Schoeneman

J. Schoeneman Inc., the century-old clothing manufacturer founded in Baltimore, has bought the Gleneagles manufacturing plant in Bel Air, promising to bring 125 jobs back to a plant that has been closed since June 1.In announcing the purchase yesterday, Schoeneman President James J. Stankovic said the company would begin hiring immediately, and the plant could be operating with a staff of 75 by Christmas.Schoeneman bought the Bel Air plant for an undisclosed sum. Mr. Stankovic said the plant will resume production of top-name rainwear and will eventually expand into other types of men's outerwear, including jackets and sportswear.

When it comes to fine men's clothing, certain names come to mind: Burberry, Christian Dior, Halston and J. Schoeneman Inc.Schoeneman?Despite near-anonymity among consumers, the Owings Mills-based company is a major manufacturer of men's suits, jackets and slacks. Its products bear the labels of prominent designers and those of chic retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus.Schoeneman, founded in 1889, has outlasted apparel makers such as Lebow Bros., L. Greif and Raleigh Clothes, which have closed their Maryland operations.

J. Schoeneman Inc., an Owings Mills-based men's clothing maker, has landed an exclusive license to manufacture and distribute Christian Dior suits, sports coats, trousers and rainwear in the United States.James Stankovic, Schoeneman's president, said yesterday that the agreement could bring about $25 million in new sales to the company, which now has annual sales of about $100 million.Schoeneman, a privately held company that has been based in Baltimore for 103 years, has its distribution center in Owings Mills, its manufacturing plant in Chambersburg, Pa., and its cutting operations in Wilmington, Del.The new license could add 250 jobs to the company's work force of 1,600 to 1,700, Mr. Stankovic said.

Business is booming at Gleneagles Bel Air clothing manufacturing plant, its owner says, and the company is considering adding up to 25 workers to meet demand."

An Owings Mills-based clothing company recently opened a plant in Bel Air, its first in-state manufacturing facility in 50 years, after receiving a loan from the state.Gov. William Donald Schaefer said Thursday that the Board of Public Works approved a $135,000 loan to help Schoeneman Enterprises Holding Inc. finance the start-up of the Gleneagles company in Harford County, which was shut down for nearly six months before being reopened last December.Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann said the plant, which makes rainwear, and the 100 jobs it will provide, is good news for the county.

The resurrection of the former Gleneagles Co. menswear plant in Bel Air signals another coup for Harford County economic development. It is also a welcome expansion of clothing manufacturing in Maryland, rather than another contraction.Remarkably, the reopening of the facility by J. Schoeneman Inc. will occur without the closing of another plant and layoffs somewhere else in the state. And laid-off Gleneagles workers stand first in line for the new jobs, which are expected to pay about the same wages as the raincoat factory did.For nearly a half-century, the Gleneagles raincoat plant was a stable employer of skilled workers in Bel Air. Some 225 veteran employees were idled last June as the parent company decided to abandon the rainwear market.

The Gleneagles clothing plant in Bel Air, quiet and dark since it shut down last summer, will be humming with the sound of sewing machines by Christmas, the plant's new owners say.The purchase, announced Friday, of the Williams Street plant by J. Schoeneman Inc. should bring at least 125 jobs back to the plant that closed June 1."People who may have had no hope before could be back to work by Christmas," said Mark Wasserman, secretary of the Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development, which contributed to the reopening with a $135,000 low-interest loan.

A deal by the parent company of J. Schoeneman Inc. of Owings Mills to buy the third-largest Italian clothing and textile firm has apparently fallen through, the victim of competing bids and national pride.Plaid Clothing Group Inc. of New York had negotiated for the last nine months to buy Gruppo Finanziaro Tessile GFT SpA for $250 million. The purchase would have created the world's largest tailored-clothing manufacturing company.But some of the 23 banks that hold about $276 million worth of GFT's debt turned thumbs down on the deal when other bids started to surface, according to the Daily News Record, a trade newspaper that covers the menswear business.

Josepha Schoeneman Weiler Miller, whose philanthropy benefited a wide range of organizations, died of cancer Tuesday at her Pikesville residence. She was 92.A person of abundant energy and voluminous interests, Mrs. Miller supported hospitals, museums, the performing arts and education."

Blue jeans at the office claimed another victim yesterday. Plaid Clothing Group Inc., a big maker of men's tailored clothing and owner of J. Schoeneman Inc. in Owings Mills, sought protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.Plaid, with assets of $195 million and liabilities of $177 million, will try to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code and emerge "leaner, stronger and more focused," said Richard C. Marcus, the company's chief executive officer.That means cutting costs.