Clocking In Podcast
Voices of NC Manufacturing, your host Phil Mintz, Director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP). We will be interviewing some of the manufacturers who have made North Carolina manufacturing the powerhouse it is today.
Fairystone Fabrics
Production Team
Talent/Host: Phil Mintz
Executive Producer: Teresa Bradford
Producer: Shelby Kimes
Sound/Audio Engineer and Editor: Mike Reep
Graphic Designer: Casey Hembrick
E-S-02A: Keeping North Carolina’s Textile Industry Alive
Fairystone Fabrics: Jim Bryan
A Fabric Manufacturer Hopes To Expand On North Carolina’s Textile Rich Past.
Fairystone Fabrics takes pride in taking care of their human workforce. The organization currently has 55 employees that have been with them for over 10 years, that’s a 47% retention rate.
Fairystone Fabrics specializes in tricot warping, knitting and sueding. The company’s machinery operated 24/7 or 24/6, working around the clock to create quality textiles. 0% of Fairystone Fabrics waste ends up in landfills; all of the waste products are reused, recycled or used as fuel for power plants.
On this episode of Clocking In, I speak with Jim Bryan, President of Fairystone Fabrics about how Fairystone got started, what kind of fabrics they make, how they’re able to continuously expand their organization and more.
Links
About
Phil Mintz
Phil Mintz is the executive director of NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) and director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP). At NCMEP, Phil drives outreach to NC manufacturers, builds relationships with federal and state leaders and coordinates efforts to drive profitable manufacturing growth in the state. He also leads the broader IES extension operations outreach unit of regional managers, technical specialists and business development leaders providing business engagement, assessment and improvement tools. This includes statewide peer networks, ISO 9000 quality management systems, Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing, environmental services, and health and safety solutions.
Jim Bryan
Jim Bryan has been the President of Fairystone Fabrics since 1996. He has a history of working in textiles, having worked previously at Burlington Industries and Klopman International. Jim has been recently recognized in the Triad Business Journal, Business NC, Burlington Times – News, Alamance News, Greensboro News & Record for business accomplishments and celebration of our 50th year Anniversary for Fairystone Fabrics, Inc. Jim earned a BA in Marketing from Florida Southern College in 1975.
SylvanSport
Production Team
Talent/Host: Phil Mintz
Executive Producer: Teresa Bradford
Producer: Shelby Kimes
Sound/Audio Engineer and Editor: Mike Reep
Graphic Designer: Casey Hembrick
E-S-02B: Recreating Camping for the 21st Century
A NC camping gear manufacturer is looking to create cutting edge camping supplies for 21st century campers.
SylvanSport
At SylvanSport, “originality” is the name of the game. National Geographic Adventure dubbed their Go Camping Trailer the “Coolest.Camper. Ever.” Founded in 2004, SylvanSport wanted to make outdoor adventure accessible to everyone. They have reinvented the pop-up camper and that product has become one of the best constructed camping and gear trailers on the market.
Through the years, SylvanSport has been awarded the #1 RV for Outdoor Adventure; Men’s Journal Gear of the Year; Internal Aluminium Design Extrusion Grand Prize; AdvantageWest Lone Eagle Award and has been an Edison Award Finalist.
While their headquarters is in Brevard, North Carolina, SylvanSport is represented by more than 50 distributors around the US. They also host camping, outdoor and RV-related events throughout the year, across the country.
On this episode of Clocking In, I sit down with Patrick Kennedy Vice President of Operations at SylvanSport and chat with Patrick about the kind of work SylvanSport does, Patrick’s professional journey in working with SylvanSport, the origins of SylvanSport and more.
Links
About
Phil Mintz
Phil Mintz is the executive director of NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) and director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP). At NCMEP, Phil drives outreach to NC manufacturers, builds relationships with federal and state leaders and coordinates efforts to drive profitable manufacturing growth in the state. He also leads the broader IES extension operations outreach unit of regional managers, technical specialists and business development leaders providing business engagement, assessment and improvement tools. This includes statewide peer networks, ISO 9000 quality management systems, Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing, environmental services, and health and safety solutions.
Patrick Kennedy
Patrick Kennedy has been the Vice President of Operations at SylvanSport since 2012. He develops, optimizes, and maintains manufacturing and business processes for a forward-thinking company that strives to help make people’s outdoor experiences easier and more comfortable. Patrick graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in Engineering and went on to earn an MBA from James Madison University.
Carolina Growler
Production Team
Talent/Host: Phil Mintz
Executive Producer: Teresa Bradford
Producer: Shelby Kimes
Sound/Audio Engineer and Editor: Mike Reep
Graphic Designer: Casey Hembrick
E-S-02C: Supporting Those Who Defend Us
A Service Disabled Veteran Owned Company manufactures and supplies the military with unique vehicles.
Carolina Growler
Carolina Growler, a father and son business founded by a veteran, has an important mission: Ensure the US military has safe, appropriate and high-performance forms of transportation. It is their utmost priority.
In 2004, Carolina Growler was awarded a contract to produce over 600 Internally Transported Vehicles (ITVs), Light Attack Vehicles (LAVs). In 2011, Carolina Growler was awarded a $50 million dollar grant from the US government to assist in manufacturing specialized vehicles for the military. Their modified vehicles have been on display in Center Court of The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Currently, Carolina Growler owns four facilities comprising over 134,000 square feet of production and warehousing space. Since 2007, as a company in a HUB-zoned, Carolina Growler has employed over 150 full-time locals.
On this episode of Clocking In, we speak to John Crews, son of founder Terry Crews and current President of Carolina Growler. I talk with John about the story of the inception of Carolina Growler, what kind of vehicles Carolina Growler makes and what goes into those vehicles and the continued growth of their organization and more.
Links
About
Phil Mintz
Phil Mintz is the executive director of NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) and director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP). At NCMEP, Phil drives outreach to NC manufacturers, builds relationships with federal and state leaders and coordinates efforts to drive profitable manufacturing growth in the state. He also leads the broader IES extension operations outreach unit of regional managers, technical specialists and business development leaders providing business engagement, assessment and improvement tools. This includes statewide peer networks, ISO 9000 quality management systems, Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing, environmental services, and health and safety solutions.
John Crews
John Crews is the President of Carolina Growler, Inc. He’s been apart of the organization since 2010 where he started out as Vice President and Director of Operations. He was promoted to President in 2016. John earned a Bachelors from Roanoke College in 1993 and went on to get his Masters at George Washington University in 2000.
