Paterson Manufacturing Veteran Luis Fernandez Revives Historic Textile Mill Jobs

Luis Fernandez, a longtime Paterson manufacturing executive, reopened a section of one of the city's historic silk mill buildings this fall as a modern technical textile facility, bringing manufacturing jobs back to a structure that had sat largely vacant for over a decade.

Fernandez's company, Great Falls Textiles, produces specialized industrial fabrics used in filtration and protective equipment applications, a far cry from the silk production that once made Paterson famous as "Silk City." The renovated mill space now houses modern knitting and weaving machinery alongside preserved architectural features from the building's original 19th-century construction.

"I grew up hearing stories from my grandfather about working in these mills, and then watching most of them sit empty my entire adult life," Fernandez said. "Reopening even one floor of one building felt like proving those jobs could come back if somebody was willing to make the investment."

The facility currently employs 65 workers, with Fernandez targeting 120 within three years as production ramps up. The project received state historic preservation tax credits alongside manufacturing incentives, a combination Fernandez says was essential to making the renovation financially viable given the building's age and required infrastructure upgrades.

City officials have highlighted the project as part of a broader, slow-moving effort to bring manufacturing activity back to Paterson's historic mill district, though most of the district's buildings remain vacant or underutilized.