Mike Kallas helps Roeming Industries navigate change

May 1, 2022  |  Features, Perspective

Since pandemic-related effects reduced the sewing workforce that Mike Kallas leads from 20 employees to fewer than 10, he has been earnestly seeking new sewers for his team. But you might not know it based on the job listings he posts—not if you’re new to the industrial fabrics industry, that is…
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A focus on what we do best

April 1, 2022  |  Features, Perspective

If a college friend hadn’t had extra space in a harborside building he was renting in downtown Bellingham, Greg Keeler may have never started up Washington-based marine canvas company Oyster Creek Canvas Co.
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Passion and pride

March 1, 2022  |  Features, Perspective

You may not have heard of Taiyo Kogyo Corp., based in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, but you probably have a tangential relationship with the company through one of its 37 subsidiaries spread across 13 countries. Or maybe you’ve seen one of its hundreds of fabric structure projects around the world. Foun…
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Exceeding expectations

February 1, 2022  |  Features, Perspective

Shari Albertson is vice president of sales at Austin Canvas & Awning, a commercial and residential awning manufacturer and installer in Charlotte, N.C. She has over 15 years of awning sales experience and is the qualifying representative for the company’s general contractor’s licenses in Nor…
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Growth path

January 1, 2022  |  Features, Perspective

Like many textile entrepreneurs, Amy Bircher got her start in the industry in a family business—even as she blazed her own path.
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Hoover Architectural Products blends fabric, metal

October 29, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” contains a lot of truth, but there’s also a risk of stagnation if a company doesn’t adapt to changing times. When the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, Matt Carroll knew it was time for his family’s fabric-awning business to stretch its capabilitie…
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Glenn Russell & Wayne Heflin: Strength in Simplicity

October 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

In 1984, Wayne Heflin and Glenn Russell met in a hallway of a U.S. handbag manufacturer. A seasoned professional within the fashion industry, Russell was the company’s financial controller. Heflin, a Vietnam veteran who entered the leather goods and fashion arena after his service ended, had recen…
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Jeff Newkirk: The next step

August 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

Jeff Newkirk, MFC, started sailing at such a young age, he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t entranced with sailboats, the glide across open water and the call of the open wind.
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