International Achievement Awards submissions portal opens
March 23rd, 2022
Winner of the 2021 IAA Award of Excellence in the Tensile Structures < 600 square meters category, the PFEIFER Structures-designed Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal in Alameda, Calif. features a spectacular canopy. Photograph courtesy of PFEIFFER Structures For more than 75 years, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has recognized outstanding and innovative projects representing the latest accomplishments in […]
Optimizing awnings
March 1st, 2022
Photo: © Inigo Calles, www.dreamstime.com. Last November the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) introduced a web-based tool that calculates the energy savings for residential and commercial awning products. The new Energy Savings Calculator app was designed as an IFAI member benefit to allow users to input […]
Exceeding expectations
March 1st, 2022
Shari Albertson is vice president of sales at Austin Canvas & Awning, a commercial and residential awning manufacturer and installer in Charlotte, N.C. She has over 15 years of awning sales experience and is the qualifying representative for the company’s general contractor’s licenses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Yet nearly every time Albertson […]
Cutting through the fabric ceiling
March 1st, 2022
Faith Roberts, Ltm, MFC, IFM, owner of Ham Lake, Minn.-based Banner Canvas, can think of several examples of gender-based discrimination she’s encountered over her 40-year career. Some struck her as blatantly offensive when she experienced them. Others were less obvious until she really dissected them years later. “Some things I didn’t know were discriminatory until […]
Environmentally speaking
March 1st, 2022
Speaking of sustainability at Expo’s Advanced Textile Confernce last fall are, (from left to right) Ben Mead, managing director of Hohenstein Institute America; Meredith Boyd, senior VP of Technology, Innovation & Sustainability at Unifi Manufacturing; Lauren Choi, founder and CEO of The New Norm Fabric; and Stephanie Rodgers, director of Advanced Product Development at Apex […]
Te Nukuao
March 1st, 2022
For most of its history the America’s Cup yacht race took place on offshore courses far from the viewing public, but recent race organizers wanted to transform it into a spectator sport. When the 36th America’s Cup took place in New Zealand last March, visitors could, for the first time, watch the race from viewing […]
LED illuminating fabric
March 1st, 2022
Kanvaslight® by Guardtex is an illuminating fabric that can be used in applications like bimini tops, seating, awnings and sunshades. Kanvaslight® by Guardtex is an illuminating fabric that can be used in applications like bimini tops, seating, awnings and sunshades. The UL-certified technology allows textile structures to be used as a broad lighting surface. The […]