January 2010 Issue

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Features

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Markets

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News

  • Geotextile boom in China

    China's Ministry of Transport is examining a plan to invest 5 trillion yuan over the next 3-5 years.

  • Fiber Society conference in Turkey

    The Fiber Society’s Spring 2010 Conference is being organized by BUTEKOM, Bursa Textile and Confection (Home Textiles and Furnishings) Research and Development Center, in collaboration with Uludag Exporters Union and The Fiber Society.

  • Textile wastes: re-use them or lose them

    At the University of Borâs, Sweden, Ph.D. students devised a method to produce 500 grams of ethanol from a kilogram of denim waste.

  • Biomedical Textile Structures Laboratory opens

    A new laboratory, funded by a $1.25 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, will work with medical researchers from Drexel University College of Medicine to develop nanofiber platforms for biomedical textiles.

  • Auto interior manufacturers to attend conference

    Despite a global recession, manufacturers of auto interiors keep driving forward.

  • New boat sales sinking

    New boat sales dropped 34.2 percent and average total dealership sales declined by 23 percent during the first nine months of 2009.

  • Terror attacks, fears slow Pakistani exports

    Pakistan’s textile industry accounts for two-thirds of the country’s exports, and increasing terror attacks, power outages and limited market access is reportedly scaring away new business.

  • Cotton and jute markets in India

    India’s Union Minister for Textiles, Dayanidhi Maran, has announced that he will seek a temporary ban on cotton export to ensure raw materials for domestic spinning mills.

  • Sponseller joins IFAI Board of Directors

    Jeffrey P. Sponseller, executive vice president of sales and service for Miller Weldmaster, Navarre, Ohio, has been elected to his first three-year term on the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Board of Directors.

  • In memoriam: Gerald Lippman

    Gerald Lippman, a pioneer in the heat sealing industry, passed away on Nov. 16, 2009.

  • Calderon to head St. Lucia business group

    Paula A. Calderon, managing director of Caribbean Awning Production Co. Ltd. in St. Lucia, was elected president of the St. Lucia Manufacturers Association (SMA) at their recent annual meeting in October.

  • Primer for business success

    Malvern Press Ltd., Essex, England, has compiled a 60-minute DVD of the broadcast interviews with Dr. James Chan titled “Secrets of Business Success in China.”

  • Recession report: trade flattens

    Textiles Intelligence Ltd., Wilmslow, England, issued its 2009 edition of the “World Textile and Apparel Trade and Production Trends: the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.”

  • South Carolina welcomes textile research firm

    Materials Innovation Technologies, Fletcher, N.C., plans to open a new facility in Florence County, S.C., to expand its development of advanced carbon-fiber textiles for the automotive, aeronautics and defense industries.

  • Employees donate mosquito nets for the holidays

    This year, employees of Insect Shield donated treated bed nets to Venezuelan indigenous people at risk for malaria and other insect-borne diseases.

  • Nontoxic alternative to flexible PVC

    R&D Magazine has recognized FlexOlé thermoplastic olefin polymer, an environmentally sustainable alternative to flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

  • Taiwan meets North Carolina in machinery acquisition

    Pai Lung Machinery Mill Company Ltd., Ruei Fang Town, Taiwan, manufactures circular knitting machines, and recently acquired Vanguard Supreme Machine Company, Monroe, N.C., another textile machine manufacturing business.

  • PGI extends European presence in global hygiene market

    Polymer Group Inc. (PGI), Charlotte, N.C., has acquired the only manufacturer of spunbond polypropylene nonwovens in Spain from Grupo Corinpa S.L., an investment firm.

  • Richardson becomes sales director at Aurora

    Aurora Specialty Textile Group Inc. has promoted Mike Richardson to the position of director of sales and marketing for the company’s print media collection of fabrics.

  • TMI welcomes Christian Nauman

    The TMI Group, a manufacturer of flexible PVC products, has announced the appointment of Christian Nauman as director of sales.

  • Parry to market EarthSmart Technology

    Universal Fibers, Bristol, Va., hired Joseph Parry as national sales manager for branding development and marketing/brand management for the EarthSmart Technology initiative.

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Products

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Business

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Projects

  • Free-standing awning project provides shade

    The Awning Factory designed a grand, 80-by-16-foot projection awning to provide shade for a second floor outdoor dining area at the Mona Lisa Resort in Orlando, Fla.

  • Artistically designed awning meets customer needs

    Miami Awning took an exceptionally artistic approach to designing this 12-by-12-foot awning for an exclusive 26th-floor penthouse residence overlooking the bay and Atlantic Ocean.

  • Tensioned canopies cover outdoor escalators

    In 2008, California adopted an ordinance that mandates the covering of outdoor escalators to control water run-off during rainstorms.

  • The Green Void stretched through the Sydney Customs House atrium from the top floor Café Sydney to the model of the city encased in a glass floor at ground level, five stories below. Photos: MakMax Australia.

    Tensioned fabric sculpture on display in Sydney

    The Sydney Custom House is currently hosting a five-story, translucent green tensioned-fabric sculpture dubbed the Green Void.

  • Laurelbrook, a Connecticut dairy farm, selected ClearSpan buildings to house manure-composting operations—a move that controls compost quality, reduces odor impacts and prevents runoff to nearby water resources. Photo: ClearSpan Fabric Structures Intl.

    Multi-functional structures aid agricultural producers

    Cattle need fresh air, sunlight and protection from cold, damp conditions.

  • Arduinos, such as the small microcontroller shown, are moving mainstream, used with traditional sewing methods to to project light, produce sound and perform other technical operations. Photo: MIT Media Lab.

    Creating computational textiles

    Researchers have developed the LilyPad Arduino microcontroller board, which has electronic parts that can be sewn onto clothing to project light, produce sound or perform other technical operations.

  • Atomic Designs used the iconic child’s pinwheel toy as a model for the attractive, light-reflecting and dimensional Pinwheel Panel. Photos: Atomic Design.

    Pinwheel-shaped panels for backdrops

    The modular Pinwheel Panel is a two-by-two-feet square panel that ships flat and transforms into a light-reflecting textured surface for full scenic backdrops, columns, groupings or space dividers.

  • Rinspeed’s streamlined one-seater sports car transforms into a comfortable sedan with ample room for three; the rear end of the teardrop-shaped car pops up. A coldblack®-finished roof liner keeps heat and UV rays out for energy-efficient cabin comfort.

    High-tech wool keeps auto interior cool

    The streamlined, lightweight, zero-emission iChange shifts to save energy, and its futuristic design includes high-tech wool for seat covers, door panels and roof liners that keep even dark-colored interiors comfortable.

  • Waterlogged footwear gets the boot from ion-mask nanotechnology, a protective polymer coating by P2i that prevents water from being absorbed into underlying materials. Photo: P2i Inc.

    Nano-coated boots march into Paris

    Magnum Boots, a manufacturer of safety and tactical gear, got its newest boots wet at the Milipol Paris 2009 military conference in November.

  • The arches forming the structure enclosing Sydney’s Wildlife World range from 10 to 46 meters long, giving the steel mesh roof its now-iconic undulations. Photos: Wildlife World.

    Urban zoo benefits from steel mesh roof

    A major urban center on a busy harbor may be a unique location for a zoo, but Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia, established Wildlife World to attract both animal lovers and architectural students alike.

  • Airbag system protects troops from explosions

    Among the military acronyms that have infiltrated common speech in the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, IED (improvised explosive device) and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) may be two of the most deadly.

  • The winner of the 2009 World Solar Challenge race was Tokai University’s “Tokai Challenger.” The solar car averaged 63mph as it raced north to south, from Darwin to Adelaide, Australia. Photo: Tokai University.

    World solar challenges

    The state of the race in photovoltaics and composites.

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Resources

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