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Stimpson launches rebrand as part of 165th anniversary
May 25, 2018
Stimpson, formerly known as Edwin B. Stimpson Company, manufacturer of grommets and washers, eyelets and more, has launched a new brand identity and revamped its digital assets to celebrate 165 years in business. The company manufactures products for the commercial tent industry and countless other applications out of its 278,000-square-foot facility in Pompano Beach, Fla. …
Industry News
Shelter Structures adds Sunshield Shade
May 25, 2018
Shelter Structures America, a distributor of Shelter temporary clearspan tent structures, Sunshield & SKP for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will carry the Sunshield Shade product line. Sunshield products are polycarbonate carports and shade structures, tensile fabric shade structures, vehicle parking shades and patio shades. The products will be warehoused in the Shelter Structures America …
Industry News
Platinum Equity acquires A&E
May 24, 2018
Platinum Equity has acquired American & Efrid (A&E), Mount Holly, N.C., from KPS Capital Partners. A&E is the largest U.S. manufacturer and the world’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of premium quality industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles. Platinum Equity, founded in 1995, is a global investment firm with $13 billion in …
Industry News
Moran and Bockoven named NCTO officers
May 23, 2018
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), a trade association representing domestic textile manufacturers, elected officers at its 15th annual meeting in March. Marty Moran, CEO of Buhler Quality Yarns Corp., was named chairman. Moran served as vice chairman in 2017. Don Bockoven, president and CEO of Leigh Fibers and ICE Recycling, was chosen to …
Industry News
Serge Ferrari acquires Plastitex
May 22, 2018
Serge Ferrari Group, Pompano Beach, Fla., has acquired Plastitex, an Italian manufacturer of specialty composite materials for indoor and outdoor furniture. The acquisition adds complementary product lines and technical knowledge to the Serge Ferrari brand. Besides its expertise in new product design, Plastitex will provide extra capacity and additional manufacturing flexibility. Serge Ferrari Americas can …
Industry News
Milliken & Company holds color workshop
May 21, 2018
Milliken & Company recently hosted a Love Good Color workshop to help the team, expand the way they think about and approach color. Led by Laura Guido-Clark, Love Good Color founder and creative director, the workshop focuses on emotionally driven ways of thinking of and approaching color to help design and build the best fabric …
Industry News
Macy’s chooses OEKO-TEX®
May 16, 2018
Macy’s will bring MADE IN GREEN® by OEKO-TEX® traceable labels to select private brand textile products in its home collection. The MADE IN GREEN label ensures products are made in environmentally friendly, socially responsible and safe facilities and are tested for harmful substances. The label will be featured on several of Macy’s private brand sheets …
Industry News
American Textile expands
May 15, 2018
American Textile Company, provider of innovative sleep solutions, opened its newest location in Tifton, Ga., in March in order to meet expanding retail and e-commerce demands. The 400,000-square- foot warehousing and distribution facility more than doubles the company’s distribution capacity. The textile maker has grown over 10 percent annually for the last 10 years, driven …
Industry News
A&E and Applied DNA Sciences collaborate
May 14, 2018
American & Efird (A&E), a manufacturer and distributor of industrial and consumer thread and technical textiles, has reached an agreement with Applied DNA Sciences Inc. to develop sewing thread utilizing Applied DNA’s CertainT® anti-counterfeiting technology. DNA technology can protect a wide range of products, from luxury consumer brands to industrial applications. Known for its leadership …
Industry News
G & J Awning purchases Hoigaard’s Custom Canvas and Awning
May 10, 2018
Gary Buermann and Beth Brenny, owners of G & J Awning, have announced the purchase of Hoigaard’s Custom Canvas and Awning, Plymouth, Minnesota. Hoigaard’s, an awning manufacturer, was founded 120 years ago and was one of fourteen companies that founded Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) in 1912. Approximately 6 months ago Buermann and Brenny, co-owners …
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Business
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Tracking supplier compliance for sustainable textile companies
May 1, 2018
The issue of compliance can be complicated for textile companies, which have to comply with various regulatory and voluntary company standards for product safety and restriction of substances. In the United States, for example, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) contains provisions that aim to improve the safety of children’s products. The European Union …
Business
California Community College Makerspaces offer work-based learning for students
April 10, 2018
The CCC Maker Initiative, administered by Sierra College (www.sierracollege.edu), is offering internships and work-based learning experiences for students through 24 California Community College makerspaces, where students gain technical, entrepreneurial and work-ready skills sought by employers. California Community Colleges participating in the CCC Maker (cccmaker.com) initiative to build makerspace communities are preparing students for careers through …
Business
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Outside expertise: how to find affordable, professional help when you need it
March 1, 2018
While most owners of small- and medium-size businesses know the details of their companies intimately, there are often highly technical matters of law, accounting, management and marketing that are best handled by outside experts. Attorneys, accountants, and management and marketing advisers have specialized knowledge about niche areas that few business owners can hope to duplicate. …
Business
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Savvy cash management helps your bottom line
January 1, 2018
Cash flow—the amount of money flowing into and out of your shop—is an easy concept to understand, yet not always well managed. Not every owner is aware of the impact skillful cash management has on net income, probably because the importance of managing revenue is far easier to recognize in some types of businesses than …
Business
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New IRS accounting method changes
October 1, 2017
The tax returns of many businesses in the specialty fabrics industry have been—and will most likely continue to be—extra thick. Thanks to newly issued “repair regulations,” tax return filings for last year included more work on “Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method” than usual. Fortunately, the IRS recently made it easier for small …
Business
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Smart documentation is key to selling your business
September 1, 2017
No matter where in the world we run our businesses, we aspire to be successful, profitable and happy. We have either started the business from nothing, purchased an existing enterprise or taken the reins of the family business. Often, we begin with limited skills, have minimal formal industry training and largely “learn by our mistakes.” …
Business
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How to attract and hire exceptional employees
August 1, 2017
In the buyer’s market of recent years, it was probably easy for you to attract top-notch job candidates. Not so much today. With new job creation being healthier than expected in 2016, and further increases so far this year, finding and hiring the best candidates for your shop will no longer be a slam dunk. …
Business
Understand your customers’ personalities for better sales
July 1, 2017
Elemental keys to staying in sync and making the sale. The first thing you need to know is that your customers are different—from each other, and from you. You may feel that you already know that, but I can tell you that many business owners and professionals have lamented to me that the client they …
Business
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Sustainability: good business
June 1, 2017
Rainier Industries succeeds with a light footprint and a firm handshake. For Rainier Industries Ltd., sustain-ability is more than just a buzzword—it’s a way of doing business. Although often associated with high expenses, Rainier president and CEO Scott Campbell considers sustainability an initiative that makes business sense. “It’s actually pretty easy and saves money,” he …
Business
Driving business during the slow season: entertaining clients
June 1, 2017
Everyone appreciates the time of year when things start to slow down. But after a recuperation stage, tent rental companies may find themselves twiddling their thumbs, waiting for clients to call. What do you do to drive business at these times? Many operations host a showcase or an open house, blending strategy and celebration. One …
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Help wanted: the next generation of manufacturing workers
May 1, 2018
The dearth of skilled labor is an increasingly common lament heard from manufacturers of all stripes. It’s not a sudden or inflated complaint. According to recent data provided by the Manufacturing Institute (the Institute, or MI), an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) based in Washington, D.C., 364,000 manufacturing jobs are going unfilled. …
Feature
Mike, Joe and Dan Reilly: leadership transition for Miami Awning
May 1, 2018
“A lot of what I’ve accomplished in this industry was about survival—being able to have what I need to get the job done,” says Mike Reilly, owner and CEO of Miami Awning Co. in Miami, Fla. “Now, my aim is to convey what knowledge I can to my sons to make it easier for them …
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Strategies for keeping busy year-round
May 1, 2018
Roller coasters belong in amusement parks, not on the balance sheet; yet for many specialty fabricator businesses susceptible to seasonal ups and downs, it may sometimes seem as if the operation is being taken for exactly that kind of ride. Not every business is prone to periodic slowdowns in work. But for those that are, …
Feature
Amy Poe builds Wyckam from a marine canvas business into a custom sewing shop
April 1, 2018
As a small business owner you have to be able to adapt to many different situations and needs,” says Amy Poe, owner of Wyckam in Portland, Ore. “You pretty much need to be able to do everything. Even if you hire something out you still have to have a basic understanding of what it is …
Feature
Fabric graphics dazzle outdoors
April 1, 2018
Branding has become a major fixation. From people who carefully curate their social media postings to large corporations with entire brand-focused departments and everything in between, it seems as if everyone is intent on cementing public perception of their brands. And although we’ve all likely encountered individuals who are obsessed with their “personal brand,” for …
Feature
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Shade-product manufacturers are making outdoor spaces more comfortable—and smarter
April 1, 2018
While many manufacturers concentrate on making smart products that give people convenient and luxurious control over functions in their homes and businesses, others are finding ways to make the outdoors equally responsive and comfortable to lifestyles in the Internet of Things age. A robotics company in Pasadena, Calif., is, in fact, throwing all its weight …
Feature
Some of the most innovative uses of fabric in entertainment environments are found inside
March 1, 2018
Fabric and lighting have an ages-old relationship that elicits something visceral, and when done skillfully there’s a quality to backlit fabric that nothing else can provide,” says Eric Bury, director of project development for the Toronto, Canada-based custom architectural fabrication company Eventscape. Bury acknowledges that of all the construction materials his company uses to create …
Feature
David Murray at Fiesta Tents goes for the gold
March 1, 2018
Running a business is hard work. There’s always a time when you’ve got to change the way you’re doing things,” says David Murray, founder and president of Fiesta Tents Ltd. in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. “Every year you have to review your business—you have to review and correct.” The inspiration for starting a business came in …
Feature
2018 State of the Industry
March 1, 2018
AWNINGS AND CANOPIES In 2017, growth in the awning market increased, in the low single-digit range. Contributing to the growth was an approximate 6.5 percent rise in housing values in 2017; a 4.1 percent increase in home values is anticipated in 2018. Many homeowners used their rising home equity to remodel in 2017. According to …
Feature
Tarp and truck cover manufacturers stand at the ready with products designed to keep loads secure and drivers safe
March 1, 2018
Fabric truck covers, side curtains and tarping systems are enjoying increased attention from an industry looking for advanced solutions to help keep fleets rolling along more efficiently, safely and economically. Several factors are fueling this interest. For one thing, drivers are getting older, says Vincent Merlot Jr., CEO/owner of Merlot Vango® Tarping Solutions Inc., a …
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Zipper tricks: tips and techniques
May 1, 2018
Providing an excellent end product is paramount to marine fabricators, and zippers play a vital role in the long-term functionality of everything from covers to cushions. But zippers can be tricky. Choosing the right one can be confusing, and working with zippers in difficult situations takes both expertise and patience. Important features For Rebecca Tarockoff, …
Advanced Textiles
Developing NASA’s next-generation spacesuit
May 1, 2018
Human space exploration is one of the most ambitious and exciting endeavors upon which we’ve ever embarked, and it has always been an integral part of the U.S. space program. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent our first astronaut, Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight in 1961, and eight years later landed a …
Advanced Textiles
Academia and business forge new alliances
April 1, 2018
From small startups to global companies, academia and business forge alliances. Early in 2018, Greensboro, N.C.-based VF Corp. and North Carolina State University (NC State) announced a strategic, multi-year partnership to “support student development at NC State and advance apparel and textiles innovation within VF,” the company says. It will also bring $1 million to …
Markets
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Space, stability and technical expertise enhance the new Tennessee Titans facility
April 1, 2018
The Tennessee Titans debuted a new practice facility in the summer of 2016, replacing their former air structure with one much brighter, bigger and sturdier. After more than 17 years of use, the original facility, located at Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., was showing signs of deterioration, including dirty fabric, poor lighting, inconsistent …
Advanced Textiles
IPC committee seeks comments on e-textiles industry standard
March 1, 2018
In July 2017, IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries) hosted the first web meeting of the IPC E-Textiles Materials Subcommittee. Formed by volunteers from the e-textiles community, the group had approached IPC with interest in developing industry standards for e-textiles. IPC was chosen because it is a developer of consensus-based international industry standards for electronics. It …
Markets
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Engineered geosynthetics offer riverbank erosion protection
March 1, 2018
The Río La Antigua flows through a low-lying region in the Mexican state of Veracruz, which has the historical importance of being one of the first regions where Hernán Cortés landed in the early 1500s. The Casa de Cortés is a popular tourist attraction, and the village of La Antigua has significant historical importance; as …
Markets
Weighing sustainability
February 1, 2018
Trends reflect a global interest in natural fibers and ethical practices. The smart and advanced textile industries, while broadly in agreement on the need to be more sustainable, are in less accord when deciding how to address the issue. Cultural and local differences can on one level exacerbate the difficulty in reaching a consensus, but …
Markets
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Acquisitions reshape the U.S. tent and event rental industry
February 1, 2018
A wave of acquisitions reshaped the U.S. tent and event rental industry in 2017 Beginning in 2016 and accelerating the pace in spring and summer of 2017, several recapitalized tent rental companies acquired other like-businesses. The break-up of the Classic Party Rentals network, based in Inglewood, Calif., fueled much of the activity. A trend toward …
Advanced Textiles
New substrates for smart fabrics
January 1, 2018
Manufacturers of smart fabrics are looking for new, novel textile substrates. A key takeaway from the Smart Fabrics Program and E-Textiles Workshop at the 2017 IFAI Expo was the symbiotic relationship between smart technologies and the development of suitable textile substrates to facilitate the desired function. While the fashion apparel business has become increasingly commodity-driven, …
Geosynthetics
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Geofoam solves construction challenges
January 1, 2018
High atop Hidden Peak, lightweight geofoam solves construction challenges the easy way. All projects have challenges, purpose and meaning, yet some projects mean a lot more to owners than others. It takes a visionary to leave a legacy, and Richard Bass, founder of Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah, fit the bill. Bass is …
Sponsored Content
Choosing the Right Awning Fabric
Industry News
Stimpson launches rebrand as part of 165th anniversary
May 25, 2018
Stimpson, formerly known as Edwin B. Stimpson Company, manufacturer of grommets and washers, eyelets and more, has launched a new brand identity and revamped its digital assets to celebrate 165 years in business. The company manufactures products for the commercial tent industry and countless other applications out of its 278,000-square-foot facility in Pompano Beach, Fla. …
Industry News
Shelter Structures adds Sunshield Shade
May 25, 2018
Shelter Structures America, a distributor of Shelter temporary clearspan tent structures, Sunshield & SKP for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will carry the Sunshield Shade product line. Sunshield products are polycarbonate carports and shade structures, tensile fabric shade structures, vehicle parking shades and patio shades. The products will be warehoused in the Shelter Structures America …
Industry News
Platinum Equity acquires A&E
May 24, 2018
Platinum Equity has acquired American & Efrid (A&E), Mount Holly, N.C., from KPS Capital Partners. A&E is the largest U.S. manufacturer and the world’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of premium quality industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles. Platinum Equity, founded in 1995, is a global investment firm with $13 billion in …
Industry News
Moran and Bockoven named NCTO officers
May 23, 2018
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), a trade association representing domestic textile manufacturers, elected officers at its 15th annual meeting in March. Marty Moran, CEO of Buhler Quality Yarns Corp., was named chairman. Moran served as vice chairman in 2017. Don Bockoven, president and CEO of Leigh Fibers and ICE Recycling, was chosen to …
Industry News
Serge Ferrari acquires Plastitex
May 22, 2018
Serge Ferrari Group, Pompano Beach, Fla., has acquired Plastitex, an Italian manufacturer of specialty composite materials for indoor and outdoor furniture. The acquisition adds complementary product lines and technical knowledge to the Serge Ferrari brand. Besides its expertise in new product design, Plastitex will provide extra capacity and additional manufacturing flexibility. Serge Ferrari Americas can …
Industry News
Milliken & Company holds color workshop
May 21, 2018
Milliken & Company recently hosted a Love Good Color workshop to help the team, expand the way they think about and approach color. Led by Laura Guido-Clark, Love Good Color founder and creative director, the workshop focuses on emotionally driven ways of thinking of and approaching color to help design and build the best fabric …
Industry News
Macy’s chooses OEKO-TEX®
May 16, 2018
Macy’s will bring MADE IN GREEN® by OEKO-TEX® traceable labels to select private brand textile products in its home collection. The MADE IN GREEN label ensures products are made in environmentally friendly, socially responsible and safe facilities and are tested for harmful substances. The label will be featured on several of Macy’s private brand sheets …
Industry News
American Textile expands
May 15, 2018
American Textile Company, provider of innovative sleep solutions, opened its newest location in Tifton, Ga., in March in order to meet expanding retail and e-commerce demands. The 400,000-square- foot warehousing and distribution facility more than doubles the company’s distribution capacity. The textile maker has grown over 10 percent annually for the last 10 years, driven …
Industry News
A&E and Applied DNA Sciences collaborate
May 14, 2018
American & Efird (A&E), a manufacturer and distributor of industrial and consumer thread and technical textiles, has reached an agreement with Applied DNA Sciences Inc. to develop sewing thread utilizing Applied DNA’s CertainT® anti-counterfeiting technology. DNA technology can protect a wide range of products, from luxury consumer brands to industrial applications. Known for its leadership …
Industry News
G & J Awning purchases Hoigaard’s Custom Canvas and Awning
May 10, 2018
Gary Buermann and Beth Brenny, owners of G & J Awning, have announced the purchase of Hoigaard’s Custom Canvas and Awning, Plymouth, Minnesota. Hoigaard’s, an awning manufacturer, was founded 120 years ago and was one of fourteen companies that founded Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) in 1912. Approximately 6 months ago Buermann and Brenny, co-owners …
Sponsored Content
Choosing the Right Awning Fabric
Products
Sheer quiet
March 1, 2018
Designtex Acoustic Sheers drapery collections include three patterns (Baleen, Glace and Lumin) in a variety of colors designed for translucency and engineered for sound dampening. Pairing light transmission and acoustic absorption creates opportunities for window treatments and enclave walls that can help contain noise without blocking light. Installed folded, Baleen has a Noise Reduction Coefficient …
Products
Magical eco-thread
March 1, 2018
American & Efird (A&E) has introduced Magic® using REPREVE®, a recycled, air-entangled, polyester sewing thread that provides a premium, high-performance eco-alternative to other threads. Incorporating Unifi’s REPREVE® fiber made from recycled plastic bottles, the thread is flat and ribbon-like, which creates a lower profile seam that reduces the potential for surface abrasion. The thread is …
Products
Lighter laser cutter
March 1, 2018
Laser Photonics has introduced a new large-format fiber laser cutting system, the Titan Express, which gives small to mid-size manufacturers a system that fits a smaller facility and a smaller budget. Equipped with a high-power, energy-efficient fiber laser and an advanced direct drive motion control platform, the lightweight cutting system is suited for industries cutting …
Products
Rugged faux leather
March 1, 2018
The Mitchell Group’s new high-performance faux leather upholstery collection, Sta-Kleen® Polycarbonate (PC), is designed for health care, hospitality, contract and other commercial markets that require a fabric able to withstand demanding applications yet with a luxurious texture and feel. Engineered with high-quality polycarbonate resins, the fabric has outstanding strength, is abrasion, stain and hydrolysis resistant, …
Products
Tougher transparency
March 1, 2018
Robeco’s newest flexible transparent vinyl provides another film option for the marine and industrial fabrics industries. GlassClear® adds a scratch-resistant coating to both sides of its one-ply 030 Clear Extruded Vinyl product. Supplied in roll form, this newest product option allows users to unroll only what they need for a specific job. This reduces waste, …
Products
Precise pre-treatment
March 1, 2018
Exact and even pre-treatment of fabrics for pigment inks is essential for providing added color gamuts and wash fastness. Impression Technology’s GoTx® pre-treatment module, designed to run with any direct fabric printer, has a rotational dosing liquid drum that lays the correct amount of pre-treatment solution to the top surface of fabric without wetting the …
Products
Beefy marine hardware
February 1, 2018
Trivantage has added SolaMesh™ hardware to its shade sail and structure product offerings. The new line of hardware complements SolaMesh fabric with a wide range of D-rings, shackles, stainless steel rope, rope connections and mounting options for all installations. The hardware offers eye-on-eye, jaw-on-jaw and hook-on-hook turnbuckle options to suit a variety of preferences and …
Products
Speedier printing
February 1, 2018
Epson America’s 64-inch Epson SureColor® F9370 wide-format textile printer is designed to deliver high-speed, reliable productivity for digital dye-sublimation transfers for a range of polyester textile and apparel applications. The printer delivers industrial-level production with speeds up to 1,169 square-feet-per-hour and features an integrated new fabric wiping system coupled with a highly accurate roll-to-roll media …
Products
Hot fabric developments
February 1, 2018
Teijin has developed SOLOTEX® THERMO, a polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fiber offering excellent thermal retention and insulation. The company says the fiber offers high comfortability thanks to its softness, form-suitability and stretchability. It absorbs near infrared sunlight and converts it to heat efficiently due to carbon-based inorganic particles mixed into the fiber’s molecular structure. The company …
Products
Stylish upholstery fabric
February 1, 2018
The Josef and Anni Collection from Designtex is a series of performance luxury textiles that combine and explore the relationship between color, materials and structure. Anni is available in six colors and Josef in 18 colors. All are plush, bleach-cleanable upholstery fabrics with a structured geometry that feature a strong sense of line, shape and …
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Choosing the Right Awning Fabric
Projects
Suited for speed
May 1, 2018
The only naturally refrigerated bobsled track in the world, the Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz-Celerina, is located in Switzerland’s Engadine Valley. Dating back to 1904, it is also the world’s oldest track, built for vacationing British guests. In March, the local Cristal Da Glatsch club held a bobsled race to support the track. Racers were …
Projects
A smarter jacket for first responders
May 1, 2018
Smart technology offers endless practical applications, but its potential for first responders has lifesaving possibilities. The technology company Nokia, working with South Korean apparel company Kolon and Czech Republic software developer GINA, has introduced a prototype jacket for police, firefighters and other emergency responders. Called the CHASE (connected health and safety equipment) LifeTech FR (first …
Projects
The future is… comfy
May 1, 2018
In the 1980s science fiction hit “Back to the Future,” Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels through time wearing a pair of high-flying, self-lacing Nike Air Mags. In real life, Nike produced 89 pairs of the techno sneakers in 2016 to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to the tune of $6.5 …
Projects
Insulating fabric, or polar bear pelt?
May 1, 2018
Polar bears have a thick pelt that keeps them warm in the arctic environment even when temperatures average -40°F during the winter months. Scientists at China’s Zhejiang University College of Chemical and Biological Engineering studied the microstructure and thermal insulation qualities of the polar bear’s coat and have developed a fiber that mimics it. The …
Projects
The cycles of time, sculpted in fiber
May 1, 2018
Madrid’s historic Plaza Mayor, a popular gathering place and tourist destination, celebrated its 400th anniversary in February 2018. In honor of the occasion, the city of Madrid, Spain, commissioned an original sculpture by American artist Janet Echelman. Known for colorful large-scale fiber sculptures, Echelman created an installation—1.78 Madrid—that explored the cycles of time. It was …
Projects
Patient-friendly hospital gowns
May 1, 2018
With advancements in modern medicine, the one thing that has remained the same for decades is the awkward, open-back hospital gown. The company Care+Wear, founded in 2014 to design fashionable and functional clothing and accessories for people undergoing medical treatment, decided it was time for a makeover. The team worked with students from Parsons School …
Projects
MIT develops new technique for ultrafine fibers
April 1, 2018
They may be ultrafine, but fibers produced using a new process developed by researchers at MIT are strong and tough enough for use in applications including protective armor and nanocomposites. The process, known as gel electrospinning, is a variation of the traditional method of gel spinning, but with electrical forces. It creates ultrafine polyethylene fibers …
Projects
Carbon fiber Humanity Star takes to the skies
April 1, 2018
Scientist and engineer Peter Beck is on a mission to make commercial space travel a reality. He founded Rocket Lab in 2006 to provide frequent launch opportunities to low earth orbit. Beck also wanted to create a way to connect people to the night sky, to bring people together. He hopes to demonstrate that we …
Projects
U.S. Olympic team sports self-heating jackets
April 1, 2018
When Team USA entered the stadium to the tune “Gangnam Style” during the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea, they didn’t have to give a second thought to the frigid temps. The record-number 242 athletes were certain to stay warm and cozy with jackets outfitted with a special heating component. Designed by …
Projects
Lilienthalhaus building uses ETFE roof for natural light
April 1, 2018
Lilienthalhaus, a new building at the Braunschweig Research Airport in Braunschweig, Germany, is named after pioneer aviator Otto Lilienthal. Known as the “flying man,” Lilienthal was the first person to successfully carry out unpowered flights. The designation is fitting; the design of the four-story building embodies the same inventive spirit as the adventurous pilot. Designed …
