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Customer Feedback
May 1993
Keep Those Letters Coming
A memorable television
commercial punch line goes,
“When E.F. talks, people lis
ten!”
To paraphrase that line a
bit, it is very fitting to Adams-
Millis. “When our customers
talk, Adams-Millis listens!”
“Consumer feedback is very
important to us as a
company,”said Mike Mabe,
Manager of Quality Control.
“We want to know what the
customer thinks about our
product so that we can make
it to better fit his or her needs
or expectations.”
Mabe continued, “We cer
tainly like to get the letters
complimenting us on our prod
ucts, but we want to get those
that are negative as well. They
help us to improve our prod
uct and provide better value
to the customer.
“Customers realize that mis
takes happen and even those
who have something negative
to say about our product are
very sincere and try to be help-
New Finishing Process
Is Environmentally Friendly
(Continued from Page 1)
concentration of more than
52 percent. The Adams-Millis
process will use a 45 to 50
percent concentration.
Stokes said the Barnwell
bleaching system will be the
most automated of anybody
in the hosiery industry and will
result in substantial cost sav
ings by using the hydrogen
peroxide process.
It is expected to save about
1.5 cents per pound of socks
washed. That will mean a sav
ings of more than $200,000 a
year when the facility reaches
full production.
Stokes said the hydrogen
peroxide process will replace
the hydrochlorine bleach in
all other Adams-Millis facili
ties by the end of 1993.
He said the new process in
Barnwell also will use about
60 percent less water than the
traditional method. But re
search is being done to enable
most of the water to be re
cycled.
“We are working on a re
cycling process that would al
low us to use only 15 percent
of the water that now is used
in the bleaching process,”
Stokes said.
He explained that recycling
also will allow better exhaus
tion of chemicals used in the
bleaching process.
“The more we recycle those
agents, it means that we will
buy less chemicals,” he said.
“So that will also mean a cost
savings.”
The Barnwell process will
use water rather than chemi
cally treated water from a mu
nicipal water system.
“When we use municipal
water, there are chemicals in
it that can adversely affect the
bleaching process,” he said.
“We don’t have to be con
cerned with that, using the well
water.”
From a safety standpoint,
Stokes said operators of the
washing equipment will only
have to mix the chemical agents
once a day and once mixed
they will be fed into the proc
ess automatically so the op
erators will not have to touch
them again.
Stokes said the tunnel
washer system in Barnwell will
be able to process 200 per-
A-M Gift Aids
Kernersville^s First
Spring Folly
Adams-Millis recently pro
vided a sizable portion of the
budget for Kernersville’s first
Spring Folly with a gift of
$3,000.
Kernersville Finishing Plant
Manager Robert Gates and
Human Resources Director
Bob Hoots presented the
check to Kernersville Cham
ber of Commerce President
Arnold King.
The event, which is set for
May 14-16, will include enter
tainment, arts and crafts and
part of the final leg of the
international Tour DuPont
bicycle race through Kern
ersville.
“We were glad to be able
to participate in this commu-
cent more socks in the same
time required in the process
currently used in other Adams-
Millis facilities.
“We’re really excited about
this new process,” Stokes said.
“It’s good for the environment,
it saves us money, its more
efficient, it’s safer and it shows
that Adams-Millis is a good
corporate citizen.”
nity event through this contri
bution to the Kernersville
Spring Folly,” said Adams-
Millis CEO Rich Noll. “We
hope this will become a suc
cessful annual event for Kern
ersville.”
He added, “It is opportuni
ties like this that allow Adams-
Millis not only to give some
thing back to the communi
ties where the company has
facilities, but also to gain ex
posure for our products.”
The Tour DuPont, which
will conclude in Greensboro,
will be televised for 11 days to
88 countries and will have a
larger viewing audience than
the Super Bowl.
A-M Earns
S.C. Job
Creator
Award
Adams-Millis’s new
Barnwell facility had
barely produced its first
sock when the company
earned an honor from the
State of South Carolina.
Adams-Millis was
among 100 companies
honored with the Job
Creator Award.
South Carolina Gov
ernor Carroll Campbell
presented the award to
CEO Rich Noll during
ceremonies March 4 in
Columbia. Campbell had
spoken at the Adams-
Millis plant November 19
when plans were an
nounced for the Barnwell
facility.
Companies receiving
the award were nominated
by the Job Creator
Award’s four sponsors -
S.C. Employment Secu
rity Commission, S.C.
Development Board, S.C.
Board for Technical and
Comprehensive Educa
tion and the S.C. Depart
ment of Parks, Recrea
tion and Tourism. The
nominees included all sizes
and types of businesses.
Adams-Millis’
Barnwell facility currently
employs about 100 but
that number is expected
to reach 600 within the
next two years, according
to Noll.
ful to us in making improve
ments in our product,” Mabe
said. “They are looking for their
value in the product and they
know we’ll satisfy them, what
ever the problem might be.”
Letters and other commu
nications from customers are
highly valued as a means to
achieve Total Customer Sat
isfaction. Each week a posi
tive letter and a negative one
are posted in all Adams-Millis
plants along with a count of
positive and negative letters
received during the preceed-
ing week.
“This lets everyone know
how we are doing in satisfying
our customers,” Mabe said.
“We continue to work to
improve the image of our
products in the eyes of our
customers. The letters are a
good gauge of that.”
Following is a sampling of
some customer letters received
recently concerning Adams-
Millis products.
Dear Sir,
Please find enclosed my
receipt from Zellars and UPC
code from the product we
bought, advertising the MFR’s
$2 mail-in rebate.
Our family enjoys using your
products and your efforts to
keep costs down. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jo Franklin
Brooks, Alberta, Canada
Dear Hanes,
I wear your socks more than
any other brand. Don’t change
them! I recently, however, had
this problem with the pair
enclosed (splitting seam neai
heel) after being laundered
once. I
Thanks,
Bruce Benedetto
Burlington, Conn.
Please note - one sock is
very short. Another pair in the
package was different, too, but
I’ll cope with it - if you will
just please replace this pair,
Thank you.
Ruth Holland
Canal Fulton, Ohio
Dear Hanes,
I recently purchased a six
pack of Hanes Her Way cas
ual socks. Much to my dismay
the toe was not properly
stitched on the enclosed pair.
Tliey have only been worn one
time.
Also, the socks would be
much more comfortable if the
seams were smaller and
smoother.
I trust you will rectify this
situation.
Sincerely,
Lisa A. Youngers
Williamsburg, Va.
Hr,
I just wanted to send a short
note to tell you I bought these
Hanes Her Way Socks. I love
them. They are so comfort
able and they don’t choke ray
calves or ankles. I just wanted
to tell you they are the best
socks I’ve ever had in my life.
I’m 34. Like the label says,
“The ultimate in fit and com
fort.” Thankyou and whoever
designed them.
Cheryl Knoll
Tyndall, S.D.
Olympic Games
To Showcase
Sara Lee Products
The Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games and the
United States Olympic Com
mittee have announced that
the Champion and Hanes
divisions of Sara Lee Corpo
ration have signed what is
believed to be the largest single
category licensing agreement
in U.S. Olympic history.
The combined licensing
agreement, which applies to
the knit activewear apparel, is
expected to generate estimated
licensing revenues of $20 mil
lion for the Olympics. The
agreement covers the marks
of the 1994 Olympic Winter
Games in Lillehammer, Nor
way, the 1996 Atlanta Cen
tennial Olympic Games and
the 1994 and 1996 United
States Olympic Teams.
“With Champion and
Hanes as the premier licen
sees for knit activewear, we
are assured of exceptionally
high quality products that will
now display Olympic marks,”
said Billy Payne, Chief Execu-
tiver Officer of the Atlanta
Committee for the Olympics.
“This sets the standard by
which all Olympic licensed
products will be measured.”
Licensed activewear for the
1994 and 1996 Olympic Games
and the U.S. Olympic Teams
will soon be available to all
consumers on a nationwide
basis in every major channel
of distribution. All purchases
of these products will support
the Olympic Games and
America’s Olympic hopefuls.
“We will use these marks
on T-shirts, sweatshirts and
other knit products to promote
an activewear lifestyle reflected
in the spirit of America’s Olym
pic athletes, the Olympic
Games and to complement our
own brand strategies for Cham
pion and Hanes,” said Jack
Ward, Chief Executive Offi
cer of Sara Lee Knit Products.