National Wiper Alliance, Swannanoa, NC, was named top global reach exporter at the 2018 Governor's Export Awards on January 15. NWA is a converter and private label manufacturer of nonwoven wipes. It began with three employees—owner Jeff Slosman, his wife and his 85-year-old grandfather—in 1996 and initially operated out of a 2000 square foot borrowed space. In 2013, NWA purchased its current facility, a former blanket manufacturer occupying 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space.


NWA has more than 35 converting lines offering converted products as well as printing for diverse industries including food service, retail, janitorial sanitation, medical, automotive and aerospace. The company also sells its products to federal agencies including through GSA and to defence agencies. It has also achieved ISO 9001:2015 standards.


The Governor's Office partnered with the Economic Development Parnership of North Carolina to establish the export awards program to help North Carolina businesses achieve export objectives

In recent years, NWA has received numerous North Carolina state honors including SBA North Carolina 2015, Smaller Business Person of the Year, NC Chamber of Commerce 2015 Manufacturer of the Year, Honorable Mention and Business NC Magazine, 2015 NC Small Business of the Year. In 2016, NWA was recognized by Wake Forest Family Business Center as the NC Family Business of the Year. The prestigious governor's award joins this impressive list.

NWA was honored to share the stage with five other NC businesses including Unifi, Advanced Detection Technology, Bernhardt Furniture, P2P Rescue and ImmunoReagents.