The demand for yarns, fibres and other related products used in the textile business is robust. Threats of anti-dumping duties on textured polyester yarns imported from China and India are helping to fuel demand for Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) compliant yarns. This year’s increased levy by the US on imported yarns from China has added fuel to the demand for domestic yarns and fabrics.
A small and unique establishment, DeSales Trading Company, based in a Southern town synonymous with textiles (Burlington, North Carolina) says it has done quite well over its 50 years in business. The owners say they are glad to see the uptick in demands for their products and for the industry as a whole.
Joe Murray, chief executive officer, DeSales Trading Company, says: “This bull market for the textile business is very welcome. The textile industry since 2005 has really been on a rollercoaster ride – many peaks and valleys.”
The satisfying element for DeSales Trading Company is the fact that its suppliers and customers understand the role the company plays in the textile market. Its banker for 18 years, Dale Page, says: “It has been and continues to be a pleasure working with such a fine group of people as the Murray brothers. The company has adapted, evolved and thrived through various economic cycles, always with a focus on providing needed products and services to their customers and suppliers.”
Mark Murray, one of the three brothers who own and manage DeSales Trading Company, says: “The big change at DeSales Trading Company is change itself. If you are not willing to change you are just going to reach the same results year after year.”
For DeSales Trading Company, the brothers have ventured into new product categories they may have stayed away from in the past. The company’s niche is the buying and selling of obsolete/second quality yarns from the largest chemical and yarn producers in the textile market.
In addition, the brothers buy obsolete/unwanted yarns from the largest of textile end-users and then re-sell the yarns to smaller firms who can take advantage of the products. The youngest brother, Michael, says: “We are kind of like a used car dealer, but we do it with yarns. Our business model is very similar to A + E’s reality show, Pawn Stars. Folks bring to us their products and they want us to place a value on the offering in the hope we can reach an agreement to purchase. Then we must calculate the potential to sell the product very quickly. Or will we be sitting on the product for months?”
Company milestone
This year marks DeSales Trading Company’s 50th year. The company was founded by the Murray brothers’ father, William T ‘Bud’ Murray, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The company’s efforts have brought it various opportunities to step into new product segments like synthetic bicomponent fibres used in the nonwoven segment of the textile industry, elastomeric yarns (spandex and natural latex rubber thread), and some acrylic polymers. According to the Murray brothers, the products they purchase reach far and wide – from Northern Ireland, Brazil, China, Malaysia and Thailand, for example. Most products are brought into their facility in Burlington where they then distribute the products worldwide. Their products end-up in socks, pantyhose, fabrics for T-shirts, and braided and twisted cords, for example.
