HIALEAH, FL — Microtex Fabrics has purchased a 50,000 square foot warehouse in Carrollton, Texas and will move the bulk of its operations there according to Steven Barek, Principal. Microtex, a 20-person firm, is a converter of upholstery and curtain fabric produced in China, Turkey, Italy and Brazil. His son Ethan, 25, was recently married and will live in Dallas near the warehouse. A small office will be maintained in the Miami area to serve the local market and Steve expects to shuttle back and forth once each month to visit the Dallas facility. Microtex has operated out of its own Hialeah warehouse since its founding in 1991, so the move represents a major increase for this mid-size converter and a big bet on the Dallas location. “We picked Dallas, because it is the center of the USA, and we faced higher shipping costs going across the USA from Miami,” he explains. “Dallas is a better location to reach our customers. We expect to improve our service to our customers out of Dallas.” Microtex has had its ups and downs with the flock market but now, it is out of that category, especially since it converts a woven velvet in printed and solid colors for $5.95 to the jobber. Its latest collection of 77 sku’s is one of ten new programs this year for the jobber and manufacturer. “If you don’t pump new programs into this market every week—you can’t stay in the business,” he says.