Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a municipal modern art museum, closed in 2008 to launch a major makeover—including a futuristic building extension built from hybrid para-aramid and carbon fibers. Teijin Twaron, a member of the Teijin Group located in Amsterdam, sponsored the new extension. “Donating a structure made of Teijin’s leading-edge materials to the Stedelijk [...]

[ Unitika Trading Co. Ltd. ] Osaka, Japan High-performance protection garments from Unitika are made with a soft and breathable laminated material that uses the company’s unique technology for construction of spunbond nonwovens. The disposable protection suit offers a balance between barrier efficiency and comfort without heat stress.

[ NASA Langley Research Center ] Hampton, Va., U.S.A. NASA aeronautics researchers at Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., recently dropped a MD-500 U.S. Army helicopter from a height of 35 feet (simiulating a relatively severe crash) to see whether an expandable honeycomb cushion called a deployable energy absorber could lessen the destructive force of a [...]

[ John Herber Ltd.] [ TA The Canvas Technology Centre ] Kaiapoi, New Zealand A custom-built, modular, shelter system, the RacTent was developed specifically for the support of scientific research in remote polar regions. Its design is based on a unique web-beam framing system that allows for fast assembly, solid security and a more effective [...]

Employees hired at the Japanese trading company Itochu Corp., Tokyo, Japan, will spend their first year on the job in China studying the language, and in the U.S. learning business fundamentals. Masahiro Okafuji, named president of Itochu in February 2010, modeled his training program after a successful program that helped boost the company’s textile business [...]

South Africa hosts the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010 and expects to be inundated in June and July by die-hard fans cheering on their home teams. Two of the country’s largest cities, Johannesburg and Durban, plan to erect huge tent campsites to accommodate visitors who can’t afford hotels during the tournament. Approximately 40 tents [...]

Xennia Technology, a subsidiary of Royal Ten Cate, Almelo, The Netherlands, recently demonstrated a process of printing with nanotechnology-based inks that add function to textile substrates. Xennia markets the digital print engines, software, ink systems and special inks; Reggiani Macchine, Bergamo, Italy, will design, build, sell and service machinery that makes use of the new [...]

Changes in reinforcing fibers and fabrics for tires, belts, flaps, floor mats, hoses, pipes, tarps and concrete have spurred changes in how the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) evaluates standards for those and other items. The ASTM subcommittee D13 on Textiles has updated its title and scope of work, becoming the D13.19 Industrial [...]

Szefo, a nationally-owned textile firm that employs primarily disabled workers, collaborated with the Szeged University of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary, to develop an antibacterial fabric incorporating silver nanotechnology. The process and fabric, patented in December 2009, will be used in orders executed for Italy, the company’s main export partner. Szefo receives subsidies from the Hungarian government [...]

Specialty nonwovens, such as new-generation spunbond and spunmelt fabrics used for hygiene and personal care, will continue to be a strong market. Manufacturer Fiberweb Plc, London, England, has teamed up with Chisso Corp., Tokyo, Japan, to investigate a joint venture operation in China. A study will estimate volumes and technologies needed to support the personal [...]