A Yarn Worth Telling: U.S. Textile Industry Sees Uptick in Capital Spending

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. textile industry, once a major player in manufacturing, saw an estimated 650 plants close in the 1990s and 2000s. The decline was attributed to increased automation and cheaper overseas labor. But textile manufacturing could be headed for a partial recovery, or at least is stabilizing. Industrial Info is tracking 34 capital projects worth $1.11 billion in the U.S. textiles industry.

Yarn production accounts for the biggest portion, with more than $362 million worth of investments. Gildan Activewear Incorporated (NYSE:GIL) (Montreal, Quebec) has two facilities under construction in North Carolina. The first, worth an estimated $130 million, will join an existing Gildan facility in Salisbury. The second new facility is being built in Mocksville for $112 million. G.L. Wilson Building Company (Statesville, North Carolina) is serving as general contractor for both facilities, with construction expected to be completed in December 2015.

Parkdale Mills Incorporated (Gastonia, North Carolina) is expanding its spun-yarn facility in Mountain City, Tennessee, with the addition of about 223,000 square feet for $120 million. Shelco Incorporated (Charlotte, North Carolina) is the general contractor, and construction is expected to be completed by first-quarter 2016.

Nonwovens also on upswing
Nonwoven manufacturing, another important component of the U.S. textile industry, has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. Since 2014, Industrial Info has tracked more than $230 million in capital projects in the nonwovens sector, with the growth attributed to trends such as the widespread expansion in the market for wipes.

As with spun yarn, North Carolina has the highest capital expenditures for nonwovens projects, with $109 million worth planned or under construction. N.R. Spuntech Industries Incorporated Limited (Upper Tiberias, Israel) is wrapping up a $35 million renovation on a manufacturing facility in Roxboro. The company is taking over the former Wolverine Tube facility with Samet Corporation (Greensboro, North Carolina) attached to the project for building renovations.

Shalag Industries Limited (Kibbutz Shamir, Israel), another Israel-based company, is expanding production at its facility in Oxford, North Carolina, for an estimated $16 million. Shalag also has Samet Corporation attached as general contractor.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.