ALSO CONTRIBUTING $70,000 TO TIFTAREA YMCA FOR QUARTER-MILE TRACK
 

American Textile Co., a leading provider of innovative sleep solutions since 1925, has doubled the size and expected employment of its Manufacturing and Distribution Center in Tifton.

The Tifton facility today employs 200, and American Textile expects to hire 100 more in the next three years. On Thursday, hundreds of government officials, community leaders and partners attended a grand opening at the expanded 418,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility on Magnolia Industrial Boulevard.

Officials praised the company for bucking industry trends and growing employment and sales with a strategy to manufacture and ship most items from four strategically located sites in the United States, and for its focus on innovative sleep products, some of which were previously manufactured and shipped from Asia.

Brian Marlowe, president and CEO of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and the Tift County Development Authority, estimates that the American Textile plant's economic impact since 2011 is $75 million to $80 million.

"American manufacturers have traditionally faced difficult decisions when balancing cost considerations with

the desire to produce in America," said Lance Ruttenburg, president and CEO of American Textile.  "Now, consumer demand for American-made products, coupled with rising freight costs and overseas wages, has made it financially viable for companies to expand in the United States. We're thrilled to be a part of this resurgence of the textile industry in the Southeast and have found Tifton to be the perfect fit for us."

American Textile, a Pennsylvania-based company, opened its Tifton operation in 2011, doubling its workforce and adding 200,000 square feet two years ahead of schedule. The Tifton facility manufactures and distributes pillows and other bedding materials.

"I believe we've built something very special here in Tifton, as it signifies everything we stand for: service, growth, community and quality," Ruttenberg said.

As part of the grand opening celebration, American Textile presented $70,000 to the Tiftarea YMCA to build a new lighted and fenced quarter-mile track made of asphalt and recycled materials. A sheltered picnic area and a walking track and field inside the track will be available for children's activities and adult aerobics. Construction on the American Textile Family Walking Track is expected to begin soon behind the YMCA's main facility on Carpenter Road.

"American Textile officials came by and toured our facility early this year, and we had a great conversation," Darian Peavy, Tiftarea YMCA CEO, told the Tifton Grapevine. "We told them our vision and how we hope to have an outside place for kids' activities and classes out on the field. They said they support the YMCA and want to give back to our community. We are very blessed and honored. They are great people."