New Mill, Historic Location

New Mill, Historic Location

American Woolen Company continues town’s long history with textiles

Kitty Leshay
Hartford Courant

It is hard to keep up with Jacob Long. He walks fast, talks fast, and ideas are popping out of his head at dizzying speeds.

When the Warren Mills of Stafford Springs, Connecticut closed in December of 2013, 86 people were out of work, and the last textile mill in the state which made quality woolens was headed toward history. But, as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.

Enter Long, who was working in Milan as a venture capitalist and developed an interest in the front end of fabric manufacturing, market, design, and sales.

“While working with a company in a distressed condition, my interest peaked in fabric manufacturing. We began looking for a mill to make the product instead of outsourcing production to a third party. If we owned and operated the mill, we could make our product much more authentic,” he said.

The American Woolen Company is now using the historic location to produce an Oswego Serge fabric and a Gabardine, both quintessential American cloth made of natural fibers.

“We are a fashion-forward-thinking company. We want to know who our clients are and to produce the finest natural fibers in America for them,” Long said. He stressed the importance of craftsmanship and quality instead of mass production and synthetic fibers. Long clearly wants to tap into the Italian dominance in making quality fabrics.

“Stafford Springs will be the lab for the American textile resurgence,” he said. American Woolen will provide a full range of quality fibers in its collection, which Long said will be used in well-known, quality brands.

In nine months, Long has brought back 33 former employees. “These people have a skill set we need. They have an affinity for fine product fabrics and are fashion technicians,” he explained.

Guy Birkhead, who is a fourth-generation textile expert, is vice president of American Woolen and is the operations manager. His experience of 30 years at the Warren Corp. is invaluable to American Woolen.

“This company is different because we are not owned by a large Italian firm. We are American-owned and American-made. The public will see that our product is as fine or better than Italian fabrics,” he said. The fabric is designed at American Woolen, where the dressing of the warp takes place, followed by the weaving and the finish and dyeing of the cloth.

Town officials are delighted that the mill has reopened. First Selectman Richard Shuck explained that American Woolen is very important to Stafford.

“Jacob Long has a lot of energy and good ideas. We want to work with him for the benefit of his company and the town. His success will mean more employment for the people and that energy will build momentum,” Shuck said

Dave Middleton, a former employee of Warren Corp. for 20 years, left a retraining program to return to the mill.

“When I heard about this place coming back, I definitely wanted to return to help build the company,” he said. American Woolen, where the dressing of the warp takes place, followed by the weaving and the finish and dyeing of the cloth.

Town officials are delighted that the mill has reopened. First Selectman Richard Shuck explained that American Woolen is very important to Stafford.

“Jacob Long has a lot of energy and good ideas. We want to work with him for the benefit of his company and the town. His success will mean more employment for the people and that energy will build momentum,” Shuck said.