The European Parliament agreed in February to establish a system for patenting new products or discoveries that will be valid in all participating EU countries. Twelve member states requested the EU’s enhanced cooperation procedure after failing to agree on a common patent procedure. A unitary patent system will allow inventors to apply for a patent [...]

One disadvantage of public transportation is the musty smells of bodies in various stages of hygiene that get trapped in the upholstery. Moisture from sweat, spills or condensation accumulates inside the upholstery, leading to growth of mold or bacteria. The Hohenstein Institute, Bönnigheim, Germany, is researching new types of upholstery that would transport or manage [...]

Two federal programs providing support to small businesses, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), need long-term reauthorization. U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), ranking members of Senate committees, took up the cause during hearings in February 2011. One business funded by SBIR now has 17,000 employees and [...]

Calling Vietnam and China “two nonmarket economies which have poured resources into their textile and apparel sectors” to the detriment of U.S. jobs and exports, Cass Johnson, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), opposed including Vietnam in the proposed U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement. Since Vietnam was granted Permanent Normal Trade [...]

A new 192,000-square-foot facility in Fostoria, Ohio, will give Inland Tarp & Liner LLC (ITL) the capacity to service customers in the Eastern U.S. within one day transit time. ITL manufactures tarps, pond liners, building covers and related polyethylene-based products. The move will help the company, headquartered in Moses Lake, Wash., to expand production after [...]

[Basic Concepts Inc.] Anderson, S.C., U.S.A. The Sentry All Terrain Berm by Basic Concepts for above-grade secondary storage is the company’s largest product, and it utilizes the most fabric. A fuel bladder is contained inside the unit and in the event of a catastrophic failure the All Terrain Berm will contain the fluid and protect [...]

Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) helped A&R Tarpaulins, Fontana, Calif., streamline its processes and forestall employee layoffs. A&R, maker of fabric products for many applications, completed the Layoff Aversion Program, developed by San Bernardino County’s Workforce Investment Board. Consultation from experts in lean manufacturing and internal quality auditing worked with A&R [...]

While BFF Technical Fabrics, a Somerset, England, manufacturer of nonwovens, makes a range of fabrics for medical products, wipes, automotive uses and filtration, the largest part of its 2010 profits came from the popular smokeless tobacco called snus. Snus is a variety of snuff packaged in small bags, and BFF is the development partner of [...]

The senior management team of Agion Technologies Inc., Wakefield, Mass., launched a startup company, Sciessent LLC, which has acquired Agion’s intellectual property assets and proprietary expertise pertaining to antimicrobial and odor-control technologies. The new company will continue providing the Agion® silver-based antimicrobial technology and Agion Active™ anti-odor technology, but “we are also committed to the [...]

The space race is heating up among designers and manufacturers of space suits. Oceaneering International Inc., Houston, Texas, has signed an exclusive team agreement with the David Clark Co., a space suit supplier, and United Space Alliance, a space operations company, to produce the Oceaneering Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS) for the National Aeronautics and [...]