Cotton Takes on Competition and China
Cotton Inc. has announced two new divisions designed to further assist manufacturers’ competitive edge in the global marketplace.
The first—the Fiber Competition Division—merges two of Cotton Inc.’s existing divisions: Fiber Quality Research and Fiber Management Research. The goal of the newly formed division is to assist U.S. cotton-producers in being more competitive globally.
“As the world’s textile manufacturers continue to move outside the United States, U.S. cotton faces enhanced global competition from other nations’ cottons, as well as from other fibers,” said J. Berrye Worsham, president and chief executive officer of Cotton Inc., the New York–based marketing and research company funded by domestic cotton manufacturers and importers.
Michael Watson, formerly vice president of fiber cotton research for Cotton Inc., was named vice president of the Fiber Competition Division.
The second new division—the Engineered Fiber Selection (EFS) China Task Force—was formed to help textile manufacturers in China create more uniform cotton products by educating mills on ways to more efficiently manage raw cotton fiber.
Cotton Inc. developed a suite of software for EFS that is already in use by many Western mills. Charles Chewning, former vice president of the Fiber Management Research division, has been named vice president of EFS Marketing, China.
“The China market will be key to the future of U.S. cotton,” Worsham said, “and the EFS system is an important tool in securing a strong share for U.S. cotton in international mills.” —Alison A. Nieder
