Expounding on Expo

December 1, 2022  |  Editorial

The IFAI Expo 2022 is in the books. It was, as we note on the cover, an energizing event. Why? Because, according to exhibitors and attendees I spoke with on the show floor, it was the first one in three years to feel “right.” Moods were high and exhibit hall traffic was good.
Read More
About our Emerging Leaders

November 1, 2022  |  Editorial

We often talk about labor issues and the ongoing problem of finding skilled workers to keep businesses afloat. But there are young, talented and dedicated people out there already. In this issue of Specialty Fabrics Review, we present brief profiles of 10 “Emerging leaders 40 and under.” (Becaus…
Read More
Making the most of Expo 2022

October 1, 2022  |  Editorial

If you are attending IFAI Expo 2022 this month in Charlotte, N.C., welcome. For more than 100 years, Expo has been the place where industry stakeholders and leaders connect, learn and make purchases to grow their businesses. This year promises to be even better.
Read More
They’re out there

September 1, 2022  |  Editorial

What’s the labor picture in your area? Do you have enough skilled staff? A recent post on the Advanced Textile Association’s CONNECT forum asked, “Is it getting any easier for you to find employees in the textiles industry?” The replies were indicative of how the “front lines” of the ind…
Read More
Just one word

August 1, 2022  |  Editorial

If someone were to remake the 1967 Oscar-winning film The Graduate, they might also want to rewrite one of its more famous lines. At his college graduation party, young Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, is pulled aside by Mr. McGuire, a family friend, who offers him a sage piece of advice…
Read More
Observations on the SOI

July 1, 2022  |  Editorial

This issue features our 2022 State of the Industry Report. As the introduction to that story notes, the worldwide textile industry is clearly on a rebound after two years of uncertainty. That is also true of Specialty Fabrics Review readers, as well as readers of Marine Fabricator, InTents and Geosy…
Read More
Industry primed for growth

June 1, 2022  |  Editorial

Spring is the time of rebirth, growth and new life. And so it is with the textile and fabric industry. After more than two years of bad news with (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) the impact of a pandemic, rising costs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and overseas war, it’s abo…
Read More
Impact of Ukraine war on industry

May 1, 2022  |  Editorial

General George Armstrong Custer was noted for saying, “It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up.” While Custer eventually got knocked down one too many times, there is still a lesson to be learned here.
Read More