Feature – Page 5 – Specialty Fabrics Review

TAYLOR BIGLEY

CO-OWNER AND PRESIDENT

Awnings by Bigley & Hogshire

Hampton Roads, Va.

www.bigleycanvas.com

IFAI MEMBER SINCE 1923

MOST VALUED BENEFIT

Connection to the industry

Riding the pendulum of industry change: Awnings by Bigley and Hogshire

October 1, 2018 | Feature, Perspective

“We have to be diverse and knowledgeable about the various types of products people are making in the industry,” says Taylor Bigley, co-owner and president of Awnings by Bigley & Hogshire, Hampton Roads, Va. “What’s in demand changes—the pendulum swings each way—and we have to re…

Strategies for how and when to grow your company

October 1, 2018 | Feature

They’re called “growing pains” for a reason. You’ve put in the blood, sweat and tears (and a few bucks) necessary to make your business a success. You’ve made your customers happy, and they’ve told their friends. There’s never been enough time in the day, but now … it’s getting tou…

Nonwovens in the automotive industry

September 1, 2018 | Feature

“I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics.” When Dustin Hoffman’s character Benjamin Braddock heard those words in the iconic movie The Graduate in 1967, the use of plastics—or polymer-based materials—was on the rise. (This, although plastics had been around for al…

Moving military textiles into commercial markets

September 1, 2018 | Feature

Located in Philadelphia, Pa., and founded in 1929, Ehmke Manufacturing Co. Inc. has made the military its primary target from the beginning, designing and fabricating a wide array of technical fabrics not just for all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, but for allies and the defense industry in gene…

Harold Warner and Dynamic Air Shelters develop larger and tougher inflatable structures

September 1, 2018 | Feature, Perspective

“I love the word resilience,” says Harold Warner, majority owner and president of Dynamic Air Shelters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “Whether you’re operating on a physical plane or a psychological plane, resilience enables you to deflect danger and harm. What our company has done is exp…

Fabrics bring museum exhibits to life

August 1, 2018 | Feature

Visitors to the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., are bound to be moved by the multiplicity of impressions, sounds, lights and graphic images that could only be presented with the aid of fabric. “This Little Light of Mine,” the name of the main exhibition at the Jackson muse…

Nigel Richings combines a hands-on, solution-minded approach with a vision for excellence to keep Undercover Canvas and Awnings growing

August 1, 2018 | Feature, Perspective

You can either look at challenges and decide you can make things work and get on with it, or you can worry and then panic,” says Nigel Richings, founder and owner of Undercover Canvas and Awnings Inc. in Wildey, Barbados. “It’s one side of the coin or the other. I just don’t get scared. I &h…

Added value experiences keep the customers around

July 30, 2018 | Feature

Delivering an added-value experience can help companies pull ahead of the pack, giving customers the incentive to return—while also elevating the business and the entire industry. It can be challenging to stand out from the scrum of companies clamoring for attention and business. More challenging …

Brenda Hagerty and Porcupine Canvas: sales and customer-focused marketing

July 1, 2018 | Feature, Perspective

“Cold calls are a thing of the past,” says Brenda Hagerty, co-owner and president of Porcupine Canvas Manufacturing Ltd. in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada. “Calling someone out of the blue to try to sell them something just doesn’t work in today’s industry. What clients want are our feet…

Enhancing workplace (and worker) performance: automation and technology, equipment ROI and the new workforce

July 1, 2018 | Feature

Canvas Innovations in Holland, Mich., focuses on custom marine canvas and upholstery products, says owner Chris Ritsema. The company also has a smaller portion of the business dedicated to other textile-related products, such as porch enclosures, shade sails, awning recovery, furniture covers, golf …

Category: Feature