Ken Jacobs combines custom innovation and targeted advertising strategies to generate sales. By Sigrid Tornquist “That’s always the challenge—keeping the phones ringing and customers coming in the door,” says Ken Jacobs, owner of Raymond Brothers Ltd. in London, Ontario, Canada. “We get repeat business but it’s not weekly or yearly—it’s years down the road.” Like [...]

U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) led a charge of moderate Democrats with concerns about clean energy and climate change legislation and its impacts on manufacturers. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, in 2008 manufacturing made up 19.5 percent of North Carolina’s economy, with an output of $78 billion and 514,000 employees. Textile industry [...]

Spider silk is flexible, biodegradable and one of the strongest substances on earth. In the spider’s storage gland, the silk protein is liquid; as it passes out of the abdominal canal, it becomes a gossamer thread that can hold the spider’s weight and its unsuspecting prey. What forms the threads from the liquid? Researchers at [...]

[Intelligent Apparel] Montreal, Quebec, Canada Ice hockey is one of the world’s fastest and most dangerous sports and cuts from skate blades are a constant risk. Several professional hockey franchises have taken preventative action to reduce serious cuts from skate blades just by changing their socks. Tactics Armoured Skate Socks and Armoured Hockey Socks incorporate [...]

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin transform brittle germanium and silicon into nanowires that can be compressed into flexible, tissue-like sheets with the potential to stop bullets, power electronic devices or even cloak wearers in invisibility. “It’s so neat when people do what nanoscience is supposed to do: cramming these well known materials [...]

Physicians at three Mercy Medical Center hospitals in Knoxville, Tenn., received a gift on National Doctors’ Day (March 25) that will keep on giving throughout the year. Mercy Health Partners purchased its doctors 580 Vestex™ nanotechnology white lab coats that repel blood and body fluids and kill infectious microbes on contact. Not only does the [...]

[The Innova Group] Burlington, Wash., U.S.A Innova inflatable kayaks make getting on the water a simple, one-person task—even for a two-person craft. The Helios inflatable double kayak (Helios II EX) is made of 1200-denier polyester, rubber-coated fabric on both faces (inside with a blend of natural rubbers, and outside with nitrile synthetic rubber) offering a [...]

After 35 years of producing tents for the U.S. military, Alaska Structures Inc. is pitching tents to a whole new audience—homeland security and disaster relief agencies. Blu-Med Response Systems, Kirkland, Wash., a division of Alaska Structures, deployed a 25-bed emergency response unit in St. George, Utah, to demonstrate its capabilities for triage, isolation, surgery, mass [...]

[Hennessy Hammock] Galiano Island, B.C., Canada No need to find a level campsite, or set up to avoid roots, rocks or puddles. The Hennessy Hammock™, now available in side-entry or double-bottomed models, provides comfortable, lightweight and portable shelter with virtually zero impact on the camping environment. It can be suspended off the ground as a [...]

Every U.S. Navy aviator, flight officer and enlisted air crewman trains at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., and many who served made the ultimate sacrifice. To commemorate military personnel lost in battle, NAS Pensacola commissioned Fabric Architecture, Gloucestershire, England, to design a symbol of soaring flight that would inspire trainees and visitors. The [...]