ers . “ We ’ ve bought fabric all over the country and know everybody in the business , and then we ’ ve got a really good sourcing team ,” he said . “ We have an advantage to finding fabric , but it still wasn ’ t easy .”
Fortunately , the company has connections with the top producers of non-woven fabrics . “ We were really fortunate to have the right people to work on the fabric ,” he said .
The plant in South Carolina will be making the nose piece and ear loops and once that happens , " The only thing we ' ll be buying are cartons , boxes and films from outside of our plants , and we buy a whole lot of that locally ," said Wootten . " We ' ll have a fully , 100 percent , USA produced product ."
HomTex ’ s regular production of its DreamFit sheets took a hit for about a month when the pandemic first started , but Wootten said demand now is higher than before COVID-19 became part of everyday lives .
“ People are staying at home so they ’ re buying products for their homes - sheets , pillow cases - and they ’ re not traveling as much ,” he said .
He doesn ’ t see the demand for masks falling off anytime soon , though . " We ' re in this for the long haul ," he said . " The realization that you need to protect yourself from viruses carried by other people - whether its Covid or flu or whatever - I think there ' s been a societal change as far as health concerns ."
The company is planning to produce up to 400 million masks per year and is now operating 24-hours a day , seven days a week , a first for them . HomTex was recently awarded a contract to supply masks for the U . S . Capitol complex , providing masks for legislators and all visitors .
The company has imported some talent . " We ' re not only saving jobs here , we ' re hiring a lot of technical expertise , automation expertise ," said Wootten . He pointed , too , to what Cullman County - and Wallace State College in particular - has done to prepare the workforce . " Our community in general is doing what it takes to build up a more sophisticated employee base ."
" Our sewing plants aren ' t your grandmother ' s sewing factories ," he said . " We ' re constantly trying to improve and automate the processes as much as possible ."
But even as processes and technology advance , Wootten wants to
maintain what makes HomTex a special place to work : the culture and environment . " I think most of them feel like they work in a place where they ’ re cared for and respected and appreciated ," he said . " You have to pay them good wages , but you want them to have self-respect too . I tell people ' thank you ' a whole lot ." S
Homtex CEO Jerry Wootten with employee
Angela Crum at the facility on U . S . 31 .
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