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(West Bridgewater, Mass., U.S.) announces the acquisition of warp-knitting supplier, Fairystone Fabrics (Burlington, N.C., U.S.), by newly formed affiliate, Shawmut Infinite. Shawmut Infinite operates in Burlington as a standalone supplier of contract knitting and warping services to the industry. It is retaining Fairystone’s management team and 100% of its skilled work force and continue to serve a wide range of customers. Shawmut Infinite aims to provide Shawmut LLC with increased control and cost efficiencies for this step in its supply chain.

The transaction, structured as a purchase of assets, provides Shawmut Infinite with the engineering expertise and investment capital necessary to optimize its operations and performance. Over the next 24 months, Shawmut Infinite intends to invest $8 million to retrofit the facility with an arsenal of advanced, digitally controlled knitting, warping and fabric prototyping systems. When the upgrade is complete, Shawmut Infinite can enhance its rapid iteration, development and mass production of automotive interior and industrial warp knits.

“The Fairystone acquisition marks the realization of Shawmut’s vision for operating a fully integrated textile and textile composite supply chain in North America, and for deploying new digital tools that enable big leaps forward in productivity and innovation,” says James Wyner, Shawmut CEO. “It’s just one more way in which Shawmut is enhancing its position as a preferred global partner to automotive and industrial OEMs.”

Shawmut LLC has capabilities in composite materials engineering, including custom materials design, sustainable innovation, rapid prototyping, materials testing and more.