Welcome everyone to a new column I will be writing for Marine Fabricator. The goal of this column is to provide updates on the happenings of the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) that you might not otherwise receive without attending one of the various events hosted by our organization.

A timeline of MFA’s history

Let’s start with some information about the MFA and its parent organization, Advanced Textiles Association (ATA). On Sept. 12, 1912, 14 manufacturers of canvas and awnings met at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, and formed the National Tent and Awning Association, with the shared dream to provide the best products possible to customers.

Over the years, the changes in this industry have been massive and the name of this organization has changed with it. We became the National Canvas Goods Manufacturers Association in 1936. In 1957, the name was again changed to the Canvas Products Association International. The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) was the next name change and finally followed by ATA, the current name of our flagship organization.

ATA has several member groups under its umbrella, one of those being the MFA. This group launched in the early 1990s and officially merged with IFAI in June 1994. The first issue of Marine Fabricator magazine was published the following January. Chris Mikko was its editor and the magazine’s goal was to have a publication for fabricators written by fabricators.

In 1995, MFA had 391 members and was led by an advisory board composed of Katie Bradford, Linda Delgado, Rick DeYoung, Mike Erickson, Trudy Flanagan and Elizabeth Roso. That year, the organization held a national convention in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. and hosted five regional workshops across the country.

From sea to shining sea, and across the pond

Since then, MFA has hosted regional workshops across the country, as well as beyond our borders. The annual Marine Fabricators Conference has been held around the United States, including many parts of Florida, the East Coast, various venues along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico (we are not getting intentionally political here), the West Coast, and even on board a ship called the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif.

This conference is, of course, MFA’s flagship event. With that, I personally welcome you all to next year’s conference in Savannah, Ga., and I look forward to so much each year. It brings together some of the most talented and eager-to-learn folks in our industry and pairs them with the top manufacturers and distributors to form a collaborative and socially engaging way to share our knowledge, learn from others’ successes (and mistakes) and have some fun meeting new friends and catching up with old friends.

Speaking of flagship events, the ATA has one heck of an event to check out if you have not: Advanced Textiles Expo, held annually in the fall (see page 9 of the July/August issue of Marine Fabricator for more details). This one brings anyone and everyone that makes or sells any type of product that could be used in the advanced textiles industry under one roof and believe me when I tell you: it’s huge! I have been to several of these expos in Minneapolis, Minn., Nashville, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla., and it takes several days to visit all the booths.

Some MFA members have also travel abroad to related events in places such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Last fall, Tecsew, a marine canvas company in England, held an event at their shop that was similar to the MFA events we host. Dozens of U.S.-based fabricators attended, as well as those from Europe and around the world. Those who attended reported back that it was a fantastic event filled with great learning opportunities and a chance to see how things are done in other parts of the world.

There is also an annual event held in Australia that is very similar to the Marine Fabricators Conference that brings the best fabricators from down under together to advance the trade. Many of the top fabricators from Australia have attended our conference and brought with them a wide array of knowledge to share a unique new perspective to design and functionality of the products we create daily.

Off the record

Really more on the record for this portion, but I always wanted to say that. This is a tip of the hat to our writers, editors and the rest of the staff that keep this great magazine running and an important source of information for the folks in our industry.

The newest member of this group is Brianna Liestman, who is the senior editor extraordinaire (I may have added that last part) of Marine Fabricator and with any luck, didn’t feel the need to change this entire sentence. She moved into this position last fall and has done an incredible job in her role thus far! I also want to take a moment to thank Elisa Bernick, who was the former senior editor of the magazine, for her many years of contributions to this magazine and our industry as well. 

You can also check out Specialty Fabrics Review, which typically features an industry professional from ATA on the cover and a featured article about them. There is still plenty to read and see in this magazine that is marine fabrication related, but this magazine is more of the broader ATA level, while Marine Fabricator focuses on the marine industry.

Fast forward

These days it seems we are constantly trying to solve the latest industry problems—like bringing youth into the trade and solving the problem of staffing—as well as the continuing evolution of the use of technology, and now the dreaded forever chemicals. These are the types of issues that this organization was created to try and solve.

The current MFA Board of directors consists of: Charlene Clark (chair), Keri Ames (vice chair), Mike Boatman, Mike Charpentier, Mike Hendrix, Jeff Newkirk, Julie Tinsman, Steven Wayne and myself (Kyle Van Damme). We are excited to continue to work on the above issues and many others to keep moving this industry forward for years to come.

Barbara Connett is the ATA staff member that leads the MFA and is the vital compass that keeps us all going in the right direction. She and the rest of the ATA staff do an incredible job throughout the year, mostly behind the scenes, keeping this ship afloat and running full steam ahead and we want to thank them for their efforts and all the ways they go above and beyond for all of us.

We have some exciting things in store for 2025, including two MFA Regional Workshops, with one of them being in Canada, as well as planning the Marine Fabricators Conference in Savannah, Ga. this coming January. See page 11 of the July/August issue of Marine Fabricator for more details on all these events!

We also are working very hard to bring a revamped certification process to MFA as soon as we can. Our board is very excited to find the best ways we can serve you and I am here to bring you regular updates on those exciting things that are happening.

If you have any questions for me or want to suggest any topics to be discussed or info to be shared within this reoccurring column, please reach out to me via phone or email and let’s chat! 

Kyle Van Damme, MFC, is the owner of Marine Tops Unlimited in Omro, Wis., and sits on the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) Board of Directors. Contact him at Kyle@MarineTops.com and +1 920 420 2677.