Kicking off the second day of the ATA Fabricators Conference & Showcase on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, human resources expert, Chad Sorenson, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, from Adaptive HR Solutions LLC, presented a session entitled “Employee Strategies in the midst of COVID-19.” Sorenson says that for the past year, employers have been forced to “make things up [...]

Torey Heinz, the founder of Shopflow productivity software for marine, canvas and upholstery shops, discussed the importance of shop scheduling during his presentation at the ATA Fabricators Conference & Showcase on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Heinz introduced the idea of using a digital job board to organize and display jobs so that shop owners can [...]

Druid Hill Reservoir is a one-billion-gallon (55-acre) potable water storage reservoir that supplies Baltimore, Md., and surrounding counties. Druid Hill Reservoir was constructed between 1863 and 1871 and is one of the largest earthen dammed lakes in North America. In 1971 it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of [...]

Bozeman, Mont.-based Texbase Inc., a cloud-based data management and collaboration platform for the textile and consumer products industries, announces its continued collaboration with brrr°. Brrr° patented yarns and specialized manufacturing techniques combine natural cooling minerals, active wicking and rapid drying technology.  The company chose Texbase to accelerate the process of turning innovative material science concepts into [...]

Precision Textiles, a supplier of coated fabrics, nonwovens and laminations for the bedding, automotive and healthcare industries, is keeping ahead of a growing trend by states to tighten fire-retardant (FR) chemical regulations in consumer products. By constantly upgrading its portfolio of chemical-free FR solutions for quilted mattress panels and borders, FR filler cloth, FR sock, [...]

The second session of the three-part Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) Virtual Series took place Feb. 18 with attendees from across the U.S. and around the world. The central presentation, by Charlene Clark, Signature CanvasMakers, was called, “Scaling Your Business: Keys to Achieving Sustainable Growth.” Clark touched on the key elements needed to help effectively scale [...]

Polypropylene (PP) resin and other plastic resins have experienced a rapid price increase over the past three months, affecting the cost of geosynthetic products, according to Fred C. Chuck, P.E., executive director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) at Advanced Textiles Association. “Market conditions continue to remain highly volatile, with resin availability and pricing changing [...]

A recent Minnesota StarTribune newspaper article reports that major boat manufacturers in Minnesota are scrambling to expand their payrolls in response to surging demand for leisure boats during the pandemic. According to the article, Brunswick's production facility in New York Mills, Minn., where Lund and Crestliner boats are built, has added 114 positions in the [...]

Livinguard has announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the hygiene-technology company’s patented self-disinfecting textile (EPA Reg N. 95700-2). Livinguard’s new textile is effective against Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria to the tune of 100,000 times in 10 minutes, among the highest levels of defense against disease-causing pathogens. In addition to killing 99.999% of bacteria, Livinguard’s technology continuously [...]

Shawmut Corporation has announced the creation of a new health and safety business unit that will apply the company’s trademark advanced materials, textile manufacturing and process innovation techniques to producing high-quality, U.S.-made, health and safety products, including its Protex™ line of U.S.-made PPE. A fourth-generation, family-run, global company with locations in North America, Europe and [...]