Sunbrella adds plant shift to increase textured fabric production

Interest in soft, textured fabrics and specialty yarns has been growing over the past decade, and this demand expanded during the pandemic, when people really began to see their outside spaces as extensions of their interiors.

To meet increased demand for textural fabrics, Sunbrella has added a new shift to its specialty yarn plant in Burlington, North Carolina.

The plant typically operates two shifts per day and produces the company’s highly textural yarns available for indoor and outdoor furnishings. With the addition of this shift and new employees, the facility operates 24 hours a day, five days a week and is now able to produce 50% more novelty yarns.

“We are committed to fulfilling orders quickly and reliably to meet the interest in textural fabrics and novelty yarns. This new shift in Burlington will help us meet demand, continue to maintain our in-stock rate and be a reliable partner to our customers,” said Joseph Davis, president of Glen Raven Material Solutions Group.

Sunbrella has been a leader in this space, showcasing that high design and performance can coexist by continuously introducing more texture-forward performance fabrics using novelty yarns, chunky weaves and linenlike constructions. It opened its novelty yarn plant in January 2022 and made plans to introduce an additional shift late last year.

Burlington is one of five manufacturing facilities that Sunbrella has in the United States. In recent years, the company has invested to expand and upgrade production capabilities to effectively support its partners and the supply chain.

“Innovation continues to be part of our DNA and plays a key role in our growth strategy,” said Suzie Roberts, vice president and general manager of furnishings, Sunbrella. “Whether that’s continuing to advance our yarn bank, design or development capabilities, we continue to build plans and create new solutions to meet the needs of our partners.”

At the recent Interwoven fabric market, the company showcased several new groupings that fuse a medley of aesthetics and are intended to be layered for unique and personable interiors, according to Roberts.

The collection includes four fabric groupings:

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Wonder: A grouping of fabrics inspired by the beauty and the mystery of plants that comes to life through layered shades of green in a series of botanical-inspired patterns and textures. Fabrics include Fervent Juniper, Sentiment Pine, Mystique Moss, Replay Moss, Caper Moss, Hatch Juniper, Lola Juniper and Ritsy Spa.

Sunkissed: These playful and renewing fabrics use textural novelty yarns and feature warming accents of golden yellow mixed with soft shades of misty blues and greens. Fabrics include Lure Dew, Replay Straw, Rendition Spring, Exhale Sky, Revival Lake and Generate Linen.

Earthen: A combination of fabrics featuring varied weave effects and novelty yarns that bring together textured tones of clay and brown mixed with indigo and warm whites. Fabrics include Rendition Amber, Replay Taupe, Lola Clay, Mobile Cameo, Nuance Eggshell, Stria Clay and Willa Hemp.

Glow: Glow is a grouping of fabrics that are enriching and grounding, rich with warm tones of textural browns in layers of pattern and weaves. Fabrics include Abstraction Dune, Alternative Oak, Rendition Amber, Escalate Teak and Mystique Amber.