Susan M. Andrews
LANCASTER, S.C. — Richloom Fabrics Group is shifting

production of its Berkshire Weaving upholstery fabrics, including chenille base cloths and yarn-dyed jacquards, from its plant here to China.

After Jan. 15, the Berkshire Weaving line will be sourced in China through the company’s Richloom Shanghai Trading Co. entity.

David Titlebaum, vice president of furniture sales, said the strategic shift “is necessary to meet our customers’ demands for fabrics that can be delivered in Asia — for both cut-and-sew and for fully built furniture production.

“We’re reacting to our customers’ needs,” he said. “We’ve had a good year in 2013 and our upholstery business is up because we are committed to handling their needs.”

The 150,000-square-foot Berkshire Weaving plant will focus now on weaving of greige goods such as heat transfer base cloths for upholstery and decorative goods.

In a letter to customers, President Jim Richman and Titlebaum said that “in today’s globally sourced textile environment, we have found it more and more difficult to maintain a competitive domestic manufacture operation,” because of the closing of many U.S. yarn and fiber sources, non-competitive labor costs and high health insurance costs, and customer demand for upholstery fabrics to be available in China.