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Richard Seaman on sustaining a family business
April 1st, 2020
By Rebecca Post An urgency runs through the pages of Richard Seaman’s book A Vibrant Vision: The Entrepreneurship of Multigenerational Family Business. That urgency stems from Seaman’s understanding that few family businesses survive beyond a third generation. Seaman, the chairman and former CEO of Wooster, Ohio-based Seaman Corp., offers a model to family-owned businesses for […]
Textiles and Lifestyle
March 1st, 2020
Textiles have become more responsive, providing health and wellness benefits while creating worlds of possibilities for manufacturers and users alike. by Pamela Mills-Senn It wasn’t long ago that the demands placed on textiles were relatively straightforward. Whether apparel, furnishings, car seats, bedding, medical fabrics or others, textiles were tasked with meeting a generally standard set […]
Before selling, determine the true value of your company
February 1st, 2020
By Larry Oxenham Succession planning can be a tricky matter, especially if you’re passing your business on to a family member. Sometimes keeping it in the family is viable, but not in every case. If it comes time to sell the business instead, you should be armed with some strategies for getting what it’s really […]
Michele Quadri-Butterfield keeps Al’s Awning Shop up to date and focused on customers
July 1st, 2019
by Jill C. Lafferty Photos by Daniel J. Smith Photography The mission of Al’s Awning Shop is to be the leading provider of quality fabric solutions and to be dedicated to providing professional customer service and exceptional products,” says owner Michele Quadri-Butterfield. “Fabric solutions is key for me. It’s about taking a fabric and helping […]
Women’s work: challenges and rewards in the specialty fabrics industry
February 1st, 2019
Since the earliest days of civilization, women have sewn garments, constructed the tents they called home, and woven the textiles that made life more comfortable and defined distinctive cultures. Over the millennia, textiles produced by women have been essential to life and enterprise. As industrialization made these goods profitable, however, the textile world became a […]
Restructing an awning company results in positive results—for employees and the bottom line
August 1st, 2017
Mike Peterson restructures an awning company’s culture by asking hard questions, collaborating on the anwers and fearlessly changing the rules. “Our old philosophy was to focus on profitability and the end result—and in order to get there we did our best to take care of our customers, and our employees came last,” says Mike Peterson, […]