The parallax view
March 1st, 2019
"It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?" ~Isaac Asimov Since March 2008, our cover has featured […]
Worldwide sales increase for industrial fabrics
September 27th, 2017
Jeff Rasmussen, IFAI director of market research, says the future of the industrial textiles in North America will depend heavily on new technology applications to solve problems. Rasmussen spoke September 26 at IFAI Expo 2017, covering the worldwide specialty fabrics industry. The world markets included five regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern and Western Europe, […]
Smart fabric markets show steady growth
October 7th, 2015
IFAI’s market research manager Jeff Rasmussen says that the worldwide smart fabrics market is growing at an annual rate of about 8 percent from about $984 million in 2011 to a projected $1.9 million in 2015. Rasmussen’s presentation on “Current Developments in the Smart and Interactive Fabrics Market” spoke Wednesday morning at IFAI’s Advanced Textiles […]
Forethought: The division of labor
April 1st, 2015
The recent “Manufacturing and Distribution Outlook” report from CliftonLarsonAllen LLP includes the results of a national survey of manufacturers about the goal of “continuous improvement” over the next 12 months. Forty percent listed cost reduction; 20 percent chose increasing capacity; 19 percent listed quality; followed by 8 percent for ontime delivery, 3 percent for inventory […]