Joan enters fabric joint venture in China
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2003
Tyngsboro, Mass. — Joan Fabrics and The Cha Textile Group of Hong Kong have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture company in mainland China for the manufacture of jacquard flat goods.
The products, primarily for the home furnishings market, will be made in China for distribution worldwide.
The project initially envisions finishing, cutting and sewing of home upholstery fabrics. As the project develops, it will lead to the production of woven greige goods in China.
Elkin McCallum, chairman and chief executive officer of Joan, said the joint venture "is another step in Joan's strategy to establish a manufacturing presence in the United States, Mexico and now in the Far East." Last year, Joan acquired Industrias Textel S.A. de C.V. in Tlaxcala, Mexico, a producer of woven jacquards.
Joan, the largest U.S. home furnishings fabric supplier, joins a growing cadre of American decorative fabric companies with Chinese relationships in production, marketing and distribution. Earlier this month, Culp announced a joint venture in China to produce yarns and fabrics, as well as finishing and cut-and-sew operations for global distribution.
Fabrics in the initial phase of the Joan joint venture will probably be produced in China, according to Brian Stamper, chief financial officer of Cha Technology Group in the United Kingdom. Production is expected to begin "almost immediately," he said. The joint venture's second phase will result in the building of a mill in China, Stamper added.
Madeline Wong, chairman of the management board of The Cha Group, which has manufacturing facilities in China, Hong Kong, Africa and Europe, said, "We are delighted to be joining Joan in what we expect to be a long and prosperous relationship."
