FiberBuys.com, an on-line fiber resource center, is offering a supplier contact feature for all
products in hopes of facilitating quick, easier communication between buyers and sellers. Motivated
by customer demand, the feature allows buyers that have questions about specific products to
contact suppliers directly.To use the supplier contact feature, customers log on to the
Fiberbuys.com website, click on an envelope-shaped icon adjacent to the specific product and type a
question or comment. An e-mail is sent directly to the supplier of the designated product.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, said Patricia Liskoff, director of operations.
December 2001
FiberBuys Offers Contact Feature
Burlington Receives Final Approval On New Financing Agreement
GREENSBORO, N.C., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Burlington Industries, Inc.(OTC Bulletin Board: brLG)
announced today that it has received final courtapproval for its Debtor-in-Possession (DIP)
financing. The final agreement,which is underwritten by JPMorgan Chase Bank, increases the
availablefinancing from $125 million to $190 million, subject to the terms of theagreement. This
additional financing provides significant liquidity and willsupplement the company’s resources, if
needed, during the reorganizationperiod. The company’s operations and delivery of products are
continuingwithout interruption. Burlington Industries, Inc. is one of the world’s largest and
mostdiversified manufacturers and marketers of apparel and interior furnishings. This press release
contains statements that are forward-looking statementswithin the meaning of applicable federal
securities laws and are based uponthe company’s current expectations and assumptions, which are
subject to anumber of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differmaterially
from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include,among other things, global economic
activity and the implications thereon ofthe attack on September 11 and the U.S. government’s
response thereto, thesuccess of the company’s overall business strategy including
successfulimplementation of the company’s restructuring plan, the confirmation of therestructuring
plan and the DIP financing commitment, the terms and conditionsof the DIP financing, the impact
that public disclosure of the company’sChapter 11 filing may have on the company’s relationships
with its principalcustomers and suppliers, the success of the company’s expansion in
othercountries, the demand for textile products, the cost and availability of rawmaterials and
labor, the company’s ability to finance its operations andrestructuring activities, the level of
the company’s indebtedness and abilityto borrow, and the exposure to interest rate fluctuations,
governmentallegislation and regulatory changes, and the long-term implications of regionaltrade
blocs and the effect of quota phase-out and lowering of tariffs underthe WTO trade regime and other
factors identified in the company’s filingswith the Securities and Exchange Commission.SOURCE
Burlington Industries, Inc.Copyright © 1996-2001 PR Newswire Association Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ATMI Opposes Removal Of Duties On Pakistani Imports
In response to the proposal by the Bush Administration to eliminate duties on imports of textiles
and apparel from Pakistan, Charles Hayes, American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI)
president, said: The U.S. textile industry is already reeling from imports from Pakistan and other
Asian countries at artificially low prices resulting from devalued currencies across Asia.
Eliminating duties will depress prices still further and dramatically increase imports.As an
alternative to eliminating duties, ATMI is urging importers to continue to order goods from
Pakistan, even though U.S. textile companies compete directly with Pakistani companies. Importers
including Nike, the Gap, Russell and JC Penney have said they will not cut orders. Eddie Bauer is
planning to increase orders.ATMI notes that there are other steps the U.S. government could take to
stabilize the business situation in Pakistan. One step would be to authorize the Overseas Private
investment Corp. (OPIC) to provide government-paid insurance for all textile and apparel shipments
coming from Pakistan over the next three years. This step would guarantee importers and retailers
against any disruptions due to political or economic instability. ATMI believes this move would
return the situation to normal and cause no further hardship for U.S. textile workers.
December 2001
James H Heals Redesigned Orbitor Offers Flexibility
James H. HealandCo. Ltd., United Kingdom, has reengineered its Orbitor pilling and snagging
tester for use on woven or knitted materials.Offering flexibility, the two- or four-position
instrument can be configured with any combination of pilling box, snagging box, pilling drum or
snagging drum.The new design includes six speeds in addition to three standard speeds, with the
option to reverse for non-standard test applications and developmental work.Equipped with
individual position counters, the Orbitor enables the operator to monitor multiple tests
simultaneously. An inverter drive maintains constant speed and features an over-torque sensor that
will safely stop the instrument if obstruction is detected.The tester complies with requirements of
EN ISO 12945-1 and MarksandSpencer test methods P18A, P18B and P21A.
December 2001
AATCC Photo Flash Report
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) 2001 International
Conference and Exhibition, held October 21-24, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville,
S.C., billed itself as the world’s largest technical conference dedicated to wet processing. The
theme of this year’s event was “Technical Innovations for Global Challenges.”A. Blanton Godfrey,
dean of the College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, delivered the keynote address
October 22. In his speech, Godfrey focused on trends, challenges and observations of a global
marketplace.Almost 50 exhibitors presented a wide range of software, equipment and solutions for
the wet-processing industry.
Russell J. Crompton, president, Benjamin Cartwright, sales/service engineer, and Marvin De
Witte, manager, with SDL America
Gary Champion, technical sales representative, and Danny Thompson, customer service center
manager, represent CHT R. Beitlich Corp.
Omnova booth
Tony Mobley, technical sales, and Laurence F. Bond, general manager, national sales, both
with Atlas Material Testing Solutions
Bob Griswold, account executive, and Tim A. Cassell, regional manager, both with X-Rite Inc.
Norm Demers, technical support manager, Minolta Corp., demonstrates the CM-2600d portable
spectrophotometer.
Joe D. Parker demonstrates one of GretagMacbeth’s systems to a visitor.
December 2001
Quality Fabric Of The Month: Microbes Begone!
The Fosshield Technology Division of Foss Manufacturing Co., Hampton, N.H., has developed an antimicrobial technology by which it embeds AgION™, a silver-based inorganic zeolite, in its
solution-dyed polyester Fossfibre® bicomponent fiber. Fossfibre with AgION is suitable for all textile applications in which antimicrobial protection is desired.
Foss sells the product to companies thatmanufacture textiles for such markets as hospitality, medicine and health care, travel and others. It has also recently entered the consumer market by introducing its own product – Fosshield® antimicrobial cleaning wipes.
The heavy-duty nonwoven wipes can be used throughout the home to clean everything from countertops, sinks and bathrooms to dishes – any non-fabric surface that needs to be cleaned. Foss claims they can be used wet or dry; with or without soap, detergent or other cleaning agents. The wipes will hold up for weeks and can be washed many times, even with bleach, without destroying the antimicrobial properties, thus reducing waste while maintaining their freshness.
Silver Lining
Silver has long been recognized as an effective inhibitor of bacterial growth. As an early example, says Foss, the ancient Egyptians used it 6,000 years ago as a lining in vessels intended for long-term water storage.
More than 650 strains of bacteria, yeast, fungi and mold are known to be vulnerable to silver’s antimicrobial properties. In addition, it is all-natural, inert and nontoxic. In laboratory testing, AgION has destroyed 99.99-percent of many infection- and odor-causing bacteria.
As well, because AgION is inorganic and not a drug-based antibiotic, bacteria are not able to develop resistance to its properties.
The bicomponent fibers in Fossfibre are specially designed so that AgION is found only on the sheath, providing optimum exposure to the destructive bacteria. Foss claims the silver zeolite molecule is extremely stable, even under the most severe production conditions, withstanding temperatures of up to 800°C and having a pH stability of 3-10.
Fossfibre with AgION is also available with additional additives to provide fire retardation, ultraviolet stabilization, conductivity, stain resistance and moisture transmission. As well, it can be blended with cotton, wool, silk or flax.
For more information about Fosshield Antimicrobial Technologies, contact Al Bobst (603)
929-6092; (800) 746-4018.
December 2001
Outlast Partners With Asian Manufacturers
Outlast Technologies, Boulder, Colo., has partnered with five Asian manufacturers to meet the
growing demand for its phase change technology products with greater selection and competitive
pricing. Outlast specializes in the research, development, design and application of phase change
materials (PCMs) for apparel, footwear, home furnishings and other markets
(See Quality Fabric of the Month, ATI, April 2000).Outlast will manufacture all of its
fabrics in Asia, including fabrics featuring the new Matrix Coating Technology (MCT). Without
losing the effectiveness of the PCMs, the MCT coating provides more stretch, moisture management
and air permeability to the fabric, the company claims.New partnerships with Itochu, Inoac, Daiyu,
Tiong Liong and P.T. Tomenbo will provide Outlasts global markets with superior-quality products at
competitive Asian prices, said George Cattermole, president and CEO, Outlast. Additionally, our
presence in Asia improves our capability to deliver products faster to customers with downstream
manufacturing operations in Asia.
December 2001
DuPont Launches Lycra Campaign TACTEL Prisma
DuPont, Wilmington, Del., has launched a new advertising campaign to support the growing trend of
jeans made with Lycra®. In the first such campaign for Lycra What do you look for in a great pair
of jeans DuPont will spend $10 million in advertising.The television commercial is lively and hip;
it captures the more fashionable and trendy personality of Lycra and emphasizes the way people live
in their jeans with Lycra; they look and feel good; they are comfortable and free, said Linda
Kearns, global brand manager, Lycra.In other news, DuPont ApparelandTextile Sciences has introduced
TACTEL® prisma, a new yarn that combines two polymers during spinning to achieve two-color heather
effects that incorporate different degrees of shine, sparkle and color. TACTEL prisma is available
in a 156f71 flat yarn for use in circular knits, knitwear and in woven fabrics.
December 2001
Cone To Use Quickwash In Denim Production
The Cone Mills denim plant in Cliffside, N.C., has purchased its first Raitech Quickwash Plus
machine. The testing machine will be incorporated directly into the manufacturing process on the
production floor. Cone hopes the machine will help reduce the number of denim reruns.Some Quickwash
Plus customers keep the machine in the lab, said Lan Brady, quality analysis manager, Cone Mills.
But for us, its best suited for use in our process.Brady said plant reruns were extremely
time-consuming. A trip to the warehouse was required to cut a two-yard denim sample, followed by
three wash cycles over a 12-hour period. With the new machine, 7 inches of fabric is required for
the test, and the test time is reduced to 30 minutes.
(See Measuring Up, TI, this issue).
December 2001
Textile, Cotton Producers Will Pay
T
his month, the Yarn Market reported the price of cotton at 32.71 cents per pound — the
base-grade average for seven designated markets. Also noted was the fact that some companies were
fixing cotton at about this price. Fixing cotton leads some of us to think that prices might be
near the bottom, and that things are about to level out or turn around. Well, this month’s
quotation for base grade in the seven designated markets averaged 26.77 cents per pound — almost 6
cents per pound lower. The price for 1.5-denier staple polyester moved slightly lower to about 53
cents per pound. So who is to guess where the bottom of the trough might be?
Although raw-material prices continue to move lower, that doesn’t seem to have any impact on
the economic outlook of textile mills. Business is not out there — plants are still closing and
unemployment is rising. There doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Are things going
to get better? Most managers who spoke with the Yarn Market during the past week said, “Things will
probably get worse before they get better.”
Some may wonder how things could get any worse. Well, there is one major activity currently
going on that will have a huge impact on our industry – the war in Afghanistan.
It seems that most individuals and/or countries would be willing to “freely” pitch in and
fight/eliminate evil, especially when it is in their back yard. But that is not the case in many
societies. For us to carry out our objective in Afghanistan, we must pay neighboring countries —
Pakistan, India, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan — for the use of their land, air, participation,
etc. What is the pay? Textiles. We will reduce/eliminate restrictions barring shipments of their
textile goods into the United States. With this happening, we would expect more plants to close and
unemployment to rise.
One factor that feeds into this equation in the short term is the type of products that might
be entering the United States. If you are a ring spinner, beware. Ring spinning is the predominant
yarn-manufacturing system in these countries. Therefore, we should expect an increase of these
yarns, and products from these yarns, coming into the United States. There is much less rotor yarn
production and almost no air-jet capacity in these countries.
Challenging Times
One spinner was asked, “Do you know of any spinners of knitting or weaving yarns that are doing
okay?” His response was, “No. They are all losing money — spinners, weavers, knitters and fiber
producers. Several of the top textile companies are near or in Chapter 11. Most are barely hanging
on. If something doesn’t change soon, there won’t be a textile industry in the United States.”
With mill closings, the domestic demand for cotton is down and will continue to decrease if
current trends in the textile industry continue. So, one might ask, “What is going to happen in the
U.S. cotton industry?” Production is up, consumption is down, and prices are down. If U.S. mills
are not here to buy this cotton, one might ask, “Are we going to produce cotton only for export?”
If we do, the government will probably have to provide a larger subsidy to help producers be
competitive in the global market place. Or, as has been asked before, will cotton production follow
the textile industry and go offshore?
In fact, the Yarn Market received a call recently from a cotton producer to discuss his
dilemma. He said, “With ginning cost and government discounts, I am selling my cotton for 20 cents
per pound.” Clearly, he had not considered his government loan deficiency payment (LDP) that has
been in the range of 27 to 31 cents per pound. Still, 51 cents per pound is 12 to 15 cents per
pound below the cost of production in his area. He can’t stay in the cotton-producing business long
at this rate.
A patriotic note: Patriotism has not been higher in the United States since WWII. This is
definitely true. We are textile people and marketers. Are we doing as much as we can to capitalize
on the patriotic feeling throughout this great country of ours? Should we be developing/promoting
strategies for buy “All American” or “Only From America” or “America — Beginning to End”? What do
you think? It is terrible that we have to buy American flags and ribbons from one of the
above-listed countries.
December 2001
