2017 IFF Innovation Award winner announced at IFAI Expo

The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) has announced the winner of the 2017 Innovation Award: UltraTech International Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., won this year in the category of “Chemicals, Coatings and Compounds” with the EverShield® C6 water-based fabric treatment. The company was awarded a prize of $5,000.

EverShield was developed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for the U.S. military, created when a U.S. Army General challenged scientists at the U.S. Natick Soldier Research Center to develop a “self-cleaning uniform.” After development and testing, UltraTech was able to obtain the worldwide licensing rights to the product. The fabric treatment is sold in a liquid concentrate form to mills for application during manufacturing; it’s applied to bulk fabric using a dip, pad, dry and cure process.

Honorable Mention awards went to these companies in five other categories:

1. SUREFAS® B.V., for the CAF-Composite Screw Stud (Hardware and Findings)
2. TRI Environmental Inc., for the Commercial Electrical Leak Location Equipment (Equipment and Tools)
3. digiShapes, for its Digital Boat Covers (Services to Manufacturers)
4. Infinity Canopy Inc., for the Infinity Canopy Modular Slide-on Wire Shade System (End Products)
5. Polartec, for Polartec® Delta™ (Fabrics, Fibers and Films)

The Industrial Fabrics Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to education and research in specialty fabrics. Innovation is at the heart of the growth of the specialty fabrics industry and technology in the 21st century; the IFF Innovation Award works to transform ideas into action. For information, visit ifaistaging.wpengine.com/industrial-fabrics-foundation.