It’s a hard time for U.S. manufacturers - trying to navigate their way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, pinched on two sides by a labor shortage and global supply and logistics issues.
But one Alabama business is already looking at 2022 and likes what it sees.
“This year we’re up 15 percent on last year, we see no reason for that growth to change,” said Anna Yeager Brakefield, the co-founder of Red Land Cotton said.
“I think it’s going to be a real winner for us to say we have product here.”
Red Land Cotton started about five years ago, with Brakefield and her father using cotton from the family farm in Moulton to make luxury sheets, blankets, towels and more.
The products have been featured in publications such as Southern Living, Garden & Gun and Country Living.
And over the past six years, the company has grown a domestic supply chain.
Last year, Red Land made more than $6 million in sales, and is projected to beat that this year, with projected sales of more than $2 million in the fourth quarter.
The Lawrence County-based heirloom linen manufacturer last December finished work on a 25,000-square-foot warehouse, distribution center and storefront in Moulton.
And the company is rolling at a 37,000-square-foot cut-and-sew manufacturing plant in Tylertown, Miss., taking over part of its own manufacturing.
Red Land’s moves represent about $1.5 million worth of investments, while growing its workforce by a quarter over the last year.
Supply chain issues are affecting businesses across the U.S., from school cafeterias to car manufacturers to computers.
Dipping demand for goods during the pandemic, followed by roaring consumer appetite, disrupted the flow of products and the components needed to make them.
In turn, how goods are transported - by ship, by truck - are being slowed down by logistics difficulties and manpower shortages.
This is resulting in inflation at grocery stores, gas pumps and everywhere in between.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said last Friday that Americans should be prepared for global supply chain challenges to last into next year.
The issues are also putting the squeeze on retailers and manufacturers just as the holiday shopping season ramps up.
Right now, it’s cotton harvesting season.
It typically takes Red Land Cotton about three months from harvest to spinning to weaving to production. By maintaining a supply chain based in the U.S., the company has also managed to avoid some of the problems other companies are running into.
Red Land estimates it will keep 25% more of its cotton crop in the U.S. this year versus exporting, based on the demand for American-made products.
Brakefield said the company right now is able to see the fruits of years of decisions toward keeping its operations focused on American manufacturing.
“We’re very fortunate to have our supply chain in our backyard and have relationships with these suppliers,” she said.
“Because we have relationships with vendors here, they are prioritizing us on their schedule for next year. If we were just a name without a face, or an impersonal relationship with an overseas supplier, I could easily see how you would get pushed under the rug, or overlooked, or worst case scenario, your product is sitting in a shipyard or not even able to get to the shipyard.”
Brakefield said, while turnover has been heavy at the Tylertown plant, filling jobs has not been a problem, which she attributes to the competitive salary offered to employees.
And when planning for next year, the company is able to allow itself some optimism, especially since it can use its “Made in America” story as a selling point.
She said she expects that to be a “real winner,” as about three-fourths of their customer base wants an American-made quality product.
“Even though we’re going to have our own challenges, nothing is stuck out there,” she said.
“There are issues we can handle internally. When we’re looking at making new products and entering new product categories, we can go out there and make face-to-face connections in the U.S. with those suppliers here, and I think that’s going to make a huge difference.”
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October 26, 2021 at 07:41PM
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How this Alabama company has increased its workforce and maintained its supply chain - AL.com
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