Posted May 6, 2015

 

Here are a few nuggets from the road:

 

• At the Southern Textile Association’s Northern Division meeting last week in Greensboro, N.C., Division President Andrew Barker of Matrix Yarns called a moment of silence for Steve Brown, the longtime STA member who spent most of his career with Picanol of America before joining Itema America. “Wonder Boy,” as he was affectionately known, succumbed to cancer in December. Nice touch by Barker for a gone-but-not-forgotten industry “legend.”

 

• Speaking of that meeting at the Grandover, Jim Chesnutt, president & CEO of National Spinning Co., Washington, N.C. attended with a number of his company brethren. It’s always nice to see the longtime industry leader, especially when he has the opportunity to publicly air some of the industry’s concerns with a public official. Worth the price of admission.

 

• Just saw that representatives of China company Keer America, whose massive yarn production facility is going up in Indian Land, S.C., have joined the STA. Good to know our Chinese friends are beginning to assimilate with their industry colleagues on these shores.

 

• Trade Promotion Authority (fast track) is hot on the legislative agenda in D.C., of course. My friend and industry colleague David Trumbull of Agathon Associates provides an inside look at the constitutionality and other matters regarding TPA in a column that appeared in the Boston Post-Gazette newspaper and on his website. David is an expert on international trade policy, international standards and textile labeling issues, including rules and compliance. Worth a read.

 

• Are you on Twitter yet? I tried it out early on, thinking it might be a novelty – especially with a 142-character limit on tweets. But especially from a business perspective, it helps people like me stay “in the know” in real time. It definitely can be useful to your business in connecting your brand to customers and staying informed. Follow me here.

 

• I had the opportunity recently to visit the Manufacturing Solutions Center in Conover, N.C., and came away quite impressed. The modern, 30,000-square-foot facility, led by director Dan St. Louis, specializes in all manufacturing but has strong roots in the textile (especially hosiery) sector. If you’re looking for a resource for training, testing, research & development, marketing, engineering and more, you should check it out.

 

• I was pleased to learn that Derick Close, CEO and owner of Springs Creative Products Group, Rock Hill, S.C., was named Leader of the Year by North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles. The affable industry leader, whose family ties to the industry date back to the 1800s, has a long resume of giving back to the university and the industry. Well-deserved recognition for this visionary and philanthropist.

 

That’s all for now. Hope to see you out here somewhere.