Attending the ceremony to accept the award for MSYG were Tim Manson, the company’s president, Stephen Hudson, senior vice president of sales, and Debbie Sigmon, human resources director.

This is the fourth year in a row that NCMEP has recognized North Carolina companies for manufacturing excellence and exceptional performance across five categories: Developing Markets, Continuous Improvement, Innovation, Advanced Talent, Management, Sustainable Manufacturing.

Meridian Specialty Yarn Group has won a top award from The North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership for its commitment to building a new, world-class, state-of-the-art, textile plant in North Carolina at a time when other regional textile plants were closing or moving overseas.

At a ceremony and banquet held Wednesday, Nov. 14, MSYG was honored with NCMEP’s Leadership Award for Innovation. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with the North Carolina Manufacturing Conference, which took place Nov. 13 and 14 at the Durham Convention Center.

Meridian’s new plant is expected to open this winter and the Leadership Award for Innovation reflects a tremendous amount of effort on the part of the employees and management, as well as the company’s owner, Meridian Industries.

“Over the past four years the employees and management team at MSYG have worked very hard bringing our vision of a world-class textile operation to life here in North Carolina,” said Manson. “I am very grateful for their commitment and the tireless efforts that have brought us to this point in time. I also want to thank Dan St. Louis of The Manufacturing Solutions Center for nominating Meridian. I am very proud of this award and see this as the beginning of great things ahead.”

MSYG was singled out for the Leadership in Innovation Award for a number of reasons, according to the following statement from NCMEP released on Nov. 14.

“Meridian Specialty Yarn Group, like the rest of the textile market during 2001 - 10, felt the impact of job and market losses, but survived by doing things that no one else would do. They could have closed their doors, but chose to invest in their people and the community. Currently they have 270,000 square feet at their plant in Valdese and are in the midst of a major, multi-million-dollar expansion of another 116,000 square feet, along with an extensive modernization of their existing plant. This will require the addition of at least 25 employees but it will make the facility one of the most modern yarn and fiber dyeing facilities in the world.”