Milliken & Co.,
Spartanburg, SC
Spartanburg, SC
Milliken & Company
Seth Milliken (1836-1920?), the founder of what would become in the late 20th century, the largest family-
owned textile business in the world, was the son of a physician in New Hampshire. Young Seth set out to
begin a new career, one based on merchandising, when he became a miller, a schoolteacher and a
storekeeper. In 1861, at the age of 25, he moved about 30 miles from his home in Minot to Portland, ME and
invested in a retail business with his brother-in-law, Dan True. In 1865, after the Civil War, he formed a
partnership with William Deering to open a general store doing business as Deering and Milliken. Later, they
became textile sales agents for the Farnsworth Mill of Lisbon Center, ME. When a fire destroyed the building
occupied by Deering and Milliken and all their sales inventory except for potatoes, Milliken loaded the potatoes
on board a ship and headed for Boston. In Boston, he found a saturated potato market and sailed on to New
York where he sold potatoes with little trouble. Having no business to return to in Maine and finding a
flourishing market in New York, the partners established their business in New York. 1,2
Shortly after arriving in New York, Deering had an idea to develop harvesting equipment and wished to leave
for the mid west. He left for Chicago and set up the Deering Harvesting Machinery Company. Milliken so
admired his friend that he kept the Deering name in his mercantile business for years. During the following
years, Milliken bought accounts receivable of cash-short textile companies and continued to represent textile
companies out of the New York office. Deering Harvesting later became International Harvester and is now
Navistar. 1, 5
In 1884, Captain John Montgomery of Spartanburg, SC organized Pacolet Manufacturing Company. Like
many aspiring Southern entrepreneurs, Montgomery went to New York seeking backers to invest in the
growing Southern textile industry. He met with Seth Milliken who put up $10,000 of the $100,000 capitalization
“as a starter.” This was the beginning of a long and interesting association between the two men. It was
Milliken’s first investment in a Southern mill. Walter Montgomery, grandson of the founder, in The Men and the
Mills.2
Other Southern mills’ products were later added to Milliken’s sales book, including the production of Spartan,
Pacolet, Drayton and Whitney Mills. Spartan added mills including New Holland, and Gainesville, GA. 1,2
In 1916, son Gerrish Hill Milliken ( - 1947) joined the family business. He was reportedly an excellent
tennis player, had studied at Yale, and more importantly, an excellent businessman. Mills that flourished
during World War I often had a difficult time making the adjustment to peacetime business in the early 1920s.
He acquired the Judson Mill, Greenville, SC, noted for years as a very fine combed-yarn spinning and weaving
mill. Gerrish was also not afraid to try new things. While another textile pioneer, Spencer Love, was busy
trying rayon in Burlington, NC, Milliken also added the new silk-like fiber to the mix at Judson. 1
For those who survived the post-war transition and subsequent growth in the 1920s, the 1930s were trying
times for many mills as the Great Depression squeezed profits. Mills, who relied on bankers in New York for
financing, often lost their mills when sales did not earn enough to service the debt. Gerrish Milliken’s main
line for representation was woolen and worsteds, manufactured chiefly in New England. He continued to
represent Southern mills as well and financed a few through the “factoring” business. Reportedly, the
combination of Montgomery and Milliken controlled more textile mills in the South Carolina “Upcountry” than
anyone else. When mills failed to repay debts, factors became the new owners. Pacolet Mills, Pacolet, SC,
the first mill organized by John Montgomery and financed by Seth Milliken became partially owned by Deering
Milliken in the 1930s and 1940s, as did Drayton, Lockhart and Gaffney Manufacturing. Pacolet was totally
consolidated into the Milliken business in 1967. Drayton Mills, Spartanburg, SC, organized by Montgomery
and others in 1902, was sold to Deering Milliken in 1937. The Montgomery family kept Spartan, Beaumont
and Startex. Other mills joined the business: Red Springs Woolen Mill, Red Springs, NC; Hatch Woolen Mill,
Columbus, NC; Darlington Manufacturing Co., Darlington, SC; Hartsville, SC; Ottaray Mill, Union, SC; Excelsior
Union, Union, SC; McCormick Woolen Mill, McCormick, SC; and Johnsonville, SC. 1, 2
During World War II, textile mills that sold through Deering Milliken produced a wide range of yarns and
fabrics. One important need for the war effort was tire cord. The War Production Board issued a Certificate of
Necessity in 1944 for Deering Milliken to manufacture nylon tire cord. Accordingly, a totally new facility was
designed and built for one purpose – to manufacture tire cord as efficiently as possible. The Excelsior Tire
Cord Plant (later renamed the DeFore Plant in honor of Ernest DeFore, long time manager of the plant) was
built on the Seneca River across from Clemson College, Clemson, SC. It was a one-story building arranged
to facilitate the flow of raw material through all stages of manufacture and delivery to the shipping dock. It was
the first textile mill built without windows and with complete air cleaning and cooling systems. The mill set a
pattern that would be copied over and over throughout the industry. 1 After the war ended in 1945, a wave of
consolidation followed as companies readjusted from wartime products to a consumer economy.
Roger Milliken (1915- ) succeeded his father Gerrish H. as president upon his father’s death in 1947. Two
other grandsons of the founder of the Deering Milliken business, Gerrish H., Jr., and Minot K. Milliken took over
various aspects of the family business, but it was Roger who took over the job of running the mills, expanding
operations and undertaking research that would take the company to the forefront of textile innovation and
implementation. A research team (Deering Milliken Research Trust) was organized in Clemson, SC, in
1945, was moved to Stamford and Greenwich, CT and in 1949 moved to an upper floor at Excelsior Finishing
Plant, Pendleton, SC, a part of the new three-plant worsted group of Milliken. Attorney Dr. Norman Armitage
served as president at Pendleton and later headed all the technical legal activities of the company. It was
there that the first research development of worldwide significance was developed—a strongly patented edge-
crimping texturing process for nylon continuous filament yarn. Manufacturing rights were licensed to many
American and foreign companies and Milliken’s name began to be recognized as an innovative and
technology driven company. Trade named “Agilon,” it was highly profitable and for years was the leading yarn
for producing one-sized stretch women’s hosiery due to its non-torque properties. Russell Newton, recently
having joined the company from Dan River Mills, where he was president, became president of DMRT in
January, 1953. Dr. Armitage became Vice President.
Mr. Roger Milliken also built new mills with the most modern machinery and electronic controls available. His
second new mill was the Gerrish Milliken Mill, Pendleton, SC, named in honor of his father. The mill was built
following the same one story design pioneered at the Excelsior Tire Cord Plant. New synthetic fibers, nylon
and later Orlon acrylic fiber were the heart of the business. In addition, the Milliken family operated a cattle
farm on the premises. Drivers along US 76 between Anderson and Pendleton often were greeted with a
pastoral scene of contented cows with a modern textile mill in the background. 1
In 1954, Mr. Roger Milliken moved to Spartanburg – a move that stamped his mark on the move to the south
that had been underway throughout the century. Visits to the mill became much more time-efficient. He also
was a visionary who recognized that the industry could not simply improve itself into success. Bulk production
of standard goods at lower cost cannot compete with off shore lower wages. That had already been proven
when new mills opened in the South in the 1890s. New Southern mills and inexperienced labor soundly beat
the New England manufacturers with their older equipment and experienced hands. New mills, new
processes and new products had to be developed. 2
The Kingsley Mill, Thomson, GA was built to cut and package fabric for retail sale. The plant was named for
Francis Kingsley, a Deering Milliken executive who planned and operated the Milliken Breakfast Show, an
annual advertising show. The Show brought customers who were invited to New York each October where a
dazzling display modeled on Broadway shows featured new fabrics. 1
Research Moves to Spartanburg
In 1958 a research park was begun at the intersection of I-85 and I-585 –an extension of N. Pine Street in
Spartanburg. Several buildings including a research and purchasing headquarters; Deering Milliken
Research Trust became Deering Milliken Research Corporation. Later, a Management Information Center, a
chemical pilot plant and a Model Manufacturing Center (called the Prototype Plant) were built. Slowly,
Spartanburg became the corporate headquarters for the company. Customers were invited to stay in a
guesthouse on the property that had sleeping accommodations for twenty-nine persons and dining for 100.
Employees often met customers for breakfast followed by a business meeting elsewhere on the complex. A
helicopter-landing pad was added to allow easy access to nearby Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport or local
flights to nearby mills. The airport was built midway between Greenville and Spartanburg with Deering
Milliken and Daniels Construction leading the cooperating partners and counties. 1, 2
It was in Spartanburg that the second research development of worldwide significance was developed - trade
named “Belfast.” Dmitry M. Gagarine invented and developed this process. This process for ‘wet cross
linking’ of cotton was used by both Milliken and licensees for producing cotton fabrics with wet memory for flat
drying; was extensively used for garments with ‘drip dry’ properties. As home tumble dryers became more
popular, and as DuPont began promoting polyester blends, the process lost favor.
Pacolet Industries, Inc.
In 1967, mills associated with the Montgomery family venture were consolidated into Pacolet Industries, Inc.
The mills included: Drayton, Mills, Drayton (Spartanburg), SC; Gaffney Manufacturing, Gaffney, SC; Hartsville
Cotton Mill, Hartsville, GA; Monarch Mills, Union, SC; and Pacolet Manufacturing, Pacolet, Spartanburg County,
SC. (6)
When it was decided to build a new finishing plant for fast growing polyester fiber and cotton blends and to
remove commission finishing from other companies, an expedited plan was set in motion. In May, 1963,
Textile World reported that Pacolet Industries, Inc. would build the new mill near Blacksburg, SC. The
Magnolia Finishing Plant, Blacksburg, SC, had to be constructed and in operation in six and a half months. A
site was selected on the Broad River north of Spartanburg adjacent to I-85. It cost the princely sum of $15
million but was an absolute necessity in order to control the development of new processes. Because of the
firm and rigorous management of George Cocoros and Mr. Milliken, the plant was completed on time and
opened in 1963. 1, 4 See Magnolia Finishing. Six new ranges were purchased for the mill from Butterworth
Manufacturing Co. (7) . Eight acres of space were converted to production plant in 6 months 19 days from
ground-breaking to production. (8) The initial capacity was stated at 2.5 million yards per week . The Foxboro
Co. provided 15 control consoles to control the continuous preparation, dyeing and finshing ranges. (9)
Kleinewefers furnished a chainless mercerizer - the first in the US that would run over 4000 yards per hour
and give a 50 second caustic reaction time. (11) A Rodney Hunt 4-stage rope bleaching range would
compliment the open-width range installed. (12)
Further expansion
Beginning in 1965, the company opened offices, chemical manufacture and mills in Europe for the
international market including Roisel and outside Privas, France; Ghent, Belgium; and Stroud (Specialty
Fabrics) and Wigan, England (Carpet 1987). A plant in Laurens, SC opened and was named for Dr. Ed
Gilliland, head of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a long-time adviser for
new technology. The company reorganized into three operating divisions, Menswear, Womenswear and
Industrial, headed by Hal Risher, Bill Humphrey, and Ralph Gillespie. 1
Textron, Inc. sold its Amerotron Co. division to Milliken . Amerotron was a good fit. The company had
expertise in man-made filament fabrics, spun and blended fabrics and finished woolens and wool blends.
The mills were not all that modern but Barnwell Mills had recently purchased 56 Crompton & Knowles C-9
looms. Mills included were: Barnwell, SC; Belton, NC; Honea Path, SC; Red Springs, NC; Robbins, NC. (10).
Research that had begun in Clemson, Connecticut and Pendleton was now centrally located in Spartanburg
under the capable direction of Russell Newton (formerly president of Dan River Mills and earlier of Bibb
Manufacturing), and later Jerry Cogan, a young chemical engineer from MIT with DuPont experience. Mr.
Milliken elected to staff the facility, named Deering Milliken Research Corporation (DMRC) with experienced
research directors such as Dr. Gilman Hooper, with experience at American Viscose, who was brought in to
decide whether the company should produce their own synthetic fibers (The answer was “No” but Hooper
was asked to stay on to supervise dyeing and finishing research). Dr, John O’Neill (MIT and DuPont
experience) was asked to staff an engineering research group with young PhD chemists and mechanical and
chemical engineers in the middle 1960s. Mr. Jerry Cogan became president of Deering Milliken Research
Corporation in 1965. Rusty Willimon, Norvin Clontz, Ashley Allen and Tom Malone were a few of the top
corporate managers who began their Milliken careers in research and later became leaders with
implementations in carpet, chemicals, greige goods and dyeing and finishing. Chemical invention was under
the direction of men like Dmitry M. Gagarine, Hans Kuhn, Wolfgang Otto, and Michael Locke. Durable Press,
and Visa Soil Release were developed and implemented by Frank W. Marco. New technology brought wide
success to the company. 1
Callaway Acquired
In the mid-1960s, Milliken looked to expand the company’s offerings in domestic fabrics and found that Fuller
Callaway wanted to sell. Roger negotiated with his old friend and bought seven mills known as Callaway,
Incorporated in 1968. Most of these plants were located in and around LaGrange, GA, a long drive from
Spartanburg. In order to save time, many Milliken engineers and managers drove to the Stevens Aviation
terminal at the Greenville Spartanburg airport and caught the company plane, an aged DC-3 for the flight. The
plane made several round trips a week, so projects could be managed from Spartanburg and supervised
from time to time in LaGrange. Some of the plants, such as Calumet were quite aged. A warehouse on the
property, used as a field hospital in the War Between the States, was still used as a storage area in the late
1960s. Tree trunks rather than finished beams held up the roof. Calumet provided flocked crushed velvet
fabrics used for furniture upholstery. Purchase of Callaway put Milliken into the tufting business in a big way
with carpets and upholstery. Callaway technicians developed and brought to Milliken a novel tufting concept,
which utilized compressed air to move yarn through a hollow needle to a precise pile height, and called their
machine the Honesty machine. 1,4 Valway Mill was the name of another Callaway location. The Kex Plant
provided industrial and cleaning fabrics and walk off mats. Hillside provided carpets and rugs. Pine Mountain
was a newer towel plant. Alma was located in the nearby town of Alma. One of the greatest and most
important creative developments of Milliken Research—Millitron—was led by physicist Dr. Bill Stewart This
computer-controlled multi-jet printing machine was instrumental in getting Milliken into the area rug business
and later it revolutionized the broad loom carpet dyeing operations. Patterns could be changed with the flip of
a switch and patterning was without limit. Buyers for hotel and convention halls flocked to this imaginative
design opportunity for long runners in hallways and for integrated color designs in ballrooms and lobbies. (1)
Knits were growing by leaps and bounds in the late 1960s and Deering Milliken was no exception. Knitting
machines were acquired from Italy and Japan and installed in old woolen mills as that aspect of textiles was
fast fading away. Knitting machines went to Ottaray, Excelsior Union, and Laurens in South Carolina, and
Golden Valley, NC. Hatch Mill became a knit mill with a package dye house. Sample knit fabrics needed to be
finished but no space or expertise was readily available. Samples were driven to commission finishing
friends like Sam Littlejohn in Concord, NC; to sample finishing space in the Excelsior mill in Union; and
wherever space could be found. Plans were made to build a new fishing plant called Midway, located west of
Union near I-26. The finishing plant and adjacent warehouse opened in 1971. (1, 4)
The name of William Deering was finally dropped from the company name in 1978. Milliken & Company was
born. If a mill was acquired that could not make a profit or if equipment became obsolete, hard decisions
were made to make a change and move on. The Lane Mills, New Orleans were part of an acquisition and
were closed. The Darlington, SC mill built in 1883 was old and when the Textile Workers Union won an
election in 1956, Mr. Milliken elected to close the mill. A long, nasty battle ensued. The union sued in October
1964. For eighteen years, the suit was in the courts and eventually settled in favor of the employees who were
compensated for back pay. It was a heavy blow against companies who wished to close unprofitable
operations.( 1)
Innovation continued. Always looking for ways to improve and modernize the company, Milliken launched the
“Pursuit of Excellence” program in 1981. The program emphasized self-directed teams of employees who
met regularly to discuss ways to improve the process and the product. By consolidation, some 700
management positions were eliminated. In 1983, Thomas J. Malone, who joined the company with a PhD in
Chemical Engineering from Ga Tech, was promoted to President and COO. Mr. Milliken became Chairman
and CEO. Internationally known management guru and author Tom Peters dedicated his 1987 bestseller,
“Thriving on Chaos,” to Roger Milliken.
Over the years, bits and pieces of the company were dispersed to branches of the family, who were not
always in agreement with the way the company did business and especially with the re-investment of profits
in textile operations. The Stroud branch, descended from a sister, sued the company in 1989 and sold a
number of shares to executives of competitor, Delta Woodside Mills. The courts ruled in favor of Milliken. In
1992, those executives were required to sign confidentiality agreements before receiving company
information. (5) Malone headed various aspects of the company including Executive Vice Chairman (2002)
until he retired in 2006.
2006 Dr. G. Ashley Allen former COO and President of Milliken Chemical Co., became CEO when Mr. Milliken
stepped down as CEO. Allen joined the company in 1969 with chemistry degrees (PhD Cornell) and rose
through the ranks.
2008 Dr. Joseph M. Salley was promoted to President and CEO upon the retirement of Dr. Ashley Allen.
Salley formerly was Chief Operating Officer and president of the Performance Fabrics Division. A BS
Chemistry graduate of The Citadel, he also has MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from Stanford
University, Palo Alto, CA
Acquistions 2008
In August 2008, Southern Textile News reported that Milliken & Co. had acquired the fire retardant - barrier
assets and the geotextiles business from Western Nonwovens, Inc., Carson, CA when that company went
into Chapter 11. Also, Thomas Industries, a carpet manufacturer in Dalton, GA, was acquired, also from
Chapter 11. (13)
Other stories to be developed
Milliken Chemical Company – Dewey Plant, Inman, SC; Milliken Electronics
Sources:
1) Andrews, Mildred Gwin. 1987. The Men and the Mills: A History of the Southern Textile Industry. Macon, GA:
Mercer University Press.
2) Teter, Betsy Wakefield, editor. 2002. Textile Town Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Spartanburg, SC:
Hub City Writers Project, ISBN 1-891885-28-6
3) http://www.answers.com/topic/milliken-co?cat=biz-fin Milliken history. Accessed May 1, 2008.
4) Charles B. Palmer, Personal communication, May 2008.
5) E. Henry Pittman, Personal communication, May 2008.
6) Textile World , January 1963, p12.
7) Textile World, May 1963, p10.
8) Textile World, June 1963, p10.
9) Textile World, October 1963, p79.
10) Textile World, May 1963, p12.
11) American Dyestuff Reporter, September 1963, p16.
12) American Dyestuff Reporter, July 1963 p22.
13) Southern Textile News, September 1, 2008 pA6.
Seth Milliken (1836-1920?), the founder of what would become in the late 20th century, the largest family-
owned textile business in the world, was the son of a physician in New Hampshire. Young Seth set out to
begin a new career, one based on merchandising, when he became a miller, a schoolteacher and a
storekeeper. In 1861, at the age of 25, he moved about 30 miles from his home in Minot to Portland, ME and
invested in a retail business with his brother-in-law, Dan True. In 1865, after the Civil War, he formed a
partnership with William Deering to open a general store doing business as Deering and Milliken. Later, they
became textile sales agents for the Farnsworth Mill of Lisbon Center, ME. When a fire destroyed the building
occupied by Deering and Milliken and all their sales inventory except for potatoes, Milliken loaded the potatoes
on board a ship and headed for Boston. In Boston, he found a saturated potato market and sailed on to New
York where he sold potatoes with little trouble. Having no business to return to in Maine and finding a
flourishing market in New York, the partners established their business in New York. 1,2
Shortly after arriving in New York, Deering had an idea to develop harvesting equipment and wished to leave
for the mid west. He left for Chicago and set up the Deering Harvesting Machinery Company. Milliken so
admired his friend that he kept the Deering name in his mercantile business for years. During the following
years, Milliken bought accounts receivable of cash-short textile companies and continued to represent textile
companies out of the New York office. Deering Harvesting later became International Harvester and is now
Navistar. 1, 5
In 1884, Captain John Montgomery of Spartanburg, SC organized Pacolet Manufacturing Company. Like
many aspiring Southern entrepreneurs, Montgomery went to New York seeking backers to invest in the
growing Southern textile industry. He met with Seth Milliken who put up $10,000 of the $100,000 capitalization
“as a starter.” This was the beginning of a long and interesting association between the two men. It was
Milliken’s first investment in a Southern mill. Walter Montgomery, grandson of the founder, in The Men and the
Mills.2
Other Southern mills’ products were later added to Milliken’s sales book, including the production of Spartan,
Pacolet, Drayton and Whitney Mills. Spartan added mills including New Holland, and Gainesville, GA. 1,2
In 1916, son Gerrish Hill Milliken ( - 1947) joined the family business. He was reportedly an excellent
tennis player, had studied at Yale, and more importantly, an excellent businessman. Mills that flourished
during World War I often had a difficult time making the adjustment to peacetime business in the early 1920s.
He acquired the Judson Mill, Greenville, SC, noted for years as a very fine combed-yarn spinning and weaving
mill. Gerrish was also not afraid to try new things. While another textile pioneer, Spencer Love, was busy
trying rayon in Burlington, NC, Milliken also added the new silk-like fiber to the mix at Judson. 1
For those who survived the post-war transition and subsequent growth in the 1920s, the 1930s were trying
times for many mills as the Great Depression squeezed profits. Mills, who relied on bankers in New York for
financing, often lost their mills when sales did not earn enough to service the debt. Gerrish Milliken’s main
line for representation was woolen and worsteds, manufactured chiefly in New England. He continued to
represent Southern mills as well and financed a few through the “factoring” business. Reportedly, the
combination of Montgomery and Milliken controlled more textile mills in the South Carolina “Upcountry” than
anyone else. When mills failed to repay debts, factors became the new owners. Pacolet Mills, Pacolet, SC,
the first mill organized by John Montgomery and financed by Seth Milliken became partially owned by Deering
Milliken in the 1930s and 1940s, as did Drayton, Lockhart and Gaffney Manufacturing. Pacolet was totally
consolidated into the Milliken business in 1967. Drayton Mills, Spartanburg, SC, organized by Montgomery
and others in 1902, was sold to Deering Milliken in 1937. The Montgomery family kept Spartan, Beaumont
and Startex. Other mills joined the business: Red Springs Woolen Mill, Red Springs, NC; Hatch Woolen Mill,
Columbus, NC; Darlington Manufacturing Co., Darlington, SC; Hartsville, SC; Ottaray Mill, Union, SC; Excelsior
Union, Union, SC; McCormick Woolen Mill, McCormick, SC; and Johnsonville, SC. 1, 2
During World War II, textile mills that sold through Deering Milliken produced a wide range of yarns and
fabrics. One important need for the war effort was tire cord. The War Production Board issued a Certificate of
Necessity in 1944 for Deering Milliken to manufacture nylon tire cord. Accordingly, a totally new facility was
designed and built for one purpose – to manufacture tire cord as efficiently as possible. The Excelsior Tire
Cord Plant (later renamed the DeFore Plant in honor of Ernest DeFore, long time manager of the plant) was
built on the Seneca River across from Clemson College, Clemson, SC. It was a one-story building arranged
to facilitate the flow of raw material through all stages of manufacture and delivery to the shipping dock. It was
the first textile mill built without windows and with complete air cleaning and cooling systems. The mill set a
pattern that would be copied over and over throughout the industry. 1 After the war ended in 1945, a wave of
consolidation followed as companies readjusted from wartime products to a consumer economy.
Roger Milliken (1915- ) succeeded his father Gerrish H. as president upon his father’s death in 1947. Two
other grandsons of the founder of the Deering Milliken business, Gerrish H., Jr., and Minot K. Milliken took over
various aspects of the family business, but it was Roger who took over the job of running the mills, expanding
operations and undertaking research that would take the company to the forefront of textile innovation and
implementation. A research team (Deering Milliken Research Trust) was organized in Clemson, SC, in
1945, was moved to Stamford and Greenwich, CT and in 1949 moved to an upper floor at Excelsior Finishing
Plant, Pendleton, SC, a part of the new three-plant worsted group of Milliken. Attorney Dr. Norman Armitage
served as president at Pendleton and later headed all the technical legal activities of the company. It was
there that the first research development of worldwide significance was developed—a strongly patented edge-
crimping texturing process for nylon continuous filament yarn. Manufacturing rights were licensed to many
American and foreign companies and Milliken’s name began to be recognized as an innovative and
technology driven company. Trade named “Agilon,” it was highly profitable and for years was the leading yarn
for producing one-sized stretch women’s hosiery due to its non-torque properties. Russell Newton, recently
having joined the company from Dan River Mills, where he was president, became president of DMRT in
January, 1953. Dr. Armitage became Vice President.
Mr. Roger Milliken also built new mills with the most modern machinery and electronic controls available. His
second new mill was the Gerrish Milliken Mill, Pendleton, SC, named in honor of his father. The mill was built
following the same one story design pioneered at the Excelsior Tire Cord Plant. New synthetic fibers, nylon
and later Orlon acrylic fiber were the heart of the business. In addition, the Milliken family operated a cattle
farm on the premises. Drivers along US 76 between Anderson and Pendleton often were greeted with a
pastoral scene of contented cows with a modern textile mill in the background. 1
In 1954, Mr. Roger Milliken moved to Spartanburg – a move that stamped his mark on the move to the south
that had been underway throughout the century. Visits to the mill became much more time-efficient. He also
was a visionary who recognized that the industry could not simply improve itself into success. Bulk production
of standard goods at lower cost cannot compete with off shore lower wages. That had already been proven
when new mills opened in the South in the 1890s. New Southern mills and inexperienced labor soundly beat
the New England manufacturers with their older equipment and experienced hands. New mills, new
processes and new products had to be developed. 2
The Kingsley Mill, Thomson, GA was built to cut and package fabric for retail sale. The plant was named for
Francis Kingsley, a Deering Milliken executive who planned and operated the Milliken Breakfast Show, an
annual advertising show. The Show brought customers who were invited to New York each October where a
dazzling display modeled on Broadway shows featured new fabrics. 1
Research Moves to Spartanburg
In 1958 a research park was begun at the intersection of I-85 and I-585 –an extension of N. Pine Street in
Spartanburg. Several buildings including a research and purchasing headquarters; Deering Milliken
Research Trust became Deering Milliken Research Corporation. Later, a Management Information Center, a
chemical pilot plant and a Model Manufacturing Center (called the Prototype Plant) were built. Slowly,
Spartanburg became the corporate headquarters for the company. Customers were invited to stay in a
guesthouse on the property that had sleeping accommodations for twenty-nine persons and dining for 100.
Employees often met customers for breakfast followed by a business meeting elsewhere on the complex. A
helicopter-landing pad was added to allow easy access to nearby Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport or local
flights to nearby mills. The airport was built midway between Greenville and Spartanburg with Deering
Milliken and Daniels Construction leading the cooperating partners and counties. 1, 2
It was in Spartanburg that the second research development of worldwide significance was developed - trade
named “Belfast.” Dmitry M. Gagarine invented and developed this process. This process for ‘wet cross
linking’ of cotton was used by both Milliken and licensees for producing cotton fabrics with wet memory for flat
drying; was extensively used for garments with ‘drip dry’ properties. As home tumble dryers became more
popular, and as DuPont began promoting polyester blends, the process lost favor.
Pacolet Industries, Inc.
In 1967, mills associated with the Montgomery family venture were consolidated into Pacolet Industries, Inc.
The mills included: Drayton, Mills, Drayton (Spartanburg), SC; Gaffney Manufacturing, Gaffney, SC; Hartsville
Cotton Mill, Hartsville, GA; Monarch Mills, Union, SC; and Pacolet Manufacturing, Pacolet, Spartanburg County,
SC. (6)
When it was decided to build a new finishing plant for fast growing polyester fiber and cotton blends and to
remove commission finishing from other companies, an expedited plan was set in motion. In May, 1963,
Textile World reported that Pacolet Industries, Inc. would build the new mill near Blacksburg, SC. The
Magnolia Finishing Plant, Blacksburg, SC, had to be constructed and in operation in six and a half months. A
site was selected on the Broad River north of Spartanburg adjacent to I-85. It cost the princely sum of $15
million but was an absolute necessity in order to control the development of new processes. Because of the
firm and rigorous management of George Cocoros and Mr. Milliken, the plant was completed on time and
opened in 1963. 1, 4 See Magnolia Finishing. Six new ranges were purchased for the mill from Butterworth
Manufacturing Co. (7) . Eight acres of space were converted to production plant in 6 months 19 days from
ground-breaking to production. (8) The initial capacity was stated at 2.5 million yards per week . The Foxboro
Co. provided 15 control consoles to control the continuous preparation, dyeing and finshing ranges. (9)
Kleinewefers furnished a chainless mercerizer - the first in the US that would run over 4000 yards per hour
and give a 50 second caustic reaction time. (11) A Rodney Hunt 4-stage rope bleaching range would
compliment the open-width range installed. (12)
Further expansion
Beginning in 1965, the company opened offices, chemical manufacture and mills in Europe for the
international market including Roisel and outside Privas, France; Ghent, Belgium; and Stroud (Specialty
Fabrics) and Wigan, England (Carpet 1987). A plant in Laurens, SC opened and was named for Dr. Ed
Gilliland, head of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a long-time adviser for
new technology. The company reorganized into three operating divisions, Menswear, Womenswear and
Industrial, headed by Hal Risher, Bill Humphrey, and Ralph Gillespie. 1
Textron, Inc. sold its Amerotron Co. division to Milliken . Amerotron was a good fit. The company had
expertise in man-made filament fabrics, spun and blended fabrics and finished woolens and wool blends.
The mills were not all that modern but Barnwell Mills had recently purchased 56 Crompton & Knowles C-9
looms. Mills included were: Barnwell, SC; Belton, NC; Honea Path, SC; Red Springs, NC; Robbins, NC. (10).
Research that had begun in Clemson, Connecticut and Pendleton was now centrally located in Spartanburg
under the capable direction of Russell Newton (formerly president of Dan River Mills and earlier of Bibb
Manufacturing), and later Jerry Cogan, a young chemical engineer from MIT with DuPont experience. Mr.
Milliken elected to staff the facility, named Deering Milliken Research Corporation (DMRC) with experienced
research directors such as Dr. Gilman Hooper, with experience at American Viscose, who was brought in to
decide whether the company should produce their own synthetic fibers (The answer was “No” but Hooper
was asked to stay on to supervise dyeing and finishing research). Dr, John O’Neill (MIT and DuPont
experience) was asked to staff an engineering research group with young PhD chemists and mechanical and
chemical engineers in the middle 1960s. Mr. Jerry Cogan became president of Deering Milliken Research
Corporation in 1965. Rusty Willimon, Norvin Clontz, Ashley Allen and Tom Malone were a few of the top
corporate managers who began their Milliken careers in research and later became leaders with
implementations in carpet, chemicals, greige goods and dyeing and finishing. Chemical invention was under
the direction of men like Dmitry M. Gagarine, Hans Kuhn, Wolfgang Otto, and Michael Locke. Durable Press,
and Visa Soil Release were developed and implemented by Frank W. Marco. New technology brought wide
success to the company. 1
Callaway Acquired
In the mid-1960s, Milliken looked to expand the company’s offerings in domestic fabrics and found that Fuller
Callaway wanted to sell. Roger negotiated with his old friend and bought seven mills known as Callaway,
Incorporated in 1968. Most of these plants were located in and around LaGrange, GA, a long drive from
Spartanburg. In order to save time, many Milliken engineers and managers drove to the Stevens Aviation
terminal at the Greenville Spartanburg airport and caught the company plane, an aged DC-3 for the flight. The
plane made several round trips a week, so projects could be managed from Spartanburg and supervised
from time to time in LaGrange. Some of the plants, such as Calumet were quite aged. A warehouse on the
property, used as a field hospital in the War Between the States, was still used as a storage area in the late
1960s. Tree trunks rather than finished beams held up the roof. Calumet provided flocked crushed velvet
fabrics used for furniture upholstery. Purchase of Callaway put Milliken into the tufting business in a big way
with carpets and upholstery. Callaway technicians developed and brought to Milliken a novel tufting concept,
which utilized compressed air to move yarn through a hollow needle to a precise pile height, and called their
machine the Honesty machine. 1,4 Valway Mill was the name of another Callaway location. The Kex Plant
provided industrial and cleaning fabrics and walk off mats. Hillside provided carpets and rugs. Pine Mountain
was a newer towel plant. Alma was located in the nearby town of Alma. One of the greatest and most
important creative developments of Milliken Research—Millitron—was led by physicist Dr. Bill Stewart This
computer-controlled multi-jet printing machine was instrumental in getting Milliken into the area rug business
and later it revolutionized the broad loom carpet dyeing operations. Patterns could be changed with the flip of
a switch and patterning was without limit. Buyers for hotel and convention halls flocked to this imaginative
design opportunity for long runners in hallways and for integrated color designs in ballrooms and lobbies. (1)
Knits were growing by leaps and bounds in the late 1960s and Deering Milliken was no exception. Knitting
machines were acquired from Italy and Japan and installed in old woolen mills as that aspect of textiles was
fast fading away. Knitting machines went to Ottaray, Excelsior Union, and Laurens in South Carolina, and
Golden Valley, NC. Hatch Mill became a knit mill with a package dye house. Sample knit fabrics needed to be
finished but no space or expertise was readily available. Samples were driven to commission finishing
friends like Sam Littlejohn in Concord, NC; to sample finishing space in the Excelsior mill in Union; and
wherever space could be found. Plans were made to build a new fishing plant called Midway, located west of
Union near I-26. The finishing plant and adjacent warehouse opened in 1971. (1, 4)
The name of William Deering was finally dropped from the company name in 1978. Milliken & Company was
born. If a mill was acquired that could not make a profit or if equipment became obsolete, hard decisions
were made to make a change and move on. The Lane Mills, New Orleans were part of an acquisition and
were closed. The Darlington, SC mill built in 1883 was old and when the Textile Workers Union won an
election in 1956, Mr. Milliken elected to close the mill. A long, nasty battle ensued. The union sued in October
1964. For eighteen years, the suit was in the courts and eventually settled in favor of the employees who were
compensated for back pay. It was a heavy blow against companies who wished to close unprofitable
operations.( 1)
Innovation continued. Always looking for ways to improve and modernize the company, Milliken launched the
“Pursuit of Excellence” program in 1981. The program emphasized self-directed teams of employees who
met regularly to discuss ways to improve the process and the product. By consolidation, some 700
management positions were eliminated. In 1983, Thomas J. Malone, who joined the company with a PhD in
Chemical Engineering from Ga Tech, was promoted to President and COO. Mr. Milliken became Chairman
and CEO. Internationally known management guru and author Tom Peters dedicated his 1987 bestseller,
“Thriving on Chaos,” to Roger Milliken.
Over the years, bits and pieces of the company were dispersed to branches of the family, who were not
always in agreement with the way the company did business and especially with the re-investment of profits
in textile operations. The Stroud branch, descended from a sister, sued the company in 1989 and sold a
number of shares to executives of competitor, Delta Woodside Mills. The courts ruled in favor of Milliken. In
1992, those executives were required to sign confidentiality agreements before receiving company
information. (5) Malone headed various aspects of the company including Executive Vice Chairman (2002)
until he retired in 2006.
2006 Dr. G. Ashley Allen former COO and President of Milliken Chemical Co., became CEO when Mr. Milliken
stepped down as CEO. Allen joined the company in 1969 with chemistry degrees (PhD Cornell) and rose
through the ranks.
2008 Dr. Joseph M. Salley was promoted to President and CEO upon the retirement of Dr. Ashley Allen.
Salley formerly was Chief Operating Officer and president of the Performance Fabrics Division. A BS
Chemistry graduate of The Citadel, he also has MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from Stanford
University, Palo Alto, CA
Acquistions 2008
In August 2008, Southern Textile News reported that Milliken & Co. had acquired the fire retardant - barrier
assets and the geotextiles business from Western Nonwovens, Inc., Carson, CA when that company went
into Chapter 11. Also, Thomas Industries, a carpet manufacturer in Dalton, GA, was acquired, also from
Chapter 11. (13)
Other stories to be developed
Milliken Chemical Company – Dewey Plant, Inman, SC; Milliken Electronics
Sources:
1) Andrews, Mildred Gwin. 1987. The Men and the Mills: A History of the Southern Textile Industry. Macon, GA:
Mercer University Press.
2) Teter, Betsy Wakefield, editor. 2002. Textile Town Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Spartanburg, SC:
Hub City Writers Project, ISBN 1-891885-28-6
3) http://www.answers.com/topic/milliken-co?cat=biz-fin Milliken history. Accessed May 1, 2008.
4) Charles B. Palmer, Personal communication, May 2008.
5) E. Henry Pittman, Personal communication, May 2008.
6) Textile World , January 1963, p12.
7) Textile World, May 1963, p10.
8) Textile World, June 1963, p10.
9) Textile World, October 1963, p79.
10) Textile World, May 1963, p12.
11) American Dyestuff Reporter, September 1963, p16.
12) American Dyestuff Reporter, July 1963 p22.
13) Southern Textile News, September 1, 2008 pA6.
Left: Mr. Roger Milliken
Photo: Spartanburg Herald Journal
7/20/2008
Mike Bonner
Photo: Spartanburg Herald Journal
7/20/2008
Mike Bonner