IFAI Expo 2018 Delivers Valuable and Engaging Event!
November 13th, 2018
Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo (IFAI Expo) offered a wide variety of exhibitors, events and education and was attended by more than 4,850 verified participants! DALLAS, TX— The 98th IFAI Expo attracted more than 4,350 verified registered participants from IFAI Expo and 500 scanned leads from CAMX to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center for […]
Shade market basics that deliver
November 9th, 2018
The shade market keeps growing, according to Marc Shellshear, general manager of Value Vinyls Inc., and customers are more concerned than ever about preventing skin cancer. Shellshear was among the first presenters October 15 at IFAI’s 2018 Pre-Expo Conference in Dallas, Texas. Shellshear explained that there are three types of HDPE fabrics for shadecloth: tape/tape, […]
Shade sails clinic
November 9th, 2018
On October 17 at IFAI Expo 2018 in Dallas, Texas, Brydon Roe from Shade Sails Canada Inc., Revelstoke, British Columbia, led a shade sails campfire session where he shared his business’s top dos and don’ts for installing shade sails. When it comes to shade sail fabric options, Roe recommended polyester, Commercial95 (or a mid-grade shade […]
2018 Fabric Structures Student Design Competition Winners Announced
November 9th, 2018
The Fabric Structures Association (FSA), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), recently announced the recipients of the 2018 Fabric Structures Student Design Competition awards. The winners were announced at IFAI Expo 2018, held Oct. 15-18 in Dallas, Texas. First Place Rafael Dias Simoes, Kevin Barthelmebs and Fabien Burgeat from ENSAVT University won […]
Transparent, self-adhesive textile shades windows
November 1st, 2018
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention—or in this case, it’s the father. Specifically, Philippe Lampe, owner of Lampe Textiles in Tielt, Belgium, was looking for a way to provide his son some privacy in his college room. Lampe’s son wanted curtains for his window, but he wasn’t allowed to attach anything […]
Strategies for how and when to grow your company
November 1st, 2018
They’re called “growing pains” for a reason. You’ve put in the blood, sweat and tears (and a few bucks) necessary to make your business a success. You’ve made your customers happy, and they’ve told their friends. There’s never been enough time in the day, but now … it’s getting tough to manage it all. It’s […]
Fabrics create comfortable shelters
November 1st, 2018
A group of designers at Bora Architects, a Portland, Ore., firm, had an interesting idea they wanted to explore. The group considered the way in which modern American life, with all its comforts, creates a barrier to the natural world. Increasingly, the buildings we inhabit no longer reflect the regional climates in which they exist, […]
Curtains for 3-D holograms at the Museum of Applied Art Cologne
November 1st, 2018
The annual IMM Cologne International Interiors Show, held each January, offers a first peek at the trends in interior design for the coming year. More than 1,300 exhibitors from around the world display an exciting and diverse variety of furniture and designs. At the 2018 show, Stylepark AG, the Frankfurt-based online platform for architectural products, […]
Finland’s glare-free West Port terminal
November 1st, 2018
The Port of Helsinki, located on the Baltic Sea, is a bustling gateway from Finland to the rest of Europe. In 2017, 12.3 million passengers traveled through the harbor, making it Europe’s busiest. It’s also Finland’s top port for foreign trade, with 14.3 million tons of goods transported through the harbor in the same year. […]
To sew or to seal: expanding the toolbox
November 1st, 2018
To sew or to seal is a question that some fabricators have answered by gearing their offerings toward products that utilize either the former or the latter, but not both. While this kind of specialization can be a viable and lucrative strategy, expanding the toolbox to incorporate both sewing and sealing can often prove even […]