Glen Raven, Inc.

Infobox Company
name = Glen Raven, Inc.

type = Private
genre =
foundation = Alamance, U.S. (1880)
founder = John Quinton Gant
location_city = Glen Raven, North Carolina
location_country = U.S.
location =
locations =
area_served = Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America
key_people =
industry = Textiles
products = Aluprotec, AutoGuard, Coastguard, Dickson, Eradi-Lite, EverGreen, Firefly, Firegard Textiles, Firesist HUV, GlenGuard, GlenTuff, HaloTech FR, Jacquatex, Meltex, Nite-Lite, Sleeve-It, Sunbrella, SunBrite, Suncraft Eversoft, Sunvision, Sunworker, Surlast, Vivitex
services = Third Party Logistics
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
assets =
equity =
owner = The Gant Family
num_employees = ~3500
parent =
divisions =
subsid = Dickson Constant, Glen Raven Asia, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, Glen Raven Logistics, Glen Raven Technical Fabrics LLC, R. J. Stern, Strata Systems Inc, Tri Vantage
slogan =
homepage =
footnotes =
intl =

Glen Raven, Inc. is a fabric manufacturing and marketing company. The company is headquartered in Glen Raven, North Carolina and headed by Allen Erwin Gant, Jr., the grandson of John Quinton Gant and founder of the industry advocacy group National Council of Textile Organizations. Glen Raven has operations in the United States, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, China and Africa.

History

The company was founded as John Q. Gant Manufacturing Co. in 1880 by John Quinton Gant (1847-1930) and has been continually owned and operated by his descendants. Gant worked for a cotton mill in the Altamahaw, North Carolina, and throughout the 1870s purchased shares in the business. Around 1902 all of the company’s stock was acquired and the firm was known as Glen Raven Cotton Mills. At the beginning of the twentieth century Glen Raven Cotton Mills became one of the first cotton mills in the south to dye fabrics, which up until that time had been done predominately in the north.Fact|date=March 2008

They began manufacturing cotton duck awning fabrics in 1908.

John Q. Gant died on October 29 1930.

Glen Raven began developing pantyhose in 1953. Panti-Tights and Panti-Legs are introduced as the first commercial ladies pantyhose in 1959.(cite web |url=http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpantyhose.htm |title=The History of Pantyhose and Nylon)

The company wove the fabric used to make the first American flag that was planted on the moon at their weaving facility in Burnsville, NC.Facts|date=March 2008

The company introduced acrylic-based fiber in 1961, which has vastly superior durability to cotton.Fact|date=March 2008 Today, Sunbrella fabrics are used in a variety of applications including outdoor furniture, indoor furniture, boat covers, convertible automobile tops, and awnings. Glen Raven is best known for its Sunbrella line of performance fabrics.

In 1998 Glen Raven merged with Dickson, SA of France and expanded its customer base to more than 120 countries. This merger provided Glen Raven with a manufacturing presence and leading market share throughout Europe and in many other countries. Additionally, the means to introduce sign fabrics, tents, protective apparel, and numerous other industrial applications were added to their arsenal.

The company started production in a new 190,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China on September 21 2006 (cite web |url=http://www.glenraven.com/index.php?lang=en&page=news-events&yr=2006&rss=20060919 |title=Grand Opening Planned for Glen Raven Asia). The division was named Glen Raven Asia and will employ more than 300, with Hua Li (Wally) serving as general manager.

In 2006, Sunbrella Awnings, Boat Tops, Canopies, and Umbrellas with Sun Protective Performance Fabrics UPF 50+ were awarded the "INTERNATIONAL SEAL OF RECOMMENDATION FOR UV FABRIC/ UMBRELLAS/ AWNINGS" by The Skin Cancer Foundation, a worldwide organization dedicated to preventing skin cancer.(cite web |url=http://www.skincancer.org/images/stories/documents/sealcombined.pdf |title=products that have qualified for The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation.)

Glen Raven acquired the Astrup Company (founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1876 by William J.O. Astrup) and John Boyle & Company (founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1860 by John Boyle) in 2007. The combined Astrup and John Boyle companies were renamed Tri Vantage in March 2008 (cite web |url=http://www.glenraven.com/index.php?lang=en&page=news-events&rss=20080304 |title=Introducing Tri Vantage - Glen Raven Announces New Name for Company ).

External links

* [http://www.glenraven.com Glen Raven, Inc.]
* [http://www.sunbrella.com Sunbrella]
* [http://www.trivantage.com Tri Vantage]