Alice Manufacturing to close Ellison plant in Easley

One of the Upstate's oldest textile-producing operations will close this year, Alice Manufacturing Co. officials said Monday.

The 95-year-old family-owned company based in Pickens County said it will begin "phasing out" operations at its Ellison Plant June 30. The plant, which opened 50 years ago during the height of the Upstate's textile industry, employs 175.

The Ellison plant produces apparel and yarn for home furnishings.

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E. Smyth McKissick III, chairman of Alice Manufacturing, said in a statement that the company "is dedicated to helping employees make as smooth a transition as possible."

“The Ellison plant team has had a proud 50-year history of producing the finest textile products in the world. Thousands of folks have come here for decades to create the highest-quality fabrics," McKissick said. "They’ve worked together for a common purpose and have created a community of the very best people.”

McKissick said the company’s focus is on the well-being of the employees, who he described as the “heart and soul” of the Ellison plant. "These folks have produced well over a billion yards of fabric serving a unique variety of markets from apparel to home furnishings customers.”

A flood of imports from producers in non-market economies led to the decline of the company, which closed its Foster plant 10 years ago. That led to the loss of 250 jobs.

The McKissick family purchased the plant, then called Alice Mill, in 1923. It was built by E.H. Shanklin, who named it for his daughter. It expanded with the opening of the Foster plant in 1959 and the Ellison plant in 1968.

SC Works Executive Director Trent Acker said Alice executives contacted his organization prior to the announcement, asking for help in assisting employees with finding new jobs.

"The company reached out to us, and appears ready to coordinate services and provide access that will help employees make the transition," Acker said. "They've indicated that they'll let us to go onto the site, and those meetings will help us see what is available in terms of training opportunities."

With more than 60 days of notification, Acker said job prospects for many of the 175 are good.

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"A lot of the folks there have a good work history, and they have a long-term history of making things, which seems to be a good fit for a lot of job opportunities in the region right now," Acker said. "Although I can't predict the future, and you never like to see people lose their job, this is not a bad time for it to happen."

Jennifer Brown, the manager of the Anderson office of MAU Workforce Solutions, agreed that the timing of a job transition is better now than in many previous years.

"Those who have been working there five or six years should be able to hit the job market and secure employment very quickly," Brown said. "Unless there is something negative in the work history, a textile employee should have no trouble making the transition to another manufacturing job."

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