Joe Quinn of Walmart discusses the retailer's commitment to American-made goods.
Joe Quinn of Walmart keynotes the AATCC International Conference.
An audience member participates in the Q&A with Joe Quinn.
Joe Quinn of Walmart discusses the retailer's commitment to American-made goods.
Walmart leader reaffirms company’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing
Posted April 13, 2017
By Seshadri Ramkumar
WILMINGTON, N.C. – As part of reviving U.S. manufacturing, Walmart is advocating for developing talent and technology, a senior leader at the world’s largest retail said during the AATCC International Conference here last month.
Speaking recently to a standing room only audience, Joe Quinn, senior director of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Walmart, presented a case for growing talent and new technologies to drive growth in manufacturing and the economy. His remarks centered around Walmart’s well-publicized, $250 billion commitment to buy American-made goods through 2023. That translates into 250,000 new manufacturing jobs, plus three supplier jobs to every one added, he said.
The skills gap worries retailers such as Walmart, Quinn said, and companies are supporting domestic manufacturing, which is seeing an improving image these days as clean, well paid and technologically advanced. As long as it is economical and of good quality, leading companies will go for U.S. manufacturing and suppliers, he said in keynoting the conference.
“The stereotype of youngsters today is that manufacturing sort of scary, sort of old and doesn’t pay that well,” Quinn said. “But you go into a plant today and its highly robotic, highly clean, cutting edge and innovative.”
“I heard last night that the biggest challenge facing the textile industry is the inability to find new talent,” he added. “I know there is a talent gap out there.”
He highlighted an example of how Walmart worked with Statesville N.C.-based Homestar, a furniture manufacturer, in delivering high-quality goods.
Walmart, which started in 1962, is the world’s largest retain chain with 5,300 retail shops, which constantly adapts to new technologies as evidenced with their grocery pick-up program, Quinn pointed out.
Companies are seriously looking into procuring products domestically, diverting from China, although there are some challenges to do that. Quinn gave some advice on how to shift business from China, including locating locally made goods, increasing access to finance for small businesses and improving the talent pool, to name a few.
Made in America matters, Quinn said, because U.S. customers have indicated that they care that products are made domestically, and sourcing at home provides better inventory management and quicker response to the customer.
Quinn’s closing statement that may be music to domestic manufacturers is that “we are in good place with talented young people and new technologies.”
Growing young people with interest in manufacturing and developing new technologies are important to grow diversified economies, he added.
“Whether it’s patio furniture, bicycles, apparel or anything else we’re touching, we’re trying to get better at bringing jobs home and getting suppliers closer to us,” he said. “There’s not doubt, textiles and apparel in many ways are the toughest challenge, the most complex challenge. But I think we are incrementally doing the right thing. We are incrementally telling our story on a day-to-day basis that this matters a great deal.”
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D, FTA (honorary), is a professor at the Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech.
Attendance at 10-year high
AATCC experiences membership growth, pleasant surprise
at Int'l Conference
Posted April 13, 2017
By Devin Steele (DSteele@eTextileCommunications.com)
WILMINGTON, N.C. – During the Awards Luncheon portion of AATCC’s annual International Conference here last month, the association received some pleasantly surprising news.
Warren Perkins, treasurer of the AATCC and the AATCC Foundation, announced that earlier that morning, Past AATCC President and Treasurer Charles Gavin III had handed him a check for $40,000, made out to the AATCC Foundation.
Gavin gave this gift in honor of longtime AATCC members and/or leaders Perry Grady, Nelson Houser, Peter Hauser and Executive Director Jack Daniels, and requested that these four honorees establish a new AATCC Foundation scholarship. The annual value of the scholarship will be $5,000 coming from Gavin’s donation and possibly matching funds from other sources, Perkins said.
Gavin was on hand for the conference and was scheduled to comment on the award, but a brief, sudden illness prevented him from attending the function.
“We deeply appreciate Charles’ generous donation,” Perkins said. “Hopefully, others will want to contribute to this new scholarship fund so that the investments grow and the scholarship can be awarded annually for many years to come.”
Thanks to a previous gift from Gavin and his family, a $6,000 annual scholarship to a rising freshman or undergraduate at Georgia Tech or Auburn University already exists as part of the foundation’s offerings. He has also funded an AATCC Foundation scholarship at the University of Rhode Island, and has donated to other AATCC Foundation scholarship funds.
AATCC President Bert Truesdale III of TenCate offered more information about the foundation as well as association activities during the Awards Luncheon. But first, in his welcoming remarks, he offered a few thoughts on leading the group, and expressed appreciation to members.
“I am in the first quarter of my AATCC presidency, and am learning a lot about this great professional textile association,” he told members. “I can attest to the fact that being president of this organization is hard work and challenging. It’s made easier with the combined wisdom of those who have preceded me, and we are fortunate to have a number of past AATCC presidents with us.
He also added: “All our members are valuable to AATCC. As you have seen and heard during the last two days, the textile field is constantly evolving, and new ways to create and use textiles are being announced every day. Your involvement in this association continues to ensure that our test methods are current with the changing textile industry, and that they are effectively understood and used worldwide.”
The conference attracted 280 members and guests from around the world, the highest turnout for this event since 2007.
Association accomplishments highlighted
Truesdale went on to cite a number of the association’s accomplishments over the past year. One of its key successes was that individual membership increased by more than 13 percent and corporate membership grew by more than 6 percent, he reported. He thanked past immediate Past President Sandy Johnson of Color Solutions International, the membership staff and all of the volunteers who helped make this achievement possible.
He also noted that the AATCC Journal of Research’s peer review management system, which will greatly assist authors and reviewers of articles for this publication, was publicly launched.
“In other publications-related activities, we customized and installed a media archiving system to help keep track and make searchable hundreds of photos and other media records,” he said.
In the technical area, the association has listed for Committee RA88’s Monograph 6 a new washing machine and dryers for related laundering tests, one of the Technical Department’s recent pressing issues, Truesdale said.
“Hopefully, you all have read the recent news that AATCC’s test methods are now listed in the ASTM COMPASS® electronic licensing platform, which also provides links to related ASTM standards,” he said. “Our highly popular Proficiency Testing modules have now been updated and transitioned to a web-based platform, and participating labs can now retain a copy of their submitted data sheets and can more easily retrieve passwords.”
Several successful technical workshops also took place, Truesdale reported, included its first LED Lighting Summit, its Flammability Symposium, its Digital Textile Printing Conference in conjunction with SGIA and its Moisture Management Workshop.
The AATCC Foundation made great strides last year, too, Truesdale noted. The foundation reached the $1 million mark in cumulative gifts received and provided more than $60,000 in scholarships and research grants last year alone, he added.
“I want to specifically thank the countless individuals who give unselfishly of their time by volunteering to work on our many committees; provide leadership and encouragement to our sections, interest groups and meetings; attend meetings; and tirelessly promote AATCC to their networks around the world,” Truesdale said. “Our volunteers are the most essential part of our association, and you are all greatly appreciated.”
The luncheon included the conferring of various awards, including the: Olney Medal to Dr. Gang Sun, professor at UC-Davis; the Harold C. Chapin Award to Adi B. Chehna; the Young Entrepreneur Award to Cody Reynolds, CEO and co-founder of Additive Drug-Delivering Devices Inc. (AD3); the Technical Committee on Research (TCR) Service Award to Carla MacClamrock of Cotton Incorporated; the J.W. Weaver Paper of the Year Award; and the Herman and Myrtle Goldstein Student Paper competition awards.