Spartanburg-based Milliken & Company ranks as the 38th best company in FORTUNE Magazine’s
annual “100 Best Companies to Work” For listing. The list and related stories appears in the
January 23 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands January 16 and at www.fortune.com on January
9. Milliken is the only South Carolina-based company to make the list. Additionally, Milliken ranks
15th among mid-sized companies.
“It is no secret that the best
companies are made up of the best people – and we are certainly blessed in that regard,” stated Dr.
Ashley Allen, president and CEO of Milliken. “Milliken associates have worked together to build a
great place to work, and I am glad we can all be recognized as the thirty-eighth best company in
America,” continued Allen.
Despite the benefits that companies on the list offer employees, globalization has made it
harder for even the best of them to treat employees well. “The good news is that some companies are
doing it anyway,” says FORTUNE senior editor-at-large Geoffrey Colvin in his introduction to the
list. “Extraordinary by definition, America’s 100 Best Companies to Work For have pushed their
employee-pleasing ways further than ever in the past year, blazing a trail for all organizations
wanting to thrive in today’s economic world.”
Regarding Milliken, the FORTUNE web site answers the profile question of, “What makes it so
great?”, with the following: Employees have great affection for CEO Roger Milliken, whose family
founded this textile company in 1865. “Thankfully, someone in this country cares about the American
worker and what he stands for,” said one employee.
Milliken has long been a fierce advocate for preserving American jobs. The Company has faced
tough Asian competition in recent years as part of the embattled textile industry.
Milliken also evokes pride in other ways. “It is easy to take pride in a company that
promotes environmental stewardship and safety to the degree that Milliken does,” stated Richard
Dillard, director of public affairs. The Company landfills less than 1% of its waste — a result of
stringent recycling efforts, and touts an accident incident rate of only .55 compared to the
textile industry average of 4.0 and to 6.6 for all U.S. industries. (Source: US Bureau of Labor
Statistics).
“The 100 Best Companies to Work For” list is compiled for FORTUNE by Robert Levering and
Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco, based on two criteria: an
evaluation of the policies and culture of each company, and the opinions of the company’s
employees. The latter is given more weight; two-thirds of the total score comes from employee
responses to a 57-question survey which goes to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from
each company. More than 100,000 employees from 466 companies participated in the survey this year,
up from 356 candidate companies last year. It asks about things such as attitudes towards
management, job satisfaction, and camaraderie within the organization. The remaining one-third of
the score is based on an evaluation of each company’s demographic makeup, pay and benefits
programs, and culture. Companies are scored in four areas: credibility (communication to
employees), respect (opportunities and benefits), fairness (compensation, diversity), and
pride/camaraderie (philanthropy, celebrations). Companies that are at least seven years old and
have 1,000 or more employees are eligible for the list.
Milliken has attributed much of its success to a quality process, with associate involvement
at all levels, combined with its continuous education process.
Press Release Courtesy of Milliken & Company
January 2006
