WASHINGTON — October 3, 2019 — National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) member Parkdale Mills met with Representative Doug Collins, Ga.-09, today at the company’s recently expanded and upgraded plant in Rabun Gap, Ga., underscoring the continued growth in investment by the U.S. textile industry.
“Northeast Georgia has long been home to a robust textile industry, and it is heartening to see companies like Parkdale continuing the proud legacy in our region,” said Representative Collins. “Parkdale’s commitment to growth and innovation is felt not only by the hardworking Georgians they employ, but by the manufacturing industry as a whole. I’m proud of the major investment they’ve made here in Rabun County, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity to visit their facility today.”
“This plant represents one of the largest textile investments in North America over the last five years,” said Daniel Nation, director of Government Relations at Parkdale, a 103-year-old textile company based in Gastonia, N.C.
Parkdale operates 28 yarn spinning and consumer product producing facilities, employing 5,200 people across eight states.
“U.S. manufacturing is the bedrock of our economy and textile producers like Parkdale have made a strong commitment to investment and jobs as evidenced by our recent completion of a $101-million upgrade to our plant in Rabun Gap,” Nation said. “It is now one of the most modern, automated open-end spinning factories in the world.”
“We thank Congressman Collins for his continued support of the textile industry,” Nation added.
Capital expenditures in plants such as Parkdale’s facility in Rabun Gap have helped drive the overall investment of $20 billion in the industry over the past decade, while contributing to the 50,645 textile jobs in the state of Georgia, which ranks first in textile employment nationally.
From 2009 to 2017, capital investment in U.S. yarn, fabric, apparel and sewn products manufacturing equaled $2.04 billion, an increase of $678 million. U.S. International Trade Commission officials said in a 2018 report on the industry that there were 59 publicly announced new or planned investments in the U.S. textile sector from January 2014 through December 2017.
NCTO is a Washington-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.
- U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.
- The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.
- U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.
- Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.
Posted October 3, 2019
Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)
