The association’s 21st Summer Marketing Forum explored technology, talent and industry trends.
The Southern Textile Association (STA) was founded in 1908. The nonprofit organization has more than 500 members from almost every sector of the textile industry most of whom are located in the Southeastern United States. To best serve its members, STA is divided into two divisions — the Northern Division and the Southern Division. STA hosts divisional meetings every spring and fall — in North Carolina and South Carolina — as well as a Winter Seminar, a Summer Marketing Forum and an Annual Meeting.
More than 100 people attended the recent Summer Marketing Forum, which was held at the Textile Technology Center at Gaston College in Belmont, N.C. The theme for the conference was “Strength In Our Threads: Talent, Tradition And Tomorrow’s Market.” The program was curated to explore innovation, branding, artificial intelligence, retail trends and the future of textiles in America.
The forum was preceded by an optional tour of the Kimbrell Fiber Innovation Center and Textile Technology Center.
STA President Nathan Evans of Advan Enterprises opened the proceedings, and Jim Booterbaugh, CEO of National Spinning Co./Carolina Nonwovens, moderated the forum.
Gaston College President Dr. John Hauser was a last-minute addition to the day’s agenda to speak about FutureTEX, the newly announced Department of War initiative to be led by NC State and headquartered at Gaston College’s Kimbrell Campus (See “FutureTEX Aims To Strengthen U.S. Textile Manufacturing”).
Attendees heard from five other individual presenters:
- William Barnes, principal of Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, Under Armour — “Performance Innovation Through Athlete-Centric Philosophy;”
- Deidre Goodwin, founder and CFO of HALTZGLOVES — “From Idea To International Brand: The HALTZGLOVES Journey;”
- Barbara Buhr, senior vice president and managing director, Global Sourcing, at Destination XL Group Inc. — “Destination XL Bringing FiTMAP Technology To The Big And Tall Guest;”
- Alexis Diaz, head of growth at Top of Funnel, host of the “Manufacturer’s Magic Wand” podcast and founder of Lead Megaphone — “AI As A Relationship Starter: A Marketing Playbook For The American Mill;” and
- Joe Parrish, founder of upupdndn — “AI is Working For Someone. Why Not You?”
The afternoon’s proceedings closed with a panel discussion titled “The State Of American Textiles: A Leadership Roundtable” featuring Brian Moore, president of Unifi Inc., Mark Hatton, managing director of Threads Americas, American & Efird, and Davis Warlick, COO, Parkdale Mills. The panel was moderated by Cheryl Smyre, vice president of Parkdale Advanced Materials + CiCLO.®
“This year marked the 21st annual Summer Marketing Forum, a program STA developed to bring brands, retailers, entrepreneurs and other voices from the marketplace directly to the textile industry,” said Devin Steele, STA secretary and treasurer. “It continues to be one of STA’s most popular events and, outside of our Annual Meeting, is typically our highest-attended program of the year. I think that speaks to the value our members place on hearing directly from the people developing, sourcing and bringing products to market, combined with the tremendous networking opportunities the forum provides. This year’s strong turnout — with more than 100 industry representatives — was another indication of the energy and engagement we’re seeing across the association and the textile industry.”
