Dan RiverCompany ProfileIt all began in 1882 in Danville, Virginia. Six men banded together to organize a cotton mill. Among them were a building contractor, a lumber dealer, a physician and three merchants who were brothers. On July 27, 1882, they were granted a charter for the company they called The Riverside Cotton Mill. This infant company produced its first yarn and fabric in April 1883. Two new mills were built by 1888. The Morotock Mill, a manufacturer of sheeting in Danville, was acquired in 1890. Four additional mills were build between 1893 and 1898. In 1909 the company made its first expansion move when it merged with Dan River Power and Manufacturing Company to form the Riverside and Dan River Cotton Mills, Inc. In 1964 this name was changed to Dan River Mills, Inc. In 1970 the name was further abbreviated to its present Dan River Inc. Led by Chairman & CEO Joe Lanier, Jr., Dan River began a transition from being primarily an apparel fabrics manufacturer to being primarily a home fashions manufacturer and marketer in the late 1980s. Another round of acquisitions took place as the twentieth century ended. In 1997 Dan River acquired the assets of The New Cherokee Corporation, with manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Tennessee. In 1998 Dan River further expanded its operations by assuming operational control of The Bibb® Company and by purchasing substantially all of the assets of Home Innovations, Inc's Glenn Manufacturing facility in Morven, North Carolina. In 2000 Dan River announced further expansion of its textile production in the acquisition of Import Specialist, Inc.'s Portsmouth, VA facility. The Company was, in late 2005, purchased by GHCL Ltd., an India based company which already had interests in the textile business. According to an April 17, 2008 report in Home Textiles Today Dan River is in the process of winding down its operation and will liquidate after nearly 126 years in business. According to an April 22, 2008 report in Textile World, Dan River Inc., Danville, Va., has filed a voluntary petition for protection from its creditors in the US Bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware — the second such filing for the company in four years. Dan river has been an NTA member since July 8, 2004 and is active in our Textile Bedding Committee. Plant Closings and LayoffsChronological list |