Ashley's imminent closing to cost county 55 jobs

By Lynn Hotaling

Officials with Ashley Co., a Sylva fabricator of band hats and NASCAR jackets for more than 20 years, announced Tuesday it will cease operations by Dec. 5, a move that will affect some 55 employees.

Ashley's closing was announced by officials with its parent company, DeMoulin Bros. of Greenville, Ill. Sales, manufacturing and administration will be consolidated into DeMoulin's Greenville and Centralia, Ill., plants, said Bill Marsden, DeMoulin's president and CEO, who was in Sylva Tuesday.

"These are always hard decisions," Marsden said. "We've been struggling with business here for about four years."

A major factor contributing to the Sylva plant's demise was the loss of jacket contracts to an offshore manufacturer, Marsden said.

"It was an extensive amount of business, and it has not been recovered," he said.

DeMoulin "basically does not have enough volume to warrant keeping (Ashley) going," Marsden said.

Ashley's closing is "a blow to the county's economy," said Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver, who described the news as a shock.

"It was totally unexpected, and it's real sad it's coming at a time when the economy's down - Ashley's one of our established industries," Oliver said.

Jackson County Economic Development Commission Chairman Tom McClure echoed Oliver's concern.

"Frankly, I'm shocked, and I'm disappointed," McClure said Tuesday afternoon. "I worked closely with (Ashley/DeMoulin) during the merger, and I understood there was a long-term commitment to Jackson County.

"If they're not making money, that's unfortunate, but it doesn't help us," McClure said.

DeMoulin's difficulties here relate to widespread problems within the textile industry, McClure said.

"Unless a company has a product that can't be manufactured offshore, it's hard to make a profit," he said, citing competition with cheap foreign labor.

A statement issued by DeMoulin said the company is working with city, county and state officials to assist dislocated Ashley employees. Around five will be given the opportunity to relocate to Illinois, Marsden said.

"It's really difficult to articulate how I feel," Ashley co-founder Bill Schutters said Tuesday. "My biggest concern is for the people at the Ashley Co. From the time it was founded, it was always a family business. My parents were two of the first four employees, and the company was named for Mike's daughter. To know there is an end to all that is very, very difficult.

"Those people are like family to me, and I'm very concerned about them," Schutters said.

Ashley and DeMoulin officials announced expansion plans at the time of their merger, saying the two companies would have more of a competitive advantage together, according to a report in the Jan. 18, 1999 Sylva Herald. That report also listed some advantages of the merger to local Ashley employees as new 401(K) plans and increased vacation time.

"I'm here to show the employees that DeMoulin is serious in its commitment to Jackson County," Marsden said then.

The 1999 Sylva Herald report indicated that the two companies' merger/expansion was financed in part by revolving loans of $333,500 each from the town of Sylva and Jackson County.

DeMoulin currently owes Sylva around $180,000, said town clerk Tommy Thompson, and has a balance with the county of some $190,000, said Glenda Moody of the Jackson County finance office.

Both the county and town revolving loan programs are aimed at local job creation and economic development, Thompson said.

Ashley's impending closure leaves QC Apparel as Jackson County's only textile manufacturer.

"And (QC's) going to make it because they've gotten some of those products that can't be produced offshore," McClure said.

Ashley was founded in December 1977 as a band consulting business, with Schutters, Mike Trull, Bob Buckner and Dick Trevarthen as original stockholders, Schutters said. A year later, Trull and Schutters began the manufacturing business, and Trevarthen and Buckner maintained the consulting end.

Initially located in the old Western Builders building in Dillsboro and manufactured band hats, the company moved its operations to Harold Street in 1981, Schutters said.

The company built its customer base until Ashley owned 45 percent of the market share for band hats, though the seasonal nature of the industry - heavy production June through September and subsequent drop in demand in October - caused layoffs, he said.

Ashley added a line of embroidered jackets around 1982, Schutters said, and connected with Rick Hendrick of Charlotte just as he was becoming a NASCAR owner. Within three or four years Ashley was manufacturing jackets for 24 top Winston Cup drivers.

Trull left the company he helped found in September 2000, and Schutters left in January.

Assistant Editor Carey Phillips contributed to this report

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