Unifi sales are up 7.6 per cent over the prior year.

This US company recycles PET into the brand fiber Repreve. But profits have fallen due to the significant competition from textured yarns imported into the US, unfavorable currency exchange rates, volatile feedstock costs and a higher effective tax rate.

Flake is produced at its PET bottle recycling facility. The site has a capacity of up to 75 million pounds per year. Unifi both sells the flake externally and sends it to the Repreve recycling center, where it’s processed into chips. The chips are both sold externally and converted by Unifi into Repreve yarn. Companies making outdoor wear, backpacks, socks or T-shirts use Repreve.

Unifi has production facilities in the US, Colombia and Brazil. It has sales offices in a number of locations in the Americas and Asia. The company has invested in capital projects, including improving production capabilities and technology enhancements in the Americas as well as annual maintenance work. There will be further production enhancements in the Americas, including purchasing Evo texturing machines. The machines, which can process Repreve recycled polyester, operate at higher texturing speeds than existing equipment, make a broad range of products and enable the production of new performance yarns.