Increase selling value with shading solutions

January 1, 2013  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management, Markets

Sun protection, rain protection, health, comfort, energy savings, economy, flexibility and style: they’re all part of the package. By William Atkinson For many residential and commercial customers, awnings and shade products are still valued for their aesthetics as much as for their shade, wit…
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Choice shade solutions

January 1, 2013  |  Awnings & Canopies, Fabric Structures, Features

Finding the right shade and weather protection for a customer may mean assembling the right combination of products. By Jamie Swedberg Sometimes it’s relatively easy to figure out the shade solution that will suit a customer’s wants and needs. “There are people who have been gettin…
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Making sense of shade software

January 1, 2013  |  Advanced Textiles, Awnings & Canopies, Features, Markets

Software is available for proposals and pricing, designing, and helping customers visualize the final product. Why not take advantage of this technology? By Jamie Swedberg Faster, better, cheaper is an oft-repeated mantra in business. Software programs designed specifically for fabricators of awning…
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Stage canopy becomes a ‘pre-design’ model

January 1, 2013  |  Awnings & Canopies, Projects

Campbell Park’s award-winning stage canopy has become a “pre-design” model for the manufacturer. By Lynn Keillor The English city of Milton Keynes, about 45 miles northwest of London, England, was plotted and built as a modern town in the 1960s: a place for cramped Londoners to mak…
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Marc Shellshear puts shade expertise and management skills to work

December 1, 2012  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management, Perspective

Nicknamed Dr. Shade, Marc Shellshear is an employee who thinks like a business owner—putting shade expertise and management skills to work. By Sigrid Tornquist “If you can’t put yourself in the shoes of the person speaking you’re not going to understand what they want,” says Marc Shellshea…
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Know your fabrics, fabrication and flammability

December 1, 2012  |  Advanced Textiles, Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management

No matter where you are in the supply chain, a thorough knowledge of flame retardancy leads to well-informed customers—and safer environments. By Holly O’Dell If a fabric is going into a commercial space—whether used for a trade show banner, theater drapery or restaurant awning&mda…
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Closing a gap in the retractable market

December 1, 2012  |  Awnings & Canopies, Markets, Projects

The 2012 IFF Innovation Award winner closes a gap in the retractable market. By Janet Preus The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) has presented its 2012 Innovation Award to Uni-Systems, Minneapolis, Minn., for a new retractable fabric roof product called En-Fold. The award was presented at the IFA…
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Wm. J. Mills & Co. grows through the generations

November 1, 2012  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management, Perspective

A three-generational take on the Wm. J. Mills & Co. family business. By Sigrid Tornquist As IFAI celebrates its 100th anniversary, it’s clear that the association is only as strong as its members. For more than 100 years, many current member companies have been shaping their businesses, the as…
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Welding machine proves its worth against hurricane-force winds

November 1, 2012  |  Awnings & Canopies

A “super derecho” blew a new weather term into common parlance in June 2012, when a long-lived 700-mile series of rainstorms with up to 91mph straight-line winds tore through the midwest and mid-Atlantic regions. Over 12 hours, winds flattened trees, collapsed power poles and turned awni…
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Multitasking umbrella tested by concertgoers

October 1, 2012  |  Awnings & Canopies, Projects

At the Isle of Wight Festival in the United Kingdom in June 2012, some of the people carrying umbrellas were beta testers for a new product: the Booster Brolly. Vodafone U.K., Berkshire, England, created a multitasking prototype with the University College London that works like an umbrella—an…
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