C
ary, N.C.-based Cotton Incorporated unveiled its MILLNet software for Windows® at its
recent Engineered Fiber Selection® (EFS®) System Conference, which also included presentations on
cottons sustainability, global cotton yield and consumption, and the home and apparel textile
markets. The eight panel presentations at the 19th edition of the conference, which was held over
two days in Greenville, emphasized technology’s role in the sustainability and worldwide
competitiveness of cotton fiber.
Cotton Incorporated Board Chairman S.
Louie Perry explained in his opening remarks that technology is key in “giving us a leg up in the
field and the factory,” adding that “[k]eeping up with technology advances keeps your business on
the cutting edge.”
Cotton Incorporated President and CEO J. Berrye Worsham (left) presents the 2006 Cotton
Achievement Award to Sara Lee Branded Apparel’s Vern C. Tyson at the recent EFS® System
Conference.
The latest addition to the company’s EFS System, a suite of cotton management software
programs, is MILLNet software for Windows, which tracks the purchase, receipt and use of cotton
using high-volume instruments (HVI) classification data. Features of the new program include
enhanced graphics and customization of reports, graphs, and other data. Users also may export data
to Microsoft® Office applications such as Word or Excel.
The EFS System, which includes other programs such as EFS-USCROP™, QRNet32, MILLNet and
MILLNet32™, allows for the evaluation, inventory and handling of different types of cotton fiber
for the production of high-quality yarn. According to the company, program users apply each cotton
fiber’s unique properties to their growing, ginning, spinning and processing methods, allowing them
to produce statistically uniform cotton mixes for specific end-uses.
“Over the past 20 years, the increased use of the EFS System software and the feedback from
users at these conferences have helped us keep the software in step with our clients needs,” said
Charles Chewning Jr., vice president, Fiber Management Research Group, Cotton Incorporated.
Another conference feature was a special presentation on cottons sustainability and how it
compares to that of man-made fibers. Because of certain agricultural advancements such as
genetically modified seeds and integrated pest management, cotton growers have reduced the amount
of land, water and pesticides needed, according to research presented at the conference. Conference
attendees also reviewed an attitudinal survey that showed consumers perceive cotton to be
environmentally friendly.
Additionally, Cotton Incorporated honored Vern C. Tyson, vice president of cotton purchasing
for Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Sara Lee Branded Apparel, as the 2006 Cotton Achievement Award
recipient. Tyson manages the purchasing, warehousing and distribution of cotton for Sara Lees seven
manufacturing operations, which account for approximately 13 percent of the total US cotton
consumption, said J. Berrye Worsham, president and CEO, Cotton Incorporated, during his
presentation of the award.
Since 1991, Cotton Incorporated has given the award to individuals who have increased cottons
profitability by advancing the marketing of the EFS System and US Department of Agriculture HVI
testing.
July/August 2006
