Dr. Nancy Cassill, College of Textiles, (919) 513-4180
Emily Parker, College of Textiles, (919) 515-6529
Kathy Neal, N.C. Department of Commerce, (919) 733-7977
Dec. 12, 2007
A new online resource launched by North Carolina State University in partnership with the N.C. Department of Commerce aims to bolster the state's textile industry by connecting North Carolina companies with each other and to other markets across the United States and around the globe.
N.C. Textile Connect (www.nctextileconnect.com) is a comprehensive Web site designed to foster and encourage business partnerships among textile companies within North Carolina and beyond. It also provides valuable information to prospective customers within the state, inside the United States and abroad.
N.C. Textile Connect offers a database of more than 1,500 North Carolina-based textile and textile-related companies that specialize in various aspects of the industry value chain. The value chain represents the entire group of companies involved in textile production, from design and raw materials to marketing finished products. The Web site provides business leaders with information related to companies that specialize in areas such as raw materials, design, manufacturing, production, distribution, sales and support, and other efforts related to the textile industry.
Although the textile industry has undergone a major restructuring in the past decade, it continues to be an important industry for North Carolina, and the state still plays a significant role in the global textiles arena. N.C. Commerce Department-funded research conducted by NC State in 2006, titled "State of the Union of the Textile Industry in North Carolina," showed that the state still ranks first nationally in the number of employees in textile production and fourth nationally in apparel production.
The 2006 study also showed that textile-related businesses still have a presence in 90 of North Carolina's 100 counties, employ more than 130,000 North Carolinians and have more than $35 billion in annual sales.
The new Web site includes detailed information on events, statistics, demographics, resources and products related to the textile industry. The information comes from a variety of sources, including academic, industry and government agencies.
"This Web site provides North Carolina's textile industry with valuable information and the ability to connect with each other," said Jim Fain, N.C. secretary of commerce. "Our Textiles Industry Sector Team works closely with NC State, the industry and others in the public and private sector to enhance global competitiveness." The commerce department's textiles team is composed of representatives from industry, universities, community colleges, trade associations, industry service providers and state and federal agencies.
"Today's textile industry is very much an international business," said Blanton Godfrey, dean of NC State's College of Textiles. "With this Web site, a company in a major textile-producing country such as China or Japan looking for a business partner in North Carolina can find information about our companies quickly and easily. At the same time, it allows North Carolina companies to interact in new ways. We believe this will provide a strong boost to the industry."
The College of Textiles was asked to identify and quantify the state's textile industry and to create an information "warehouse," with an overall goal of enhancing the industry's global competitiveness, said Dr. Nancy Cassill, professor of textile and apparel technology and management at NC State. Doctoral student Stacey Frederick led the project and Web site development.
Frederick, 24, grew up in Swannanoa, N.C., which she describes as having been a "traditional textile mill town." She chose to attend NC State's College of Textiles to help the industry that has supported her hometown and many others in North Carolina that have experienced financial and job losses as the industry has evolved.
"This has been a very exciting project for me," says Frederick, who has served an internship with the N.C. Department of Commerce and worked with other N.C. textile companies. "I understand the textiles 'way of life,' and North Carolina has so much potential to succeed. I want to help North Carolina companies see the textile industry in a different and more comprehensive light, and to provide them with access to information that will help them grow by connecting them to other people, places and ideas."
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