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A historical perspective to a historic pandemic
July 1st, 2020
What is the biggest professional challenge you’ve overcome? This is one of the standard questions Review asks the subjects of the Perspective cover article. While some responses are unique to an interviewee’s specific circumstances, the most common answer involves seeing a business through the economic impacts of 9/11 and the Great Recession. While the coronavirus […]
Redesigned tent for COVID-19
July 1st, 2020
While numerous end-product manufacturers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by fabricating products that they have never made before, others looked to past products and designs to apply to today’s challenges. The Endurance Tent from Rainier Industries was originally designed for agricultural uses, but has been repurposed to meet current medical needs. The […]
Innovative face masks
July 1st, 2020
Everyone from couture fashion brands to Girl Scouts have taken up mask making to fight the spread of COVID-19, with textile companies drawing on their unique capabilities to introduce new innovations. The outer fabric of the Spacer Dome Pro mask from Apex Mills has a durable water-repellant finish to stay dry in bad weather, and […]
Marine fabrication community steps up to make PPE
June 1st, 2020
As the new normal for businesses around the U.S. became fabricating personal protective equipment, the marine fabrication community stepped up. Carl Pellegrini, owner of SeaCanvas, Egg Harbor Township, N.J., spent several weeks this spring making and donating face shields to 10 local police and fire departments using materials on-hand such as O’Sea Regalite .040 sheet […]
Temporary structures for sanitizing and containing
June 1st, 2020
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented—and speedy—innovations. Multinational company Stretch Marquees and Fabric Structures spent the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic repurposing existing products and creating new ones to meet the needs of the global health crisis. The results include a disinfection tunnel and a negative pressure inflatable structure. A new disinfection tunnel from […]
Antiviral treatment for face masks
June 1st, 2020
Swiss textile innovation company HeiQ mobilized quickly to fight the dire coronavirus threat, introducing HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, an antiviral and antimicrobial textile technology that is proven to be effective against COVID-19 in face mask testing. A newly developed technology reduces the risk and speed of coronavirus contamination and transmission by preventing textiles from becoming host […]
First impressions: Crisis, and hope
June 1st, 2020
I wrote my first editorial for InTents magazine just over ten years ago. The cover of that issue featured a structure installed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics by Karl’s Event Rental (now Arena Americas). Also in that issue, the tent industry was responding to the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti with temporary structures and labor. And […]
Tips for working with Chinese suppliers and customers
June 1st, 2020
In pandemic times and beyond, doing business with the world’s most populous country presents challenges for Westerners. Here are 15 practical tips. By James Chan, Ph.D. Gift-giving is a valuable practice when working with Chinese business partners. When the author couldn’t find face masks in his local store in the U.S. at the beginning of […]
Companies partner to deliver field hospital cots
June 1st, 2020
The rapid spread of COVID-19 created an urgent need for medical equipment of all kinds. One priority is ensuring there are enough beds for patients who need care. This necessity gave PioneerIWS, a family-owned steel fabricator in Dalton, Ohio, an idea. The company assembled a team of more than a dozen Northeastern Ohio manufacturers, including […]
Rose Brand launches ‘Distance is resistance’ campaign
June 1st, 2020
Rose Brand launched a national campaign in late April to reinforce the social distancing message with the unfurling of a 140-foot banner in its Secaucus, N.J., headquarters parking lot. The banner, manufactured and printed in-house, conveys the rallying cry, “Join the resistance, keep your distance” and features Lady Liberty, an iconic symbol of hope. Rose […]