Unstoppable People - James Cliver - Senior Testing and Certification Manager

Milliken’s Unstoppable People series highlights Milliken & Company associates who guide us to success and embody our values: integrity, excellence, innovation, sustainability, and people.

An Unstoppable Milliken: James Cliver

For James Cliver, one interview changed the entire trajectory of his career.

“I became interested in textiles thanks to a Clemson University College of Textiles presentation that was given to my high school physics class. It sparked something in me, but I was concerned textiles might be too narrow a business focus. So, while I did go to Clemson, I majored in chemical engineering.

“I got to the point in my college career where I began looking at co-op programs—where you work with a company for a semester while you're going to school. There was a Milliken rep on campus, and he asked if I wanted to interview. I wasn’t prepared, but I thought it would be good practice, so I said yes. Little did I know, it would be the last co-op interview I’d do.”

And that was in 1986.

Fast forward to 2024, James is the Senior Testing and Certification Manager for Milliken’s Textile Business.

James’ career began with a Milliken co-op—three different co-op semesters, to be precise—at its Barnwell Plant. The time on the manufacturing floor opened his mind to a career in textiles. “The experience encouraged me to change my major to textile chemistry. I had been interested in textiles ever since that high school presentation, and after working at Milliken in college, I knew this profession was something I could see myself doing for the long haul. I was hooked.”

After graduation, James and his wife moved to Tacoma, Washington, spending three years serving as missionaries working with college students. “It just something we felt called to do. After we finished our work, I was looking for a full-time role in a bad job market. Many companies weren't hiring, and the economy was down as a whole. But Milliken welcomed me back at the Barnwell Plant and gave me a chance to start my professional career there.”

His career spans 32 years, all spent in the textile business. In the beginning, he joined Milliken’s production line. “I spent my time learning. Learned a lot of valuable lessons about how a manufacturing company works, about applying testing and observation to solve problems, and how process improvement is actually very scientific. I worked shifts, managed shifts, and oversaw a production team on the floor. I learned about our process improvement methodologies, which is how I became interested in product development.”

“In 1998, I joined a small research team and moved to Spartanburg to work here at Roger Milliken Center (Milliken’s global headquarters, RMC, for short). Once I stepped on campus, I had a chance to work on innovative textile challenges, from helping solve color-fastness issues to being part of the team that developed the first flame-resistant (FR) industrial fabrics sold by Milliken. It’s that foundation that’s led me to where I am today—a part of the growing Milliken FR business, drawing from my experiences in textile manufacturing, dyeing, and finishing to support the development of leading FR fabrics.

“I come at it from a different angle, though,” admits James.

“I’m a details person, so early in my FR textiles work, I recognized that precision and compliance played to my strengths. There are a lot of industry standards and certifications that must be met with FR textiles, and the testing protocols that measure compliance must be conducted in an exacting manner. My development team realized that I was the guy to handle third-party certification because it suited my personality. As Milliken has grown, my compliance role expanded. I went from developing products to testing and certifying our products globally.”

Milliken has always prioritized quality and safety—from a process perspective in the production phase and from a product perspective in its end-use phase. FR textile performance, arguably, is even more important. “We test our products often, even after we launch them in the marketplace because it keeps Milliken’s portfolio relevant. But it’s also for the benefit of those wearing our textiles. It’s for the safety of the end user. We know that, at the end of the day, our fabrics are being put into products that protect industrial workers, first responders, and firefighters. It’s my job to be the gatekeeper—to make sure our products are tested correctly and meet all industry requirements before they even reach the wearer. To protect those who need protective gear.”

“I get really involved in the early phases of new product development, and I also oversee ongoing testing and recertification. Product certification, field performance, quality checks. We tend to over-test our textiles, and that’s by design. You know that we've done our due diligence by the time we launch a product into the market and that we have a really, really good idea about how it is going to perform—even after the initial product launch date.”

“My role is ensuring the integrity of our FR products. We’re transparent with the testing data we collect and the conclusions we draw. We are above board with all of it, because it’s the right thing to do. I want us to be in a place where if an outside party sees all our testing data, they fully agree that we’re drawing the right conclusions. Because it’s not just my job on the line; it’s the safety and well-being of others, too.”

James is always doing the right thing—and his work takes him from the technical nature of ongoing certification and compliance requirements with Milliken’s existing portfolio to supporting the development of game-changing protective textiles that uphold Milliken’s materials science expertise and values-based business objectives. “Something exciting is coming soon, and I’m proud to be a part of that team bringing it about.”

Integrity is the Milliken value that stands out to James the most, and it’s clear from his career at Milliken he will continue to do so.

Read more about the unstoppable people behind Milliken each month on our blog, and if you’re interested in being a part of an unstoppable Milliken team, check out open positions on our Careers page.

Do you know an Unstoppable Person you’d like to recognize? Nominate them at [email protected].