IFAI releases overview of COVID-19 federal stimulus packages
April 7th, 2020
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Congress and the administration have approved a series of stimulus packages to meet public health needs and aid the economy. The first two stimulus packages were focused heavily on emergency aid to battle the pandemic and to assist those directly stricken by the virus. The third stimulus package, however, is...
Read MoreHerculite offers fabrics for medical supply chain
April 7th, 2020
Herculite Inc. manufactures a broad range of PVC flexible composite fabrics for the medical supply chain, agriculture, defense industrial base and numerous other specialty applications. The products are essential elements used to manufacture hospital beds, operating room beds, beds for assisted living and nursing homes, isolation curtains, gurneys, wheelchairs, face shields, patient triage tents and...
Read MoreAutometrix Inc. Offers Various PPE Patterns
April 7th, 2020
It has been encouraging to see manufacturers in the U.S. and around the world coming together to find ways to retool and manufacture PPE to meet the urgent need during the current COVID-19 pandemic. As a proud IFAI member, we would like to share with you the information and patterns we have collected while working...
Read MorePattern hub now available
April 6th, 2020
Sewn products industry organization SEAMS reports that, as it has been engaged with its members in helping to manufacture much needed PPE products for the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic. As part of this collaboration with the industry, SEAMS has centralized many patterns required to produce PPE products from home creations to approved medical products for easy access....
Read MoreIFAI, NCTO, INDA Launch COVID-19 Production Capacity Database
April 6th, 2020
Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), along with The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), and Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) are reaching out to provide an initial database of Finished Goods and Input Production manufacturers capable of meeting the continuing need for textile-based PPE and medical supplies amidst the current COVID-19 crisis. COVID-19...
Read MoreGSI to host webinar on wave management with geomembranes
April 6th, 2020
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar, “Wave (or Wrinkle) Management for Proper Deployment of Geomembranes,” on April 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. An intrinsic property of all exposed geomembranes is...
Read MoreGSI to host webinar on geomembrane punctures this Wednesday
April 6th, 2020
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar, “Geomembrane Puncture,” on April 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. The need for geomembranes to remain free of holes while in service is paramount to...
Read MoreSBA’s Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses launches
April 3rd, 2020
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza launched the Paycheck Protection Program on April 3, 2020, a $349 billion emergency loan program created last week with the President’s signing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES). The program provides forgivable loans of up to $10 million to small businesses left...
Read MoreUrgent need for PPE patterns and specifications
April 3rd, 2020
As the industry works together to address the vast PPE needs, please let us know if you have patterns or specification information you are willing to share with the industry at large. The hope is to publicly post designs for masks and gowns to enable manufacturing by more IFAI members. Some of our members...
Read MoreU.S. tent and structure manufacturers unite with the special events industry to address the COVID-19 pandemic
April 3rd, 2020
The special events industry stands poised to address surging capacity needs of the U.S. health care infrastructure. Ten of the major U.S. tent and structure manufacturers have joined together in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The principal strategy of the group is to align needs for disaster resources including field hospitals, emergency temporary shelters,...
Read MorePresident Trump promotes face masks to fight COVID-19
April 3rd, 2020
The Trump administration is recommending that many Americans wear face mask to slow COVID-19 infection rates. And, Dr. Anthony Fauci has emphasized the goal is not to “take away from the availability of masks that are needed for the health care providers who are in real and present danger of getting infected from the people...
Read MoreHerculite and Strataglass offer DIY designs for protective equipment
April 3rd, 2020
Strataglass and Herculite are offering designs for PPE products. The designs are for face shields and protector shields. Strataglass is not FDA approved for use, but the companies have created two designs that use Strataglass as a protective barrier. They are providing these patterns as design guides and are not manufacturing or selling these products....
Read MoreEastman customers unite to offer contract cutting resources to PPE manufacturers
April 2nd, 2020
Eastman Machine Co. announced today that its exclusive Matchmaker program is connecting facilities manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE) with more than a dozen customers who offer automatic, CNC (computer-controlled) cutting services. The Matchmaker program has successfully linked organizations throughout the U.S. and U.K. for several decades from Eastman’s website. Thousands of manufacturers use automatic and...
Read MoreSupply chain management has new emphasis with COVID-19
April 2nd, 2020
Harvard Business Review takes a look at how COVID-19 is impacting companies’ supply chains. Business experts recommend that managers invest in mapping their supply networks before crisis happens. More information is available at https://hbr.org/2020/03/coronavirus-is-a-wake-up-call-for-supply-chain-management
Read MoreBrown to Administration: Drop Duty Deferral Plan, Support U.S. Manufacturers
April 2nd, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote to the Trump Administration asking that it drop reported plans to defer duties on products unrelated to critical medical supplies that are subject to the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate. Deferring duties on textile, fabric, and apparel items, in particular, will undermine American manufacturers’ efforts...
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