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Working together to solve problems
December 1st, 2021
An event like last month’s Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo in Nashville, Tenn., is a good way to check the pulse of an industry. And if anything was clear at Expo, it was that textile manufacturers are ready and eager to get back to work. Exhibitors and attendees at Expo were clearly excited to be […]
Protecting your company
October 1st, 2021
When you’re seeing the headlines about ransomware and cyberattacks, it’s tempting to think it won’t happen to you. The reality is that small businesses often bear the brunt of these cyberattacks—more than half of all ransomware attacks last year were against small businesses, according to the U.S. Secret Service. Several IFAI members have suffered attacks […]
Strength in numbers
September 1st, 2021
The year 2021 marks the second year in the COVID-19 pandemic. While that may seem like a gloomy opening line, to me, it signifies a year of phenomenal, life-saving work conducted by a strong, capable and responsive textile industry. Fabricators, welders, sewers, suppliers, warehouse/shipping workers and distributors came together to meet the demands for PPE […]
Making connections and finding solutions
August 1st, 2021
How do you build a digital workflow? What skills do you look for when hiring an employee with no experience? How are you handling vaccination policies for both current and new employees? And finally, where do you turn to find answers to questions like these? Industry professionals often cite “networking with peers facing the same […]
Persevering, innovating, and daring mighty things
May 1st, 2021
When NASA’s Perseverance rover was named in 2019—by a seventh grader in a “name the rover” contest—no one could have predicted what the word “perseverance” would mean for us in 2021. We’ve been persevering and flexing and pivoting for more than a year. The rover’s landing on Mars in February felt like a rare moment […]
COVID year 1: What just happened? And where are we headed?
March 1st, 2021
When I think back on the second week of March 2020, I laugh athow naïve I was. Or rather, I would laugh, if it wasn’t all so devastating. Even after major events started cancelling, and my kids’ school shifted to distance learning, and IFAI staff were directed to work from home, I could only imagine […]
New year, new look for Specialty Fabrics Review
January 1st, 2021
Welcome to the refreshed Specialty Fabrics Review, your source for all the news, trends and technology of the industrial, specialty and advanced textiles industries. Review’s last major redesign happened in 2008, and what a redesign it was—new name, new cover design, new columns. This time around, the changes aren’t quite as extreme. So why did […]
The pop-up canvas camper pandemic theory
November 1st, 2020
Following the 2008 economic crash, lipstick was all over the news. According to the “lipstick recession theory,” consumers facing a recession stop making luxury purchases, like jewelry and high-end vehicles, while still allowing for small indulgences, like lipstick. But the theory doesn’t hold up to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Who needs lipstick […]
Virtual Expo 2020: timely, relevant, essential
October 1st, 2020
Several years ago, the conference management team at Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) started planning the 100th annual Expo event. People asked, “You mean the 100th anniversary of the organization?” “No,” I clarified. “The organization is older than the show, and we didn’t host Expo during certain war years.” As the impact of the COVID-19 […]
Making more than money
February 1st, 2020
January always brings two things forcibly to mind: first, the NFL playoffs, and second, an almost viral need to find lists of reasons to make business or economic predictions for the coming year. (This is the February issue, I know, but it’s January 14 as I write this.) The Minnesota Vikings … washed out of […]