VIDALIA — One year ago Vidalia welcomed a new industray into the former Fruit of the Loom plant, which is now occupied by a developing denim manufacturing facility called Vidalia Denim.

CEO Dan Feibus said the industry has made a few great strides since the big welcome reception in August 2018.

“We’re making a lot of progress,” Feibus said. “We’ve already got 20 to 30 local people on board installing the machinery we’ve brought in — some temporary positions and some on our full-time payroll. We’re still looking to begin spinning cotton in late September or early October.”

Feibus said the industry had an approximately a seven month setback with the building’s design when trying to accommodate the machinery but has since moved forward with the installation process.

“We’ve already started hiring and we’re finishing installations,” Feibus said. “We’ve had a delay with some structural work needed on the building to accommodate our equipment but things are moving along now.”

From a business standpoint, Feibus said the industry is developing partnerships with some equipment developers that would both help Vidalia Denim reach it’s goal of being the most environmentally stable manufacturing facility.

“We’ll have the first installations of some very innovative technology that emits zero wastewater — so for those worried about us dumping toxic waste out the back door, don’t worry,” Feibus said. “This will be the cleanest-run denim company in the world … and that’s something Vidalia and Natchez can be proud of.”