Post-Leaderman Rockland Diversifies, Introduces New Products
December 12, 2000
Baltimore Md. — Rockland Industries Inc. is capitalizing on its experience in manufacturing multi-layer coatings to develop new products for diversified niche markets. At the same time, the company is making efforts to fine-tune its burgeoning wide-width drapery lining business worldwide, according to Mark Berman, president and CEO.
To continue its growth and diversity, Berman has doubled Rockland's research and development budget. "We are committed to the rapid and continuous development of new products." He said that the company encourages all employees to come forward with new ideas."
Here are few of the projects Rockland has on its plate today.
• It has just patented a cloth for blackout roller shades with the cloth surface on both sides and the blackout between the two. Rockland is in discussions with several window shade producers for the marketing rights to the product.
• It has developed a new division named 'Roc-Med' to market a line of coated incontinence products for the health care industry.
• Rockland is also negotiating with the roofing industry about a superior roofing component, currently under development.
• Rockland blackout linings are presently being used as a print base in Western Europe by leading print and fabric converters. Henner Haufe, who is managing director of Creative Furnishings Fabrics Agency and who has been a Rockland sales rep for more than 20 years, fostered this idea.
Rockland said that depending on which printing process is used, it offers different constructions with both high count and lower count blends in textile in 50/50 poly/cotton, 70/30 poly/cotton. Rockland's 100% polyester blackout is the newest addition known as Roc-Lon Proprint™ blackout.
"The polyester blackout was developed specifically for heat-transfer printing not only to bring out the full spectrum of color but to totally match any of the patterns in the room using polyester as a base cloth for bedspreads," said Stan Fradin, president of Rockland Mills division.
• Rockland is marketing 'TLC' (total light control) as a readymade attachable blackout drapery lining that is gaining strength at the retail level. National U.S. chains such as Bed, Bath & Beyond are currently featuring the product.
• J.C. Penney, in addition to featuring Roc-Lon® linings in its custom drapery programs, has recently adopted a 110-inch sateen drapery lining, according to Fradin. "This is the first 110-inch sateen drapery lining available in the market," he said. "This new wide lining gives J.C. Penney the ability to save money on the labor of making a drapery by eliminating seams and also improving the look of the drapery. It eliminates any puckering when lining panels are joined together. Rockland Mills has more than 1,000 SKUs of drapery linings for residential and commercial use in its program."
Fradin said ocean containers leave the Rockland docks for ports in 80 countries on a daily basis. The company has been awarded the "E" and E* awards for export excellence by the U.S. Government for its activities furthering U.S. export trade, Fradin said.
Whatever the recent developments of the company, Berman and Fradin continue to feel the influence of Zandy Leaderman, Rockland's founder, who passed away one year ago.
It was Leaderman who figured out how to uniformly apply foam coating to textiles, still considered a complicated finishing process. Rockland continues to formulate all of its own coatings in its own plants. Initially, Rockland developed the Roc-Lon brand name and a cooperative advertising program, which Fradin said "caught the consumer's attention. What Chiquita® did for bananas, Roc-Lon® did for the drapery lining," he said.
Under Leaderman, Rockland was the first company to invent and perfect the three-pass blackout lining. "When Zandy finished his service duty after WWII. He scraped together enough borrowed money to purchase the Rockland operation. Rockland traces its roots back to 1832, just about 60 years after the American Revolution and decades before the Civil War.
In 1963, after the development of Leaderman's idea for drapery lining, which came to be known as Roc-Lon® rain-no-stain, the Rockland Mills division was formed for marketing purposes. It was the only drapery lining ever awarded a U.S. patent for the unique chemical finish applied to the fabric," said Fradin.
After cultivating the residential markets for drapery linings for the remainder of the '60s, Rockland turned to the commercial sector in the '70s, focusing on the hotel industry.
Then Rockland developed an acrylic-coated drapery blackout lining. "The products made prior to our product for the hotel industry were all made of PVC vinyl which was difficult to sew, reacted strongly to temperature changes and in many instances filled the room with a plastic odor," said Fradin. "The biggest problem with the PVCs was that they couldn't be cleaned by regular dry cleaning methods; doing so would destroy the product.
"Rockland was approached by a major hotel chain to develop blackout lining that would be sewable, non-reactive to extreme temperatures, be odorless and be totally dry cleanable and washable. Rockland made it available in two- and three-pass versions in both fire-retardant and non-fire-retardant forms," Fradin said.
"We even trim the selvages off of our wide-width product and this Edge to Edge™ feature gives to the manufacturer or user the added advantage of not having to trim selvages in the workroom."
The program also features 30 fashion colors of the Denimtone™ All In One™ blackout solid-color program in the customer's choice of white or ecru foam, fire-retardant or non-fire-retardant. Rockland markets its own programs of contract-inspired designs which can be used where required by budget as a single fabric featuring blackout, fire retardancy and design all-in-one.
Rockland owns two manufacturing plants: one plant in inner-Baltimore and the other in Bamberg, SC. Each plant has multiple coating lines for all types of finishes and can execute bleaching and preparation processes as well as work with the most sophisticated finishes, the company said. Wide foam coating lines enable Rockland to produce custom widths of blackout when required. Rockland can produce special colors, special put-ups and hand characteristics depending on the customers' requirements.
"When we get a request for bid from a new customer, we don't send a quotation. We always first ask the customer why they need a specific requirement. Maybe we can find a better way to fill it and save the customer money," Fradin explained. "We always try to engineer the end use for each customer. Of course, if someone insists on a budget, 54-inch product, white-on-white, we've got it at a very competitive price. However, if you want 110-inch Roc-Lon, you'll pay a premium for it. You can't buy PVC wide-width in the U.S.A. If you want to print our linings, then you need a better face. Even Mascioni prints on our lining. Rockland makes a commodity product but it is the best commodity product you can buy," he said.
Fradin, who joined the company as director of advertising in 1966 and became president of the Rockland Mills division in 1974, remembers Leaderman's saying: "Only Rockland is crazy enough to romance the backside of a drapery.''
Pastad Mills, a Rockland division, manufactures all kinds of linings and ticking for the textile industry. Also, it is a major competitor for over-the-counter fabrics for the $14 billion crafts business at retail. Pastad president Tom Kasputys said he expects Rockland's new 90-inch wide screen print line to play an active role in further developing this business. Pastad wants all it can get from it.
To continue its growth and diversity, Berman has doubled Rockland's research and development budget. "We are committed to the rapid and continuous development of new products." He said that the company encourages all employees to come forward with new ideas."
Here are few of the projects Rockland has on its plate today.
• It has just patented a cloth for blackout roller shades with the cloth surface on both sides and the blackout between the two. Rockland is in discussions with several window shade producers for the marketing rights to the product.
• It has developed a new division named 'Roc-Med' to market a line of coated incontinence products for the health care industry.
• Rockland is also negotiating with the roofing industry about a superior roofing component, currently under development.
• Rockland blackout linings are presently being used as a print base in Western Europe by leading print and fabric converters. Henner Haufe, who is managing director of Creative Furnishings Fabrics Agency and who has been a Rockland sales rep for more than 20 years, fostered this idea.
Rockland said that depending on which printing process is used, it offers different constructions with both high count and lower count blends in textile in 50/50 poly/cotton, 70/30 poly/cotton. Rockland's 100% polyester blackout is the newest addition known as Roc-Lon Proprint™ blackout.
"The polyester blackout was developed specifically for heat-transfer printing not only to bring out the full spectrum of color but to totally match any of the patterns in the room using polyester as a base cloth for bedspreads," said Stan Fradin, president of Rockland Mills division.
• Rockland is marketing 'TLC' (total light control) as a readymade attachable blackout drapery lining that is gaining strength at the retail level. National U.S. chains such as Bed, Bath & Beyond are currently featuring the product.
• J.C. Penney, in addition to featuring Roc-Lon® linings in its custom drapery programs, has recently adopted a 110-inch sateen drapery lining, according to Fradin. "This is the first 110-inch sateen drapery lining available in the market," he said. "This new wide lining gives J.C. Penney the ability to save money on the labor of making a drapery by eliminating seams and also improving the look of the drapery. It eliminates any puckering when lining panels are joined together. Rockland Mills has more than 1,000 SKUs of drapery linings for residential and commercial use in its program."
Fradin said ocean containers leave the Rockland docks for ports in 80 countries on a daily basis. The company has been awarded the "E" and E* awards for export excellence by the U.S. Government for its activities furthering U.S. export trade, Fradin said.
Whatever the recent developments of the company, Berman and Fradin continue to feel the influence of Zandy Leaderman, Rockland's founder, who passed away one year ago.
It was Leaderman who figured out how to uniformly apply foam coating to textiles, still considered a complicated finishing process. Rockland continues to formulate all of its own coatings in its own plants. Initially, Rockland developed the Roc-Lon brand name and a cooperative advertising program, which Fradin said "caught the consumer's attention. What Chiquita® did for bananas, Roc-Lon® did for the drapery lining," he said.
Under Leaderman, Rockland was the first company to invent and perfect the three-pass blackout lining. "When Zandy finished his service duty after WWII. He scraped together enough borrowed money to purchase the Rockland operation. Rockland traces its roots back to 1832, just about 60 years after the American Revolution and decades before the Civil War.
In 1963, after the development of Leaderman's idea for drapery lining, which came to be known as Roc-Lon® rain-no-stain, the Rockland Mills division was formed for marketing purposes. It was the only drapery lining ever awarded a U.S. patent for the unique chemical finish applied to the fabric," said Fradin.
After cultivating the residential markets for drapery linings for the remainder of the '60s, Rockland turned to the commercial sector in the '70s, focusing on the hotel industry.
Then Rockland developed an acrylic-coated drapery blackout lining. "The products made prior to our product for the hotel industry were all made of PVC vinyl which was difficult to sew, reacted strongly to temperature changes and in many instances filled the room with a plastic odor," said Fradin. "The biggest problem with the PVCs was that they couldn't be cleaned by regular dry cleaning methods; doing so would destroy the product.
"Rockland was approached by a major hotel chain to develop blackout lining that would be sewable, non-reactive to extreme temperatures, be odorless and be totally dry cleanable and washable. Rockland made it available in two- and three-pass versions in both fire-retardant and non-fire-retardant forms," Fradin said.
"We even trim the selvages off of our wide-width product and this Edge to Edge™ feature gives to the manufacturer or user the added advantage of not having to trim selvages in the workroom."
The program also features 30 fashion colors of the Denimtone™ All In One™ blackout solid-color program in the customer's choice of white or ecru foam, fire-retardant or non-fire-retardant. Rockland markets its own programs of contract-inspired designs which can be used where required by budget as a single fabric featuring blackout, fire retardancy and design all-in-one.
Rockland owns two manufacturing plants: one plant in inner-Baltimore and the other in Bamberg, SC. Each plant has multiple coating lines for all types of finishes and can execute bleaching and preparation processes as well as work with the most sophisticated finishes, the company said. Wide foam coating lines enable Rockland to produce custom widths of blackout when required. Rockland can produce special colors, special put-ups and hand characteristics depending on the customers' requirements.
"When we get a request for bid from a new customer, we don't send a quotation. We always first ask the customer why they need a specific requirement. Maybe we can find a better way to fill it and save the customer money," Fradin explained. "We always try to engineer the end use for each customer. Of course, if someone insists on a budget, 54-inch product, white-on-white, we've got it at a very competitive price. However, if you want 110-inch Roc-Lon, you'll pay a premium for it. You can't buy PVC wide-width in the U.S.A. If you want to print our linings, then you need a better face. Even Mascioni prints on our lining. Rockland makes a commodity product but it is the best commodity product you can buy," he said.
Fradin, who joined the company as director of advertising in 1966 and became president of the Rockland Mills division in 1974, remembers Leaderman's saying: "Only Rockland is crazy enough to romance the backside of a drapery.''
Pastad Mills, a Rockland division, manufactures all kinds of linings and ticking for the textile industry. Also, it is a major competitor for over-the-counter fabrics for the $14 billion crafts business at retail. Pastad president Tom Kasputys said he expects Rockland's new 90-inch wide screen print line to play an active role in further developing this business. Pastad wants all it can get from it.
