Draper Knitting Quarterly Newsletter- April 2015

Happy February!

      And Happy Birthday to Draper Knitting as we celebrate our 160th birthday this year. After all these years we are still a family owned and operated textile business making all of our fabrics right here in Canton, Massachusetts.
      2015 was a challenging year for us with the loss of the Patagonia Retro-X program that we had the pleasure of helping to design and supply for 27 years. Although a great run, it was heartbreaking to see our hard work and loyalty go overseas. So the challenge became to replace that business. Having just completed our 2016 budget, we are confident that we'll more than make up this difference with new partners and business opportunities, and we're honored to be the part of some really great projects for 2016.
      When thinking about our history, it is amazing the number of times losses like Patagonia have affected us. Yet we continue to reinvent ourselves and acquire new business opportunities to continue the tradition while adding new ones along the way while always focusing on the future.
      As we always say, "We are never going to out-cheap anyone." However, our technical fabric offerings designed to meet the customer's needs combined with on-time deliveries and unique capabilities keeps me excited for the future.
      160 years makes me grateful for the relationships that have endured for years and the new opportunities we are working on right now for the future. Thanks to each one of you for your part in our past, our present, and hopefully our next 160 years.

Kristin Draper, President

Draper Knitting is Now GOTS Certified!

This certification represents a series of standards that allows a textile producer to make certified organic goods. The standards involve all aspects of production - raw materials, warehousing, shipping, and mill labor - in addition to how a fabric is produced and how it travels through the production process. Organic goods that are produced here at Draper Knitting following the GOTS protocols can now be labeled certified organic with the GOTS logo, meaning that from raw material to finished rolls, the fabric was produced in such a way that is friendly to the environment. We are very excited to pass our first certification audit and hope that it allows us to expand our business into the organic market. C lick here to learn more about GOTS certification.

Draper Goes to OR 2016

Kristin Draper and Dave Wedge attended the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show last month in Salt Lake City. This is always a great time to reconnect with customers and friends as well as show off the new fabrics for 2016. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce "The All American Package," a jacket made from Draper fabric along with other components completely sourced and made in the U.S.A.

Research Study at Draper

Students from Olin College of Engineering in Needham MA applied for and then attended a summer program at Draper Knitting doing a "Research Study in a New England Factory." The aim of the study was to research the experiences of workers which often included working side by side with employees to experience hands-on manufacturing. They even worked on a small engineering project on our Pernick - a machine that cuts conventional tubular knit fabric to be folded out so it can be rolled flat. By the end of their summer work the students had made a great impression on the employees, and the students were honored at a company cookout.

(L to R): Toni Saylor, Mary Martin, William Lu, and Caitrin Lynch, Associate Professor of Anthropology.

The All American Package!

They said it couldn't be done! But completely sourced and manufactured in the USA, this beautiful garment features Draper Knitting fabric. We'll be highlighting this package in our next newsletter and telling you about our partner companies and vendors who put this together.

Draper Knitting is closed on the following dates:

Monday, Feb. 15 for Presidents Day

Monday, May 30 for Memorial Day

On the Road in early 2016:

ABMA Annual Convention, American Brush Manufacturer's Assoc., Bonita Spring, FL. March 1-5, 2016 Email Kristin. More info on this convention can be found here.

Smart Fabrics Summit, Washington DC, April 11, 2016. Email Dave Wedge More info on this conference can be found here.

FDIC Annual Conference, Indianapolis IN, April 18-23, 2016. Email Dave Wedge More info on this conference can be found here.

Texprocess Americas, Atlanta GA, May 3-5, 2016. Email Dave Wedge More info on the show can be found here.

Certifications/
Membership

Throughout Draper Knitting's long standing history, we have allied with many organizations and associations that help our company meet and exceed our customers' needs and standards. Check them out.

AAPN    AATCC    ABMA
AIM       ATSM       CABI
NAM     NFPA
SEAMS
Textile Exchange

Blood Drive in March

Our next Blood Drive in Canton at our mill site will be Thursday, March 24, 2016, 11AM to 4PM. If you're in the area, please make an appointment or come on by. We have a great raffle for all presenting donors - 28 Draper Lane, Canton, MA.

Draper in the News:

From the Canton Citizen1/28/16

News in Textiles: The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has the following article on their website. Textiles are moving in very interesting directions, and Draper Knitting continues to learn and grow in these types of markets. Here is the first part of the article.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Manufacturing News from -

Tom Riordan, President & CEO of Neenah Enterprises, Inc., is the NAM Small and Medium Manufacturers Group Chair. He wrote in an email to members: "Today the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is launching an exciting, new campaign called "Power of Small" to tell the story of small and medium-sized manufacturers. The new "Power of Small" webpage will showcase the amazing work of small manufacturers, highlighting our critical contribution to the U.S. economy"

You can visit this new website by clicking here.

Visitor Tours at Draper
We love to have visitors tour through our mill so we can show how manufacturing in the USA is still alive and thriving in their own back yard. Students from the Mass. Hospital School come through at least once a year, and in late 2015 we invited the oldest students from the Boston Higashi School from Randolph to visit. The Higashi School specializes in working with children and young adults with autism. Here are a few more groups who came to visit...

The Williams side of the James Draper family came through in August to visit. Pictured here (in purple) is Mira Williams alongside her second cousin, W. Scott Draper III, the VP of Draper Knitting. Mira brought members of her family including her children, grandchildren and a great grandchild.

It's all in the family during this visit from the Blue Hills Regional High School photography students in November. Pictured here in our Dye House is Samantha Curnane with her father, Steve, who is on our facilities maintenance/repair crew.

Members of Williow Crossing Senior Community in Mansfield came for a tour. A few grew up in Canton and remember the original Draper Brothers Company in their community.

Meet The Staff... Check out our photos!