SIC 2395
PLEATING, DECORATIVE AND NOVELTY STITCHING, AND TUCKING FOR THE TRADE

The establishments covered in this category are engaged in pleating, decorative and novelty stitching, and tucking for the trade. Establishments primarily engaged in performing similar services for individuals are classified in service industries. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing trimmings are classified in SIC 2396: Automotive Trimmings, Apparel Findings, and Related Products. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing Schiffli machine embroideries are classified in SIC 2397: Schiffli Machine Embroideries.

NAICS Code(s)

314999 (All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills)

315211 (Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors)

315212 (Women's and Girl's Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors)

In the early 2000s, most of the companies in this category were private corporations with 100 or fewer workers. Workers at these establishments produced art needlework, quilted fabrics or cloth, Swiss loom embroideries, machine-made crochet ware, and sequined embroideries. Also made by companies in this industry are various products for the trade, including appliqueing, buttonhole making, eyelet making, hemstitching, looping, permanent pleating and pressing, pleating, ruffling, and scalloping.

During the 1980s, 200 companies dropped from this industry. However, the industry rebounded in the late 1990s to more than 805 establishments from a low of 685 in 1988. According to the latest figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 15,000 employees are engaged in pleating and stitching. The 11,500 production workers in this segment earn an average hourly wage of $8.90. The cost of materials is roughly $400 million, and capital expenditures are $45 million. Companies continued to spend money to upgrade their buildings and machinery to meet the increased demand for their products.

Morning Sun Inc. of Tacoma, Washington, was one of the largest firms that did pleating and decorative and novelty stitching as its primary business. Like many companies that competed in this segment, Morning Sun was engaged in fabric screen printing and embroidering. Morning Sun had 375 employees and sales of roughly $50 million in the early 2000s.

Other leaders in the category included Caliendo-Savio Enterprises Inc. of New Berlin, Wisconsin, with 100 employees and sales of $40 million; Embroideries Inc. (a subsidiary of E.J.J. Inc. based in Monroe, Louisiana) with 150 employees and estimated sales of $36 million; Fabri Quilt Inc. of North Kansas City, Missouri, with 190 employees and sales of $35 million; and New York, New York-based Wyla Inc., formerly named Wiener Laces, with 250 employees and sales of $35 million.

The primary product of nearly 250 establishments is embroidery (excluding Schiffli machine embroidery). These companies employ 7,300 people, including 5,700 production workers who earned an average hourly wage of $8.50. They shipped $561 million worth of goods in 2001, down from $653.9 million in 2000.

Further Reading

U.S. Census Bureau. "Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries: 2000." February 2002. Available from http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/m00as-1.pdf .

——. "Value of Shipment for Product Classes: 2001 and Earlier Years." December 2002. Available from http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/m01as-2.pdf .

U.S. Department of Agriculture. "NAFTA: A Clear Success for U.S. and Mexican Textile and Cotton Trade." January 2004. Available from http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/agexporter/2004/January/pgs%2022-23.pdf .