McCallum to buy Mexican mill

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/2/2002 2:05:00 PM

Tyngsboro, MA — Elkin McCallum, chairman of Joan Fabrics Corp., has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire Industrias Texel S.A. de C.V. in Tlaxcala, Mexico.

The woven jacquard fabric mill produces fabrics for the decorative markets in Mexico "and will enable us to offer our U.S. customers some unique options, as well as expand our business very aggressively in the NAFTA trading region," McCallum said.

McCallum also discussed management level changes at Home Fabrics and Mastercraft. Pete Thompson, vp, Mastercraft International, has left the company.

Jack Cobb, who had headed sales and marketing for the Home Fabrics division, now will be vp, international sales as well as continuing to manage the corporate marketing program in home textiles.

Robb Tomlin, who has been in charge of marketing for the Joan Velvets business, now adds the Home Fabrics sales and marketing responsibilities for decorative jobbers and furniture manufacturers.

Both Cobb and Tomlin continue to report to McCallum.

In addition, Bruce Allen, who joined the company nearly five years ago to do the styling for Doblin and moved to Mastercraft after McCallum combined the Doblin business with the acquired Circa 1801 business, will be leaving the company in the next three to four weeks.