Fabric Firms Evolve into Global Facilitators

Globalization will continue to have great impact on the textile market in the new millennium, and while U.S. industry leaders acknowledge the challenges this trend presents, they also are looking at ways to benefit from it.

For example, some U.S. converters and mills are sourcing globally for the best fabric buys for their customers. They are importing fabrics that can be dyed and finished in the United States, or in the case of customers who manufacture offshore, having the goods dyed and finished offshore and sent directly to international sewing facilities. The consensus is that the search for ways benefit from a more globalized industry will result in new alliances and partner ships internationally.

Compression in time and the supply chain also is a key factor for the future. The result will be more verticalization to shrink the links in the supply chain and between profit centers to offer better prices and quicker service.

The consumer will drive the market. To survive in this environment, textile firms must have strategies for determining what the end consumer wants. However, the power of the retailer also is expected to increase, along with a continuation of retailers' difficult demands to produce quality fabrics and garments at very low prices. E-commerce will play an important role in dealing with these trends.

There is a general move away from commodities to niche markets and fabrics that differentiate each apparel manufacturer's offerings. The market's emphasis on relaxed lifestyles will continue, and comfort will be key. In fact, most fabric resources predict the development of more fabrics that offer "something extra" in the way of comfort, such as stretch, moisture wicking and antimicrobial properties and finishes that add comfort.

Tandler Focuses on Creativity, Competitive Pricing

Interestingly, while there is no question that the future is as challenging as ever for the U.S. textile market, there still are new players entering the converting sector, a niche with especially tough margin pressures. As one veteran U.S. converter, Martin Tandler, president of Tandler Textile Inc., describes the competitive scene going forward: "The key words are diversification, flexibility, verticalization and creativity. They all interrelate not just in product but as descriptive ways of approaching the business."

Tandler explains that his firm is taking on more and more functions so that clients can benefit from its various areas of expertise. The company is sourcing fabrics on a worldwide basis, and shipping piece goods from country to country for customers. This breadth of service requires Tandler to have a global network of "reliable and quality conscious suppliers," he emphasizes.

Novelty and fancy fabrics are Tandler's strong suit, and the company will continue to invest a great deal in design in the future to assure it maintains an ever wider and more diverse range, Tandler says.

Yet while design is the firm's "raison d'etre," Tandler says, he also realizes that price competitiveness will continue to play a major roll. Still, he is very positive about the future and says he believes opportunities are there for firms that can think like a retailer, and deliver the fabrics and garments the retailer wants at the right price.

Burlington Eyes Innovation

Burlington Industries' goals for the future are threefold, says Dutch Leonard, president of Burlington [CasualWear.sup.TM] -- Denim. One goal is to consolidate U.S. facilities with a focus on the role U.S. production will play in the company's offerings in years to come. Along these lines, Burlington has doubled the size of its plant in Stonewall, MS, and closed a facility in Mooresville, NC.

A second goal for Burlington is continued expansion in Mexico and of its garment manufacturing services. (See "U.S. Mills Move South," Bobbin, November 1999, for more on this strategy.)

The third goal calls for heavy involvement in fabric innovation. "The key is to make fabrics that people want," says Leonard. "We need change, such as synthetics combined with cotton, and high-tech fabrics that offer performance, fashion and comfort."

To that end, Burlington will be using different yams, such as Lycra spandex, polyester, polyolefin and Tencel, in its new fabrics.

To those who would say the textile industry is devoid of high-tech happenings or that it is a traditional business in its twilight, Leonard asserts: "I don't think it is. ... We're going to be using high technology to take it to the next level."

Brookwood Diversifies Its Dyeing, Finishing

Brookwood Companies Inc. has expanded and diversified its dyeing and finishing facilities to better fit its focus on a niche market strategy, including the capability to produce smaller runs of differentiated products. "Now we can strategically position ourselves for the rapid changes occurring in the marketplace," says Noris Solano, director of product development. "We've balanced our portfolio."

Among other initiatives, the company has begun to import greige goods for selected divisions. It also offers new wet printing services on a custom basis, along with PAD dyeing, laminating and coating in its many divisions. Moreover, Brookwood's stock division now carries more fashion-forward products, and is doing very well, she adds.

Coville Anticipates New Specialty Fibers

Looking to the future, Henry H. Jordan II, president of Coville Inc., believes it will be increasingly important to identify the role of the converter in the supply chain. Converters usually are flexible in their production, which makes them potentially valuable partners in supplying different types of fabrics to offshore apparel manufacturers from a U.S. base, he observes.

Jordan also sees verticalization as a way of the future, as industry players seek to cut links in the supply chain and make less expensive apparel.

In addition, Jordan predicts that specialty fibers and fabrics will become more important. The fiber industry is looking for ways to produce "bi-component" yarns, such as yarn with a polypropylene core and polyester exterior. "Natural fiber [firms] are going to hunt for ways to adopt characteristics of synthetics they admire, while synthetics [firms] will hunt for ways to adapt their polymer so that they have more of a natural fiber aesthetic," Jordan says.

Dyersburg: Investing in Efficiency, New Services

The goal of Dyersburg Corp. in the new decade, emphasizes Karen Deniz, vice president of marketing communications, is to rationalize its U.S. manufacturing facilities in order to be more efficient. "This means capital investment that improves productivity and service to our customer base," says Deniz, adding: "Textile fabric forming is becoming an international industry. ... We expect to participate in this transition on behalf of our customers. The industry must challenge itself, as other industries have, to become international in scope and strategic thinking."

New offerings from Dyersburg will include not only fabrics but also garments produced to customer specifications and other services "that relieve the customer of administrative functions that do not relate to garment design and garment making," Deniz states.

Glen Raven Gets to Know the End Consumer

Glen Raven Knit Fabrics is planning to increase its focus on the end consumer. "We will get involved with our customers' focus groups to find out what the consumer is looking for," says Hal Bates, marketing manager.

To shorten the supply chain through better communication, Glen Raven also plans to take part in the American Textile Partnership's Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture (DAMA) supply chain management project. As a part of this involvement, Glen Raven's goal is to become more focused on how to replenish products quickly by managing process information from the time of a consumer's purchase and on through the supply chain.

Glen Raven Knit Fabrics also will be expanding into less seasonable, industrial-type markets, in which technical expertise tends to be valued more heavily than fabric price.

In product debuts for the new decade, Glen Raven has introduced a new generation of performance polyester warp knits for outdoor apparel. For instance, there is Glen Raven's new knit [Microsuede.sup.TM] fleece, which can be finished with the firm's Repelzz(r) and Wickzz(r) coatings, for water resistance and moisture management, respectively. As one customer, L.L. Bean's Bill Gorman, describes the product: "[It's] the fleece of the future. It has all the attributes of fleece, but isn't bulky and doesn't collect burrs."

Doran Targets Home Market for Greige Goods

Doran Mills, a novelty greige goods mill, is bucking the trend toward downsizing and closures in the greige goods market with major expansion plans. The firm reports that it is investing in new equipment to make it a viable supplier in the coming decade.

"Our strategic plan is to purchase new equipment that will allow us to take advantage of new markets," says J. Barry Grimm, vice president.

The first stage of this investment began in late 1999 with the addition of wide dobby and jacquard looms for producing wide, 120-inch finished fabrics. These fabrics are designed for home fashions, especially the top-of-the-bed market. "The new looms allow us to marry novelty and wide looms for that market," says Grimm, who notes that the firm's capital investment will continue this month and in February and March.

The company also is focusing on becoming a "more rounded and vertical resource" so that it can "bring the fabric closer to the consumer," Grimm observes. A variety of alliances taking shape under the firm's corporate umbrella should help make this goal a reality. Doran's owner Ken Lazar also owns the converter Westwood Inc., a connection that should eliminate some layers of margin and reduce product development time.

Sally Jenkyn Jones has joined Westwood as design director, and will be working to develop new products with U.S. resources, including Doran Mills and Beauchard, a warp knitter of novelty laces and raschels, also owned by Lazar.

"We'll offer woven jacquards and lace, which will be made exclusively for us. ...And we'll develop more washable fabrics," says Jenkyn Jones. "Worsted blends will be part of the mix, and we'll research all the new yarns."

Two lines will be offered -- one for the moderate market and one for the better market -- with an emphasis on coordinated sportswear as well as dresses, suits and some casual wear. "We're making a strong effort to bring out our seasonal lines earlier so that our customers can make their base cloth decisions in a timely fashion," says Jenkyn Jones.

AGX: New Player Wins with Its Own Formula

Last but not least, a few words from a newcomer to the industry: AGX Corp., which started shipping fabrics this past April. The firm offers printed fabrics for swimwear, intimate apparel, dresses, sportswear and activewear, with an emphasis on stretch Lycra knits and rayon and polyester-based wovens.

AGX has a U.S.-based design team that develops its lines, which it sources and ships from around the world. Alfred Greenblatt, president and owner, says this setup gives AGX the flexibility to produce fabrics the market needs without being limited by equipment.

"I view my company as a marketing company with knowledge of all markets and with relationships with companies that want to sell products into this country," notes Greenblatt. "I see customers utilizing us for quality, aesthetics and price. ...We work with resources around the world and act as a facilitator between customers and manufacturers."

Looking to the future, it's clear that fabric firms that will lead the way in the new century must know how to facilitate business relationships on a global scale, with quality, aesthetics, price, logistics and special services as their bargaining chips for winning the business.

Raye Rudie is Bobbin's contributing editor of fabrics and a 25-year-plus veteran of the fabrics and fashion industries.

On-line exclusive

Piber Developments for the New Decade

What are fiber companies planning for the new decade? Here's a sampling of just a few of the developments featured in an on-line article this month at www.bobbin.com:

* Cotton Incorporated discusses cotton that offers improved drapability and comfort, and high-tech fibers that offer greater color retention, breathability and abrasion resistance.

* DuPont has begun a quest to use renewable resources rather than petroleum as the starling point in producing some fibers, and the firm's Dave Rea notes that "there may be a different way to get [it] into garment form, not necessarily starting with a fiber."

* Globe Maunfacturing Corp. looks at the changing world of spandex, and how new inventions are needed to meet different end uses.

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