American Textile Manufacturers Institute
ATMI's objective is to provide its member companies with an organization to deal with problems and programs on an industry-wide, national basis. In recent years, as world production of textiles has expanded, the scope of the industry's concerns has become broader and more complex. ATMI members are increasingly looking beyond the U.S. market for export opportunities around the world. The institute is engaged in a number of industry initiatives to encourage global competitiveness and increase foreign market access.
ATMI is the U.S. textile industry's primary spokesman with the legislative and administrative branches of the federal government as well as the news media. ATMI's activities encompass government relations, international trade, product and administrative services, communications and economic information.
The institute serves as the coordinating force behind efforts of related trade associations and other organizations to obtain orderly international trade in textiles. At the same time, it is focusing efforts to obtain feasible and practical solutions to regulatory concerns.
The emergence of ATMI as the national trade association of the textile industry is the result of a series of mergers, beginning in 1949 with the consolidation of the American Cotton Manufacturers Association, with members primarily in the South, and the Cotton Textile Institute, with members primarily in the North.
In 1958, the National Federation of Textiles merged with ATMI, bringing in the man-made fiber and silk textile industries. This was followed by consolidations with the Association of Finishers of Textile Fabrics in 1965, the National Association of Wool Manufacturers in 1971 and the Thread Institute in 1989.