News Items - September 2004

Whitehall Police Department will get New Uniforms to Spruce up Appearance

Whitehall Township, PA, August 17, 2004 (reported by Kirk Beldon Jackson, The Morning Call) -- As part of a move to spruce up the appearance of the Whitehall Township Police Department, the board of commissioners has authorized the purchase of new uniforms. The department is also outfitting its vehicles with a new logo.

The commissioners approved a contract last week for dark blue uniforms, similar to those used by the Los Angeles Police Department. The department's old uniforms were brown.

Late last month, the township bought three police cars bearing a new logo that the department's chief hopes will increase visibility.

''It's an overwhelming improvement in the professional appearance of the Whitehall Police Department,'' said Police Chief Theodore Kohuth.

Kohuth, who was named chief in May 2003, said he hopes to have new uniforms available to his officers by fall.

Last Monday, the commissioners authorized Kohuth to buy, over the next year, up to $77,600 worth of items from Red The Uniform Tailor of Lakewood, N.J.

He anticipated outfitting each uniformed officer with a jacket, five pairs of trousers, five long-sleeve shirts, and five short-sleeve shirts, as well as accessories such as sweaters, hats, rain gear, shoulder patches, and insignias of rank.

Detectives and other officers who don't typically wear uniforms would receive fewer pieces of clothing, he said.

The new patrol car design displays the words ''Whitehall Police'' in large black letters, Kohuth said. Currently, the cars bear those words in smaller, blue letters.

The new logo also has maroon and gold diagonal striping, reflecting the colors of the township, Kohuth said. The old design has horizontal stripes of blue and gold.

Incorporating the new logo will not cost the township anything as long as it carries it out through ''attrition,'' the regular purchase of new cars to replace older ones, Kohuth said.

Kohuth added that the department might have to put the logo on some vehicles in its fleet.

''That would be a new cost, so I want to be careful before I decide that,'' he said.

Two of the three new vehicles are ''slicktops,'' cars that bear police markings but don't have a light bar on the roof. Such vehicles offer the best of both worlds: They carry identification as a police vehicle, but they can be used to follow a suspect from behind, where the markings can't be seen, Kohuth said.

York Uniforms Ltd. acquires Showroom One Ltd. to accelerate growth with expanded product offerings

Toronto, Ontario, August 10, 2004 (Company Release) – York Uniforms Ltd. of Toronto has acquired Showroom One Ltd., a specialized apparel company that provides creative, custom-designed garments and related items for the attractions, specialty and corporate markets and for retail sale. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Showroom One brand will continue under the direction of its founder Rosalind Frydberg who has joined York’s senior management team.

The acquisition of the Showroom One brand provides York with a proven capability to offer additional creative expertise and innovative image apparel and related items to its existing customers as well as organizations in the attractions, specialty and corporate markets and for retail sale. Showroom One customers will benefit from the design expertise, expanded manufacturing capability and distribution strength that York provides.

“Providing a broader range of products and services that enhance our customers’ brand image as well as expanding our customer base are both fundamental to our growth strategy. We are always on the lookout for acquisitions that will help us achieve these and other goals. Showroom One is a natural fit for us,” said Kevin Young, Chief Operating Officer, York Uniforms Ltd.

York Uniforms Ltd. is a market-leading provider of corporate image-enhancing products and services, including the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion-driven career apparel. The company, located in Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto, serves a broad array of consumer-oriented service and retail customers.

For additional information, contact Kevin Young at 905-274-2681- x277

Textiles Put Politics First to Save Jobs

North Carolina , August 24, 2004 (News & Record) -- For the U.S. textile industry, 2004 won't be remembered as a business-as-usual kind of year.

It will go down as a time when the industry suffered continued job losses, intensified its fight for survival and, perhaps more importantly, changed its strategy.

It got political.

The industry realized that "politics in a democracy," as historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. once said, "is an educational process."

In the past year, the textile industry has employed what might be called the politics of survival.

Textile leaders hope their new-found activism -- ranging from candidate report cards to bumper stickers -- will get key issues before voters and influence races from Congress to the White House.

They hope that, in turn, it will result in more favorable trade policies, a development they believe will help curb job losses and preserve the 200-year-old industry.

"This is completely new ground for the industry," said John Emrich, president and CEO of Guilford Mills, "but it is because the industry recognizes that this is our last stand. This battle is either going to make us or break us."

A key part of that battle will play out during the next two months.

Starting shortly after Labor Day, textile leaders will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring their grass-roots campaign to the nation's textile producing states, focusing primarily on North Carolina .

"I don't remember a time when we have had a grass-roots effort that is as encompassing as we have here," said Allen Gant, president and CEO of Glen Raven Inc., and chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations. "... We should have been doing this for a long time."

The extent of the campaign will depend on how much money the industry can raise in the next two weeks or so. While no one in the industry will talk about a specific goal, estimates range from $300,000 to $1 million. Trade associations, mills and suppliers are being asked to contribute.

Since January 2001, the textile and apparel industry has lost more than 343,000 jobs -- nearly one in three. Of those, nearly 61,000 were in North Carolina .

"That's a lot of job losses," said Lloyd Wood, a spokesman for the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition in Washington . "That's a lot of pain."

Industry leaders say there's even more pain coming in the next two years -- a prospect which adds a sense of urgency to the current campaign. When the four-decade-old textile quota system expires on Jan. 1, textile officials predict that China will come to dominate the industry.

To head off such losses, the textile industry wants the Bush administration to use the so-called China safeguard -- temporary quotas designed to limit Chinese imports -- in a more flexible manner.

To date, the Commerce Department has accepted safeguard petitions only when the textile industry can provide evidence that an importing country has hurt the U.S. textile industry. But the textile industry says it can't survive under such a process. Rather, it wants the government to consider petitions based solely on the threat of damage to the industry.

Association leaders and company CEOs insist that their efforts in the upcoming campaign will be nonpartisan. Because of their tax exempt status, the various textile trade associations are not allowed to endorse candidates.

But they have surveyed all House and Senate candidates in North Carolina and South Carolina on several key issues facing the industry, including the extension of quotas and the Central America Free Trade Agreement. And they have made that information public.

In the past year, industry leaders have set up national and international coalitions designed to put pressure on institutions ranging from the White House to the World Trade Organization, the international trade arbiter in Geneva , Switzerland .

And they have continued to engage in old-fashioned lobbying. Earlier this summer, more than 100 textile CEOs and representatives visited 48 House and Senate offices, asking members of Congress to urge the administration to protect the industry from Chinese imports.

UNITE HERE Announces Postal Worker Solidarity Delivers Wage Increases, Benefit Improvements and Collective Bargaining Rights at Cintas

Kansas City , MO , and Fort Smith , AR , August 27, 2004 , (PRNewswire) -- After seven months of negotiations, workers in Kansas City , Missouri and Ft. Smith , Arkansas ratified agreements with Cintas, the nations' largest uniform company. Members of UNITE HERE in Ft. Smith and Kansas City sew and distribute uniforms under the Brookfield label and distribute the US Uniforms brand to employees of the United States Postal Service.

After Cintas initially proposed wage increases of only pennies and substantial increases in the cost of health insurance, employees began contacting fellow union members in the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). Members of both unions delivered a clear message to Brookfield and US Uniforms parent Cintas, "We won't buy it if you don't settle a fair contract."

"The company wanted to push the increased cost of the health insurance on to us, but with the solidarity of the postal workers we made them settle a fair contract," said Linda Ludlow a machine operator in Ft. Smith.

The contract includes substantial wage increases, minor changes for employees in the cost of health insurance, the addition of immigrant rights language and finalizes the extension of collective bargaining rights to workers at a former non-union US Uniforms plant in Kansas City , Missouri . "For years we have wanted to be in the union and have the same contract as Brookfield workers, and now, with the help of postal workers, we finally got it, we finally got Cintas to recognize our rights," said Stanley Haynes, a Brookfield/US Uniforms employee, in Kansas City , Missouri .

With the settlement of the contracts in Kansas City and Ft. Smith , a scheduled boycott of Brookfield and US Uniforms products by postal workers has been called off.

Cintas, headquartered in Cincinnati , is the largest uniform rental provider and industrial launderer in North America . Thousands of Cintas employees in the United States and Canada are organizing to join UNITE HERE and the Teamsters union in order to improve working conditions and gain respect on the job.

UNITE HERE represents over 440,000 members in the U.S. , Canada and Puerto Rico including over 40,000 members in the laundry industry.

For information, visit www.unitehere.org

Springfield prison inmates first to don uniforms

SPRINGFIELD , Vermont , August, 2004 (AP) -- Inmates at the Southern Vermont Correctional Facility are the first in the state to be issued uniforms.

Now, rather than an assortment of jeans, T-shirts, shorts and shoes, the inmates wear heavy-duty, dark blue scrubs such as might be worn by nurses or doctors.

Prison officials collected inmates' regular clothing and either stored it for court dates and the inmate's eventual release or sent it to their families. "Everybody after dinner was confined to their housing unit, then we started," prison superintendent Keith Tallon said Thursday.

Along with the switch from what guards call "civilian clothes," the prison also made an effort to rid the prison of contraband. So as the cells were searched and uniforms issued, all inmates were confined to their cell block.

Springfield was the first prison in Vermont to clothe its inmates in uniforms. The St. Albans prison was also to issue inmate uniforms in the pilot program, Tallon said, but supply problems have held up the process. If the program works well at those two prisons, it could become a statewide policy.

Dominic Damato, an administrative supervisor at the prison, said the uniforms would also have security benefits, allowing guards to instantly distinguish inmates from caseworkers and volunteers in civilian clothes. "Those who don't have funds and those who don't have clothes now have a full set of clothes, including shoes and a nice heavy jacket for the winter," Damato said. "We give them a baseball cap for the summer and a knit cap for the winter."

And though they aren't thrilled by the change to the new uniform, the inmates, for the most part, are accepting it. "It's not the easiest thing to go through," said Justin Canterbury, an inmate who was assigned to Springfield as soon as it opened 10 months ago. "It was smoother than I thought it would be."

Revolutionary New M-F Polypropylene at Concept III

Red Bank, NJ, August 9, 2004 (Company Release) – Concept III, working with Kingwhale Industries, has developed a whole new generation of polypropylene knits.

New M-F polypropylene is softer, lighter and has all the superior next-to-skin comfort properties such as wicking, moisture management and quick-dry of polypro, but is far more appealing than previous versions and comes in a wide range of colors.

These products are made with fine filament yarns proprietary to Kingwhale, in their new R&D facility in Taiwan on state-of-the-art knitting equipment. The yarns have enabled the creation of special constructions, weights and textures for each layer of performance apparel from next-to-skin to outerwear.

What’s more, Kingwhale uses new processing and finishing techniques to insure that the perception of odor retention attributed to polypropylene no longer exists.

“This is an important breakthrough,” says Concept III President, David Parkes. “That major issue is now behind us.”

For additional information, contact Ann Stables at ann@stablesinc.com or David Parkes at dparkes@conceptiii.com

Computer Chips in Uniforms: Tracking Inventory or Wearers?

Grand Rapids, MI, August 29, 2004, (AP) -- A uniform supply company says it uses microchips to better track the garments, but privacy watchdogs are concerned the tiny electronic devices also could be used to track the people wearing the clothing.

Grantex Inc. is a pioneer in the field of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sewing microchips into the uniforms it rents to clients.

Grantex uses the low-frequency "smart tags" to automatically track and sort its thousands of uniforms. After the chips are programmed, a computer scans the garment to tally how many times it has been laundered or if it needs to be mended or undergo special cleaning.

Company president Douglas Singer said he and vice president Gordon Reynolds looked into RFID and determined it would cut down on sorting time, improve efficiency and capacity, and reduce labor costs.

"With this you get better quality. In turn, you get a better reputation," Singer told The Grand Rapids Press for a recent story. "We built this company on reputation and referrals."

The chips cannot keep track of garments or their wearers away from Grantex's sorting facility in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming , Singer said. Still, the company had to persuade skeptics who had removed the microchips from their uniforms that the quarter-sized tags did not threaten their privacy.

"The first thing people thought we were doing is following and monitoring them by satellite," Reynolds said. "Really, only one or two people out of thousands were concerned."

Those concerns are not ill-founded, say privacy advocates who fear that companies could use the tags to track customer movements and buying habits and that law enforcement agencies could use the technology to monitor citizens. "It's things that people are actually spending real money to do already," said Katherine Albrecht, founder and director of C.A.S.P.I.A.N., a consumer-advocacy group focusing on privacy issues. "It is just about as worrisome as having a tracking beacon in your flesh, because you are required by your employer to wear a uniform, and you can't get away from them."

At the least, companies should tell their employees about how RFID is being used, Albrecht said.

The technology was developed years ago and is used to make computerized cards to enter buildings, parking lots and ramps. Smaller, cheaper versions have led to more large-scale uses.

"It's going to take time for its acceptance, but it's one of the fastest growing technologies in the U.S. today, and it's going to get to the point when it's exponential," said Herb Markman, chief executive of Positek RFID. The Norristown , Pa. , company sells RFID systems to companies like Grantex.

Textile Service Industry's Environmental Performance Received Rave Reviews From EPA

Washington , DC , August 10, 2004 (PRNewswire) -- Representatives of both the Uniform and Textile Service Association (UTSA) and the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) presented the latest results from the textile service industry's voluntary environmental program, LaundryESP® (Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program), to members of the Environmental Protection Agency on July 20.

The LaundryESP results, representing six years of industry improvements, were more than UTSA, TRSA or the EPA could have envisioned.

* 40 % REDUCTION - POLLUTANTS DISCHARGED

* 12.5 % REDUCTION - WATER USAGE

* 11 % REDUCTION - ENERGY USAGE

* SIGNIFICANT SUBSTITUTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WASH CHEMICALS

LaundryESP, a joint initiative between UTSA and TRSA, was highly praised for its exceptional results. Conceptualized in 1999, LaundryESP encompasses 170 textile service companies and 750 laundry plants which account for 70 percent of the industry's production. The EPA guided the textile service industry during the program's initial development.

LaundryESP's primary goal is to expand on the textile service industries' continued commitment to their local environments. The underlying premise of the textile service industry has always been based on the fundamental concepts of recycle and reuse. LaundryESP and its commitment to environmental protection and resource conservation is an extension of this concept.

On July 20, David Dunlap of UTSA presented the LaundryESP results to the Environmental Protection Agency; Tom Storm of Washing Systems Inc. gave running commentary of the wash chemical industry; Robert Schaffer of Coyne Textile Services represented the operator's point of view; and Michael Wilson attended on behalf of TRSA.

"We kept our promise. Through the leadership of UTSA and TRSA, the industry has achieved significant improvements in its environmental performance. In fact, we have been able to voluntarily produce results that go beyond those once forecast as the benefits of the withdrawn industrial laundry effluent guideline. This is an excellent example of how a voluntary program, which fosters flexibility and individualized corporate responsibility, can out produce the government's traditional command and control approach," said David Dunlap, Director of Environmental Affairs of UTSA.

Schaffer, who also serves as chairman of TRSA's Environment Committee, added that, "Laundry ESP proves that private-sector/government collaboration beats confrontation hands down. We're producing far greater progress, far faster and more cost effectively than would otherwise have happened," Schaffer said. "That's critically important for the 125,000 Americans who work in this industry -- not to mention the thousands of customers that rely on them for services ranging from reusable healthcare and hospitality linens to uniforms and floor mats."

Members of the textile industry and their customers worked together on pollution prevention and resource conservation solutions. As a result of strategic partnerships, LaundryESP has had an impact on many facilities, providing a cost-effective way for these facilities to enhance environmental performance.

LaundryESP raised awareness throughout the textile service industry and brought a greater level of environmental responsibility to the foreground. As a team, UTSA and TRSA will continue to monitor the industry's performance and look for ways to become even more environmentally friendly.

LaundryESP -- Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program -- is a UTSA/TRSA pollution prevention and resource conservation program. LaundryESP participation is voluntary, all data is collected and stored on a confidential basis.

For more information about or how to become a partner in LaundryESP, please contact: David Dunlap, Director, Environmental Affairs, Uniform and Textile Service Association at 800-486-6745 or dunlap@utsa.com ( http://www.utsa.com ); or Michael Wilson, Director, Government Affairs, Textile Rental Services Association at 877-770-9274 or mwilson@trsa.org ( http://www.trsa.org ).

Galey & Lord Files Voluntary Bankruptcy Petition To Facilitate Its Acquisition

Galey & Lord also announced it has secured an $80 million post-petition financing agreement with GE Capital, which will enable the company to continue normal business operations, including providing wages and benefits to employees, maintaining bank accounts and cash management systems, and meeting new obligations to customers, suppliers and others. The company is seeking expedited Bankruptcy Court approval of the financing agreement.

Under the terms of the Patriarch agreement, which is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval and other acquisition offers, if any, Patriarch would pay $45 million for the company's term debt and pay off, replace or assume up to $85 million in other secured debt plus the outstanding letters of credit. Patriarch also would assume up to $58 million in trade, utility, tax, and employee pay and benefit obligations. The agreement excludes certain legacy liabilities such as those obligations insured by the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. The transaction is expected to close by early November 2004.

In July, Galey & Lord's board agreed to an out-of-court acquisition offer by Patriarch. The proposal did not win the unanimous approval of the term lenders required for the acquisition to go forward. "Our board of directors and many of our lenders have concluded that an acquisition by Patriarch presents the greatest opportunity to secure a bright future for Galey & Lord and is in the best interests of our customers, employees, vendors, suppliers and stakeholders," said John J. Heldrich, president & CEO of Galey & Lord. "While we are disappointed that our lenders were unable to reach unanimous agreement to proceed with the original plan, we are confident that this course will allow us to continue on a positive track and give us the means of achieving our long-term goals. As this process unfolds, we will continue to work to preserve jobs, protect value and provide the highest level of service to our customers," he added. "We expect business to continue as usual, with little, if any, impact on our employees, partners or business operations. Patriarch believes in these same responsible business practices.”

"In modifying its proposal for bankruptcy court consideration, Patriarch has reiterated its commitment to working with management to help this company achieve stability and provide the resources necessary for us to achieve long-term success," he continued. "Patriarch is a highly-regarded investor with a long track record of working with companies in our industry. We are grateful for its staunch support and are committed to an open, fair and expedited sale process that benefits all of our stakeholders."

The company has retained Dechert LLP and Alston & Bird as bankruptcy counsel and Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin as investment banking advisors.

Galey & Lord, Inc., which is privately held following its emergence from bankruptcy protection in March of 2004, operates domestically and in Canada under two divisions, Swift Denim and Galey & Lord Apparel, and internationally through joint ventures in Europe, North Africa, Asia and Mexico.

Galey & Lord Apparel is a leading producer of innovative woven sportswear fabrics as a result of its expertise in sophisticated fabric finishing and close design partnerships with its customers. Swift Denim is a leading producer of differentiated and value-added denim products supplying top designers and retailers around the world. Galey & Lord and its joint venture interests operate in the U.S. , Canada , Mexico , Asia , Europe and North Africa .

International Textile Group Completes Integration Of Burlington And Cone

Greensboro , N.C, August 2, 2004 (Company Release). - WL Ross & Company announced today that it has completed the integration of Burlington Industries and Cone Mills into the newly formed International Textile Group (ITG). The company also announced it has entered into a five-year, $150 million credit facility led by Bank of America. Other lenders in the bank group include GE Capital Corporation and The CIT Group.

This credit facility will fund our anticipated growth in 2005 and later years," commented Wilbur L. Ross, Chairman of International Textile Group. "We are proud that three of the world's largest and most sophisticated lenders to the textile industry share our confidence that ITG will prosper even in a world without textile quotas."

Joseph L. Gorga, President and CEO for International Textile Group, added, "Since March we have made tremendous progress in leveraging the strengths and synergies within the combined businesses of ITG. With a solid financial base, cutting-edge technology, leading market brands and a talented and skilled workforce, we have the resources in place to set a new standard in the global marketplace and drive our international growth strategy."

International Textile Group operates five businesses, which include:

• Cone Denim , the world's largest and most diversified producer of denim fabrics with operations in the United States , Mexico , Turkey , India and a future operation planned in Guatemala .
• Burlington Apparel Fabrics , one of the leading producers of apparel fabrics serving the menswear, womenswear, activewear, cotton casual, tailored, uniform and barrier markets. Facilities include operations in the United States and Mexico as well as a coordinated network of international mill partners based out of Hong Kong .
• Home Furnishings includes the business units of Burlington House and Cone Jacquards, which produce interior fabrics serving the residential and contract upholstery, top-of-the-bed, window, mattress fabric, healthcare, corporate and hospitality markets. Operations are located in the United States , with sourcing offices located in China , Pakistan , Australia , Turkey and Lebanon .
• Carlisle Finishing , a domestic commission dyeing, printing and finishing operation for woven and non-woven fabrics serving the apparel, special and home decorative markets.
• Nano-Tex, LLC , an advanced materials company that develops and markets a family of nanotechnology-based textile treatments that dramatically improve the performance of everyday fabrics. Nano-Tex products are used by over 50 textile mills and sold by more than 40 leading apparel and interior furnishings brands worldwide. Nano-Tex headquarters and R & D Center are located in Emeryville , CA with regional offices in Greensboro , Milan , Istanbul , New Delhi , Hong Kong and Osaka .

In conjunction with today's announcement, International Textile Group launched its new corporate logo, a timeless, distinct design of the ITG letters and company name. Business units will continue to operate under each well-known brand name as part of International Textile Group.

International Textile Group will be headquartered in Greensboro , NC . Corporate and division offices will be located on Green Valley Road in Greensboro in the previous Cone Mills headquarters building and in an adjacent office complex. Preparations are underway, and the headquarters move will be completed by the beginning of November.

International Textile Group, the combined company of Burlington Industries and Cone Mills, is a diverse, innovative provider of global textile solutions and distinguished market brands to apparel and interior furnishing customers worldwide.