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2017 Student Design Challenge Winners: Awnings and Canopies

First place: “Eternal Sailboat” by Gabriel Ramon Galeano Carcamo. The Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), a division of ATA, announced the winners of the 2017 Awning and Canopy Student Design Challenge at IFAI Expo in New Orleans on Sept. 28. First Place: Gabriel Ramon Galeano Carcamo, from Anhalt University in Germany, won the [...]

By |2017-09-27T10:49:40-05:00September 28, 2017|

Understanding ITAR and export controls

ATA’s Advanced Textiles Conference in New Orleans began Tuesday in New Orleans with presentations organized into four tracks: Medical, Military, Testing and Smart Fabrics. The Military track covered a range of topics from protective materials to the DoD budget. It also addressed a critical topic for any company that exports beyond U.S. borders, or is [...]

By |2017-09-28T12:49:17-05:00September 28, 2017|

E-textiles experts field questions at IFAI Expo

A group of trainblazers in the world of e-textiles offered ideas and fielded questions in a casual setting on ATA’s EXPO show floor yesterday. Many of the audience were experts themselves, so the discussion was, one might say, among colleagues in this segment. Standards for smart textiles was on the minds of many. One audience [...]

By |2017-09-28T12:46:41-05:00September 28, 2017|

2017 Student Design Challenge Winners: Advanced Textiles

The “Load-Absorbing Stabilization Crew Sock,” created by University of Minnesota students Quinessa Stibbins, Evan Idhe and Caitlin Hartman, took first-place honors in this year’s Advanced Textiles Student Design Challenge. Advanced Textile Products (ATP) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), both divisions of ATA, announced the winners of the 2017 Advanced Textiles Student Design [...]

By |2017-09-28T07:38:09-05:00September 28, 2017|

Advanced Textiles Division membership growing

The Advanced Textiles Division of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) held an open meeting Tuesday at IFAI Expo. The division leadership announced that it is the fastest growing division at ATA and has increased to 219 members – a significant jump in just the last year, said incoming chairman, Amit Kapoor. He credited the outgoing [...]

By |2017-09-28T12:44:23-05:00September 28, 2017|

2017 International Achievement Award winners announced at IFAI Expo

This year’s winners in ATA’s global International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition, recognizing design excellence in specialty fabrics applications, were announced on Sept. 28 at the organization’s annual meeting at IFAI Expo 2017 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. For more than 70 years, IAA has acknowledged innovation and excellence in design [...]

By |2017-09-27T14:11:24-05:00September 28, 2017|

Keeping employees engaged

According to Barry Adams, President of Peach Tree Awnings in Norcross, Ga., “The reason people separate from their company is because they feel their contribution is not valued and they feel what they do isn’t making a difference.” Adams’ session, “How to Keep Talented Employees Engaged,” presented at IFAI Expo 2017, focused on ways to [...]

By |2017-09-28T08:34:28-05:00September 28, 2017|

Ooblecks and smart textiles

What is an “oobleck”—and what does it have to do with smart textiles? According to children’s author Dr. Seuss, an oobleck is a mysterious sticky substance which threatened the kingdom in his 1949 book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. But as smart textile engineer, Connie Huffa of Fabdesigns told her audience at ATA’s Advanced Textiles Conference [...]

By |2017-09-28T11:15:27-05:00September 27, 2017|

Biomimicry inspires medical textiles

Medtextra technology can be used with both natural and synthetic yarns with as little as 5 percent bringing value to the fabric. Photo: Medtextra With much of the discussion of smart textiles focusing on e-textiles at present, it is good to be reminded that there are innovative developments emerging in non-digital yarns also. [...]

By |2017-09-28T11:16:07-05:00September 27, 2017|

Building relationships with architects can improve fabric structure businesses

Want to do more business with architects? Mary Gilmore, AIA, NCIDQ, and Mark Shellshear, Structure Fabrics, Value Vinyls Inc., have many ideas. Gilmore and Shellshear shared those ideas Sept. 26 at IFAI Expo 2017. Gilmore noted, “Architects are very busy. Cold calls don’t work. They are very visual; they need pictures.” A good website with [...]

By |2017-09-27T10:11:10-05:00September 27, 2017|
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