Gastonia, N.C.-based Parkdale Mills Inc. will close its plant in Rockford, Ala., in January 2008
and move that plant’s production, which comprises cotton yarns for bottomweight applications, to
other company facilities. According to John Nims, who heads the company’s manufacturing and
personnel operations, the market served by the Rockford facility has been shrinking and is
projected to continue to contract, and power costs at the plant are higher than at other Parkdale
plants.
The Rockford facility is one of three — the others being a plant in nearby Alexander City,
Ala., and another in Graniteville, S.C. — Parkdale purchased last year from Avondale Mills Inc.
after the Monroe, Ga.-based textile manufacturer went out of business
(See “Parkdale To Purchase Three Avondale Plants,”
www.TextileWorld.com,
June 30, 2006). Nims said Parkdale made considerable investments in its newly acquired plants,
but those investments at Rockdale were not balanced by sustained demand and could not negate the
higher operational costs.
Nims said the approximately 80 employees impacted by the shutdown are being offered positions
at other Parkdale facilities, including its Alexander City plant, where the company has frozen
hiring in anticipation of adding displaced Rockford employees. That plant produces combed cotton
for export and currently employs 120 workers.
December 4, 2007
