Huntingdon Casualty Of Currency

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/3/2005 12:00:00 AM

Huntingdon, Quebec —

Huntingdon Mills, a producer of fleece and jacquard pile fabrics used in outerwear and throws headquartered here, has closed its doors for good, hard hit by a weakening U.S. dollar, a strengthening Canadian dollar and the rising threat of Chinese imports following the elimination of quotas on Jan. 1.

The shutdown put 250 workers out of a job in this small town dominated by textiles about 44 miles southwest of Montreal.

And Huntingdon was just the latest blow to hit this textiles-themed community, following word that another producer, Cleyn and Tinker Mills, a producer of uniforms and apparel, will close its plants in April, shifting production to the United States. Combined, the two companies represented about 800 jobs in this community of about 2,600.