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Unifi Opens Repreve Recycling Center
May 4,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on May 5, 2011
Textured yarn manufacturer Unifi Inc. (NYSE: UFI) celebrated the official opening of its Repreve Recycling Center on Wednesday.
This $8 million investment will allow the company to expand production capacities of its Repreve recycled fiber, a family of first-quality recycled polyester and nylon fibers that can be used in a wide range of applications, including apparel, automotive, seating and paneling fabrics.
The 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Repreve Recycling Center enables Unifi to recycle post-industrial and post-consumer polyester waste, and in the future, fabrics and garments. The goal of the facility is to expand production capacities and capabilities, improve fiber color and drive volume growth for improved economics.
Since its introduction in 2006, Repreve has grown from a single recycled polyester fiber into an entire brand of sustainable products. In the last two years alone, more than 247 million post-consumer PET bottles have been recycled into Repreve. Unifi estimates it will recycle more than 400 million bottles into Repreve in 2012 in its Repreve Recycling Center.
"The opening of the Repreve Recycling Center solidifies Unifi's commitment to be the worlds leader in the production of sustainable fibers," said Roger Berrier, president and COO of Unifi, Yadkinville, N.C. "The Repreve Recycling Center was built using the latest state-of-the-art recycling technology providing us with flexibility to further expand the Repreve brand in new and innovative directions."
The recycling center's own sustainable features include: 67 skylights to take advantage of natural sunlight; light fixtures controlled by sensor technology to reduce energy use; low flow fixtures and motion sensors anticipated to reduce water use by 34 percent; many building materials were bought regionally and comprised of recycled content; energy recovery kit that captures and re-utilizes heat in the production of Repreve chip.