State of the Industry 2015: Part 2

March 1, 2015  |  Features, Management

It was a year of respectable growth in the specialty fabrics industry and hope for an even better future, grounded in promising statistics. IFAI surveys specialty fabrics industry end product manufacturers (EPMs) once a year to learn how they are doing and what they anticipate for the future. All bu…
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Your taxes at work

March 1, 2015  |  Management

The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. The passage of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 late last year retroactively extended 54 tax breaks—but only for the 2014 tax year. The so-called “tax extenders” law opens the door for specialty fabric professionals to claim many of these popular…
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The value of collaboration

March 1, 2015  |  Awnings & Canopies, Management

Turning today’s students into tomorrow’s engaged and educated industry professionals. While textile students are the future designers and manufacturers for the textile industry, students in areas such as architecture and product and graphic design are our future textile specifiers. Multi-discipl…
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Stress fractures

February 1, 2015  |  Management

Don’t let workplace stress undermine your operations. Fortunately, headline-making instances of deadly violence are a rare consequence of workplace stress. More often, it simmers just beneath the surface, eating away at morale, productivity and profits. And if you think that workplace stress doesn…
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Succession planning

February 1, 2015  |  Features, Management

From a financial standpoint, selling or transferring your business requires setting and communicating a clear set of goals and procedures to avoid risk and possible conflict. Sooner or later, everyone thinks about retirement. For those who own a closely-held or family textile products business, reti…
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Trendsetter

February 1, 2015  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Vern Schaefer is what is known as an “early adopter,” trying new equipment as soon as it’s available. As he transitions company leadership to his daughter, he’s still setting trends. “I don’t believe in being locked into one way of doing things,” says Vernon Schaefer, MFC, CEO of G…
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Lease or buy?

January 1, 2015  |  Management

New rules may make a difference in your decision. Whether to buy or lease new equipment is a tough question for many specialty fabric professionals to answer, even as credit becomes more readily available. There is no one correct answer to fit every situation or business, but compared to the simplic…
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Rest stops on the road to success

January 1, 2015  |  Features, Management, Perspective

David Snoad implements systems and empowers employees so his business can flourish—and he can take a vacation. “I’ve been away six months of this calendar year and we’re about to have our most profitable year ever,” says David Snoad, managing director of Pinz Pty. Ltd., Seaton, Austral…
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Create a self-sustaining business

December 1, 2014  |  Management

Stay on track with the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Are you currently experiencing one or more of these common frustrations of owning a business? You feel your business is controlling you. If you didn’t need people (employees, vendors, partners…)— your business would run beautifully…
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Everything’s connected

December 1, 2014  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Mr. Sadao Izumi moves the tent industry forward—by keeping the big picture in mind. “There are two Japanese characters that make up the word ‘manage’—and these characters represent how interdependent the process of running a business is,” says Mr. Sadao Izumi, owner and president of …
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