Gaston College unveiled a new multi-million dollar Fiber Innovation Center this week.
According to Andy Warlick, Chairman and CEO of Parkdale Mills, “There is nothing like this anywhere in the world.”
The concept for the W. Duke Kimbrell Fiber Innovation Center, which is located at Gaston College’s Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, was conceived when Parkdale Mills was conducting research to figure out how to make a biodegradable polyester.
Synthetic fibers like polyester, Warlick said, represent about 75% of the fibers that are used in the world.
“The unfortunate thing about that, because it is not like wool or cotton that biodegrades, it could be in these landfills, if you discard a robe or you discard a shirt, it could be there for 200 years,” he said. “Collectively, these fibers shed millions of tons of microfibers that pollute our streams, our oceans, our wildlife, and our land. Every week, all of you out here, you ingest the size of a credit card of microfibers … Someone needed to do something about this. We did.”
Those research efforts led Parkdale Mills to develop CiCLO, a fiber that behaves like a synthetic fiber but biodegrades in four years. Producing the new product was a challenge, largely because the Belmont-based developers had to travel to labs and manufacturers around the world to complete the task, according to Warlick.
At the new facility, students and researchers will be able to take a product from concept to trial to a commercially viable product in a single location, Gaston College President John Hauser said.
The 39,000-square-foot facility has been in development and under construction for the last several years.
The project was funded through donations from the state of North Carolina, The United States Economic Development Administration, the National Science Foundation Engines Program and several other donors, according to Stephen Sharp, Gaston College’s VP of Fiber Innovation and Facilities Development.
According to Hauser, $17.5 million went into the construction of the facility and another $14 million was invested in equipment and cash donations.
The facility is now open to students studying fiber and textiles at the college and to national and international industry professionals looking to do research and development.
Gaston Senator Brad Overcash, who also spoke at the event, said the general assembly “secured an annual recurring $4 million for the Duke Kimbrell Campus of Gaston College to support and expand the operations of this campus.”
According to Overcash, the state’s support for this project is a reflection of efforts to promote the county’s existing textile industry.
According to the school, the center will, “set a new standard for innovation and education in fiber technology as well as state of the art carding and yarn spinning capabilities.”