Dallas, Texas - Pillowtex Corporation, the Dallas-based manufacturer of bed and bath products, promoted Tim Sweeney to the position of vice president and general manager of international sales in February. Sweeney, who worked in the international department for two and a half years prior to his promotion, replaced Steve Pianowski, who now works for Springs Industries.

While overseas manufacturers eye the U.S. for new sales opportunities and many domestic producers maintain their focus on domestic markets because the dollar is strong, Pillowtex is looking abroad. Brand names such as Royal Velvet, Cannon, Fieldcrest, Charisma and Ralph Lauren enjoy worldwide recognition, said Sweeney, which the company is trying to capitalize on. In certain South American countries, he said, towels are even referred to as ''Cannons,'' making the brand name the household term for towels.

Pillowtex is trying to make its brands household names in other areas of the globe, and has placed product in retail stores all over Europe as well as the Pacific Rim and South America, he continued. Many of the major retailers - such as Harrod's and Upim in Europe - have what Sweeney called ''RV (Royal Velvet) Shops.''

''We've done a lot of growing internationally. We're working on developing strategies to continue to grow our brands on the international markets,'' said Sweeney, although he declined to give statistics. ''As the world economy opens up, the company is trying to get its product to more local distributers, to reach new doors,'' he said.

Founded in 1954 in Dallas, Pillowtex Corporation, with annual sales in excess of $1,552 million, operates a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S. and Canada with approximately 14,000 employees. F&FI