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On January 1st, the worldwide textile industry started operating under new rules.

A set of export quotas expired that determined who could sell what textiles to whom.

The big winner is expected to be China, with its vast resources and cheap labor.

Some in the U.S. textile industry are looking for better ways to compete.

Others figure this is the end, and are closing shop.

Still others are joining forces with the competition.

The L.W. Packard Company in Ashland, New Hampshire is taking that last route.

And as NHPR correspondent Shannon Mullen reports, after nearly a century in operation, this may be the company's last shot.