Yates Bleachery Company continues to be a hub of activity in the heart of Flintstone 92 years after the plant opened under the leadership of founder Arthur Edward Yates in 1920.
Yates Bleachery Company in Flintstone sits in a picturesque setting in Walker County.To keep up with current demands, management is looking to hire 10 more general production workers this year. Those interested are asked to apply in person and must pass a drug test. Shifts include 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3-11 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Starting pay is $9 to $10 per hour.
The 600,000-square-foot company operates as a finishing mill where workers man machines that bleach, dye and finish woven textiles. The fabric is sent to Yates from places like China, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. After finishing the cloth, the company ships it to other plants to be turned into draperies and clothing.
The plant already has a 150-member team of welders, construction workers, farmers, electricians and machinists working daily.
"There's 150 spokes on the wheel of this company," said operations manager Tim Harris, who started at Yates in 1990 for $4.50 an hour and worked his way up in the ranks over time. "It takes every single one to make this company work. Since we opened the doors in 1920 we've never had a layoff. To know that you won't get laid off is huge."
Owner Brewster Yates, grandson of founder the late A.E. Yates, said the company promotes from within and recognizes hard work. It was his father's hard work that in part set the company up for continued success, he added. He said the company thrives well because his father Pierce Yates left the business completely debt-free.
Pierce Yates was a prime example of a smart businessman, said his son. A World War II veteran, he ran the company until he passed in 2007 at age 86, working seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Harris said that thanks to Pierce Yates' hard work and way of handpicking great leaders, Yates Bleachery is the premier finisher out of the 10 plants that finish textiles in the United States.
The local company adds special finishes such as antimicrobial, soil releasing and fire retardant substances to the cloth it receives. The finished fabric is often sent off to be turned into school or work uniforms, but can also be turned into hotel fabric, said Harris. The company creates products for Cintas, Western Digital and even NASA.
"It is hard to create true white," said Harris, adding that production workers have to combine violet and blue to create white. "It starts in the gray state and we take it to the finished state. We create material for a fire retardant suit up to an 800-count set of $500 sheets in New York."
Harris said his goal is to see the company continue for another 90 years so that Brewster Yates' children can one day run the company too.
"Yates Bleachery Company has been passed down from generation to generation," said Yates, who began working at his family's namesake in 1989 before becoming owner in 2007. "My father Pierce Allen Yates and his three brothers ran the company. My father was the youngest and his brothers sold out over the years. My grandfather's sons' hard work made the company what it is today. My father had three sons, but I'm the last one involved."