Archives

Textiles’ role in alternative energy

October 1st, 2024

Pvilion’s solar fabric combines shelter with power generation. Image: Pvilion According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the amount of renewable capacity added to energy systems around the world grew by 50% in 2023, reaching almost 510 gigawatts (GW), with solar/photovoltaic accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide. The IEA forecasts that U.S. solar power generation […]

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Progress on solar-powered fabrics

May 1st, 2023

Pvilion’s Heavy Duty Portable Solar Canopy, a 2022 IAA award-winner, is a PVC-coated polyester canopy integrated with solar panels that can effectively power equipment, lighting, cell phones, laptops and other gear. Photo: Pvilion As a greener, increasingly high-tech world seeks ways to better optimize the power of the sun, textiles manufacturers are competing to be […]

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Pvilion and Rensselaer developing robotics to manufacture rapidly deployable structures

April 1st, 2021

A project to develop robotics for the manufacturing of emergency shelters such as Pvilion’s rapidly deployable structures answers “a timely challenge in both manufacturing and health care,” according to senior research engineer Glenn Saunders. Illustrations: Pvilion. When tents are needed immediately—for disaster response, a public health crisis or a military action—time is of the essence. […]

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Pandemic demand drives shade market

March 1st, 2021

While 2020 started as a disaster, pandemic-related business picked up substantially as the year went on. Fabric manufacturers such as Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC were among companies providing shade products, like the Sunbrella® fabric for these shade structures in Miami, Fla., as restaurants moved to outdoor dining. Photo: Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC. Pent-up […]

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Solar-powered canopy captures the rhythm of Miami

July 1st, 2020

The Rhythm Foundation exists to bring international music to the U.S. It focuses on music from cultures that connect to South Florida including Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.  In 2015, the Miami, Fla.-based nonprofit was awarded management of the North Beach Bandshell, an open-air amphitheater in Miami Beach’s North Beach Historic District […]

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A bright future: fabrics that generate electricity

August 1st, 2019

Pvilion’s Colin Touhey is working to forge strategic partnerships to integrate photovoltaic technology into all kinds of fabric products.  by Jill C. Lafferty Every time you are building what you think is a one-off project, you’re probably going to do something similar a second time, a third time, a hundredth time,” says Colin Touhey, CEO […]

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All successful companies innovate to grow, but each approach is unique

February 1st, 2019

If there were a formula for writing a hit song, we could all do it. Efforts have certainly been made to figure out just what’s required to reach the top of the charts, but there simply isn’t a single defined path that can be taken to ensure musical success. In manufacturing, businesses that look to […]

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Choice and innovation drive architectural fabric market

October 1st, 2017

What spurs innovation? Does the kernel of a new idea spring forth fully formed from the brow of a genius, or does it gestate over a long, arduous path involving sweat and heavy lifting? Maybe a bit of both, if you dig into the histories of new materials or processes. Often you will find that […]

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Airbeam festive tent

May 1st, 2017

As the old joke goes: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! Or you can get there by creating an air-supported tent designed for Carnegie Hall’s roof, as Pvilion and its collaborative partners recently did to much acclaim. This inflatable event space incorporates a technology originally developed for military applications, that of high-pressure fabric […]

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