Chuck Flynt started Flynt Fabrics in 1972 and watched it grow into a player in the textile industry.
But last week, Flynt had to tell his employees that his company was filing for bankruptcy protection.
“Our business has receded over the years, due to people buying finished garments in Asia,” Flynt said Monday. “Weve been able to replace some of that business with other customers, but the recent slowdown in apparel sales caused our customers to interrupt their normal buying patterns.”
Flynt Fabrics makes knitted fabrics for children’s wear brands, such as Oshkosh, Carhartt and Cintas.
The company has a plant in Burlington and a plant in Graham. It employs about 300 people in Alamance County.
During the past three years, it has closed three plants in Anson County, which cut the company’s sales in half.
As far as layoffs are concerned, Flynt said the company does not have any planned now, “but I dont want to say our plan is going to be for the longer term.”
“I think it’s important that plans are being formulated and the plants are in operation,” he said.
The company has about four months to submit its restructuring plans to a bankruptcy judge.
“A lot of (the company’s employees) have been with me a long time,” Flynt said. “They feel like we can come through this and come out on the other side.”
