Dean Godfrey: New World of Textiles Needed

Editor’s Note:  The following is Dean Blan Godfrey’s speech at the Multi-State Textile Summit at Gaston College in Dallas, NC, on March 22, 2002. 

                I would like to make three points today:  First, we need to support our current textile companies so they can compete, they can continue to provide jobs and drive the economy and they can survive to fight another day.  Secondly,  we need to seize the current national initiatives. Our government is going to invest billions of dollars in the next few years in national security. Much of this investment is textile related and we must assure that we get the appropriate share for the nation’s leading textile-producing region.  And last, we need to create the future, build the “New World of Textiles.”

My first point: We can and we must support our current textile companies.

• Fair trade. We must assure that U.S. Customs enforces the existing laws to stop the illegal import of textile products and clarifies CBI and NAFTA to assure that dyeing and finishing are done in this country before anyone can import finished goods back into this country, with no tariffs.

• Competitiveness. We must help improve the competitiveness of textile companies in this region. We need to continue improving the business performance of existing businesses through quality and productivity and supply-chain management. By bringing the newest methodologies and training to textile companies we can help them survive and grow. This we can do through partnerships of our companies, our community colleges, our universities and our states.

• New products and processes. We can create a strategic initiative to provide the business information and technologies companies need to develop new products and compete successfully, here at home and globally. We must help increase the international focus of companies — partnering with our Departments of Commerce and helping companies explore export opportunities and international partnerships.

                Secondly, there are several key national initiatives where we — our four states — should provide leadership:

• Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies

This month MIT in Massachusetts was awarded more than $100 million in new research funding for the textiles for equipping our future army. We must assure that the leading textile-producing region in the nation participates in this breakthrough research to help develop the products and production processes for what will be many billions of dollars of uniforms and equipment that must be produced in the USA. Our universities can still play a major role in assuring the technology transfer and enormous manufacturing opportunities that will result from this research and development are in this region.

• National Lab. New National Lab for Protective Fibers and Fabric-Pennsylvania will receive this lab, but much of the pioneering research has been done in North Carolina. The region should be in the best position for the fiber, fabric and apparel production resulting from the research. Cooperative efforts among the leading universities in the four states could make this happen quickly.

• The National Textile Center. Supporting The National Textile Center should be one of our priorities. This center started in this region with an unprecedented collaboration by four universities and now encompasses eight universities from New York to Alabama to California. The research done in this center is essential for creating our future. We must assure that the center has the necessary funds to transfer the results of this research into products and processes that benefit the textile industry in our region.

                My third point: creating the “New World of Textiles.” There is an exciting new world of products and industries on the horizon made possible through recent breakthroughs in fiber and polymer science. These include conducting fibers and electrotextiles, biomedical textiles, industrial and geotextiles and revolutionary new apparel. With the appropriate support, this region can be the leader in bringing these products to market through both existing and new companies.

                We must assure that this region continues to provide the advanced technologies, the innovative products and the superior design to create economic growth, new jobs and good jobs for our people.

• Fibers. There are new fibers already in final development stages that are going to dwarf the economic impact of the “superfibers” of the past — rayon, nylon, polyester and Kevlar. These are the fibers with which we’ll build our new aircraft, our new vehicles, our new bodies. Research at Georgia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech is already providing the fundamental fiber and polymer science.

• New processes. We must continue to support the development of new processes that can create new opportunities. Examples include supercritical fluids, C02, for dyeing with no water, no chemicals, no waste water treatment,in half the time at half the cost.

                There are also new methods for creating high-quality, high-performance nonwoven fabrics at speeds two hundred times the fastest existing weaving machine.  Four of the top eight states are in this room. Through federal, state and industry grants, we are building the world’s leading pilot production plant in North Carolina today. Clemson, Georgia Tech and University of Georgia are partners.

Also in the works are digital design methods that allow custom fitting, custom design and custom manufacture, one customer at a time — methods that create such efficiencies of producing and selling that there is no way a retailer will be able to afford to outsource production to Asia.

• New products. These new fibers and new processes are already showing us the way to the future. The products from this new world of textiles are beyond the imagination.

                They include biomedical textiles: heart valves and arteries, artificial knees and hips, new skin. They include electrotextiles: solar panels, fabric television screens, clothes that cool and heat, clothes that generate electricity as you move, fiber and fabric based computers. They include structures: construction materials, automotive body panels, aircraft.

                In closing, there are specific actions our federal and state governments can take now to significantly improve the competitive position of the American textile industry. Several of these are under way — we must assure they are supported.

                Other actions are well defined, but we need to accelerate the pace of implementation. By working across the region and involving other affected areas, we can build a national case for long-term success of the textile industry that benefits our nation and our region.