Threads of yellow and white are wound tight in spools on roll holders leaning left in long lines. 

Haresh Sachi can see it all through the windows of his office, a view of a factory floor at a manufacturing facility a block from Expressway 77/83 in Harlingen. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in textile engineering to go with years of real-world experience.

He enjoys taking on challenges. Sachi found one in Harlingen in the form of a longstanding industrial thread manufacturing company. It was struggling financially when he acquired it in recent years. The entrepreneurial engineer had a new project in his sights.

“I like to keep myself on the edge,” Sachi said. “I have the knowledge and experience to turn companies around. This for me is a very good challenge.”

Sachi is president of PolySachi Polymers, the parent company of a handful of industrial companies he owns in Harlingen. One of them is Texas Threads on Wilson Road, a stone’s toss away from the expressway. The textile company manufactures a wide variety of threads used for everything from arts and crafts to bullet-proof vests.

“Texas Thread, Texas Made, Texas Tough,” says a poster in Sachi’s office.

Walking around his factory floor, looking over his inventory and talking to his employees, Sachi is right where he wants to be in his manufacturing and business career. 

“I do it for the fun,” he said. “If it was just about the money, I would have stayed where I was.”

Seeing Opportunities, Not Failures

Sachi came to Harlingen from Taylor, a Central Texas community where he also operated and owned businesses. 

Harlingen appealed to him because of its proximity to Mexico. The majority of the products made at his local facilities go south. Textile and industrial thread manufacturing are rare in Texas. The majority of the industry that’s still in the United States is found east of the Mississippi, he said. 

Those are larger-scale operations that manufacture in much larger volumes. Sachi said his Harlingen facilities can move more nimbly while also more readily customizing orders to specific needs of their customers. 

“You want to find a niche,” he said.

One of his plant managers, John Fornal, said that is among Sachi’s strengths. He said his boss has a great eye for finding opportunities in a tough field.

“This is not the type of business you find on every corner,” Fornal said. “His niche is seeing potential where everyone else sees failure.”

Threads Fill Many Needs

“Anything you don’t use on your body.”

That’s how Sachi defines industrial textiles. 

The list is long as to what industrial threads are used for in the manufacturing process. The wraps and liners in food packaging utilize the refined and bonded threads from Sachi’s facilities. So do nylon products, bags, shoes and awnings. Industrial threads are also needed to make a flame-resistant material in firefighter uniforms. 

Sachi’s Harlingen plans include making investments to bring in new equipment along with updating technology and growing factory capabilities to include more mass production. Beyond products and machinery, employees like Fornal are grateful to Sachi for coming to Harlingen and providing new opportunities.

“He saved jobs,” Fornal said of coming to Harlingen. “He brings people in, trains them and gives them a chance.”