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Greenville Business Magazine

The Roger Milliken Center Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Oct 04, 2018 10:20AM ● By Kathleen Maris
Milliken & Company recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Roger Milliken Center, home to the chemical, performance and protective textiles, and floor covering manufacturer’s global headquarters and innovation center. Acknowledged upon its opening as “one of the most elaborate scientific research centers in the world,” its doors opened in 1958 to centralize the development of new textile innovations. More than 80 percent of the company’s accumulated U.S. patents have been developed at the Spartanburg campus, many of which were fundamental in transforming Milliken into a leading global innovation company.

“Sixty years ago, the Roger Milliken Center was developed to bring the brightest minds together to shape the next chapter of Milliken’s future,” Halsey Cook, Milliken & Company president and CEO, shared at a company celebration. “This campus continues to nurture and support all of the important characteristics we see in Milliken that have built our current success and will support our continued strength and leadership.”

Noting how trees have been a physical manifestation of Milliken’s commitment to the future, six cultivars of new oaks — one for each decade — will be planted in the Milliken Arboretum to mark the anniversary. With these additions, the Milliken Arboretum will feature every type of current oak that thrives in the southeast.

The oaks will not reach full maturity during our lifetime, a hallmark quality for Milliken’s noble tree collection. “As committed as we are to the good we can do today, we are as committed to the health and well-being of generations to come,” Cook continued. “Trees are one way we plan for future generations and how they will hopefully inherit an earth and Spartanburg community from us that is better than we found it.”

Today, the Roger Milliken Center is home to almost 1,000 Upstate associates and welcomes thousands of guests and community partners each year. The campus’ iconic mid-century architecture and vast park-like grounds continue to make a statement within the Spartanburg landscape, nodding to Milliken’s continuing leadership in innovation and community partnership. The global headquarters’ extensive research, testing, analytical, and prototyping capabilities remain vital to creating the next generation of Milliken innovations.