Olympians’ outfits have ties to Carolinas
The outfits American athletes wore Friday night during the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games have close-knit ties with Spartanburg County.
Workers at the Inman Mills plant in Enoree produced the unfinished white fabric that was used to design the pants and shorts Team USA wore at the beginning of the games in Rio. They also will wear the uniforms during the closing ceremonies. The products came together thanks to a partnership between Inman Mills and two companies in North Carolina.
“This is a real Carolinas project,” said Inman Mills CEO Rob Chapman. “There’s a huge sense of pride. Made in America, made in the Carolinas, and our Olympic athletes are wearing them – how do you beat that. One of the criticisms you had in the past is, Americans are wearing these, and where are they made – not here.”
Inman Mills produced the combed cotton used in the white bottoms athletes wore Friday. The combed cotton was woven at the Ramey Plant at Inman Mills’ Enoree site. The yarn was produced by Parkdale Mills in North Carolina.
Brad Burnett, plant manager of the Ramey Plant, said the conversion from yarn to fabric was done at Inman Mills.
Polo Ralph Lauren designed the outfits, which were finished at Ultimate Textiles in Rutherfordton, N.C.
Kemp Smith, plant manager of the Mountain Shoals plant, which is also at the Enoree site, said the Olympics project is a small portion of Inman Mills’ production, but it presents the company with a unique opportunity to get its product in front of a global audience.
Ray Parks, who has been with the company for 20 years, said he’ll pull for American athletes even harder thanks to the connection he has to some of their clothing.
“It gives you some pride for yourself,” he said.
Inman Mills has historically worked with Polo Ralph Lauren, and the partnership for the 2016 games is the product of a strong relationship between the two companies.
The plant also makes woven fabrics that go into uniforms for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, as well as what goes inside footballs used by the NFL.
Chapman said Inman Mills’ versatility has helped the company thrive during an era when textiles have been on the decline.
“We’re a different company today than we were 15 years ago. Fifteen years ago, we ran polyester and cotton,” he said. “We still make a lot of our commodity products, that’s our bread and butter.”
Friday night’s exposure at the Olympics gave Inman Mills a global audience. The unique outfits sported by American athletes will be a point of pride for the country, for American textile workers and for Spartanburg County.
“You can’t buy this at Belk. You can’t buy this fabric at Westgate Mall. This fabric was specifically designed for the end use that it’s being used in,” Smith said. “This allows our employees that are sitting there in the living room with their families to say, ‘Hey, that’s what we do. That’s what your dad does when he goes to work.’”
This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 7:07 PM.