Posted August 2, 2017

 

By Devin Steele (DSteele@eTextileCommunications.com)

 

GREENWOOD, S.C. – For a number of Greenwood Mills corporate employees, July 20th probably felt like a homecoming of sorts.

 

That’s when the company moved back to the renovated, Extreme Makeover-worthy corporate headquarters after 15 years occupying its former Information Center building near its now-closed Mathews Plant several miles away from the charming uptown area.

 

The fabric production company officially opened the “new” headquarters on the fourth floor of The Greenwood Building, inviting customers, suppliers, friends and family for the official grand opening.

 

“We’d like to welcome some folks back after 15 years in the wilderness,” W.M. “Bubba” Self Jr., CEO and president of Greenwood Communities and Resorts, Inc., quipped in opening the celebration.

 

Self’s cousin, James C. “Jay” Self III, president & CEO of Greenwood Mills and GMI Management Services, Inc., told guests on hand that the company’s move back uptown “is not a symbol of our success” and “there are still many things we need to do to recover from 2001, but this space is a tool to help us achieve this goal.”

 

Addressing attendees on hand for the occasion, he also provided an historical perspective of the building and the company’s recent history. The building was built as the Oregon Hotel more than 100 years ago before burning in 1903 and being rebuilt and purchased by Greenwood Mills in the 1960s.
 

“In 2001, Greenwood Mills occupied most of this building,” said Jay Self, whose family has owned and operated the company for more than a century. “As a company, we were in a lot of trouble then. China had gained immediate access to our markets, with their joining the World Trade Organization with duty-free access. The result was devastating to the U.S. textile industry, and we were no exception. Part of our turnaround plan was to get out of this building and relocate to Mathews, selling this building to our real estate company and charging them with filling it with renters.”

 

By 2004, Greenwood Mills had increased its yarn capacity at the Harris Plant, and by outsourcing more yarn – most of it to Parkdale – it was able to move out of the Mathews Plant area, which left the company with just the office on Morgan Ave., Jay Self added.

 

But significant structural issues meant the building, built in 1940 to serve as the corporate headquarters at the time, would need to be renovated, he said. So management began exploring alternatives.

 

“We settled on starting a new company called GMI Management Services, Inc. to provide corporate support functions for all of our operating companies,” said Jay Self, referring to Greenwood Mills, Greenwood Development and The Self Family Foundation. “This floor was the one area that had not been leased and, it too, was in need of renovations.”

 

Angela Self, who owns a consulting business called Vital Spaces that is involved in construction management with an emphasis on healthy environments, was hired to head the project.

 

“Transformations just seem magical to me, and I loved this transformation – the transformation from an outdated, vacant space into a beautiful, open, inviting space, where people are excited to come to work,” she told guests.

 

A few highlights of the modernization, Angela Self explained, include:

 

• The Calla series by Armstrong ceiling tiles, which are 76 percent recycled, and provide better air quality by reduced VOC emissions and are Living Building Challenge compliant, she said;

 

• Water bottle filling stations that dispense “some of the cleanest, healthiest water possible,” she said, as those in most offices filter only one toxin, generally lead, and “there are thousands of toxins in water,” she added;

 

• The exclusive use of Ecos Zero VOC paint. “While many paints advertise zero VOC, they can still contain harmful chemicals because they are not required to be identified on the label. This company excludes these harmful chemicals, and although our painter had never used these paints, he let me know he loved using these products.”

 

• A combination nursing/peloton room. “A peloton is an indoor bike with a screen that offers all sorts of on-demand workout programs,” she said.

 

• A general lack of carpet, as carpet may decrease air quality.

 

“The goal here was to create a working environment that would enhance our Greenwood family, and also provide a place that would attract others to join us,” Jay Self said. “When you look at what we really do at GMI, I can sum it up thusly: We positively impact the lives of the people we interact with on a daily basis. Fabrics, blue jeans and real estate are just the vehicles we choose to do it – whether it’s providing jobs for our Youth Apprenticeship program participants so high school kids can save for college or providing a livelihood for our associates, customers or the end users of our products such as American soldiers serving in harm’s way, the high-voltage workers whose uniforms protect them from flash fires or simply a memorable vacation for a family on Hilton Head.”

 

Corporate employees moved into the new space two weeks before the official grand opening, but that was enough time for Jay Self to notice a huge difference, he told eTC.

 

“I have seen improved morale and closeness of our work family with the collaborative work spaces,” he said. “With the work the city has done to attract businesses back to uptown, it is just a vibrant place to work.”