McCallum inks deal for Mexican mill

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM

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.

At the same time, McCallum discussed management level changes at Home Fabrics and Mastercraft. Pete Thompson, vp, Mastercraft International, has left the company. "With the strength of the dollar, and our Mexican/NAFTA involvement with the acquisition of Texel, it seemed the time to combine export elsewhere with another job responsibility," McCallum explained.

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. "Bedding is becoming so important; it needs to be a stand-alone business. And Jack also will run the international business," McCallum said.

Robb Tomlin, who had 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.

The Mexican Texel business, McCallum said, "has a strong existing business base. We will build on that, and perhaps use our domestic expertise. We also can bring low-cost production to the United States."

McCallum has been an investor for nearly 10 years in Pliana Holdings, a fiber and yarn business, which owned Texel. Pliana Holdings now concentrates on fiber and yarn and Texel on woven jacquard fabrics.