13 1 A t I /» Page 5-AMCO NEWS-July, 1982
Kesearch And Development Significant UndertsJ^g
One of the most significant
undertakings of Adams-Millis
Hosiery Company in recent years
was the establishment of a
Research and Development
Department, which resulted in
the development of the Speed-
master Knitting machine.
In earlier years, the Company
at various times had individuals
concentrating on developing new
styles and experimenting to find
better and faster methods of pro
ducing them. In 1974, however,
the decision was made to commit
the Company to an all-out effort
to develop a machine that would
be faster and more efficient than
any knitting machines then on the
market.
The projected goal of the
research was to build a knitting
machine with the capability of
producing in excess of 100 dozen
pairs of socks in 24 hours, com
pared to the some 25-dozen
capability then possible in a
24-hour period. To attain this
goal, the machine would have to
operate at speeds of some 350
revolutions per minute, as com
pared to the then fastest machine
which operated at some 175
rpm’s.
Jon Wallner, Senior Vice Presi
dent and Director of Operations
for the Hosiery Company, and a
consultant working with Adams-
Millis were in charge of the new
program. Gilbert Hine and Frank
Rich, then Head fixers, both with
a number of years’ experience,
were selected to work with them.
“We had outstanding Fixers
throughout Adams-Millis
Hosiery, as we do today,” Mr.
Wallner said. “The two men
selected were, however, among
the group of the most talented.”
Both Gilbert and Frank had
come to Adams-Millis soon after
finishing high school, both star
ting to work as Knitters; Gilbert
at Kemersville Plant 4, and
Frank at Plant 7 in High Point.
They recalled recently that they
both were interested in machines
from an early age, both had
grown up on farms where they
often repaired machinery.
Gilbert had, from an early age,
been interested in repairing and
restoring engines. Both added
that, also from an early age, they
had become accustomed to long
hours of hard work on the farm.
The consultant worked with
Gilbert and Frank, in effect tutor
ing them in mechanical terms
and language with which to com-
municate some of their
knowledge to paper and design
drawings.
Gilbert took a special Fixer’s
course during this time at
Guilford Technical Institute at
Jamestown, and both men were
sent to the University of Colorado
at Denver for an intensive course
in computer programming.
Following this, they and the
consultant, working with the
machinists at the Machine Shop
on English Road, began what was
to become a year-long effort to
develop a high speed knitting
machine that would, in effect,
revolutionize the hosiery in
dustry.
“Often the consultant would
come to the machine shop after
working on a problem in his of
fice, away from Adams-Millis,”
Frank recently recalled. “If we
found we were nearing a solution,
our hours continued long after
our regular quitting time.”
Much of the work of making
precision parts for the machine
under development was done in
the Machine Shop. Other work,
requiring machinery not
available in the local shop, was
done at other locations.
When completed, the machine
contained approximately 1,000
parts. The day the prototype was
assembled in final form, Gilbert
and Frank, without calling
anyone in, turned the switch and
found it worked on the first try.
suppose we didn’t call anyone,”
Frank recalled recently with a
laugh, “because we wanted time
to get out of town if it didn’t
work.” The first piece knitted on
the machine, a piece of jersey
material, was sent to Mr.
Wallner.
The machine was named the
“Speedmaster” and Frank and
Gilbert in the years since 1974
have built many more for Adams-
Millis. They also have built other
machines, converted others to
newer techniques and are con
stantly overhauling equipment to
extend its life well past its pro
jected normal use.
As electronics and other new
developments evolve in the knit
ting industry, Adams-Millis con
tinues to strive to keep its lead in
the field. Development of the
Reid Parrish Works
With Special Projects
Reid Parrish, Machinist, has
been assigned to work for the
Research and Development
Department for approximately
the last four years.
Reid formerly worked for
Adams-Millis in the late 1940’s
and early 1950’s. He later
operated his own hosiery com
pany, employing 40 persons, for a
number of years. When raw
materials and other operating
costs continued escalating, he
closed his plant.
“Running your own plant gives
you an opportunity to learn every
aspect of hosiery production, and
that experience has been
valuable to me in performing the
specialized work for the
Research and Development
Department at Adams-Millis,”
he stated.
Reid and his wife, who live near
Jon Wallner
Jon Wallner, above. Senior Vice-
President and Director of Opera
tions for Adams-Millis Hosiery
Company, has worked with the
Research and Development
Department of the Company,
since it was started in 1974.
“Speedmaster,” however,
without question was a landmark
era in the company’s history, and
the years of “Knitting-art” ex
perience of both Frank and
Gilbert unquestionably con
tributed to the ultimate success
of this project. These machines
were an important factor in
Adams-Millis maintaining its
position as one of the world’s
largest producers of diversified
styles of hosiery for the entire
family, Mr. Wallner said.
Frank Rich and Gilbert Hine, left and right above, are special projects
engineers.
Gilbert Hine’s Love Affair With
1956 Chevy Still Going Strong
Reid Parrish
Randleman, have seven
daughters, six of whom are mar
ried.
When Gilbert Hine was a senior
at Forsyth County’s Glenn High
School in 1%1, he saw a 1956
Chevrolet BelAire Sports Coupe
that he wanted so much he coidd
taste it. Gilbert today is an
engineer in the Research and
Development Department of
Adams-Millis Hosiery Company,
and he still has that ’56 Chevy-
but it’s a totally different car
today.
To go back to 1961, Gilbert and
his mother were buying another
car together at the time he saw
the Chevy. He had saved money
in a piggy bank, had earned
money summers pulling tobacco,
and had an agreement with his
mother that she could use the car
for traveling to work if she would
help him pay it off.
When he saw the Chevy, he still
owed $250 on his first car. He
worked out another agreement
with his mother, however, for her
to finish payments on the first car
and then prevailed upon his
grandmother to lend him the
money for the Chevy; so, it was a
cooperative family affair all
around.
To see the ’56 Chevy is to think
immediately of “Happy Days,”
that popular television series
about teenagers in the 1950’s.
Gilbert said he took his dates to
the movies in the Chevy, and then
later drove it to Myrtle Beach, S.
C., when he and his wife
honeymooned there. It was their
family car for years, then
became their “second car” and
'"'I
Gilbert’s Chevy
still later, Gilbert began entering
it in drag races in the area.
As his interest in racing
developed, he began gearing up
the car for higher speeds and in
1974, stopped licensing it as a
street vehicle and began hauling
it to races on a trailer he built
especially for that purpose.
"Today, he enters some thirty
races each year, and his two teen
age sons have also restored a 1955
Chevrolet and have joined him in
the sport.. The dragsters run 1/8
mile tracks, and Gilbert said he
averages getting up to 102 miles
per hour, covering the track in
just under seven seconds.- When
the tracks were 1/4 mile long, he
averaged 108 miles per hour.
In spite of the tremendous
speed attained in such a short
span, drag racing is considered
an exceptionally safe sport, he
said, adding that few injuries are
sustained each year. Entry fees
run from $10 to $25, with prize
money ranging from $100 up to as
much as $1,000 sometimes, and
even to $3,000 on rare occasions.
Gilbert said he won enough times
in 1979 and 1981 to more than
break even. In 1980, however, the
engine blew on his car and he was
set back quite a bit.
Gilbert’s wife, Olivia, is a
spectator at some of the races,
which are generally held on
Saturday nights; but because
they get home from 1:00 a.m. to
4:00 a.m. Sunday mornings,
getting up to attend church can
be a problem. Gilbert
emphasized, however, that the
family does attend church no
matter what hour they get to bed.
The cost of the car in 1961 was
$998, and today the car probably
would bring $6,000. To hear
Gilbert talk about it, though, one
gets the impressions that the
Chevy has b^ome a permanent
member of the family and
probably couldn’t be bought at
any price.