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2017 Student Design Challenge Winners: Advanced Textiles
September 28th, 2017
Advanced Textile Products (ATP) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), both divisions of IFAI, announced the winners of the 2017 Advanced Textiles Student Design Challenge during the IFAI Expo Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 28. This year’s challenge was to use textiles as a major component to design aerospace, medical, military, safety/protective or other wearable […]
2017 IFF Innovation Award winner announced at IFAI Expo
September 28th, 2017
The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) has announced the winner of the 2017 Innovation Award: UltraTech International Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., won this year in the category of “Chemicals, Coatings and Compounds” with the EverShield® C6 water-based fabric treatment. The company was awarded a prize of $5,000. EverShield was developed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) […]
This year’s Show Stopper winners
September 28th, 2017
All the best from New Orleans: Thursday morning at IFAI Expo led off with lists of winners for the year, including the most popular products on the show floor. The sixth annual Show Stopper competition was designed to showcase the best of the best in the industry, from fabrics, equipment and chemicals to services and […]
2017 International Achievement Award winners announced at IFAI Expo
September 28th, 2017
This year’s winners in IFAI’s global International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition, recognizing design excellence in specialty fabrics applications, were announced on Sept. 28 at the organization’s annual meeting at IFAI Expo 2017 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. For more than 70 years, IAA has acknowledged innovation and excellence in design […]
Keeping employees engaged
September 28th, 2017
According to Barry Adams, President of Peach Tree Awnings in Norcross, Ga., “The reason people separate from their company is because they feel their contribution is not valued and they feel what they do isn’t making a difference.” Adams’ session, “How to Keep Talented Employees Engaged,” presented at IFAI Expo 2017, focused on ways to […]
Expo panel discusses diversification
September 27th, 2017
A panel of three successful company leaders illuminated the keynote luncheon September 26 at IFAI Expo 2017. The theme of the panel was “Path of Diversification,” featuring Meredith Boyd, Unifi Manufacturing Inc.; Ben Cooper, IoClothes; and John Neely, Berry Global. The panelists shared ideas on how their companies leverage regionalization in the U.S. Cooper mentioned […]
Cutting room automation makes sense for many
September 27th, 2017
If automating your cutting room seems either too expensive or too difficult, you may want to think again. Panelists of the IFAI EXPO session on “Optimizing Your Cutting Room” gave a long list of potential benefits for why you might want to consider using an automated cutter. “Everyone’s ROI is slightly different,” says Thomas Carlson, […]
Choosing the right sewing machine
September 27th, 2017
Among the many sewing machines options for your shop, how do you choose? The panelists at the EXPO presentation “Selecting a Sewing Machine for Your Application,” agree that nearly any project can at least be partially fabricated using a single-needle walking foot machine. “But for wide material for tents, awnings, covers, sails and the like,” […]
Business success across markets
September 26th, 2017
Whether you’re a fabricator for the marine, automobile, commercial or residential markets, Steven Wayne, owner of Southern Stitch Canvas and Upholstery LLC in Gulfport, Mississippi, says many of the same rules apply. According to Wayne, business success comes down to four basic things: skills mastery, excellent communication, judicious customization and customer education. Wayne’s shop works […]
Sophisticated, simple succession strategies protect your business
September 26th, 2017
Larry Oxenham, senior advisor with the American Society for Asset Protection, says small business owners should ask themselves one question: If something were to happen to me today, what would happen to my company? “Every small business will pass on eventually,” says Oxenham, “either voluntarily or involuntarily.” He says that most successful businesses are built […]