| 10/21/2006 |
| Quaker opens plant in China |
| By:Deborah Allard , Herald News Staff Reporter |
|
FALL RIVER - Quaker Fabric Corp.
announced Friday it is opening an upholstery fabric mill in China
with partner Hangzhou Zhongwang Fabric Products Co. The mill
will be a state-of-the-art fabric finishing and post-finishing plant
slated to begin production in November.
The new plant will allow Quaker Fabric to replicate the fabric finishes in China "which give our products such a competitive edge in the U.S.," Liebenow said. The new plant at Zhongwang's manufacturing facilities will be the only modern vertically integrated upholstery fabric mill in China. Quaker in January joined forces with Hangzhou Zhongwang in China to recapture business lost to overseas competition. It introduced a product line this past spring. At the time, Liebenow said the deal would "complement" items produced in Fall River, but not replace those items. About a month later, Quaker entered into an offshore sourcing contract with Korean manufacturer Daewoo International. Daewoo produces velvet and microdenier sueded fabrics for the upholstery industry. "One of the objectives we set for ourselves when we first began working with Zhongwang was to assist them with the installation of state-of-the-art finishing and post-finishing capability so that we could maintain that competitive edge in all our products," said Liebenow. Quaker Fabric over the past several years has lost more than half its work force. It once employed some 2,400 workers. There are still about 1,000 employees at Quaker and it remains the city's largest manufacturer. The last layoff in September affected 225 employees. The upholstery manufacturer's second quarterly report in June revealed its ninth straight loss. Quaker, last week, refinanced $50 million of existing debt. It has also put up for sale most of its plants, including its corporate offices on Davol Street. With the new plant in operation in China, Liebenow said customers in the United States and around the globe can expect "superior delivery and product quality, whether the product they've ordered from Quaker is manufactured in Massachusetts or China." Deborah Allard may be reached at dallard@heraldnews.com. |
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