New Equipment Revs Up Denim Mill’s Production Capability
The Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, a farmer-owned cotton marketing organization in Lubbock, Texas, is undertaking a major project to improve the production capability of its denim mill in Littlefield, Texas.
The cooperative is installing new state-of-the-art spinning frames that will increase the mill’s speed and flexibility. The American Cotton Growers’ mill, bought by PCCA in 1987, has the capacity to produce 36 million linear yards of denim a year.
The mill will begin phase one of the new project in April by putting into place the first of three Schlafhorst Autocoro 8 rotor spinning frames that contain 480 rotors each. The technology in the machine allows each spinning position to be autonomous and individually automated.
The mill will be able to manufacture up to five different yarn counts simultaneously on each new spinning frame because of the machine’s single-drive technology.
“We can change these continuously with full production in progress, and this will allow us to better meet our customers’ needs as they respond to changes in the denim apparel market,” said Bryan Gregory, PCCA’s vice president of textile manufacturing.
He added that these new spinning frames will replace half of the mill’s current rotor spinning capacity with much higher manufacturing efficiencies.
The project is scheduled to be completed in early June.
Plains Cotton Cooperative Association is a vertical operation. In addition to its denim mill in Littlefield, it owns a Guatemalan blue-jeans factory. The factory, once called Koramsa before its assets were purchased by PCCA, was renamed American Denimatrix. It makes blue jeans for several U.S. labels.—Deborah Belgum
