Perspective – Page 5 – Specialty Fabrics Review

QAIZAR HASSONJEE

senior director, business development and partnerships

ADIDAS DIGITAL SPORTS
Chadds Ford, Pa.
www.adidas.com

IFAI MEMBER SINCE 2007

MOST VALUED BENEFIT
Expanding the smart textiles industry

At the intersection of textiles & technology

May 1, 2016 | Feature, Perspective

Qaizar Hassonjee mines market opportunities and forms partnerships to bring smart fabrics to market. “The intersection of textiles and technology is a huge untapped opportunity for the textile industry,” says Qaizar Hassonjee, senior director, business development and partnerships, for adida…

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…

Envision, build, repeat

March 1, 2016 | Awnings & Shades, Business, Feature, Management, Markets, Perspective

Michael Catalano treats his clients as strategic partners—and that keeps them coming back. “We have a saying here: It’s not about the first job. It’s about the next job,” says Michael Catalano, CEO of Capitol Awning Co., Jamaica, N.Y. “And probably 90 percent or more of our work ends…

Fabric on the frontier

February 1, 2016 | Feature, Perspective

Eric Walton and Devlin Mckee bring fabric solutions to Alaska’s wild and wondrous terrain. “The remote area where we work can be a challenge so we have to be flexible and willing to do lots of different things,” say Eric Walton, MFC, and Devlin McKee, CC, owners of Custom Canvas Alaska…

Back to shore

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

Jeff Schmitt balances the reality of off-shore manufacturing with how to bring production back to the U.S. “At the end of the day we’ve got to figure out ways to be competitive,” says Jeff Schmitt, senior vice president of operations for The Coleman Company Inc., Golden, Colo. “As the pe…

Charting a course

December 1, 2015 | Business, Feature, Management, Perspective

Incoming IFAI board chair Katie Bradford takes the helm, using business expertise and networking know-how to lead the association. “I believe good leadership encourages participation and embraces differences,” says Katie Bradford, MFC, IFM, incoming chair of the Industrial Fabrics Associatio…

Demand + supply = prevail

October 1, 2015 | Awnings & Shades, Business, Feature, Management, Markets, Perspective, Tents

Robert Cole brings decades of experience and common sense to the time-honored but always evolving economic model of supply and demand. One of the great things this industry has to offer is the quality of its suppliers,” says Robert Cole, IFAI Honored Life Member (HLM) and owner of Goodwin-Cole, Sa…

No fear

September 1, 2015 | Feature, Perspective

Per Lindstrand sees obstacles as stepping stones as he develops new methods and products for fabric engineering. Never be afraid to stick your head out. I’d rather have my head slapped one time too many than too little,” says aeronautical engineer Per Lindstrand, founder and president of Lindstr…

Selling shade

August 1, 2015 | Awnings & Shades, Feature, Markets, Perspective

Conrad Masterson builds his business by focusing on what clients really want—and what employees need. “The first thing I learned when I entered the shade sail industry was to focus on what the customer really wants,” says Conrad Masterson, president of SHADE Industries, Phoenix, Ariz. “T…

Beyond the competition

July 1, 2015 | Fabric Structures, Feature, Perspective

Patty and Charly Smail build their business by learning from each new customer—and finding gaps in what the competition offers. We’ve always been service-oriented people. That’s our style,” says Patty Smail, president of Shelter Structures Inc. in Philadelphia, Pa. “We wanted to find marke…

Category: Perspective