4/19/09 - Local Firm Ripping It Up
SPINDALE, NC - About 15 years ago Don Crawford's accountant advised him to be more greedy if he expected "to make it" in cut and sew garment business.f
When Crawford founded Oh Suzannah in 1994 on Callahan Koon Road, Spindale, he said he was well aware he was going against the apparel manufacturing trend. It wasn't long after he established his company other manufacturers were downsizing and subsequently closing. For many years, the company was the only cut/sew business left here.
In the past three weeks the company has hired an additional 13 employees, and has extensive overtime as the business is flourishing.
"We found a lot depended on what you call "making it,' " Crawford said from the factory Thursday morning, surrounded by the company's Vice President Jeff Crawford and Production Manager Martha Hopper.
"Can there be another motive to stay in business other than making a profit?," Crawford explained was the question he would answer as founder and president of the company.
"I felt strongly that we could take our work ethic and the large number of years of experience and provide an income for families and employees in Rutherford County," he said.
Crawford has 51 years experience in the cut/sew business, having begun his career at the Doncaster plant on N. Washington Street. He spent most of his career with the Tanner Companies with the exception of a 10-year hiatus in a sewing factory in Florida.
Hopper has 36 years in the business, having begun her career at Piedmont Garment Co. in Rutherfordton and later with Tanner Companies, where she worked 21 years. Jeff Crawford started in 1994 when his father established Oh Suzannah.
"This has worked," the senior Crawford said of the reasons for keeping the business operating successfully.
"We have had 15 years of continuous operation. We are as strong now as we have even been," he said.
On Thursday, Crawford said he is stepping aside from the day-to-day operations to pursue a pastorate. "I am now a full-time pastor, leaving the business primarily to Jeff and Martha and the wonderful employees.
"It is my divine calling to share the good news of the gospel with its spiritual help through Shiloh Baptist Church.
"However, it gives me great satisfaction in knowing Oh Suzannah is continuing to touch the physical lives of some 40 families in Rutherford County," Crawford said.
"We are keenly aware that without God's help and blessings ... the story would have been all together different," he said.
During the past few months, the company has expanded even greater than expectations, Crawford continued.
"We now have three primary contract customers and in the last three days we have talked with an additional five prospects. We took the opportunity to work with three new choices, several new customers and local," he said.
"This has required additional operators and we have had to hire 13 new workers over the past 10 days. If we were to pursue the other prospects, to maximize the opportunities with the new conversations and contracts, it would require additional operators, possibly 20 more, and we would continue sewing a variety of products," he said.
"We manufacture a variety of products," he explained.
Jeff Crawford said his focus as vice president is to examine all customers needs. "We try to find out what they are seeking, if they are looking for dependable and honest workers.
"Every customer has a unique need and our job is to be flexible, no matter what they need, we try to meet the needs with a quality product, delivered in a timely basis, on deadline," he continued.
"We give them an "X' amount of time it will take to manufacture the product and an "X' amount of cost and we move forward with their requests," he said.
"We don't advertise our product on billboards, just in the yellow pages, but our customers keep coming back to us. We work to keep them coming back. They know they can rely on our quality, on-time products."
Hopper said the other factor in the continued success of the business is its dedicated and experienced employees.
When the company was founded in 1994, Crawford and the management team agreed the primary focus of Oh Suzannah was to "create a pleasant place to work."
Hopper said, "We try to take care of the employees, always maintaining a good relationship and working environment.
"Our employees have families and we work with them and are flexible with them.
"When they have to take children to school, the doctor or dentist, we are flexible with them. Families come first."
"And our employees wear a lot of different hats, we work with them all and they are willing to be flexible with us," she said.
In the past few weeks, employees have been asked to work much longer hours and on Saturdays to complete a 52,000-piece order by Wednesday.
"We'll move mountains to complete the orders," Jeff said. "We have an almost 100 percent record of getting things to people when they ask for them."
Hopper added management and employees are always willing to wear "a lot of different hats."
"We have a wonderful work force and our employees have responded to meet the needs of our customers," Hopper said.
"The business is booming right now. We are very busy," she added.
Rejecting the advice of his accountant, Crawford didn't become more greedy "to make it" and will admit "Oh, I had more money when I opened the business than I do now," but that wasn't the point of beginning Oh Suzannah. He wanted to offer employment for families in Rutherford County in the small business atmosphere.
Oh Suzannah remains the only cut-and-sew manufacturer in the county that works on a contract basis.
By Jean Gordon
Apr 19, 2009
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