The Northeast Canvas Products Association celebrates its 100th anniversary

February 20th, 2020

The Northeast Canvas Products Association (NECPA) celebrated its 100th anniversary on January 16-18 in Worcester, Mass. The conference event included a full slate of Friday seminars presented by NECPA in conjunction with the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA) and the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), divisions of IFAI, plus a full Expo day with more than […]

Read More

Marine Fabricators Regional Workshops

October 13th, 2017

Join IFAI at the 2017 Marine Fabricators Regional Workshops. The workshops are designed to help you improve your efficiency and generate revenue, as well as provide a forum for networking and picking up valuable insight from your peers. Discover different patterning and upholstery techniques, share tools, tips and tricks, meet with local suppliers and gather […]

Read More

Manufacturing for Good Booth volunteers sew bags for Raintree Children and Family Services

September 29th, 2017

Christine Gerard (left), IFAI division supervisor, and Whitney Armentor (right), Raintree Development Coordinator, are pictured at IFAI Expo 2017 in the Manufacturing for Good Booth. Several companies contributed supplies, equipment and labor to sew 70 large tote bags for young people who receive services at Raintree Children and Family Services. Raintree is a nonprofit that […]

Read More

 Registration is open for the 2017 Marine Fabricators Conference

November 4th, 2016

Registration is now open for the 2017 Marine Fabricators Conference, Jan. 19–21 at the Jacksonville Marriott Hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. Join fellow marine fabricators for three days of education, networking, fun and and business building. You won’t want to miss out on the conference’s nine educational seminars. These seminars are devoted to helping your business grow […]

Read More

Call for entries: MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards

September 7th, 2015

Entry submissions for the 2016 MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards, presented by IFAI’s Marine Fabricators Association, are due Oct. 30, 2015. Projects can be submitted into eight different categories: Powerboat Exterior-Rigid Enclosures; Powerboat-Soft Enclosures; Dodgers with Extensions; Marine Interior Upholstery; Marine Exterior Upholstery; Tops and Enclosures; Travel/Full Covers; and Miscellaneous (any marine fabric project not covered […]

Read More

Estimating for profit: Where to begin

September 1st, 2015

Understanding the customer’s unique wants and requirements goes to the heart of successful custom projects. Larry Schneider, owner of Homestyle Awning & Upholstery in Bay View, Wis., recently worked on a project that seemed fairly simple—adding screens to a car trailer so the customer could sleep in it. After talking it through with the customer, […]

Read More

In memoriam: Don F. Racine

April 21st, 2015

Don F. Racine of Jacksonville, Fla., passed away April 18 at the age of 61. Racine was an active member of the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) and a frequent presenter at MFA conventions and workshops, as well as IFAI Expo. He was a regular featured author on instructional techniques in Marine Fabricator magazine and a […]

Read More