines to carpet, paper,
plastic and fiberglass machinery and material handling requirements.

November 1999

The American Yarn Spinners Association Inc. has announced that Mark B. Kent, president of The Kent
Manufacturing Co., Pickens, S.C., was re-elected for a second term as president of the American
Yarn Spinners Association. Kent was has served as president of Kent Manufacturing since 1992.The
American Yarn Spinners Association also announced that D. Harding Stowe, president, R.T. Stowe
Mills, Belmont, N.C., was named first vice president and Charles L. Little Jr., president, Mount
Vernon Mills, yarn division, Greenville, S.C., was named second vice president.Fred A. Jackson,
president, AmericanandEfird Inc., Mount Holly, N.C., was named treasurer and Jim H. Conner,
Gastonia, N.C., was re-elected as executive vice president and secretary.

November 1999

The Woolmark Company, New York, showcased its licensed Total Easy Care Wool at a Wash Me Wool
reception held during the recent Yarn Fair International. Total Easy Care Wool was first introduced
to the American apparel industry in August.
(See Technology Advances At Expofil, ATI August 1999). According to the company, it is the
next step in making wool a high-performance fiber.As a follow-up technological advancement to
washable wool, Total Easy Care Wool can be machine washed at 40°F and tumble dried on low heat. It
is being marketed globally. In 1998, more than 3 million garments were merchandised at
retail.Working through the supply chain from spinner, knitter and weaver, to garment manufacturer
and retailer, The Woolmark Company offers technical advice and assistance through each stage of
production. Approved Woolmark Total Easy Care garments will not shrink or loose shape even after as
many as 50 washings. The fabrics retain their soft wooly hand and luster. Easy Care
DistributionIn this country, The Kent Manufacturing Co., Pickens, S.C., is selling worsted yarns.
Jasco Fabrics has a line of knitted fabrics for cut and sew. Garments are available for both men
and women from Liz Claiborne. Lands End and Nova Knitting are also developing apparel in Total Easy
Care Wool.Worldwide, there are more than 100 spinners supplying machine washable yarns. With 20,
Italy leads the list. Grignasco, Lanerossi, Luigi Botto, Lineapiu and Zegna Baruffa are some of the
names.Schoeller of Germany; Amalric and Christory of France; John Smedley, LaidlawandFairgrieve,
Patons and Thomas Ramsden from the United Kingdom are other European spinners on the Woolmark list.
There are also 16 companies from China, 11 from Taiwan and five from Japan.The weavers selling
machine washable wool fabrics are primarily from European countries. Lepoutre, France; Dechamps.
Germany; Luigi Botto, Lanerossi and Pecci, Italy; and the Parkland Group, the United Kingdom, are
some companies listed. Easy Care DevelopmentTotal Easy Care Wool has been developed in
response to the influence of sportswear and casual attire, and consumer demands for easy care
apparel.Consumers have been asking for washable wool in a range of wardrobe items and were
answering their call with the most tremendous advancement yet washable wool wovens, said Stephanie
Garbarini, general manager, marketing communications and retail for The Woolmark Company.
“Woolmark’s Total Easy Care Wool now allows consumers to wash wool sweaters and trousers at home
for the first time.”The 1999 revised edition of The Woolmark Company’s report, “Easy Care in Wool,”
focuses on five areas: the demand for easy care products; global growth in laundry appliances;
manufacturing industry capacity; Woolmark test methods and labeling; and a global source guide. It
is available from the Woolmark Company for $90 for licensees and $120 for nonlicensees.

October 1999

As the industry evolves into technology driven businesses, an increasing number of companies are
reaching a critical pain threshold in needing to control and manage their vast amounts of digital
media assets.Technically speaking, a digital asset is any form of media that has been turned into a
binary source. Digital assets, which for textile mills include everything from artwork, logos and
photos to PowerPoint presentations, text documents and even e-mail, are proving to be valuable
assets in terms of both productivity and company valuation. However, an asset is only an asset when
you can find it, or you know that you have it in the first place.In this, the first of a two-part
series, we will review the art and science of digital asset management. Digital Asset
ManagementAccording to GISTICS research, an average of $8,200 per person per year is spent on file
management activities, including searching, verification, organization, back-up and security.
Creative professionals spend an average of one out of every 10 hours of their time on file
management.Canto Software, developers of asset management software, reports that the average media
user manages over 7,000 files distributed over a variety of storage mediums. The average creative
person looks for a media file 83 times a week and fails to find it 35 percent of the time. Their
research shows that digital asset management solutions will drop that to figure to 5 percent.
Digital asset management (DAM) saves not just time, but money.Where do the savings come from Labor
reduction is a primary contribution, allowing employees to spend less time locating assets and more
time working on current projects. Another key benefit is that the ability to find and research
existing work facilitates the reuse of valuable creative assets from previous projects. A
by-product of this benefit is faster development. The ability to take advantage of work performed
on prior projects will reduce turnaround time.The DAM process insures that only approved brand
elements are used and are used in the proper context. The process automates the workflow, with the
ability to keep track of versions or routing the asset to its next destination. DAM helps to build
relationships by supporting the ability to share assets over an extranet with clients and
suppliers. In addition, with the ability to allow clients or other departments to observe creative
works in progress, DAM fosters communication and collaboration. While the term DAM implies its use
for computer-generated artwork, a growing number of textile mills and product manufacturers are
finding DAM applications an ideal tool for cataloging the years of hand-drawn artwork they have
purchased as a part of each new development season.These companies have begun scanning or
photographing these assets and building a database that not only makes it easy to find and use
purchased assets, but provides a valuable tool for insurance valuation. The Spectrum Of
ApplicationsA DAM application is simply a tool for organizing digital media assets for storage and
retrieval. When searching for a digital asset management system, the first thing to identify is
your objective. Let the priority of one or more of these goals be your guiding principle in sorting
through the facts and marketing hype. The marketplace offers a broad range of solutions, ranging
from individual workstations to enterprise-wide solutions.Desktop solutions represent the simplest
type of DAM. They serve the needs of individual users with relatively small collections of content.
This model can be conformed to a handful of stations in a low-security file-sharing network and
sometimes even to larger studios, if one person is managing one type of media asset. While desktop
solutions allow for descriptions and keyword searches, they typically only catalog thumbnails and
references to the actual files, as opposed to the files themselves.A collaborative solution is the
likely choice if your objective is sharing work-in-progress and finished media among a tightly knit
group of co-workers. The content itself can be stored on a central server or across individual
workstations including offline storage, such as CD-ROMs and tape cartridges. Other offerings
include annotation capabilities and strong communications support for efficiently transferring
files between remote users. Process-oriented solutions focus on workflow, orbiting around a
centralized database of project management information that allows a producer to assign, prioritize
and track a projects progress across the entire production team, including edits, conversions and
sign-offs. Given that workflow varies greatly across different types of enterprises,
process-centric solutions are often tailored to the needs of specific vertical
markets.Industry-centric solutions extend the sharing of an enterprises media assets to suppliers,
contractors and other partners. Such systems include high-level security that allows the primary
enterprise to work with multiple parties without commingling proprietary assets. Merchant-centric
solutions for e-commerce enable an enterprise to serve a high volume of on-line customers who will
browse and purchase media assets. Merchant-centric systems routinely process secure financial
transactions, drive order fulfillment processes, interface with inventory systems and report to
accounting systems that can manage things like royalty payments to represented parties.Some
businesses find that one vendor can handle all of their needs, while others implement multiple
systems according to the disparate needs of various departments. In the latter case, the use of an
open system architecture can allow these multiple systems to act on one central repository of
data. Catalogs vs. RepositoriesDAM applications are characterized by architectural
differences. The playing field can be subdivided into two basic categories, media catalogs and
asset repositories.The primary characteristic of media catalogs is the use of proxies, such as
thumbnails, in an indexed database that can be quickly searched by keyword. The actual source files
are left untouched and under control of the operating system. The benefits of media catalogs
include low cost, ease of installation and administration, and scalability across multiple
divisions of an enterprise. Since media catalogs do not actually manage the content itself, anyone
with system access can typically view, change, move or delete any content element. This usually
precludes such features as check-in/check-out of content, rights management and automatic
versioning (the latest version of a print, for example). Media catalogs can also become sluggish
with large catalogs, especially if distributed across multiple servers or geographic locations.In
asset repositories the content itself is physically stored inside a secure database. Benefits
include security levels, replication, referential integrity, centralized data management and full
hierarchical storage management and disaster recovery.Solutions based on the asset repository model
are ideal when systematizing studios with industrial workflow, managing rights and permissions such
as the intellectual property of either your company or a third party and structuring global access
by employees, contractors, suppliers, partners and customers.This centralization of all assets into
a single or distributed storehouse for safekeeping requires significantly higher performance
hardware such as high-end UNIX servers, formidable on-line storage and high-speed networks.
According to a report in New Media Magazine, it also demands a capital investment 10 to 50 times
that associated with media catalogs, as well as a commensurately higher level of system
administration. Off-The-Shelf Or CustomAnother important question to be answered is how much
technical expertise is required in the installation and maintenance of a DAM solution. Much like
CAD systems, the selection ranges from totally integrated off-the-shelf packages to custom
solutions. Since the best-integrated application suites are built around process knowledge, they
are ideal for business models centered on methodologies well established within a given industry.
Such solutions are often easy enough to install that they can be set up by end users.The middle
ground is populated by higher-level prebuilt components, enabling a business to use its more unique
business knowledge in configuring a partially customized application. While the orchestration of
prebuilt components will require modest knowledge of systems integration, this genre represents an
excellent vehicle for creating a uniquely branded service.On the high end of the spectrum are
universal server databases and search engines that enable systems integrators to assemble the best
of breed for their unique needs. Each consists of a self-contained module automating one business
function or the activities of a single employee.

October 1999