You’re in business to make money. That means knowing costs and pricing jobs realistically. By Marc Hequet This job’s a tough one; the design is different, the material expensive. The customer is haggling. Can you price it to meet your target margin? Do you know what your target margin is? Can you even price it [...]

Careful planning and tenacity take a new product from the idea stage to successful commercialization. By Barb Ernster From grassroots efforts to sophisticated business processes, companies are finding the means to bring new technologies and products from the lab to the marketplace. Those that are successful in commercializing their ideas have done their homework well, [...]

David Nickerson applies high standards to building fabric structures and encourages industry players to set collective guidelines. By Sigrid Tornquist “At the end of the day, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror,” says David Nickerson, president of Rubb Inc. in Sanford, Maine. “And that means designing to the building code—period.” [...]

Today’s advanced technologies will drive the future of fabric structures. By Blaine Brownell Fabric is one of the oldest materials humans have used for shelter; it remains an important material with diverse applications in design and construction today, and it will play an even more important role in the constructed environment in the future. Predictions [...]

While working in Guatemala in 2009 with ArtCorps, a nonprofit group operating in Central America, artist Alayna Wool came up with an idea that may help change the future of its indigenous people by finally making the past visible. Wool’s project, “Living History—A Photographic Montage,” features 2,000 rescued photographs of victims killed, tortured or “disappeared” [...]

Service Graphics, London, U.K., has available a new print-ready fabric designed to cover crowd safety barriers at outdoor events that can also help businesses maximize branding. TV channel Sky1 was the first company to use the substrate during the filming of its “Got To Dance” program. The reusable Barrier Skin is made from a washable [...]

Reusable tent decals from Central Tent, Santa Clarita, Calif., stick on almost any vinyl tent, as well as walls, metals and glass. Printable with customized graphics, the decals leave no residue, will not damage surfaces and can be repositioned multiple times. Outdoor rated for up to one year, the fabric will flex to follow the [...]

Molded polyurethane from Corium Urethane Technology Inc., Boucherville, Québec, Canada, can be used to create seats, dashboards and interior wall panels by using molded polyurethane skin and foam technology. This process makes possible the design of multiple shapes and stitching imitations, the use of a combination of colors and textures, and the utilization of appliqués [...]

Neschen® Americas, Elkridge, Md., adds to its line of environmentally responsible media products with EnviroScape Mural™ Plus!, an FSC–certified media that incorporates 10 percent post–consumer waste for a sustainability advantage over traditional vinyl and pressure-sensitive vinyl materials. Easy to install, it can also be easily removed from walls, windows or any rigid surface. For murals, [...]

[Ehmke Manufacturing Co.] Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. Asked to provide upgrades using the latest technology in materials and workmanship, Ehmke Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia, Pa., engineered, manufactured and installed protective thermal acoustical blankets in the HMX-1 CH-46 presidential support helicopters. The interior materials and design needed to be functional, easy to maintain, affordable and aesthetically pleasing. Using [...]