February 2009

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    ABC Industries Inc., Warsaw, Ind., a supplier of industrial textile fabrics, received ISO 9001 certification for quality management and manufacturing in December 2008. The certification applies to the company’s plants in Warsaw and Grand Junction, Colo. ABC’s ongoing improvement efforts will focus on quality management, product quality, on-time delivery, employee training and innovation. For more [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    [Tarps Manufacturing Inc.] Meredosia, Ill., U.S.A. When the Pekin Power Plant in central Illinois committed to a $1 million asbestos removal project in 2008, it was clear that special equipment was going to be needed to handle the hazardous debris. Tarps Manufacturing Inc., Meredosia, Ill. was called in to help provide the solution. Durability and [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    [Roll-Rite LLC] Alger, Mich., U.S.A. Industrial scrap and refuse can turn a tarpaulin into, well…garbage. Roll-Rite worked with TenCate, Pendergrass, Ga., to develop a tarpaulin that could handle these demanding conditions. Ideally suited for haulers with roll-off and hook-lift style trucks and transfer trailers, Super Tough Mesh is a 100-percent polypropylene, 10,000 denier, 14.2 ounce-per-square-yard [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    The turmoil in the U.S./global economy and its impact on the specialty fabrics industry By Jeff Rasmussen Market strength worldwide In the U.S., specialty textiles account for about 23 percent of production and consumption of textiles overall. The breakout of the consumption of specialty fabrics by selected developed countries: United States, 23 percent; Europe, 22 [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    Every year since 1994, London-based Arts Alliance Productions (AAP) recreates “ID: Identity of the Soul,” a multi-media performance based on poetry by Henrik Ibsen and Mahmoud Darwish. Dancers navigate around graphically manipulated landscapes, projected on screens made of materials as varied as a Norwegian lighthouse and sails draped over Japanese shipping containers. The 2009 performance, [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    Museum Schloss Rheydt, a scenic castle in Mönchengladbach, Germany, currently hosts an exhibition on the town’s historic textile industry, including a portrait series of important figures. Visitors may leave the exhibit asking themselves “Was it live, or was it Mediatex®?” Only one of the portraits is the real deal; the rest are reproductions printed on [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    FTL Solar, Austin, Texas, recently introduced PromoMods, graceful 20-by-20-foot fabric shelters that double as solar-powered billboards. “PromoMods can be deployed anywhere on earth where there is sunlight,” says Cree Crawford, FTL Solar’s vice-president of sales, marketing and business development, “and their energy storage capabilities allow the PromoMod to be used for nighttime promotions, advertising and [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    The new I-35W Mississippi River, St. Anthony Falls Bridge in Minneapolis, Minn., opened to commuters in September 2008, more than a year after the catastrophic collapse of the old span. The 10-lane bridge with a 100-year lifespan set new records for design-build construction, in part because improved technologies, such as Mirafi® HP570 geotextile, allows multiple [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    In a distressed economy, the well-dressed home is a place for friends, families and harried breadwinners to re-group and find sanctuary. Decor Place, Las Vegas, Nev., consults interior designers and industry experts each year to pinpoint the Top 10 Home Decor Trends for 2009. Frugality isn’t the only thing that’s in this season: 1. The [...]

  • Published On: February 1, 2009

    When Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville, Ga., opened its doors in January 2009, visitors saw a full-sized replica of the Wright flyer that carried Orville and Wilbur Wright into aviation history—courtesy of Joni and Daymon Johnstone and family. The Johnstones own Lakeside Marine Canvas, Buford, Ga., and, after extensive research, painstakingly created and [...]