Industry | Manufacturing |
---|---|
Founded | 1906 |
Founder | Henry Feuerstein |
Headquarters | Lawrence, Massachusetts |
Area served | Massachusetts New Hampshire |
Products | Polar Fleece Textiles |
Malden Mills Industries is the original developer and manufacturer of Polartec polar fleece and manufactures other modern textiles. The company is located in Andover, Massachusetts and has operations in Hudson, New Hampshire.
Malden Mills was founded in 1906 by Henry Feuerstein and operated for three generations under the Feuerstein Family. Malden Mills started off with specialization in lightweight fabrics and wool clothing. [1]
On December 11, 1995, a dust explosion in one of the hoppers used to produce Polartec destroyed three of the factory's buildings, causing 40% damage to the whole plant. The fire happened during the company’s off season leading to minimized losses, though at the time it was the largest property damage fire loss in the history of Massachusetts. [1] [2] [3] Initially thought to have started in a boiler, subsequent investigation found it was likely started in a hopper on the "flock" line, [4] where nylon fibers are oriented in a 50,000 volt electric field while applied to adhesive on a backing fabric. Fibers occasionally ignited passing through this field, and despite automatic fire suppression methods, a previous explosion occurred in 1993 seriously burning several workers. [3] [5]
Lawrence, Massachusetts was already experiencing a downward economy due to many other companies leaving to find cheaper labor elsewhere and many residents were worried about the loss of another factory. The fire injured 36 people and placed 2700 jobs at risk. The fire was later ruled an “industrial accident.” [6]
CEO Aaron Feuerstein made the decision overnight to quickly rebuild. He extended the pay and benefits of his employees while the factory was being rebuilt. Rebuilding was completed on September 14, 1997, leaving 70 employees still displaced. [6] [7] Though ultimately Feuerstein's choices may have led to the insolvency of the company and the loss of nearly all of the jobs that Feuerstein was trying to preserve, he received praise for his choice to de-prioritize the profitability of his company. [7] [8]
In November 2001, Malden Mills declared bankruptcy after the recession at the beginning of the new year left the company unable to pay creditors—related to its rebuilding and payroll commitments. The company achieved solvency because of the generosity of its creditors, as well as government subsidies. Feuerstein was relieved of actual control of the company by its creditors.
In January 2007, current CEO Michael Spillane announced that Malden Mills would file for bankruptcy again and would be sold to the Gordon Brothers Group of Boston. [9] [10]
However, in February 2007, the assets of Malden Mills were purchased by a newly formed company called Polartec, LLC which is owned by Chrysalis Capital Partners of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [11]
A notice on the old www.MaldenMillsStore.com said the week of July 23, 2007 would be the final shipping period for rolls of fabric from the company. [12] The notice also said an employee group is starting a new fabric-making enterprise to be announced. [13]
On June 28, 2007, the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation said it would take over the underfunded (by 49%) Malden Mills pension plan, which covers about 1500 employees. PBGC said the sale of Malden Mills assets meant that the pension plan would be abandoned because the company missed a $1.7 million pension payment. [14]
In 2007 Malden Mills filed its final bankruptcy and Versa Capital purchased the assets to create a new company, Polartec, LLC. [15]
Polartec offers over 400 different fabrics including:
Polartec's customers include all branches of the United States Military, Patagonia, The North Face, Marmot, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Mountain Hardwear, Cabela's, Lands' End, L.L.Bean, Jack Wolfskin, Lafuma, Eider, Millet, Rab, Outdoor Research, Quiksilver, Melanzana, and many other technical apparel brands around the globe.
In 2011, Polartec launched a waterproof breathable fabric called Polartec NeoShell. This is a new category for Polartec – competing directly against Gore-Tex and other waterproof breathable fabrics. Polartec NeoShell's differentiating feature is a high level of air permeability. [16]
In December 2015, the company announced that it would close manufacturing operations in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and move production to plants in Hudson, New Hampshire and Tennessee. [17] [18]
This timeline of clothing and textiles technology covers events relating to fiber and flexible woven material worn on the body. This includes the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, and manufacturing systems (technology).
Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the east. Lawrence and Salem were the county seats of Essex County, until the state abolished county government in 1999. Lawrence is part of the Merrimack Valley.
A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rainsuit. Rain clothing may also be in one piece, like a boilersuit. Raincoats, like rain ponchos, offer the wearer hands-free protection from the rain and elements; unlike the umbrella.
Nackawic is a former town in New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the rural community of Nackawic-Millville. It is approximately 65 km west of the city of Fredericton on the east bank of the Saint John River.
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It has been used to make yarn, textiles and clothing for hundreds of years. Cashmere is closely associated with the Kashmir shawl, the word "cashmere" deriving from an anglicization of Kashmir, when the Kashmir shawl reached Europe in the 19th century. Both the soft undercoat and the guard hairs may be used; the softer hair is reserved for textiles, while the coarse guard hair is used for brushes and other non-apparel purposes. Cashmere is a hygroscopic fiber which essentially means that it absorbs water from the air. This helps regulate the body in both warm and cool temperatures by absorbing and releasing moisture based on the surrounding environment.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans. ERISA was enacted to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries by:
In the United States, bankruptcy is largely governed by federal law, commonly referred to as the "Bankruptcy Code" ("Code"). The United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States". Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, including through adoption of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at the lowest level necessary to carry out its operations. Subject to other statutory limitations, PBGC's single-employer insurance program pays pension benefits up to the maximum guaranteed benefit set by law to participants who retire at 65. The benefits payable to insured retirees who start their benefits at ages other than 65 or elect survivor coverage are adjusted to be equivalent in value. The maximum monthly guarantee for the multiemployer program is far lower and more complicated.
Aaron Mordechai Feuerstein was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and the third-generation owner and CEO of Malden Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Some remember him as “the mensch who saved Christmas” when he publicly declared: “I am not throwing three thousand people out of work, two weeks before their holiday.”
Polar fleece is a soft fabric made from polyester that is napped and insulating.
The Boston Manufacturing Company was a business that operated one of the first factories in America. It was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership with a group of investors later known as The Boston Associates, for the manufacture of cotton textiles. It built the first integrated spinning and weaving factory in the world at Waltham, Massachusetts, using water power. They used plans for a power loom that he smuggled out of England as well as trade secrets from the earlier horse-powered Beverly Cotton Manufactory, of Beverly, Massachusetts, of 1788. This was the largest factory in the U.S., with a workforce of about 300. It was a very efficient, highly profitable mill that, with the aid of the Tariff of 1816, competed effectively with British textiles at a time when many smaller operations were being forced out of business. While the Rhode Island System that followed was famously employed by Samuel Slater, the Boston Associates improved upon it with the "Waltham System". The idea was successfully copied at Lowell, Massachusetts, and elsewhere in New England. Many rural towns now had their own textile mills.
International Textile Group (ITG) is a diversified American fabric maker based in Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina by Wilbur Ross and was sold to Platinum Equity in 2016, leading to its move from Greensboro to Beverly Hills.
The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. From modest beginnings it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak, Amoskeag had 17,000 employees and around 30 buildings.
The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System is a protective clothing system developed in the 1980s by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts. The first generation ECWCS consisted of parka and trousers plus 20 other individual clothing, handwear, headwear and footwear items which are used in various combinations to meet the cold weather environmental requirements of the US military. The Extended Climate Warfighter Clothing System, or Gen III ECWCS, is designed to maintain adequate environmental protection in temperatures ranging between −60 and +40 °F.
The Malden Evening News was an independent five-day daily newspaper covering the city of Malden, Massachusetts.
The Medford Daily Mercury was an independent five-day daily newspaper covering the city of Medford, Massachusetts.
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, was an American yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, that was for the most part destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007.
A conductive textile is a fabric which can conduct electricity. Conductive textiles known as lamé are made with guipé thread or yarn that is conductive because it is composed of metallic fibers wrapped around a non-metallic core or has a metallic coating. A different way of achieving conductivity is to weave metallic strands into the textile.
The Old Colony Iron Works-Nemasket Mills Complex is a historic industrial site located on Old Colony Avenue in the East Taunton section of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States, adjacent to the Taunton River at the Raynham town line. The site was first occupied by the Old Colony Iron Company, which had originally been established in the 1820s as Horatio Leonard & Company. The western part of the complex was sold to Nemasket Mills in 1889. The eastern part was acquired by the Standard Oil Cloth Company. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Satinet is a finely woven fabric with a finish resembling satin, but made partly or wholly from cotton or synthetic fiber. The fibers may be natural or synthetic.
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