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Greetings!
I think holiday hibernation is behind us, and this industry is back in business and running on all cylinders again – at least from a news perspective. A big news item, certainly a positive for the U.S. textile industry, is the announcement by Gaston College that a Fiber Innovation Center on the college’s Kimbrell Campus, site of its Textile Technology Center in Belmont, N.C., will be built. As Davis Warlick, executive vice president of Parkdale, told Gaston County Commissioners, “This center will be a breakthrough for the textile industry because the fiber idea or concept conversion will be all under one roof. Currently, the system we have today is timely, expensive and highly fragmented.”
On the federal level, the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), working on behalf of much of the U.S. textile industry, stepped up its push for reshoring the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) by launching a video campaign, MakeAmericanPPE, outlining steps the Biden administration and Congress must take to make this happen. The council also lauded Biden’s “Buy American” Executive Order and the White House’s action plan on COVID-19 response.
From an innovation perspective, my friends at Bear Fiber in Wilmington, N.C., announced the launch of the first socks made from American hemp. The company worked diligently to bring the product to market after months of development with numerous partners to create the “perfect” cotton-like, processed hemp fiber. As we all know, the growth and market potential for hemp fiber is tremendous, and Bear Fiber is leading the way in the U.S. Hemp hemp, hooray!
And as we creep into spring, a reminder that the coronavirus is still around came Thursday as another popular, in-person textile event succumbed to the slow recovery: The IFAI’s Women in Textiles Summit, originally scheduled for Château Élan Winery & Resort in Georgia, is going virtual March 4-5. But I encourage women in our industry who seek camaraderie, mentorship and relevant information to attend this incredibly inspiring event.
Oh, and lest I forget, please visit the home page and click on the ad of returning advertiser SSM, a Switzerland-based supplier of yarn processing and winding machines for every application. SYMTECH, Inc., Spartanburg, S.C., represents the company in North America.
Classifieds – Agents, reps needed
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The Gaston County Board of Commissioners and Gaston College are working in partnership to transfer $5.3 million in funding to the college for the addition of a new Fiber Innovation Center on the College’s Kimbrell Campus in Belmont.
The new Fiber Innovation Center (FIC) will be a facility expansion of the Kimbrell Campus and be a resource of the Manufacturing & Textile Innovation Network (MTIN), a partnership between Gaston College’s Textile Technology Center and Catawba Valley Community College’s Manufacturing Solutions Center. The MTIN partnership, announced in December, was formed to develop a regional workforce focused on advanced materials and textile testing development. The collaboration also affords better support to each center’s clients in the textile and manufacturing industries, expand services to other related industries and provide opportunities for research and development. Read more.
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Bear Fiber creates first U.S. farm-to-fiber hemp socks |
Hemp fiber is woven into the fabric of America – from sailing ships and clothing to flags and fiber farming by the Founding Fathers. Now, Bear Fiber is making hemp fiber hip again.
The company has been promoting hemp fiber for fashion since the 1990s, when they were also helping develop the organic cotton market. Their goal now is to help grow the American hemp fiber industry by developing a commercially sustainable market to support farmers, processors, yarn spinners, textile manufacturers and the apparel industry in the USA. To this end Bear Fiber has produced the first socks made from American hemp, because they want everyone to know Hemp Makes It Better™. Read more.
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Ex-Fortune 50 CEO dispenses pearls of leadership wisdom |
During the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network’s (AAPN’s) online Fireside Chat last week, attendees were sprinkled – no, make that “doused” – with nuggets of knowledge from a well-regarded business leader of 45 years.
Albert P. Carey, executive chairman at textile maker Unifi, Inc., Greensboro, N.C., spent an hour dispensing leadership lessons learned from his career, which includes 38 years at Pepsico North America. He retired as its CEO in 2019. The event, dubbed “Industry Insights From a Former Fortune 50 CEO,” was part of the AAPN’s American Ingenuity Series, which the network debuted last year in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carey’s presentation was interwoven with anecdotes and pearls of wisdom gleaned from extensive experience leading multiple lines of consumer brands across snacks and beverages at PepsiCo, including as CEO of Frito-Lay North America, and his involvement serving on the boards of Home Depot and Unifi.
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If you would like additional information on Federal Contracting Opportunities please contact the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) www.ncmbc.us
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Devin Steele, publisher
PHOTO AT RIGHT:
Camouflage face mask courtesy of Graced Designs by Alma (proprietor Alma Atkinson). The 100 percent cotton masks, which come with a filter insert and a filter (while supplies last) and in a variety of patterns and colors, are available here and can be customized. Incidentally, Alma’s son Garry Atkinson serves as technical associate at AATCC and her husband Garry Sr. is a service technician at The Nonwovens Institute at N.C. State's Wilson College of Textiles.
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