But Aaron Feuerstein is one to live up to his obligations.

 

What had put him in the spotlight eight years earlier was an obligation he felt for his employees. On Dec. 11, 1995, a fire destroyed the company’s operations, affecting the jobs and livelihoods of 1,700 citizens of this small town. But Feuerstein announced he would rebuild the plant and continue to pay the idle employees – rather than keep the $300 million in insurance money and run – and he did so in full for the next three months as the plant was rebuilt. That benevolence landed him in the spotlight. He was featured on 60 Minutes in 2002 in a segment called, “The Mench of Malden Mills,” in Reader’s Digest and in many other media outlets. And he was mentioned in President Clinton’s 1996 State of the Union address.

 

So I was saddened to learn late last week that Malden Mills’ successor organization, Polartec, LLC, announced it would close the plant and move operations to Hudson, N.H., and Cleveland, Tenn. The company, which produces Polartec® fabric for the military and high-end outdoor apparel brands, cited increased market pressure and vast amounts of unused space in the facility Feuerstein had rebuilt. The mill now employs up to 300 full-time and seasonal employees.

 

Feuerstein – who turned 90 Friday, which, incidentally, was the 20th anniversary of the fire – called the action “disgrace.”

 

“All those jobs are lost, after we dedicated ourselves to keeping them,” Feuerstein, who is no longer involved in the business, told The Boston Globe. “We considered our workers stakeholders, a part of the factory. They consider workers just a pair of hands. You can get a pair of hands in many places.”

 

Now, I’m not one to question any company’s decisions – every firm has tough ones to make – but I’m not against publically shaking my head sometimes at various actions, particularly when they defy the wishes of one of our industry’s many “good guys.” And you can put Feuerstein at the top of that category. He spent a lifetime trying to keep the third-generation, family-owned business running and employing as many local residents as possible. And Malden Mills, as most U.S. textile companies, had a number of difficulties staying afloat during the industry’s tumultuous downturn.

 

During that STA meeting in 2003, Feuerstein explained the reasoning behind the care he had for his employees – and why manufacturing jobs are important.

 

"When the average worker has a production job, he can hold his head high," he said. "He has a job that is not below the poverty line. He's getting paid well. He has benefits. He can take care of his family. He can send his children to school. And he is somebody. But when you take that production job away, what job is he going to have? Making beds in this hotel? Or sweeping the floors in this hotel? He'll be paid a minimum wage, which is still a lot higher than any place else in the world, but that minimum wage is below the poverty level. And he'll feel like a nobody.”