Posted May 5, 2014
With meeting season in full stride, I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath lately. But I have caught the good news fever. After a four-year hiatus from the industry, I have a lot of catching up to do, a lot of business friendships to renew, a lot of happy stories to tell.
And, boy, do y’all have some great stories. And this dude is super stoked to tell ’em. Hirings, plant openings, partnerships, joint ventures, expansions, promotions, innovations, groundbreaking research, record attendance numbers, et al. Y’all are keeping this keyboard smokin’.
Time was, in my previous iteration as a textile editor, bad news seemed to outweigh the good maybe 10 to 1. I watched and documented much of the industry’s dramatic demise during what National Council of Textile Organization President Auggie Tantillo last week called the industry’s “category 5 hurricane,” which roughly coincided with my 11-year stint at Southern Textile News. And I must admit, it sometimes made for some cringe-worthy days when I booted up my computer. I wondered: Where would the next shoe drop? Which industry mainstay would throw in the towel next? Who would be consolidating today?
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Times are a-changing today, of course. Call it a reversal, a revival, a resurrection, or whatever. But you survivors have led the way in creating an admirable facsimile of the “good ol’ days.” Now, we all know the heyday is behind us, but doesn’t it feel good to see some tangible, positive things happening to you and around you?
Tantillo and his team at NCTO have a substantive snapshot of your bona fides and the impact you’re having. As he reported to the Southern Textile Association last week, the U.S. textile industry shipped $56.6 billion in goods last year; invested $17.7 billion in new plants and equipment from 2001 to 2011 (and NCTO expects dramatic increases when numbers from the last two years are released); and is the third largest exporter of textile products in the world.
Which ain’t too bad for an industry whose obit was written years ago by numerous naysayers. So keep doing what you’re doing – and keep reaching out to me with your good news. I can handle it.
I don’t want to catch my breath anytime soon.