Posted February 27, 2020

 

By Devin Steele (DSteele@eTextileCommunications.com)

 

Headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., 155-year old Milliken & Company continues to build on its legacy, its leadership in the performance textiles, floor covering, specialty chemicals, healthcare and chemical manufacturing disciplines, and its reputation as one of the world’s most innovative, ethical, visionary companies.

 

And for this diversified industrial giant, the best is yet to come.

 

“Milliken is a place where legacy and vision operate in tandem,” said Chad McAllister, president of Milliken’s Textile Division. “It is our purpose to positively impact the world around us for generations to come.”

 

American consumers – and many throughout the world – touch a Milliken product many times a day. Beyond products, the company also embraces the planet in a similarly effective way through proactive sustainability efforts aimed at reducing its global footprint.

 

Milliken’s actionable values – too numerous to fully list – have earned the company eTextileCommunications.com’s 2019 Industry Champion honor.

 

In this exclusive feature, eTC delves into the essence of Milliken & Company, a steadfast stalwart and standout in many sectors.

 

Well ahead of its time

 

Milliken was founded in 1865 as a small woolen fabrics distributor in Maine. To thrive as a leader in textiles, it broadened its horizons and has transformed throughout the decades.

 

“Milliken has a meaningful legacy in the textiles industry,” McAllister said. “As we expanded to become a global manufacturer, our dedication to providing leading innovative textiles has always been our primary motivation and informed the way we serve our diversified portfolio.”

 

Milliken survived decades of market swings, technological changes, trade upheaval and more. With approximately 8,000 associates, it operates more than 40 manufacturing facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Australia, Mexico and China. The company serves a variety of industries, including healthcare, transportation, building and infrastructure, hospitality, industrial manufacturing, architecture and design, apparel and specialty chemicals.

 

The Roger Milliken Center (RMC) in Spartanburg, S.C., the company’s corporate headquarters, employs nearly 1,000 Milliken associates and features an Innovation Gallery, a Customer Center, research labs, a rapid prototyping center, the Milliken Guest House and a nationally recognized arboretum.

 

The company’s ability to survive and thrive speaks volumes about its adaptability, vision and leadership – all keys to its success.

 

Milliken formulated its first recycling policy in 1901, well before environmental responsibility was a part of the national conversation. Milliken accelerated its quality control and safety emphasis in the 1980s when much of the textile industry was focused on remaining relevant.

 

“Milliken is a values-based business. We believe that financial success and doing the right thing are not mutually exclusive, which motivates and guides us every day,” McAllister said.

 

Sustainability efforts became part of Milliken’s DNA early in its history and advanced through the decades.

 

Such efforts continue today.

 

“Milliken’s 2025 sustainability goals focus on people, products and our planet,” McAllister said. “By 2025, we will reduce our global footprint to increase our global impact, reduce indexed greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and solid waste by 25 percent, send zero waste to landfill, increase renewable energy ten-fold and achieve zero environmental violations.”

 

Milliken continually assesses its net impacts, seeks greater efficiencies and develops new technologies to avoid harmful materials and provide sustainable solutions. Many of its facilities are ISO 14001 certified to ensure the highest level of environmental management.

 

“Another of our sustainability goals calls for all Milliken products to undergo Life Cycle Analysis, where a product’s full life cycle is reviewed using key scientific principles,” McAllister said. “The process helps determine the environmental impact of a product, from sourcing raw materials, manufacturing and distribution to use, recycling and final disposal.”

 

Milliken’s dedication to quality, process control and continuous improvement are equally noteworthy, and led the company to earn the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the European Quality Award and the Japanese TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) Excellence Award – making it the only company in the world to have won all three awards.

 

“Excellence is one of our core values. We are constantly looking to raise the bar on our performance,” McAllister said. “Our workforce, machines, methods and ingredients are highly integrated to produce the best results and bring our value of innovation to life.”

 

Innovation at the heart of success

 

Milliken manufactures in seven countries and has sales offices, showrooms, development laboratories and technical support centers around the world. Such a global presence no doubt enables the company to think bigger in its quest to positively impact the world.

 

“Many of our innovations address worldwide challenges,” McAllister said. “Having a global footprint allows us the capability to meet customers where they are.”

 

Research and development (R&D) has driven Milliken’s success in innovation over the last quarter century amid numerous challenges faced by the textile industry and the manufacturing sector.

 

RMC serves as the nerve center for the company’s technological advancements, and its Innovation Gallery showcases more than 150 years of exploring, discovering and creating ways to enhance daily life with meaningful innovations. More than 80 percent of Milliken’s U.S. patents were developed on the Spartanburg campus and were fundamental in transforming the company into a leading global innovation company.

 

Milliken created its first research team, comprised of six engineers and six scientists, in 1945, and built a dedicated research center at its headquarters when the company moved to Spartanburg in 1958.

 

“We knew even then that innovative solutions are formulated with the help of scientific R&D, and thus Milliken’s Community of Innovators was born,” McAllister noted. “From this highly technical leadership comes our knowledge base. But another unique aspect of our R&D work comes from our use of cross-functional teams. Scientists work alongside marketing, design, engineer, customer service and production associates to conceptualize and develop well-rounded products.”

 

Milliken’s oldest patent, dating back to 1927, is for the laundry basket, and in 1956, the company introduced Agilon, the yarn integral for producing one-sized stretch women’s hosiery. More recognizable today is its work within the protective fabrics space, creating and developing textiles that protect others. Ranging from flame-resistant (FR), arc-rated (AR) fabrics for industrial settings to highly technical fabrics that protect those in the military and fire service, the Textile Division’s innovations in this space help create safer futures and save lives.

 

The textile industry is likely familiar with one of the company’s latest offerings – Breathe by MillikenTM, a 2018 R&D 100 Award Finalist. This eco-elegant fabric has the capabilities of performance fabrics enabled through the very latest in sustainable technology. The Textile Division’s Specialty Interiors team developed a plant-based, fluorine-free repellency, which makes the fabric better for your family and the planet with no harmful VOCs. In addition, the collection’s fabrics are GREENGUARD® GOLD certified, showcasing that performance fabrics can still be environmentally responsible.

 

Other recent innovations from Milliken’s Textile Division include:

 

• Westex® by ShieldCXP™, a revolutionary, flame-resistant fabric that repels a wide variety of acids, bases and organic solvents;

• Westex® UltraSoft® Flex, a workwear fabric line that adds over 50 percent more stretch to increase worker mobility while offering the best of both arc flash and flash fire protection;

• Westex® G2TM Endurance fabrics that redefine the level of comfort, durability and protection possible with FR apparel with a novel, permanent flame-retardant system in a desirable fabric featuring 35 percent polyester;

• Westex® Indigo®, a line of FR denim fabrics for jeans and work shirts that provide flash fire and arc flash hazard protection;

• EvoChill™ fabric technology for retail and workwear apparel that combines a revolutionary tiered three-phase cooling integration with workhorse fabric features, including odor control, sun protection and abrasion durability;

• Polartec® Power Air™, a 2019 R&D 100 Award Winner, an innovative new platform offering advanced thermal efficiency by encapsulating lofted fibers within a multilayer, continuous yarn fabric construction; and

• Vis™ Divide, a segmented HDPE rigid conduit that, through intuitive fabric dividers, provides dedicated pathways for the placement of more than one cable in a single conduit for communication and power systems.

 

These technologies cover only the textiles segment. Milliken estimates that the average U.S. consumer interacts with one of the company’s products up to 50 times a day — a clear indication that Milliken innovations are present in many parts of our everyday life.

 

Accolades acknowledge achievement

 

Milliken has been named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere® Institute every year since its inception 14 years ago and, in fact, is one of only seven companies around the world to earn the distinction in each of those years. A number of categories define this designation: an ethics and compliance program, corporate citizenship and responsibility, governance, leadership and reputation.

 

The Ethisphere distinction illustrates that the company is a driving force for improving communities, building capable and empowered workforces, and fostering corporate cultures focused on ethics and a strong sense of purpose.

 

Also, for the second year in a row, Milliken was included in the 2019 America’s Best Mid-Size Employers by FORBES magazine, recognizing the top 500 highest-rated employers with 1,000 to 5,000 U.S.-based employees.

 

“We strive to be a company where every associate feels empowered, valued and engaged,” Halsey M. Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company, said in a release when the honor was announced. “Being recognized as a foremost employer in the U.S. helps affirm our ongoing commitment to provide a diverse and inclusive workplace culture.”

 

Expanding to solve everyday challenges

 

Milliken has been proactive in enhancing its portfolio, strengths and growth capabilities through acquisitions of companies that align with its values. Last year, the company purchased Polartec, LLC, a strong global brand known for its impressive performance textiles for outdoor and military apparel, and Andover Healthcare, a leading manufacturer of cohesive bandages and compression systems spanning healthcare, animal health and sports medicine markets.

 

Already this year, Milliken acquired Borchers Group Limited, a global specialty chemicals company known for its high-performance coating additives and special catalyst solutions.

 

Milliken is also expanding internally. In May 2019, the company announced it would grow its facility in Blacksburg, S.C. to build the largest chemical plant in the company’s history.

 

With more than 15 decades of history on its side, a keen eye on the future and a workforce committed to be a leader for positive change in the textile industry, Milliken finds itself in propitious position to build on its impact on the world.