blc TEXTILES, a Nashville, Tennessee-based supplier of textile products to commercial laundries, healthcare organizations, hospitality businesses and textile service providers, named Jon Simon Chief Executive Officer on September 24, 2026.

The appointment lands one year after 1888 Mills, in partnership with Sapphire USA LLC, acquired a majority stake in blc TEXTILES and its Cambodian manufacturing subsidiary, Cambodian Textiles Worldwide (CTW). Simon will lead the company as it builds on that partnership, drawing on the group's manufacturing footprint in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia to broaden the product offering and strengthen supply for customers.

For institutional textile buyers, the move signals a consolidation of vertically integrated sourcing under experienced mill management. The combined platform gives blc direct control of Asian manufacturing across three countries — a structural advantage for laundry, healthcare and hospitality accounts that buy on lifecycle cost rather than first cost.

Simon's operating record is deep. He spent 37 years building 1888 Mills, beginning with its predecessor companies, Eastern Imports and Shelnor Mills. He served as President from 1989, added the CEO title in 2005, and ran the company through 2020 before moving to its board. Most recently he was Executive Vice President of Global Growth & Strategy at Standard Textile — a resume that spans both domestic institutional supply and offshore manufacturing management.

His comments on taking the job focused on durability economics, the metric that drives purchasing decisions in the commercial laundry channel.

"blc has built its reputation on consistent quality and on products that deliver value over their full life, not just on the day they're purchased," Simon said. "For a laundry, a hospital, or a hotel, the real cost of a textile is measured over hundreds of wash cycles. With blc's own manufacturing in Cambodia and the strength of our partners at 1888 Mills and Sapphire, we can build on that reputation and bring it to more products and more customers."

Executive Chairman Adil Rashid, who holds the chairmanship of both blc TEXTILES and Cambodian Textiles Worldwide, framed the hire as a execution mandate for the partnership formed in 2025.

"Jon knows this business and these manufacturing operations as well as anyone. He's the right leader to turn this partnership into results for blc's customers," Rashid said. "With years of industry expertise, Jon ensures that our focus remains exactly where it belongs: on our clients."

Simon holds a B.S. from Indiana University and completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

No financial terms of the 2025 majority-stake acquisition were disclosed, and blc has not yet detailed which product categories will be added under the expanded 1888 Mills and Sapphire relationship. What is confirmed is the leadership structure: a 37-year mill operator now controls a three-country manufacturing base serving US institutional channels. Buyers in laundry, healthcare and hospitality supply chains should expect blc to push a wider, vertically sourced portfolio into those accounts in the coming quarters.