The members of the National Textile Association involved in the production of upholstery fabrics met in their inaugural meeting April 22, 2004 in New York City. Roger Berkley, CEO of Weave Corp. was elected Chairman of the group. Charter members are American Silk, Craftex, Milliken & Co., Quaker Fabrics, Sunbury Textiles, Wearbest, and Weave Corp. Mr. Berkley stated, “This is a very constructive move for the manufactures in our industry to come together under the leadership of the National Textile Association. NTA is a flexible and highly focused group which can serve the needs of the upholstery and decorative fabrics industries.”

In January of 2004 NTA brought Hardy Poole, former Vice President, Product Services and Corporate Secretary of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, on as a staff member to handle the upholstery, and bed & bath sectors of the industry. Since January, under the guidance of Mr. Poole, the group has undertaken significant efforts in the flammability, environmental and other regulator areas on behalf of the home textile manufacturers. (Hardy to fill in some stuff here).

Karl Spilhaus, President of NTA, emphasized the significant trade issues which face the upholstery fabric manufacturers, particularly products coming from China in the form of roll goods, cut parts and finished products. “NTA’s considerable expertise in the trade area will be brought to bear on behalf of the upholstery manufacturers as well,” stated Mr. Spilhaus.

The Upholstery Fabrics Council is a division of the National Textile Association.