Optimal Strategies for Textile Industry Upgrading and Community Transition in North Carolina Regions
Creators: name: Moudry, Rebecca
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2005

description: The textile and apparel industry (textile industry) in the Unites States continues to be an important source of employment and production despite significant declines over the last two decades. Furthermore, the industry is restructuring to offer important benefits to regions that have maintained a specialization in textile production. The analysis of three regions in North Carolina reveals optimal economic development strategies that serve to upgrade the textile industry and transfer benefits to communities. Benefits primarily include direct benefits such as jobs and investments, as well as indirect benefits that serve to assist the community to transition into a 'new', high-tech economy through the generation and transfer of skills, knowledge, leadership, partnerships and programs. Given these findings, a typology of optimal textile upgrading strategies by 'distressed' and 'more prosperous' regions is developed, and recommendations set forth to improve textile industry upgrading supports and the transfer of benefits to communities in regions. The United States has suffered dramatic declines in textile industry employment over the last two decades, largely due to the competitive nature of the global market and increased technology. Much of the decline was initiated in the mid 1990's, simultaneous to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While textile and apparel exports to both Canada and Mexico increased, steep competition caused the closing of firms and increased textile production outsourcing. For example, North Carolina has lost half its textile and apparel industry jobs since NAFTA went into effect in 1994, though only part of this can be attributed to the agreement. However, other international agreements, such as DR-CAFTA (between the US, the Dominican Republic, and Central America) may help protect the domestic textile production industry from the recent phase out of import quotas. Most textile quotas regulated under the Multi-Fiber Agreement were ended in January of 2005, and the amount of textile imports have greatly increased, particularly imports from China. Global competition has also led textile firms to increase technologies and productivity, and many firms focused on niche markets and supply-chain management are expanding. For example, the United States is increasingly procuring from international suppliers, but a significant amount of final production and distribution continues to take place within the country. An area in which the national textile industry is seeing significant growth is within the Industrial or Technical Textiles Industry. Nonwoven textiles, which are fabrics bonded together mechanically, thermally or chemically, are growing at a significant rate. The United States leads the world in nonwoven technology and production. Innovations and expansions in the textile industry are reflected in North Carolina, the state with the largest percent of textile employment in the nation. Despite its strong foothold in the domestic textile industry, North Carolina did not escape forces that led to broad declines in national textile employment. While the number of jobs has declined significantly, and the number of firms moderately, total textile employment and investments in North Carolina continue to be considerable, and extremely important to the state economy. Furthermore, textile firms in North Carolina regions continue to emerge, expand, or move to North Carolina communities to take advantage of technology, infrastructure, workforce, and speed to market. The three North Carolina case-study regions in this report are Burke County, Guilford County, and Rockingham County. All three regions have a legacy in the textile industry, and are considered to have suffered massive lay-offs due to the decline of the industry in the county. However, the textile industry in each county continues to be a pillar in the economy, especially for Burke County and Rockingham County, which are considered 'Distressed' counties per county economic and demographic comparisons. Guilford County is considered a 'More Prosperous' county. All three counties show aspects of textile industry restructuring and expansion in some areas. Textile jobs are offering higher wages, the industry is relatively young, there are many single-location and headquarter firms, foreign firms are arriving, and some existing firms are expanding their production or seeking to upgrade equipment, technology and workforce. Successful textile firms implement high-tech processes for niche market products, or control the textile supply-chain through a headquarters firm. Each county has implemented economic development strategies to support industry and communities according to their specific attributes and needs. The county case studies in this report provide an account of these strategies, how they are implemented, and by whom. Key strategies were identified through background research and interviews with key informants, including economic development, workforce development, local government, regional agency, and local textile firm representatives. Also, each county case study features the analysis of two firms that are representative of restructuring and expanding textile firms. Together, the region and firm case studies serve as the basis to determine the most successful textile industry upgrading strategies for each county. Over the three case study counties, the optimal textile industry upgrading strategies include: 1: Developing Local Partnerships to Approach Economic Development as a Cohesive Team 2: Building and Strengthening Relationships with Industry 3: Marketing, Image Enhancement, and Information Preparation 4: Workforce Development 5: Capitalize on Available Resources & Funds 6: Infrastructure Preparedness & Development When economic development strategies are implemented to support the restructuring textile industry significant benefits to communities emerge. Benefits help communities to transition from traditional manufacturing economies into economies that are able to create and take advantage of new opportunities. The most significant community benefits accrued to the case study counties include; 1) Increase in the number of jobs and/or the development of high-wage, professional jobs, 2) Transfer of New Technologies directly to workers and the larger economy, 3) Creation of Partnership and Program Synergies, 4) Infusion of Community Support and Leadership, and 5) Generation of New Skills. These benefits demonstrate the need to value the textile industry in areas that have recently seen an overall decline in employment, and to support strategies that induce growth in this vital industry. Textile industry trends, economic development strategies, and community benefits are important to recognize and review together because of the potential of replicating textile industry and community upgrading in other areas, and ultimately assist communities and economies to grow. Key recommendations geared towards economic development organizations and county and state governments to enhance the upgrading and transitioning process are; Include Advanced Textile Manufacturing as Target Industry for Regions and States Formal Community Education Effort about the changing industry and opportunities Inform Counties of Available Resources, including firm upgrading and workforce development opportunities Development of an Industry-Community Cooperation Strategy Flexibility in County Use of Incentives to allow for the support of key, crosscutting industry development for newer or smaller companies.