Richloom Buys Chambers Fabrics Mill, Now Offers Made-in-America Wovens
Now Called Richloom Weaving, Mill Targets Upholstery Fabrics: Fortress Clear and Richloom Brands
December 23, 2019
NEW YORK -- Richloom Fabrics Group Inc. has bought a mill, more than a decade after selling its last one, the Chambers Fabrics facility in High Point, North Carolina.
Nolan Mitchell (left), Richloom vice president of upholstery sales/merchandising, and COO Michael Saivetz show fabrics made from its new mill in Highpoint, N.C.
Former owner Ray Chambers is now president of manufacturing and engineering.
“As a global company, we’re able to make products everywhere,” Richloom COO Michael Saivetz says. “The one area we were actually lacking was made-in-the-USA wovens.
“We have a print business up in New England, but this was a hole in our assortment.”
Tariffs are an issue.
“The unease of China or Vietnam, the lead-time issues that many were having, we decided that it was the right time,” Saivetz says.
He adds Richloom can now take its Chinese product and layer in its new domestic product. It’s a matter of logistics, price, and construction. Overall, the prices are $3 to $12 per yard for domestic fabrics, officials say.
“It’s things you just can’t get out of China or India,” Saivetz says. “The one thing that Richloom can do is to bring the product from all parts of the world, all different looks, and marry it in here. It’s not just wovens, not just body cloth, not just prints, not just embroideries, we can do everything.”
Richloom Vice President of Upholstery Sales/Merchandising Nolan Mitchell says the new mill will help with the companies’ diverse customers.
“There are some customers that really just want to buy out of a warehouse and just buy a domestic product,” he says. “And some who just buy in Asia or wherever, but with the diversity that we have, this gives a platform to make something [new].”
The Richloom Chinese operation, or Richloom Shanghai Trading, has not been altered.
“We have actually had an increase over there as well,” Saivetz says. “It’s a matter of a segment of our customers asking for a domestic product, and there are things we can make here that we can’t make in Asia.”
Nolan adds the domestic product isn’t so much about new prices as it is about new textures, use of yarns, and color combinations. Officials said the new fabrics sold “extremely well” at Showtime in November 2019.
Saivetz says diversification is the key to the future.
“It’s not easy out there, we all know that,” Saivetz says. “But I think we’re doing what we need to do to make sure we’re here for a long time.”
Jim Richman, CEO and president of Richloom, says, “Adding aggressively-priced domestic product to our portfolio is something I have wanted to do for many years. It’s great to be back in domestic production.”
Begun in 1988 as a fabric converter, Chambers Fabrics Inc. grew into a domestic, state-of-the-art, vertical-jacquard mill that offered woven jacquard textures, chenille, and flat-woven upholstery fabrics to the furniture industry, distributors, jobbers, and other specialty markets.
Nolan Mitchell (left), Richloom vice president of upholstery sales/merchandising, and COO Michael Saivetz show fabrics made from its new mill in Highpoint, N.C.
Former owner Ray Chambers is now president of manufacturing and engineering.
“As a global company, we’re able to make products everywhere,” Richloom COO Michael Saivetz says. “The one area we were actually lacking was made-in-the-USA wovens.
“We have a print business up in New England, but this was a hole in our assortment.”
Tariffs are an issue.
“The unease of China or Vietnam, the lead-time issues that many were having, we decided that it was the right time,” Saivetz says.
He adds Richloom can now take its Chinese product and layer in its new domestic product. It’s a matter of logistics, price, and construction. Overall, the prices are $3 to $12 per yard for domestic fabrics, officials say.
“It’s things you just can’t get out of China or India,” Saivetz says. “The one thing that Richloom can do is to bring the product from all parts of the world, all different looks, and marry it in here. It’s not just wovens, not just body cloth, not just prints, not just embroideries, we can do everything.”
Richloom Vice President of Upholstery Sales/Merchandising Nolan Mitchell says the new mill will help with the companies’ diverse customers.
“There are some customers that really just want to buy out of a warehouse and just buy a domestic product,” he says. “And some who just buy in Asia or wherever, but with the diversity that we have, this gives a platform to make something [new].”
The Richloom Chinese operation, or Richloom Shanghai Trading, has not been altered.
“We have actually had an increase over there as well,” Saivetz says. “It’s a matter of a segment of our customers asking for a domestic product, and there are things we can make here that we can’t make in Asia.”
Nolan adds the domestic product isn’t so much about new prices as it is about new textures, use of yarns, and color combinations. Officials said the new fabrics sold “extremely well” at Showtime in November 2019.
Saivetz says diversification is the key to the future.
“It’s not easy out there, we all know that,” Saivetz says. “But I think we’re doing what we need to do to make sure we’re here for a long time.”
Jim Richman, CEO and president of Richloom, says, “Adding aggressively-priced domestic product to our portfolio is something I have wanted to do for many years. It’s great to be back in domestic production.”
Begun in 1988 as a fabric converter, Chambers Fabrics Inc. grew into a domestic, state-of-the-art, vertical-jacquard mill that offered woven jacquard textures, chenille, and flat-woven upholstery fabrics to the furniture industry, distributors, jobbers, and other specialty markets.
