Ellsweig to head Microfibres sales
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, July 31, 2006
Pawtucket, R.I. — Bob Ellsweig will step down as president of Covington Upholstery Fabrics to join flocked fabric specialist Microfibres to spearhead a rebuilding of the company's presence in the furniture industry.
Ellsweig, a 40-year textile veteran, will become vice president of sales and marketing for upholstery, a new position at Microfibres, on July 31.
He will handle North American sales, marketing and branding, including working with the design team and directing the sales force.
He will report to Jim McCulloch, president of Microfibres.
Ellsweig headed Rapier-Cambridge Mills until Covington acquired it in 1999. Since then, he has been president of Covington Upholstery Fabrics. That company, now Covington New York, was acquired by an investment group earlier this year and is consolidating its sales management team in New York.
Covington CEO Roger Gilmartin said the company's upholstery team in North Carolina will now report to Chris Geiger, vice president of sales and marketing in New York.
McCulloch said Ellsweig's initial focus will be on "rebuilding our presence in the U.S." For most of the past 25 years, the firm Glabman-Himes had handled sales and marketing for Microfibres, but that relationship ended this year.
McCulloch said that in recruiting Ellsweig, "We wanted to find a real pro with experience and contacts in the industry who could help us strengthen our brand and presence with major furniture manufacturers and retailers, as well as help us develop alternate channels of distribution."
Microfibres has plants in the United States and overseas.
"We are firmly convinced of the value proposition represented by domestically produced fabrics, because this is a fashion business and if consumers don't like the color or the design or the hand or the finish, they won't buy it," said McCulloch.
Problems with imported fabrics can inflate their true cost, he and Ellsweig said.
