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Tips for making the right product decisions
November 5th, 2020
A Trivantage-sponsored education session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 called “Making the Right Product Decisions” was filled with detailed information about product choices and installation tips to help fabricators successfully create shade projects in commercial, vertical, shade sail, upholstery and marine applications. The session gave participants an in-depth survey of the company’s shade products and […]
A primer on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
November 5th, 2020
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) offers lots of attractive benefits: studies have shown that ESOPs improve productivity, increase sales and improve return on assets, plus they offer great tax advantages. But more than any of these attributes, an ESOP offers the owner of a company peace of mind and an enduring legacy. “Many times, […]
Understanding intelligent textiles
November 4th, 2020
The Advanced Textiles Conference of IFAI’s Virtual Expo 2020 continued Nov. 4 with a detailed presentation by Justine Decaens on “Smart Textiles: From Lab Prototypes to Commercial Products.” Decaens is R&D director with CTT Group, a testing laboratory and R&D facility specialized in technical textiles, headquartered in Quebec, Canada. Decaens first offered to define “smart […]
Policy challenges and opportunities for U.S. textile manufacturing
November 3rd, 2020
The U.S. textile industry worked “swiftly and impressively” to pivot to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) this spring, leveraging existing manufacturing know-how and equipment and making new investments to shift production, according to Sara Beatty, president of White Haven Trade Advisors. “However, clearly the U.S. would have been in a much better position had we […]
The regulatory path for medical PPE
November 3rd, 2020
An afternoon session by Jing Liang, founder and president of Medical PPE Consulting LLC, walked participants through the regulatory process and testing for medical personnel protective equipment (PPE) In her session, “Understanding Testing Requirements of Medical PPE,” she noted the variety of PPE, which include gloves, shoe covers, goggles, gowns and masks. Her discussion centered on […]
Case studies in shade sail design
November 3rd, 2020
Wholesale Shade’s Robin DuBroy, director of training programs, and Gregg Burrows, sales manager, presented a session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 about shade sail design and installation. Using numerous case studies of various designs and difficulty levels, the speakers discussed each project in terms of client goals, site challenges and an evaluation of results. Shade […]
Virtual Expo 2020 advanced textiles education begins
November 3rd, 2020
The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) opened the advanced textiles education sessions of Virtual Expo 2020 with a presentation by Dr. Sasha Stolyarov, CEO, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA). His presentation, “The Development of Advanced Functional Fibers and Fabrics” outlined the progress made in AFFOA’s mission to “rekindle the domestic textiles industry” with its coordinated […]
IFAI president responds to Coronavirus, adjusts upcoming events
March 17th, 2020
As concern over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) grows, I want all IFAI members to know we are closely monitoring developments and following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We will follow their recommendations to keep our employees, their families and our members healthy and safe. With this in […]
Puerto Rico pups steal hearts at IFAI Expo 2019
October 3rd, 2019
Four puppies are hoping to find their lifetime human companions on the show floor of IFAI Expo 2019. Amid the latest fabrics, equipment, technology and services for the specialty fabrics industry, Lorenzo, Lilo, Lolo, and Lulo stole hearts, and, according to some dog lovers—the show—at IFAI Expo 2019 in Orlando, Fla. For this Expo, the […]
Small shops: Tips for shortening your lead times
October 17th, 2018
Torey Heinz, of Teagles Consulting, has a background in small manufacturing jobs shops. This gives him a good sense of how poor workflow and other issues can affect a small shop’s lead times. Shortening lead time is important, Teagle told participants at his Oct. 17 Expo session, because shorter lead times mean increased sales and […]