How a Midsize Textile Maker Uses Technology to Compete Globally
The textile manufacturing industry shipped out a generation ago. But a midsize North Carolina company uses IT to bring home the profits of globalization.
CIO — After the Civil War, when John Q. Gant came home to central North Carolina, he took a job at a cotton mill in Altamahaw. Throughout the 1870s, he bought up shares of the mill, and by 1880 he owned it. Facing stiff competition from the mills up North, Gant invested heavily in the one thing many of his Southern counterparts had largely ignored: the best, most cutting-edge technology on the market. In the late 19th century, the company—today called Glen Raven and headquartered a few miles south, in Burlington, N.C.—became one of the first Southern mills to dye fabrics (most others sent their cotton up North).
In the 1930s, Glen Raven started using synthetic fibers and began knitting operations, which eventually led the company to invent panty hose in 1959. The company has never been content with standing still, either. Today, it claims to hold significant market share with its durable Sunbrella fabric, which is used for restaurant awnings and outdoor furniture. The private company has flourished globally even as North American textile manufacturers—in competition with Asia for a generation—have largely fallen off the map.
Headquarters: Burlington, N.C.
Primary business: Textile manufacturing
Employees: 2,800
IT executive: John Duncan, VP, corporate information services
IT employees: 25
Key technology vendors: Jomar, Oracle
Today, John’s grandson, Glen Raven CEO Allen Gant Jr., 59, continues to apply his grandfather’s philosophy for success: Invest in technology, profit from it, then reinvest in more technology. Only now, IT is just as critical, if not more so, than the latest manufacturing equipment. The strategy is paying off for this mid-market company (which does not disclose its revenue). Glen Raven now sells products in 121 countries and has 2,800 employees.
Gant talked with CIO Associate Staff Writer C.G. Lynch about how IT gives Glen Raven a competitive advantage.
CIO: Glen Raven has not only survived the migration of the textile industry away from the United States, you’ve been able to expand globally. How has IT enabled this growth?
Allen Gant Jr.: As an international business, we have operations in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Americas and Asia. The coordination of those businesses would be virtually impossible without IT. For example, we have a China operation that runs 24/7. It’s a 190,000-square-foot facility in Suzhou that we opened in September of 2006. This facility is a marketing, sourcing, product development and manufacturing center for Glen Raven throughout Asia.
