THE
r;iEl,DCRlSJ MICUS,,JHC:S #■!
“~X- ' ' --
^L. XXIV
Pionts Of Droj,sr, Forest City, Greenville, Uoksville, Mount Smithfield
SPfoy and Worfhville, N. C.;-Reldole, Vo., Columbus, Go, and Auburn, N. Y.
Spray, N. C., June 20, 1966
Ceremonies Honor
Retiring Employees
I^Wenty Employees Retire June 1
^ Make Total Of 1,005 Retirees
”ow Receiving Pension Checks
Twenty long-service employees re-
under the Fieldcrest Pension Plan
Qective June 1 to make a total of 1428
^en and women who have retired since
the
1 -c
total
in
^^edit Union To Pay
ividend Of 4^2%
'^embers of the Fieldcrest Mills Cred-
I Union in all locations will receive a
her cent per annum dividend, fig-
•iltt **** their average monthly balances
credited to each member’s share
^«nt as of June 30, 1966.
jj, he dividend was authorized by the
l^edit Union’s Board of Directors at
last regular monthly meeting.
I the Credit Union, which has never
less than 4 per cent per annum on
j *hgs, increased the per annum div-
tbt* *‘^te from 4 per cent to 414 per
j * effective January 1, 1965, and it is
being increased to 414 per cent for
latest six-month period.
Company Announces Expansion Plans
program was started in. 1944 and a
of 1005 who are now living and
'3-Wing pensions.
Ceremonies honoring the latest re-
'•'ees were held in the various mill
anagers’ offices where the retirees’
•■St monthly pension checks were pre-
Sfitited.
, Mill officials congratulated them upon
aving reached retirement age when
®y can enjoy greater leisure with a
v’anthly pension for life paid from the
^Mdcrest Mill Pension Trust.
The mill managers and members of
® Industrial Relations Department ex-
,‘ained the various benefits available to
. ® company’s retired employees and
I *hted out that retirees are still mem-
of the “Fieldcrest family.”
was explained that the Pension
is administrated by the Wachovia
and Trust Company of Winston-
V as trustee and that the money
the company pays to the fund is
Set! from the company’s earnings and
be used only for the payment of
*'^Ployees’ pensions.
ijj The pensions paid under the plan are
Addition to, and completely separate
(Continued on Page Eight)
Fieldcrest Mills has announced plans
for a major expansion at the Karastan
Mill in Leaksville and for construction
of a new, modem air-conditioned Bed
spread Finishing Mill and warehouse on
the former Union Carbide property near
Draper.
The demand for the style and quality
of rugs and carpets produced by Karas
tan has grown steadily for several year.?,
and the announced expansion is to pro
vide space and equipment to enable
Karastan to continue to service increas
ing customer demands.
At the Karastan Mill, a 41,300 square
foot addition to the present weave room
will be built. This will provide space for
additional Kara-loc looms; and orders
have already been placed for parts, etc.
to build five additional looms in late
1966 and early 1967.
The entire mill will be air condition
ed with the exception of one or two lo
cations where it would be impractical.
It is expected that the air conditioning
will be ready before summer of 1967.
The additional weaving capacity will
necessitate increased auxiliary equip
ment and a gradual increase in employ
ment at the mill. Extra equipment will
be added for the beaming, winding,
burling, sizing, and drying operations;
and an additional dye machine will be
installed, requiring that an addition be
built to the dyehouse.
Steel for the weave room addition is
scheduled to be delivered by the end of
June, and the building is scheduled to
be completed by December 31.
Meanwhile, work is under way on pre
paring the site. Fencing is being moved,
driveways and underground piping are
to be relocated and the site filled to the
level of the existing weave room.
Likewise, greater capacity for bed
spread sewing and warehousing opera
tions has been necessitated by the steady
growth of the business in the past sev
eral years and the expected growth dur-
(Continued on Page Three)
Safety Awards Presented To Four Plants
The Award of Honor, the highest
recognition given by the National Safety
Council, has been presented to the Auto
matic Blanket Plant for the fourth year.
There has never been any lost time
due to injury at the Automatic Blanket
Plant since it was established in June,
1960. The plant is continuing its per
fect record to date and has accumulat
ed over six million safe man-hours.
The award was presented to Robert
F. Bell, personnel manager for Smith-
field and Greenville, at the recent meet
ing of the Central Safety Committee.
The presentation was made by Ken
neth R. Baggett, safety director.
Mr. Baggett also presented to Haven
Newton, director of industrial relations,
an Award of Honor won by the General
Offices employees, who had worked
over 314 million man-hours without a
lost-time injury since March 1, 1958.
An Award of Merit, the second rank
ing award of the National Safety Coun
cil, was presented to D. A. Purcell,
manager of the Towel Mill, for that
mill s outstanding safety performance
throughout 1965, amounting to approxi
mately 21/2 million man-hours without
a lost-time injury.
A Certificate of Commendation from
the National Safety Council was pres-
sented to the Bleachery for outstanding
safety performance throughout 1965,
amounting to 190,000 man-hours with
out lost time due to injury. Frank T.
Sutteefield, general superintendent of
the Finishing Mill and Bleachery, ac
cepted the award for the Bleachery.
‘White Elephant’ Goes
To Karastan Spinning
The white elephant, symbol of the
poorest safety record, was awarded to
the Karastan Spinning Division at
Greenville based on safety experience
during May.
Prior to May the Greenville em
ployees had worked approximately one
year and accumulated a half-million
man-hours without a disabling injury.
The mill had an average of 2,152 safe
hours per employee and had won a bar
becue under terms of the Fieldcrest
safety contest.
The Carding Department, in which
an injury occurred in May had operat
ed approximately 100,000 man-hours
without any lost time due to injury
and had achieved an excellent safety
record during the past 1V2 years.