Service to Customers, Protection for Heroes

of Thornhills behind ITS are not just makers of high-quality textile products. They are makers of meaningful, long-lasting relationships. Whether it’s relationships with the employees who put everything into their work and find a home at ITS, sometimes for decades – or with the customers who come back again and again for dedicated service and innovative problem-solving – ours is a story that truly is all about people.

It all started in 1936, when our founder, Glenn Thornhill, Sr. brought his new bride to Salem, VA to run a company that he had just purchased out of bankruptcy. Glenn was originally from South Georgia, and he and his wife didn’t know a soul in Salem. It wasn’t long though, before they filled the building with eager employees and started a fledgling company called ‘Maid Bess’. In those days, we were primarily making uniforms for housekeepers (then called ‘maids’), and Glenn loved the idea that when you heard the name, you also heard the phrase ‘Made Best’. He set out to make good on that promise, and before you knew it, our reputation was widely known by big national companies like White Swan.