Posted June 9, 2014

 

By Devin Steele

 

BELMONT, N.C. – Brooks Brothers, the oldest men’s clothier chain in the United States, has an admirable goal – especially for an American apparel company – according to John M. Martynec, the company’s vice president of manufacturing.

 

“Our goal is to produce as much in the United States as we can,” he told members of the Southern Textile Association (STA) during their North Carolina Division meeting here recently. “Some things are challenging, some things we’re very able to do.”

 

Brooks Brothers, founded in 1818, is known as a merchant and a maker, meaning the company manufactures what it sells, Martynec said. Currently, 70 percent of its tailored suits are made in North America, though only a small percentage of shirts are made in the U.S., in Garland, N.C. he said. And all of its neckwear worldwide is made in its facility in Queens, N.Y.

 

The company also operates a suit factory in Haverhill, Mass., which it opened in 2009. Since then, employment there has nearly doubled to almost 500 employees, according to Martynec. All told, Brooks Brothers has more than 900 manufacturing employees producing 110 million suits, 300 million shirts and 1.5 million ties.
 

“We’re proud to make products in the United States,” Martynec said. “People, particularly in the Asian market, perceive that made in America is of higher quality and is a luxury item. Our opportunity is to produce a better quality product and make as much as we can totally in the United States.”

 

The company has 140 retail stores and about 145 outlet stores in the United States and 76 stores in Japan, and it continues to expand globally, he said. And it continues to look for ways to change the way it operates, he said.

 

“It’s not about big runs anymore,” he said. “It’s about flexibility, small runs. Our mantra has been: it’s not making 1,001 things; it’s making one thing a thousand different ways. So what we’re finding out is that’s our competitive advantage because we’re not going to compete with something made offshore at price per unit. But we can offer smaller runs that are economically favorable for us.”

 

Brooks Brothers has more than 100 different product models in 400 different fabrics and orders in production at any given time, he pointed out.

 

In addition to providing small runs with a full range of features, construction and materials, the company is able to compete on service, quality construction, resources and value, Martynec said. Among other things, he said those attributes mean making clothing with raw materials provided by premium suppliers from around the world; providing quick response; using flexible automation providing consistency and efficiency; using systems providing real-time information and detailed data; and providing great American-made products and services at a fair price.

“We’re planning to grow our domestic manufacturing,” he said. “The whole idea is people are dressing differently. Here, I see some people wearing sports coats, a few neckties. It’s more casual. And you keep factories operating by making the right products that become more value add.”

 

“We think made in the USA is an intuitive advantage,” he added.

 

Other speakers

 

STA members also heard from Edmundo Duarte, president and CEO of European Power Management Systems (EUPM), who gave a compelling presentation on controlling and reducing energy consumption through energy management.

 

Duarte, who is based in Atlanta, has worked with several companies, including Jefferson, Ga.-based Buhler Quality Yarns and Hickory, N.C.-based Shuford Yarns, to reduce their energy consumption. EUPM helped these companies reduce their electricity bills by optimizing the power demand and rationalizing increasing electricity costs, he said. Companies implementing EUPM’s systems can real-time monitor their energy profile to identify unnecessary electrical loads and reduce waste, Duarte said.

 

To best manage energy consumption, he said, typical steps include metering and monitoring consumption while collecting data; finding opportunities to save energy and evaluate how much energy each opportunity could save; taking action; and tracking progress.

 

He explained how EUPM’s intelligent Demand Response(iDR) Technology provides a fully automated, 24-hour demand response optimization based on a customized, proprietary load DR algorithm.

 

“iDR Technology is positioned with the purpose of automatically reducing load demand (kW) and active power (kWh) on facilities,” he said. “This achieves a lower load demand profile, reducing consumption, monitoring plant’s energy conservation and sustainability, offering detailed energy-performance tracking.”

 

Also on the program were Michael Wolf, an economist from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC; and Bill Martin of Gaston College, who offered a preview of the TechTextile North America and Texprocess Americas trade shows.