A date for the sheriff’s sale for Vidalia Mills is set.
The sale will take place on Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. CT at the Concordia Parish Courthouse in Vidalia, La. All property will be sold together. No bids will be accepted on individual lots or items.
SJ Denim obtained the final inventory of equipment. In addition to the 81.87 acres of land the mill sits on, the list includes 12 Draper X3 shuttle looms, an unspecified number of Draper X3 looms in the front office and 79 half stripped Draper and Picanol shuttle looms.
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In 2019, Vidalia Mills acquired 40 American Draper X3 selvedge looms from the shuttered White Oak facility in Greensboro, N.C. The mill went on to produce U.S.-made selvedge for brands like Imogene & Willie, Devil-Dog Dungarees and Trinidad3 before quality issues and financial troubles arose.
The auction of the historic looms has stirred considerable attention across the U.S. denim industry, particularly among brands and manufacturers that value domestic production and authenticity. Several brands have expressed interest in keeping the looms on U.S. soil by making significant upfront investments to mitigate some of the financial risk associated with acquiring the equipment.
Mount Vernon in Trion, Ga. is widely viewed as the only obvious U.S. plug-and-play choice for the looms.
Other items on the inventory list include a partially installed warp dyeing slasher system, sewing equipment, testing equipment and several Zinser ring spinning frames.
The sale of the now-shuttered denim mill was originally planned for April but was postponed due to inventory and other logistical issues.
According to 7th Judicial District Court documents, the mill owes approximately $32.5 million in principal, interest, and late charges as of Nov. 14, 2024 to the Jefferson Financial Federal Credit Union and Greater Nevada Credit Union.
In 2018, Vidalia Mills (also known as Vidalia Industrial Facilities, LLC) received a $25 million loan from Jefferson Financial Federal Credit Union and a $5 million loan from Greater Nevada Credit Union for equipment and working capital, the Concordia Sentinel reported. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided loan support through its Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.
