In late April, a 78-foot wave-piercing trimaran running on biodiesel fuel set out on a trip around the world to break a speed record of 75 days. Earthrace sponsor Jason Pajonk, president of Taylor Made Products, Gloversville, N.Y., part of the Taylor Made Group Inc., will be cheering on-shore for the carbon-neutral eco boat. The [...]

Problem: A mattress manufacturer has difficulty cutting the new fire-retardant thread now required for mattresses. Solution: New Kai® 7000 Series shears with corrugated blades slice through aramid materials, such as Kevlar®, fiberglass and composite/carbon fibers. SOURCE Wolff Industries

Problem: Kevlar®, designed to resist penetration, is difficult to cut in individual or multiple layers. Solution: Clauss 8” Bent Kevlar Shears cut Kevlar materials, as well as other tough fabrics such as canvas, plastic and upholstery. SOURCE Clauss Cutlery

Cynthia Thompson leverages her creative instincts to build a flourishing tension fabric structures business. “Business owners need to be inventive and fast moving and I think we’ve gotten sluggish,” says Cynthia Thompson, founder and owner of Transformit in Gorham, Maine. “I think we’re looking to creative people to put the juice back into our world.” [...]

[Aerostar International Inc.] Sioux Falls, S.D., U.S.A The TIF-25K Tethered Aerostat System, which took its maiden voyage in September 2007, provides an easy-to-use, mobile aerial platform that can be deployed within hours of arrival on site. The aerostat body consists of a proprietary nylon-based fabric with various laminates and coatings that give it UV protection [...]

[Vertigo Inc.] Lake Elsinore, Calif., U.S.A. [Outdoor Venture Corp.] Stearns, Ky., U.S.A. Vertigo’s rapid deploying tent systems with AirBeam™ technology are replacing the aluminum frame TEMPER tents used in Force Provider, the U.S. Army’s premier base camp. Force Provider’s Expeditionary Base Camp—including 10 Vertigo AirBeam TEMPERs—is the Army’s newest forward operating camp, capable of supporting [...]

[Custom Covers] Southampton, U.K. This military utility shelter by Custom Covers is the first generation of a family of tents designed for use as general service tenting or as temporary deployable accommodations, providing versatile protection against high winds, snow loads, and other adverse weather conditions. The shelter requires little perimeter clearance, and allows for multiple [...]

BMW's GINA concept car sports a flexible fabric skin that can be reconfigured to suit driving conditions. Photos: BMW Group of North America. She’s slick, sleek and hooked on speed, but BMW’s GINA isn’t your girl-next-door concept car. The radical GINA, which stands for Geometry and Functions in ‘N’ Adaptations, is a vehicle [...]

Road Rage Designs wrapped the world's largest beer can in colorful vinyl from Avery Dennison. Photos: Avery Graphics. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “drink and drive” when Dave Leach’s huge 1970s Old Style® beer can goes rolling down the road on a truckbed. Leach, a Chicago-based collector of the [...]

Women in a post-natal program at the Kaduna State Hospital in Nigeria receive Interceptor mosquito nets and instructions on how to use and handle them to prolong effectiveness over several years. Photo: BASF SE. Malaria kills more than one million people each year, most of them children under five years old. Mosquito nets [...]