Each year, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) sponsors a Student Design Competition for students enrolled in a post-secondary college or university program studying textiles, apparel, engineering or design. The annual competition offers students a valuable opportunity to build their portfolios and advance their career opportunities—and first-place winners also receive a $6,000+ Prize Pack with [...]

New powerboat registrations were up 4 percent through February 2018 according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) New Powerboat Registrations Report. Highlights from the report include: • Registrations of larger boats 27 feet and greater were up 11.1 percent on a rolling 12-month year-over-year basis. Of those, growth was led by saltwater fishing boats, [...]

Sailboat sales were down 11 percent from 2016, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) 2017 U.S. Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract. The report shows declines across all sailboat categories except the 36 foot and larger segment, which was up 14.4 percent. Imports of sailboats into the U.S. were up 3.2 percent while exports rebounded [...]

High-quality products help you create durable, attractive and successful projects. For this feature, we asked our contributors to send us information about their high-performing products. The product information was submitted by the participating manufacturers and suppliers by the established deadline. The products are organized into four categories: Equipment and Tools; Fabric, Film and Foam; Hardware [...]

IFAI’s market research shows that economic growth in 2017 increased in key advanced economies such as the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe. Worldwide growth in GDP came in at 3.6 percent in 2017—well ahead of the 3.2 percent growth experienced in 2016; it is expected to recover to 3.7 percent in 2018. Several developments [...]

Liz Diaz designs inspired boat interiors—and is applying that expertise to bring shelter to the homeless. Having a really good life is not financially driven. It’s inspiration driven,” says Liz Diaz, MFC, owner of North Beach Marine Canvas in San Francisco, Calif. “Working on and around the water is a singularly lovely employment. I am [...]

Cash flow—the amount of money flowing into and out of your shop—is an easy concept to understand, yet not always well managed. Not every owner is aware of the impact skillful cash management has on net income, probably because the importance of managing revenue is far easier to recognize in some types of businesses than [...]

There are several cushion design options to offer a customer with a limited budget. The cushions shown here have butterfly corners, which resemble a boxed corner, but involve fewer fabrication steps, translating to a lower price point. This affordable and efficient solution allowed us to deliver a client’s project within an aggressive time frame. [...]

This awning from Lowitz Custom Shoppe was built and installed by the company for a client whose store is located on the main street of town, where many of Lowitz’s awning customers are located. Photo: Lowitz Custom Shoppe. There’s value in diversifying beyond boats for marine fabricators, like steadier work and income flow, [...]

  As one can imagine, a marine fabrication shop in Alaska can face some pretty extreme seasonal ups and downs, making diversification critical to survival. Consequently, when Devlin McKee and Eric Walton, co-partners of Fairbanks-based Custom Canvas Alaska LLC, opened their business in 2005, it wasn’t long before they began exploring additional markets. They started [...]