Under Private Ownership, Sunbury Continues Building Niche Businesses
August 7, 2002
New York - ''We've gone private again,'' said Sunbury Textile Mills president Hank Truslow, Jr. In April, Truslow and five of senior Sunbury employees, partnered with Long Point Capital to complete a management-led buyout of Sunbury Textile Mills from the holding company Lifestyle Furnishings International.
''We all treated it like our company and now it is,'' Truslow said. The other partners are: chairman Hank Truslow Sr.; VP sales and marketing Rocco Simone; VP style and design Mark Grigalunas; VP of jobber design, Jennifer Welge; VP operations Brian Burke. Truslow said there will be other lesser partners.
Sunbury Textile Mills was founded in 1954 in Mooresville, N.C., by John and Gordon Matheson. They purchased the assets out of bankruptcy from Susquehana Silk Mills.
In 1981, Gordon Matheson hired Hank Truslow, Sr., the first of the current Sunbury managment to join. Mark Grigalunas joined in 1982, Truslow, Jr. in 1985, Rocco Simone in 1987, Brian Burke in 1988, Jennifer Welge in 1992. In the mid-''80s, Matheson passed away and Hank Truslow, Sr. took over.
''We all came here with great pride and strengths,'' Truslow said. ''We want to prove how strong we are.''
One of Sunbury''s chief strengths is the diversity of its product offering. The company spent the last three years solidifying its position in the market by building expanded niche businesses. ''By taking that approach, we''re not as negatively effected as others are by market upturns and downturns,'' Truslow said.
Sunbury''s core business remains as a marketer and manufacturer of high-end decorative fabrics: Sunbury sells 60 percent of its product to jobbers. In the meantime, the company is in the third year of a joint-venture partnership with Glen Raven Mills (Glen Raven, N.C.). Under the agreement, Sunbury is licensed to produce fabrics under the name, Sunbrella, a brand name range of outdoor furniture owned by Glen Raven.
The range consists of 100 percent solution-dyed acrylics, whose lightfastness and cleanability translate well to indoor use. ''Those fabrics are finding their ways into the home, especially in sun rooms and transition areas,'' Truslow said. Elsewhere, in an initiative undertaken two years ago, Sunbury entered the hospitality and healthcare markets with Crypton jacquard fabrics.
''The goal is to capture as much share in each of these segments as we can,'' said Truslow.
The diverse activity keeps the Sunbury design team on its toes. Jennifer Welge, who heads up design operations with Mark Grigalunas, oversees nearly 30 designers in New York and the company''s mill location in Sunbury, Pa. The team creates about 2,000 new patterns a year, many of which are exclusive. ''All of our designers communicate directly with Sunbury''s clients. It challenges them,'' Welge said. ''It gives them a full-circle view of their work.'' F&FI
''We all treated it like our company and now it is,'' Truslow said. The other partners are: chairman Hank Truslow Sr.; VP sales and marketing Rocco Simone; VP style and design Mark Grigalunas; VP of jobber design, Jennifer Welge; VP operations Brian Burke. Truslow said there will be other lesser partners.
Sunbury Textile Mills was founded in 1954 in Mooresville, N.C., by John and Gordon Matheson. They purchased the assets out of bankruptcy from Susquehana Silk Mills.
In 1981, Gordon Matheson hired Hank Truslow, Sr., the first of the current Sunbury managment to join. Mark Grigalunas joined in 1982, Truslow, Jr. in 1985, Rocco Simone in 1987, Brian Burke in 1988, Jennifer Welge in 1992. In the mid-''80s, Matheson passed away and Hank Truslow, Sr. took over.
''We all came here with great pride and strengths,'' Truslow said. ''We want to prove how strong we are.''
One of Sunbury''s chief strengths is the diversity of its product offering. The company spent the last three years solidifying its position in the market by building expanded niche businesses. ''By taking that approach, we''re not as negatively effected as others are by market upturns and downturns,'' Truslow said.
Sunbury''s core business remains as a marketer and manufacturer of high-end decorative fabrics: Sunbury sells 60 percent of its product to jobbers. In the meantime, the company is in the third year of a joint-venture partnership with Glen Raven Mills (Glen Raven, N.C.). Under the agreement, Sunbury is licensed to produce fabrics under the name, Sunbrella, a brand name range of outdoor furniture owned by Glen Raven.
The range consists of 100 percent solution-dyed acrylics, whose lightfastness and cleanability translate well to indoor use. ''Those fabrics are finding their ways into the home, especially in sun rooms and transition areas,'' Truslow said. Elsewhere, in an initiative undertaken two years ago, Sunbury entered the hospitality and healthcare markets with Crypton jacquard fabrics.
''The goal is to capture as much share in each of these segments as we can,'' said Truslow.
The diverse activity keeps the Sunbury design team on its toes. Jennifer Welge, who heads up design operations with Mark Grigalunas, oversees nearly 30 designers in New York and the company''s mill location in Sunbury, Pa. The team creates about 2,000 new patterns a year, many of which are exclusive. ''All of our designers communicate directly with Sunbury''s clients. It challenges them,'' Welge said. ''It gives them a full-circle view of their work.'' F&FI