Culp history

To help pay for its acquisitions, reduce its bank borrowing and finance further growth, the company went public in 1983, offering about one million shares of common stock for sale.

It began plans to expand its mattress ticking division, purchasing a printing plant in Stokesdale, North Carolina, in 1986 from Fieldcrest Cannon where it began to process all of its printed ticking.

In 1987, its upholstery business was still divided into a textured and prints division and a tufted and woven pile fabrics division.

The company reported a 27 percent gain in net income for fiscal 1991, attributing its steady growth to three primary factors: increased exports, increased domestic shipments to existing accounts, and its diversity of offerings.

In 1994, Culp reorganized its management structure again to accommodate its greater capacity.

In 1995, it bought Rayonese Textile, Inc. and then invested $13 million to add 72 air-jet jacquard looms to this subsidiary to triple production of bedding and furnishing fabrics.

Large, vertical mills had the advantage over small ones because they could meet the volume and delivery requirements of large furniture manufacturers and retailers. It added privately held Phillips Mills for $47 million in 1997, giving it additional velvet and printing capacity.

Culp was perhaps the segment's largest exporter with exports totaling about 29 percent of sales for fiscal 1998.