Brooks Brothers suit maker to open Haverhill plant in January Business brings 325 jobs to city
By Shawn Regan
November 23, 1008
HAVERHILL — It's a big loss for Lawrence, and Thailand, too.
But it's a big win for Haverhill and a huge relief for 300 local workers who won't be joining the ranks of the unemployed.
Southwick Apparel, a fixture in Lawrence since 1929, expects to open its new Haverhill manufacturing plant on Jan. 23, according to the company's chief operating officer, Joe Antista.
Southwick, which was purchased in July by Retail Brand Alliance, is moving from a five-story riverfront mill in Lawrence to a vacant portion of a building off Route 97 in Haverhill that is partially occupied by Magellan Aerospace. The building is near the new Lowe's and Target stores off Route 97, near Interstate 495.
Southwick, which specializes in making Brooks Brothers suits and provides 300 union jobs, almost moved to Thailand, company and city officials said.
"We owe this move to Haverhill to Claudio Del Vecchio's firm belief that there is value to 'made in America,'" said Brian Baumann, Retail Brand Alliance's chief financial officer.
Retail Brand Alliance is owned by Claudio Del Vecchio, the son of Leonardo Del Vecchio, CEO of the Luxottica eyewear empire and the second richest man in Italy, according to Forbes magazine. Retail Brand Alliance acquired Brooks Brothers in 2001.
"We could have placed the Southwick operation in one of our Southeast Asia plants overnight and saved a lot of money," Baumann said. "We took a big financial risk to do the right thing."
Haverhill Economic Development Director William Pillsbury said Del Vecchio's commitment to keeping Southwick in the United States was the key to the company coming here.
"It was the U.S. versus Thailand and the U.S. won," Pillsbury said. "Haverhill won."
Carl Proper, a spokesman for the Southwick workers union, said at this time last year he didn't know if he should be negotiating a new contract or a severance package for his members.
"These 300 employees would have had a hard time finding new jobs in this poor economy (if Southwick moved overseas)," Proper said.
Antista said the company decided about two years ago that it needed to find a new, modern manufacturing facility.
"Five floors in an old mill building with a slow elevator and no air conditioning is no place to be making wool suits in the summer," Antista said of the Lawrence mill building. "We needed 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and it wasn't easy to find. We found the Haverhill space by accident, but as soon as we saw it we knew right away it was the right space."
Antista said his company is in the process of making $6 million worth of upgrades to the building at 20 Computer Drive.
"We've invested a lot of money in equipment and renovations and worker training to make the best suits in the world right here in Haverhill," Antista told the Haverhill City Council last week.
The council has approved a tax relief plan for the company. It was the last approval needed for the company to move here.
The so-called tax increment finance agreement, or TIF, reduces by 75 percent for five years any increased property tax valuation caused by the company making $6 million in renovations to the Computer Drive building. The tax break amounts to less than $5,000 per year, but it makes the company eligible for more generous state tax breaks and credits, Pillsbury said.
The TIF deal also requires Southwick to add 25 new local jobs at the new Haverhill plant, bringing its complement of employees to 325. Those jobs represent about $10 million in local payroll, officials said.
The council approved the tax agreement unanimously.
"This shows it's a myth that you can't manufacture in the U.S.," Councilor William Ryan said. "And it's a myth that you can't manufacture with union jobs."
Council President Michael Hart said of Southwick, "It's refreshing to find a company in this country that doesn't need a bailout."
Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien asked whether the company's move to Haverhill is going to include an outlet store for Brooks Brothers suits.
"I'm a mother of four with a husband who needs a good suit once and a while," Daly O'Brien said.
Southwick officials said they are looking for a place in Haverhill to open a small outlet store, similar to the one they have next to the Lawrence plant. The Lawrence outlet also will close soon.
Mayor James Fiorentini called Southwick's relocation to Haverhill the important economic development news since Western Electric opened in downtown Haverhill in the 1950s. That sprawling plant employed hundreds of workers. It moved to North Andover years later, eventually becoming the Lucent Technologies plant.
"This is happening at a time when the country's employers are shedding manufacturing jobs at a record clip, at a time when General Motors is talking about not being able to manufacture automobiles without a bailout," the mayor said. "This is 300 people who won't be losing their homes."
Fiorentini said Gov. Deval Patrick's administration worked closely with the company and the city to make the deal happen.
"Gov. Patrick himself intervened to help when the deal almost fell through,'' the mayor said.
By Shawn Regan
November 23, 1008
HAVERHILL — It's a big loss for Lawrence, and Thailand, too.
But it's a big win for Haverhill and a huge relief for 300 local workers who won't be joining the ranks of the unemployed.
Southwick Apparel, a fixture in Lawrence since 1929, expects to open its new Haverhill manufacturing plant on Jan. 23, according to the company's chief operating officer, Joe Antista.
Southwick, which was purchased in July by Retail Brand Alliance, is moving from a five-story riverfront mill in Lawrence to a vacant portion of a building off Route 97 in Haverhill that is partially occupied by Magellan Aerospace. The building is near the new Lowe's and Target stores off Route 97, near Interstate 495.
Southwick, which specializes in making Brooks Brothers suits and provides 300 union jobs, almost moved to Thailand, company and city officials said.
"We owe this move to Haverhill to Claudio Del Vecchio's firm belief that there is value to 'made in America,'" said Brian Baumann, Retail Brand Alliance's chief financial officer.
Retail Brand Alliance is owned by Claudio Del Vecchio, the son of Leonardo Del Vecchio, CEO of the Luxottica eyewear empire and the second richest man in Italy, according to Forbes magazine. Retail Brand Alliance acquired Brooks Brothers in 2001.
"We could have placed the Southwick operation in one of our Southeast Asia plants overnight and saved a lot of money," Baumann said. "We took a big financial risk to do the right thing."
Haverhill Economic Development Director William Pillsbury said Del Vecchio's commitment to keeping Southwick in the United States was the key to the company coming here.
"It was the U.S. versus Thailand and the U.S. won," Pillsbury said. "Haverhill won."
Carl Proper, a spokesman for the Southwick workers union, said at this time last year he didn't know if he should be negotiating a new contract or a severance package for his members.
"These 300 employees would have had a hard time finding new jobs in this poor economy (if Southwick moved overseas)," Proper said.
Antista said the company decided about two years ago that it needed to find a new, modern manufacturing facility.
"Five floors in an old mill building with a slow elevator and no air conditioning is no place to be making wool suits in the summer," Antista said of the Lawrence mill building. "We needed 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and it wasn't easy to find. We found the Haverhill space by accident, but as soon as we saw it we knew right away it was the right space."
Antista said his company is in the process of making $6 million worth of upgrades to the building at 20 Computer Drive.
"We've invested a lot of money in equipment and renovations and worker training to make the best suits in the world right here in Haverhill," Antista told the Haverhill City Council last week.
The council has approved a tax relief plan for the company. It was the last approval needed for the company to move here.
The so-called tax increment finance agreement, or TIF, reduces by 75 percent for five years any increased property tax valuation caused by the company making $6 million in renovations to the Computer Drive building. The tax break amounts to less than $5,000 per year, but it makes the company eligible for more generous state tax breaks and credits, Pillsbury said.
The TIF deal also requires Southwick to add 25 new local jobs at the new Haverhill plant, bringing its complement of employees to 325. Those jobs represent about $10 million in local payroll, officials said.
The council approved the tax agreement unanimously.
"This shows it's a myth that you can't manufacture in the U.S.," Councilor William Ryan said. "And it's a myth that you can't manufacture with union jobs."
Council President Michael Hart said of Southwick, "It's refreshing to find a company in this country that doesn't need a bailout."
Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien asked whether the company's move to Haverhill is going to include an outlet store for Brooks Brothers suits.
"I'm a mother of four with a husband who needs a good suit once and a while," Daly O'Brien said.
Southwick officials said they are looking for a place in Haverhill to open a small outlet store, similar to the one they have next to the Lawrence plant. The Lawrence outlet also will close soon.
Mayor James Fiorentini called Southwick's relocation to Haverhill the important economic development news since Western Electric opened in downtown Haverhill in the 1950s. That sprawling plant employed hundreds of workers. It moved to North Andover years later, eventually becoming the Lucent Technologies plant.
"This is happening at a time when the country's employers are shedding manufacturing jobs at a record clip, at a time when General Motors is talking about not being able to manufacture automobiles without a bailout," the mayor said. "This is 300 people who won't be losing their homes."
Fiorentini said Gov. Deval Patrick's administration worked closely with the company and the city to make the deal happen.
"Gov. Patrick himself intervened to help when the deal almost fell through,'' the mayor said.
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