Commission circular knitting company Alandale Knitting LLC, Troy, N.C., is celebrating 50 years in business this year. Founded in 1966 by Alan Gutschmit, the company has grown to house 225 machines offering a production capacity of more than 500,000 pounds per week.
The late founder garnered 18 patents for textile processing systems including the Filter Flow™ lint cleaning system, yarn threading technologies and tools for detecting broken hooks and needles. All of his innovations still are in use today at Alandale.
The company recently gathered employees, suppliers and friends at its 120,000-square-foot facility to recognize this milestone anniversary.
“While the U.S. textile industry has clearly had its ups and downs over the years, Alandale Knitting has always been recognized as the go-to provider for new and difficult constructions,” said Don Trexler, president. “Our ability to quickly deliver high quality, complex knit programs enables us to fulfill the needs of both new brands that are focusing on Made in USA goods and established companies that are looking for specific technical capabilities, extra capacity, or the benefits of reshoring. We are, of course, also accomplished in providing greige fabric programs to serve the needs of our clients that produce in the NAFTA and CAFTA-DR regions.”
November/December 2016
