COTTON INCORPORATED
by J. BERRYE WORSHAM, III, CEO/President
 The time has finally arrived. As many of you are reading this piece, Cotton Incorporated has moved into its new research and development facility and world headquarters, a 125,000-square-foot complex in Cary, N.C.
The new facility, located in Cary's Weston Office and Industrial Park, has a two-story office section with nearly 37,000 square feet of space, as well as a one-story laboratory with more than 88,000 square feet. The Cary facility will have expanded research and development laboratories, which, says president and chief executive officer J. Berrye Worsham, will allow the operations to run more efficiently.
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Cotton Inc.'s new facility in Cary, NC will have expanded research and development laboratories. |
This dynamic new facility offers the latest research and development innovations in cotton agriculture, fiber and textile research. Another advantage to the consolidation of two facilities into one new complex is that by putting research and marketing expertise under one roof, it will allow us to be both more proactive and responsive to the current and future needs of the industry.
"The Cary facility
will have
expanded research and
development laboratories." |
The decision to build a new facility actually stemmed from a flood in the aftermath of Hurricane Fran in September 1996. Many of you who have visited our former Raleigh site know that it sits on the banks of Crabtree Creek, which tend to overflow during heavy rains. And, when it flooded the last time, the water was knee-deep – and most of our equipment sits on the floor. That flood cost us about $750,000 to recover.
As our chairman, Hugh Summerville, Jr., is fond of saying, "When farmers get flooded out on a piece of ground repeatedly they know what to do – farmers are a very practical lot – they move to higher ground, And that's exactly what we decided to do.
The Cary site was selected following an exhaustive search of suitable areas. In fact, more than 50 were considered. The official groundbreaking was October 20, 1998.
We feel that because the industry we serve is centralized primarily in the South, this move is essential for the continued long-term success of Cotton Incorporated. About 110 of the company's 160-plus employees are based in the Cary facility.
I urge all of you to make the trip to Cary to see just how technically advanced this facility is. It is something that we can all be proud of as we move into the new Millennium
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