Posted January 30, 2020

 

By Devin Steele (DSteele@eTextileCommunications.com)

 

MONROE, N.C. – Mike Moody and Mary Kate Moody are close siblings – make that close-“knit” siblings.

 

Otherwise, they might not have the interest nor desire to go into business together.

 

Specifically, a knitting machinery business, which they launched in late 2018.

 

The 40th-something brother-and-sister duo, who are two years apart, founded TREX Machine Group here to offer knitting machines and accessories to manufacturers in the Western Hemisphere.

 

After leaving Vanguard Pai Lung, they decided their next move would be to “do what they know” – the knitting machinery business – where they both spent their entire careers totaling more than two decades each.

 

Not that working with family members was anything new to them. At one time, no less than six Moody family members were part of the aforementioned company, including three other siblings. So the family dynamic was well understood and would probably bode well as each played to their own strengths in forming and operating the company, they said.

 

But starting from scratch was something new, they added. They had the space, but they needed suppliers to help fill the 12,000-square-foot facility. And, they needed customers.

 

Which is exactly what they’ve been doing over the last 15 months, filling those gaps by plumbing for partners and customers – and watching the business begin to blossom. Given their vast connections in the industry, they have signed partnership deals with Sintelli, a China-based circular knitting machine manufacturer; Jin Peng, a Chinese flatbed knitting machine builder; Beworth, a new but large player in the sweater and footwear full jacquard flatbed knitting machine industry that’s also based in China; and impoTEX, offering fabric marking/tracking solutions to the textile industry and based in Germany.

 

Most recently, they inked an agreement with PAF Sales, Kernersville, N.C., to sell BTSR yarn feeders and potentially stop motion equipment for large diameter and flatbed knitting applications in North and Central America.

 

“The vision for the startup was to create our own company that could provide economical, quality, reliable machines and quality parts and service for our customers,” said Mike Moody, who shares the title of co-president with his sister. “We have established relationships for over 20 years each, so our customers trust us.”

 

Among the pain points early on was finding the right machines, he added. “We did a lot of research for about six or seven months to find the right partners for not only the circular, but flat machines as well,” he said.

 

“And, financially, starting your own company obviously is difficult,” added Mary Kate Moody, who handles TREX’s finances while her brother provides technical support. (They both take care of sales and customer service.) “And we had to learn things such as web development, branding, shipping, preparing shipping documents and even driving a forklift.”

 

One of the easiest tasks involved naming the company, they said.

 

“We came up with the name ‘TREX’ because Mike has really short arms like a T-Rex dinosaur,” Mary Kate Moody said with a laugh.

 

“Yeah, my arms are short,” Mike Moody agreed. “So we thought ‘TREX’ would be a cool name, particularly as it relates to traveling places – a.k.a. trekking. So our slogan is to go above and beyond to reach the unreachable.”

 

The company operates out of its design center and showroom featuring two flatbed knitting machines and two circular knitting machines, along with the impoTEX printer system and label heat set system. They recently added a former Vanguard Pai Lung employee, Fidel Ibarra, who has more than 40 years of experience in circular and flatbed knitting machines, on a commission sales basis in South and Central America.

 

Finding the right partners

 

When seeking machinery partners, the Moodys whittled down a list of about 10 knitting equipment manufacturers and came up with one “great” prospect: Sintelli. So Mike Moody spent about a week at the family-owned company in China, where he inspected the machines and the manufacturing processes and forged a relationship with the family. Sintelli had started years ago as fabric producers but decided to get into machine building when they became disillusioned with the quality and reliability of the knitting machines they were using, Mike Moody said.

 

“It felt like it was a good relationship,” he said. “They didn't have a presence in this part of the world. So we found each other at the right time and it’s worked out great.”

 

The Jin Peng partnership was forged shortly thereafter when Duncan Johnson, a longtime U.K. contact and friend of the Moodys, mentioned that he had sold about 200 of their flatbed machines in that region. That led to discussions with Jin Peng, located near Shanghai, and TREX has since already sold several of its machines in this hemisphere, Mike Moody said.

 

The Beworth and impoTEX partnerships came out of ITMA in Barcelona in June, he added. The Moodys knew the owner of impoTEX for many years, so one thing led to another and, now, TREX is offering their fabric marking/tracking solutions systems.

 

“Every greige fabric roll from circular and collar knitting machines can be printed with a barcode and identified,” he said. “The technology is in the label and the ink, once the label is heat sealed onto the fabric, it tracks the fabric through all finishing processes and at the end the label is legible and scannable.”

 

On the BTSR partnership, Scott Yates, general manager of PAF Sales, Kernersville, N.C., which represents BTSR International S.p.A. in North America, said that BTSR USA runs lean and therefore can’t cover all the necessary markets in North and Central America in a quality way. The BTSR technology is showing improvements on pre-existing issues that are currently occurring in the knitting processes, he noted.

 

“TREX Machine is using BTSR as a way to enhance their machinery from a technology standpoint,” said Scott Yates of PAF Sales, Kernersville, N.C., which represents BTSR International S.p.A. in North America. “Most of the equipment in that market has never turned the corner on advanced yarn control systems. We’re taking advantage of doing that here. It becomes a great selling point for the equipment that TREX offers to the market. TREX machinery has a major insertion into what’s left of the large diameter and flatbed knitting. This is a natural fit for both parties. We are showing quality and efficiency improvements that previously did not exist.”

 

To boost quality and efficiency, TREX offers machines that are “westernized,” Mike Moody said, meaning Japanese or German steel is used in various elements of the knitting machines, and other parts are updated with more-reliable components. Groz-Beckert needles and Kern-Lieber sinkers are standard, and Klüber Lubrication supplies the oils for the machines, he added.

 

In stock now at TREX are a 30-inch, 28-cut 96-feed, eight-lock circular machine; a 30-inch, 28-cut, 96-feed open-width jersey machine with full Lycra; and a 14-cut flatbed machine.

 

TREX also was approached by performance apparel brand Under Armour (UA), which was in search of a machine to knit prototype fabrics large enough to cut and sew a garment. UA ordered a 22-inch diameter, 28-gauge, single-knit Sintilli with only five total feeds (instead of a machine with 66 or 88 total feeders). This machine is located in their prototyping and R&D center, The UA Lighthouse, in Baltimore, Md.

 

“The reason they came to us is because we can design and manufacture custom machines,” Mike Moody said. “They wanted to limit it to five feeds so they only had to have five cones of custom-made yarn to knit the fabric. The setup is with 10 BTSR Ultra Feeders for both five cones of hard yarn and five cones of spandex.”

 

Sintelli had to customize the take-up in order to accommodate knitting only five feeds, Mike Moody added. Sintelli also laser cut the UA logo into two of the machine gates, as well as TREX and Sintelli in the others.

 

Building from a foundation of trust

 

With more than a dozen orders placed, the company already is turning a profit, Mary Kate Moody said, and other companies are looking at the equipment,

 

“To start the company with just two individuals and no loan is really difficult,” she said, “so for us to get out of the red is super important.”

 

“Because of our price competitiveness, people are starting to look at us,” Mike Moody said. “We've had multiple customers come in here and look at these machines. We’re working with some big companies, and so far we’ve manufactured three custom machines for customers, small diameter that nobody will do. Customization is unique to us – I'm talking about engineering, not just adding a new accessory or component. For instance, I'm talking about quickly designing and manufacturing major ‘guts’ of the knitting machine to customize what a company needs.”

 

The company has more than a half dozen customers who have bought machines now and may continue to upgrade their operations, with a number of others exploring TREX’s offerings, Mike Moody said.

 

“Once more customers buy the machines and start talking about them, we think multiple people will start looking at them and realizing that TREX offers quality machines,” Mary Kate Moody said.

 

Then, there’s the “Moody Factor” …

 

“The one thing we do hear a lot from customers is they know the Moodys and they want to buy from the Moodys,” Mary Kate Moody said. “They've known us and our whole family for years, so they trust us.”

 

“And we’ve always backed what we sell and do,” Mike Moody added. “If something happens with a machine, we always fix it, no matter what it takes. And customers throughout the U.S., Central America and Mexico know that.”

 

TREX has contracts with all of its suppliers, so it’s the only company that can sell their machines on this side of the world, he said. That puts sales and service closer to customers in this hemisphere, which is important, he added.

 

“We’re not only selling machines, but also service, warranty, trust,” he said. “Customers can work directly with us rather than the hassle of contacting Asia.”

 

Though still in its infancy, TREX Machine Group is exceeding expectations, Mike Moody said.

 

“This feels right and it feels good, to be honest with you,” he said. “We thought we were just going to end up with circular machines, then we started thinking flatbed. And we’ve added a more diverse product line. So we've done even better than we thought as far as product offerings. The products we have all fit into the same environment and the same customer and client area, knitting.”

 

Added Mary Kate Moody: “As far as being comfortable selling all machines and backing our product, we feel really good – 100 percent. We like traveling and meeting new and potential customers. I think we’re just scratching the surface of our potential.”