August 2010 Issue

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  How green is my economy?

  Environmental hyperawareness is a luxury that Europe can ill afford, according to the region’s fiber industry experts.

• Creating the future of textiles (part 1)

  Moisture-barrier properties and sustainability concerns top one expert’s list.

• 

  Protective products meet the challenge

  An overview of the U.S. safety and protective products industry.

• 

  New line of stylish sun control options

  Tri Vantage® has launched the Shade Inspiration Collection™, a line of decorative window shades for interior and “outdoor room” applications.

• 

  Mesh canopy elevates Arizona museum

  The sun stays hot and bright at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz., and the museum store's floor-to-ceiling glazed windows needed a canopy with an aerodynamic look.

• Growing success for Awnings Today

  The fourth year of the Awnings Today campaign proved to be the project’s best to date, an effort that garnered more than 16 billion impressions, from print, web, blogs and broadcast media.

• ASTM paves the way for geotextiles

  The interaction between geotextiles and aggregates is important.

• 

  New grand format fabrics available

  Fisher Textiles has introduced two new fabrics to its Grand Format line for dye sublimation and UV printing.

• 

  NY club opening features digitally printed entry curtain

  Color X, New York City, N.Y., brought creativity and large-format fabric printing services to the opening of one hot venue.

• New leadership for FESPA

  Gyorgy Kovacs, president of the Hungarian Screen Printers’ Association, assumed the presidency of the Federation for European Screen Printers Association (FESPA).

• 

  Plastic adhesive snap components for marine use

  YKK Snap Fasteners America Inc. has introduced plastic adhesive snap components for the marine industry.

• 

  Foam gets technical

  New foam composites respond to the call for high performance in a variety of applications.

• Ballistic armor products covered under defense regulations

  ITAR authorizes the control of export and import of defense articles.

• 

  Antimicrobial fabric offers traditional wool flannel look

  Enduratex™ has announced the release of British Sterling performance fabric.

• 

  Textile implants improve bio tolerance

  Repair or replacement of human tissue damaged by illness or injury is fraught with complications.

• Shaping the future of PPE

  Nanotechnology, smart textiles and hybrid materials will increase the effectiveness and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

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• 

  Highlights from IFAI's Advanced Textiles 2010

  IFAI’s Advanced Textiles 2010 took place June 16–17 in Paris, France.

• Equipment rental industry forecast

  The equipment rental industry is starting to show signs of recovery.

• Shaping the future of PPE

  Nanotechnology, smart textiles and hybrid materials will increase the effectiveness and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

• New leadership for FESPA

  Gyorgy Kovacs, president of the Hungarian Screen Printers’ Association, assumed the presidency of the Federation for European Screen Printers Association (FESPA).

• Alliances help MOP up oil

  MOP Environmental Solutions holds the patent on the MOP™ Maximum Oil Pickup system.

• TESTEX opens new office in Melbourne

  Australia imports and exports textiles, but the country has no controls on chemical substances in textile imports and limited safety requirements on exports.

• ASTM paves the way for geotextiles

  The interaction between geotextiles and aggregates is important.

• OSHA rules on hex-chromium exposure

  In 2006, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) dropped the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for hexavalent chromium from 52 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

• NCTO wants some fiber duties suspended

  The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and 74 companies requested the U.S. Congress to suspend the duty on imported rayon and acrylic fibers that textile manufacturers use.

• European nonwoven production down in 2009

  The weight of nonwovens produced in greater Europe dropped by 6.3 percent in 2009.

• EU commits to 6-point textile plan

  EU vice president vows to support the textile industry by offering a six-point plan.

• GREENGUARD certification made simple

  Manufacturers seeking information about making or certifying products with low or no toxic indoor air emissions can find the short course on the updated GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) website.

• India's filtration fabrics markets revealed

  Filter Media Consulting and the Business Coordination House have jointly published “Market Survey Report: India Nonwoven and Woven Fabrics for Filtration 2010.”

• Insider training: compliance manual for textiles

  Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services recently released a series of regulatory manuals.

• Growing success for Awnings Today

  The fourth year of the Awnings Today campaign proved to be the project’s best to date, an effort that garnered more than 16 billion impressions, from print, web, blogs and broadcast media.

• Vicar to distribute Renolit PVC sheets

  Kal Glas Pressed-Polished PVC sheets, manufactured by Renolit AG, Worms, Germany, are popular in the automotive aftermarket for use in convertible tops.

• SunSetter energy upgrades

  SunSetter Products, Malden, Mass., has completed an energy efficiency upgrade in its 64,000-square-foot facility for manufacturing retractable residential awnings.

• Airship contract lifts employment in Delaware

  ILC Dover’s claim to fame is making spacesuits for NASA.

• Glen Raven builds new distribution center

  By the end of 2010, Glen Raven Inc. and its subsidiary Tri Vantage will complete a 100,000-square-foot centralized distribution hub to serve customers nationwide.

• Russian geotextiles on roads and rails

  The Freudenberg Politex plant in Zavoizhie, Russia, has expanded its capacity for polyester nonwoven production by 3,000 tons per year.

• Lean improvements at Secant Medical

  Secant Medical™, Perkasie, Penn., has identified process improvements in the manufacture of its custom textile structures for biomedical devices.

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• 

  New grand format fabrics available

  Fisher Textiles has introduced two new fabrics to its Grand Format line for dye sublimation and UV printing.

• 

  Nonwoven performance fabric offers durable protection

  Pavenex is a new stitch-bonded, nonwoven performance fabric that offers superior, direct-contact protection from spark, weld splatter, arc flash and extreme heat and flame.

• 

  New window covering eliminates dangerous cords

  In response to safety concerns about standard corded window coverings, Stevenson Vestal has introduced the Safe-T-Shade.

• 

  New line of stylish sun control options

  Tri Vantage® has launched the Shade Inspiration Collection™, a line of decorative window shades for interior and “outdoor room” applications.

• 

  Plastic adhesive snap components for marine use

  YKK Snap Fasteners America Inc. has introduced plastic adhesive snap components for the marine industry.

• 

  Antimicrobial fabric offers traditional wool flannel look

  Enduratex™ has announced the release of British Sterling performance fabric.

Back to Top

• 

  Dispatches from the wired world

  A checklist for making your e-mail more effective.

• 

  Michael Ciferri Jr. gets tough to enhance profits

  Michael Ciferri Jr. of Donovan Enterprises boosts truck cover and tarp sales despite the sluggish economy.

• 

  Discover the potential of natural fibers

  It’s not as simple as “oil versus cotton,” but technological advances have sparked renewed interest in nonsynthetic textiles.

• 

  How green is my economy?

  Environmental hyperawareness is a luxury that Europe can ill afford, according to the region’s fiber industry experts.

• Creating the future of textiles (part 1)

  Moisture-barrier properties and sustainability concerns top one expert’s list.

• 

  Foam gets technical

  New foam composites respond to the call for high performance in a variety of applications.

Back to Top

• 

  Fabric chandeliers light the way

  A semi-permanent installation added a personal flare to an open office space in San Francisco.

• 

  Suspended fabric ceiling tops off aquatics center

  An innovative solution by UFS Australasia met the client’s request for a suspended ceiling that was not susceptible to corrosion from moisture.

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  Fabric ceiling panels enhance Phoenix Convention Center

  The Phoenix Convention Center expansion project needed to capture unique Arizona features.

• 

  Transparent tape transforms art installation

  International Design Week (DMY) in Berlin hosts hundreds of designers exhibiting new products or prototypes, and this June the DMY Award 2010 went to an Austro-Croatian design team with a “sticky” concept.

• 

  Mesh canopy elevates Arizona museum

  The sun stays hot and bright at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz., and the museum store's floor-to-ceiling glazed windows needed a canopy with an aerodynamic look.

• 

  Oil and vapors absorbed by nonwoven wipes

  There is no better testing ground for Texas Tech University’s Fibertect®, a cotton nonwoven wipe with an activated carbon core, than Grand Isle, La., where crude oil washing up on pristine white sand beaches is destroying tourism and making cleanup workers ill.

• 

  Top Austrian climbers and winning fibers

  Climbing a huge boulder hanging over a precipitous alpine drop requires rigorous training, faultless gear and brute courage—and a good t-shirt doesn’t hurt, either.

• 

  Textile implants improve bio tolerance

  Repair or replacement of human tissue damaged by illness or injury is fraught with complications.

• 

  Tagged books talk to librarians

  Librarians now have a new book inventory and management system to fight back against scofflaws, slobs and absent-minded professors everywhere.

• 

  Trash fashion on the runway

  Trash Fashion: “designing out waste” brought haute couture and recycled materials together in an exhibit at the U.K. Science Museum in London’s South Kensington area.

• 

  NY club opening features digitally printed entry curtain

  Color X, New York City, N.Y., brought creativity and large-format fabric printing services to the opening of one hot venue.

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• HDPE basics

  HDPE is the abbreviation for High Density Polyethylene.

• Decoding UV protection claims

  UV protection claims usually mean the fabric has been treated with a UV inhibitor.

• NFPA 701 for indoor vs. outdoor fabrics

  NFPA 701 is a commonly quoted flammability specification in our industry.

• Keying fabric for television studios

  Hollywood special effects are so common, you’ve probably heard of a “blue screen,” where actors are filmed in front of a special blue screen.

• Ballistic armor products covered under defense regulations

  ITAR authorizes the control of export and import of defense articles.

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