This year, CCI welcomes Hank Reichle as its new president. He shares how CCI is looking to find and create new opportunities for U.S. cotton. Check out his interview to learn more.
Can you tell us about your experience in the cotton industry?
I’ve been in the cotton business for about 18 years, and most of that time has been spent with Staplcotn. I was in charge of export sales for about 15 years and really enjoyed promoting our cotton, which is U.S. cotton; not only to the global textile mills but also to the U.S. textile mills as well.
What would you say you bring to the table as the new CCI president?
First and foremost, it’s a natural fit; because it’s what I’ve been doing for [Staplcotn]. It gives me an opportunity to expand on that and promote all of the growths from the United States. I look forward to the interaction that I’ll have with our customers and the interaction of the other suppliers that I’ll be representing from the United States.
Do you have any specific goals this year for CCI, what are you most excited for?
There are a couple of things that I’d like to see happen with CCI this year. First, the prospects look very nice for U.S. cotton production. I believe U.S. cotton production is on the rise. Our quality continues to improve year in and year out. I’m hopeful that I will help CCI move in the direction of gaining share and also just seeing our cotton go to more and more destinations around the world. I’m excited about more acreage. I’m excited about the continuing improvement that we see in quality. I believe we’re going to see more U.S. cotton go abroad. We’re going to see increases in market share in countries where we’re underperforming, but I also believe we’re going to see U.S. cotton in more products.
Can you tell us about the sustainability initiatives you’ll be leading?
U.S. cotton has been leading the way in responsibly grown cotton for decades. I’m excited this year that we have the new sustainability protocol that’s coming out. We need to give our customers the assurances that they need. I believe most of the customers of U.S. cotton understand that U.S. cotton is grown sustainably, but the protocol will give them the assurances that they need.
Lastly, what do you want everyone to know about U.S. cotton?
U.S. cotton is abundant, contamination controlled, and sustainable. It is farmed sustainably with a dedication to continual improvement. And I think that the character of the U.S. cotton industry is very strong. The integrity across the industry is strong. We have an excellent product. It’s contamination controlled. You get bale by bale classing data, and it’s shipped to you by companies that care about their customers.
U.S. cotton is the cotton you can trust to make your business successful.