Sweetwater Mills
FLORENCE – Back in ‘”The Day”, particularly over in East Florence one could hear the steam whistles of the garment factories calling the ladies to their shifts. And not just in Sweetwater, but all over North Alabama and beyond. The garment workers would toil at their machines, turning out high quality cotton goods that set the quality standard for the entire world.
Then something happened. Cheap labor from emerging countries like India, Bangladesh, Haiti, Mexico… (the list could go on) discovered textile manufacturing. And in what seemed like the blink of an eye, this century-old workforce staple that provided a decent income for so many of our people was gone. Boom!
Was the garment industry gone forever?
J. Kirby Best – PerformanceScrubs.com C.E.O.
If one were to ask that question to Kirby Best. He would beg to differ. “We’ve spent years planning and designing our comprehensive system that has the potential to
revolutionize how clothing is made,” said J. Kirby Best, CEO of PerformanceScrubs.com. “The rich history of garment manufacturing in Florence/Muscle Shoals makes this the ideal location to launch a state-of-the-art facility. The overwhelming warm welcome by so many makes it feel like home – we are delighted to be here.”
PerformanceScrubs.com
Best’s company, PerformanceScrubs.com this week announced the forthcoming launch of a new high-tech clothing manufacturing facility in Florence’s Inductrial Park. The difference in this new and innovative manufacturing scheme is customization of individual items of clothing. According to a company media release, the new facility brings jobs back to the United States through technical innovations that drive costs down, and speed and quality up. Customers can specify how they want their items manufactured as to color, size, pockets, etc. Computer systems control the process, and garment workers efficiently sew each custom piece of clothing.
A technician from B Electric, an Entrepreneurial Center affiliated company, works on the facility’s wiring.
Performance worked with Anderson Media Corporation to find a suitable location for the new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The spanking-new production plant is going in to the old Dalmatian Press building which was recently emptied when the publisher dissolved. (It is interesting to also see an example of how new and innovative technologies are supplanting old and diminishing ones, such as those based on “printing on paper’ media).
Mayor of Florence Mickey Haddock
“On behalf of Florence, Alabama, I want to welcome PerformanceScrubs.com to our great city, and thank them for their confidence and commitment to our city,” said Florence Mayor Mickey Haddock. We look forward to growing this new partnership for the benefit of our citizens, our city and for Performance.” “This is great news for Florence and the entire Shoals area,” said SEDA President Forrest Wright. “We are so pleased that PerformanceScrubs.com selected the Shoals as the site of choice for its new high-tech manufacturing and distribution facility. The PerformanceScrubs.com manufacturing model creates new jobs and investment with a respected growing company, which will, in turn, provide a boost to the local and state economy.”
Giles McDaniel, Shoals Entrepreneurial Center
“Through our network of angel investors, PerformanceScrubs.com and Kirby Best were introduced to the Shoals Angel Network (SAN). Woody Truitt led a group of volunteers from SAN through an extensive due diligence process with PerformanceScrubs.com. These individuals volunteered countless hours to insure that these jobs would come to fruition for the North Alabama region. We are honored to have been a part of assisting PerformanceScrubs.com in launching their operations in the Shoals,” said Giles McDaniel, Executive Director, Shoals Entrepreneurial Center.
This high-tech, computerized assembly line will allow Alabama garment workers to produce customized clothing of high-quality at a competitive price. This may be the beginning of a resurgence in American garment manufacturing.
Here is the text of the company’s media release:
Performance Business Overview
“On-demand” mass customization.
“It is estimated that the garment manufacturing industry in the United States has lost over 800,000 jobs since 1990. These jobs belonged, primarily, to individuals who were trained in the cut and sew techniques of the day. The Performance System has the ability to help bring many of those jobs back to the United States.
The garment industry has been operating on Henry Ford’s in-line manufacturing system that revolutionized factories in 1913 and has remained almost unchallenged since. The Performance System takes the best of the in-line practices and adds a whole new dimension of automation, computer integration and a unique
new element – “on-demand” customization.
Encouraged by the global explosion of on-demand and mass customization in other industries, the team at Performance designed an almost three-dimensional system to supplant Ford’s linear line that had become too inflexible. The new factory automates and integrates almost every piece of the process from order entry to delivery yet keeps the fine skills of the seamstresses. The cohesive components that are driven by complex software allow Performance to manufacture millions of unique SKU’s on demand reducing inventory costs and streamlining the whole supply chain. The new plant produces high quality garments, in any quantity, cost effectively, and quickly. Although the Performance team is focusing on Performance Scrubs and Performance Sleepwear at this time, the factory model has virtually no limitations in regards to the type of clothing it can address.
The significance of the Performance System is that it allows the US clothing business to be competitive again by introducing a whole new business model that decreases costs and risks dramatically. It also allows consumers multiple new options to create a unique garment just for them. The supply chain has been stretched to the limit in the clothing business. Performance seized the opportunity and collaborated with experts who possess boldly creative and technically brilliant minds in order to build a solution that addresses these challenges.”
