FAB NY history

As part of a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project, construction of a new school was begun in 1938.

Fab Industries lost $382,279 on sales of $17 million in 1965.

Late in 1968 Fab Industries became a public company by selling a minority of its shares of common stock at $13.50 per share.

Accordingly, in 1969 Fab Industries took steps to introduce knitted polyester fabrics for men's slacks, suits, and sports coats.

Also in 1973, Fab added machinery in Lincolnton for heat-transfer printing on knit fabrics.

In 1974 Fab Industries introduced Supersuede, a suede-like knitted fabric made with a special blend of triacetate and nylon developed by Celanese.

Panavelle, introduced in 1976, was made from the same fabric.

In 1979 Fab Industries acquired two bankrupt knit companies, Travis Mills Inc. and Travis Knits Inc., and assets of an affiliated fiber-texturing concern, for about $8 million.

Net income remained at a comfortable level, however, and reached a record $10.7 million in fiscal 1986.

Both sales and profits advanced in the next three years, with record sales of $189.6 million and net income of $17 million in fiscal 1993.

In early 1994 Fab had cash in investments of about $62 million and virtually no long-term debt.

Writing in Barron's in 1996, Mike Price called Fab "one of the cleanest, best-run companies" in what this publication termed a "notoriously treacherous industry." That year the company spent $5 million to buy back its own stock.