American & Efird Inc. (A&E), a Mount Holly, N.C.-based manufacturer of yarn and thread, has
signed a joint venture agreement with India-based Vardhman Textiles Ltd. to manufacture, distribute
and sell sewing thread for Indian and export consumer and industrial markets. The agreement
provides for A&E to own 35 percent of the venture upon closing, with assumption of an
additional 14 percent over the next five years. Vardhman will contribute its sewing thread
operations to the northern India-based joint venture, while A&E will contribute cash.
As the second-largest thread company in India, Vardhman had sales of some $69 million in
fiscal year 2007. The company has had a license to produce and sell A&E products in India since
2001. It also produces and markets yarns, fabrics, fiber and alloy steel, and had total
consolidated sales of some $476 million in 2007.
“This strategic joint venture leverages the strengths of both companies to expand thread
sales in India’s rapidly growing sewn products market and further expands A&E’s presence in
this important region of Asia,” said Thomas W. Dickson, chairman of the board, president and CEO,
Ruddick Corp., A&E’s parent company.
March 25, 2008
