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Core

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Specialty fabrics

CONTENTSDECEMBER 2008

VOLUME 93 NUMBER 13

Sf Perspective

Sf Features

www.reviewmagazine.info • 12.08 REVIEW 5

28 Thin is inThe future is high-tech if you’re planning to stay ahead of the game.

by Jamie Swedberg

34 Thinking globally: What’s next?As the world shrinks, businesses can capitalize on widening their pool of customers.

by Janice Kleinschmidt

39 The right stuff: IFAI Expo 2008Highlights from our high-performance show in Charlotte.

25 Core strengthJunko Takai’s dedication to providing products that make a difference rests on a conservative fiscal foundation.

by Sigrid Tornquist



6 REVIEW 12.08

Sf ReviewCONTENTS

Sf Focus Sf ResourcesSf Briefi ngs

Insider 67 Supporting the industry and individual businesses

Specialty Fabrics Review® ISSN 0019 8307, Volume 93, Issue 13 is

published monthly (with an annual Buyer’s Guide in May) by Industrial

Fabrics Association International, 1801 County Road B W, Roseville, MN

55113-4061. Periodicals Postage Paid at St. Paul, MN and at additional

mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to: Specialty Fabrics

Review, 1801 County Road B W, Roseville, MN 55113-4061. Return

Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON

N9A 6J5. Subscription inquiries, orders and changes contact: Sue Smeed,

Assistant Circulation Manager, Specialty Fabrics Review, 1801 County

Road B W, Roseville, MN 55113-4061 Phone 800 225 4324 or +1 651 222

2508, fax +1 651 631 9334 e-mail: [email protected]. 1-year USA

$69, Canada and Mexico $79, all other countries $169, payable in U.S.

funds (includes air mail postage). Reprints: call 800 385 9402, rdgrimes@

ifai.com. Back issues: call +1 651 222 2508, www.ifaibookstore.com.

8 ForeThoughtWhat's your problem?

10 SwatchesDesign Exhibition 2008: Advanced textiles for health and safety earned a special spot at IFAI Expo 2008 in Charlotte.

20 ShowroomHigh-tech transportation: by land or by air, specialty fabrics offer comfort, strength and innovation.

23 Problem SolversThe Performers: Quality, consistency, fire-resistance, durability … effective tools and materials result in effective products.

49 Expo WatchOur focus is you: Which session topics and content subjects will help you with your business?

51 BusinessA flight to quality: Working to stay healthy in an ailing economy.

55 MarketsFabric in the fast lane: Geotextiles cut costs, protect the environment and increase safety on one of America’s deadliest highways.

61 World ViewsWelcome to the roller coaster: Fabric makers depend doubly on oil, for fuel and for raw materials. High and volatile petroleum prices make it an interesting few quarters.

65 ConnectionsRevitalizing the changing textile industry: the New Carolina summit and South Carolina’s changing textile industry; Advanced Textiles ’09 moves to Brussels.

↑↑

71 Info Central

72 New Products and Services

75 Marketplace

76 Calendar of Events

78 Editorial Sources

79 Advertiser Index

80 BeginningsThe year in Review: 1987

Looking ahead to the 100th Congress.

↑

Strategic planning: business essential or obsolete obstacle?



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8 REVIEW 12.08

Sf Briefings

Galynn Nordstrom,Senior editor

FORETHOUGHT What’s your problem?

“We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.” ~ Gloria Steinem

L ike a lot of people lately, I’ve watched the value of my so-called retirement accounts vaporizing. Should I

shift what’s left to a market-rate savings account? Invest it all in stainless steel, or wine futures? Just wait until the market recovers, and in the meantime take a second job as the world’s oldest and crabbiest cocktail waitress? I really don’t know.

What I do know, however, is that not once during the last few turbulent months has my financial advisor (an employee of the company managing these retirement accounts) contacted me to ask if I have any questions or concerns about my increasingly nebulous funds.

This is a problem.During IFAI Expo in Charlotte in October, I asked a

lot of people about their expectations of the economy and their company’s performance in it. What they told me, pared to essentials (see page 45), is this:• even in this economy, companies are spending money;

• the companies who succeed are the ones who areinnovative, aggressive, and offer quality products at areasonable price;• in this economy, it’s important to be seen.

Other industry experts interviewed for this month’s “business” article (page 51) pretty much echoed those senti-ments, emphasizing the need to focus on your core qualities and push product quality, customer service, communication and innovation. After doing a recent mailing to editorial contributors, however, I think I can narrow it down even more. The way to advance your business, whatever the econ-omy throws at us, is simply to solve your customers’ problems.

If you don’t know why your customers need your prod-uct, ultimately they aren’t going to know why they need it, either. If there’s anything you really need to know about your customers, it’s what problems they are facing, and what you can do to help them with those problems, especially in a time when they’re nervous about spending money. It helps, of course, if you can predict those problems, and show up with a solution in advance.

The essential corollary to solving your customers’ problems, naturally, is letting them know you can solve them. Not just being seen, but being known: known for good products, known for courtesy, known for timeliness, known for ingenuity, known for community involvement. Market your expertise. Keep not only your name but your well-earned reputation in front of your customers. And don’t wait until they come looking for you (or somebody else). Had my financial advisor even bothered to send me an e-mail to see if I was stocking my basement with SPAM® and bottled water in addition to wine, she probably wouldn’t be losing a customer, even though, now that I think about it in my current curmudgeonly state, her company’s fees are outrageous, also.

So now it’s her problem.

Perspective: response abilityJunko Takai, president of Hivix Co. Ltd. in Japan, plans to take her company into the future by developing products that customers need, and continually reinvest-ing profits into her core business. Fiscal prudence can help make innovation possible, and producing products that matter is a core value: “We always keep in mind when contracting with a busi-ness: How will this product contribute to society, the good of the people and the good of the environment?” she says.

If you’d like to nominate a fellow IFAI manufacturer member for coverage in the Review, to let us share their unique perspective on the industry, please contact Galynn Nordstrom, [email protected].

.

society

Sf Perspectiveby Sigrid Tornquist


Photos: Bart Harris Photography

“SOMETIMES WHEN COMPANIES MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, THEY INVEST THAT MONEY INTO

STOCKS—they invest profits into something other than their

own businesses—we reinvest our profits into our core business,”

says Junko Takai, president of Hivix Co. Ltd. in Mizuho-city,

Gifu, Japan. Takai began working at Hivix, a company

manufacturing inflatable products for the healthcare, sports

and industrial industries, sixteen years ago. She worked

in several positions, and in 2001 became president of the

company.Safeguarding the company’s interests is as important to

Takai as it was to her father, who preceded her as president

of Hivix. In fact, it was her father who taught her the value of reinvesting profits back into the company. “In

Japan, about 10 or 15 years ago, we had a [financial] crisis,” Takai says. “Other companies ended up in

trouble, but because of my father, Hivix didn’t.” Her father resisted the conventional wisdom of investing

profits elsewhere, and during the Japanese stock market crash of the early 1990s, the company remained

stable. Takai feels strongly about the wisdom of this kind of conservative fiscal approach to business. “Because

of my father’s handling of the business, we can keep it for

other generations so they can take over,” Takai says.

coe

Junko Takai’s dedication to providing products that make a difference rests on a conservative fiscal foundation.




www.reviewmagazine.info •• 12.08 REVIEW 9

Editorial Advisory Committee Lorne Andras, Stayput Fasteners/Sunpoint Marine, Sidney, B.C., Canada; Harry Daugherty, P.E. Whitehouse, Ohio; Peter Douglas, L.F. Pease Co., East Providence, R.I.; Cheryl Gomes, QinetiQ North America/Foster-Miller Inc., Waltham, Mass.; Kenneth Keberle, Prime Event Group Inc., Tucson, Ariz.; Rosemary Ward-Krienke, MFC, IFM, CPP North Texas Tarp & Awning, Witchita Falls, Texas

Publisher Mary [email protected]

Editorial Director Susan R. [email protected]

Senior Editor Galynn D. [email protected]

Contributing Writers Denise Brown, Juli Case, Kelly Frush, Marc Hequet, Janice Kleinschmidt, Jake Kulju, Jill Lafferty, Susan Niemi, Jamie Swedberg, Sigrid Tornquist

Production Manager Russell [email protected]

Art Director Marti Naughton

Graphic Designer Nicole Von Ruden

Circulation Manager Mary Moore

Assistant Circulation Manager Susan Smeed [email protected]

New Business Development Sarah [email protected], 800 319 3349

Classified Advertising Sales/Ad Production Kristen Evanson [email protected]

Advertising Sales Jane Anthone, Terry Brodsky, Vivian Cowan, Julia Heath, Katie Lang, Mary Mullowney, Sandy Tapp, Elizabeth Welsh

IFAI President Stephen M. [email protected]

Specialty Fabrics Review provides timely and accurate industry intelligence to the members of the Industrial Fabrics Association International and the global specialty fabrics marketplace.

1801 County Road B W., Roseville, MN 55113 USA+1 651 222 2508 | 800 225 4324 | www.ifai.com

© 2008 Industrial Fabrics Association International, all rights reserved

Specialty Fabrics Review is the official publication of the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

Published since 1915 by the

Industrial Fabrics Association International

Specialty fabrics

Subscription inquiries, orders and changes contact Sue Smeed, Assistant Circulation Manager, Specialty Fabrics Review, 1801 County Road B W, Roseville, MN 55113-4061 Phone 800 225 4324 or +1 651 222 2508, fax +1 651 631 9334, e-mail: [email protected]. 1-year USA $69, Canada and Mexico $79, all other countries $169, payable in U.S. funds (includes air mail postage).












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10 REVIEW 12.08

Sf Briefi ngsFORETHOUGHT

SWATCHESSHOWROOM

PROBLEMSOLVERS

Design Exhibition 2008Advanced textiles for health and safety earned a special spot at IFAI Expo 2008 in Charlotte.

Health and safety are two of the biggest issues facing us today—but going beyond the simply functional, Design Exhibition 2008 opened up new aes-

thetic possibilities in how we might use these products. Advanced textiles and their processes were at the heart of the exhibition, even marrying fine Irish lace with concrete to create a new functional and tactile experience. Some of the materials are familiar, but used in unexpected ways; some of the materials are brand new and just now being made into prototypes. The combinations allow for a dialogue between everyone involved in the production of these products, from technologist to designer to manufacturer.

The exhibition was divided into five sectors—space, the built environment, mobile, personal and natural—reflecting areas in which there is a particular concentration on fabrics and products that offer some form of protection. Also included were the winners of the Safety Products Student Design Challenge, sponsored by the Safety & Protective Products Division and the Narrow Fabrics Institute, both divisions of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). For a complete list of participants in Design Exhibition 2008, visit www.ifaiexpo.info/2008/pdf/DesignExhCatalog.pdf.

Photos: Bart Harris/Chicago.


http://www.ifaiexpo

Sf Briefi ngsFORETHOUGHTSWATCHESSHOWROOMPROBLEMSOLVERS

Marie O’Mahony, curator of the Design Exhibition 2008, is professor of advanced textiles at the Uni-

versity of Technology, Sydney (UTS), and a visiting professor at Chelsea College of Art and Design. She

is currently setting up a new master’s course at the university, while continu-

ing with her consulting, curating and other research

activities.O’Mahony is the author and

co-author of several books with publisher Thames and Hudson

on design and technical textiles, the most recent being TechnoTex-

tiles2. She is currently working on a new book, Advanced Textiles: Design

for Wellness and Health.




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The body as garment2 | www.interface.ulster.ac.uk/peopleprofile/peoplekaren.htm

Artist Karen Fleming, University of Ulster, and scientist John McLachlan, Durham

University, developed the Incision Gown, a garment designed to provide medical students with information on where operation incisions are made, and a sense of the meaning of op-erations for the patient. It’s worn and studied by medical students during their training to enhance their technical and emotional under-standing of what will happen to their patients on the operating table.

The gown is shaped like the familiar surgi-cal gown, but has zippers on major surgical incision sites named on the cloth, alongside laparoscopic and peritoneal catheter insertion points. Unzipping the incisions reveals deeper layers corresponding to sequential muscle and tissue layers; the silk and rubber echoes the texture of human muscles and flesh, making it a unique teaching tool that gives much more emotional impact than hard plastic models of the human body.

Camping in comfort4 | www.coghlans.com

Coghlan’s Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, produces a range of products from conven-

tional emergency blankets and hand warmers to snake bite kits. The No-See-Um Mesh series of clothing provides the ultimate protection against mosquitoes and other flying insects. Cool, lightweight jacket and trousers are made of polyester, with an elastic drawstring waist and cuffs and a zipper at the neck for easy access to the face. Mitts, socks and a head net complete the protection for the wearer. The outfit is entirely flame-retardant.

Thoroughly modern Murray1 | www.helenamymurray.com

Helen Amy Murray has developed a unique, handcrafted 3D surface technique for

textiles used in commissions for clients; the material is used as a furnishing fabric, par-ticularly for upholstery and interiors. Inspired by the carvings in wood and marble from a trip to India in 2001, Murray has translated similar effects into textiles and leather work. In a series of pieces created for Design Exhi-bition 2008, she has incorporated the latest advanced fabrics from companies such as Schoeller Textil AG and Mercader. Schoeller’s ColdBlack™ and Reflex fabrics are layered with Mercader’s anti-bacterial leather and flame-retardant nonwovens to create her unique 3D appliqué.

The ‘Oriental Flower’ design, shown for both a chair and wall panel, are not only flame-retar-dant and antibacterial, but also self-cleaning, heat reflective (ColdBlack), waterproof and light reflective (Reflex).

Sharksuits, for the bold3 | www.neptunic.com

Neptunic Sharksuits, San Diego, Calif., U.S.A., exhibited two of their specialist

suits: the Neptunic NEMO II and the Neptunic C Suit. NEMO II, suitable for divers working in relatively stationary positions, is made using a liquid crystal polymer incorporated into a composite structure, with gloves and boots made from a steel mesh, and a polycarbonate helmet. The ‘C’ in C Suit stands for ‘compo-nent’; the suit combines stainless steel, nylon and polycarbonate and is made up of different parts. The diver can select to wear just some components, such as the arms or legs, “for the bold or the budget-minded,” or the full garment for full protection.

For a complete list of participants in Design Exhibition 2008, visit www.ifaiexpo.info/2008/pdf/DesignExhCatalog.pdf.



http://www.interface.ulster.ac.uk/

http://www.coghlans.com

http://www.helenamymurray.com

http://www.neptunic.com

http://www.ifaiexpo.info/2008/pdf/


14 REVIEW 12.08


SWATCHESSHOWROOM

PROBLEMSOLVERS

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Glowing reviews2 | www.meystyle.com

Meystyle, London, U.K., is incorporating LED lights into its wallpaper designs, giving a

low light level that adds an aesthetic quality but also provides a spatial marker at night when all other lights are off. The digital prints have a futuristic design but often take the dramatic scale of interior prints from the 1970s; the use of Swarovski crystals accentuates the impact of the LEDs as the two work together to create dramatic impact. The digital designs are printed onto a synthetic fabric for the wallpaper, with matching designs created in a flame-retardant fabric for upholstery and cushions.

State-of-the-art seating4 | www.vrc.rca.ac.uk/modules/members/profile/index.php?user=179

Sheila Clark, a research fellow at the Royal College of Art’s School of Fashion and Tex-

tiles and Vehicle Design in London, England, explores a variety of innovative materials for applications in the automotive industry, pre-dominantly as upholstery. Her materials are imbued with health-giving properties that add to driver/passenger comfort and safety.

The blue seat combines a hand-woven glass fiber panel with a conductive strip to heat the seat and relax the back’s dorsal muscles while driving. The reflective seat is trimmed with two woven fabrics, one with a steel weft yarn that is soft to the touch yet strong and conductive, and the other woven using a reflective tape that gives a light-reflecting flash of silver when seen at different angles. The well-being seat is trimmed with two health-giving woven fabrics: bamboo, a sustainable material with natural antibacterial characteristics, and an outer fabric made of silver and wool that also has antibacterial properties, prevents static elec-tricity and deflects electromagnetic rays—with great potential for airline interiors.

Guardian Angels1 | www.vliegervandam.com

Vlieger & Vandam, Rotterdam, The Nether-lands, is a fashion accessories company

now offering a series of handbags called “Guardian Angel.” Each bag appears to con-tain a gun or a knife, but the outlined shape has actually been formed into the felted wool of the bag. The idea grew out of an increas-ing number of news reports of lawless and anti-social behavior; perceptions and the fear of violence fast outgrew the actual number of crimes committed, so Vleiger & Vandam designed the bags to give people the impres-sion of feeling secure.

Classic design, space-age materials3 | www.signatureprints.com

When Florence Broadhurst established her hand-printed wallpaper company

in Sydney in 1959, it was one-of-a-kind in its output of vigorously modern designs in-tended to radically change design attitudes in her native Australia. Signature Prints has re-released a number of her styles, featur-ing a range of bold and dynamic designs, including this iconic Japanese Floral, which was one of Broadhurst’s signature designs on silver foil Mylar® (boPET polyester film). Originally developed by DuPont in the 1950s, Mylar was still a very new product when first used by Broadhurst, and retains that futuristic quality today. Mylar foil is recognized for its high tensile strength, electrical insulation and reflective properties, which, when combined with unique designs for wallpaper, offer an advantageous array of environmental add-ons in heat and energy preservation for the home environment.





http://www.meystyle.com

http://www.vrc.rca.ac.uk/modules/members/

http://www.vliegervandam.com

http://www.signatureprints.com



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ImageCustomized camouflage1 | www.emaharishi.com

London’s Maharishi Hardy Blechman Ltd. began by producing hemp and other natural

fiber clothing, and soon turned to adapting and customizing camouflage, then creating its own versions. Collaboration with artists and designers, including the graffiti artist Futura, are a vital element in the creative process.

Gorscuba uses a 3M Scotchlite™ reflec-tive print often customized with hand-painted embellishment from Futura; the Scubafuturae-mpora coats also use reflective inks to create bionic reflective fabrics. While the Gorscuba designs are mostly used on parka, street and military styles, the Scubafuturaempora styles are combined with designs inspired by Chinese emperors’ robes.

Healing with style3 | www.beckyearley.com, www.tedresearch.net

Rebecca Earley’s radiotherapy treatment gown series was originally commissioned

by the Queen Elizabeth Centre for the Treat-ment of Cancer in Birmingham, U.K. Each of the 100 gowns was designed using her heat photogram technique of printing plants di-rectly onto fabric. The imagery used shows homeopathic plants used in the care of cancer patients. Earley, currently a reader of Textiles Environment Design and associate lecturer on textile design at Chelsea College of Art and Design, changed the existing gown design, reshaping it and adding functional details to give a design and feel far removed from the aesthetically sterile garments that patients are usually required to wear. The gowns were printed using Earley’s ‘exhaust print’ method, which creates no waste fabric, water or chemi-cal pollution.

Cold comfort2 | www.gzespace.com

Grade Zero Espace, Florence, Italy, is the research and development department of

Cove Nove, with the mission to develop new materials and technologies to improve quality of life, work and the environment. The Hinoki LS jacket and coat endeavor to redefine natural fibers using ‘Hinoki,’ a genus of conifers native to eastern Asia, whose processed bark gives a lemon-scented fabric with antibacterial and insect-repellent properties. The Quota Zero Jacket uses the latest advanced fabrics to create a comfort zone and excellent thermal insulation for the wearer engaged in physical activity under extreme cold weather conditions. An extremely thin, strong and durable shape memory membrane provides protection against wind and water; bioelastic fabric conforms to body contours to ensure freedom of move-ment; Aerogel, a highly insulating, lightweight silicon dioxide, is inserted into areas requiring maximum thermal insulation.

Safety gear for small animals4 | www.safetygearforsmallanimals.com

Bill Burns, director of Safety Gear for Small Animals, is using a branch known as the

Museum of Safety Gear for Small Animals to spread a message of animal rescue, relocation and rehabilitation. The itinerant museum con-sists of 19 scale-model pieces, including a trio of tents for bio-hazard, radiation and triage, a mosquito net, safety vest, flotation devices, res-pirator, visor and hardhat, all intricately made, with a message that is ironic yet still raises serious issues. The tiny scale emphasizes the animals’ vulnerability and brings a fresh look to the issue of animal rescue and safety.





http://www.emaharishi.com

http://www.beckyearley.com

http://www.tedresearch.net

http://www.gzespace.com

http://www.safetygearforsmallanimals.com



18 REVIEW 12.08


SWATCHESSHOWROOM

PROBLEMSOLVERS

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Our unique 3-inch cassette blends seamlessly with your trim and spans up to 40-feet wide.

Look at us and view the differenceSolarShades from 2-feet to 40-feet wide in our 3-inch cassette engineered for interior or exterior applications!

Courtesy of Sun Control Products

Part of the Easternmail@worldscree

R

Teaming up to Outlast ovarian cancer

Bedding products made with phase-change materials by Outlast® Technologies, Boulder, Colo., can help mitigate

the hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause. So when Outlast found an opportunity to team with the 2008–2009 “Menopause: The Musical” Out Loud Tour™ to raise funds for and awareness about ovarian cancer, it was a natural fit for the company. “‘Menopause: The Musical’ encourages a healthy dialogue about issues of aging and women’s health and provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness with female audiences,” says Joanne Grant of TOC Productions Inc. For more information about the Out Loud Tour, visit www.menopausethemusical.com; for more information about Outlast, visit www.outlast.com.

INDUSTRY NEWS

DNA technology to foil fabric counterfeiters

By mixing high-quality natural fibers with lower quality synthetics, textile fabricators can make it tough to be

certain that wool, cashmere and silk are the real deal. Applied DNA Sciences Inc., Stony Brook, N.Y., offers a proprietary SigNature™ DNA that can be used to authenticate textiles at all points of the supply chain. In collaboration with Yorkshire Textiles and Fabrics and the Textile Centre of Excellence consortium of companies, Applied DNA will test SigNature in threads, labels and fabrics manufactured by the British firm. A second phase of testing would use Applied DNA Bio-Material™ Genotyping for raw fibers being used in Yorkshire fabrics. The three-year project will provide a strategic weapon against billions of dollars of textile seizures and losses in the U.K., the U.S. and worldwide. To find out more, visit www.adnas.com.



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[ ]PEOPLE

Miller Weldmaster adds to sales teamMiller Weldmaster serves customers in more than 75

countries, and recently added Truy Pham as a new sales

representative who will work with machine sales to the

sign industry worldwide. Pham graduated from the Uni-

versity of Akron with a B.S. in marketing management and

has experience in sales management.

Reed joins Cotton Inc.Cotton Inc., a trade group for upland cotton producers, has

appointed Janet Reed associate director of environmental

research. She will assess all phases of cotton produc-

tion and processing, identify research opportunities that

benefit cotton markets and provide scientific outreach and

information to retailers and the public. Reed worked most

recently with Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. as regulatory

affairs managers for Cotton Traits, and also worked at the

Texas A & M Experiment Station and Allied Corp. She has

an M.S. in plant genetics and a B.S. in horticulture, both

from the University of Tennessee.

New VP for NanoHorizons Inc.NanoHorizons Inc., State College, Pa., has announced

the appointment of Timothy Skedzuhn to the position of

vice president of the textile business unit. Skedzuhn has

more than 20 years of sales leadership experience, with

a recognized expertise in the application of antimicrobial

solutions. Chairman and CEO David Woodle commented:

“His leadership will allow us to take our unique nanoscale

antimicrobial technology and effectively tailor it to the

needs of the textile market.”

SGIA honors James GandyGandinnovations president James Gandy received the 2008

DPI Innovator Award at the Specialty Printing & Imaging

Expo’s keynote luncheon. Gandy was honored for his

contributions to the advancements in grand-format digital

imaging, such as the company’s line of AquaJet direct-to-

fabric digital printers. The DPI Innovator Award recognizes

the creativity and ingenuity of specialty imagers who have

advanced the digital imaging industry and community

through innovation.

Prather joins J & D AssociatesJ & D Associates, a leading manufacturer of motorized

storage systems based in Middletown, Pa., has hired

James Prather as a regional sales manager. Prather is

based in Fort Wayne, Ind., and will cover the midwest

region, bringing more than 20 years of industrial sales

experience to the job.

Specialty Fabrics Review recently won two MMPA publishing awards:Gold for “Overall Excellence”

Bronze for “Best Use of Visuals/Photography,” for the article “Films, membranes and imagination,” in the March, 2008 issue

The Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association announced the awards in November.



http://www.snyderman.com

20 REVIEW 12.08

HIGH-TECH TRANSPORTATION

By land or by air,

specialty fabrics

offer comfort,

strength, and

innovation.

UP, UP, AND AWAY![ SKYACHT AIRCRAFT INC. ]

AMHERST, MASS., U.S.A.

The creators of the Personal Blimp set out to build a vehicle that

combines the enjoyment and quiet relaxation of a hot air balloon

ride with the control of other types of aircraft. The Personal Blimp

hull structure has three main components: the fabric envelope of 1.9

oz. urethane-coated calendered rip-stop nylon; a set of flexible ribs

embedded within the fabric; and a tensioning line that runs along the

central axis of the hull. The hull is a classic tension structure wherein

the ribs are under compression and the fabric and tensioning line are

under opposing tension. What is new and different about the Personal

Blimp hull design is the ease with which one can create a lightweight,

sturdy, self-supporting (no fans required) airship envelope. With a cruise

speed of 10 miles an hour, the Personal Blimp uses hot air rather than

helium. Because of its precise steering and ability to hover, potential

applications (in addition to joyrides!) include forest canopy research,

wetlands survey/management, eco-tourism, aerial photography and

film making.

Photo: Robert Cann


COMFORT AMID THE CLOUDS[ LANTAL TEXTILES ]

LANGENTHAL, SWITZERLAND

Aircraft soft interiors provider Lantal has introduced a fully

pneumatic seat cushion that will be gradually installed in all

business class seats of the SWISS long-haul fleet beginning

in spring 2009. The cushion replaces traditional foam with air-

filled chambers, allowing passengers to adjust the pneumatic

pressure of the seat to suit their personal preferences, from

firm when seated upright and medium when relaxing to soft

in the fully flat position. Additional massage functions and

temperature controls can be integrated in the seat for passenger

comfort during long flights. The cushion’s minimal weight, use of

non-flammable materials, and enhanced hygiene characteristics

provide additional benefits to the airline.


STRONG AND LIGHT[ DELTA 7 SPORTS ] PAYSON, UTAH, U.S.A.

The frame of the Arantix™ Mountain Bike from Delta 7 Sports

includes more than 1,500 linear feet of carbon fiber. Single carbon

fiber strands are woven to create the open lattice IsoTruss®

structure of each frame tube, and each bundle of carbon fiber

strands is wrapped with Kevlar and then baked at 255˚F for four

hours. The ends of the baked tubes are then machined before being

joined with molded carbon fiber lugs to make a complete frame.

The carbon/Kevlar combination creates a bicycle frame that is

dramatically stronger than comparably weighted frames, while being

significantly lighter than frames of the same strength.




open

1208RV_20-24.indd Sec1:221208RV_20-24.indd Sec1:22 12/5/08 11:15:59 AM12/5/08 11:15:59 AM

http://www.mauritzononline.com


The PerformersOur monthly installment of common industry-specific problems and the products that can bring you solutions.

p r o b l e m

S LVERSSf Briefi ngsFORETHOUGHTSWATCHESSHOWROOMPROBLEMSOLVERS

Quality, consistency, fire-resistance,

durability ... effective tools and materials result in effective products.

These are a few products that perform

to provide for your fabrication needs.

Bundled performanceCustomers want all of the best performance features and fire resistance integrated into one drapery fabric.

Bella-Dura™ drapery fabrics have it all: inherent resistance to fire, UV light exposure (1500 hours), bleach cleaning, microbes, stains and mildew—and can be recycled. Because the fabrics need no applied treatments, they retain softness and drape and come in appealing textures, patterns and colors.

Contact > Bella-Dura Fabrics, Garfield, N.J., U.S.A.; 800 544 0478,

[email protected], www.bella-dura.com.

Sharp shearsCutting materials with glues and adhesives leaves scissors or shears rusted, corroded and gummed up, leading to user fatigue and equip-ment damage.

Users of the Clauss 6-inch and 9-inch Titanium Bonded Spring-Assisted Shears experience reduced user fatigue and hand issues because the titanium bonding keeps blades sharper longer and resists rust, corrosion, glue and adhesives.

Contact > Clauss Cutlery, Daphne, Ala., U.S.A.; 800 835 2263, fax

+1 251 625 4464, [email protected], www.claussco.com.

Resistant and resilientAn outdoor apparel manufacturer needs a material that resists fraying, snags, abrasions, cuts and punctures.

SuperFabric™ technology engineers ordinary fabrics into protective solutions, integrating optimum resistance to cuts, punctures and abrasion without losing flexibility. Options such as flame resistance or specialized grip make SuperFabrics a complete and customized solution.

Contact > HDM Inc., Oakdale, Minn., U.S.A.; 866 730 6200,

fax +1 651 256 2038, [email protected], www.superfabric.com.

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http://www.bella-dura.com


http://www.superfabric.com


http://www.claussco.com


SWATCHESSHOWROOMPROBLEMSOLVERS

24 REVIEW 12.08

Traveling welderManufacturers using radio frequency (RF) welders want higher production capacity, reduced labor costs, minimal power usage and ways to meet more stringent quality standards.

The FIAB 900 is the latest in RF traveling welders, with a faster generator, a control system that makes more precise adjustments and a user-friendly interface. FIAB enhanced the 900’s travel speed, gave it unlimited capacity for storing information, provided touch screen and joystick operation, and added optional cooling/heating system, tape dispenser and remote control. Further add-ons that improve speed and accuracy include JTE Machine Systems’ Cut Above, Laser Kit and Hem Helper.

Contact > JTE Machine Systems Inc., Orange Park, Fla., U.S.A.; 800 355 4583,

fax +1 904 278 2387, [email protected], www.jtemachine.com.

Feeling the heatThe U.S. military wants durable, comfortable fabric that, when exposed to high tempera-ture, neither melts nor holds body moisture.

Knit CORDURA® NYCO provides no-melt, no-drip performance, protecting the skin from high heat and drying two-and-a-half times faster than a 100-percent cotton t-shirt. CORDURA NYCO knit fabric is comfortable to wear, abrasion-resistant and extremely durable.

Contact > CORDURA by INVISTA, Wilmington, Del., U.S.A.;

800 577 3733, [email protected], www.cordura.com.

Long-lasting postersOutdoor paper poster graphics suffer bleed-through, flagging, seam exposure and color fading, leading to costly reinstallation.

Replace paper posters with Coolflex®

PR, in a five-ounce nonwoven PVC and 3.8-ounce non-PVC PE, both of which are recyclable. Coolflex PR offers seamless one-sheet installation, lasts longer than paper, eliminates flagging and bleed-through, and doesn’t require glue.

Contact > Cooley Group, Pawtucket, R.I., U.S.A.; 800 992 0072, fax

+1 401 726 8799, [email protected], www.cooleygroup.com.

Reach exceeds graspCustomers want Solair® retractable awnings that project out further than existing engineering limits allow (the awning width minus 16 inches).

Solair’s manufacturers, Astrup Company and John Boyle & Co., extended their reach by adding two new brackets to select units. The Solair XP slide support is longer and its front bar coupling extension adds more projection power. The new components allow overlapping arms to extend up to 150 inches on an awning 96 inches wide. The Solair XP units are available in white, desert sand, brown and mocha.

Contact > Tri Vantage™ LLC, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.; www.trivantage.com.

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Be sure to check our Web site, www.reviewmagazine.info, for each month’s updated list of Problem Solvers.

Bwfoo

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http://www.jtemachine.com


http://www.cordura.com


http://www.cooleygroup.com

http://www.trivantage.com


Sf Perspective

by Sigrid Tornquist


“SOMETIMES WHEN COMPANIES MAKE A LOT OF

MONEY, THEY INVEST THAT MONEY INTO STOCKS—they invest profits into something other than their own businesses—

we reinvest our profits into our core business,” says Junko Takai, president of Hivix Co. Ltd. in Mizuho-city, Gifu, Japan. Takai began working at Hivix, a company manufacturing inflatable products for the healthcare, sports and industrial industries, sixteen years ago. She bagan working in purchasing and information technology, and in 2001 became president of the company.

Safeguarding the company’s interests is as important to Takai as it was to her father, who preceded her as president of Hivix. In fact, it was her father who taught her the value of reinvesting profits back into the company. “In Japan, about 10 or 15 years ago, we had a [financial] crisis,” Takai says. “Other companies ended up in trouble, but because of my father, Hivix didn’t.” Her father resisted the conventional wisdom of investing profits elsewhere, and during the Japanese stock market crash of the early 1990s, the company remained stable. Takai feels strongly about the wisdom of this kind of conservative fiscal approach to business. “Because of my father’s handling of the business, we can keep it for other generations so they can take over,” Takai says.

coe

Junko Takai’s dedication

to providing products that

make a difference rests on a

conservative fiscal foundation.

Photos: Bart Harris/Chicago.



VITAL STATISTICS

Sf Review asks What is your...?Sf Review asks What is your...?

Risk and commitment both

Takai balances her conservative fiscal approach with the belief that in order for the business to flourish, its leaders need to entertain the need for change, and look for the best places to make those changes. The company, then called Hioki Vinyl Co. Ltd., started as a vinyl manufacturing facility in 1951, offering products, including rain coats and umbrel-las. The company name was changed to Hivix in 1990 at around the same time that it expanded its product line to include inflatable medical/healthcare, sports and industrial products.

Predicting customer needs

The decision to include medical and healthcare products to the company’s product line was far from incidental; it emerged out of personal experience—experience that revealed to

Takai’s family a need that their company had the ability to meet. When Takai’s grandmother experienced a stroke that left her unable to care for herself, the duty and honor of caring for her fell to the family—and Takai and her mother realized firsthand the difficulties that accompany being a caregiver. “My mother worked very hard to take care of my grandmother,” Takai says. “I would help, so I know just how hard it is for the patient and for the family or caregivers. We decided then that we wanted to make something to reduce the burden [of caregiving] for people.”

That “something to reduce the burden” turned out to be inflatable products for health-care needs, including air-pressure mattresses to help prevent bedsores, post-operative air pressure leggings to prevent blood clots, and inflatable basins for giving bed baths.

The company also produces inflatable sporting goods and industrial products, and Takai is dedicated to making sure the company stays on the leading edge of technology and prod-uct development for all their products, beginning with design. “We develop designs with our customers.” Takai says. She points out, however, that sometimes customers give them a drawing for a product that just wouldn’t meet the demands of the application, when tak-ing into account points of pressure and flexibility requirements. But the designers work with the customers to come to a solution that satisfies their expectations and performs to the company’s standards. “As far as I know, we are the only company in Japan that can work to develop designs with our customers [for these types of products],” Takai says.

BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY

We are not doing business only to please ourselves; everyone should be happy—the customers, the suppliers, the employees. This is very important.

PROUDEST MOMENT

For instance, we supplied an air-pressure mattress to an ederly woman who was confine to her bed. After she died, her family told us that even at the end, her skin was beautiful—she had no bedsores because of our product.

Junko Takai

Hivix Co. Ltd.

Mizuho, Gifu, Japan

Since 1951

Inflatable products for medical

and healthcare applications,

sports equipment and outdoor

products, and industrial and

auto applications

IFAI member since 2002

www.hivix.co.jp

FAVORITE STORIES FROM CHILDHOOD

German and Japanese fairy tales

~ morals, life instruction and dreams


http://www.hivix.co.jp

SUCCESS? “IT’S

ABOUT ASSESSING

RISK. ONE OF

THE THINGS I

SPEND A LOT OF

TIME DOING IS

LOOKING FOR

require decisions.

Deliberate innovation

The process of finding fabric that meets the specifications for the end prod-uct is an ongoing challenge, according to Takai. “We don’t buy standard

material from suppliers; we always order custom-made,” she says. “We are always thinking about how to work with fabric suppliers to design materials so the content of the material will fit the application.”

At times, new materials call for new welding techniques. Currently, Hivix uses mostly RF welding, but also uses heat-sealing welding depend-ing upon the application. Finding the appropriate welding process for each application can be difficult, according to Takai, and she expects the market to continue to expand. “Welding is a challenge,” she says. “Each type of welding has its limitations, and with new materials coming out, we will need different [welding] machines to do the job.” Takai traveled to Char-lotte, N.C., in the United States in October to attend IFAI Expo 2008 for this purpose—to explore the latest fabric innovations and welding options that could be used in her company’s products.

For Takai, exploring timely options extends beyond innovations in fabric and machinery. She recently traveled to Viet Nam to consider if opening a manufacturing plant there could reduce costs while maintain-ing product quality. “We researched costs in shipping the materials from Japan, labor costs, land, electricity, etc.,” Takai says. “Even though labor costs are lower there, considering all the expenses involved, we decided at this time not to pursue opening a plant in Viet Nam.”

Thirty years earlier, her father faced a similar decision: to move manufacturing to China as so many other companies were doing or keep production in Japan. He, like Takai, decided on the latter. It is a cautious and thoughtful approach, exploring the options, weighing the risk and proceeding in a manner that will protect the business capital.

“I want to do my part to keep this company going for the next hundred years,” she says.

INDUSTRY PREDICTION

I think there will be a decrease in demand for our products because the population is beginning to decrease. Eventually we will have to expand our company products into other areas.

BUSINESS STRENGTH

Advertising, promo-tion and researching of new materials. And we design and develop original technology with our customers.

~ Victor L. Brown Jr.

Hivix Co. Ltd. manufactures a broad array of cold inflatables for the sports and leisure, medical

and healthcare, and industrial markets. But in an ever-changing marketplace, companies need to be constantly pursuing new products, new applications and new processes. “We always keep in mind when contracting with a business: How will this product contribute to society, the good of the people and the good of the environment?” says Junko Takai, presi-dent of Hivix.

In response to the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, also known as the Kobe earthquake, Hivix is currently working on developing emergency products to be used in response to future natural disasters.


TO THE RESCUE



28 REVIEW 12.08

THINis inTHE FUTURE

IS HIGH-TECH

IF YOU’RE

PLANNING TO

STAY AHEAD OF

THE GAME.


There’s nothing particularly predator-

like about narrow fabrics designers

and manufacturers. By and large,

they’re helpful folks, always working

with their clients to create webbings

and ropes with the perfect color,

thickness, width and performance characteristics.

But they’re still a bit like sharks: They must always

keep moving forward or die.

Narrow fabrics manufacturers are subject to the same market conditions as all fabric makers. They know that the moment they perfect a product, a competitor with lower overhead will bid the job at a lower price. Luckily for U.S. companies, many of the markets for narrow fabrics are in technical fields that demand constant innovation. Certainly there will always be room for more seat belts, upholstery trims and dog leashes. But narrow fabrics companies that manufacture stateside are looking more and more to the high-tech world. They’re pushing the limits of their craft as they make components for the military, aerospace and medical fields.

THE THIRD DIMENSIONSince 1923, Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pa., has engineered highly specialized custom woven goods for its customers. Today about 30 percent of its output goes to high-tech industries. To ensure its place in the market, the manufacturer recently invested in a unique quad-axial loom that allows the company to weave fabric in as many as four axes simultaneously. What on earth for, you ask?

One answer is a strange structure that the company calls “the pi,” after the shape of the Greek letter π. It’s a trilobate strip made of carbon fiber, used in the aerospace industry. It allows a perpen-dicular “wall” piece (sandwiched between the legs of the pi) to be joined to a flat plane or beam with enormous security.


Sf Feature

by Jamie Swedberg



“This joint is stronger than if you were to rivet it or weld it or anything of that nature, because it’s all woven at the same time, as one solid unit,” says Bally sales manager Bill Hornig. “It’s used principally in aircraft. It’s not going to fatigue like metal will over the course of time, and it’s so much lighter and so much stronger.”

Some of the company’s other three-dimensional struc-tures do not require a special loom, so they have counter-parts at other narrow fabrics companies. Monofilament cooking oil filters and blood filters, for example, are woven in a tube shape. Bally markets one hourglass-shaped microfiber artery stent that requires no sutures because it’s designed to expand against the wall of the blood vessel when warmed to body temperature.

DuPont’s Teflon® appears in a couple of unusual nar-row fabrics applications. Bally makes a pure Teflon tube for the military and aerospace industries that is used as a parachute pack; the slippery PTFE helps the chute deploy without a hitch. Teflon is also chemically inert and pH-balanced, so it’s an ideal material to attach radio packs to birds so that scientists can track their migrations.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE?Several years ago, Foster-Miller Inc., a technology research and development firm in Waltham, Mass., forged a part-nership with Chester, N.J.-based Offray Specialty Narrow Fabrics to develop e-textile narrow fabrics for the U.S. military. The two firms received a grant to research the use of narrow fabrics as a more flexible, lower-profile alterna-tive to traditional electronic cables.

“The functionalities depended on the item,” says Foster-Miller senior engineer Cheryl Gomes. “Some of it was like a USB connector, connecting a computer to a battery. You would use [the webbings] for power transfer, data transfer, and input devices like MP3s.”

Currently, the two companies are manufacturing some prototype e-textiles embedded in physiological monitor-ing shirts. The results may have applications outside the military—the same electronics that keep tabs on a soldier’s health can also be used to record the pulse rate of a runner.

But Bob Thuet, director of sales and business develop-ment at Offray, hastens to add that e-textiles are not some

kind of narrow fabrics holy grail. For one thing, there’s nothing to keep competitors from jumping into the fray.

“I can take one of these [e-textile webbings] and toss it in front of any decent textile engineer, and in 15 minutes they’ll figure out exactly how it was done,” he says. “It’s just warp and weft. I can put wire from Gore in there, and the loom doesn’t care. I can put conductive yarn from any manufacturer. No matter what unique application you come up with, you have at best a couple of years before someone else is banging on the door.”

For another thing, there’s no killer app yet, no guar-antee of massive sales. Even the military hasn’t decided which portable electronics it would like to focus on first (it can’t have them all at once, because the battery pack would be too heavy for a soldier to carry).

“They’d like to have navigation, communications, gun-mounted cameras with displays, signaling devices, signature recognition devices so they can be seen from the air,” says Thuet. “And then there are the biophysical monitoring items: whether the guy’s dead or alive, cold or

30 REVIEW 12.08

Chameleon Webbing™, the first camouflage webbing to be approved for use by the U.S. Army, completely disappears into a soldier’s gear, with all the elements for effective camouflage: shade, pattern and near infrared reflectance. Photo: Propel LLC.


excited. They’d like to put things like automatic tourniquets in certain segments of the garments. But at this point, none of them have taken off. I consider it for the most part a sci-ence project.”

The connectors are a challenge, too. Yes, one end is a USB port, but what connects that port to the cable itself? So far there’s no standard, and it depends on the size of the wire, the flexibility of the material, and numerous other factors.

Still, many e-textiles are in development and have been tested successfully. Some simple ones have already made a sizable dent in the market. Basic polyester webbings with bits of wire woven in are commonly used as antennae. Higher-tech ceramic and Kevlar® conductive strips are used to launch warheads farther than ever before.

WORKING TOGETHERThe partnership between Offray and Foster-Miller is part of a larger trend in the industry. To push the boundaries of technology—and to secure a return on your R&D invest-ment—your best bet is to partner with colleagues or clients.

TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES

OF TECHNOLOGY—

AND TO SECURE A

RETURN ON YOUR R&D

INVESTMENT—YOUR BEST

BET IS TO PARTNER WITH

COLLEAGUES OR CLIENTS.


Chameleon camouflage webbing is used extensively on the tactical ballistic vest, and a matching edge tape is used in other parts of the uniform. According to Propel LLC owner Clare King, these high-tech developments in narrow fabrics are starting to trickle down to commercial applications as well. Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Army, Petty Officer 2nd Class Summer M. Anderson.



Clare King, owner of Propel LLC, a textile development company in Providence, R.I., agrees. “People are learning that narrow fabrics can provide flexibility and strength at the same time,” she points out. “They’re being used to make products that might not have been developed from narrow fabrics before. People have approached us with interesting product concepts because the actual users, the designers of products, are seeing narrow fabrics as another way of putting together their product idea.”

Bally Ribbon Mills has maintained a long-term partner-ship with Rexnord Industries LLC, Downers Grove, Ill. Thirty-two years ago, the two companies developed fabric-based greaseless bearings.

“It’s Teflon and Dacron®,” says Hornig. “We weave it in a tube. Then they take the tube, put it over a steel mandrel and wrap fiberglass around it. They wet it with resins and cure it, and then they [grind] the thickness down to what-ever they want and cut it into lengths. The resin will stick to the Dacron but not to the Teflon, so consequently you have a greaseless bearing.”

Research and development is where the growth will be, he predicts. Once a product becomes “ordinary,” it goes overseas and the profit margin disappears. The only solu-tion is to stay on the cutting edge.

Some innovations in narrow fabrics have little to do with the width of the webbing. For example,

the development of electroluminescent tapes mir-rors similar capabilities in the larger technical tex-tile world. Companies such as Safe Lites of Edina, Minn., and BondCote Corp. of Pulaski, Va., can make high-quality wide EL panels, so it stands to reason that they can also plug in a different loom and make narrow fabrics that glow.

Often, new wide-width textiles create a demand for matching narrow fabrics. One recent example is in military apparel. The camouflage soldiers wear has two simultaneous purposes: breaking up their outline in daylight, and also helping them blend into the background when they’re viewed in the infra-red spectrum through night vision goggles. Until recently, webbing has been the most visible part of the soldiers’ kit. It was solid colored, so it stuck out.

“That meant it was easily visualized by the enemy,” explains Clare King, owner of Propel LLC, a small textile development company in Providence, R.I. “So we developed the first webbing that blended into the camouflage the soldiers wear. And it was not only important that it match the shade and pat-tern of the camouflage, but it also had to match its infrared reflectivity so that it would break up and blend into the background at night as well.”

How exactly do they do that? King is understand-ably cagey, since the process is proprietary. But she will say that it has to do with the process and with the chemistry of the inks. Apparently it’s difficult to create solution-dyed yarns that consistently fall within the desired IR range, so Propel has instead developed an alternate method that involves printing the finished webbing.

The resulting camouflage webbing is used exten-sively on the tactical ballistic vest, and a matching edge tape that Propel developed is incorporated in other parts of the uniform.

As so often happens, this high-tech development is beginning to trickle down into mass markets.

“We’re starting to see interest in it in the com-mercial world,” King says. “For example, in lug-gage and those kinds of applications, it has a lot of appeal. It’s not that they need it for any particular purpose—it’s just that we can do prints onto web-bing, and it looks neat.”

Disappearing ink

32 REVIEW 12.08

Foster-Miller Inc. partnered with Offray Specialty Narrow Fabrics to develop e-textile narrow fabrics for the U.S. military, and are currently developing prototypes embedded in physiological monitoring shirts. Photo: Foster-Miller Inc.


That explains why nowadays, narrow fabrics manu-facturers can be as secretive as their military and medical clientele.

“One of the problems with this stuff is that when you tell people, then everybody knows,” jokes Gomes.

Thuet, too, falls silent when asked about his latest work.“We sign nondisclosure agreements left and right,” he

explains. “R&D is the key. The reason we are secretive is that none of this is long-lasting. Even if you come up with a special unique application, working in concert with an end user, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to pat-ent it. Weaving is the second-oldest profession in the world, so the secrets are out there for everybody to know.”

Jamie Swedberg is a freelance writer and former magazine editor based near Athens, Ga.Turn to page 78 for contact information on the sources used in this article.


Bally Ribbon Mills’ custom woven goods are highly engineered; about 30 percent of the company’s output goes to high-tech industries. A unique quad-axial loom allows Bally to weave fabric in as many as four axes simultaneously. Photo: Bart Harris/Chicago.

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34 REVIEW 12.08

Sf Features

by Sigrid Tornquist


If we needed proof that we’re in an economic environment where lines on a map lose significance, September and October delivered. Though perhaps first to the trough, the United States held no monopoly on failed financial institutions and crashing stock markets. While there are many lessons to be learned, key for

businesses in the specialty fabrics arena is how global the marketplace has become.“I see a world just continuing to become smaller and smaller,” says Marco Alvarez,

president and CEO of Fabric Images Inc. “Our ability to continue to grow our business globally is going to be important as costs and budgets continue to be squeezed.”

A lot of U.S. commodities transitioned to the global front years ago, says Joey Under-wood, vice president of Safety Components Fabric Technologies Inc. in Greenville, S.C., a division of International Textiles Group (ITG), with operations in the United States, Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, China and South Africa. Now, he says, “the specialty markets to some degree are transitioning.

“I think a lot of markets went to developing parts of the world for cost purposes only. As costs rise, we will see some of those products come back to North America. We’re starting to see some of that already. That said, 95 percent of the world’s growth over the next 5, 10, 20 years is going to occur outside the U.S., so the infrastructure that’s going to these developing countries will be used in large part to supply those emerging markets.”

According to Mary Lynn Landgraf, a senior international trade specialist in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, “The global marketplace changes daily, which has become more evident over the last five years. New emerging markets continually join the global marketplace. Brazil, Russia, India and China are currently the major players with rapidly growing economies and internal growth. Much of this growth can only be served by imports.”

TAKING THE LEAPFabric Images entered the worldwide marketplace five years ago. Based in Elgin, Ill., the 16-year-old company now operates a manufacturing facility in Mexico and a sales office in Japan. “It’s been good because the product that we offer [a fabric alternative to hard-wall construction] is still in the infancy stage on a global basis,” Alvarez says, noting that a manufacturing and sales facility in Milan, Italy, is on the books for 2009.

AS THE WORLD

SHRINKS, BUSINESSES

CAN CAPITALIZE ON

WIDENING THEIR POOL

OF CUSTOMERS.


Sf Feature




36 REVIEW 12.08

“American companies need to sell to the global marketplace to keep up with competition, create awareness of our innovative products and establish joint ventures and business alliances,” Landgraf says. “Selling globally is critical to remaining competitive. History proves that companies involved in exporting are more likely to remain in business.”

Ted Anderson, president of BondCote Corp., a Pulaski, Va.-based manufacturer of coated and laminated fabrics, says that fabrication suppliers have tended to follow as fabricators move production overseas for lower labor costs. To deal with the changing dynamics of a global market-place, companies need to continue driving cost reductions and product innovations, he says, adding that one way to reduce costs is through global sourcing of materials.

Companies can adapt to rapidly changing global dynamics by being a participant instead of a bystander, Landgraf says. “This means involvement in their [trade] association’s educational programs, exhibiting at trade shows, participating on trade missions, attending export/business seminars and aggressively working the market.” Critical to the success of the program, she adds, is having designated staff to lead the international marketing of the company’s products.

Fabric Images tries to come up with alternative busi-ness strategies with customers, Alvarez says, “whether it’s terms, leasing programs or looking at products and materi-

als to do things more cost effectively—to value-engineer projects a little better.

“We have to keep reinventing ourselves. We have to continue to look at how do we change the product, change the offering to meet the market conditions.”

For example, Fabric Images introduced a program in October it calls “freestyle leasing,” which allows custom-ers to lease a display rather than buying one. According to Alvarez, meeting turbulence head-on means “coming up with this type of program and being sensitive to what’s going on in the marketplace and being able to respond to that immediately.”

Chris Nolan, managing director of Nolan Warehouses, an industrial textiles company based in Sydney, Australia, says foreign business has improved and deteriorated during the 20 years his company has been doing business outside the country.

Establishing yourself in a foreign market takes more than learning a few key phrases in another language.

“Each country has different ways of doing business and, in some cases, there are subtleties that you need to know to make that business grow and have that business be effective, so it’s not just about the product,” says Marco Alvarez, presi-

dent and CEO of Fabric Images Inc. “I would find someone that I would trust and someone that I would have

built a relationship with over a certain period of time. So it’s really more about the

people than it is the market.”Alvarez was part of a delega-tion led by the U.S. Commerce

Department in November 2007 to China, a market his com-

pany has not entered—yet. “It gave me a chance to interact with Chinese

businesses in the textile industry and gave me an opportunity to see what’s happening in China,” he says. “It’s a major, major market, so I went just to get to learn the culture and people a little better and see what the marketplace is doing over there.”

Ted Anderson, president of BondCote Corp., also went on the China trip, though his company has been doing business there for years. In addition to establishing new contacts, he came away with a better understanding of the market and insights into products being developed there. He plans to use that knowledge “to focus on reducing our costs of doing busi-ness and developing alternative sources for component materi-als that we use.”

Chris Nolan, managing director of Nolan Warehouses, which purchases products from China, says the trip cemented relationships with two suppliers he had met at Industrial Fab-rics Association International (IFAI) shows. He gained “a feeling for what is happening in China, the people’s aspirations and their attitude toward the West.”

Succeeding abroad

s, there are smake that business grow aso it’s not just about the pro

ric Imad trust aa relation

of time. Sopeople

Alvtion

Deto

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AMERICAN COMPANIES NEED TO

SELL TO THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

TO KEEP UP WITH COMPETITION,

CREATE AWARENESS OF OUR

INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND

ESTABLISH JOINT VENTURES AND

BUSINESS ALLIANCES.

—MARY LYNN LANDGRAF

dent and CEO of Fabthat I would

built ao


“Due to the Internet revolution, communication has improved enormously,” he says. “Government bureau-cracy has become less intrusive, but transport logistics have worsened considerably and become, recently, much more expensive.”

The company’s foreign customers are located in Oceania, and Nolan says there are opportunities as its ASEAN neighbors become more prosperous. “To exploit it to its full potential, we would seriously need to con-sider establishing a formal presence, say, in Indonesia.”

SETTING UP SHOPEstablishing foreign operations demands its own con-siderations. “The largest issue is hiring/training the right local management team, establishing the proper quality procedures and adherence to those procedures, and financing the operation during the start-up phase,” Underwood says.

For Anderson, the challenge lies in differing criteria for products. “Pricing is an issue from the standpoint that product expectations in emerging economies may not be as high as U.S. expectations,” he says. “Their costs may be lower because the market doesn’t require the same level of technology.” However, he foresees change in the next five to 10 years, with global customers requiring higher-performance products, accompanied by intensified competition for those customers.

Joey Underwood, vice president of Safety Compo-nents Fabric Technologies, joined a trip to the Arabian Peninsula in December 2007, a cooperative venture led by the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute in coop-eration with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Before we went, we had limited experience in sell-ing to some of these markets,” he says. “If we would have done it before, I don’t think we would have used the commerce specialists within the local embassies. I don’t think we would have made the contacts on our own with American chambers of commerce. I can see the value in doing that now.”

“As in any opportunity, you need to invest the time and money to understand what the customer wants and then go about putting together a plan to accomplish that,” Anderson says. “And one of the first things you have to do is to make the commitment to spend the time and money to go and visit, because it’s very difficult to do business from half a world away without those relationships.”

Q. What steps should a business take

to get into the global marketplace?

A. The best way to enter the global marketplace is through research, planning and strategy develop-ment. These are the functions that the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce provides American exporters. We offer a multitude of services through the U.S. Commercial Service and the Export Assistance Cen-ters located in most major American cities and in 80 countries across the globe.

Q. How can companies protect themselves

from the turbulence of the global market?

A. Businesses need to be on the cutting edge of information-gathering and place an emphasis on constantly improving innovation. Our Export Assis-tance Centers can help analyze current trends using our trade data as a resource. These experts can be an advocate on behalf of American businesses while navigating the turbulent tides of international trade. The International Trade Administration is committed to helping companies remain focused on identifying issues they may face, reducing barriers to trade, maintaining fairness in the global marketplace and remaining competitive and successful.

Q. How can companies deal with differing

quality standards on a global scale?

A. Keep your standards at the apex of perfection. Inform and educate yourself on the market or regional demands and meet or exceed them. You can overcome competition by offering top standards in the target market. Our International Trade Administration Web site (www.trade.gov) for market reports offers information on country-specific standards.

Q. When do companies need to establish brick-

and-mortar operations in their foreign markets?

A. There is no prescription for success in the market. You need to maintain due diligence through mar-ket research and seek expert legal advice in the marketplace.


with Mary Lynn Landgraf, senior

international trade specialist,

Office of Textiles and Apparel,

U.S. Department of Commerce


http://www.trade.gov


38 REVIEW 12.08

How the recent economic crisis unfolds in coming months will undoubtedly affect the global marketplace, but Underwood for one believes that forward-looking com-panies will continue viewing the world as their marketplace and investing in foreign operations.

“[ITG’s] long-term philosophy is to pro-vide products for local markets wherever they may be,” he says. “We have to do that with on-site manufacturing capability.” According to Underwood, in addition to curtailing transportation costs and delivery times, there are politics to consider. “Amer-icans tend to buy from anybody,” he says, “but a lot of foreign markets would prefer to have local content. All things being equal, they would prefer to source from a local manufacturer.”

Landgraf foresees that in the next five to 10 years trade will increase between the United States and previously untapped markets. “The United States will have to be increasingly aggressive in global market-ing efforts,” she says. “In return, we will see a renewed interest in strategic business alliances through joint ventures, acquisi-tions and technology transfers. Companies need to prepare themselves to think—and act—globally. This includes staff that is focused on export development.”

“If you want to succeed where 95 per-cent of the world’s growth is going to be—outside of North America—you just have to plan to participate, and the only way is to have infrastructure,” Underwood says. “If you are not looking outside the U.S. bor-ders, the probability of shrinking is greater than the probability of growing.”

Janice Kleinschmidt is a freelance writer and editor based in Palm Springs, Calif.Turn to page 78 for contact information on the sources used in this article.

GORE™ TENARA® Sewing Thread makes you look good to your customers.It will not weaken or degrade with exposure to UV, extreme temperatures,salt, rain or chemicals. It comes in a variety ofcolors that will not fade. And it’s guaranteedfor the life of the fabric. When your goodreputation is at stake, count on us.

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© 2

008

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e &

Ass

ocia

tes,

Inc.

It’s Not Just Thread —

It’s Your Reputation

Mark at La Rivage Condo, winner of the 1997 IFAI Award ofExcellence, Multi-Family ResidentialAwnings and Canopies.

First stepsMarco Alvarez of Fabric Images Inc. offers the following advice to

businesses thinking about entering the global marketplace:

“First, be patient. Second, understand the culture. Get to know what’s accepted, what’s not accepted. Get to know the business climate and the market, where the market currently is and how accepted for that market is your product. Spend some time and talk to people and just be patient. Depending on the country, it can take a long, long time to get products approved or to go through the legal system. So it just requires patience. And go in with an open mind.”

Marcbus

“F


http://www.gore.com/specfab

The right stuffMore than 8,200 registered participants from 58 countries joined IFAI’s

annual high-energy gathering of the specialty fabrics industry in Charlotte

this year. Dozens of expert speakers and hundreds of key suppliers met them

there, discussing the latest new product innovations and market trends:

smart fabrics and green solutions, sustainable design and value-added perfor-

mance to keep manufacturers meeting and exceeding customer demands.

We can only hit the highlights here, but keep reading: we’ll be using what

we’ve learned at IFAI Expo right up until next year’s show at the San Diego

Convention Center, Sept. 23–25, 2009. See you there!

IFAI Expo 2008 coverage compiled by Galynn Nordstrom, Kelly Frush and Sigrid Tornquist. Show photographers: © 2008 Foster & Associates–Atlanta, Bart Harris/Chicago.

Innovation,

inspiration…

and

perspiration

1208RV_39-47.indd 391208RV_39-47.indd 39 12/4/08 5:18:00 PM12/4/08 5:18:00 PM

EXPO 2008 » THE RIGHT STUFF

Our keynote speakers:

focus on LEADERSHIP

OPENING NIGHTHundreds of clearly energized but extremely hungry Expo participants joined Specialty Fabrics Review magazine and Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC for an opening-night reception at downtown Charlotte’s Founder’s Hall. Lively entertainment, a lavish spread and refreshments poured with a generous hand correctly punctuated the end of the first day

of IFAI Expo 2008 … and sur-rounded a caricaturist doing a land-office business draw-ing attendees for the cover of the Review. Has anyone seen this woman … ?

In addition to wide-ranging

educational opportunities and

an impressive array of the

industry’s state-of-the-art new

products, IFAI Expo 2008 put

customer needs center-stage

with a number of special

events and services:

• The new “Innovation Theater” in the exhibit hall gave exhibitors the opportunity to showcase their lat-est technological innovations, and allowed attendees to ask questions one-on-one.

• Design Exhibition 2008 displayed some of the world’s most creative uses of advanced textiles for health and safety (see page 10 of this issue for more details).

• The International Buyer’s Program offered U.S. exhibitors assistance in connecting with international buyers through the International Business Center. The U.S. Department of Commerce offered this designation to only 40 trade shows this year.

• IFAI’s 2008 International Achievement Awards received 408 entries from 16 countries. To see the complete list of winners, visit www.ifai.com.

• IFAI president Steve Warner and OFPANZ president Grant Clausen announced that the New Zealand-based organization had voted overwhelmingly to merge theirorganization into IFAI.

• IFAI announced the second Advanced Fabrics Conference, to take place in Brussels in April, 2009, and the first-ever IFAI Expo Asia, to take place in April 2010 in Singapore.

Highlights and high points

Lou Holtz

Tuesday morning, rising energy levels were clearly marked after opening speaker

Lou Holtz delivered his closing remarks as the opening-day keynote speaker at IFAI Expo 2008.

Holtz repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain a good attitude, and pointed out

that others on your team will mirror that attitude. A passion to win is key, which requires a thor-ough understanding of the competition. Holtz challenged listeners to be

better every day, build up weak links, keep customers satisfied and remember core val-ues. He also challenged all of us to keep up a sense of humor, whatever comes—a quality he demonstrated fully during his address.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

The distinguished author of Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln led

off the final day of IFAI Expo 2008 with a very different but equally in-spiring take on how to achieve real leadership. Kearns Goodwin quoted Lincoln in defining lead-ership as “the ability to rise above your frustra-tions,” and presented 10 principles embodied by Lincoln as he brought his former political rivals together in order to keep the country on course in a critical period in history. Her thoughtfully inspirational remarks clearly moved her listeners as they prepared for their final hours at the show.

40 REVIEW 12.08


http://www.ifai.com

Leading in greenSustainability is on everyone’s agenda in the specialty fabrics industry today, and IFAI Expo recognized that trend with the “Going Beyond Green” symposium held on Thursday, Oct. 23. A special section in the October issue of the Review (handed out at the show) highlighted those topics and speakers before and during the show. The editors also scoured the show floor for some new products that exemplify “green”; we can only include a few of them here, but they’ll be showing up regularly next year in these pages.

Dazian Fabrics offers three recycled fabric choices for digital print-ing made from post-industrial waste and

post-consumer plastic bottles. Saving 67,000 BTUs

of energy in production, Eco-Celtic Cloth is 100 percent recycled polyester. Eco-Janus conserves 40,000 BTUs, is 65 percent recy-cled polyester and 35 percent IFR polyes-ter; and Eco-Trapeze® saves 61,000 BTUs, a blend of 90 percent recycled polyester and 10 percent Lycra. www.dazian.com

Vulcana LLC uses recy-cled tires (at least 30 percent ) to create sheet rubber material called rubbRe™, avail-

able in multiple thick-nesses, colors and designs.

Also offered: fuzun™, a material that bonds hemp to its rubbRe sheets. Vulcana products are suitable for use in furniture, architectural projects, luggage and other applications. www.vulcana.net

GeoHay LLC barrier fil-tration products use recycled carpet fibers to be used in place of silt fences and grass

bales. Reusable and recyclable, the environ-

mentally friendly filtration products are also more cost effective than silt fencing or traditional bales. GeoHay is free of weeds, lasts the duration of most con-struction jobs, is consistent in size and weight, and can be stored outside in the open. www.geohay.com

From Li Peng Enterprise Co. Ltd.: Ecoya™, a solu-tion-dyed yarn, cuts down on the release of CO2 and COD by adding

the color masterbatch to the polymer melt before

extruding it into fiber. Water and chemicals are also conserved during this process, and the material remains colorfast to water, light and washing. Also offered is RePET™ polyester fibers recycled from used PET bottles. www.libolon.com.tw

R&M International Sales Corp. buys, sells and processes textile and plastic waste, scrap and by-products. The

trading company, which deals primarily in textile and

plastic raw materials, handles polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylic, cotton, wool, extrusion waste, film waste and more. www.rmintl.com

Earthtex® fabrics from Twitchell® Corp. are manufactured using energy drawn from solar, hydro, green

or renewable energy sources. Committed to

Cradle to Cradle® principles, Twitchell uses a closed loop manufacturing process, where water is constantly recycled in the manufacturing process. www.twitchell-

corp.com


Coated textiles producer Vintex Inc. uses several strategies to minimize environmental impacts. Vintex recycles and

reuses many materials, such as scrap, excess mate-

rial, packaging materials and discarded product. The company takes precautions in handling plasticizers and stabilizers, controls air quality and noise levels, and produces and disposes of PVC safely. www.

vintex.com

Greenzone Worldwide Inc. uses biopolymers to create 100 percent biodegradable fiber, yarn, film, sheet, injec-

tion-molded plastics and its All Green® fabric line.

These products are dissolved by microbes, enzymes and other natural processes, eliminating the need for recycling and its related, often high, costs. Greenzone uses polylactic acid to produce its materials, which creates strength, shock- and heat-resistance while remaining biodegrad-able. Characteristics of All Green fabrics are similar to those of polyethylene, poly-propylene, nylon, ABS and polycarbonate materials.

Greenzone also produces insect-repel-lent treated fabric Expel™, using an active ingredient that resembles the chemical makeup of chrysanthemums, flowers that are naturally less susceptible to [email protected]

Ferrari Textiles designs its new products with the environment in mind. It makes use of resources, encour-

ages safety, minimally impacts the environment,

and integrates renewable raw materials. Ferrari outfitted its production facilities with atmospheric emission treatment sys-tems several years before standards were set in place, and now makes sure only best safety and environmental practices are used. www.ferrari-textiles.com.


http://www.dazian.com

http://www.vulcana.net

http://www.geohay.com

http://www.libolon.com.tw

http://www.rmintl.com

http://www.twitchellcorp.com

http://www.vintex.com

http://www.vintex.com


http://www.ferrari-textiles.com


42 REVIEW 12.08

Mytec soft IT tools and solutions are dedicated to increasing the efficiency and profitability of mid-sized manu-facturers, with “train and transfer” software that can be run by staff. In order to stay profitable, you need a top-notch workforce and state-of-the-art tools to manage and analyze data. www.mytec-

soft.com

The 6th Annual Conference on Safety & Protective Fabrics

This year, the pre-show conference theme was fire protection, in a variety of applications. Speakers addressed multi-layer garment systems for firefighters, the reflective proper-

ties of aluminized fabrics, auto suit development for two different global standards, new and improved fire shelters for wildland firefighters, safety standards for electric arc protection, and how best to measure protection and comfort in heat-resistant clothing. The first day culminated in a field trip to Hendrick Motorsports, Concord, N.C., where attendees learned how protective technical fabrics are used in NASCAR.

One point that was reiterated again and again during the Safety & Protective conference was the importance of culture: Users often favor one type of protective apparel over another based on subjective impressions or group traditions. This wasn’t news to U.C. Davis stu-dents Edana Conlon, Danna Sadetsky, and Maureen Dougherty, three winners in this year’s Safety Products Student Design Challenge. While designing their entry (a wicking under-shirt to be worn under a ballistic vest), they not only used sweating manikins to simulate body moisture, but they also interviewed police officers about their preferences. The result? A work garment that really works.

IFAI Expo 2008 offered innovative

symposiums, hands-on workshops,

special educational sessions,

inspirational speakers and state-of-

the-art new products, all targeting

strategic issues and market oppor-

tunities. Growth areas in the indus-

try: energy-saving awnings, medical

textiles and health care products,

fabrics and finishes for fine-tuned

performance, safety and protective

fabrics, fabrics in transportation

(land, sea and space), innovations

in fabric graphics, and fabric

architecture: how to build greener,

smarter, sustainable structures.

Today’s fabrics, tomorrow’s EXPO 2008 » THE RIGHT STUFF

Thermal comfort testing equipment from Measurement Technology Northwestoffers innovative design, comprehen-sive technical support and cutting-edge features. The thermal manikin fam-ily begins with “Newton,” a carbon-fiber model in various sizes that has sweating, walking and breathing options to make it a complete and versatile research tool. www.

mtnw-usa.com

Shandong Yuxin/Shenghao Fiber Glass Co. Ltd. is engaged in the research, develop-ment, production and sales of high-quality fiberglass products, including filament drawing, twisting, weaving and coating workshops. Main products include C-glass and E-glass fiber yarn, fiberglass and poly-ester geogrids, fiberglass wall covering, alkali-resistant mesh, PVC-coated yarn, sun sheet and fiberglass insect screening, and more. www.fiberglasscn.com

Fabric graphicsSustainability was key, whether the subject was fabrics, inks or printers. Dye sublimation and color management were also highlighted in discussions.

• The roll-to-roll inkjet signage forecast is projected to grow from $2.4 billion in 2005 to $5.4 billion in 2010, according to Patti Williams of I.T. Strategies. Digital printing will bring back the localized textile industry in the United States and Europe—not the textile mills.

• Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, says Dazian Fabrics’ Jon Weingartner. Green business is important to the industry, not only green products.

• Color output is the product of materials, equipment, environment, process, and people. Physical variables can be addressed with technology; psychological ones with procedures, according to Fabric Images’ Robert Santos.


http://www.mytecsoft.com

http://www.mtnw-usa.com

http://www.mtnw-usa.com

http://www.fiberglasscn.com


Value added: the fi nishing touchWednesday’s symposium on Fabrics & Finishes for Consumer Demands put the textile industry under a microscope—literally. Auburn University’s Dr. Sabit Adanur began the morning with an overview of nanotechnology and its uses in textile technology: stain resistance, flame resistance, static control, moisture management, UV protection, and antimicrobial activity, among others. Other speakers presented specific fabric innovations, including: light-activated germ-killing fabrics, flexible luminescent lights, portable roll-up photovoltaic panels, waterproof yet breathable ePTFE, and “greener” laminating and coating with hot melts.

Because safety must always be a concern in research and development, the consultants of Brookville, Md.-based Marchica & Deppa LLC touched on manufacturers’ and importers’ responsibilities with regard to public health.

Developing adaptive clothing that worksAdaptive clothing is considered a Class I medical device, but nei-ther the garment industry nor the medical industry is responding to the clothing needs of the aging and disabled, says Ruth Clark, president of Prestige Health Care in Kamloops, B.C., Canada. Her goal is to “build an association of companies supplying adaptive clothing,” because it’s a health issue, a professional issue, an economic issue—and a family issue. Clark visited IFAI Expo 2008’s exhibit hall to do some interviews as part of her drive to shoot a series of videos on adaptive clothing, which will be marketed globally in a number of different languages. For informa-tion, visit www.fashionmoves.org.

s applications

Heating and cooling solutions from Schaefer Ventilation Equipment for rental and special events includes fans, mist rings, portable electric and propane heat-ers, and the WayCool® portable evapora-tive cooler, which combines small size, low cost and excellent cool air output. All models can be used as a stand-alone unit or connected to a water supply. www.

schaeferfan.com

Huntsman Textile Effects delivers products to textile finishers, and offers partnership and value to companies across the supply chain. One example: Pyrovatex®, which offers the maximum combination of overall flame and heat protection and excellent comfort in treated garments, for use in a variety of industries from oil and metal welding to military/police and firefighting. www.huntsman.com

Enduring aesthetics for long-lasting fabric structures: Tenara® architectural fabrics from W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., made from 100 percent fluoropolymer, a high-strength PTFE fabric coated with a flexible fluoropolymer to be waterproof and weld-able. Patented, double-coated technology produces a fabric with high light transmis-sion, great flexibility and long life. www.

wlgore.com

Medical and health care demand

Textile advancements, including silver-based antimicrobials and antiviral textiles, are paramount in new research and product development for the medical and healthcare mar-ket segments. The Medical Textiles Symposium, co-organized with North Carolina State University, College of Textiles, covered barrier protection performance standards, antimi-crobial and antiviral textiles, nonwovens, nanotechnology, and global market trends for medical textiles and healthcare products.

According to research by Hang Liu, Ting Chi and Karen Leonas of Washington State University, and Peter Kilduff, California State Polytechnic University, the global market for medical textiles was worth approximately U.S. $8 billion in 2007, consuming 2.1 mil-lion metric tons of fiber per year. Nonwovens hold the largest market share at 75 percent, and are growing at a rate of 6 percent. The remaining fabrics are growing at a rate of 2 per-cent, with wovens accounting for 20 percent of the market share and knits for 5 percent.

Opportunities for growth, spurred by an aging world population, are apparent in the increasing demand for existing products and the need for developing antimicrobial and tissue-engineering products.

Never Ruthless: Ruth Clark, president of Prestige Health Care, and Ruth Stephens, managing director of IFAI’s Safety & Protective Products Division, enjoyed a refreshing conversation at Wednesday’s International Reception. Photo: Foster & Associates/Atlanta



http://www.fashionmoves.org

http://www.schaeferfan.com

http://www.schaeferfan.com

http://www.huntsman.com

http://www.wlgore.com

http://www.wlgore.com

44 REVIEW 12.08


Expanding business markets: China, India, Brazil

Offering market-based insights into growing regions of the worldwide technical textiles marketplace, four distinguished speakers shared their views about business opportuni-

ties, cultural, economic and infrastructure backgrounds, and local manufacturing trends and viewpoints. After an introduction by OTEXA’s Mary Lynn Landgraf, Dr. James Chan talked about how China is moving from being the world’s factory to becoming a major consumer of imported products, and also moving into higher value, high-tech areas with higher profit margins. It’s vital to build relationships with the people you’ll be doing business with, he emphasized, and noted that “Whatever you do—be aware that piracy is taken for granted.”

Samir Gupta with Business Coordination House Pvt. Ltd. discussed India’s trade advan-tages: a growing economy, a young and skilled workforce, and a liberal investment regime, with widespread urbanization.

The U.S. is Brazil’s single largest trading partner, said Rubens Gama, Minister for Com-mercial Affairs, Embassy of Brazil, and Brazil is undergoing a period of sustained economic growth, fueled by international investment, with a growing middle class. High taxes and poor infrastructure offer challenges, but there is a growing consumer market.

BKS Textiles, located in Tamil Nadu, India, has now expanded its production capability to include coated fabrics. The company also produces finished fabrics, including those treated for water repel-lency, wicking and anti-bacterial quali-ties. www.bkstextiles.in

With registered participants

from 58 countries this year, IFAI

Expo 2008 continues to expand

its international presence and

global market outlook. Some of

the high points: The International

Buyer’s Program, the International

Achievement Awards, the merg-

ing of New Zealand’s OFPANZ into

IFAI, special exhibitor pavilions

for Germany and China, Advanced

Textiles 2009 in Brussels and IFAI

Expo Asia 2010 in Singapore.

The FIAB PTFE welder from FIAB HF AB in Lysekil, Sweden, has dual heads from top and dual plates from bottom for heating and cooling. The gantry frame allows generous space for material handling. Comes with optional remote control. www.fiabhf.se

The San® 5 Gebedur® sewing needle from Groz-Beckert of Albstadt, Ger-many, offers high needle stability in com-bination with an optimum of penetra-tion work. Special design of the working area results in high bend-resistance in comparison to a standard needle. www.

groz-beckert.com

NEW

INTERNATIONAL RECEPTIONWednesday evening, hundreds of Expo participants (attendees and exhibitors) joined us in the Charlotte Convention Center’s Ballroom B for a relaxing drink after a successful day doing business at the show. IFAI president Steve Warner welcomed OFPANZ visitors from New Zealand to IFAI membership, and followed up on the announcement of the upcoming Advanced Textiles show in Brussels and IFAI Expo Asia 2010 in Singapore.

An international affair


http://www.bkstextiles.in

http://www.fiabhf.se

http://www.groz-beckert.com

http://www.groz-beckert.com

International Buyer ProgramFor the second year, IFAI Expo received the International Buyer Program designation from the U.S. Department of Commerce, one of only 40 trade shows to receive it this year. The program assisted attendees in maximizing their international market-

ing potential by setting up an International Business Center (IBC) at IFAI Expo 2008. The center offered U.S. exhibitors complimentary services, including international sales leads, business-matching facilities, export counselors, interpreters and a private conference room.

This year, several promising contacts for U.S. textile export-ers visited the IBC, including companies from India, China, Argentina, France, Germany, U.K., Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil, to name a few. Representatives from the Department of Commerce referred these and other companies to exhibitors at the show.

These services will also be available at IFAI Expo 2009 in San Diego.

IFAI Japan Business TourThis year, despite a troublesome economy, 23 IFAI Japan members came for IFAI Expo 2008, 15 of whom were first-time visitors. “They were fascinated by the show, the beauty of the city and the energy they felt from visitors around the world and the hard-working staffs,” said IFAI Japan executive director Kikuko Tagawa. For the first time, a seminar was presented in Japanese: “Art of Shelter,” by Fabric Images’ Ms. Yayoi Nagata, a presentation that discussed the relationship of Japanese cul-ture, traditional design and fashion to architecture.

Obetex, from Obeikan Co. Ltd. of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a line of seamless PVC-coated polyester fabrics for architectural applications requiring mechanically strong fabric with weights ranging from 26.6-36.6 oz/yd2 (700gsm-1250gsm). Applications include temporary and permanent mem-brane structures, event tents, work tents and medical tents. www.obeflex.com

What we heardDuring the show, we asked participants about current trends and emerging opportunities in the marketplace.

THE ECONOMY

Even with the economic downturn, companies are spending money on business automation.

The companies who succeed are the ones who are innovative, aggressive and offer quality products at a reasonable price.

In this economy, it’s important to be seen.

DIGITAL GRAPHICS

The ability to print on “non-special” fabrics is changing the printing industry.

There’s an emerging trend toward digital designing for printing on textiles. In Italy, the industry has crossed the threshold to where they are only designing in digital now.

AWNINGS AND SHADE

Because of the need for energy savings, the U.S. will follow Europe in its use of retractable awnings.

Commercial awnings are doing well, although the residential market is tough right now. Looks at this as a time to increase market share.

FABRICS

Performance fabrics are moving from specialty to consumer—to mattresses, upholstery and fashion, not just safety and protective applications.

Nonwoven fabrics are starting to take over the functions of wovens.

EMERGING MARKETS

There is a lack of education about adaptive clothing; the garment industry is not responding to the needs of the aging and disabled.

In Europe, there’s a focus on safety and protective products. Companies doing research and launching new product lines in this market are doing quite well.



http://www.obeflex.com


46 REVIEW 12.08


Land, sea and space

Transportation materials and applications have advanced to meet stringent materials specifications, and have adapted across different transportation markets, from land,

to sea, to outer space. Participants at the Materials in Transportation—Land, Sea and Space symposium took in a comprehensive itinerary of topics: trends, challenges and commonalities within the transportation market were discussed, as well as specific and product-based topics such as carbon fiber and deployable textile structures for the marine industry, an overview of the global automotive market and its technological challenges, and the unique applications of composites and special textiles for the aerospace industry. As NASA prepares to return to the moon, it could be a whole new adventure.

Plas-Tech Sealing Technologies LLC offers contract manufacturing, R.F. weld-ing and dielectric sealing, contract sewing, research and development, assembly, silk screening, order fulfillment and packaging services. Industries served: medical, rec-reational, automotive, health and wellness and travel. www.plastechsealing.com

Software solutions for plastics, composites and performance materials from Jomar Softcorp Intl. include nylon resins, PVC adhesives, tire cord, airbags, headliners and cables, PVC roofing, molded insoles, formed carpet backings, lumbar seat supports and much, much more. Mar-kets served include military, aerospace, construction, marine, automotive, sports, medical, filtration and geosynthetics. www.

jomarsoftcorp.com

Freudenberg Evolon® is a unique micro-filament fabric that is dense, strong and isotropic, but soft, drapable and lightweight as well. Highly absorbent fabric is solvent- and binder-free and has been granted Oeko-Tex 100 class 1 certification, for uses ranging from high-tech wiping to bedding to signage to acoustic seating and auto interiors. www.freudenberg-nw.com

Specialty foam fabricator UFP Technologies solves manufacturing and packaging prob-lems with foam, or foam combined with other materials such as thermoformed plastics or specialty fabrics. Primary mar-kets served include computers and elec-tronics, medical and scientific, aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer and industrial. www.ufpt.com

Cramaro Tarp Systems include Slide ‘n Go™, Flip ‘n Go™, Mentor™ cable systems, side-roll systems, Super Liners, Tarp-All™ for flat bed trucks and stock flip tarps for any use, plus replacement tarps and parts. Six locations service more than 20 countries around the world. www.cramarotarps.com

Vectran® fiber from Kuraray America Inc.is spun from liquid crystal polymer for exceptional strength and rigidity, high abrasion and chemical resistance and outstanding vibration damping. Vectran knitted fabrics, available in multi-filament, spun and hybrid varieties, offer resistance to cutting, punctures, abrasion and heat. www.vectranfiber.com

On the moveThis year, another educational

emphasis at IFAI Expo 2008 is on the

burgeoning transportation markets

around the world. Advanced fabrics

are vital not only for countries with

developing infrastructures, but for

maintaining and developing the high-

tech surfaces and systems coming to

the forefront as mass transportation

becomes increasingly important.

From land to sea to stratosphere

to orbit, technical fabrics play an

increasing role.


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Dear Steve:As you know, it’s not often that I am without words. But

when I saw my name on the screen it was truly a moment in

which I had to catch my breath, and literally could not speak

(despite the urging by Jeff Kirk to “say something” as

Scott was reading some of my history). What I would

really like to say is that it has always been, as it still is

today, important for those of us who benefit from the

profession we’re in to contribute to that profession.

For me and Carmen and our family at A & R, it is we

who work to honor our industry by bringing an under-

standing of its value to our society and our individual

companies. So to be honored by IFAI this way is truly a deeply

appreciated recognition of the validity of those principles.

As wonderful as it is to receive such an honor, what is of

paramount importance is living up to the vision embodied in our

values in pursuing the goals of our businesses—and through our

businesses, our industry itself. IFAI has been the vehicle for us to

do that, and it’s important that we recognize IFAI for that role,

and work to encourage the participation of everyone, and every

company working in our industry, to identify with it. For me,

personally, this is why we recommend, push, question, support,

criticize, encourage, and … in short, try to provide IFAI with the

best resources possible.Thanks to you and the IFAI Board for this recognition.

Bud


A lifetime of achievementAR Tech’s Bud Weisbart, IFM, was one of six long-time industry members honored at Thursday night’s Chairman’s Gala with an “Honored Life Member” award from IFAI (see The Insider, page 69). He sent this letter to IFAI president Steve Warner, and gave us permission to publish it in this issue:

In recognition

Student Design Challenge for safetyThe winners of the 5th Annual Safety Products Student Design Challenge were announced at the Safety & Protective Products Division Annual Meeting dur-ing IFAI Expo 2008. First-place winners were on-site and presented their projects to show attendees. Cash awards to students and schools are sponsored by the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI) of IFAI, and the travel and room awards by the Safety & Protective Products Division of IFAI.

FIRST PLACE

Danna Sadetsky, Edana Conlon, Maureen Kelly Dougherty,

University of California, Davis

Professor: You-Lo Hsieh

The Moisture Management Protective Shell was designed to increase the

comfort and performance of wearers of bulletproof vests by providing a

garment that reduces moisture collection on the skin. Skin perspiration

can “weigh down” wearers with moisture; also, sweating heavily in a

cold climate can lead to hypothermia. Students analyzed the data and

designed a shell—or undershirt—with excellent “wicking” abilities and

improved breathability.

SECOND PLACE

Stacey Wenzel, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Professor: Karen LaBat

In 1998, hunting was the fourth highest cause of outdoor fatalities, with

most deaths occuring when victims were mistaken for game. The Kids’

Camouflage Safety Hunting Suit, in blaze orange, is wind-, water- and

snow-proof, with an insulation layer of polar fleece. Since warmth is

more important than ventilation while sitting on a deer stand, the one-

piece design keeps the wind out at the waist and through the use of wind

flaps and straps at the hands and feet.

THIRD PLACE

Laura Musekamp, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Professor: Karen LaBat

The Men’s Cold-Weather Sailing Outfit features a jacket and pants to

protect the body from harsh sailing conditions. Wind flaps, hand-warmer

pockets and self-draining pockets, a high collar and cinch-cords restrict

cold air. An emergency hood features a strip of reflective tape and a

hook for attaching a safety whistle to aid rescue personnel in case the

wearer goes overboard.

1 2 3

A record 408 project entries from 16 countries were submitted for the 2008 International Achievement Award Competition for textile design excellence. Congratulations to this year’s winners! View all the entries and the winning projects at www.ifai.com.



http://www.ifai.com

Come to the largest specialty fabricstrade show in the Americas.» 500 top suppliers unveil a dynamic showcase of existing

and emerging technologies

» Designated as an International Buyer Program by the U.S. Department of Commerce

» Dozens of symposiums and training workshops provide valuable educational resources

» 8,000 registered participants from more than 60 countries— a marketplace for connecting with the right resources

IFAI Expo is a powerful business investment.

PLAN NOW

TO ATTEND

Contact IFAI Expo Show Management to get involved

» For exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, contact

Sarah Hyland at +1 651 225 6950, or [email protected]

» For education and training suggestions, and speaker

proposals, contact Jill Rutledge at +1 651 225 6981,

or [email protected]

» To receive registration information or a letter of

invitation for international travel, contact Tracie Coopet

at +1 651 225 6947, or [email protected]

The Commercial Service logo is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Commerce, used with permission.

San Diego Convention Center

San Diego, CA

Sept. 23-25, 2009

WWW.IFAIEXPO.COM

IFAI Expo ‘09 » San Diego

The Right Products »The Right Information » The Right Event

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Sf FocusEXPO WATCHBUSINESSMARKETSWORLD VIEWSCONNECTIONS

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Sf Focus

Our focus is youWhich session topics and content subjects will help you with your business?

IFAI Expo 2008 in Charlotte, N.C., had a record-breaking 8,210 registered participants from 58 countries—con-tinuing its reign as the largest specialty fabrics trade show in the Americas. No other industry textile show draws buyers from all levels of the supply chain in such

a diverse range of markets. For three days exhibitors displayed an impressive array of new products, smart fabrics, green solutions and innovative new kinds of high-performance and sustainable design.

With our IFAI Expo 2009 call for topics, we want to make sure that we continue the tradition next year.

This is your opportunity to identify the right topics and the right information you need to further your training and industry expertise. Educational topics can focus on anything from business best practices to manufacturing strategies to the latest technical product developments. Sales people, designers and fabricators gain insights and skills in these focused educational events custom-designed for the specialty fabrics industry.

Our goals for IFAI Expo 2009 attendance program are to bring together all the members of the international specialty fabrics community, including fiber and fabric producers, end-product manufacturers, government representatives, architects, and business entrepreneurs from multiple niche-segments of the industry to form a complete vision of what tomorrow might hold. In other words: real-world business intelligence that can help your business succeed.

Each year more than 100 industry experts contribute to doz-ens of original, interactive symposiums and workshops teaching the entire value chain about high-performance strategies.

You can help shape this vital educational program by identifying session topics and content subjects you want to experience at IFAI Expo 2009 in San Diego.

The IFAI Expo 2009 Call for Educational Topics offers opportunities to suggest program ideas, subject matter and interested speakers. This is your chance to customize your training experience and help create a successful conference for you, your employees and your peers.

Please submit your topic and speaker ideas by January 5, 2009, at www.ifaiexpo.com.

If you have any questions, please contact Jill Rutledge, direc-tor of events, at +1 651 225 6981, [email protected].

Some key theme areas for 2009 include:

> Research and development

> Product manufacturing

> Design and architecture

> Green technology

> Global expansion

> Business and leadership

> Sales and marketing

> Equipment innovations

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http://www.ifaiexpo.com


Sf FocusEXPO WATCH

BUSINESSMARKETS

WORLD VIEWS CONNECTIONS


http://www.TopTecProducts.com



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A flight to qualityWorking to stay healthy in an ailing economy.

by Susan Niemi

With news of the economy a daily presence, whether one opens investment statements or not, leaders in the U.S. specialty fab-rics industry remain optimistic about the health of the industry.

The Review magazine talked to several industry leaders dur-ing IFAI Expo 2008 held in Charlotte, N.C., October 21-23.

“Even with the severity of the current global crisis, there are long-term opportunities for the specialty fabrics indus-try. These include innovative products targeted to specific end-users to reach consumers worldwide. Companies who recognize these opportunities have the ability for growth once the economic situation becomes more stable,” says Steve Ellington.

Jeff Dimos adds, “We like to remain optimistic and discount some of what is in the media; there is room for successful com-panies.” Frank Sinclair echoes that comment: “Business is not as bad as we were told it would be.”

Stating that the economic volatility is having an impact on the industry, Pete McKernan summarizes his perspective: “We believe the specialty fabrics industry in North America continues to provide vibrant leadership for innovative prod-ucts and services.”

More than moneyCompanies are continuing to do business and moving ahead with their plans, but of course economic issues are influenc-ing decisions. Sinclair says, “People are cautious and making deliberate moves as needed.”

David Clarke talks about the current economy with an eye on the future. “I am highly concerned over the impact of the economic crisis. I think we will see many underfinanced, smaller to mid-size companies in serious financial trouble. In my view, companies will need to be careful with capital spending and will seriously need to manage operating costs. This is a time to be very conservative.”

Along with economic issues, other factors facing the indus-try include: consolidations; increased competition; the cost of raw materials, labor and transportation; globalization and trade policies.

People interviewed for this article

David Clarke, Group DirectorTenCate Geosynthetics

Jeff Dimos, Executive Vice PresidentMiller Weldmaster Corp.

Steve Ellington, PresidentGlen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC

Pete McKernan, IFM, PresidentHerculite Products Inc.

Frank Sinclair, PresidentSinclair Equipment Co.

Joey Underwood, Senior Vice PresidentTechnical Products Group, Safety Components Fabric Technologies Inc.



52 REVIEW 12.08

Sf FocusEXPO WATCH

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Webbing | Fasteners | Soft Goods | Hot CuttersLOWY

www.lowyusa.com

Providing quality components & service to manufacturers around the world since 1970.

310.763.1111 | [email protected]

Eradicating boundariesGlobalization has been evolving rapidly and will continue to change the nature of business. We live in a world where consumers are the recipients of the greatest benefits (cheaper products) and producers tend to face the great-est challenges (more competition).1

Industry leaders interviewed for this article stressed the importance of seeing the oppor-tunities in globalization. With 95 percent of potential customers for American products living outside the United States, this reality is important.2

McKernan describes the expected and unexpected consequences of globlization: “To an extent, increased competition has increased choice; more importantly, it has forced everyone to clearly focus on their value proposition. In this environment, some have done well, some have not.”

“Those roaming the globe for ever-cheaper but rarely better alternatives,” McKernan continues, “are now facing a contracting credit market, extended lead times, exorbi-tant transportation costs, unreliable supply,

Invest in innovationAn economic downtown is no reason to stop spending on

innovation. An upcoming article in the January 2009 Journal

of Marketing says “Radical innovation is an important driver

of the growth, success, and wealth of firms and nations.”

The authors’ theory suggests that in the current economic

environment in major nations across the world, the inter-

nal culture of firms may be the most important driver of

innovation. They argue that new products using different

technologies and providing greater customer benefit will

drive new growth. See “Radical innovation in firms across

the nations: The preeminence of corporate culture” at www.

marketingpower.com.


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http://www.coletech.net


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From our next presidentFollowing is part of a letter dated Oct., 2008, from president-elect Barack Obama in response to a questionnaire sent to the Obama campaign by the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO).

“But I am especially aware of the trade challenges faced by those working in our textile industries. When safeguards on tex-tile imports from China expired in 2004, imports surged and thousands of jobs were lost. I support Chairman Rangel’s call for the United States International Trade Commis-sion to monitor textile imports from China. As president, I would use monitoring to help ensure that imports from China do not violate applicable laws and treaties. I support the requirement in the Berry Amendment that the Defense Department procure only textiles made in the United States. I also support inclusion of the yarn forward rule in free trade agreements, to ensure that countries with which we enter special trade relationships do not become conduits for source yarn outside those countries.”

substandard products, questionable business practices and recalls du jour. As a result, we are seeing a flight to quality—not just in product but in strategic partnerships.”

Succeeding at home and abroadAs businesses strive to succeed in a competitive global marketplace—in a difficult economy—a few themes stand out.

Joey Underwood speaks about the impor-tance of companies trying to diversify and bring more value to their products. He says, “Everyone is trying to add value and diversify, so innovation and increased R&D is needed. It is difficult with less money, but it is the only long-term solution.” Underwood adds that companies need to expand their capacity to import and capability to export, and position themselves to supply overseas markets.

“The focus and spending should be towards innovation and differentiation,” says

”



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http://www.rivetsunlimited.com

54 REVIEW 12.08

SuperTex_0806RV-3rdH 1 7/28/06 10:16:05 AM

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Clarke, “as successful companies will need to set themselves apart with products and service versus the lower-cost producers in Asia and the Middle East. The strong companies will emerge by managing very carefully over the coming two years.”

Ellington comments on the importance of communication with customers. “Consum-ers are seeking more understanding about products from the technical side. Companies need to communicate benefits.”

McKernan emphasizes quality: “Deliver-ing high-quality products and services never goes out of style, and the implications of the total cost of ownership will continue to reward those focused on optimizing value for their customer.”

Emerging marketsClarke takes the global view of emerging markets. “In the medium-to-longer term, I think there are opportunities for fabrics that address global geopolitical themes,” he says. “The greatest potential will be in safety and protection, water management, and climate change. The innovative companies that can capitalize on these themes with value-added products will have an advantage over the basic textile producers.”

Other emerging markets will demand smart fabrics (high performance technical textiles) and green fabrics (biodegradable and recyclable products) that respond to sustain-able initiatives.

1 ”State of the Industry,” The Industrial Fabric Products Review, May 2006. For more information about global-ization and U.S. trade agreements go to http://www.ifai.com/Home/review_archive/2006.cfm

2 Remarks prepared by the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, December 7, 2007.

Susan Niemi is editorial director at the Industrial Fabrics Association International. She can be reached at +1 651 225 6984, [email protected].


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Fabric in the fast laneGeotextiles cut costs, protect the environment and increase safety

on one of America’s deadliest highways.

by Jake Kulju

The warm summer sunshine, winding blacktop roads and pristine saltwater marshes of South Carolina are more often associated with car commercials than they are with car crashes. But in 2005, the South Carolina Department

of Transportation (SCDOT) recognized U.S. Highway 17, a heavily traveled road in the eastern part of the state, as one of the deadliest roads in the nation. From January 1997 through February 2005, nearly 1,000 automobile accidents, including 33 fatalities, were recorded. The long-awaited U.S. 17 widening project was designed by state and county officials to improve safety for a stretch of highway from Gardens Corner to the Combahee River. The project became a priority for the SCDOT Commission after a series of fatal crashes.

Also known as the Ocean Highway, U.S. 17 runs 1,189 miles along the southeast coast from Virginia to Florida. More than 200 of those miles pass through South Carolina. Previous construction projects in the state improved 173 of those miles, but a 6-mile stretch of heavily traveled road from Beaufort County to Colleton County was left unimproved. In 2004, funding was provided to finish the highway project. To stay within budget and provide a safe and long-lasting road, the SCDOT turned to geotextiles.

Wider road, lower price The project is straightforward: the two-lane highway is being expanded to a four-lane highway, in three phases. The unique setting and budget constraints are what make this a challeng-

ing project. SCDOT Project Manager Chris Hernandez says the uniqueness of the area makes it vital to protect its natural beauty. Designers looked for ways to create a long-lasting road that would have little impact on the environment.

The project was divided into three phases to accelerate construction and reduce the impact on motorists. Construc-tion has begun for the three miles in Phase 1 and two miles in Phase 2; the preliminary design is currently underway for Phase 3. This 6-mile design and construction carries an estimated $80 million price tag and will have a significant

To stay within budget on improving U.S. 17 and provide a safe and long-lasting road, the South Carolina Department of Transportation turned to geotextiles.



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impact on motorists. Project designers chose a woven polypropylene geotextile from Thrace-LINQ Inc., Summerville, S.C., to assure that no premature maintenance during the life of the road would be necessary.

Because most pavements fail prematurely due to base contamination and the subsequent loss of strength and drainability, prudent designs today achieve quality construction by starting with a separation/stabilization geotextile beneath the road. The geotextile lowers initial project costs and reduces the need for future road maintenance.

For the upgraded U.S. 17, two lanes of traffic in each direction are separated by a 100-foot wide median. Because of the weak, silty subgrade and the potential for high precipita-tion and groundwater levels in this marshy region, the geotextile was placed on the pre-pared subgrade. The road base aggregate was then placed directly onto the geotextile for improved stability and drainage.

The geotextile layer enabled the perma-nent separation and filtration of the subgrade and base aggregate to keep the subgrade fines from migrating up into the aggregate base while allowing the base layer to drain. This important function maintains the long-term strength and drainability of the aggregate base. In addition, the added layer enhances the stabilization of both the subgrade and the base aggregate through confinement and local reinforcement.

The design and cost benefits gained from using a geotextile are impressive. The geotextile layer used for this project costs

To help with road stability and drainage, a woven polypropylene geotextile from Thrace-LINQ was placed on the prepared subgrade, and then covered with the road base aggregate.


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no more than 1-2 inches of aggregate and provides significant life-lengthening and maintenance-saving qualities to the road. Weston Newton, chairman of Beaufort County Council and the Beaufort Country Transportation Advisory Group, says the widening of this stretch of U.S. 17 has been a priority for Beaufort County for some time and that the cost-effective long-term vision of this project is what made it possible.

Protecting the environmentU.S. 17 cuts through the lowland area known as the ACE Basin, where the Ashe-poo, Combahee and Edisto rivers converge and meander past old plantation homes, cypress swamps and tidal marshes. This valuable habitat provides food and shelter to hundreds of different plants and animals.

Additionally, the low country basin is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast. State and county authorities naturally wanted to preserve its pristine nature during reconstruction of the highway and in the realized design.

Bald eagles, short-nosed sturgeon, log-gerhead turtles and other endangered spe-cies are among the wildlife that call this area home. The nearby Nemours Planta-tion also protects a large 9,800-acre area of diverse habitats including remnant rice fields, fresh and brackish water marshes, pine groves, hardwood forests and large stands of cypress trees.

In an effort to maintain the integrity of the habitat, part of this project will include a 100-foot median to preserve valuable tree canopies, says Hernandez.



http://www.dafproducts.com

58 REVIEW 12.08

The era of bio-degradable fabrics has arrived!

It is time to save the

globe in which we

are living... there is

an innovative answer.

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“We did a tremendous amount of tree surveys because this area has a large number of significant and specimen oak trees,” he says. “We made a commitment to save as many of those as possible.”

Along the route, engineers will be install-ing several guardrails and possibly tree wells, which stabilize trees and protect their root structure. Silt fencing is also being installed, which will protect the area marshland by pro-viding erosion control, Hernandez says.

To allow animals to continue to migrate through the wetlands, two 100-foot flat slab bridges will be erected. Informally named “critter crossings,” these thoroughfares will be used by snakes, deer, armadillos and alligators.

Former SCDOT project manager Wilson Elgin oversaw the development of the envi-ronmental documents and permitting at the beginning of the project.

“I think it’s a worthwhile project because it addresses safety as well as the environmental concerns,” Elgin said.

The agency coordination team included several state and federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geo-logical Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Department of Defense, and a local presence, including the ACE Basin Task Force.

Jake Kulju is a freelance writer based in St. Paul, Minn. Jaclyn Deter of VantagePoint, Greenville, S.C., contributed to this article.

Turn to page 78 for contact information on the sources used in this article.


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2009 INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDSRecognizing specialty fabrics design excellence

Each year the International Achievement Awards challenge specialty fabric

companies around the world to compete with their best work, and each year

the competition witnesses spectacular results. We invite specialty fabric

professionals to enter projects in 28 categories to showcase your company’s

innovation, technical skill, and design excellence. See all 408 entries from

last year online at www.ifai.com.

enter at www.ifai.com | entry deadline: June 15, 2009

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Welcome to the roller coasterFabric makers depend doubly on oil, for fuel and for raw materials. High

and volatile petroleum prices make it an interesting few quarters.

by Marc Hequet

How are you managing in this slalom economy? Staying flexible? Not signing long-term, fixed-price contracts? Scouring your shop for ef-ficiencies? Sourcing globally?

Those are top industry pros’ suggestions—that, and holding on for dear life as you zigzag your way through high and volatile prices for petroleum.

When oil prices spike, the specialty fabrics business is doubly at risk, because oil provides much of the sector’s raw material as well as the energy to produce and deliver the goods.

Even when oil prices drop, however, it can be bad as well. What if you price a job based on high oil prices—and subse-quent competitors’ bids based on just-falling prices leave you all alone out there on the high end?

Crack the whipOil prices may well stay on the roller coaster as the world economy lurches on. Yet only eight-tenths of one percent of all oil goes to make synthetic fibers, which puts fabrics at the tail in a global game of of crack-the-whip.

Fabric manufacturer Highland Industries Inc. of Greens-boro, N.C., has seen some raw-material costs jump 40 percent since January 2008. “I can’t increase my prices fast enough to keep up with what’s going on,” laments Bret Kelley, director of sales and marketing.

Recession may slow that runup in energy and feedstock prices; but if refiners cut production, prices may well stabi-lize on the high side, says Patrick Bell, director of sourcing

for raw materials with Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, Burlington, N.C.

Raising your own prices is part of the solution—but only part. And raising prices too fast can be counterproductive. “We know we’re going to lose customers if we try to pass that through,” says Bell. So Glen Raven offsets higher costs by finding efficiencies. With 3,000 employees on three con-tinents, it can source globally and use vertical integration to minimize costs.

Smaller organizations can’t do that to the same extent, if at all—yet small also means flexible, and flexibility is key in times like these. Here’s a summary of ideas from industry sources:> Eat some of your higher costs. Pass others along, perhaps

using surcharges.

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62 REVIEW 12.08

Sf FocusEXPO WATCH

BUSINESSMARKETS


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Alpha_0806RV_3rdH.indd 1 7/25/06 3:09:01 PMUntitled-2 1 2/28/07 4:16:38 PM

> Don’t sign long-term deals at fixed prices. Play it month by month.

> Shop for low feedstock prices worldwide, remembering that higher shipping costs can offset lower prices from farther away.

> When you find good prices, buy and stock-pile if you can.

> Plan ahead with customers. Ask their needs for several months in advance so you can arrange to have materials on hand just

in time.> If your suppliers raise prices—ask why.

What happened?Oil and fiber prices dropped during the 1990s, notes Alasdair Carmichael, president for the Americas with PCI Fibres, a Spartanburg, S.C., market-research firm covering the petrochemical-to-fiber supply chain.

Consequently, synthetic-fiber producers and users grew comfortable with long-term contracts even if the deal didn’t include a clause to protect sellers from hikes in raw materials prices.

Then began a steady oil-price climb of 70 percent between 2000 and 2005. By mid 2008, oil prices had more than tripled over 2005, before dropping again at the start of the fourth quarter.

Raw material costs for synthetic fibers rose with oil prices, but rates varied widely. Fibers such as polypropylene that require just a few steps from oil to polymer showed the most dramatic price increases, nearly quadrupling from 2003 to mid 2008. Polyester, on the other hand, requires more processing. Its key raw materials merely doubled in price during the same period.

That all hurts, but markets adjust. Indeed, could high shipping costs shorten supply chains, boosting national or regional man-ufacturing? Maybe. Fuel costs won’t “dic-tate manufacturing geographies,” predicts Highland Industries’ Kelley, but he does see more opportunities for providers located near customers.

Glen Raven’s Bell, going further, antici-pates “an increased awareness” of the benefits of manufacturing close to customers. Glen Raven already makes its Sunbrella® fabric in China for the Chinese market. As transporta-tion costs rise, says Bell, “it pays to be where your customers are.”

It costs to be where they are, too. Hudson Awning Inc. of Bayonne, N.J., began using a fuel surcharge for its awning-cleaning services and has tried to bundle jobs in the same area to minimize fuel costs.

Hudson doesn’t want to nickel-and-dime awning buyers, including prestigious Manhat-tan retailers. When the company shipped a job for retail client Ralph Lauren to Dubai, Hudson ate the surcharge. “Last year at this time,” sighs Lynda Burak, Hudson vice presi-dent, “we would have been $150 richer.”

She’s out far more, of course. Burak says her mid 2008 monthly bill to fuel her own

Cutting waste, conserving resources and maximizing efficiencies can help to combat economic fluctuations. At its Anderson, S.C., plant, Glen Raven reuses all waste fiber, and this year in fact eliminated all landfill wastes. Shown here is a worker and a jacquard weaving machine. Photo: Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC.


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elementsliving with the sun

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trucks was running 50 percent higher than year-earlier costs. The firm may buy more fuel-efficient vehicles to replace older trucks that get nine miles per gallon.

It’s Business 101: Pay attention to the little things such as bundling jobs, running fuel-efficient trucks, reusing fly waste and sweepings at the plant.

Predicting pricesOne other business basic: Don’t sign long-term deals at fixed prices. Your own costs might jump in the meantime, leaving you with a contractual obligation on which you’ll lose money.

Fabric suppliers became accustomed to longer-term deals based on predictable prices during the 1990s and early in this decade. “The adjustment that the industry has had to make is to resist taking long-term contracts

on a fixed-price basis,” explains consultant Carmichael. Any long-term deal, he counsels, now must build in raw-material indexing clauses.

Meanwhile, are your own suppliers in the habit of jacking prices regularly? Find out why. “If raw materials prices are going up, we ask for the justification,” says Highland’s Kelley. “We make sure our raw materials suppliers are being fair and equitable with us.”

Your own customers may well do the same. At least everybody expects price bumps these days. “The information is fairly transparent,” Kelley says. “In some cases customers know about it before we do. It doesn’t make it easier to do, but it makes it easier to explain.”

If nothing else, it’s an opportunity for building customer relations. Invite your cus-tomers to forecast, suggests Glen Raven’s Bell, so you can have their goods ready when they



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64 REVIEW 12.08

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want it. Such planning also helps with ship-ping costs. If you know where it’s going well in advance, you can piggyback shipments.

‘Three-continent weave’Glen Raven, with locations in the U.S., Asia and Europe, can source where prices are best “as quick as a plane flight or phone call,” says Bell. In what he calls a “three-continent weave,” Bell may buy on one and ship to another.

Smaller organizations may not straddle the world, but, says Bell, they needn’t be “stuck with one supply chain.”

Small firms can also nose around for effi-ciencies. One example is buying and stockpil-ing raw material when prices are low—if you can find the storage space, and if you have enough cash on hand to lock up some of that cash in inventory.

Nevertheless, Bell sees an industrywide silver lining in the high-price gloom: Awnings save money by reducing air-conditioning costs. That actually makes rising energy costs a sell-ing point. Maybe it took $4 a gallon gas in the U.S. to bring energy savings back to the forefront of the public’s mind, but now that it’s there, it’s likely to stay there for a while.

Finally, firms of any size can try to get out front of the curve by raising prices even before costs justify the move. But that can be a risky tactic.

Kelley says his firm tends to be such a price leader. “The problem comes,” he warns, “if the market doesn’t follow you” … in which case, says Kelley, “you’re just kind of standing out there by yourself.”

Marc Hequet is a St. Paul, Minn.-based business writer.

Turn to page 78 for contact information on the sources used in this article.

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Revitalizing the changing textile industry

South Carolina’s textile industry is changing but still dynamic, according to three studies released at an industry summit last week.

New Carolina (South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness) held “The Future of Textiles in

South Carolina” in Spartanburg recently; it attracted 100 busi-ness and economic development leaders from across the state. Industry leaders discussed the future of textiles and identified new ways to make the industry more competitive. Long an economic staple in South Carolina, the textiles industry is undergoing a massive restructuring across the globe.

Experts examined ways for companies to work together to build competitive advantages, shared ideas for networking to develop new products and new markets, and brainstormed methods to share information on technological advantages and how to improve the skills fo workers.

As part of the summit, New Carolina announced findings from three major research studies it had commissioned:

“The Contribution of the Textile and Apparel Cluster to the South Carolina Economy,” conducted by Clemson Uni-

versity researchers, shows that despite highly publicized plant closings, the industry is restruc-turing and becoming revitalized in South Carolina. The cluster is likely to have fewer skilled laborers during the next decade, but will pay higher wages and salaries within the companies that do prosper.

The New Carolina summit and South Carolina’s changing textile industry;

Advanced Textiles ‘09 moves to Brussels.

“South Carolina’s Textile and Apparel Industries: An Analysis of Trends in Traditional and Emerging Sectors,” also conducted by Clemson researchers, reveals that South Carolina’s textile industry has annual sales of approximately $21 billion, and that the state is home to several corporate headquarters. Every county in the state has at least one textile facility, and South Carolina has representation in each of three key textile business activities: pre-production, production and post-production.

“Improving the Global Market Competitiveness of the Textile Industry Cluster in South Carolina,” conducted by researchers from North Carolina State University, shows that South Carolina is currently home to 912 textile companies that employ almost 65,000 people.

The three studies provide an analysis of the current market, and also identify the next steps that will help the industry to thrive.

At the summit, New Carolina also launched a new Web resource for South Carolina’s textile industry: www.SCTex-tileConnect.com, featuring sections on the fabric, apparel, fiber, chemical, yarn and composites sectors, and profiling all textile and apparel companies in South Carolina.

“Contrary to a widely held belief, textiles are not dead in South Carolina,” says New Carolina Executive Director George Fletcher. “In reality, the industry is reinventing itself, becoming more high-tech and high-skill. South Carolina is in an ideal position to capitalize on the high-paying jobs that will come from this re-emerging industry.”

For the full text of the three textile reports presented at the summit, please visit www.sctextileconnect.com.

Connections is a forum for news and information from cooperating organizations within or connected to the specialty fabrics industry.

For news from the Industrial Fabrics Association International, publisher of the Review, turn to The Insider on page 67.



http://www.SCTextileConnect.com

http://www.sctextileconnect.com

66 REVIEW 12.08

Sf FocusEXPO WATCH

BUSINESSMARKETS

WORLD VIEWSCONNECTIONS

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U.S.-European networking event: Advanced Textiles ’09Building on the success of the first Advanced Textiles conference in June 2008, and the endorse-ment of the international audience, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has announced that a second conference will be held April 2–3, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium.

Advanced Textiles ’08 took place in the cul-tural hub of Berlin, Germany, and gathered a mul-tinational business forum of 100 attendees from 14 countries. The conference was conceived as a U.S.-European entrepreneur networking event to foster bilateral and cross-sectoral cooperation, strategic partnerships and innovation projects to create new business opportunities.

Next year’s conference in Brussels will again be geared to provide a networking platform for industry representatives from the many appli-cation areas of technical textiles, from clothing and home fashion to the medical, automotive, architectural and safety and protective industries. IFAI will partner with Brussels-based Fedustria, the Belgian association for the textile, wood and furniture industries. A number of other industry associations and government institutions have already confirmed their willingness to support this year’s conference, including: IVT, the Ger-man association for technical textiles; ITMF, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation; the U.S. Dept. of Commerce; and Clubtex, the French Association for the Promotion of Techni-cal Textiles, among others.

The conference will focus on five major themes:> Smart textiles: challenges and bottlenecks in applications;> Highlights in safety and protective textiles;> Nanotechnologies in the automotive sector;> Textile membranes and architecture;> Manmade fibers in medical applications.

According to IFAI president Stephen M. War-ner, “Especially in these difficult world economic times, we want to back our industry by offering this innovative communication platform to foster bilateral business coooperation and valuable knowledge exchange.” For more information about Advanced Textiles ’09, visit www.ifai.com/Home/brusselsconference.cfm.

The conference fosters bilateral cooperation,

strategic partnerships and innovation projects

to create new business opportunities.


http://www.ifai.com/

http://www.canvasreplacements.com

http://www.wssl.com

Insider 12.08 | 67

InsiderSupporting the industry and individual businesses

To comment or offer

feedback on the IFAI

Insider, please contact

Denise Brown at

+1 651 225 6982 or

[email protected].

MEMBERSHIPMATTERS

IFAI December 2008

67 Membership matters

68 Best business practices

69 Division updates

70 New members

70 Important deadlines

Kathy Mattson, vice president,

member services, IFAIwww.ifai.com

The Industrial Fabrics Association International [IFAI],

publisher of the Specialty Fabrics

Review, is the only association in the

world representing the entire scope of

the specialty fabrics industry. We invest our

membership dollars and event revenue back

into benefits for our worldwide membership

in 55 countries

Join today and make an investment

in your future.www.ifai.com

Strategic planning: business essential or obsolete obstacle?

W ebster’s dictionary defines planning as “a proposed or intended course of action, or a formulated scheme setting out stages of procedure.”

It’s hard to remember a time when strategic planning wasn’t an integral part of any business operation. Management gurus spread this concept over virtually every business process back in the 1970s. Going through the time and expense of developing a strategic plan was intended to provide a company with a roadmap to success. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were laid out, dis-cussed and thoroughly codified, if not always acted upon.

When used properly, strategic planning can be an enormously valuable tool, uniting all areas of a business with a common under-standing of goals. After going through this intensive planning process, however, many companies end up putting the plan in a file and forgetting about it. Others adhere so rigidly to this offi-cially sanctioned document that they’re unable to diverge from the instructions handed down from above, even when circumstances would seem to favor some flexibility.

Today’s experts find both pros and cons around the concept of strategic planning. Some continue to see it as a valuable process to establish direction and allocate resources. Others say that a strategic plan is limited in flexibility and doesn’t allow for a quick response to a new opportunity. In today’s lightning-paced business environment and roller coaster economy, a new idea or process delayed by a needed decision from a committee swamped in end-less meetings can be the difference between a successful product launch and a missed opportunity.

Are the most successful organizations the ones that hold tightly to their strategic plan, keeping them on track year after year, or those that make quick decisions based on available information at the time? The answer probably depends upon the company, its size, the products it makes and the core values it espouses.

For many companies dealing with next year’s budgets in a wild economy, we thought it would be an ideal time to hear how sev-eral companies in the specialty fabrics industry approach strategic planning. Turn to “Best Business Practices” on the next page to hear what they say.

THE MEMBERSHIP ADVANTAGE

“For me, the highlights of attending

IFAI Expo 2008 were seeing the

most up-to-date technology avail-

able to our industry and the inter-

esting discussions I had with other

attendees from visiting countries.

There was some awesome new

technology and ideas that I am

sure we will be putting into prac-

tice over the next year or two.”

Grant ClausenClausens Canvas & PVCOFPANZ representativeLeeston, New Zealand



http://www.ifai.com

http://www.ifai.com

68 | Insider 12.08

by Denise Brown, IFAI membership

correspondent

BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES

Strategic planning for your businessMost successful businesses have a mission statement and a business plan in place to stay

focused—in general. But how many businesses have a strategic plan? Simply put, strate-gic planning determines where an organization is going, and exactly how it’s going to get there. Should your business have a formal, specific plan, or is it good enough to strategize informally, especially for smaller companies?

Nic Goldsmith of FTL Design Engineering Studio, designers and engineers of lightweight buildings and tensile structures in New York, N.Y., states that his firm targets different markets strategically from year to year, meeting quarterly to “go over benchmarks and milestones to see if we’re doing what we said we were going to do.” As a self-contained organization with eight people on staff, Goldsmith doesn’t feel it necessary for FTL to have a formal strategic plan in place.

“Some work just happens as a result of relationships, such as our projects in the Middle East,” Goldsmith says. “Work in this area is not something you can plan, as things are going right now. With lots of construction of interesting designs being developed, these opportunities just kind of happen and grow.” More intimate business environments, where co-workers work closely together on a day-to-day basis, perhaps don’t feel the need to meet and plan formally as would be needed in a larger firm.

Strategic analysisFor a larger company, especially a multinational company, a strategic plan is a necessity. “Our process starts in November, and we present a defined plan by March/April,” says Patti Bates, vice president of operations at Glen Raven Custom Fabrics in Glen Raven, N.C. Glen Raven is a leader in the production of a wide range of industrial and specialized fabrics for a diverse group of applications worldwide. “We gather from all divisions and kick off an extensive session, spending a couple of days with professors and leaders from the University of North Carolina School of Business.”

That plan is written in January and February for the next two to three years, setting out any obstacles and concerns. Bates adds, “In March or April we present our plan—and the challenge begins” to maintain Glen Raven’s market and strategic outlook.

“We work closely with our people with a specific plan in mind so that we are all moving in the same direction,” says Luis Fautsch, general of Imperlonas S.A. de C.V., a company that manufactures awnings, canopies and shades in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Upon returning from IFAI Expo each year, company representatives immediately orchestrate seminars to demonstrate noted new products and trends. The company takes into account what customers need and want before formulating a plan.

A plan of actionOnce a need is identified, how is the plan monitored and evaluated throughout the year? “We have to account for what we’re doing, monthly and quarterly,” Bates says. “I’ve never talked to any other companies that go through as much work as we do to pull all this together. This is definitely not a day-or-two project that gets turned in and filed away.”

“It’s not unusual for Mexico’s emerging market to experience a crisis of one sort or another,” Fautsch says, making it imperative for “lots of caution” and a hands-on situational analysis throughout the year.

There are no standard situations and no “perfect plan.” The process depends on the nature and needs of each organization. If your team is large and/or multinational, and your markets change rapidly, strategic planning should be closely monitored throughout the year. But if your company’s core group is smaller and works closely together on a day-to-day basis, flexible, informal planning might be what works best.


Insider 12.08 | 69

IFAI DIVISION UPDATES

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a valuable IFAI member. +1.651.225.6949 or

1.800.319.7813 (U.S. & Canada), [email protected]

www.ifai.com

“IFAI helps members,

including smaller

companies, fi nd the

contacts necessary to

become a competent

global entity.”

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IFAI Expo 2008: recognizing excellenceAt the Chairman’s Gala Thursday night, IFAI celebrated the accomplishments of those who have contributed their time and talents throughout the year to promote the specialty fabrics industry and the rewards of member-

ship in IFAI.

Professional certification IFAI’s four professional certification programs: Industrial Fabrics Manager (IFM), which rec-ognizes superior management ability; Master Fabric Craftsman (MFC), which recognizes skillful and experienced fabricators; Certified Craftsman (CC), which recognizes knowl-edge and competence in the manufacture of textile end products; and Certified Project Planner (CPP), which recognizes superior design and planning in the completion of textile end products.

Pat Hayes, CPP, congratulated ten profes-

sionals who passed the certification testing:

Master Fabric Craftsman—Awnings and Canopies Specialty Gary Barnes, MFC, Tropical J’s Inc.Nathan Urdang, MFC, Kansas Tent & Awning Co. Byron Yonce, MFC, TCT&A Industries

Master Fabric Craftsman—Marine Interior and/or Exterior SpecialtyJean Carroll, MFC, Sailmaker’s SupplyPeter Marschean, MFC, Canvas Essentials LLCRick Wisotzkey, MFC, Shorts Marine

Industrial Fabrics Manager Gordon Hill, IFM, Fabric Images Inc.Andrew Morse, IFM, Ohio Awning &

Manufacturing Co.Kathy Schaefer, IFM, Glawe Tent

& Awning CompanyKevin Yonce, IFM, MFC, CPP, TCT&A Industries

Scholarship recipientsThe Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) pro-vides unique opportunities and access to education for current employees and their family members, as well as future employees. This year, on behalf of the foundation, seven

scholarships were awarded.

IFAI $3,000 Membership Scholarship:Glenn Elliott Aust, Ehmke ManufacturingSherry Weidenburner, Filtec Precise Inc.

The Tent Rental Division $2,500 Scholarship:Ryan McPeak, Mahaffey Fabric Structures

Marine Fabricators Association $2,000 Scholarship: Mark Barber, Custom Canvas & Upholstery

Industrial Fabric Foundation $3,000 Student Scholarship:Jenna Eason, North Carolina State University Jeff Hillenbrand, Ivy Tech Community College

Architect Student $3,000 Scholarship, funded by the Lightweight Structures Association:Marina Paulina Carvallo, University of Arizona–College of Architecture

Innovation AwardThe Industrial Fabrics Foundation announced the debut of the IFF Innovation Award, which will be given at IFAI Expo 2009 in San Diego, Calif.

Honored Life MembersHonored Life Member, an elite membership category, is bestowed upon those who have effected outstanding accomplishments in the industry and IFAI. The following people

have earned the distinction of Honored Life Member:

Lars Dupont; John Ortega, MFC;William Overton; Raymond Ross;Bud Weisbart, IFM; Richard Yale, IFM

Retiring and newly elected IFAI board membersSteve Ellington, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, retired after serving on the board since 2001.

Mike Erickson, MFC, Canvas Design-ers Inc., was elected to a three-year term on the board, joining 11 other indus-try leaders dedicated to governing IFAI.

Patrick Hayes, CPP, was elected to serve his second three-year term on the

board.


http://www.ifai.com


NEW MEMBERS

IFAI DIVISIONS

AMA | Automotive Materials Association

TCFFA | The Casual FurnitureFabric Association

FGA | Fabric Graphics Association

GMA | Geosynthetics Materials Association

LSA | Lightweight Structures Association

MFA | Marine Fabricators Association

NFI | Narrow Fabrics Institute

PAMA | Professional Awning Manufacturers

Association

SPPD | Safety and Protective Products Division

TRD | Tent Rental Division

TCTA | Truck Cover & Tarp Association

USIFI | United States Industrial Fabric Institute

IFAI Canada

IFAI Japan

IFAI New Zealand

Don’t miss your IFAI deadline!

70 | Insider 12.08

ACP Applied Productswww.acpapplied.com

IFAI division: GMA

Suppliers and installers of bituminous mem-branes, infrastructure construction and hydraulics

Aluma Linewww.alumaline.com

Canopies and structures

AmeriShade Inc.www.goshade.com

IFAI division: LSA

Outdoor shade cano-pies and tensile fabric structures

Asheboro Elastics Corp.www.asheboro.com

Narrow fabrics

Central Packaging [email protected]

Sewn bags

Covered Concepts Inc.www.coveredconcepts.com

IFAI division: MFA

Full marine canvas and upholstery

[email protected]

Computer bags, sport bags

Dream Factory Co. Ltd.www.yumekobo-tent.com

IFAI division: IFAI Japan

Tents, awnings and sign fabricator/installer

DEADLINE WHAT IS DUE WHAT TO DO

12/10/2008 Pre-registration deadline for 2009 MFA National Convention Contact Beth Hungiville: [email protected], +1 651 225 6952

12/15/2008 February Review ad reservation close Contact your sales rep or call: +1 651 222 2508

12/31/2008 Tent Expo—Early Attendee Registration Deadline Contact Jan Schieffer: [email protected], +1 651 225 6944

01/11-13/2009 MFA National Convention—Hyatt Regency Riverfront, Jacksonville, Fla. Contact Beth Hungiville: [email protected], +1 651 225 6952

01/16/2009 Geosynthetics 2009, February 25-27, Salt Lake City, Utah registration deadline Contact Beth Wistrcill: + 1 651-225-6956, www.geoshow.info

01/19-22/2009 Tent Expo 2009—Hilton Hotel, West Palm Beach, Fla. Contact Jan Schieffer: [email protected], +1 651 225 6944

01/19/2009 March Review ad reservation close Contact your sales rep or call: +1 651 222 2508

02/13/2009 IFAI Canada Honours Program call for entries deadline Enter at www.ifaicanada.com or contact Elizabeth Newman: [email protected], +1 651 225 6925

02/16/2009 April Review ad reservation close Contact your sales rep or call: +1 651 222 2508

03/02/2009 Advanced Textiles ‘09 in Brussels, early registration and hotel deadline Contact Jill Rutledge: [email protected], +1 651 225 6981

03/15/2009 Outlook Conference 2009 Early Bird Registration Contact Ruth Stephens: [email protected], +1 651 225 6920

03/16/2009 Review Buyer’s Guide ad reservation close Contact your sales rep or call: +1 651 222 2508

Espacios Temporaleswww.espaciostemporales.

com.mx

IFAI division: TRD

Tents, flooring, air conditioning

Event Resource Groupwww.eventrg.com

Event product sales: tents, specialty fabric products for rental industry

Fusion Imaging Inc.www.fusion-imaging.com

Grand format digital printing and event company

Gladding Braided Productswww.gladdingbraid.com

IFAI division: TRD

Braided cord manufac-turer for tent and tarp industries

Grupo Sernawww.sernaespacios.com

IFAI division: TRD

Rental tents, tables, chairs

Harris Mfg. Co. Inc.c.shebanie@harrismanufactur-

ingco.com

Manufacturing apparel, personal protection products

Harrods Creek Marine Supplywww.harrodscreekmarine.com

IFAI division: MFA

Complete canvas and repair

Iron Horse Blanketswww.ironhorseblankets.com

Horse apparel and blankets

Jiwani Structural Designs Pvt. [email protected]

IFAI divisions: LSA, FGA

Shades and canopies, structural designs and fabrication

Kuitu Finland Oywww.kuitu.fi

Viscose fibers, chemicals

Lucerne Textiles Inc.www.lucernetextiles.com

IFAI division: SPPD

Industrial fabrics

Magnum VenturesPerry Reel

+1 971 219 4413

MEP-OLBO Inc.www.mep-olbo.com

Fabric systems for fluid handling, automotive

Onancock Canvas Co.+1 757 787 2247

IFAI division: MFA

Marine canvas fabrica-tion, upholstery, repairs

Party Time Rentals Inc.www.partytimerentals.com

IFAI division: TRD

Full line staging: floor-ing, poles and frames

Party Track-Event Rental Systems Inc.www.partytrack.com

IFAI division: TRD

Rental systems

P-mtc D.o.o.www.pozamanterija.hr

Narrow fabrics

Protective Solutions [email protected]

Tents, vehicle armor and personal armor

Rola-Trac North Americawww.rola-trac.net

IFAI division: TRD

Portable flooring, tent and events

Southern Shade Solutionswww.goshade.com

IFAI Division: LSA

Schools and public area shades and covers, busi-ness/residential shade and netting

Synteen Technical Fabricswww.synteen.com

IFAI division: GMA

Manufacturing polyester geogrids

TNS Advanced Technologies By Crown Resourceswww.mapletextile.com

IFAI division: GMA

Manufacturer of needle punch nonwovens

Traube Awnings & Canvaswww.traubeawning.com

Commercial and residential awnings, seasonal enclosures

Country | Sectors


http://www.acpapplied.com

http://www.alumaline.com

http://www.goshade.com

http://www.asheboro.com


http://www.coveredconcepts.com


http://www.yumekobo-tent.com

http://www.espaciostemporales

http://www.eventrg.com

http://www.fusion-imaging.com

http://www.gladdingbraid.com

http://www.sernaespacios.com




http://www.harrodscreekmarine.com

http://www.ironhorseblankets.com


http://www.kuitu.fi

http://www.lucernetextiles.com

http://www.mep-olbo.com

http://www.partytimerentals.com

http://www.partytrack.com

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http://www.rola-trac.net

http://www.goshade.com

http://www.synteen.com

http://www.mapletextile.com

http://www.traubeawning.com




http://www.geoshow.info


http://www.ifaicanada.com





Don’t let a question sidetrack your business. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ttttttttttttttttttttttt lllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttt aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqquuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttttttttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn sssssssssssssssssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuussssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

Our textile professionals answer questions about sources of supply,

building codes, technical issues and more. This free service is

exclusively for IFAI members. Contact us at 800 328 4324

+1 651 225 6935 | e-mail [email protected].

On the jobSf ResourcesINFO CENTRAL

Don’t let a question sidetrack your business.

12.08

Compiled by Juli Case, IFAI’s information and technical services manager.

We’ve had an architect specify a Favorini awning system. Where can we get one?

Favorini is a retractable awning manufacturer lo-cated in Italy. We contacted them and were told that they do not have a distributor in the United States, so if your client truly has his heart set on a Favorini system, you’re probably going to have to get it di-rectly from them:

> Favorini, Italy+39 06 94341074, fax +39 178 603 22 18www.favorini.it

I’ve been contacted by the owners of a historic mansion who are looking to replace the limit switch on the motor of a very old retractable awning. The original awning was installed sometime between the 1940s and the 1960s; and at 45 inches, the awning is pretty large. I’ve already contacted Tri Vantage, since it was an Astrup system, and they’re looking into it for me. I also contacted General Motors, who made the original switch, and Somfy, but no luck so far. Any suggestions on where else we could look?

We sent out an SOS to the members of the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), asking for ad-vice. In doing so, we found a supplier who looked at the photo provided and indicated that he thought the switch was a standard rotary switch, and that the type of switch used for heavy theatrical curtains might do the trick. His company may be able to supply it: Motion Control Systems.

If that doesn’t work out, we also had several other awning manufacturers suggest that you contact an electrical supply house or a motor repair company in your area. While they may be unfamiliar with awning motors, the part itself should be something they can supply, or find you an alternative. Many thanks to the members of PAMA for their assistance.

> Motion Control Systems, Delray Beach, Fla., U.S.A. +1 561 272 8988, fax +1 561 272 9109www.comfortautomation.com

> Somfy Systems Inc., Cranbury, N.J., U.S.A. +1 609 395 1300, 877 227 6639, fax +1 609 395 1776 www.somfysystems.com

> Tri Vantage LLC, Cleveland, Ohio, U,S.A.+1 216 696 2820, 800 786 1876, fax +1 216 696 8202 www.trivantage.com

We’re looking for sources that stock olive drab cotton duck that’s been treated for water and mildew resistance. Can you give us any sources?

There’s been a run on olive drab cotton duck recently, although we’re not exactly sure why. We had three differ-ent fabricators, all in different parts of the country and all in different industries, looking for the same fabric—a rare occurrence! In any case, we sent out a description to sup-pliers and found a number of them who have a stocking program for this material:

> Canwill Textiles Inc., Lawrenceville, Ga., U.S.A. +1 678 985 5434, fax +1 678 985 5435www.canwiltextiles.com

> MMI Textiles Inc.. dba NDW Textiles, Rocky River, Ohio, U.S.A.+1 440 895 0500, 800 321 3931, fax +1 440 895 0501 www.mmitextiles.com

> Seattle Textile Co., Seattle, Wash, U.S.A. +1 206 233 0595, fax +1 206 233 0536www.seatex.com

> Top Value Fabrics, Carmel, Ind., U.S.A. +1 317 844 7496, 800 428 5006, fax +1 317 844 2897www.tvfinc.com

> Tri Vantage LLC, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. +1 216 696 2820, 800 786 1876, fax +1 216 696 8202 www.trivantage.com

> Trident Industrial Products Corp., Sunrise, Fla., U.S.A. +1 954 726 0270, 800 327 1830, fax +1 954 726 3713 www.tridentfabrics.com

A client is requesting a fabric called Silent Gliss Colorama 2. Who supplies it?

Silent Gliss is a manufacturer of window and curtain systems; they also hold the trade name on Colorama fabrics. Most likely it is being produced for them on a private label basis, and they may be uninterested in sell-ing roll goods. It’s worth asking, but if not, and your cus-tomer will accept a similar material, you should look for a woven polyester fabric made out of FR polyester fiber.

> Silent Gliss Group Headquarters, Switzerland+41 31 958 85 85, fax +41 31 958 85 86www.silentgliss.com

> Silent Gliss USA, Norcross, Ga.+1 770 466 4811, 800 938 7225, fax +1 770 466 4814www.silentgliss-usa.com

1208RV_p71_cv4.indd 711208RV_p71_cv4.indd 71 12/5/08 11:37:24 AM12/5/08 11:37:24 AM

http://www.comfortautomation.com

http://www.somfysystems.com


http://www.favorini.it




http://www.canwiltextiles.com

http://www.mmitextiles.com

http://www.seatex.com



http://www.tridentfabrics.com

http://www.silentgliss.com

http://www.silentgliss-usa.com

72 REVIEW 12.08

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3Eco-friendly inkjetThe environmentally friendly 30-inch VersaUV LEC-300 inkjet printer/cutter comes equipped with the latest generation of UV inks and safe, low-heat LED lamps. Unit prints CMYK/White/Clear on a wide range of substrates, including foils, metallic and synthetic papers, BOPP, PE and PET film, for unmatched color, texture and dimension. Clear coat adds rich special effects, ranging from high-gloss finishes for area highlights to custom-texture effects such as faux leather, crocodile skin and even Braille. The LEC-300 can be used to create original patterns and 3D domed corporate logos di-rectly onto synthetic and natural leathers; other applications include interior décor items such as customized window coverings and tapestries. Users simply design on a personal computer, send the file to the printer, and Ver-saUV automatically automatically prints and digitally die-cuts the finished print.

For more information, contact Roland DGA Corp., Irvine,Calif.,

U.S.A.; 800 542 2307, +1 949 727 2100, www.rolanddga.com.

In the GrooveThe new Moss Groove fabric framing system uses a unique, smooth-surface aluminum extrusion system to showcase richly printed fabric graphics with minimal emphasis on the frame itself. Constructed with strong, lightweight anodized aluminum, the system features a unique Solid Lock mitered cor-ner connection that fastens firmly into place with one turn of a torx wrench; perfectly pat-terned fabric graphics slide into the extru-sion’s groove for a clean and evenly tensioned fit. Multiple sizes and bending capabilities permit flexible design and limitless configu-ration possibilities; finishing options include powder coating and decorative wood grain for an extra finishing touch.

For more information, contact Moss Inc., Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.;

+1 847 475 0071, www.mossinc.com.

Control your stressMPanel FEA software is a complete Finite El-ement Analysis application developed specifi-cally for the tensile fabric community. Oper-ating within the popular AutoCAD® platform, the program simplifies non-liner FEA through an easy-to-understand user interface, using a powerful solver to correctly calculate the stresses and structural loads associated with fabric structures. The MPanel FEA interface reads a standard MPanel drawing, and from it generates an FE model ready for analysis. The user then specifies the materials and activates the solver to determine the model displacements for the environmental load conditions, such as wind effects and snow cover. Outputs and statistics are presented in clear, easy-to-read color charts and graph-ics that can be used in presentations and reports.

For more information, contact Meliar Design/MPanel,

St. Louis, Mo., U.S.A.; +1 314 631 6300, www.mpanel.com.

Performance, style and convenienceProducts that meet increasingly specific needs from increasingly demanding customers.

3

1

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http://www.rolanddga.com

http://www.mossinc.com

http://www.mpanel.com


5 6

Sf ResourcesNEW PRODUCTS

Imitation leatherWith the appearance and feel of real top-grain leather but at greatly reduced costs, Gane Brothers’ Imitation Leather is excellent for applications that combine a need for both appearance and durability. There are more than 30 stock colors, and six new metallic colors are now available: ivory, olive, chenille, taupe, pure gold and copper, available in 50-yard rolls in a width of 54 inches. Any stock item may be purchased in as little as 5-yard quantities.

For more information, contact Gane Brothers & Lane Inc.,

Elk Grove Village, Ill., U.S.A.; 800 776 4262,

www.ganebrothers.com.

Decorative screeningM-Screen Deco adds a decorative element to Mermet’s flagship M-Screen 5%, weav-ing multicolored yarns to produce a stri-ated, natural-looking fabric that offers the same strength, transparency and beauty for which the product line is known. Made with Enduris™ Glass Core technology for stability and durability, Deco fabric has a 5 percent openness factor, 98-inch width and seven choices of earth-tone colors, suitable for both commercial and residential interior applications. Deco is GreenGuard® Indoor Air Quality certified.

For more information, contact Mermet, Cowpens, S.C.,

U.S.A.; 866 902 9647, www.mermetgroup.com.

Complete sun controlThe Telis 4 Soliris RTS Patio transmitter of-fers the benefits of a 4-channel remote, al-lowing customers to control their sun sensors at the touch of a button. Users may turn the sun sensor’s automatic function on and off, while controlling up to four different RTS motors, controls or other accessories—a top enhancement to help customers create the ultimate deck and outdoor living space. It’s compatible with all Somfy RTS products.

For more information, contact Somfy Systems Inc., Boca

Raton, Fla., U.S.A.; 877 22 SOMFY (U.S.), 800 66 SOMFY

(Canada), www.somfyssytems.com.

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http://www.ganebrothers.com

http://www.mermetgroup.com

http://www.somfyssytems.com

Please print.

Name _______________________________________________

Company _____________________________________________

Address ______________________City _____________________

State _______________________ Zip _____________________

Phone _______________________ Fax _____________________

Email _______________________________________________

� Bill me

� Check Enclosed $__________

� Credit Card Payment � Visa � Master Card � Amex � Discover

Card Number: _____________________ Expire Date: ____________

Card Holder Name: _______________________________________

Signature: ___________________________ Date: ____________

Fax: +1 651-631-9334

Mail: IFAI, SDS-12-2108, PO Box 86, Minneapolis, MN 55486-2108

Off er ends December 31, 2008. Please allow 4-6 weeks for shipment of fi rst issue. Off er valid for new subscribers only.

� $129��$69 / 2 Years U.S.A.

� $149 $79 / 2 Years Canada/Mexico (U.S. funds)

� $299 $169 / 2 Years Other Int’l (U.S. funds)

$129

$149

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Designed to bring you more:

New products/applications• Industry professionals insight• Global market trends• Industry news• Problems resolved•

Title (check one):

� Owner/President/CEO

� Purchasing Manager/Director

� Research & Development

Manager/Director

� Sales Manager/Director

� Product Designer

Primary business (check applicable):

� Awnings/canopies

� Tents

� Banners

� Marine products

� Truck covers

� Structures/enclosures

� Graphics/signs

� Bags

� Safety/protective

� Containers

{intelligence you need}

1008RVW_B1G2sub.indd 1 10/16/08 2:10:17 PM1208RV_p71_cv4.indd 741208RV_p71_cv4.indd 74 12/5/08 11:37:31 AM12/5/08 11:37:31 AM

1008RVW_B1G2sub.indd 1 10/16/08 2:10:17 PM

Marketplace

WE BUY

SHELF-DATED BANNER FABRIC, IND. FABRIC, LAMINATED & COATED VINYL,

SECONDS & CLOSEOUTS.

CALL CANVYL 514/866-4255

SURPLUS AND SECONDS OF CLOSED CELL FOAM

Available in rolls, sheets and buns. Our prices are cheap cheap cheap.

McCullough Corp.248-646-6195 fax: 248-646-8913

email: [email protected]

For Sale

Wanted

Help Wanted

For more information on classifi ed advertising in IFAI’s Specialty Fabrics Review, contact Kristen Evanson at IFAI, 1801 County Rd. B W., Roseville, MN 55113-4061 USA.Phone: 800 382 0134, fax: +1 651 225 6966 , e-mail: [email protected].

Phone 864/242-3491

P.O. Box 1984, Greenville, SC 29602


Visit our Web site for additional

positions: www.sccareersearch.com

Call Robert Graham or

Richard Heard

GODSHALL & GODSHALL PERSONNEL

CONSULTANTS, INC.

Textile Industry Specialists Since 1969

Fee Paid Positions

COMMISSION SALESREPS WANTED

Neoprene Sheets, Hook & Loop,

Webbing, Elastic, Zippers, Buckles

Most territories available. Established in 1985, large inventory for fast delivery.

Please visit www.perfectex.com.

Call 1-800-326-1288 ext. 104

Charlene Mastin

or fax resume 714-893-9339

E-Mail: [email protected]

Look for classifieds on our website www.ifai.com

J. Ennis Fabrics is looking for Sales Agents/Representatives in all territories across the US to represent our extensive product line of over 10,000 fabrics and supplies. We carry all of the brand names as well as exclusive offerings. View our website at www.jennisfabrics.com

Please submit your resume to

[email protected]

or fax to: (780) 471-4994

J. ENNIS FABRICSNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR

We are an authorized gold star VELCRO® USA Brand distributor.

Huge inventory - Fair prices.

Please call for a price list at 1.800.841.9442

Reach us by web: www.JFreeman.Com

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http://www.perfectex.com


http://www.jennisfabrics.com



http://www.JFreeman.Com

http://www.ifai.com



76 REVIEW 12.08

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Plan your year. January \\ February \\ March \\ April \\ May \\ June \\

2009 January

February

March

MFA 2009 NATIONAL CONVENTION [ JAN. 11–13 ]The Marine Fabricator Association’s largest

event of the year will be held at the Hyatt Re-

gency Riverfront in Jacksonville, Fla., U.S.A. In-

cludes hands-on seminars, exhibits, shop tours

and many networking opportunities. For more

information, visit www.marinecanvas.com.

IFAI TENT EXPO 2009 [ JAN. 19–22 ]At the Hilton Palm Beach Airport hotel, West

Palm Beach, Fla., U.S.A. Explore the largest

outdoor display of tents and fabric structures,

and participate in industry-related workshops

and seminars. For information, contact Jan

Schieffer, TRD managing director, +1 651 225

6944, [email protected]

The Special Event 2009 [ Jan. 28–30 ]Tradeshow and conference for profession-als who produce and manage events will take place at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif., U.S.A. For information, visit http://thespecialeventshow.com.

NECPA Expo 2009/MFA Upper Atlantic

Regional Workshop [ Jan. 29–31 ]The annual convention of the North East Canvas Products Association will include the Marine Fabricator’s Association Upper Atlantic Regional Workshop in 2009, at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass., U.S.A. For information, visit www.necpa.org or www.marinecanvas.com.

CMCFA Convention 2009 [ Feb. 5–8 ]At the Doubletree Hotel, Annapolis, Md., U.S.A. The Chesapeake Marine Canvas Fabricators Assn. is dedicated to promoting professionalism among canvas fabricators in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. For information, visit www.

cmcfa.org.

Textile Trends 2009 [ Feb. 9–11 ]The international conference, located at the Sofitel Schweizerhof, Berlin, Germany, will focus on industry trends, innovations and ecological solutions. For information, visit www.textile-

trends.de.

R + T [ Feb. 10–14 ]The International Trade Fair for roller shutters, doors/gates and sun protection will take place at the New Trade Fair Centre in Stuttgart, Germany. For information, visit www.messe-stuttgart.de/rt.

GEOSYNTHETICS–2009 [ FEB. 25–27 ]At the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake

City, Utah, U.S.A. Attendees represent manu-

facturing, engineering, construction, installa-

tion and research from the entire geosynthet-

ics community. For information, contact Beth

Wistrcill at +1 651 225 6956, bbwistrcill@ifai.

com, or visit www.geoshow.info.

The Rental Show 2009 [ Mar. 2–5 ]The world’s largest rental trade show will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Altanta, Ga., U.S.A. Sponsored by the American Rental Association (ARA). For information, visit www.therentalshow.com.

IFAI CANADA EXPO 2009 [ MAR. 5–7 ]Scheduled for the Coast Plaza Hotel & Con-

ference Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Includes informational seminars, new product

exhibitions and the 2009 Honours Award win-

ners. For more information, contact Elizabeth

Newman, IFAI Canada executive director, +1 651

225 6925, [email protected], or visit www.ifaicanada.com.

Smart Fabrics Conference 2009 [ Mar. 10–12 ]Will take place in Rome, Italy, delivering high-level presentations from scientists, design experts and market analysts in the field. Programs will cover technology, design and business in areas like home health care, industrial clothing, sport clothing and more. For information, visit www.

smartfabricsconference.com.


http://www.marinecanvas.com


http://thespecialeventshow.com

http://www.necpa.org

http://www.marinecanvas.com

http://www.cmcfa.org

http://www.cmcfa.org

http://www.textiletrends.de

http://www.messe-stuttgart.de/rt

http://www.geoshow.info

http://www.therentalshow.com




http://www.smartfabricsconference.com

http://www.smartfabricsconference.com


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\\ July \\ August \\ September \\ October \\ November \\ December

Sf ResourcesCALENDAR

AprilJune

May

Septemberne

Mid-America Trucking Show [ Mar. 19–21 ]The 38th edition of the Mid-America Trucking Show will once again be held in the expansive Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky., U.S.A. For information on attending or exhibiting, visit www.truckingshow.com.

ADVANCED TEXTILES CONFERENCE 2009 [ APR. 2–3 ]A European-U.S. entepreneur networking

conference on textile technology opportunities,

in Brussels, Belgium. For information, contact

Jill Rutledge at [email protected], or visit

www.ifai.com.

2nd World Conference on 3D Fabrics and Applications

[ Apr. 6–7 ]Will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville, S.C., U.S.A. Driven by woven 3D fab-rics for the aerospace industry, but many other applications include weaving, knitting, braid-ing and nonwovens. For information, visit www.

texeng.co.uk.

ISA International Sign Expo 2009 [ Apr. 15–18 ]Returning to the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Conven-tion Center in Las Vegas, Nev., U.S.A. Educational and networking events will take place April 15-18; the exhibit hall will be open April 16-18. For information, visit www.signexpo.org.

Material World & Technology Solutions [ Apr. 21-23 ]At the Miami Beach Convention Center. A global resource for sourcing, fabric, trim and trends. For information, visit www.material-world.com.

Outlook 2009 Conference [ May 4-5 ]At the Hilton Desoto Savannah in Savannah, Ga. “Enhancing Your Competitive Advantage,” sponsored by the United States Industrial Fabric Institute (USIFI) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), is directed at decision-makers in the specialty fabrics industry. For more information, visit www.usifi.com.

1st World Conference on Software for the Textile and

Clothing Industries [ May 21–22 ]At the Weston Conference Centre, University of Manchester, U.K. Organized by TexEng Software Ltd., in association with TechniTex Faraday Ltd. and the School of Materials, University of Manchester. For information, visit www.texeng.

co.uk.

3rd International Textile Machinery Exhibition

[ June 6–10 ]The leading textile machinery exhibition in the Middle East and Eastern Europe will be held at the Tuyap Beylikduzu Exhibition and Congress Center in Turkey. For information, visit www.

teknikfuarcilik.com.

Geo Africa 2009 [ Sept. 2–5 ]The 1st African Regional Conference on Geosynthetics will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Activities will include technical sessions, case studies, networking and an exhibition hall. For information, visit www.

geosyntheticssociety.org/geoafrica_2009.

IFAI EXPO 2009 [ SEPT. 23–25 ]At the San Diego Convention Center. The largest

specialty fabrics show in the Americas, offer-

ing hundreds of exhibitors and high-impact,

cutting-edge symposiums and workshops. For

information, contact [email protected], or visit

www.ifaiexpo.com.



http://www.truckingshow.com


http://www.ifai.com

http://www.texeng.co.uk

http://www.texeng.co.uk

http://www.signexpo.org

http://www.material-world.com

http://www.usifi.com

http://www.texeng

http://www.teknikfuarcilik.com

http://www.teknikfuarcilik.com

http://www.geosyntheticssociety.org/geoafrica_2009

http://www.geosyntheticssociety.org/geoafrica_2009



78 REVIEW 12.08

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Sf ResourcesEDITORIAL

SOURCES

Offer your input on Review stories. We are

preparing future issues, and we’re looking

for knowledgeable sources on these topics:

Get listed on this page.

Contact by December 19, 2008 >

Galynn Nordstrom | [email protected]

Share your knowledge and expertise.

28 REVIEW 12.08

There’s nothing particularly predator-

like about narrow fabrics designers

and manufacturers. By and large,

they’re helpful folks, always working

with their clients to create webbings

and ropes with the perfect color,

thickness, width and performance characteristics.

But they’re still a bit like sharks: They must always

keep moving forward or die.

Narrow fabrics manufacturers are subject to the same market conditions as all fabric makers. They know that the moment they perfect a product, a competitor with lower overhead will bid the job at a lower price. Luckily for U.S. companies, many of the markets for narrow fabrics are in technical fields that demand constant innovation. Certainly there will always be room for more seat belts, upholstery trims and dog leashes. But narrow fabrics companies that manufacture stateside are looking more and more to the high-tech world. They’re pushing the limits of their craft as they make components for the military, aerospace and medical fields.

THE THIRD DIMENSIONSince 1923, Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pa., has engineered highly specialized custom woven goods for its customers. Today about 30 percent of its output goes to high-tech industries. To ensure its place in the market, the manufacturer recently invested in a unique quad-axial loom that allows the company to weave fabric in as many as four axes simultaneously. What on earth for, you ask?

One answer is a strange structure that the company calls “the pi,” after the shape of the Greek letter π. It’s a trilobate strip made of carbon fiber, used in the aerospace industry. It allows a perpen-dicular “wall” piece (sandwiched between the legs of the pi) to be joined to a flat plane or beam with enormous security.

THINis inTHE FUTURE

IS HIGH-TECH

IF YOU’RE

PLANNING TO

STAY AHEAD OF

THE GAME.


Sf Feature

by Jamie Swedberg

How competition spawns innovation

Getting those government contracts

Showroom: smart fabrics34 REVIEW 12.08

Sf Features

by Sigrid Tornquist

If we needed proof that we’re in an economic environment where lines on a map lose significance, September and October delivered. Though perhaps first to the trough, the United States held no monopoly on failed financial institutions and crashing stock markets. While there are many lessons to be learned, key for

businesses in the specialty fabrics arena is how global the marketplace has become.“I see a world just continuing to become smaller and smaller,” says Marco Alvarez,

president and CEO of Fabric Images Inc. “Our ability to continue to grow our business globally is going to be important as costs and budgets continue to be squeezed.”

A lot of U.S. commodities transitioned to the global front years ago, says Joey Under-wood, vice president of Safety Components Fabric Technologies Inc. in Greenville, S.C., a division of International Textiles Group (ITG), with operations in the United States, Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, China and South Africa. Now, he says, “the specialty markets to some degree are transitioning.

“I think a lot of markets went to developing parts of the world for cost purposes only. As costs rise, we will see some of those products come back to North America. We’re starting to see some of that already. That said, 95 percent of the world’s growth over the next 5, 10, 20 years is going to occur outside the U.S., so the infrastructure that’s going to these developing countries will be used in large part to supply those emerging markets.”

According to Mary Lynn Landgraf, a senior international trade specialist in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, “The global marketplace changes daily, which has become more evident over the last five years. New emerging markets continually join the global marketplace. Brazil, Russia, India and China are currently the major players with rapidly growing economies and internal growth. Much of this growth can only be served by imports.”

TAKING THE LEAPFabric Images entered the worldwide marketplace five years ago. Based in Elgin, Ill., the 16-year-old company now operates a manufacturing facility in Mexico and a sales office in Japan. “It’s been good because the product that we offer [a fabric alternative to hard-wall construction] is still in the infancy stage on a global basis,” Alvarez says, noting that a manufacturing and sales facility in Milan, Italy, is on the books for 2009.

AS THE WORLD

SHRINKS, BUSINESSES

CAN CAPITALIZE ON

WIDENING THEIR POOL

OF CUSTOMERS.


Sf Feature


28 \ Thin is in

Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pa.800 845 2201 | www.ballyribbon.com

Foster-Miller Inc., Waltham, Mass.+1 781 684 4144 | www.foster-miller.com

Propel LLC, Providence, R.I.+1 401 751 2216 | www.propel-llc.com

Offray Specialty Narrow Fabrics, Chester, N.J.+1 908 879 3627 | www.osnf.com

Safe Lites LLC, Eden Prairie, Minn.+1 952 944 9861 | www.safelites.com

34 \ Thinking globally: What’s next?

BondCote Corp., Pulaski, Va.800 255 9338 | www.bondcote.com

Fabric Images Inc., Elgin, Ill.800 228 9223 | www.fabricimages.com

Nolan Warehouses, Sydney, Australia+61 2 9669 3323 | www.nolans.com.au

Safety Components Fabric Technologies Inc., Greenville, S.C.+1 864 240-2600 | www.safetycomponents.com

U.S. Department of Commerce800 872 8723 | www.trade.gov

55 \ Fabric in the fast lane

Beaufort County Council, Beaufort, S.C.+1 843 470 2591 | www.co.beaufort.sc.us/council

South Carolina Department of Transportation, Columbia, S.C.+1 803 737 2314 | www.dot.state.sc.us

Thrace-LINQ Inc., Summerville, S.C.+1 843 873 5800 | www.thracelinq.com

61 \ Welcome to the roller coaster

Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, Burlington, N.C.+1 336 221 2211 | www.glenraven.com

Highland Industries, Greensboro, N.C.+1 336 547 1685 | www.highlandindustries.com

Hudson Awning & Sign Co. Inc., Bayonne, N.J.+1 201 339 7171 | www.hudsonawning.com

PCI Fibres, Spartanburg, S.C.+1 864 583 6868 | www.pcifibres.com






http://www.ballyribbon.com

http://www.foster-miller.com

http://www.propel-llc.com

http://www.osnf.com

http://www.safelites.com

http://www.bondcote.com

http://www.fabricimages.com

http://www.nolans.com.au

http://www.safetycomponents.com

http://www.trade.gov

http://www.co.beaufort.sc.us/council

http://www.dot.state.sc.us

http://www.thracelinq.com

http://www.glenraven.com

http://www.highlandindustries.com

http://www.hudsonawning.com

http://www.pcifibres.com


The bolded advertisers are exhibitors at IFAI EXPO. Be sure to visit their booths at the show, which will be held at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA on September 23–25, 2009

For more information on IFAI Expo 2009, please visit www.ifaiexpo.com.

Ad Index

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When you contact an advertiser in this issue, please tell

them that you saw their ad in Specialty Fabrics Review.

Sf ResourcesAD INDEX

Look who’s advertising.

For advertising rates and information call Sarah Hyland at 800 319 3349.

62 Alpha Productions �800 223 0883www.alphaproductions.com

9 American Cord & Webbing Co. Inc. �+1 401 762 5500www.acw1.com

64 Assyst-Bullmer Inc. �+1 919 467 2211www.assyst-us.com

66 Canvas Replacements �800 232 2079www.canvasreplacements.com

52 Coletech800 872 6950www.coletech.net

56 Covin Sales & Converting �888 862 6846www.covinsales.com

57 DAF Products Inc. �800 228 9837www.dafproducts.com

59 DEMTECH Services �888 324 9353www.demtech.com

18 Eastern Awning Group �800 445 4142www.worldscreeninc.com

33 Eastman Machine Company �800 872 5571www.eastmancuts.com

2 Fasnap Corp. �800 624 2058 www.fasnap.com

Glen Raven Custom Fabrics �+1 336 221 6211www.sunbrella.com

58 Greenzone Worldwide Inc. �866 248 1177 [email protected]

38 W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. �800 276 8451www.gore.com/specfab

4 Herculite Products Inc. �800 772 0036www.herculite.com

64 InCord � 800 596 1066www.incord.com

63 InterWrap Inc. �800 567 9727www.interwrap.com

52 Lowy Enterprises �+1 310 763 1111 www.lowyusa.com

22 Mauritzon �800 621 4532www.mauritzononline.com

Cv3 Miller Weldmaster � +1 330 833 6739www.millerweldmaster.com

53 Rivets Unlimited NY Inc. �800 267 9334www.rivetsunlimited.com

53 Robeco/Ascot Inc. �800 992 1067www.robecoinc.com

63 Sattler North America �866 992 9646www.sattler-corp.com

7 Sinclair Equipment Co. �800 624 2408www.sineqco.com

19 Snyder Mfg Inc �800 837 4450www.snyderman.com

3 Stimpson Co. Inc. �877 765 0748www.stimpson.com

54 SuperTex Fabrics �800 858 8033www.supertexpvc.com

50 TopTec Inc. �800 845 2830www.TopTecProducts.com

59 Top Value Fabrics Inc. �800 428 5006www.tvfinc.com

Cv4 Tri Vantage LLC �www.trivantage.com

58 Value Vinyls �800 406 8845www.valuevinyls.com

66 Vicar International �800 526 6997www.wssl.com

54 Vidir Machine Inc. �800 210 0141www.vidir.com

Cv2,1

The boIFAI Ethe sDiegSep

Fop

m

a �

p.com

nt Co. �

com

�I FA I Member




http://www.alphaproductions.com

http://www.acw1.com

http://www.assyst-us.com

http://www.canvasreplacements.com

http://www.coletech.net

http://www.covinsales.com

http://www.dafproducts.com

http://www.demtech.com



http://www.fasnap.com



http://www.gore.com/specfab

http://www.herculite.com

http://www.incord.com

http://www.interwrap.com


http://www.mauritzononline.com

http://www.millerweldmaster.com

http://www.rivetsunlimited.com

http://www.robecoinc.com

http://www.sattler-corp.com

http://www.sineqco.com

http://www.snyderman.com


http://www.supertexpvc.com

http://www.TopTecProducts.com



http://www.valuevinyls.com

http://www.wssl.com

http://www.vidir.com

Year in Review: 1987YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRReeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww:::::::::::::::::::: 111111111111111111111199999999999999999999888888888888888888887777777777777777777

How much should free trade cost?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 100TH CONGRESSThe 100th session of the U.S. Congress convenes in January 1987, with Democrats holding firm majorities in both the House and Senate. Democrats have controlled the House of Representatives since 1954 and now hold an 81-vote ma-jority. On the Senate side, Demo-crats gained eight seats in the No-vember elections and now hold a 55-to-45 edge.Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) has made it clear that trade will be at the top of the Democrats’ agenda in the new session. In comments following the election, Bentsen said he expects many attempts will be made to attach “protectionist” measures to a Senate trade bill. He emphasized the need for “positive” legislation that would boost world trade by encouraging other na-

tions to drop their own protectionist barriers and stimulate their local econo-mies, enabling them to consume a more equitable share of the world’s goods. It is also expected that future dialogue on trade will focus on U.S. productivity and competitiveness. Bentsen expressed hope that a confrontation over trade could be avoided with the White House and President Ronald Reagan.Rep. Jim Wright, newly elected Speaker of the House, has said House and Senate Democrats “will not stand idly by” and watch the $179 billion trade deficit continue to grow. Wright believes the House must pass a trade bill that will reverse the deficit, halt closings of plants and factories in the United States, and stop layoffs of American workers.Industrial Fabric Products Review, January 1987

On Black Monday, Oct. 19, 1987, stock markets around the world crashed. Yet the Dow Jones Industrial Average was positive for the 1987 calendar year, although it was another two years before the market would hit the highs reached before the crash.


1208RV_p71_cv4.indd CV31208RV_p71_cv4.indd CV3 12/5/08 11:38:25 AM12/5/08 11:38:25 AM

http://www.weldmaster.com

We’re all about your goals.trivantage.com

Tri Vantage, LLC, a Glen Raven Company

We’re all about your goals.

It’s the very definition of a family business. A son works for his parents.Learns the trade. Then ventures out to start his own business.

Years later, with parents approaching retirement, the son and his wifeacquire the original family business. And for more than 40 years, we’ve been part of their

extended family. Meeting their company’s needs.No matter what they might be.

It’s all about _____.family

Dan and Barb LeschHusband, Wife and GrandparentsLesch Boat Cover Co.Norwalk, Ohio

1208RV_p71_cv4.indd CV41208RV_p71_cv4.indd CV4 12/5/08 11:38:26 AM12/5/08 11:38:26 AM


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