Venerable Textile Firm
Picks Duquesne for HQ

American Textile has a long history of operations in western Pennsylvania. And it was that history that helped keep the distributor of mattress and pillow covers from moving to another state. The 77-year-old firm is set to occupy its new $7-million corporate headquarters and distribution center in mid-March. The total facility will be 107,000 sq. ft. (9,940 sq. m,).
        Jack Ouellette, American Textile's president and CEO, says that after determining the company needed new space and the logistics of distributing its products, a move south was initially considered.
        "It would have been much more advantageous to build in the Carolinas or Florida because we receive a lot of freight through the Port of Miami," Ouellette says. "However, our culture is here in Pennsylvania. Although we were getting a lot of interest from other states, Pennsylvania is interested in keeping manufacturing and employment here.
        "When we made the business decision to remain in Pennsylvania, we selected a real estate company to help look for either existing space to renovate or for a site to build," he continues. "We looked at about 30 sites before deciding that finding an existing building that was suitable for us was next to impossible."
        So the American Textile team started looking at both brownfield and greenfield sites, eventually choosing a location on the old U.S. Steel Duquesne Works site in Riverplace City Center.
        "We talked with the state, the county, the City of Duquesne and our bank and found ways to get public money to help us finance the project," says Ouellette. "We ran the numbers and concluded that because it was a brownfield site with good access it would be an advantageous location for us."
        Incentives included a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant provided by the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development to the Regional Industrial Development Corp. to fund infrastructure improvements. The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County also approved a $1-million low-interest loan directly to American Textile.
        The company is currently located in a four-story building in the Pittsburgh suburb of Lawrenceville and has a distribution center in Sharpsburg. Originally a manufacturer, American Textile now contracts with mills in China and Central America to produce its goods.