Avondale Mills Inc. Commits $115 Million to Modernization
The money will be earmarked for the various facilities according to their technology needs and updates. $32 million will be designated to the Bevelle Plant in Alexander City, AL. Monies will be used to replace equipment with the newest technology for the production of combed cotton yarn with linked ring spinning. The new equipment consists of a highly automated system capable of producing the highest quality yarns for various knitted and woven apparel applications. The weaving equipment will also be upgraded, and will function as a satellite weaving adjunct to the company's denim operations near Sylacauga, AL. The employment impact will result in 51 new positions for the Bevelle Plant.
At the company's Eva Jane Plant near Sylacauga, AL, an $8 million project will provide the plant with advanced air-jet weaving machines to increase their production of denim by 10 million square yards per year.
In Pell City, AL, a $4 million project will provide new winding for the plant's high quality combed and carded yarn capacity. The previously announced Coosa Plant project near Rockford, AL, will cost approximately $10 million and provide for new linked spinning equipment.
Additionally, about $20 million will be spent on various smaller projects to improve the company's Alabama facilities in fiscal years 2000 and 2001.
Felker remarked that Avondale's decision to invest these $74 million in Alabama because of the Alabama Tort Reform Act of 1999, in addition tax incentives.
In South Carolina, the company's Townsend Plant in Graniteville will receive approximately $18 million in new linked spinning capacity to support the plant's weaving requirements. Also, in Graniteville, SC, a $3 million project for the company's Gregg Plant will result in new sanforizing and additional quality control equipment. Another $20 million in smaller miscellaneous projects will also be spent on South Carolina operations in fiscal 2000 and 2001.
The projects are executed over the next 18 months, and an additional $30 million in expenditures is being considered for this same time frame.
Edited by Anndrea Vorobej