Posted April 20, 2016

 

By Devin Steele (DSteele@eTextileCommunications.com)

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After three days of productive internal functions and meetings on Capitol Hill with elected and appointed government officials last week, then an upbeat general session, textile industry executives left the National Council of Textile Organization’s (NCTO’s) 13th Annual Meeting feeling “amazed,” by many accounts.

 

During the final-day General Session, outgoing Chairman Jeff Price and the public relations firm Wray Ward left attendees with positive messages. During his State of the Industry report, Price, president of the Specialty Fabrics Division at Milliken & Co., Spartanburg, S.C., said he was pleased that the industry is on “sound footing” – a far cry from recent years – and representatives of the Charlotte, N.C.-based P.R. agency unveiled a compelling industry rebranding campaign. The campaign’s tagline: “American Textiles. We Make Amazing.”

 

“Between 1995 and 2009, our industry suffered through a historic and heartbreaking contraction that impacted countless workers and communities,” said Price, who was succeeded as chairman by Rob Chapman, chairman, CEO and Treasurer of Inman Mills, Inman, S.C. “The last six years, however, have been different. Emerging from the depths of a severe national recession, the U.S. textile sector has rebounded. 

 

“Now, our challenge is both to sustain this impressive recovery and to find viable ways to generate a new era of growth,” he added.

 

Also during the meeting, William V. McCrary Jr., president & CEO of William Barnet and Son LLC, Spartanburg, S.C., was elected vice chairman, becoming the third consecutive person from a Spartanburg County, S.C.-based company to serve in an elected leadership position with the council and the fourth from South Carolina.

 

State of the Industry report

 

During his report, Price reviewed some of the industry’s key numbers that help tell the “sound footing” story. First of all, he noted, in 2015, the value of U.S. manmade fiber and filament, textile and apparel shipments totaled an estimated $76 billion – an increase of almost 14 percent since 2009. Further, he said, the sector’s supply chain employs 579,000 people, including 116,400 jobs in textile mills.

 

“A look back to employment data from 2009 onward further illustrates that precipitous job losses have virtually stopped,” he said. “Today, job gains and losses likely are the result of normal business cycles, new investment or productivity increases instead of being tied to the massive loss of market share, as was the case in the 1995-2008 timeframe.”

 

Since 2009, Price continued, U.S. exports of fiber, yarns, fabrics, made-ups and apparel are up 38 percent, reaching almost $27.8 billion in 2015. In particular, the U.S. has a strong export position in fiber, yarns and fabrics, he added. Exports of those products totaled $21.6 billion alone in 2015, making America the fourth largest exporter of fiber and textile products in the world, he noted.

 

“Growing capital expenditures are also a clear sign of our industry’s positive outlook,” Price said, pointing out that the textile and apparel sector spent $2 billion on capital expenditures in 2014, the latest year for which data is available. 

 

Investment in textile mills and textile product mills has seen especially explosive growth, climbing from $960 million in 2009 to $1.8 billion in 2014 – an increase if 87 percent, he added.

 

In “even better news,” capacity utilization for textile mills exceeded that for all manufacturing during three out of four quarters in 2015, he continued. And, finally, the index calculating change in industrial production demonstrates that the textile industry is “no longer a negative outlier within the U.S. manufacturing sector,” Price said.

 

Since 2009, he reported, industrial production is:

 

• up 12.2 percent for textile mills;

• up 3.2 percent for textile product mills;

• down 17.8 percent for apparel; and

• up 20 percent for all U.S. manufacturing.

 

But since 2012, however, growth in industrial production by textile mills has exceeded that of all U.S. manufacturing, Price said.

 

“Wrapping up the numbers, the fundamentals for our industry are sound,” he said. “That does not mean, however, that we are free of challenges. Our sector has begun to see changes in demand as the global economy struggles to grow. Downturns in the business cycle are natural to every manufacturing sector and all of us need our own specific strategies for weathering difficult market conditions.”

 

On policy matters, Price of course touched on the recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the NCTO’s board voted to endorse in January, given that its required provisions were included in the pact’s language.

 

“This endorsement, however, did not come without a full weighing of the various shortcomings and tradeoffs that were included in the final text,” he said.

 

There were a number of legitimate concerns, however, he said. Most notable was the inclusion of a short supply list that waived yarn-forward mandates for nearly 190 items, he pointed out. 

 

“NCTO since has communicated our displeasure with certain aspects of the agreement to the Obama administration and Congress so as to lay a foundation to prevent a repetition of these objectionable provisions in future agreements,” he said.

 

“With that said,” he continued, “no trade agreement is perfect. But in this instance, U.S. negotiators struck a balanced deal that met NCTO’s key objectives.”

 

The textile sector is unique because changes in trade policy often can affect its business with serious, unpredictable consequences, he added.

 

“It is for this reason that we as an industry, and certainly as a trade association, must engage in the Washington policy process; otherwise we will have no working relationship with those who are shaping our government’s position on trade,” Price said.

 

He also touched on NCTO’s concerns with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreement, Tariff Preference Level (TPL) arrangements and the languishing Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

 

Among other good-news items, Price discussed the NCTO’s work to help secure the Revolutionary Fibers & Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute and the industry’s rebranding campaign.

 

On the latter, he said, “We simply cannot allow parties that oppose our policy agenda to perpetuate the false notion that we are antiquated and non-competitive. Instead, it is our responsibility to paint a picture for opinion leaders and consumers that displays the textile industry’s true technical and innovative prowess.”

 

He concluded with a reminder that challenges remain and involvement is crucial.

 

“Whether it be a soft global economy, the prospect of implementing the most important trade agreement in two decades or just being committed to the goal of becoming a better industry tomorrow than we are today, complacency is not an option,” he said.

 

“My parting challenge to my fellow industry colleagues is this; if you are involved, stay involved; if not, get involved, and support this organization to greatest degree possible,” he said.

 

Rebranding campaign

 

Wray Ward reps John Mader, vice president, and Michael Cable, P.R. lead, presented a compelling overview of the NCTO-commissioned rebranding campaign it has been in engaged in for nearly a year. The objective of the campaign:

 

“To develop a multi-year public awareness campaign that will educate and engage target audiences, building support, strengthening alliances and creating a more positive and accurate perception of the 21st century U.S. textile industry.”

 

The delved into the process they undertook, which included interviewing 10 industry influencers. A general perception they discovered early: “That textiles is a dirty word,” Mader said. From policy makers’ perspective, a lot of members of Congress view the textile industry as “an industry that’s on its last leg,” he added.

 

But based on measures the industry has taken to modernize and innovate, a resonating theme early on was that the industry was ready for a remake, Mader said.

 

Cable took the dais to bring the campaign to live through pictures, videos and storytelling. Eight categories will help illustrate the “American Textiles: We Make Amazing” campaign, he added. U.S. textiles are:

 

• Amazingly Brave

• Amazingly Sustainable

• Amazingly Carefree

• Amazingly Life-Saving

• Amazingly Fashionable

• Amazingly Ingenious

• Amazingly Sheltered

• Amazingly Bold

 

“These will be the catalysts for you and your teams,” Cable said

 

As such, he said, he encouraged attendees to share positive stories and to help influence the perception held by journalists “news stories about the textile industry reflect our view in order to create positive awareness among our audiences.”

 

Beyond the media, he urged members to communicate directly with business partners and influencers “to change the perception of the industry among this vested population.” Also, he encouraged attendees to partner with NCTO to use social media as an avenue for sharing information, engaging with audiences and connecting companies across the industry and driving traffic to the industry’s story.”

 

As part of the campaign, a magazine called “TEXTURES” that encapsulates the industry’s amazing story was distributed.

 

Anyone who would like to contribute positive stories or ideas about the industry for the campaign, please send email here.