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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Donato Fraioli continues ASATI’s tradition of innovation

June 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

The news headlines were alarming. Just before Christmas 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a case of deadly mad cow disease had been reported in Washington state. Halfway across the country, animal disease scientists working in Ames, Iowa, faced a double whammy. Not only were t…
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Karl Deardorff’s smart moves with SLO Sail and Canvas

May 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

At age 19, Karl Deardorff bought a sewing machine from Leo Robbins, his first sailing instructor. “I wanted to be able to fix and alter my own sails,” he says. The machine went with Deardorff to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he was also on the sailing team.
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Scott Sutherland: Ready for anything

April 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

In the summer of 2020, Scott Sutherland was elated with record-shattering sales, but he was also in a situation he had never imagined: out of aluminum, out of fabric, out of nearly every component used to make tents.
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Monica Stockburger: Tailored solutions

February 1, 2021  |  Features, Perspective

Southcentral Alaska is filled with spectacular natural beauty, hardworking people and an array of fishing boats and other vessels that are often in need of repair. The latter fact creates an opportunity for Monica and Mike Stockburger, owners of the marine fabricator business Salty Cushions in Homer…
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