Valdese expands U.S. manufacturing

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/21/2007 12:40:00 PM

Valdese,N.C.– Valdese Weavers will expand its domestic manufacturing facilities with the acquisition of a 198,000-square-foot facility here, formerly owned by Carolina Mills. The new facility, the company’s third factory here, will see new finishing equipment installed in June and will be fully operational by January 2008.

With the new facility, the company’s main headquarters, design center and primary weaving operation are located in a 275,000-square-foot plant. Plant 2, a 125,000-square-foot facility built in 1996, will become the primary yarn preparation facility. The new Plant 3 will house all finishing operations as well as house the Valdese International Products (VIP) brand.

Mike Shelton, president and ceo, said, “After a very deliberate evaluation of opportunities to either expand globally or go to other areas domestically, we have chosen to make this commitment to grow our business in Valdese, where we have a 72-year heritage.”

Shelton added, “We are very fortunate in the current environment of globalization in the textile industry to have been able to consistently grow our business and experience a 14% growth rate in 2006.”