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Outdoor shade and screens ride the storms out

July 1, 2024  |  Features

Extreme weather that whips up strong winds, releases torrents of rainfall and causes floods, droughts and other hazards is becoming more common, and businesses in the shade industry have had to adapt. They have introduced new structures, fabrics, finishes and cleaning products to help consumers keep…
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Cornering the home shade

June 1, 2024  |  Features

Anyone who has spent time on a racing sailboat (and New Zealanders are noted for putting up challengers to the America’s Cup sailing competition, with four wins out of five attempts) knows that a tightly furled sail does not flap uncontrollably. A recent addition to a private home in Queenstown pr…
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Innovation drives opportunities for inflatable structures

June 1, 2024  |  Features

The first image that springs to mind when inflatables are mentioned is likely bouncy houses or holiday decorations tethered on people’s lawns—unsurprising, since these are typically their most visible manifestations. But the forms inflatables assume and the purposes they can serve are astounding…
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Rian True connects Carolina CoverTech to core values

June 1, 2024  |  Features

Founded as Bailie’s Furniture Company in 1858, Carolina CoverTech of North Augusta, S.C., is thriving in its third—and most transformative—era, due to the leadership of CEO Rian True. His early efforts in reshaping the company’s approach to manufacturing laid the foundation for a strategic v…
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It’s material that it matters

May 1, 2024  |  Features

Recent years have seen a number of announcements of heroic efforts to literally reach for the moon because terra firma is becoming unlivable due to global overheating. Nation after nation has declared its goal of landing on the surface of that celestial orb to colonize new territory, usually suggest…
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Floating sculpture brings color to Columbus skyline

May 1, 2024  |  Features

A 229-foot-long floating fiber sculpture by sculptor Janet Echelman is now a permanent installation in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
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Fabric structures provide crucial support in disasters

April 1, 2024  |  Features

Used for wedding celebrations, birthday parties, graduations, festivals and other events, fabric structures and tents serve a variety of lighthearted purposes. But these products also have a serious side, such as when they’re deployed for disasters, for humanitarian relief, for military operations…
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The happiness effect

April 1, 2024  |  Features

Tony Ehrbar, owner and CEO of American Tent LLC, in Green Bay, Wis., didn’t realize he wanted to be an entrepreneur until he was 32. Burned out from years of consulting work and dissatisfied with corporate life, he was inspired to take on a new professional challenge after watching an episode of S…
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AI saves businesses time, but it needs to learn physics

April 1, 2024  |  Features

Although computers have been working with large amounts of data since their inception, they can’t learn or reason like humans. They follow code instructions to perform a task. Artificial intelligence (AI) computing differs from rote programming in that the algorithms are training the computer to l…
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Commercial renovations focus on comfort, the warmth of home

March 1, 2024  |  Features

In a lightning-fast transition to work-from-home during the pandemic, employees abandoned corporate buildings for familiar spaces with their deep sense of safety and comfort.
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