Innovative change comes in many forms at Milliken & Company: working inside the walls of our sate-of-the-art research and development labs, aligning ourselves with like-minded industry pioneers, or formally joining forces with field experts who complement our own strengths. In this spirit to broaden the positive impact we make on the world for generations to come, we are pleased to officially welcome Polartec to Milliken.
Last week, we announced Milliken's acquisition of Polartec, LLC, a strong global brand known for its innovative performance textiles for outdoor and military apparel, and now, we are excited to formally welcome Polartec to Milliken. The Polartec brand carries a respected portfolio of fabric technologies for outdoor apparel, from performance-driven and consumer-focused textiles, to flame-resistant, workwear, and military fabrics. The addition of the Polartec brand—particularly its outdoor and fleece textiles—rounds out Milliken's comprehensive textile portfolio, allowing us to deliver unprecedented access to a range of performance textiles for consumers, industrial workers, and military personnel around the world.
“Polartec brings a wealth of new and respected outdoor textile expertise to complement Milliken’s strengths,” shared Halsey Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company, in a press release announcing the planned acquisition. “The strategic acquisition broadens our textile capabilities with a product offering to now include fleece and soft-shell outerwear, among others, allowing us to grow in new and exciting spaces.”
Since inventing modern technical fleece in 1981, the Polartec brand has continued to advance the science of fabric, creating fabric technologies that solve problems and improve the way products are designed and used. Polartec products range from lightweight fabrics to insulated and weather-protection textiles, and are utilized by leading consumer brands, the U.S. Military, and other global militaries, flame resistance apparel, workwear, and contract upholstery markets.
In addition to respective textile expertise, both Milliken and Polartec share more than 100 years of history as U.S.-based textile manufacturers. We also share a unique past, working together after a devastating fire at the Polartec Malden Mills plant in 1995. Roger Milliken reached to Malden Mills having faced a similar situation with our Live Oak plant earlier that year, and expanded our production capabilities to manufacture their products while Malden Mills was rebuilt. Since then, Polartec has continued to provide consumers and end users with expert outdoor performance textiles.
Milliken’s Performance and Protective Textiles division is committed to nurturing and growing the Polartec brand. To learn more about the textile division at Milliken, visit textiles.milliken.com, and for more information about Polartec, visit Polartec.com and follow Polartec on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
