Roger Milliken celebrates 85th birthday at ATME-I 2000!
Roger Milliken celebrated his 85th birthday yesterday touring the show floor during the American Textile Machinery Exhibition-International 2000 (ATME-I) show. Mr. Milliken said that he spent over one quarter of this life attending trade shows and could not think of a better way to celebrate his birthday.
To show their appreciation for his dedication and love of Milliken and Co. and the textile indsutry, he was surprised by his associates with a birthday cake and card in the Milliken meeting area in the show hall.
Roger Milliken is chairman and CEO of Milliken & Co. He serves on the board of several industry groups, including the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, the South Carolina Textile Manufacturers Association, Crafted with Pride in The U.S.A. Council, and the Ludwig von Mises Institute's Entrepreneurs Council. A graduate of Yale University, Mr. Milliken holds honorary degrees from several institutions, colleges, and universities. His numerous awards include the Northern Textile Association Silver Medal (1989). Milliken led his company's quality initiative, resulting in being the only textile company to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Milliken & Company's was founded in 1865, when Seth Milliken and William Deering established Deering Milliken Co., a small woolen fabrics jobbing firm in Portland, Maine. William Deering left the company a few years later and started the Deering Harvester Company, which is today known as Navistar.
In 1868 Seth Milliken moved the company headquarters to New York City, at that time the heart of the American textile industry. In 1884, the company invested in a new facility in Pacolet, South Carolina, and from that basic beginning the manufacturing operations grew. In 1945 the Deering Milliken Research Trust was founded in a small renovated building in Clemson, South Carolina, and has grown to today's Milliken Research Corp. located at the Spartanburg headquarters.
In 1976, Deering Milliken officially became Milliken & Co. Today's global manufacturing operations originate in 5 southeastern states and extend to 10 countries worldwide.
Roger Milliken led his company's quality initiative and continues to be a significant force in this industry.
On behalf of the industry, we congratulate Mr. Milliken on the steadfastness and dedication to preserving the standards of this industry during his years at Milliken and Co. We wish him many more years of service and congratulate him on his 85th Birthday!
By Margie Richardson
Edited by Anndrea Vorobej
Managing Editor, TextileWeb