For Moody, these days must feel like déjà vu. He helped lead the company during boom times in the 1980s, and the company appears to be on a trajectory for another fortuitous run. He, along with other investors, bought the company (then named Singer Supreme) in 1978 when it was selling only about five machines a month. As fashion changed, T-shirts became sportswear and sweatshirts became popular, so the new Vanguard Supreme developed the No. 1 T-shirt knitting machine in the world and an advanced sweatshirt knitting machine, Moody said. And for eight or nine years, the company averaged sales of about 100 machines per month, he added.
That got the attention of Massachusetts-based Dave Pernick, the founder of Monarch Knitting Machine Co. So he bought Vanguard Supreme from Moody, Leo Yates and Irving Bienstock in 1986 and operated it as a division under the same name. And he allowed the three previous owners to oversee the business in Monroe.
“I can’t say enough good things about Dave,” Moody said of Pernick, who died in April at 94. “He let us run the business as we knew how. He spent more than $20 million on equipment. He put in a retirement plan for our employees and he added air conditioning in this building. He was forward thinking. And we sold tons of machines.”
Moody and his leadership team certainly appear to be forward thinking, too. And thanks to that, he is enjoying a number of back-to-the-future moments today. Vanguard Pai Lung continues to invest in technology, staff and expertise, and it is thinking in new ways. The company has taken the lead in figuring out better methods of doing business and bringing manufacturing back to America.
And such persistence will likely pay off – for all of our good.
Posted July 15, 2014
Persistence often pays off, Bill Moody has learned. After two unsuccessful bids to buy back the company he had owned for eight years, he finally was able to convince the owners of Vanguard Supreme, a division of Monarch, to sell it to him and other investors in 2009. At the time, the knitting machinery business, along with the textile and apparel industry, was in the doldrums. But Moody, with a strong financial background, saw an opportunity for a company that had been whittled down but had the potential to return to profitability, he said.
And in five years, the move has proven to be a smart one, thanks to the company’s investing in technology and people and thinking creatively. Now named Vanguard Pai Lung, the company is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of knitting machines, and it is helping spearhead the effort to help bring textile and apparel manufacturing back to America. As you can read in this week’s top story, Vanguard Pai Lung is involved in some incredible projects aimed at not only helping its business succeed but helping its brand and retail customers and others in the industry improve, as well. And it’s doing so with “made in America” in mind.
I recently visited the company in Monroe, N.C., and met with Moody and some of his management team – and came away super impressed with the things the company is doing and where it is headed. I quickly learned that this isn’t your father’s knitting machine manufacturing company – well, unless your name is Angela White, Tim Moody, Mike Moody, Patrick Moody or Mary Kate Moody. Their father is Bill and they all work for the company. But it’s hardly the same company that has thrived for years merely making knitting machines. It still does that, of course. But now, with its partner Pai Lung in Taiwan, it’s on the cutting edge of technological advances – and is resolute in getting likeminded companies in the same room to figure out new and improved ways to be competitive – in this country. (In doing so, the company indeed is living up to the name “Vanguard.”)
Vanguard Pai Lung’s work with AM4U, which has developed a waterless dyeing and printing system, and their efforts with several partners in creating a "Design Center" to assist brand owners and retailers on fabric and other issues seems like the last things they would be involved in. Yet such a creative mentality is just what this industry needs to stand out and shine in today’s ever-changing environment.
Back to the future
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