HanesBrands announces that it has sold its fabric manufacturing plant in Woolwine, Virginia, for $3.1 million to New York specialty fabrics manufacturer Apex Mills.

According to an article from the Winston-Salem Journal, Apex Mills is planning an East Coast facility in the former HanesBrands plant. The company states that it will retain 96 jobs from HanesBrands and will add 44 jobs. Apex also operates a 200,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Graham, North Carolina.

The sale of the Woolwine plant reduces the number of domestic production facilities for HanesBrands to one. The apparel manufacturer is still operating a sheer hosiery plant in Clarksville, Arkansas, with about 200 employees, though it announced plans in 2021 to sell its U.S. sheer hosiery business and the Clarksville plant.

“When we became aware of the imminent closing of the HanesBrands Woolwine operation and learned more about the rich tradition of textile manufacturing in Patrick County, we ultimately made the decision that this was where we wanted to locate our next fabric formation facility,” says Jonathan Kurz, Apex’s president and chief executive, in the article.

According to sources, Patrick County is approved for a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Apex with the project. Additionally, Apex is receiving other state Enterprise Zone program and employee-training benefits.