Fabric structures provide crucial support in disasters

March 1, 2024  |  Features

Used for wedding celebrations, birthday parties, graduations, festivals and other events, fabric structures and tents serve a variety of lighthearted purposes. But these products also have a serious side, such as when they’re deployed for disasters, for humanitarian relief, for military operations…
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Rachal McCarthy builds on 40 years of progress at NTI Global

February 1, 2024  |  Features, Perspective

When life throws you curveballs, you either need to duck or hit them. Just ask Rachal McCarthy, who is redefining what’s possible for women in the textiles and manufacturing industries.
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Commercial renovations focus on comfort, the warmth of home

February 1, 2024  |  Features

In a lightning-fast transition to work-from-home during the pandemic, employees abandoned corporate buildings for familiar spaces with their deep sense of safety and comfort.
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Small sustainability actions can make a big difference

February 1, 2024  |  Features

With sustainability uppermost in nearly everyone’s mind, textile providers and fabricators are looking at ways to reduce their environmental footprint and better manage their social impacts. This makes good business sense for multiple reasons. A brand that has an eco-friendly/people-friendly reput…
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Roy Chism on making the most of opportunity, ATA membership

January 1, 2024  |  Features, Perspective

In 2021, Roy Chism retired as owner and operator of The Chism Co. Inc., the canvas and metal fabrication shop his father founded 70 years prior in San Antonio, Texas. Though Chism occupied several roles throughout the years, his earliest task remained most critical to continuing his father’s succe…
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Expanding into new markets (without losing your shirt)

January 1, 2024  |  Features

In today’s volatile economic climate—with higher interest rates and difficulty hiring workers—the decision on how, when or even whether a company should expand into a new market can be incredibly challenging. However, within this industry, where most businesses are small and/or family owned an…
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Harnessing technology makes custom work easier, faster

January 1, 2024  |  Features

Fabricators continually look for an edge in how they serve customers seeking custom or small batch work. That’s where technology comes in. Companies using technology to create prototypes or custom products reap benefits, including more efficient operations, improved customer relations and reduced …
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Advanced Textiles Expo: Excitement and Renewal

December 1, 2023  |  Expo Report, Features

With a new name and renewed enthusiasm, Advanced Textiles Expo (formerly IFAI Expo) returned to Orlando for the first time since 2019. The show boasted the highest attendance since that pre-COVID show, boosted in no small part by the return of more international exhibitors and attendees.
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Innovations in smart fabrics: Heating, cooling, bio-data collection and more via e-textiles

December 1, 2023  |  Features

When is a jacket not just a jacket? When it can actually interact with the wearer’s body to warm or cool it or collect biometric information. Interactive textiles—also known as smart textiles, smart clothing and e-textiles—are being developed to perform these and other functions.
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Selling your business

December 1, 2023  |  Features

If selling a residence can be an angst-filled undertaking, how much more unsettling is the thought of selling a business, especially one you’ve poured heart, soul, money and reputation into? But as potentially nerve-wracking as the prospect may be, there are measures shop owners can take to lessen…
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