Our History

A New Idea for a New Industry: The Early Years

Like many great inventions, MiniFIBERS began with an attempt to solve a problem. It was the early sixties. Garland B. Keith of Kingsport, Tennessee, and Earl “Taze” Farmer of Weber City, Virginia, were witnesses to a jet loom foul-up at the International Textile Machinery Exposition in Greenville, South Carolina. The operator had visitors who wanted action, and he could offer none. It was embarrassing.

While Keith and Farmer offered nominal mechanical advice, the vice president of a prominent textile company shared some crystal ball wisdom: “The wave of the future is nonwovens. Fifty years from now, it will all be done on web laying machines – most likely paper mills.” Over a cup of coffee, he provided further inspiration to Keith and Farmer. “Somebody needs to devise a machine to cut fibers into accurate, short lengths at a high rate of production. Whoever does that will be in the driver’s seat.”

The two eager listeners became obsessed with being the first to accomplish this goal and meet the needs of a new industry. They had all the necessary tools — Farmer had grown up in a machine shop, and Keith was a licensed mechanical engineer with a textile background.

Work started in a 20-by-30-foot workshop in southwest Virginia. The pair ran through ideas, one after another, working out the kinks and building on their successes. In 1967, with their first working machine assembled, some fiber was cut and a sample was sent to the executive who had inspired them. The quality admittedly needed improvement, but he was interested. He ordered several lots of two different fibers. Products were created, and marketing began.

G.B. Keith demonstrates the machine he invented at a trade show.

Developing the Dream: A Company is Created

Keith and Farmer knew they had caught a wave, and they intended to ride it out. They continued to develop their machinery, fine tune the product quality, and produce sample materials in a leased space of 3,000 square feet, which was outgrown in a mere three months. In 1968, having moved into a shop that was over ten times the size of their first, the two entrepreneurs named the business, incorporated, and filed for patents that would set them up to supply an industry on the verge of exploding.

MiniFIBERS was born.

In 1970, Keith and Farmer caught their first big break. One large nonwovens manufacturer, after trying a 15,000 pound trial shipment, sent a purchase order for half a million pounds. Suddenly, it was time to move again. A 130,000 square foot warehouse in Weber City, Virginia, was leased, and it remained MiniFIBERS’ home for many years.

The key to MiniFIBERS’ success was the precision cutting machine Keith and Farmer developed. It had one moving part, and it cut fiber accurately with smooth, square ends unmatched by other technologies. The machine produced over 300 pounds per minute by the time the first patent came through, and more would follow.

Determined to Succeed: Expanding the Foundations

In 1977, Keith bought Farmer’s shares of MiniFIBERS. With the reins in his hands, G.B. Keith was ready to take MiniFIBERS to the next level.

MiniFIBERS had developed another new fiber technology involving the opening and drying of wet lap pulps, and once again, the timing was perfect.

The company’s product line was expanded to include SHORT STUFF® fibrillated HDPE thickeners for paint, mastic, and putty. These pure white products were marketed as replacements for harmful asbestos and other fibrous fillers. MiniFIBERS foresaw great demand and a promising future for these safer new products.

Within seven years, SHORT STUFF® had lived up to and exceeded all expectations for its success, and had generated interest in other “fluffed” pulp products. MiniFIBERS was awarded a long-term private labeling contract for a large international pulp supplier. A separate facility just across the border in nearby Gray, Tennessee, was obtained to handle the booming business.

The small, family-owned company wasn’t so small anymore.

Passing the Torch: Growing into a New Era

In November 1983, just before its expansion into Tennessee, MiniFIBERS was saddened by the loss of its founder, G.B. Keith. Together with a dedicated group of employees, his son Charles, who had been involved in the company for many years, took on the charge of carrying his father’s vision forward.

In 1985, with its original precision cutting operation in tow, MiniFIBERS moved its headquarters from Weber City, Virginia into a newly purchased 45,000 square foot facility in Johnson City, Tennessee. Almost immediately, an addition was built that nearly doubled its size.

In the early 1990’s, the first pulp processing operation was moved from Weber City to Johnson City, and MiniFIBERS bid a fond farewell to its home state of Virginia. Its roots there remain deep, with many employees still living in the neighboring state.

Plans for a new, state-of-the-art precision cutting operation inspired the construction of a 50,000 square foot addition in 1999. After its completion, the second pulp processing operation was moved from Gray to Johnson City, bringing MiniFIBERS back under one roof, where it remains today.

MiniFIBBERS Johnson City campus, circa 1990.

MiniFIBERS Johnson City campus, circa 1990.

Continuing to Change: A Legacy of Leadership

In conjunction with the opening of its updated facilities, a commitment was made to ensure MiniFIBERS would continue to be recognized as a reliable provider of quality products. The company was certified to the ISO 9001:2000 standard in 2002, proving it was more than capable of keeping pace with the increasingly rigorous requirements of a now well-established industry.

By 2011, it was time for the company to expand into new territory once again. MiniFIBERS purchased a small, highly specialized fiber extrusion operation and moved it into the Johnson City facility. This allowed the company to increase its offering of specialty precision cut fibers, and to participate in the development of customized melt-spun multifilament yarns – once again finding ways to meet the needs of industries in search of solutions.

In July of that same year, MiniFIBERS said a sad goodbye to our second CEO, Charles Keith. His family retains ownership of the company today, and continues to direct its pursuit of the same ideals upon which it was founded – a love of problem solving, a commitment to quality, and a passion for customer care.

We invite you to discover the MiniFibers difference.

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