industrial and post-consumer plastic into staple fibers
for technical and industrial applications, keeping plastic waste out of landfills.
With a focus on meeting the U.S. textile supply chain’s increasing appetite for recycled and sustainable fiber solutions, USFibers eyes future growth.
TW Special Report
Whether for the automotive, filtration, nonwoven, furniture, or geotextile industry, USFibers is creating recycled polyester fiber to meet the specific needs of clients. Manufacturing in Trenton, S.C., for more than 25 years, this growing company has embraced “Recycling for a better planet” as part of its “Excellence Through Innovation” initiative.
USFibers is a minority-owned, ISO 9001:2015 registered company that is focused on post-consumer and post-industrial recycling. It specializes in manufacturing both recycled and virgin polyester staple fiber with an emphasis on various technical and industrial applications. The company is driven by a vision to provide innovative and sustainable fiber solutions — basic building links of the textile supply chain — to all sectors of the global market. Its commitment to this vision is best summarized below:
“USFibers is committed to fighting pollution by tackling the problem from the source by recycling plastic before it ends up in the landfills. It also lowers carbon footprints by helping companies reclaim their plastic rather than expend more energy and resources to manufacture the products from new material.”
Staying Close To The Customer
“USFibers is a company that is constantly evolving,” said Ted Oh, vice president of operations. “We began in 1994 as a domestic polyester trading company. Our president and founder, Edward Oh, had the vision to establish distribution in the Southeast, since it was in close proximity to the end users. We installed our first staple fiber capacity in 2002 and have consistently expanded, increasing not only our fiber capacity, but improving our product line to meet more critical applications and markets as well. USFibers has even received an award for excellence by the Governor of South Carolina.”
Recycling — The Beginning And The End Of The Supply Chain
USFibers recycles approximately 135 million pounds of post-industrial and post-consumer waste each year.
The company has grown through a continued investment in technology and staff. “Our products are dependent on both art and science — art, in the ability to blend materials to meet product specifications, and science in developing and enhancing recycling techniques in order to produce a consistent product with the most positive environmental impact,” said Steve Zagorski, vice president of new business development. “For both these things, it is necessary to have a skilled and experienced workforce. This combination of artistic and scientific focus enables us to deliver value to our clients because we manufacture our fiber to meet precise customer requirements. We keep inventory to provide just-in-time delivery and have more than 100 years of combined technical expertise.”
Recycling, Traceability In The Mainstream
The business model that USFibers has adopted will continue to contribute to significant industry trends of sustainability and environmentally-friendly supply chain solutions.
“Recycling has changed tremendously and advanced technically due to multiple polymers mixed in the product stream,” Oh said. “USFibers has focused on new methods and technology. Because we recycle our own waste streams, sustainability is critical to our success. Additionally, we must be able to trace all of the fibers we produce back to the raw material blend that we use and each of its components.”
“The demand for recycled products continues to increase over time,” Zagorski said. “We see growth in all market segments as the value proposition for using recycled materials continues to grow. Consumer recycling efforts have not kept pace with that demand in the United States, thus the need for more industrial recycling. We feel we offer the most cost-effective solution by providing our customers with one stop shopping.”
Committed To Recycling For A Sustainable Supply Chain
As a firm committed to fighting pollution at its source by recycling plastic before it ends up in the landfills, USFibers helps clients enable a reduction in the U.S. textile supply chain’s overall carbon footprint.
“The work itself motivates me,” Zagorski mentioned. “Helping our customers improve their bottom line, while minimizing the impact on our landfills itself is very rewarding.”
Editor’s Note: This article appears in Textile World courtesy of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) as part of the “American Textiles: We Make Amazing™” campaign. NCTO is a trade association representing U.S. textile manufacturing. Please visit ncto.org to learn more about NCTO, the industry and the campaign.
November/December 2019
