Interview with Thomas Caudle

Thomas Caudle
President
Unifi Inc

Supply chain flexibility is still a challenge for processed yarns

Unifi Inc. is one of the world's leading innovators in synthetic and recycled yarns. The company provides global textile solutions and unique branded yarns for customers at every level of the supply chain. Thomas Caudle, President, Unifi shares his insights on the global fibre market and the latest developments at the company.

What kind of impact will the presidency of Donald Trump have on the textiles and apparel market of the US?

The overall narrative supporting domestic manufacturers should favour Unifi given our advanced technology assets in this region. However, we will be paying close attention to the details around trade agreements and tax policies to ensure that they are supportive of the US textiles and apparel industry.

Which major factors will have an influence on the global fibre market?

The global textile fibres market continues to grow, with a projected 3 per cent annual average growth rate from 2015-2020. Polyester and nylon account for 60 per cent of the market, and we expect this share to continue to increase. Fluctuations in raw material costs will have an impact on production costs and overall consumer spending levels will impact fibre demand and production volumes.

What is the size of the market for specialised yarns? At what rate is it growing?

Although we can't speak for the industry, Unifi's premium value-added (PVA) yarn sales have grown at an estimated 10-15 per cent rate each year. We expect this to continue in the future.

Which are your big markets for Sorbtek, Repreve, Reflexx and Dynamic Cross-Section?

Apparel continues to be the largest market for Sorbtek, Repreve, Reflexx and Dynamic Cross-Section.

What markets do you plan to penetrate into in near-future?

Since opening the Repreve Bottle Processing Centre in 2016, we have been exploring additional options for our recycled bottle flake. Currently, flake is being sold for use in a variety of consumer packaging applications, such as thermoformed food-grade packaging as well as non-food applications, for example, strapping and film. On the Repreve chip side, among others, we supply the non-woven markets. These are non-traditional markets for Unifi where we will continue to explore profitable growth opportunities. We are also continuing to expand in Asia to meet customer supply chain requirements.

What are the latest innovations dominating the industry of value-added yarns?

Consumer demand for comfort and performance combined with style will be the driving force for continued innovation in the industry. We also continue to see growing support and interest in sustainable products and processes.

Which are the three main sustainable policies followed at your units?

Unifi integrates sustainability into everything we do. Our flagship recycled product line, Repreve, is produced from recycled materials that would have otherwise ended-up in landfills. To date, we have recycled more than 5 billion plastic bottles into Repreve fibre. Repreve not only alleviates the use of crude oil products, it also requires less energy and water for production and results in lower greenhouse gas emissions. At our bottle processing facility, we have a water treatment plant that recycles water from the fibre dyeing process to be used for bottle washing. We also have a solar farm that supports energy usage at our domestic plants.

What are the near future investments plans at Unifi?

The most recent development is the opening of the Repreve Bottle Processing Centre in Reidsville, North Carolina, which achieves our goal of vertically integrating the Repreve recycled product line, adding flexibility, expanding production capabilities and supporting volume growth. This state-of-the-art facility utilises custom-designed, cutting-edge technology and has the capacity to produce 75 million pounds of the highest quality, consistent, clean bottle flake each year. With this investment, we have increased production flexibility that will allow us to better serve our customers.

What budget have you allocated towards R&D?

Unfortunately, it is not our policy to disclose budget numbers. However, we can confirm that R&D will remain a major focus as we continue to provide innovative products to our customers.

What are the challenges that the processed yarns industry is currently facing?

As I mentioned earlier, fluctuations in raw material prices impact profitability and also demand. Supply chain flexibility continues to be a challenge for the industry facing shorter lead times and smaller individual order sizes as brands and retailers respond to consumer demands for fast fashion plus corporate requirements to minimize inventory holdings.

Please share details of the last two fiscal and your expectations for the next two fiscal years.

Over the last five years, we have consistently increased profit each year, driven by the success of our innovative premium value-added products both domestically and abroad. We continue to grow our global footprint, with recent expansions into Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Turkey. Our capex programme over the last three years has increased our capacity to produce premium value-added yarns and positions us well for growth in the future. With the opening of the Repreve Bottle Processing Centre, our operation is also more vertically integrated, adding flexibility, enhancing our production capabilities and supporting volume growth. For the next two fiscal years, we remain committed to producing the highest quality, most innovative and sustainable products for our customers around the world.

Published on: 03/03/2017

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.