! ?>' Al ; '- : -V- J. Phenlx Plant Fifth Anniversary Section VOL. 62 NO. 8 Page Three SECTION 2 Sixty-Second Tear Kings Mountain. N. a, Friday. March 2, 1951 Established 1889 PRICE FIVE CENTS pills Reads tegan In 1923 Company Grew From Lone Unit, Now Employing 32^00 Persons The history of Burlington Mills Is art important chapter in the rayon industry and a fascinat ing story of planning, building, new products which have added to the comfort and well -being of the American public. It is a bus iness romance of men who recog nized the possibilities of new things from the yams of chemis try in one ot the nation's oldest ind u stries ? textiles. In 1933 some local business men in Burlington, North Caroli na, joined J. Spencer Love, a young World. War I veteran, in .-building a small, cotton textile mill employing about 200 per sona. As a tribute to the commu nity in which it was founded, the Company was .named, ' Turling ton Mills." The first plant man ager was Mr. Love, who contin ues as chief executive Of the or- j - ganizatlon in which capacity he hats served for the past 20 years. Seeing the possibilities of ray on in 1925, the management of this new enterprise began ? pro gram of expansion in order to develop fabrics from this revolu tionary manufactured fiber. Working with rayon first as a decorative yarn, these textile pi oneers were fascinated with this material and saw in it the ans wer to the age-old search for in. expensive high quality fabrics. The first plant to produce ra RECENT PHOTO OF PHEN1X PLANT ? Her* U a recent aerial photo of tho Burlington Mills Phonlx Plant Tarn spinning milL and on* of BurMll'e 77 manufacturing plants. Phonlx. employing 350 par ent, js celebrating its fifth annivorsa&r as a mem ber of tho big Burlington family yon dress goods was constructed in 1927. A a the producers of ra yon yam improved their product, early problems at stiffness, shiny finish and mottled dyeing were solved. Soft, pliant dull-finish fabrics easy to drape and tailor were developed. Rayon soon e> merged from the category of a i cheap bargain basement substi tute for silk in to a beati^^l fa bric in it* own right and at prices attractve to the general public. Production was. expanded into the drapery and upholstery field, rayon dress crepes, acetate taf fetas, novelty dress fabrics, and rayon sheers. The depression years of the earl, thirties failed to halt the Company's steady growth. Closed cotton mills were purchased and modernized for rayon and new plants were built, greatly increasing production and providing employment for many idle textile workers. Decentralisation With its success in industrial growth, Burlington Mills also es tablished a new pattern of indus trial progress by decentralization of its plants in smaller cities where both plants and employ ees could fully enjoy the bene fits of small town and rural sur roundings. Local citizens fre quently joined with the Company to