Producer
American & Efird (Elevate Textiles)
World's second-largest industrial sewing thread manufacturer (self-described); 25 manufacturing facilities across 13 countries, ~11,000 direct and JV employees. NOTE: American & Efird is NOT part of Amann Group — they are separate competing companies. Ownership history: founded 1891 → KPS Capital Partners (2011, $180M acquisition from Ruddick Corp.) → acquired Gütermann GmbH Germany (2014) → sold to Platinum Equity (2018) → merged with International Textile Group to form Elevate Textiles → Elevate Textiles recapitalized and acquired by new ownership consortium (November 2024). Brands: A&E and Gütermann (Germany, founded 1864). Also makes specialty yarns under the Gütermann brand for fashion and technical applications.
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Goods downstream
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1 input American & Efird (Elevate Textiles) supplies
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Apparel & Consumer Thread
45%Automotive Thread
25%Industrial & Technical Thread
20%Medical & Specialty
10%
Intelligence
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Did you know2024
American & Efird sells thread to both fashion apparel manufacturers and automotive OEM Tier-1 suppliers (for airbag stitching). Airbag cushion thread is a safety-critical product that must meet FMVSS-208 performance standards — the same thread construction facility in China or Bangladesh that produces thread for fast fashion labels also produces thread that stitches the airbag that deploys in a collision at 200 mph. Under Elevate Textiles, A&E is owned alongside Safety Components International (an airbag module manufacturer), meaning the thread company and the airbag company are under the same private equity roof. Automotive safety engineers and apparel procurement teams at major brands are sourcing from the same legal entity without recognizing it.
American & Efird ↗Incident2024
American & Efird (A&E), the world's #2 industrial thread company, has changed ownership four times in 13 years: Ruddick Corporation sold it to KPS Capital Partners in 2011 for $180M; KPS acquired Gütermann GmbH (Germany, founded 1864) in 2014 adding an iconic European brand; KPS sold to Platinum Equity in 2018 which merged A&E into Elevate Textiles (with International Textile Group); and in November 2024 Elevate Textiles was recapitalized under new ownership. Throughout this period, A&E maintained its operations across 25 plants in 13 countries and its #2 global market position — thread manufacturing stability despite constant ownership churn. The world's second-largest thread company has never had the same owner for more than 7 years since 2011.
Elevate Textiles ↗Origin2023
American & Efird traces its origin to 1891 when American Thread Company and Efird Manufacturing emerged from the North Carolina textile mill cluster. The two merged over decades into a combined industrial thread company that grew globally alongside the garment industry's migration to low-cost manufacturing countries. After multiple private equity ownership changes (most recently KPS Capital Partners), the company was renamed American & Efird under the Elevate Textiles umbrella, which also includes Burlington (woven fabrics) and Safety Components International (airbags).
American & Efird ↗