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Sometimes, even the best of troubleshooters needs the help of another. That's what Lou Protonentis discovered not long before he joined Cotton Incorporated. "I was a technical representative for a major supplier of dyestuffs at the time, demonstrating some new technology at Cotton Incorporated, when I was asked to solve a problem with a piece of equipment they had been using for a while," he recalls.
Refusing to be intimidated by the excellent reputation of the technical researchers at Cotton Incorporated, "I was confident I could fix it, but it turned out I couldn't," Protonentis says, a hint of laughter in his voice.
As he begins his third year at Cotton Incorporated as Director, Technical Services, Dyeing and Finishing Research, the incident seems funny now. "I guess they liked me anyway," Protonentis muses. It also illustrates that technical wizardry, while important, is hardly the only qualification for a research position at Cotton Incorporated's World Headquarters.
"Certainly, research is the essence of everything we do in the Dyeing and Finishing area, and all 10 people I work with have strong technical backgrounds. But," Protonentis adds, "if you look at the mission of Cotton Incorporated -- to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton -- promotion is as essential to the equation as research. This makes communication skills very important."
Despite the slightly less than auspicious first encounter with his future employers, Protonentis' self-assured yet approachable demeanor, and his unusually strong and eclectic resume caught the attention of Cotton Incorporated executives. Protonentis brings more than 15-year's worth of experience in textile chemistry and dyeing that goes well beyond the technical aspects of the trade. In addition to stints as a lab colorist, a quality control specialist, and a technical representative, he has also worked in human resources and employee training.
His current position now seems a natural fit, but like so many sons of the southern textile industry born in his generation, Protonentis didn't want to follow in the career footsteps of other family members. Early on, he thought a future in law was his calling. But this was short-lived: "by my junior year, I knew I didn't want to be a lawyer." Needing some kind of income after earning a B.S. in Administration of Justice, Protonentis took a job at Avtex Fibers, where he took a "crash course" in industrial engineering. "I soon realized that there was more to textiles than I thought," he explains. "I took to the problem solving involved with increasing productivity. After talking with my stepfather and others in the business, I became convinced that chemical technology would become an increasingly important and interesting aspect of the industry."
And so, with virtually no background in chemistry, Protonentis returned to school at age 24 to face the daunting task of learning an entirely new discipline. After completing the Textile Chemistry program at North Carolina State's College of Textiles, Protonentis began a vocation that took him from Ciba to Hoescht to Cotton Incorporated.
The way he sees it these days, his less than straight career path proved to be an excellent precursor for his present job. "This is a unique position in that every day there's no single focus; it can be a dozen different things. I often don't have the luxury to dwell on a single undertaking for a week, or even a day," Protonentis admits. "Because I'm dealing with technology, customer service, personnel management and budgets, there's no such thing as a typical day."
Protonentis finds inspiration in the nature of the Cotton Incorporated organization. "Since we deal in everything from 'dirt to shirt' in this facility, we are getting answers for everyone from farmers to chemical suppliers, to mills and people looking for suppliers," he notes.
"All this communication with the outside industry goes beyond providing solutions. It's very instrumental to our research. It keeps us from losing touch with reality," Protonentis maintains. "Since we are applications oriented, we need to keep up with industry issues."
It's this kind of regular communication that leads to initiating different projects. "We can start the process here and scale it up to meet the needs of a commercial mill," Protonentis says.
A recent example is the development of new dyeing techniques for cotton rich blends containing nylon. "This came up as a technical service question from a company having problems with the color fastness of a particular dyestuff," Protonentis explains. "Using a better alternative was difficult because of the cost. But if we were more efficient and use less of the higher quality dye, we could get good colorfastness at a lower price." Trial runs, he reports, are still being completed, including several using a single batch process, and a continuous dye process is also being tested. "This is not about pushing cotton/nylon blends, but rather a response to the interest and direction of the market," he says.
The project gained still more momentum after discussing the importance of this trend with other research departments at Cotton Incorporated. "The Fabric Development area saw the potential," Protonentis reports. "They then created a fabrication with cotton on one side and lustrous nylon on the other. It was a whole new look that made both the cotton and nylon in the fabric look better. This, of course, meant we could experiment with various other dying techniques, including different colors for each side of the fabric.
"So," Protonentis continues, "what started as a color fastness issue led to a new fabric construction, which led to a new way to use fibers, which led back to more research in dyeing processes."
It's the kind of synergy Protonentis considers essential on a day-to-day basis. "One project opens avenues to other projects," he observes. "The focus for Dyeing and Finishing and all of the other research groups at Cotton Incorporated is on innovation. Since the spark for innovative ideas can come from many sources, we have to be open to new ideas all the time."
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