The National Association of Manufactures (NAM) Institute announced that 130 women are being recognized with the Women in Manufacturing Science, Technology, Engineering and Production (STEP) Ahead Award. This year's winners include Kris Carroll, Jan Morton, Katelyn Vara and Marcea Weiss. The recipients of the STEP Ahead Awards will be honored at a gala in Washington, D.C., [...]

Mike Erickson, MFC, was named to the Marine Fabricators Association Hall of Fame January 21 at the 2017 MFA Conference award banquet in Jacksonville, Fla. Erickson is the owner of Canvas Designers® Inc. and EZ2CY Inc., both based in Riviera Beach, Fla. In the early 1990s, Erickson was instrumental in the development of IFAI’s Marine [...]

Outdura, Hudson, N.C., has named Gloria Tsocos as the company’s design manager. She joined the company in 2015 in its contract fabric division. She began her career as a fabric designer in the home furnishing and hospitality markets, and over the years she has specialized in indoor and outdoor upholstery fabrics. She served as a [...]

Steve Toth has joined the sales management team at J. Ennis Fabrics, Plainfield, Ind. Toth will serve as the U.S. specialty regional sales manager. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the specialty products market. Starting first with The Astrup Company (now Trivantage®) in 1984, Toth eventually took on various vice-presidency roles [...]

Iosso Products, Elk Grove, Ill., received an Excellence in Sustainability award at the Elk Grove Manufacturers Expo in October 2016. The award acknowledges Iosso’s bio-based formulas, which are alternatives to petroleum-based products. The products carry the USDA Certified Bio-based label, verifying that the amount of renewable bio-based ingredients in the products meet or exceed prescribed [...]

The 2017 American Boating Congress (ABC) meets May 15-17, in Washington, D.C. ABC will provide attendees the opportunity to take part in a series of workshops and meet with key policy makers. Early bird registration closes March 20. Highlights of the 2017 American Boating Congress: Jake Tapper will be the 2017 keynote “Inside the Beltway” [...]

The marine industry lost one of its most creative and charismatic designers, Rodney Gene Hayward, on February 4. He was 55. Hayward specialized in graphics, emblems and logos for boat builders across the country. He also inspired many interior design trends. He was a pioneer in developing new products that raised the bar and set [...]

Students have until June 10, 2017, to apply for any of four $5,000 scholarships available through The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF). Each year, IFF awards several scholarships to degree-seeking students enrolled in accredited colleges, universities or technical schools. The scholarships are paid directly to the students’ schools for fall semester tuition. Available scholarships include: Textile [...]

Snag-A-Slip is poised to take a big step toward its goal of becoming the Priceline of boat slip booking. The Baltimore-based company plans to use the new funding to overhaul its online and mobile application, add 30 employees to its staff of 45, and add hundreds more marinas to its network. It hopes to offer [...]

February 16 | Noon - 1 p.m. EST Companies can have their carefully built reputations ruined overnight when mold, mildew or other harmful bacteria are found on their fabrics. With a global supply chain, a complex distribution network and uncontrolled shipping environments, this scenario, while not the norm, can create expensive problems for companies within the [...]