Shade sail design: How to get it right

November 5, 2020  |  Expo News

During IFAI Virtual Expo 2020’s educational presentation “Shade Sail Design: How to Get It Right,” Timothy Akes, a software expert for MPanel Software Solutions, told participants that design is by far the most important, misunderstood and underestimated aspect of delivering a great and long-l…
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A primer on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

November 5, 2020  |  Expo News

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) offers lots of attractive benefits: studies have shown that ESOPs improve productivity, increase sales and improve return on assets, plus they offer great tax advantages. But more than any of these attributes, an ESOP offers the owner of a company peace of min…
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Understanding intelligent textiles

November 4, 2020  |  Expo News

The Advanced Textiles Conference of IFAI’s Virtual Expo 2020 continued Nov. 4 with a detailed presentation by Justine Decaens on “Smart Textiles: From Lab Prototypes to Commercial Products.” Decaens is R&D director with CTT Group, a testing laboratory and R&D facility specialized in te…
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Policy challenges and opportunities for U.S. textile manufacturing

November 3, 2020  |  Expo News

The U.S. textile industry worked “swiftly and impressively” to pivot to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) this spring, leveraging existing manufacturing know-how and equipment and making new investments to shift production, according to Sara Beatty, president of White Haven Trade Advis…
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Shade fabric 101

November 3, 2020  |  Expo News

Patrick Lane, president of Alnet Americas Inc., presented a session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 about shade fabric characteristics and terminology. Lane discussed an overview of premium shade fabric properties and performance. According to Lane, there are many construction variations and styles of sha…
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The regulatory path for medical PPE

November 3, 2020  |  Expo News

An afternoon session by Jing Liang, founder and president of Medical PPE Consulting LLC, walked participants through the regulatory process and testing for medical personnel protective equipment (PPE) In her session, “Understanding Testing Requirements of Medical PPE,” she noted the variety of P…
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Integrating smart homes and window treatments: overcoming the challenges

November 3, 2020  |  Expo News

Even bottled water is marketed as “smart” these days, notes Andre Comitre, COO of Artisan Window Fashions, but that claim does not make it true. Similarly, “smart homes” are easy to tout, but the reality of fully-integrated systems is still in the process of being realized. Comitre, an archi…
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Virtual Expo 2020 advanced textiles education begins

November 3, 2020  |  Expo News

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) opened the advanced textiles education sessions of Virtual Expo 2020 with a presentation by Dr. Sasha Stolyarov, CEO, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA). His presentation, “The Development of Advanced Functional Fibers and Fabric…
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Registration for IFAI Virtual Expo is open

October 1, 2020  |  Expo News

IFAI Expo is going completely virtual and will be hosted online Nov. 2–12, 2020. By registering for IFAI Virtual Expo, attendees can attend education sessions, virtual networking events, keynote speakers and browse through a virtual show floor filled with exhibitors displaying their latest pr…
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IFAI Expo and R+T Show Organizer, Messe Stuttgart, to Co-locate Trade Shows Starting in 2021

September 21, 2020  |  Expo News

ROSEVILLE, MN—Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and Messe Stuttgart, organizers of R+T in Stuttgart, Germany; R+T Turkey in Istanbul, Turkey; R+T Asia in Shanghai, China and R+T South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil, are pleased to announce that they will co-locate IFAI Expo with Me…
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