STI Celebrates Major Expansion

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1512.0"] Mark Hovis , COO, cutting the ribbon! [/caption]

This past Tuesday, STI celebrated a milestone... a milestone not only for the company, but for the home furnishings industry. For years, the industry news outlets had to tell stories of manufacturing plants shutting their doors and people losing their jobs; but now, the story has changed. 

Due to the success and rapid growth of Revolution Performance Fabrics, STI began a 150,000 square foot plant expansion in January 2017. A year later, that expansion is complete and will take STI's production from 500,000 yards a week to 750,000 yards a week. 40 new looms will soon be running inside the plant, with 100 new employees operating them. STI's lead time for fabric orders will now be 4 - 6 weeks; a far cry from the 12 - 14 weeks it takes to receive Chinese goods.

How did STI persevere through the 2008 economic crisis and become the success it is today? Sean Gibbons, CEO, provides a simple yet strong answer, "it's because of our people." Those people proudly stood inside STI's new plant on Tuesday, while Sean Gibbons and John Kay, President, addressed the large crowd of friends, family, vendors, customers and news media.

Bill Watson (President of Cleveland County Chamber), Scott Neisler (Mayor of Kings Mountain) and Eddie Holbrook (Cleveland County Commissioner), also spoke at the event about the great economic impact STI has on their residing county and the state of North Carolina. 

If 2017 is an inclination of what 2018 has in store for STI, there are some great things ahead! 

*See below photos and videos from STI's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Above: Sean Gibbons, CEO, speaks to the crowd about his family's history with King's Plush and the growth of STI. 

Above: John Kay, President, recognizes the people and organizations that helped STI achieve success over the many years it has been in operation. 

Above: A tour of the new plant! Created by Anderson Gibbons