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Attract younger workers to the trades
April 1st, 2020
Tech and training are sparking interest. by Jeff Moravec There’s a simple, well-known and significant problem in the fabrication business: too much work, not enough workers. “Fabricators have more business than they can handle,” says Russ Griffin, co-owner of Northcoast Marine Specialties LLC in Port Clinton, Ohio. “The downside is that customers aren’t getting service […]
Seven steps to take your fabrics business to the next level
March 1st, 2020
by Sigrid Tornquist Building a business takes more than a good idea and an interested customer base. It takes planning, investment, a skilled workforce—and a healthy dose of industry knowledge. Got a plan? Rick Ludolph, founder and president of boutique specialty fabrics consulting firm Productive Solutions LLC in Marietta, Ga., has spent more than 40 […]
Training and education for the high-tech textile industry
December 1st, 2017
According to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitive Index (GMCI) report, the United States looks set to overtake China as the world’s most competitive manufacturing nation within five years. The textile industry is a significant part of that repositioning in its moves to bring manufacturing back to North America. It is not enough, however, to bring […]
The efficiencies and versatility of advanced and automated equipment are helping bring back the U.S. sewing industry
September 1st, 2017
When U.S. textile jobs started to leave en masse for China and other cheap-labor countries in the 1990s, an entire industry scrambled to pick up the pieces. Companies that survived the upheaval frequently shared one common trait: adaptability. Some contract sewers courted niche non-apparel product makers, while others invested in equipment to become leaders in […]