2017 IFF Innovation Award winner announced at IFAI Expo
The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) has announced the winner of the 2017 Innovation Award: UltraTech International Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., won this year in the category of “Chemicals, Coatings and Compounds” with the EverShield® C6 water-based fabric treatment. The company was awarded a prize of $5,000.
EverShield was developed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for the U.S. military, created when a U.S. Army General challenged scientists at the U.S. Natick Soldier Research Center to develop a “self-cleaning uniform.” After development and testing, UltraTech was able to obtain the worldwide licensing rights to the product. The fabric treatment is sold in a liquid concentrate form to mills for application during manufacturing; it’s applied to bulk fabric using a dip, pad, dry and cure process.
Honorable Mention awards went to these companies in five other categories:
- SUREFAS® B.V., for the CAF-Composite Screw Stud (Hardware and Findings)
- TRI Environmental Inc., for the Commercial Electrical Leak Location Equipment (Equipment and Tools)
- digiShapes, for its Digital Boat Covers (Services to Manufacturers)
- Infinity Canopy Inc., for the Infinity Canopy Modular Slide-on Wire Shade System (End Products)
- Polartec, for Polartec® Delta™ (Fabrics, Fibers and Films)
The Industrial Fabrics Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to education and research in specialty fabrics. Innovation is at the heart of the growth of the specialty fabrics industry and technology in the 21st century; the IFF Innovation Award works to transform ideas into action. For information, visit www.textiles.org/industrial-fabrics-foundation.