August 13, 2019
Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, makers of Sunbrella®, announced the hiring of Steve Pawl as its first chief marketing officer. Pawl has a track record of developing growth strategies and strengthening brands for global companies including Husqvarna Group, Fruit of the Loom, Newell Brands and Pfizer. He will direct the global brand strategy, positioning and activation …
January 1, 2018
The American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) board of directors announced that Glenn Hughes, ASA’s vice president for industry relations, has been hired to take on the role of president beginning April 1, 2018.
The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) president and CEO, Mary Hennessy, will retire on June 1, 2018. The IFAI Board of Directors has begun a search for her replacement and plans to name the person by May 1, 2018. Hennessy was named president in June 2012 after serving in the interim role for eight months. …
Steve Ellington, president of Trivantage LLC, Glen Raven’s distribution and marketing services subsidiary in Glen Raven, N.C., has been named IFAI’s 52nd chairman of the board. Ellington has served on IFAI’s board of directors since the late 1990s. Ellington says he is planning to continue the momentum toward growth and relevance that the board has …
October 26, 2017
Roy Schweinfurth, former IFAI board member and president, died October 8th. He served on the IFAI Board of Directors from 1977 to 1989, and as IFAI president (a position now called chairman) from 1985 to 1987. He was involved with the IFAI Awning Division, now called the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association. His obituary appeared in …
October 4, 2017
Terri Madden, the owner of Sand Sea and Air Interiors Inc., located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and a regular contributor to Marine Fabricator magazine, recently contacted IFAI to provide an update of the situation facing her business as well as many others on the hurricane-ravaged island. “I am more fortunate than most,” Madden says. …
September 1, 2017
Fil-Tec Inc., Hagerstown, Md., a leading industrial thread manufacturer, announced that Tom Koster is joining its sales team as senior sales representative for the Midwest region. He will handle sales and service as well as new account development. Koster has more than 36 years of experience in sales and management.
July 1, 2017
Don Wedge, former owner of the Marine Canvas Training Institute in Palmetto, Fla, passed away peacefully on April 3. Wedge was born on December 27, 1929, in Chardon, Ohio. He helped launch the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) and IFAI’s Master Fabric Craftsman (MFC) certification program. Wedge was well known for his training school, instructional videos …
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has named William V. McCrary Jr. NCTO chair at its annual meeting in March. McCrary is chair and CEO of William Barnet and Son LLC, a synthetic/fiber/yarn/polymer firm located in Spartanburg, S.C. Marty Moran, CEO of Buhler Quality Yarns Corp., a Jefferson, Georgia-based fine-count yarn supplier, has been …
March 1, 2017
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 …