Louis Hornick & Co. pleased with decision to open plant in S.C.
Louis "Tripp" Hornick III and his father Louis II are set to make their announcement at the SelectUSA Summit in Washington, D.C., in October.
Posted March 24, 2014
By Devin Steele
Louis Hornick & Co., Inc., a family-owned manufacturer and importer of window treatments, announced in late October that it would re-establish a manufacturing presence in the U.S. And, after operating in New York for 96 years, the company said the production facility would be located in the South, in Allendale, S.C.
And President and COO Louis “Tripp” Hornick III said he couldn’t be happier with the decision.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said, while driving to a business meeting in Orangeburg, S.C., last week. “It’s wonderful that we’re creating jobs in South Carolina and helping sustain our suppliers’ jobs in the state. We believe that a manufacturing plant is truly a family, and we had three generations of employees at our plants in New York who also felt that way.”
Just how committed are they to that state? Hornick, his father Louis II (CEO) and his mother are all moving to South Carolina to be near manufacturing and distribution – and bringing virtually all corporate operations there, too.
And Allendale County – and this facility, a 103,000 square foot former textile plant on 28 acres – is the perfect place to “re-shore,” said Tripp Hornick, whose company shuttered its last manufacturing facility in Haverstraw, N.Y., in 2008.
“We fell in love with this building and this county,” he said. “The county has high unemployment (14.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) and high poverty. We believe we can help this area recover and bring in an eco-system around our plant, and that’s an absolute thrill.
“That happened after World War II, when my grandfather moved our manufacturing operations from New York City to Haverstraw. The town was completely rebuilt around Hornick. And that’s what we hope will happen here.”
The company said it is investing $2.5 million in the project. Hornick leaders said the plant will create 125 jobs over the next three years. The company currently is renovating the facility and hiring employees, and hopes to begin some production with May, with full production by June, he said.
Economically, the decision to open a domestic plant makes sense, according to Tripp Hornick. The U.S. facility will make the company cost competitive with Asia and immediately will reduce lead time by 50 percent, he said. And its proprietary firefend™ line of flame-resistant curtains will be cheaper to make in the U.S., he added.
“And let’s not forget the fact that we can as closely as possible control quality,” he said. “The fact it’s $2.50 cheaper for me to make something in the U.S. means I’m able to create American jobs while delivering faster, controlling quality and allowing for a better retail price while everybody has better margins across the board,” he said. “It’s a win-win.
“For example,” he continued, “for our firefend™ product, I don’t believe that safety should have an economic barrier. We have spent years developing a product that truly is good enough to be in the American home, from a style and a quality standpoint. It doesn’t feel like Gore-Tex, it has no topical treatments and it’s machine washable. Importing this? It can’t be done well. Also, no one cares if a sheet is a quarter inch out of tolerance. But everyone in the world cares if a drapery is because you’re hanging it on your window. The tolerances just aren’t achieved overseas. We’re able to maintain our quality to the highest standards of what we expect and what the American consumer deserves.”
In the soft goods industry, Louis Hornick & Co. will be able to hire unskilled and semi-skilled employees, invest in them, pay them well and provide them continuous training, he added. And with that will come a return to a “Crafted with Pride” mentality, he said.
“We’re all proud of what we make,” he said. “How proud is someone who works on a specific drapery in the mill goes into a Walmart store and sees the product they personally made? And they also received a very good paycheck that week and are able to buy other products in that store.”
Made in the USA movement
Tripp Hornick and his father had been considering reopening a manufacturing facility for awhile, he said. And South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. Dept. of Commerce reached out to the company to begin talks, which started the ball rolling.
And the fact that Walmart – a 40-year customer of Louis Hornick – previously announced it would commit billions to its Made in America initiative was icing on the cake, Tripp Hornick said. So the company decided to make the announcement during the SelectUSA Summit hosted by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and Walmart in Washington, D.C. The press conference was attended by Walmart U.S. President Bill Simon, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and the Hornicks.
“Walmart should be applauded over and over again for their initiative,” Tripp Hornick said. “They know what their customer deserves and needs. And it’s better for everyone. They also know that to invigorate the economy, we need to create domestic manufacturing jobs. And other retailers should very well take notice.”
Said Michelle Gloeckler, senior vice president of Home at Walmart, in the original announcement: “Louis Hornick’s decision to open a factory in South Carolina shows that revitalization of U.S. manufacturing is possible. This is a great illustration of what can be accomplished when business leaders, government officials and companies work together.”
The fact the state is the heart of the “Textile Belt” also is a major plus, Tripp Hornick added.
“We have highly trained managers who have been out of work in this industry for years,” he said. “We knew that. And we fell in love with this building and the people here. It all came together in a marvelous way.”
Moving to South Carolina also brings the company closer to many of its suppliers, including Diversified Systems, Inc. (DSI) of Greenville, S.C. DSI, which has worked with Hornick for about two decades, currently is retrofitting some automated sewing systems it produced for Louis Hornick in the ’90s as well as building new, customized equipment for the company.
“It’s wonderful to be working with DSI again from a U.S. standpoint,” Tripp Hornick said. “It all comes back to the fact we’re creating new jobs and sustaining jobs. It’s nice to work with old friends.”
And the feeling is mutual, according to Eddie Burgess, president of Diversified Systems. And the fact the family is moving from New York to South Carolina is a strong testament to their commitment to South Carolina and the business climate in the state, he added.
“We know South Carolina is a good place to do business,” Burgess said. “We think a lot has to do with our port system and the growth of our port system, as well as the infrastructure in South Carolina and the strong commitment of Gov. Haley and the South Carolina Dept. of Commerce to business. It’s great the Hornicks are moving to our state.”
Added Tripp Hornick: “We owe a lot to the state of South Carolina. That’s our new home and we want to ally ourselves with as many South Carolina companies as possible. One of them is McCrory Construction of Columbia, which is handling all of our renovations. And I want to thank Gov. Haley and the State of South Carolina for creating a manufacturing- and business-friendly state.”