Lemco Mills, Inc. , Burlington, NC
Lemco Mills, Inc. was founded in 1965 as a "known cost" supplier and manufacturer of sheer ladies hosiery for
Montgomery Ward. "Known -cost" was a term used to identify a process where a company agreed ahead of
time to purchase goods at a fixed cost. This guaranteed that the hosiery company could set a constant
production schedule and build inventory in slow sales times. In the normal business model, the retailer would
wait until the last minute and order goods to be produced for the immediate sales season e.g., back-to-school,
Christmas, and Easter. Hosiery companies would scramble to produce at break-neck speed to fulfill the order,
requiring workers to work overtime and then be faced with layoffs when the season was over. Later, Lemco sold
products to national retailers other than Ward. The company was sold in 1990 to Berkshire Hosiery Corp.,
Wayne, NJ. Berkshire still occupies the same building in the Koury Industrial Park, Burlington.
Source: James W. Maynard, Personal interview, April 2009.
Page Copyright Gary N. Mock, 2009
Montgomery Ward. "Known -cost" was a term used to identify a process where a company agreed ahead of
time to purchase goods at a fixed cost. This guaranteed that the hosiery company could set a constant
production schedule and build inventory in slow sales times. In the normal business model, the retailer would
wait until the last minute and order goods to be produced for the immediate sales season e.g., back-to-school,
Christmas, and Easter. Hosiery companies would scramble to produce at break-neck speed to fulfill the order,
requiring workers to work overtime and then be faced with layoffs when the season was over. Later, Lemco sold
products to national retailers other than Ward. The company was sold in 1990 to Berkshire Hosiery Corp.,
Wayne, NJ. Berkshire still occupies the same building in the Koury Industrial Park, Burlington.
Source: James W. Maynard, Personal interview, April 2009.
Page Copyright Gary N. Mock, 2009
Berksire Hosiery
Koury Industrial Park,
Burlington, NC
Photo: Gary N. Mock
Koury Industrial Park,
Burlington, NC
Photo: Gary N. Mock