Loan approval expected to put 118 to work by 2003

By Lisa Majors-Duff

The recommendation came during a special meeting of the board last Thursday (Oct. 10), during which McClure showed commissioners examples of the high-end textile Queen plans to produce.

"(QC Apparel) has really struggled in the last couple of years to survive," McClure said. "This is the product that will keep them in business."

The product - a complete, matching bedding set that retails for about $300 in department stores - had previously been produced offshore, but problems with quality control have required production be brought back to the United States, said McClure.

"The money will be used for gearing up and production," McClure told commissioners. "(Queen) will be buying new, automated equipment, but automation will not diminish the need of jobs. In fact, the new equipment will require more workers."

While production is under way in a limited capacity at QC's currently Skyland Drive location, a move to the former Tuckaseigee Mills building is expected soon, Queen said. In addition to putting his own laid-off employees back to work, Queen said he plans to employ most of those who will lose their jobs when Ashley Co. closes later this year.

DeMoulin Bros., Ashley Co.'s parent company, announced late last month that some 55 people locally would lose their jobs when production is moved to Greenville, Ill.

As a condition of recommending the loan to QC Apparel, the Revolving Loan Committee insisted Queen hire a professional financial manager, McClure said.

Queen, who currently employs about 35 people, plans to hire an additional 32 workers by the end of the year. Next year's payroll should include some 118 employees, McClure said.

As security for the $300,000 loan, Queen has put up his personal residence, all of QC's business assets and his personal guarantee. A five-year repayment plan was also recommended.

According to the county's financial records, Queen received a $60,000 loan in 1995, which was renegotiated eight months later. Then in 1998 the note was again renegotiated, and QC Apparel was approved to receive an additional $20,000.

Payments on that loan, which was renegotiated twice more in 1999 and 2001, have been deferred for at least a year. Queen's outstanding balance as of Monday was $54,662.

The deferment was necessary, McClure said, because of the downturn in the economy, especially with regard to the textile industry. Funds owed from the previous loan will be included in the new $300,000 loan, he said.

"I don't want to lose 32 jobs, but I will say this worries me," Commissioner Roberta Crawford said.

"If we don't approve this, what will happen?" Commissioner Conrad Burrell asked.

"(Queen) will continue to struggle and may go out of business," McClure responded, saying the loan package being recommended would not be approved by a bank or other financial institution.

Revenues in the county's Revolving Loan Fund stand at almost $500,000, finance officer Darlene Fox reported. That amount should increase if commissioners request Ashley pay back what it owes - about $190,000 - before moving its operation out of state, she said.

"Clemmey Queen has been a friend to Jackson County for 15 years," Burrell said. "He has employed people for 15 years and will employ more in two years. I don't have a problem (with the loan)."

"I think the bottom line is that we can't afford to lose 32 jobs, not with the way the economy is," Crawford added before the unanimous vote of approval.

Back to Archive: 10/17/02.