Many companies are faced with the need to pivot and add to their traditional offerings and branch out into new areas. Whether you are an existing awning company, an architect, a landscaper, or in an entirely different field, Wholesale Shade has a solution to help you pivot your business model to increase sales and help your business thrive. Learn why shade sails are a great avenue for growth no matter where you are. Discover the 4 essential skills you need to add to your knowledge base in order to successfully sell and install shade sails. This webinar will be packed with resources to guide you on your journey as well as a step-by-step case study and Q&A session at the end.

Speakers: Robin DuBroy and Gregg Burrows

Wholesale Shade

Often the best pricing strategy is more about perceived customer value and less about what actual costs to manufacture are. In this webinar, Roy discusses awning pricing strategies and how to assign an appropriate value to custom work. He defines value, the importance of where we work, the value of saying no and how to begin with the end in mind.

Speaker: Roy Chism

The Chism Company, Inc.

The webinar will preview the new AIA-CEU courses developed for the fabric structures division and offer strategies for how to best present the course materials to architects.

Speakers: Mar Ricketts and Dave Bowick

As the business climate has changed with COVID-19, companies will need to understand how to get back to their operations in a new financial environment. Having capital to grow their business and acquire equipment will be a crucial component to success.

This workshop will offer advice geared to all types of capital and provide the tools necessary for seeking capital, as well as identify the types of funds and resources available from financiers today. We will look at the broad challenges in raising capital at all stages. The attendees will walk away with a game plan for raising money for their business.

What will be covered:

• The types of money available, the types of suppliers of money and how they differ
• The difference in long term and short term debt and the ROI of your debt
• How to measure and use financials tools to evaluate your business cost of obtaining capital
• How to develop your current business plan to raise capital as you grow
• How COVID-19 has affected lending

Speaker: Barbara Griffith

President, SCL Equipment Finance

Learn about how:

• ATA has partnered with standards development organization ASTM International and industry members to update CPAI-84 for the first time since 1995
• The ASTM partnership can be leveraged for additional improvements to CPAI standards affecting other product areas
• The “inside baseball” of the changes to the test method and scope of the CPAI-84 standard for camping tents
• How the updated CPAI-84 (2020) impacts regulatory compliance for recreational outdoor camping tents and children’s play tents
• The continued reliance on CPAI-84 in various state and local codes.

Speakers: Joe Koury, ASTM International and Neal Cohen, Product Safety Attorney and Consultant

This abridged “A to Z” presentation will help small business owners navigate the process of hiring and retaining an employee.

This easy-to-understand overview presentation covers:

• What do you know about interviewing?  Come find out!
• Developing a job description and posting a job
• The foundation of a good interview
• Steps to ensure a legal, compliant, and sound interview process
• Onboarding a new employee
• They’re hired.  Now what?
• Q & A

Speaker: Gary Convertino

Ed.D., SHRM-CP/PHR, CPC
Executive HR Consultant & Coach
3P HR Consulting & Coaching

The question of how much ballast is necessary to safely secure a tent is one that tent rental companies have been struggling with for decades. While most newer tents are certified by engineers to require a set amount of ballast, there are still many – particularly older tents or tents that have been modified from their original design – that do not have the corresponding documentation that can be used as a guideline for installers, but also shown to local code officials as verification that the structure has been properly secured.

After many years of study and research, this new tool allows the tent industry the opportunity to better answer that question and give code officials something tangible to know this tent was set up safely. Join us for an overview and demonstration of the Non-Engineered Ballasting Tool and a discussion on why the Tent Rental Division (TRD) and American Rental Association (ARA) partnered up to develop this additional ballasting tool.

Speakers:

Michael Tharpe

TRD Chairman & National Sales Manager, Rainier Industries

Alex Renaud

TRD Code Committee Chair & President and Owner, Fiesta Tents

Dan Hooks 

President & CEO of Party Reflections, Inc.

Preparing winning quotations with quality conceptual drawings anyone can understand is difficult and time consuming.
Compounding this, councils, schools, and care centers are now demanding quotations include a shadow analysis to confirm their investment will perform.
Producing better concept drawings, faster will increase the chance your quote will be successful.

Learning Outcomes:
In this session you will learn how modern software can:
• Produce multiple shade designs with powerful visualization in minutes
• Allow you to develop designs “real-time” on-site with your client so they buy into the design.
• Produce shadow reports for any date and time so you can demonstrate the design works.

Speaker: Timothy Akes

Representative for the Americas, MPanel Software Solutions

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and the U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI), a division if ATA co-host a webinar and discussion session on the industrial textile market, focusing on the outlook for the second half of 2021, as well as the challenges, opportunities and trends in the industry, as the economy continues to rebound slowly from the COVID-19 pandemic amid a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

ATA gives a presentation on the scope of the issues confronting the industry and provide an in-depth analysis and summary of its 2021 State of the Industry report. In addition, a diverse panel of both NCTO and USIFI member companies participate in a moderated panel discussion and address a wide range of topics, including workforce and sourcing issues, sustainability initiatives and new technologies.

Note: This webinar is intended for industry only and will be off the record.

We invite you to a Taste of Expo! Our webinar will feature 3 experts giving us a short preview of their education session from IFAI Expo. Our IFAI Expo education sessions are unparalleled. With dozens of speakers, IFAI Expo attendees will have multiple opportunities to gain valuable knowledge from the ones who know best. Education at Expo includes in-depth classroom sessions and 25-minute campfire sessions on the show floor.

In our webinar we will learn:
Transitioning from Fluorocarbon-Based to Fluorine-Free Durable Water Repellents 
Durable water repellents (DWRs) provide many beneficial properties to textiles including resistance to rain, staining, and abrasion. But many manufacturers have been transitioning to fluorine-free DWRs where possible. Attendees will learn the basics behind different repellents, regulatory issues, and the evolving technology for increasing the ecological profile of these products.

Frank Keohan

Senior Technology Manager, Bolger & O’Hearn, Inc.

Stop Playing the Pricing Game
Having confidence and ease in addressing the price and talking about your value with clients and even in marketing copy is one of the things that many people find truly difficult. In this power-packed session where we will transform your beliefs around pricing, value, and your willingness to shout your worth from the rooftops.

Madeleine MacRae

Owner & Founder, Homepro Toolbox

Footprint Data for Climate Action
Specific and accurate data is essential to sustainable progress. OEKO-TEX® has developed a method for calculating the carbon and water footprint at each stage of a textile product’s life.  This impact calculator is based on a two-year pilot project with in-depth research for best practices, current methods of data collection and calculation, recognized standards, proof of concept and stakeholder input.  Join us to learn how the tool was developed, how data will be continuously improved and how the system can be used. We’ll discuss how we can leverage this data to lower our industry’s impact and communicate with customers.

Ben Mead

Managing Director, Hohenstein

Are you a self proclaimed “not techy person” who finds yourself more frustrated by technology every day? Do you know there are probably ways to make it easier, but perhaps you’re too embarrassed to ask? In this session, Karen Gordon will cover the very basics in terms of tools you need to know about, shortcuts to help you move faster, and tricks to make your computer run faster. We’ll talk about what basic tech tools are worth investing in (a second monitor! I swear!) and what free tools make your life way easier. You’ll leave feeling less overwhelmed and intimidated and more inspired to embrace the tools that will undoubtedly make your life easier.

Attendees of this session will walk away with:
-A clear shopping list of what you need (and what you don’t!)
-Easy tricks to make your technology run faster and you run faster when using it
-A better sense of confidence in facing new and existing tools

Speaker: Karen Gordon

Goodshuffle