Culp will close two N.C. yarn plants
Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, September 5, 2005
High Point — Upholstery fabric and ticking supplier Culp is closing two yarn production plants and reducing its workforce by about 100 in a move to better align domestic capacity with demand.
The company will sell its polypropylene yarn extrusion equipment in Graham, N.C., to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based American Fibers and Yarns Co., one of Culp's suppliers, for $1.1 million.
Culp will close the Graham operation by the end of October. AF&Y will continue to supply Culp with polypropylene yarn.
In addition, Culp will close its yarn plant in Shelby, N.C. The chenille yarn operations there will be consolidated into the Lincolnton, N.C., plant. Culp will outsource the open-end yarns previously produced in Shelby.
After the closings, Culp will have one yarn plant in Lincolnton for producing chenille and wrap-spun yarns, and also a small texturizing yarn operation in Graham.
The company expects to take pretax charges of about $5.9 million, of which $5.1 million should be non-cash items, in the second quarter of fiscal 2006.
Chairman and CEO Rob Culp said the company remains committed to "taking whatever steps are necessary to restore the profitability of our U.S. upholstery fabric operations."
Culp expects to report first-quarter 2006 results Aug. 31.
