April 2009

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    Greg Schmieler's system maximizes profit for his awning business. By Sigrid Tornquist “Creating a cost accounting system changed my whole career life,” says Greg Schmieler, vice president of Laurel Awning Co. in Pittsburgh, Pa. “It changed the way the company is run. We now know what our profit is, what our costs are, and what [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    Top high-school football stars, many of whom go on to careers in college or the National Football League, came to the U.S. All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January for an East-West match-up. Game-day visitors also got a full-immersion visual experience created with 260 fabric frame displays, 107 pop-up displays and a Hall of Heroes [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    Handmade fabric items, such as quilts, clothes, pillows, dolls, handbags and framed art, become priceless family heirlooms and pieces of unique history. Crafters can make designs even more personal by ordering custom fabrics from Spoonflower, Mebane, N.C. Stephen Fraser, an Internet marketing consultant, founded the company when wife Kim Fraser said, “You know what would [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    Fabrics that monitor vital signs, warn of allergens or cool people with heat stroke may not be far into the future, if Nicholas Kotov, a professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, has his way. Kotov coated cotton with a mixture of carbon nanotubes and a conductive polymer, creating threads that carry enough current to [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    The Vancouver Whitecaps move into a refurbished world-class soccer venue in 2010, and BC Pavilion Corp., Vancouver, B.C., hopes its retractable roof will give fans an intimate yet light-filled experience. The gathered synthetic roof fabric will effectively limit the capacity of the stadium to 22,000 seats, but allow end-zone draping to be removed for future [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    [IndustriGuard] Hammond, Ind., U.S.A. IndustriGuard flame-resistant coveralls combine comfort and safety features to meet the demands of industrial environments. Often standard fire-retardant processes can reduce tear strength as much as 25 percent, but the IndustriGuard process controls tear strength within 8 to 15 percent. Even with 100 washings in controlled testing, the coverall retains flame-retardant [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    [Controlled Demolition Inc.] Phoenix, Md., U.S.A. [Sabre Demolition Corp.] Warners, N.Y., U.S.A. Textiles that are tough enough for road building can also withstand the force of an imploding building—even one as massive as the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind. Sabre Demolition Corp. wrapped three floors of the stadium’s concrete columns with a Tencate Mirafi (43 [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    [DRIFIRE LLC] Columbus, Ga., U.S.A. Advancements in the air combat uniform (ACU) and flight suit designed for the U.S. military promise a new standard of safety and improvements in breathability, comfort, design, durability and flame resistance. The new garments are not comprised of meta-aramid material, a product pioneered in the 1960s and currently experiencing a [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    [Ferguson Safety Products] Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.A Suicide prevention products for use in detention facilities pose a serious design challenge. Ferguson Safety Products has invented a textile-based solution to provide safe clothing and bedding for at-risk inmates. The result is the Dozer™, a safe sleeping surface that cannot readily be ripped or torn. The three-inch [...]

  • Published On: April 1, 2009

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif., runs diagnostic tests on spacecraft in special clean rooms. Even within these sterile spaces, however, NASA deploys portable shelters that protect equipment from electromagnetic or radio frequency interference during test procedures. The first such portable shielded enclosure met NASA’s stringent requirements with [...]