eTextileCommunications.com

The coronavirus pandemic had multiple effects on the textile industry, whether or not they pivoted into Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) manufacturing, maintained production of their typical product lines or temporarily shuttered altogether.

We surveyed several companies in the industry to find out how they have fared throughout COVID-19, what changes they may have made to deal with the crisis and whether or not things are returning to “normal.” Following are reports from respondents.

Spanish textile machinery group head building bridges

Read a Q&A with Alejandro Gallego Alcaide, business unit manager of amec amtex, the Barcelona-based Spanish textile machinery association, which is organizing virtual meetings with North American textile manufacturers between November 9 and 13. The event, in collaboration with the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Chicago, offers an opportunity to discover new technologies and innovations and to find new potential partners. His answers come in response to questions posed by eTC publisher Devin Steele.)

STA Virtual Fall Meeting

NCTO’s Glas talks U.S.-made PPE, raises caution flag on other issues

While the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and its members these days have a full plate working to push Capitol Hill to mandate U.S.-made Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the industry should keep careful watch on a couple of other issues that could have deleterious long-term effects on the U.S. textile sector.

Kim Glas, NCTO’s president & CEO, put those issues and others front and center when she keynoted the Southern Textile Association’s (STA’s) Joint Fall Meeting of the Northern & Southern Divisions on October 7. Working without a slide deck because “everything is happening so fast" (in Washington), she spent a good amount of her talk on the industry’s response to the PPE shortage and pending legislation around that issue, before raising a caution flag on those other concerns.

Those include the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), both of which will require Congress to take up – likely during a lame-duck session in December – before they expire at the end of the year.

Parkdale Executive Vice President Davis Warlilck (L) speaks with U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry.
Photo by Devin Steele

Parkdale's ”I Wear, I Care™” face mask

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (foreground) with Parkdale employees at the company's headquarters on Cotton Blossom Circle in Gastonia, N.C.
Photo by Devin Steele

1/6

USA-made PPE

Rep. McHenry, Parkdale partner to promote U.S. textiles industry's potency

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.-10) met today with leaders of Parkdale to discuss legislation he has co-sponsored to ensure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is made in the America and other issues related to the U.S. textile industry’s responsiveness to the PPE shortage during the COVID-19 crisis.

In late July, McHenry joined Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.-09) to introduce the American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act. This bipartisan legislation is aimed at helping end the United States' reliance on Chinese-made PPE and ensure that hospitals and frontline healthcare workers have access to a plentiful supply of high-quality American made PPE.

AAPN Fireside Chat with Ron Roach

Pandemic spurs Contempora out of comfort zone – where it plans to stay

Ron Roach, president of Contempora Fabrics, Lumberton, N.C., and his colleagues at the circular knit fabric manufacturer have gathered numerous takeaways from its pivot into Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

He discussed the company’s journey and lessons learned recently when he keynoted the Atlanta-based Americas Apparel Producers Network‘s (AAPN’s) third online “Fireside Chat,” part of the network’s new American Ingenuity Series. Under the title, “We Didn't Need HARVARD To Tell Us To Collaborate – Our Case Study,” he explained how the company transitioned from a fabric producer for many end uses, including Major League Baseball (MLB), into a manufacturer for various PPE, including face masks and isolation gowns.