Textile Insight

Responding to Shifts in Industry Needs, MSC Expands & Evolves. By Emily Walzer MADE IN AMERICA / NORTH CAROLINA textileinsight.com November/December 2022 ~ Textile Insight • 13 I t's 8:30 am and phone calls are streaming in. Machines are being installed, new equipment is up and running and a Resource Lab is readying for its debut. ere's a lot happening at the Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC) in Conover, NC these days, and more to come. e current bustle reflects two plus years of updates and expansion of structures as well as services, all designed with the needs of today's textile industry top of mind. Like so many changes recently, Covid-19 played a large role in determining MSC's path forward. e surge in demand for PPE when the pandemic hit in 2020 illuminated both the dearth of domestic product available and the shortage of testing facilities for USA-made Personal Protection Equipment. "is building went silent for about a week, and then we were helping everybody," recalls Tony Whitener, special projects director, Manufacturing Solutions Center. "Early in the pandemic we were not only not producing PPE here in the states in the form of masks and gowns, but weren't testing it here either. ere was a backlog at that time in NIOSH testing, so we spent a lot of time assisting companies down-market testing products to fill the supply chain up to and including a Level 3 gown." At the same time, MSC had its own problem to deal with: Pre-pandemic the existing Manufacturing Solutions Center facility had become so crowded that it was close to bursting at the seams. Fast forward to 2022 and the situation is entirely different. e MSC is opening a new state-of-the-art facility, has refitted the existing MSC site, invested in testing resources and con- tinues to build on its entrepreneurial ecosystem. In a recent phone conversation with Whitener, MSC director Jeff Neuville, and colleague Tanya Wade, the execs expressed excitement about all the recent advancements and were quick to emphasize that the original mission of MSC, established 30 years ago as the Hosiery Technology Center, remains strong. "MSC has expanded, evolved and gone into the future with PPE, smart fabrics and seamless knitting machines, but has held onto its core DNA," states Wade, who oversees the PPE/ Resource Lab in addition to administering educational workshops. "We try to see what the industry demand is, and meet that demand. We learn the issues and problems the textile industry is dealing with, and then we see how we can help." The Latest Developments In the Fall of 2020, MSC received a North Carolina state appropriation grant of $9M to build a new facility and cover the cost of an upfit for the current building. More funds were also made available from public and private sectors, allowing MSC to forge ahead on many fronts. e brand new 45,000-square foot facility, referred to as MSC2, houses incubator clients, with structural engineering along with a fabric formation lab on the first floor. It also houses the PPE/Textile Resource Lab along with conference and meeting rooms as well some classrooms for Hosiery 101 and Sewn Goods workshops. Helping companies speed to market USA- made goods is at the heart of the MSC2 building's design. To have what's needed under one roof and at the fingertips of startups accel- erating their next stage of business is a big plus. e staff is currently setting up six Santoni knitting machines in MSC2 with the hope that the equipment will be fully operational early in 2023. "We can train, prototype and reinvigorate the seamless knitting industry with this equipment," remarks Whitener. "It can exist well beyond the PPE market." Few facilities have the size range of Santoni machines that will be available at MSC2. "We have a lot of requests from people looking for different sizes," explains Whitener. "It's not about production, but rather helping with product development and getting entrepreneurs started to be able to pass them along to manufacturing for the next step." Located upstairs at MSC2, the PPE/ Textile Resource Lab will consist of domestic sources for all types of materials. "If a manufacturer, or a brand, wants to re-shore and is looking for a domestic source to come back, they'll be able to come to Lab and find resources that can help put their product together from start to finish," Neuville shares. Wade adds that most people associate PPE with masks, gowns and gloves, but there are many other uses for PPE. She notes as examples cut-resistant gloves and clothing, FR suits, turnout suits for firefighters and construction workers' componentry. e renovation of the existing MSC facility, aka MSC1, located on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College will remain the lab sector and also have hosiery knitting machines there, as Wade works closely with hosiery specialists onsite. New additions include purchase of PPE testing equipment and two clean rooms. e MSC recognizes that the textile industry is always evolving and is already seeing new trends emerging. According to the execs, people are aware of the PPE business, and now inquiries about non-healthcare PPE testing are picking up. "We are hearing a lot about smart apparel and how technology is integrated into that," says Neuville. "MSC is well positioned to handle what is coming out of the pandemic, and even outside of the pandemic, with startups and entrepreneurs looking to create new products." n Solutions for Today & Tomorrow

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