For all the talk about surging textile imports from China, the impact on Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. has been ho-hum.
Surfwear maker Quiksilver presumably should’ve gotten more leeway in buying fabrics from Asia with the lifting of import quotas on Jan. 1. The company imports clothes and fabrics for production here.
But Greg Ziegler, head of operations at Quiksilver, said the end of textile import quotas hasn’t had much impact on the company in terms of lowering textile costs.
“It was an event that was a non event,” Ziegler said.
Quiksilver gets fabric from multiple sources and production sites in Asia, Ziegler said. The change hasn’t resulted in any big shifts for the company, one of Orange County’s biggest apparel makers.
Other local apparel companies say the ending of three decades of textile import quotas under the Multi Fiber Agreement is driving subtle changes in their businesses.
At the start of the year, textiles from China, India and other developing states were given freer access to the U.S. and the European Union.
That prompted some to predict the demise of what’s left of the U.S. textile industry as apparel companies and retailers benefited from cheaper imports.
There’s been at least one local fatality: Fort Mill, S.C.-based Springs Industries recently closed its 200,000-square-foot Fullerton plant and laid off 270 workers.
Late last month, the Bush administration panel that reviews textile matters said it would proceed with seven cases filed by U.S. producers seeking the return of quotas to protect the domestic industry from a surge in Chinese imports.
Tustin swimwear maker Raj Manufacturing Inc. is getting more fabric from Asia this year, according to Alex Bhathal, the company’s executive vice president who handles production.
“We are sourcing more raw materials from Asia and especially China,” Bhathal said. “We’ve seen the likelihood of more Chinese imports coming for the last few years and there’s definitely a shift in our industry towards Chinese production.”
Raj employs about 400 people making swimsuits in Tustin. The company doesn’t have any plans to produce in China now but could one day, according to Bhathal.
“A lot of companies are testing the waters or making big investments,our company is following more closely the testing-the-waters strategy,” he said. “Any move into China for us is still a ways away due to quality and timing issues for us.”
Bhathal said his father, Raj Bhathal, the company’s chief executive, has made exploratory trips to China.
Another swimsuit maker, Anaheim’s Lunada Bay Corp., also is using more imported fabric, said Susan Crank, the company’s chief executive.
“We used to be 100% in Los Angeles and Orange County, but now I’m going to import around 30% of my business,from Canada and China,” Crank said. “That will enable me to possibly pay higher prices to some of my local contractors so that they can cope with the onerous requirements of doing business in California. Also there is not enough availability anymore in the U.S. of base fabrics and print plants.”
