Management – Page 3 – Specialty Fabrics Review

Imagine, design, win

IFAI Expo’s Student Design Challenges give future textile designers an opportunity to shine. Our 2016 categories:

Advanced Textiles—Design for aerospace, medical, military, safety/protective or other wearable and nonwearable textile technology applications.

Awning and Canopy—Design an awning [fixed or retractable], canopy or tension canopy for a public or commercial space.

Fabric Graphics—Design a fabric graphics installation [2-D or 3-D] for a public or commercial space.

Fabric Structures—Design a fabric structure that provides shelter and architectural interest for a public or commercial site.

First-place winners receive a $1,500 cash prize and a trip to IFAI Expo for a team of three and faculty. For more, visit www.IFAI.com/student-design-challenge.

Who’ll mind the store?

July 29, 2016 | Business, Management

Internship programs are an untapped resource for finding the next generation of leaders for specialty fabrics businesses. After decades of building businesses within the textile industry, entrepreneurial baby boomers are entering a new phase of life. As CEOs, business owners and managers consider tr…

Tips for building a strong management team

July 14, 2016 | Business, Management

Foundations built to last

June 29, 2016 | Business, Management

Mal Maher is the CEO of NC Carpet Binding & Equipment Corp., a Newark, N.J.-based company that manufactures machinery and offers supplies for the flooring trade. Founded in 1947 by his uncle and grandfather, Maher got his start in the family owned and operated business in 2000. Here, Maher share…

A succession solution

June 29, 2016 | Business, Management

How to determine if an employee stock ownership plan is right for your company. An exit plan is generally not at the forefront of a company owner’s mind, especially at the height of career success, but it’s no less important than any other business strategy. When the time comes to step down, a c…

Tents, trends and technology

June 1, 2016 | Business, Feature, Management, Perspective

From RFID to GPS, Mike Holland uses all the newest tools to keep Chattanooga Tent Co. at the leading edge. “We embrace technology here,” says Mike Holland, president of Chattanooga Tent Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. “Especially when it comes to material handling, we’re always looking for anyth…

Stretching tent technology

June 1, 2016 | Business, Management

Anton van Druten’s knowledge of the stretch tent industry spans the globe, literally. As owner of Swift Tents, a Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada-based business that specializes in the installation of stretch tents and in the training of riggers and event crews, van Druten became familiar with th…

Leading the third generation

May 1, 2016 | Business, Management

Ryan Chism, estimator and project manager at The Chism Company Inc., San Antonio, Texas, is the third generation working in a family-owned and managed company. Founded in 1951, the company has grown from a small home improvement business to a recognized industry leader in fabric and metal shade and …

Ideas in harness

April 1, 2016 | Business, Fabric Structures, Feature, Management, Markets, Perspective

Michael Lester doesn’t shy away from a challenge. He builds a team of fellow innovators and comes up with tensioned fabric solutions. “We’re always innovating,” says Michael Lester, managing director of MakMax Australia Pty. Ltd. in Brisbane, Australia, a world-renowned company build…

Against the elements

April 1, 2016 | Business, Management

Donald Franks is the owner of Shade One Awnings, a Toms River, N.J.-based awning company that specializes in residential and commercial awning sales, service and installation. Franks started the company in 2002 and has since set himself apart from competitors by focusing on motorized retractable awn…

Collecting sun and rain

March 1, 2016 | Business, Management

A pair of dynamic fabric structures bookend the Taiwan landscape. From the northern most tip of Taiwan, where capital city Taipei is located, to the southwest coast, where Kaohsiung City, the country’s industrial center, greets the setting sun, two new installations showcase the capabilities of te…

Category: Management