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An old slogan states that
nothing beats a great pair of legs, and no company attested to that more
than Kayser-Roth Corporation of Dayton! According to the Charter of
Incorporation, dated July 24, 1913, A. P. Haggard, A. B. Andrews, T. W.
Caudle, J. F. Morgan, and W. C. Godsey constituted a corporation for the
purpose of manufacturing and dealing in yarns, hosiery, and other knitted
fabrics. Three Dayton investors also helped to found the facility. They
were: Elmer Kelly, Glenn Woodlee and Dr. G.V. Taylor. Elmer Kelley worked in
the hosiery business at that time, earning 50 cents a week. Glenn Woodlee
was a local attorney then, and Dr. Taylor was a dentist. Also, this company
was known as Dayton Hosiery Mills, and the authorized capital stock was
shown to be $60,000. The first product manufactured at the plant was men’s
socks.
In 1946, Chester H. Roth Company of New York purchased the plant, and the
operation was converted to the manufacture of children’s and misses’
anklets. Also, the sales office was located in New York, and the home office
was based in Burlington, North Carolina. At that time the mill became the
Dayton Division of Standard Hosiery Mills, Inc.
In 1955, Chester H. Roth Company purchased the Graysville Hosiery Mills,
located on Main Street in Dayton, and all knitting operations were moved to
that site. The Chester H. Roth Company merged with the Julius Kayser Company
in 1958, forming Kayser-Roth Hosiery, Inc. In 1964, expansion started with
the knitting and finishing operations being combined, and the knitting was
moved back to the present location on Broadway Street. This expansion was
completed in 1968, with the addition of the greige goods building being
completed in 1965. The present warehouse/distribution area, with floor space
of approximately 200,000 square feet was finished in 1968. And in 1975, Gulf
and Western acquired controlling ownership of Kayser-Roth, relocating and
modernizing the knitting operations.
During 1984, the Dayton plant began production on Calvin Klein and Liz
Claiborne premium brand hosiery, and Wickes Lumber bought Kayser-Roth from
Gulf and Western in 1985. Then Wickes Lumber sold Kayser-Roth to
Narrangansett Capital, Inc. in 1988. Next, in 1994, Grupo Synkro, in Mexico,
acquired Kayser-Roth; and Kayser-Roth obtained the license for the HUE
trademark for production of U. S. hosiery production during that same year.
Kayser-Roth was purchased from Grupo Synkro by Golden Lady, spa a Mantobian,
Italy based leg ware during 1999. And finally, Kayser-Roth/Golden Lady
bought the HUE brand/name from the Leslie Faye brands in 2001.
Kayser-Roth is
headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, and operates four plants and
two distribution centers in North Carolina and Tennessee. The Dayton mill
has had as many as five hundred employees at one time during its heyday.
However, after more than one hundred years, the doors are closed and the
machinery shut down and shipped back to the headquarters in Greensboro.
According to Bob Wisener, the current plant manager, the building will be
completely empty by the end of February. This business certainly has a long
history with Rhea County; one that we will not be likely to forget soon.
Remember, it is important to remember the past in order to live in the
present and prepare for the future.
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