Manufacturer advancements in upholstery textile technology are enabling fabricators to meet a broad range of end-user needs and to stay on top of the trends popping up in various transportation sectors. While different modes of transportation have their own needs, upholstery trends follow similar patterns across markets.

In the Valley of the Sun, there’s no shortage of companies selling awnings. That’s why Amy Huette wasn’t quite sure how to respond when about 25 years ago in Colorado, her father proposed a new business venture in Phoenix, Ariz.

For businesses of all sizes, expanding into service-based revenue streams can unlock new income, deepen customer loyalty and even spark spinoff companies.

Could on-demand automated no-sew apparel production bring some manufacturing back to the United States? CreateMe’s automated system integrates robotics and adhesives to enable fast, local and highly customizable production

Last fall, Polybion™, in conjunction with design studio Natural Urbano, released a set of translucent sculptural hanging lamps, the biomaterials company’s first foray into interior design with its Celium™ material.

The phrase “health care textiles” may first bring to mind medical devices and protective gear used in the operating room (which Specialty Fabrics Review last featured in October 2024), but they’re much more varied. Besides hospitals, health care textiles are in any type of outpatient clinic or in residential facilities, from upholstery and mattresses to curtains and garments. But even if health care fabrics are ubiquitous, the companies that make them are intent on meeting exacting quality and regulatory standards to keep customers coming back decade after decade.

Many jurisdictions have current and forthcoming regulations banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a variety of products, including textiles. Laboratory testing can help prove compliance with such bans of these so-called “forever chemicals,” although not without some caveats and complications.

How to introduce a product into the U.S. military marketplace is a big question for companies. For many of those who have tried to do so, these attempts are met with frustration. Case study examples of missteps can be seen across a wide range of technologies, not just for textile products.

What happens to an owner’s company when they retire and no successor is available to take the reins? The answer might be all around them—on the shop floor, among the sales staff or within human resources, finance and legal departments.

If you’re like most people, the thought of giving a presentation ranks somewhere between a root canal and rush-hour traffic on the list of things you’d rather avoid. In fact, studies estimate that nearly 75% of the population experiences some level of anxiety about public speaking.

Buyer’s remorse is largely preventable when sales professionals take a more disciplined, professional approach from the first conversation through follow-up.

Large frame awnings and fabric structures are what most of us in the industry want, or at least a few of them per year. They usually take substantial labor hours and material, and as such, can be very profitable and keep your staff busy.