Cw/
HtS/K
Sdains-Hillis
Amco N ews
Volume 49, Number 2
May 1993
Barnwell
Production
On TVack
With the first socks having
been finished in the Adams-
Millis Barnwell Plant, every
thing seems to be on track for
the operation.
“We’re on schedule and we
hope it continues that way,”
said Plant Manager Dan
Bulman, taking a break from
what has been a harried sched
ule in getting the plant into
operation. “We have about
100 people on payroll now and
that will grow as we get more
machines into place and run
ning.”
Phase II of the operation is
expected to be in place in June.
“The most rewarding thing
to me about this operation has
been to see something grow
out of nothing,” Bulman said.
He explained that there was
only a building on the site when
he came there several months
ago. However, now it has been
upfitted, machinery installed
and employees producing
socks.
“The biggest pleasant sur
prise has been the quality of
the people we have been able
to attract,” he said. “They have
a very good work ethic and
they have caught on to the
process very quickly. They’re
just great people.”
Concerning the building,
Bulman said that was the most
difficult part of the startup.
“It is about 25 years old
and has not been used for some
time,” he said. “We had to
make a lot of repairs and
changes everywhere we
turned.”
Maintenance Department
Manager Ernest Kearns has
worked with the project since
November.
“I’m elated with the situ
ation,” he said recently. “We
were able to make the first
socks the week of February
15 and the number of socks From left, Shirley Riley, Jeffery Lomas, Darnell Moore and
(Continued on page 7) proudly display first sock knitted in the Barnwell plant.
Plant Manager Dan Bulman
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Finance Department is on page 2.
Safer, Cuts Costs • ji
New Process Is Environmentally Friendly
A wide variety of
safety topics will be fea
tured along with some ^
entertaining events at
the Adams-Millis Safety
Fair which is set for June
12 on the lawn of the
Kernersville Finishing &
Distribution Plant. Rain
date for the event is
June 19.
“The objective of this
event is to promote off-
the-job safety, not only
to Adams-Millis employ
ees but also to everyone
in the community,” said
Pat Callahan, a member
of the Kernersville Fin-
When Adams-Millis begins
its wet sock finishing process
at the new Barnwell, S.C., fa
cility, the environment can
breath easier.
The wet finishing process
there will use hydrogen per
oxide instead of the traditional
hydrochlorite bleach, substan
tially reducing the amount of
pollutants discharged from the
plant.
“Currently, the hydro-
chloritebleach process we use
in our other plants is well within
the Environmental Protection
Agency’s standards, but we
are really pleased to be able
to use this new process which
is even more environmentally
friendly,” said Marc Stokes,
Adams-Millis’ Manager of
Environmental Affairs.
The Barnwell process will
be a first in the hosiery indus
try.
We will be the first to
successfully use hydrogen per
oxide bleaching in the tunnel
washer process,” Stokes ex
plained. “Other companies
have tried it but it has not
worked for them. We know that
it will work. We have tested it
and it does work.”
Stokes said the hydrogen
peroxide process has many
advantages over the hydro
chlorite bleach process.
“Public waste treatment
facilities like it because it pro
vides more oxygen to facilitate
the waste treatment process,
Stokes said.
He explained that the cur
rent bleaching method is safe
but the hydrogen peroxide
process is even safer for em
ployees.
“I like to think of it with
treating a cut on the finger,
Stokes said. “I know I didn t
like to have methiolate put on
a cut when I was growing up.
But if my mother used hydro
gen peroxide to clean the
wound it was much better.
That’s how it is with this bleach
ing process.”
He added that the EPA
doesn’t even list hydrogen per
oxide in the hazardous cate
gory in any way unless it is in a
(Continued on Page 4)
ishing & Dislrbution
Safety Team and event
coordinator.
“We want to show
that safety is for eveiy'-
one all the time and we
hope this safety fair will
make people more aw'are
of how to make their lives
safer,” she said.
Plans are under way
to include exhibits by
many area organizations
involved with public
safety. Among them are
fire department, police
department, American
(Continued on Page 10)'