Hong Kong is an important hub for the Asian textile market, and the Hohenstein Institute, Bönnigheim, Germany, recognized the opportunity. In December, Hohenstein opened a new test laboratory in Hong Kong. The state-of-the-art facility will offer primarily chemical and physical textile testing, but will also offer testing to determine whether textile products are fit for [...]

[Röder HTS Höcker GmbH] Kefenrod, Germany Röder HTS Höcker was asked to develop a unique clearspan structure system that could be offered as a premium product to the customer’s prestigious client base. With the requirement that it would “look like no other,” a new multifunctional system was created that can be used as a single-level [...]

In 2010, India’s total textile and clothing exports to the U.S. were $5.38 billion; U.S. exports to India totaled $141 million. Despite the disparity, India is still one of the top four markets for U.S. apparel and textile products, along with The Netherlands, Brazil and Taiwan. The top U.S. exports to India include apparel, yarn, [...]

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), have requested the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study lifecycle costs and benefits of incorporating geosynthetics into pavement projects. “The use of innovative materials in pavements has the potential to help address issues within the pavement [...]

The largest independent research organization in Scandinavia, Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning (SINTEF), is coordinating the European Union’s Safe@Sea project to develop clothing for professional fishermen. Susie Jahren and her research team landed a big one by finding a textile coating that automatically seals small holes and tears in the surface of waterproof work [...]

The Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (OICAM) in Nijverdal, The Netherlands, opened its doors in early July to promote the sharing of knowledge, research and development of advanced materials. OICAM’s first demonstration project, GreenSource, combines synthetic turf and water filtration technologies to allow sports facilities to treat and re-use water for turf maintenance, landscaping [...]

“We like boating and floating in the lake,” says Jeff Downey, “but we kept getting sunburned, being out on the open water.” He and his brother, Tom Downey, decided that “there’s got to be a way to float a canopy,” and a new product and business were born. Water-Shade LLC, Apache Junction, Ariz., manufactures floats [...]

With temporary exhibitions, it can be a delicate balance between visually expressing a nation’s culture and creating an economical structure. Designers often turn to lightweight, durable fabrics to give full range to their ideas. A case in point is the Estonia Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World’s Fair, designed by Allianss Arhitektid, Tallinn, Estonia, that [...]

Despite an explosion of color and style in clothing for health professionals, in environments where hygiene trumps fashion, white seems right. The Hohenstein Institute, Bönnigheim, Germany, offers a new kind of fiber using regenerated cellulose and zinc/zinc oxide treatment for white, antimicrobial and comfortable clothing suitable for health and food-preparation work. The new fibers, as [...]

High winds on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s big island destroyed the canopies at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, a luxury 350-room facility. AR Industries, a Fontana, Calif., manufacturer of awnings and canopies, pool and spa covers, boat covers and specialized protective covers, developed a new style of canopy to cope with the unpredictable winds. [...]