Garland factory closes doors — again

GARLAND — Little more than two years after the doors reopened at the Garland Shirt Company, the town is once again faced with the prospect of losing the jobs created and the business revived at the behemoth.

It is unclear whether jobs will return to the Garland Apparel Group-owned facility, but as of now a notice is posted in the front window reading “Factory closed until further notice.” The parking lot is vacant at what has been the picture of activity for the better part of seven decades in southern Sampson County.

Messages left for Kenneth Ragland, managing partner for Garland Apparel Group, have not been not returned. Those visiting garlandapparelgroup.com, the website given on the Garland Apparel Group closure notice on the factory’s front entrance, are greeted with an error message: “Sorry this store is currently unavailable.”

In recent years, Garland Apparel officials touted the jobs created at the plant.

From its origins nearly 70 years ago, the factory has specialized in bespoke shirting, including the exclusive production of Brooks Brothers’ iconic twill button-down oxford — with garments crafted through the experience of local, unionized tailors and craftspeople. Shirts worn by U.S. Presidents were made within those walls in Garland.

In 2020, the Garland Shirt Company shuttered, leaving a void in the town and hundreds of residents without work, dimming a longstanding manufacturing behemoth. Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy due to the pandemic and financial issues back in the spring of 2020. The move meant closure for facilities, including Garland’s mainstay.

The closing of Garland Shirt Company, opened in 1954 by Brooks Brothers, was a stunning blow for the small Sampson County town of less than 700. The next year, Garland Apparel Group stepped in and acquired the former site of Brooks Brothers.

“The expert cut-and-sew talent (workforce) in the greater Garland area was key to our decision to locate to this region,” Ragland said following the acquisition.

The company was subsequently awarded a $250,000 Building Reuse Grant grant, which is for buildings that are a “fundamental building block for economic development.” The Garland factory was identified as such an attractive location, and the funds were used to renovate the building, and make needed repairs.

The doors to the factory were officially reopened in October 2021.

Garland Apparel Group revived the sleeping giant, bringing back many former employees, and, as of its one-year anniversary in October 2022, had a staff of 109, “with more openings to come in the next year,” company officials stated at the time. Upon the one-year celebration, Garland Apparel Group officials called the resurrection of the factory “an outstanding example of the grit and determination of Southeastern North Carolina workers.”

That optimism seemingly remained in March 2023, just one year ago.

“We are now well over 100 employees and hiring every day,” Jennifer Keegan, one of the founding members of Garland Apparel Group, said in March 2023. “We are producing for Brooks Brothers, Vermont Flannel, J Press, as well as pants for Bill’s Khakis and the dress uniforms and suits for several branches of the U.S. Military.”

More than 100 jobs were expected to return to Garland by the end of year 1, according to the initial announcement. That was delivered. More than 180 were projected by the end of year 3, the company said.

“Over the last few months we have rolled out new shop floor production and efficiency technology that provides the opportunity for our team members to increase their hourly rate substantially based on quality performance,” Keegan stated last year. “Business is good and we are now hiring for numerous positions in the sewing, cutting and and pressing areas.”

By the end of 2023, some signs pointed to potential hiccups for the factory.

“The factory was placed on furlough this week, due to some orders being cancelled on us by a few of our retail partners,” Ragland told The Independent in November. “This, combined with the upcoming Thanksgiving Week, made the furlough timing make sense.”

The staff was planned to return by the end of November.