connections winter 2014

S P E C I A L I S E D T E X T I L E S A S S O C I AT I O N I N C . W I N T E R 2 0 1 4

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THE 2014 CONFERENCE PROGRAMINSIDE!

Textiles in the Vines

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For booking and sponsorship information, go to:

fi tagvic.weebly.comOr contact FITAG (Victoria) by email:

fi [email protected]

furnishing industry

ccareers

fitag.victoria

DAY

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Expression of Interest The furnishing industry in Australia needs to strengthen and elevate

its profi le, especially to the new generation of prospective members of our

industry. We need to make students, graduates and the general public aware

of who we are, what we do, and the job opportunities available in our industry.

FITAG (Victoria) is holding a furnishing trade careers day on Thursday 17 July between 11am and 7pm at CATC Design School’s Melbourne campus at 595 Little Collins Street, Melbourne.The event will include industry kiosks where participants can showcase

their products and services and provide career information, as well as

seminars and talks on subjects ranging from ‘What does an employer look

for?’ to ‘What does a kitchen designer do?’ Invitations will be extended to

VET students, secondary students, career advisers and the general public.

FITAG is calling for expressions of interest from you, the industry businesses, to make this event a success.

About fi tag.victoriaFITAG Victoria (the Furnishing Industry Training Advisory Group, Victoria)

was formed in 2013 primarily to identify and assess the development and

implementation of the Furnishing Training Package within Victoria.

The group comprises representatives of:

• Carpet Institute of Australia Limited (CIAL)

• Kitchen and Bathroom Designer Institute (KBDI)

• Australian Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA)

• Aust. Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA), Victoria

• Architectural Glass Design Australia (AGDA)

• Picture Framers Guild of Australia Incorporated

• Piano Tuners Guild

• Specialised Textiles Association

• Window Coverings Association Australia

• VET/Design Educators

We need your supportIn order to make this a successful event, we need your support through your

organisation/company’s participation or donations in kind, or both. We need:

• Participants

• Seminar speakers

• Donation of goods for event sample bags

• Door prizes and raffl e/competition prizes

• Event marketing materials

• Event catering

YOUR COMPANY LOGO WILL BE INCLUDED IN ALL MARKETING MATERIAL AS A PARTICIPANT AND/OR SPONSOR

Contact FITAG for more information

on how you can participate

and/or sponsor the event.

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www.specialisedtextiles.com.auCONNECTIONS Winter 2014

04 CONTENTS

06 EDITORIAL

08 STA NEWS Report from outgoing president, Tom Gastin.

10 COMMITTEE ROUND-UP Reports from the Fabric Structures, Marine Fabricators, Women in Textiles and Editorial committees.

12 NEWS Beatrice Moonen explains the Cover Our Kids campaign, which is currently having a significant impact in New South Wales.

14 Shann’s new name and logo.

VICOSC’s printable solar panel trials.

16 SME FOCUS This month we look at networking – how to do it, how not to do it and other ways to make contact if a room full of industry peers fills you full of dread…

20 DESIGN The recent Melbourne Now exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria showed some wonderfully inventive uses of fabric courtesy of design duo Tin & Ed.

22 Rouse Phillips’ hand-painted fabrics, kilims and rugs.

23 How Roland DGA saved Mr Banks from looking too modern.

24 TECHNOLOGY Bob Cahill explains the importance of pre-tension when erecting outdoor fabric structures.

29 TEXTILES IN THE VINES 2014 All you need to know about the STA’s annual conference:

30 Overview

32 List of exhibitors and floorplan

33 Program

36 Booking form

38 Speaker profiles

40 Exhibitor profiles

44 SPECIAL FEATURE Sustainability – William C Smith explains why this hot topic is ‘underway and not going away’.

50 SPECIAL FEATURE Fabric and ink compatibility – Michael Labella reveals how to improve your printed products. 54 INDUSTRY TRAINING A reminder of why training is so important and where you should go to get it.

56 BUSINESS Alan Rodway of Leap Performance examines the key issues for organisations today.

60 MEMBER PROFILE Connie Hellyar talks to the team at ABC Products, a family run business since 1978.

62 EVENTS Upcoming events for the specialised textiles industry, locally and internationally.

62 ADVERTISERS’ DIRECTORY

50

20

12

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22

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06 EDITORIAL

You may have noticed that the magazine looks rather diff erent and that’s because we’ve not just had a redesign, but we have a brand new team behind the magazine – a new publisher, new designer and new editor.

There are other changes too – from now on the magazine will appear quarterly – four issues a year to coincide with the seasons. And we couldn’t have picked a better time to do it. This month, as we are all aware, it’s the Specialised Textiles Association’s (STA’s) annual conference.

As your brand new editor, I’m really looking forward to spending three days in the beautiful Hunter Valley with you all, getting to know you and finding out your interests, concerns and what sort of thing you’d like to see in this magazine over the next year.

The title is ‘Textiles in the Vines Conference 2014 – blending innovation with inspiration’. As usual, it will combine a raft of top quality speakers and forums with extensive and innovative trade displays. But in among the information sessions and inspiring speakers, on such topics as geosynthetics and sales and marketing for SMEs, there will be plenty of time for less structured networking and social activities. Highlights include the golf tournament, and a whole Spanish cooking event, where you can try your hand at making paella, churros and even sangria. And, of course, sampling your creations afterwards.

The Awards for Excellence Ceremonial dinner will be another social highlight. The STA has organised these awards for 27 years now and they go from strength to strength.

And, of course, don’t forget to get up early enough for the Keynote Speaker breakfast on Saturday with ex-AFL player Sam Kekovich – he of the legendary ‘Serve Lamb on Australia Day’ ad campaigns. If anybody can convince the world that now is the time to focus on and support Australia’s home-grown textile industry, Sam, as they say, is the man.

The conference is the main theme of this issue, of course, but we have plenty more in the magazine to interest, inform and entertain you.

The slightly less structured approach of the past will change, and we will be bringing you a range of regular columns and articles – such as the traditional STA news, a round-up of the activities of the STA’s various committees, Industry News, Profiles of existing and new STA Members, Industry Training, Design, Technology and SMEs in focus – looking at issues of particular relevance to small to medium businesses. And, of course, there will be our usual special features and spotlights on the latest innovations and happenings in the industry.

Remember, this magazine is for you. If there are general topics or specific stories you’d love to see covered, let me know about them.

You could email me at [email protected]. Or, even better, why not come up and introduce yourself at the conference?

I’ll be the one standing over by the paella stall, salivating…

Madeleine SwainEditor

Welcome to the Winter issue of Connections

EditorialContributions by the STA Editorial committee

ASSOCIATION MANAGER Ana Drougas

EDITOR Madeleine Swain [email protected]

DesignART DIRECTOR Keely Atkins

PRODUCTION MANAGER Julia Garvey [email protected]

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Heather Bloom [email protected]

Publishing CHAIRMAN Nicholas Dower

MANAGING DIRECTOR Paul Lidgerwood

GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Joanne Davies

FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Sonia Jurista

Connections magazine is published on behalf of the Specialised Textiles Association Inc by Niche Media Pty Ltd ABN 13 064 613 529

142 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, Vic 3205Tel: 03 9948 4900 / Fax 03 9948 4999

PrintingSouthern Colour (VIC) Pty Ltd

Cover imageMike Newling, Destination NSW

Specialised Textiles Association201/22 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda Vic 3182Tel: 03 9521 2114 / Fax: 03 9521 2116Email: off [email protected]

All unsolicited material should be addressed to the attention of the editor at the address above. Material will only be returned if a postage prepaid self-addressed envelope is supplied. Niche Media Pty Ltd accepts no liability for loss or damage of unsolicited material.Connections is a publication of Niche Media Pty Ltd, ABN 13 064 613 529, 142 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne Vic 3205 Australia, tel +613 9948 4900, fax +613 9948 4999. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every eff ort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication. The opinions and material published in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, publisher or Niche Media Pty Ltd, unless where specifically stated.

NEXT ISSUE OF CONNECTIONSIn the Spring issue of Connections, we’ll be looking back at the Textiles in the Vines conference. If you have ideas and suggestions for possible content in future issues of the magazine, don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know. You can contact the STA on 9521 2114 or visit www.specialisedtextiles.com.au. Or you can contact the editor directly on [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.


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08 STA NEWS

I am now in my last two months as president of the STA and it has been an amazing experience. This association has

so much history and depth that it has been a pleasure to be involved in both Council of Management and as president.

The passion in this industry is second to none and all our members that I have spent time with over the last few years have been open and willing to communicate challenges

they face and make suggestions for our association to gain strength and value. Fortunately, with this role, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to this

member passion at the front end. It has not only made my job easier by being well-informed, but also provided me with tons of learnings in both business and life itself… so I thank you all.

The role as president is a very interesting one. The preceding years in Council of Management give you the opportunity to really understand the strategic plan and current initiatives. In a way, the one-year role as president seems very short, as some initiatives take years to deliver on, and sometimes it feels like you are in a rugby back line – you study the set play, the ball gets passed to you, you throw a few steps in and push forward, then you do your best to deliver the ball correctly to the next player, so the team can continue momentum.

One of the keys to the association is the ‘set plays’ or the strategic plan. This plan drives the Council of Management and is an ongoing process of the STA. I have been very lucky to be around when it is jam-packed full of initiatives.

The Association Strategic Plan is developed by feedback from members who donate their time to improve the industry as a whole. This comes in the form of joining subcommittees, providing feedback to the Council of Management and attending state members’ meetings. As the Association bases its strategic plans around the needs of our members, this communication is imperative.

Being my last Connections report in this role, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the excellent team we had on the Council of Management this year: Dave Burton (vice president), Jamie Howard, Connie Hellyar, Glenn Barlow and Daniel Gollan. I have really enjoyed working with you. A big special thanks also goes out to Ana and Mina in the off ice, who have been so committed to their own roles and the STA as a whole.

I look forward to seeing all our members and partners at the Conference in the Hunter Valley. The format is a little diff erent this year and, with an emphasis on education and learning, there are some big names presenting. So bring your paper, pen, business cards and a party hat, and I’ll see you there!

Tom Gastin – President

President’s report

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10 COMMITTEES

The STA couldn’t represent, service and inform the specialised textiles industry as well as it does without the sterling work and support of its individual committees. Here we hear from four of them – Women in Textiles, Fabric Structures, Marine Fabricators and Editorial – about what’s been happening in the first few months of 2014.

COMMITTEE NEWS

WOMEN IN TEXTILES COMMITTEEThe Women In Textiles committee has had an enormous amount of support from all our STA members this year. Supporting Ovarian Cancer as our choice of charities has proved to be a rewarding sideline

for our group. The donations that have come in through our state meetings have been amazing. We would like to thank each and every one of you for getting behind this initiative.

We have also received several nominations for some outstanding candidates for our 2014 Woman of the Year Award, and the judging committee is going to have a diff icult time ahead choosing our first winner.

The WiTs committee is not about just organising this award, but also about contributing to making this a wonderful opportunity. We want women to know that you can achieve whatever it is you want to if you put your mind to it and have the grit and determination – that you can be a great mum, wife, partner and business woman; they are not mutually exclusive. Being a woman in our industry can sometimes be a challenge, but with self-belief and confidence, more and more women are joining the industry and making a diff erence.Connie HellyarChairperson

FABRIC STRUCTURES COMMITTEE We have a new committee line-up this year and we all look forward to tackling the issues that you, the STA members, believe are of most concern to the well-being of our fabric structure industry.

Of particular interest this year, the Fabric Structures committee has been corresponding with Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman. A new policy directive introduced seeks to remove capital works funding for shade sails in public schools. What this policy means is that there will be less funding to build shade sails in Queensland schools. This will have an immediate impact on our Queensland installers. The FSC believes the rationale for the decision by Queensland education facilities is flawed. The shade industry can build for extreme weather conditions and can off er ongoing maintenance programs.

There is a sentiment echoed around public education departments that only steel COLAs (covered outdoor learning areas) can provide suitable shade in schools. This is incorrect. The STA through the FSC has online resources in place to promote and educate the public on the merits of fabric structures.

We have a long way to go. In complete contradiction to this Queensland education policy, Australia is demanding more, not less shade for children.

A campaign that is absolutely raging at the moment in the Western Sydney media is the ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign, which centres on a public and media drive to have more built shade in council playgrounds and public spaces. The basis for this campaign is a Cancer Council New South Wales study released this year showing that councils in higher income areas are allocating more funding to the provision of shade in parks and public spaces, when compared to less aff luent council areas. The STA thought the FSC should be involved in this campaign, informing the media and councils that eff ective shade solutions are not expensive, can be designed and built to high standards, and designed and built to discourage vandalism. A more detailed article appears on page 12 of this edition of Connections.

The Australian Standards committee to review AS4178 on shade cloth standards had its inaugural meeting in March and we look forward to a positive participation from Tony Watts from Pro-Knit Industries, who represents the STA on this committee. Beatrice MoonenChairperson

MARINE FABRICATORS COMMITTEEThe Marine Fabricators division of STA was launched to help improve awareness of local expertise and establish standards of excellence for business practices. This sub-division of STA has grown steadily since April 2013 and now has a fully subscribed

committee that is energetic and passionate about promoting and maintaining an identity for marine fabrictors.

Following the success of the August workshop at Ultimo TAFE, New South Wales in 2013, David and Andrea Elliott of Dave’s Custom Trimmers, in Brisbane, have kindly off ered their facility to hold the first Australian Marine Fabricators Regional Workshop in late May. This initiative will help marine fabricators learn new skills, discuss industry news and mix with peers and suppliers in an inclusive environment that will aid and assist all participants. Further workshops are being planned for Melbourne, Sydney and Perth this year.

Our long-term goal is to be proactive with the challenges that face all small businesses and to find the resources and information that is relevant to marine fabricators specifically while respectfully challenging all participants to embrace new products, skills and change as the key to success. Neil HancockChairperson

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www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

CONNECTIONS EDITORIAL COMMITTEEThe Connections magazine committee has been operating for about 12 months now. We are very fortunate to have a dedicated and enthusiastic committee working hard to bring the most relevant and useful magazine for all in our industry. The current members of the Connections magazine committee are Daniel Gollan, HVG Fabrics; Daniel Halse, Pattons; Melissa Vine, Shann;

Ron Gottlieb, Ricky Richards; Rosemary Grubb, Innova and me (Lance St Hill, Fabric Solutions) as chairperson. Ana Drougas (STA’s association manager) sits with the committee and also does most of the legwork. In fact, without Ana’s huge input and work, we would not have a magazine at all. Thank you Ana.

As you will now no doubt be aware we have a new publisher and a new look. We are very excited by the changes thus far and are working on the look and feel of the magazine for upcoming issues. We are always interested to hear feedback and suggestions from anyone, regarding the magazine and/or the digital version posted online.

Our magazine, as is the case with most print media, faces serious challenges in terms of readers, revenue and even its very existence. Our relationship with CommStrat has ended and this prompted reviews by our committee and the search for a new publisher.

We welcome Niche Digital and their first publication of Connections magazine. You will notice many changes, but this of course is part of the continuing evolution and hopefully improvement of our magazine and the way in which it is delivered and read by you the reader.

It is no secret that readership of many forms of print media, especially newspapers, has been in decline for many years. In the main, this loss of readership also equates to lost revenue, which ultimately dictates the very survival of any media or at least most products. It is these challenges that we are now grappling with as we, with our new publisher, strive to produce and deliver the best magazine in whatever form to inform, educate and entertain our readers, whoever they are.

The committee and I look forward to the challenges moving forward and hope that we can in concert with the publisher bring you a magazine that our industry wants and deserves.Lance St HillChairperson

40527_1_DDT QP.indd 2 14/04/14 5:17 PM2014 Marine Fabricators Regional Workshop

Hands on workshop for marine fabricators focusing on frame manufacturing, patterning and production.

When: Tuesday 20th May and Wednesday 21st May

Where: Wakerley, Queensland Fee: $120 (STA members) $200 (non members)

NB: As spaces are limited for this workshop, positions will be allocated to STA members first before being made available to non-members.

Register online to attend: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

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12 NEWS

The STA’s Fabric Structures Committee chairperson, BEATRICE MOONEN has been on a crusade recently, becoming involved in a campaign aimed at encouraging councils to increase funding for urban spaces . The ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign was prompted by a Cancer Council study that revealed children in disadvantage socioeconomic areas are simply not getting the same protection as their peers in wealthier areas.

THE ‘COVER OUR KIDS’ CAMPAIGN GETS TRACTION IN NSW

TACKLING THE ISSUEFirst, Beatrice wrote to the Cancer Council of NSW responding to a study that the Council published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Having introduced the work of the STA and explained its role as a representative of shade structure installers across Australia, she went on to explain what the STA recommends for councils in the area of shade installation.

Following this, Beatrice drafted a further letter that was sent to various media outlets across New South Wales.

“Increasingly councils and public authorities are looking at shade policies. Turning this into adequate shade over playgrounds where kids play is the challenge for forward-thinking councils. The Specialised Textiles Association (STA) represents designers, suppliers and installers of shade structures and works to raise standards and educate the public on what makes a quality shade structure and how to avoid the misinformation pitfalls.

The key areas a shade decision-maker must consider are to:● identify qualified installers; e.g.

develop installer registers● use the best materials for strength,

UV protection and warranty● ensure the design provides enough

shade; i.e. shadow diagrams, and● use design that discourages

vandalism.

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Vandalism of shade sails in public places can be discouraged using a few clever design measures. There are numerous examples of shade sails in public areas that are strong and vandal free. Design measures should include:● keep shade sail posts at least 1.5

metres from climbing aids such as playground equipment, fences and walls

● include anti-climbing plates/prongs on the tops of posts as visual deterrents

● use wide posts to discourage climbing

● use tall posts that are daunting to climb

● install lockable fences● install warning signs, and● install cameras in well-used areas.

The STA and shade professionals wish to work cooperatively with councils to develop suitable shade structures that will protect the health of our children.

Childcare centres in NSW must have high levels of shade over play areas for accreditation to operate. Many non-government schools are committed to shade structure policies. Policies are less clear in the public arena. Shade sails are a major fundraiser for public schools, as funds may not be available centrally.

A Cancer Council study, ‘Shade in urban playgrounds in Sydney and inequities’, addresses the issue of

the inequities in the level of built shade structures in less aff luent local government areas such as Western Sydney.

The STA is supportive of the Cancer Council study and the ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign being run in the Western Sydney region. After all, a third of Western Sydney’s population are children under 15 – well above the state average. Playgrounds are desirable and loved by children and parents. Councils are community focused and invest a lot of money and thought into the design of playgrounds. Shouldn’t similar

planning go into providing shade for these playgrounds?

Our skin cancer rates are the highest in the world and how we protect children today determines cancer levels into the future. The indicators are very worrying if socioeconomics have a role in determining which kids get public shade protection. The protection kids receive today is directly related to who will develop skin cancer in the future. Shade sails are integral to the Cancer Council’s ‘Slip Slap Slop Seek and Slide’ campaign and make good sense in Australia.

Information is available on the STA’s website (www.specialisedtextiles.com.au) on what makes a good shade structure and selecting the most suitable installer.”

Beatrice also contacted well-known radio personality Ray Hadley on 2GB, who highlighted the issue on his weekday morning show.

She says the response so far has been very enthusiastic across the board. “The public is wholeheartedly behind the campaign. Councils too are on board and Glenn Barlow and George Formosa, representing the STA, met with Council mayors and off icials in March,” she says.

“I believe this issue will have a flow-on eff ect throughout Australia over the next few months and the STA is ready to support our industry,” she concludes. C

OUR SKIN CANCER RATES

ARE THE HIGHEST IN THE

WORLD AND HOW WE PROTECT

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CANCER LEVELS INTO THE

FUTURE. THE INDICATORS

ARE VERY WORRYING IF

SOCIOECONOMICS HAVE A

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KIDS GET PUBLIC SHADE

PROTECTION. THE PROTECTION

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14 NEWS

Shann Australia has a new name and logo. The company will now be known as The Shann Group. The rebrand is all part of

Shann’s ongoing growth and evolution, says managing director Martin O’Shannassy.

“Our previous name and logo served us well, reflecting our growth into a leading distributor across Australia and New Zealand. Now, as we move towards our 60th anniversary, our new brand identity and logo reflects a new direction for who we are as a company,” he explains.

“Operating a joint venture factory in Vietnam and an off ice in China, the new direction also better reflects the position of The Shann Group as a more global company.”

The new livery represents a more modern look while maintaining the integrity of key elements the company believes are synonymous with Shann: longevity and commitment to service, as well as off ices and warehousing across all of Australia and in New Zealand.

O’Shannassy continues, “It was important to evaluate our brand, ensuring it was in sync with who we are and our direction for the future. In recent years, we have established a solid business in the print and window fabrics markets and the result was to introduce a dedicated business unit and identity for each of these key areas, while freshening our corporate brand.”

The new business units for Window Fabrics and Digital Print Media operate dedicated sales teams and website support, specifically catering to those markets.

The changes will be filtered across the business over the coming months, as part of an ongoing roll-out.www.shannwindow.comwww.shanndpm.com www.theshanngroup.com

Last September the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) in Australia began trials to develop flexible, large area, cost-eff ective printable plastic solar cells. The trial aims to speed manufacturing of organic solar

cells ‘printed’ onto polymer in much the same way as money is printed on paper.The potential to mass-produce solar cells cheaply and install them over large

areas may make solar energy on every rooftop a reality. “The trial could also lay the groundwork for a world-leading Australian industry in printable electronics,” says Senator Kim Carr, Australian minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

VICOSC partners include Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency; the Universities of Melbourne and Monash; and businesses Securency, BP Solar, BlueScope Steel and Merck. “The technology used for these cells is still in its infancy, but this project aims to speed up the development of this technology and take it from research to rooftops as quickly as possible,” says Peter Batchelor, Victorian minister for Energy and Resources. Read more at www.csiro.au.

Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International. This article first appeared in Specialty Fabrics Review magazine.

SHANN MOVES ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

VICOSC RUNS TRIALS OF LARGE PRINTABLE SOLAR CELLS

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16 SME FOCUS


The ‘Textiles in the Vines’ conference is almost upon us. This is our annual opportunity to hear from industry leaders, to discover what’s new and exciting in the industry and to socialise and network with our peers and colleagues. But how do you turn those newfound connections to your advantage? And what if the thought of a crowded room makes you cower in fear? MAT JACOBSON spills the beans on what networking really means.

NETWORKING IS BULLSHIT HERE’S A BETTER WAY TO DO IT

T here is a lot written on networking and many so-called experts on things like ‘The Five Steps to

Networking Success’ or ‘The Ultimate Networking Guide’. I’m a little bit more sceptical about magic networking formulas for at least a couple of reasons.

First of all, those who typically have the ‘rule book’ for networking success are often theoretical writers, not real world businesspeople who have used eff ective networking to build a billion-dollar business. Second, as we will see, there is no single formula.

Let’s start by taking a look at a couple of real life examples. Lindsay Fox, founder of Linfox, self-made billionaire and a Ducere Global Faculty member, says in typically candid fashion: “Networking is bullshit.”

What he means is you don’t go out to network looking for some transparent business outcome. Instead you should focus on building genuine, long-lasting friendships, as people will prefer to work with friends they know and trust. As Fox puts it: “Friendship is earned, and with that comes the trust, the integrity and the loyalty.”

Another Ducere Global Faculty member is Kay Koplovitz. Koplovitz established the first US cable TV company, USA Network, which negotiated licence deals with every major US sporting league and ultimately sold for around US$5 billion. Since then, Koplovitz has established Springboard and has helped hundreds of women-led businesses to raise over US$6 billion in venture funding. So what does she say about networking?

“If people would think of their networking time as transactional, they would make good use of their networking

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18 SME FOCUS


time. Women are very good at networking in a social way, but don’t think of people they have met in a transactional way. If you look at people who network successfully, they know that you ‘give to get’.”

If you think simply, ‘I want to network with ‘so-and-so’ because he can give me an intro to someone I want to do new business with,’ it won’t work, because there is no mutual value. You have to think equally, a transaction, like: ‘How could I help this person, who do I know that might assist his business?’ If people feel they are being used, they will very quickly stop providing you with any networking benefits. It has to be a two-way street.

So the question is, which of these seemingly polarised views is correct? The answer, of course, is there is no correct method. And, believe me, this is actually good news for you if want to network eff ectively. It’s good news because it means you’re not going to succeed by trying to fit into someone else’s mould. My company works with dozens of world leaders including presidents and CEOs and the only common thread I can see in all of these incredibly successful individuals is one thing: they don’t fit a mould; they each have developed their own style.

There are, however, some familiar traits: they are all genuine networkers. Don’t try and disguise a poor attempt at interest in someone just to get an introduction. They will see right through you. Whether you have a genuine way to off er mutual benefit, or want to build long-lasting friendships, the key is to be transparent, ethical and genuine.

Let’s say you’re very sociable and confident and are at a major function. If you want an introduction, come right out and say it. After the usual introductions and small talk try: ‘I understand you work at X. I’ll be totally honest with you, I’d love to meet your marketing director, but don’t know how to get in touch with her, if you can help me I’d love to return the favour in any way I can.’ This level of honesty is far better than the person knowing in the back of their mind that it’s just a veiled attempt to try and get something.

However, if you’re the type that feels sick in their stomach about approaching

a total stranger in a room filled with 350 total strangers, then network a diff erent way. Contact an individual you would like to meet by phone, and ask them if they could spare 15 minutes for you to buy them a coff ee as you think there are some areas of mutual interest you and they may have.

If it’s someone higher up the ladder and you may need a bit more to impress,

off er to take them out to a nice lunch. I have attempted to get through in the past to senior level people with numerous unreturned phone calls. Then I’d try leaving a message with the secretary, ‘Can you please pass on a message to John? I’d like to take him out to lunch next Thursday to Flower Drum’ (one of Melbourne’s best restaurants). I give no explanation of who I am or the purpose of the lunch, so John has no idea who I am. But what happens next? I get a phone call because John is, at a minimum, intrigued: ‘So what’s this about a lunch at Flower Drum and what are you looking for?’ … Door opened.

People often think that networking means a major luncheon trying to scramble for business cards. I have probably collected 1000 business cards in this way, and probably followed up with 15 of them. It’s just not my style. But I know others who would get all 1000 cards, put them in their contact base, categorise them, email all of them to follow up and keep in contact (usually, I’d have to say, in some non-intimate way like a mass email communication or newsletter). If this works for you, that is fine. This approach I guess is just playing the numbers.

Think about networking in this way: how many new connections do you really want? Thousands? Probably not likely. In most cases, it would be better to network with 20 great and relevant new people a year that you can build a meaningful relationship with. With a number like that, everyone could achieve this in a style they are comfortable with. Initially, you may think this is a small number, but think about it – in five years that is 100 strong relationships you have. Imagine the reach you can access when you total all of their connections.

If you build 20 trusted and genuine relationships a year, the value both personally and professionally of those connections will be infinitely greater than a room full of business cards. C

Mat Jacobson is the founder of Ducere, a global education company delivering the world’s most innovative business courses online. He is also the founder of the Ducere Foundation, working with African governments to improve the quality of education in third world countries.

THERE ARE, HOWEVER, SOME

FAMILIAR TRAITS: THEY ARE

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20 DESIGN


When the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) turned its attention to the local creative community, the result, Melbourne Now, didn’t just look to the city’s artists as the single mode of creative community, but to many designers as well. Part of the show’s incredible appeal (already on its way to becoming the gallery’s most popular show in its history) is the breadth of its scope, and ingenuity of its briefs and invitations.

One of the recipients of these briefs was the design studio Tin & Ed, the multidisciplinary workshop of Tin Nguyen and Ed Cutting. While graphic designers in a commercial sense, the duo have always made it a daily part of their practice to extend the materials, approaches and equipment they use to communicate their ideas – whether for a client or for self-initiated studio challenges. They were part of a group of designers and artists, including the likes of John Warwicker and Annie Wu, who were invited by the NGV to design On Top of the World: Flags for Melbourne, to be flown all over the city. The project was developed by Stewart Russell, for the launch of Melbourne Now.

THE FABRIC OF DESIGNGRAPHICS FOR THE GALLERY

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www.specialisedtextiles.com.au Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

THE BRIEFFlag flying, like nationalism, has progressive and regressive faces. Events such as the Cronulla riots in 2005 challenge the claims of any flag to represent a kind of unity. This project off ers alternative opportunities for flag-waving, rejoicing in the ambiguous and contested poetics of symbolic community representation, the politics of place and cultural identity, communication and belonging.

Flags on top of buildings are traditional, unchanging, seen but rarely looked at. As such, artists’ flags can be seen as non-flags, flags that signal change, flags that demand we stop and consider. If traditions are the beliefs by which a community understands its place in the world, then Melbourne’s evolving demography demands we consider that tradition is also evolving.

This project transformed the Melbourne summer skyline, extending the curatorial range of Melbourne Now beyond the gallery, into part of the day-to-day city experience. It was a unique opportunity for artists and designers to engage with the city through the conversion of 16 significant flagpole sites into temporary gallery spaces.

Site historian John Mathews researched individual flagpole sites and assists artists, where possible, with the research of specific lines of enquiry. The chosen site coordinates existed outside colonisation, boundaries and the emergence of a ‘built environment’.

THE OUTCOMETin and Ed: Our flags for Melbourne Now explore the feelings of being an outsider, as well as the feelings of being part of a community, and how these two things can actually co-exist.

Our site was the T&G building on Collins Street. We were presented with the research of the flagpole site by John Mathews and, through this, we discovered that the T&G building was originally built on the outskirts of the city. The idea of this really stuck with us. We took this notion, as well as drawing upon our own experiences of living and working in Melbourne as creatives, and started drawing aliens. We titled the work, Spacecraft.

The flags were made by Australia’s oldest flag making company, Evans Evans, using the traditional appliqué technique. C

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22 DESIGN

Sydney-based textile company Rouse Phillips’ latest range of products includes hand-painted fabrics in bespoke designs and a series of kilims and hand knotted rugs.

T he newly established fabric producer, Rouse Phillips, was one of the highlights of the recent

Decoration + Design Exhibition in Sydney. Rather than provide a printed range, the company gave us fabrics that are hand-painted. Drawing on their formal training

in art and design, the principals, Tim Rouse and Anastasia Phillips, have been accruing a skillset through their work with fashion brands in Australia and abroad.

The decision to move into their own practice was instigated by the realisation in 2012 that original high-quality fabrics

were lacking in the Australian off ering. Enter the very specific art talents of the pair and a range quickly developed. The style varies from subtle cherry blossoms to vibrant abstractions and heady graphics. Sofala, for example, combines rich oranges, blacks and silvery greys in a lively abstraction. Moreover, being hand-painted, the scope for bespoke iterations is without limit. Available in medium-weight cotton and a heavier cotton-linen blend, the range is available to the trade directly.

Expanding the off ering is a range of kilims and hand knotted rugs, all of which are produced in keeping with ethical and fair trade practices. C

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SAVING MR BANKS WITH CANVAS

R ural turn-of-the-century Australia and Hollywood in the 1960s are bound together by a book, P

L Travers’ Mary Poppins, in the recent Disney movie starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, Saving Mr Banks. Recreating the two distinctive locations through ads, signs and décor elements fell to Martin T Charles of SagaBoy Productions, Santa Monica, California, an award-winning graphic designer. Charles researched old photographs, developed hand-drawn illustrations, digitised the images and then commissioned Roland DGA Corp from Irvine, California to print the images on artist canvas using Roland large-format printers.

Charles focused on two large scenic venues, the Allora Fair in Australia and the Los Angeles Airport (LAX). The images printed on canvas were enormous, some as long as 10 metres.

Used as backdrops to the film’s recreated Mary Poppins movie premiere scenes, the images reflect a colourful nostalgia for the entertainment icons of more innocent times.

The images also transform a 1960s LAX into a mid-century modern launch pad for dreams of the future. More than 180 square metres of printed graphics were installed on the sets of Saving Mr Banks, including canvases with diff icult-to-reproduce metallic accents.

“To achieve an authentic look, we literally stomped on the prints to age them,” says Charles. The results worked for the producers, director and,

apparently, the audiences. The movie garnered critical attention, good box off ice (with an estimated budget of US$35 million, it has earned over US$112 million to date) and multiple awards and nominations, including one for a Golden Globe award (for Emma Thompson as best actress, who lost out to Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine). For more information, visit Roland DGA at www.rolanddga.com. C

Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International. This article first appeared in Specialty Fabrics Review magazine.

Graphic designer Martin T Charles of SagaBoy Productions uses historical research and photos, as well as high-tech digital printing, to set the stage for films as diverse as Seabiscuit and Saving Mr Banks. Photos: Roland DGA Corp.

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24 TECHNOLOGY

There are several factors to take into account when erecting an outdoor fabric structure, not the least of which is making sure you get the pre-tension right. BOB CAHILL explains the process.

FABRIC STRUCTURESWHY THE STRESS?

T ensile fabric structures are a great example of some complex work being done to create something

that looks deceptively simple. The best structures look both elegant and simple. It is the design and engineering of these structures that seems to be a combination of art and science and can be neglected in some structures.

Often underestimated are the forces that are applied to these structures. A good analogy is to look at sailing boats. A relatively small sail area can move several tonnes of boat across the water at significant speed, so why do we often underestimate the forces on ‘sail’

structures? There are a number of them to take into account.

First, there is the pre-stress, or tension, that is applied to the fabric to form a tight skin. These forces are transferred from the fabric and cables to the attachment points and support structures. The pre-stress must be high enough to stretch the fabric to the point that there will not be slack in the fabric when the structure is loaded with wind and rain – and snow in some locations.

Determining the correct level of pre-stress requires some engineering input and some understanding of fabric

construction and fabric behaviour. In some cases, structures are not given enough pre-stress to perform well over the life of the structure. You may think that simply tightening the fabric to remove all wrinkles is enough, but coated fabrics have some interesting patterns of behaviour.

The first time a coated fabric is placed under load, it will stretch irreversibly. This stretch comes from two main areas. First, the yarn used in the warp and weft generally has some twist in it to improve the tear strength and to reduce fibre damage in the weaving process. When placed under load (stress), some of this twist allows the yarn to stretch.

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26 TECHNOLOGY

This yarn is then woven to form the base cloth. The weaving process places some crimping into the yarn. This is the second factor that allows some stretch. Some of this crimp straightens out when the fabric is placed under load. If you do not apply enough pre-stress to your structure you may not have removed this stretch factor – and remember it is not stretch and recover, it is irreversible stretch.

Fabric manufacturers and engineers commission tests to measure the behaviour of the material under diff erent loads. Tests are done that apply force

to the fabric in both the warp and weft direction at the same time. These are called bi-axial tests because they measure the stretch of the fabric when force is applied in both directions. This simulates what happens when tension, wind or water loads are applied to the fabric surface. In these tests, the fabric is placed under load (stressed) and then allowed to relax. The load may be about 10 percent of the fabric’s breaking load (or some other factor). The first loading stretches the fabric irreversibly. The second loading also stretches the fabric;

the third loading stretches it even more. Generally, the fabrics go through a series of at least three cycles of loading and relaxing before there is any repetitive behaviour in the stretch under load.

Why is this important? That initial loading during installation may not be enough to remove all of that stretch. How often have you had to go back and re-tension an installation?

We apply pre-stress to tension the structure, but it then has to deal with environmental factors such as wind, rain and temperature variation. These factors place additional load on the structure and are again trying to stretch the fabric.

If the fabric stretches significantly you will risk flapping or ponding. Flapping of loose fabric will rapidly transfer forces to the fabric attachment points (corners) and there is risk of material failure near the attachment point. Ponding of rainwater on the surface will place ever-increasing loads on the material. This can stretch the fabric to the point of failure, or can place dangerous loads on the cables and other structural components. Insuff icient pre-stress can be a contributing factor to the risk of ponding or flapping.

This is why engineers earn their money – they have to take into account the shape of the structure and how this influences the transfer of forces to the supporting structure. They have to understand how the fabric will behave under various load conditions. They assess wind loads that will generate sideways, downwards or upwards forces on the structure. This will influence the selection of the strength of fabric, cable sizes, post sizes and footings etc.

There is a growing demand for fabric structures. They are very compatible with our outdoor life style. They provide shelter from sun and rain and can transform an outdoor area into something special. We are fortunate to contribute to public amenity with these structures. One of our responsibilities as an industry is to design, construct and install them in a safe and professional manner. C

Bob Cahill is the Australian agent for Hiraoka Architectural Structure Fabrics (Japan) and has worked in the industry for over 25 years supplying specialised textiles to highly skilled fabricator customers.

THERE IS A GROWING DEMAND FOR FABRIC STRUCTURES. THEY ARE

VERY COMPATIBLE WITH OUR OUTDOOR LIFE STYLE. THEY PROVIDE

SHELTER FROM SUN AND RAIN AND CAN TRANSFORM AN OUTDOOR

AREA INTO SOMETHING SPECIAL. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO CONTRIBUTE

TO PUBLIC AMENITY WITH THESE STRUCTURES. ONE OF OUR

RESPONSIBILITIES AS AN INDUSTRY IS TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT AND

INSTALL THEM IN A SAFE AND PROFESSIONAL MANNER.

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ADVERTORIAL 27

M iami Stainless is dedicated to product innovation by identifying industry trends

and product development opportunities. Everything we do is based on research and feedback from our customers, so you can be assured that you have access to the most innovative and in-demand products on the market.

Our S3259 Ezi Hold Dee Ring is the first of two products created as an alternative to corner and termination discs in shade sail assemblies. A ProRig Original Design, this fitting was designed to give high break loads by using a curved shape and thicker web attachment bar. The retaining ring reduces movement in the wire and prevents it from slipping out during installation or under load. The Ezi Hold Dee Ring is cost-eff ective, made from high quality AISI 316 marine grade stainless steel and suits wire up to eight millimetres.

The second development by ProRig, the S3259P Ezi Hold Dee Ring with Pipe, is a popular shade sail assembly alternative designed to be strong and easy to install with threaded rod or a toggle bolt. The major benefit of this fitting is that it reduces the distance between the shade

sail and the fixing point by eliminating the need for a turnbuckle, therefore allowing more shade coverage.

When properly installed, this product is a cost-eff ective and stylish alternative to corner discs when finishing your shade sail assembly. To correctly align, ensure you can see a straight line through the centre of the fixing point, the grooved channel

Identifying trends and innovating

and the webbing. The recommended distance when the fixing point and the grooved channel are in alignment is 180 millimetres. Each installation application may vary the dimension.

If you would like any further information please contact Miami Stainless by calling 1800 022 122 or visit our website www.miamistainless.com.au.

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The Conference and Trade Exhibition event for manufacturers, installers and suppliers in the specialised textiles industry

Something for everyone:• Conference• Trade exhibition• Networking

Entertainment by:• Sam Kekovich• James Galea,

Australia’s #1 magician• Jelly Bean Jam

Informative and educational sessions on:• Social media• Geosynthetics• Sales and Marketing

• Textile Print Technology• Fabric structures• Outstanding customer service

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30 CONFERENCE 2014 / OVERVIEW

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

T he Specialised Textiles Association’s (STA) main event of the year is only around the corner

and excitement is building across the country in all areas of the textile industry. Following the SuperExpo last year and feedback from both supplier and fabricator members, the STA is doing something a little diff erent this year. It is a conference style event with an emphasis on business sessions, education and networking.

On the day he was assassinated, US President John F Kennedy was due to give a speech that included the following quote, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” This quote is spot on. If leaders want others to grow with and around them, learning is imperative.

Accordingly, format of the conference is designed around giving leaders in our industry the opportunity to build on their personal and business development through some quality presenters and topics. There will be many key items covered during the conference with quality speakers and presenters coming in from across the country.

The program will have speakers running in two diff erent tiers, giving attendees the option to pick and choose presentations based on relevance to their businesses. Some of the key issues that will be covered are:

● communication and delegation● marketing strategies● engineering and architectural

properties● geosynthetics● sales● utilising social media to work

for you● the future of print media, and● customer service.

This year, we have invested in some big names to present on some of these areas. Vivienne Forbes of Social Ties will be showing us how to leverage social media and use it properly. It is a major part of business these days and it can be your business’ best friend or worst enemy. Learn from the expert on how to avoid the latter and leverage off this technology the right way.

We all know that without sales there is no business. Surprisingly though, a vast majority of people in our industry that operate in this role have little or no training in this area. Fortunately, we have Simon Harrop at the conference to show us a strategic sales structure that is proven and works.

Martin Grunstein, whose entertaining and value-packed performances have made him one of Australia’s most in-demand speakers, will be teaching us techniques on how to understand the

ego of our clients for a better result and for our businesses.

And to kick off our conference and to emcee our Awards Night is this year’s keynote speaker ‘Slammin’’ Sam Kekovich – a hilarious and informative presenter who will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the weekend.

These big names, along with many industry experts, will all be on hand throughout this wonderful weekend.

Feedback from supplier members has been that they have found it diff icult in the past to attend the business sessions, as leaving the stand could lead to lost business. This year, the program will include trade displays of industry suppliers in the middle of the day, giving suppliers the opportunity to take time to leave their stands and gain value from the speakers while still having the opportunity to network with clients.

For fabricators and installers, the value is endless – product information,

networking opportunities, tons of learning opportunities and, of course, loads of fun! There is also an opportunity to tour the Wax Converters Textiles factory to see firsthand how fabric is made and to gain more understanding of the materials you are working with on a day-to-day basis.

Our traditional events such as the Awards Night, Theme Nights and Partners’ Programs will ensure you will return from the conference with a smile on your face.

The setting is in the picturesque wine region of the Hunter Valley in regional New South Wales. Enjoy all the facilities that the Crowne Plaza has to off er and come along to learn, network, swing a golf club and drink some quality local wine at the STA’s 2014 Conference, Textiles in the Vines.

Welcome to Textiles in the Vines!

THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE

SPEAKERS RUNNING IN

TWO DIFFERENT TIERS,

GIVING ATTENDEES THE

OPTION TO PICK AND CHOOSE

PRESENTATIONS BASED

ON RELEVANCE TO THEIR

BUSINESSES.

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4. Iconic Australian name in marine hooding

5. The worlds most recognised brand in outdoor fabrics

6. New Zealand made marine carpet manufacturer

7. Range of woven mesh for general purpose applications

8. Architectural textiles with Italian brilliance

9. Australia’s number 1 canvas manufacturer

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9

8

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2

3

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6

5

1

8

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P S C M R S U A A N O L A N U D A R R R T N S O L A R F I X E V Y B A K A N X R S E A S E V E N M T N R U L E A T A C H I L L E S I E A H O R I Z O N X W T I H E R C U L I T E P O L Y F A B T X Z I P T R A K

40594_1 Nolan FP.indd 240594_1 Nolan FP.indd 2 22/04/2014 10:05 am22/04/2014 10:05 am

WC WC

ENTRY

OFFICE

STORAGE

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15

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21 34Ricky

Richards(Sales) Pty Ltd

Brel

la

HVG Fabrics

Trade Display Exhibitor List BOOTH BUSINESS NAME NUMBER/S

Aeronaut Automation 3

Austech Welders 6

Brella 15, 16

Buz Software 4

Carr Australia 18

Dasec Pty Limited 13, 14

Defab 20

Elizabeth Machines Co 9, 10

Epson 19

Eyelets Supply Company 29

Gale Pacific (Synthesis) 27, 28

Goodearl and Bailey 22

Hiraoka (Aust) Pty Ltd 7, 8

HVG Fabrics 11, 12

Nolan.UDA 1, 2

NSW Tafe, Sydney Institute 33

Polyfab Australia Pty Ltd 5

Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd 21, 34

Stayput Fasteners 17

Shann Australia 23

Specialised Textiles Association 32

Wax Converters Textiles Pty Ltd

30WeatherMax (Contender Sailcloth)

24, 31

Wilson Fabrics

25, 26




MAM9118

GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSOR

STA Conference Floor Plan indd 1 31/03/2014 12:34 pm


1_Conference Program.indd 321_Conference Program.indd 32 23/04/2014 5:06 pm23/04/2014 5:06 pm

GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONSBRONZE SPONSOR

8.00am – 9.00am Conference Opening Keynote Breakfast What better way to start the conference

than a humorous and riveting breakfast with “Slammin’” Sam Kekovich - You know it makes sense!

9.15am – 10.00am Business Session 1

BUSINESS SESSION 1A Communicate, appreciate and delegate

No matter the size of the business, team or group. Knowing your stakeholders is a crucial part of smart business decision making.

A work in progress, never to be ignored Understanding where emotion sits in bringing out the best in many.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Glenn Barlow, Positive Resolutions

BUSINESS SESSION 1B Introduction to Architectural Tension

Fabric Structures

History of Tension Fabric and Shade Structures in Australia. Types of applications, general concepts and geometric forms.

Comparison to conventional structures (load transfer, deflections).

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen, EO, LSAA

10.00am Morning tea

10.15am – 11.00am Business Session 2

BUSINESS SESSION 2A Social Media for Business Made Easy

How and where you can apply social media to your business. This session will be presented with simple, easy to understand terminology. An interactive session with real life examples of successes (and failures).

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Vivienne Forbes, Social Ties

BUSINESS SESSION 2B Engineering and Architectural Properties

of Fabrics

Solid Fabrics – yarns (polyester, glass), coatings (PVC, Teflon), Foils, Shade Cloth Materials, UV protection, Threads. Basic joining methods (welding, sewing)

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Bob Cahill, Hiraoka

10.00am – 2.00pm Golf tournament Includes golf fees, lunch, competition prizes

and celebratory beverages. Location: Crowne Plaza Golf Resort

10.15am – 2.00pm Hands on paella, churros and sangria making (and tasting) plus a winery tour and wine tasting. Location: The Verandah Restaurant at Calais Estate Wines.

1.00pm – 2.00pm Young Leaders networking event

4.00pm – 5.30pm STA members Annual General Meeting Room: Semillon 1, Crowne Plaza Hotel

7.00pm – 9.00pm Welcome Reception BBQ dinner Time to relax and enjoy dinner while catching

up with old friends and making new ones. Location: Under the pergola by the pool at Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Saturday 31st May

Sunday 1st June





GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONSBRONZE SPONSOR

11.00am – 2.00pm Trade Exhibition open Lunch served in trade exhibition area

2.15pm to 3.00pm Business Sessions 3

BUSINESS SESSION 3A Geosynthetics forum – Part A

Getting value from your IAGI membership dollar usefulness of the CWT program.

Usefulness of the AIC program.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenters: International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI)

BUSINESS SESSION 3B Engineering and Architectural Concepts

Applied loadings (prestress, wind, snow, hail, rain), geometric forms, pretensioning, supports (edge cables, edge beams/trusses, internal masts, arches), magnitude of forces, basic concepts of structural analysis and patterning and compensation factors.

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen, Peter Lim Engineering and Architectural Concepts.

3.00pm Afternoon tea

3.15pm – 4.00pm Business Sessions 4

BUSINESS SESSION 4A Geosynthetics forum – Part B

Trends.....especially the increasing use of Electronic Leak Location surveys.

Other matters raised from the floor.

(The perennial) 500ft (150m) DT rule debate.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenters: IAGI

BUSINESS SESSION 4B The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Reflections on things that can go wrong.

Extent and prediction of shade, water ponding problems, hail, hardware connections to allow for movement, access to panels for vandals.

Regulations, Quality Assurance, Design.

Guidelines (LSAA/STA) and Standards.

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen and Joseph Dean, Wade Design Engineers

7.00pm - midnight Awards for Excellence Ceremonial Dinner

Showcasing winning entries of the 2014 Awards for Excellence, Young Achievers Award and Woman of the Year Award.

MC for the evening: Mr Sam Kekovich

Pre-dinner drinks: 7.00pm to 7.30pm Dinner: 7.30pm to midnight Dress: Formal

Sunday 1st June CONTINUED





MAM

9114



Monday 2nd June8.30am – 11.00am Onsite tour - Wax Converters Textiles

Open to fabricators only. An insightful opportunity to see the manufacturing operations at WCT. Visitors will be shown the complete processes that go into producing a number of fabrics that are regularly utilised by Australian fabricators. The manufacturing processes will include weaving, dyeing, printing, coating and finishing.

9.15am – 10.00am Business Session 5A

SALES AND MARKETING - PART A What is the best sales approach to win

you more business and improve your client relationships?

Simon from Straight Ahead Sales will share his 25 years selling experience and proven sales structure that works for his clients, across all industries.

He will show you how to effectively open and control meetings with your clients and prospective clients. From there, how to ask great questions so you can recommend the best solution and gain commitment to do business. “You don’t close a sale, you open a relationship”.

Presenter: Simon Harrop Room: Semillon 1

10.00am Morning tea

10.15am – 11.00am Business Session 5B

SALES AND MARKETING - PART B Straight Ahead Sales Presenter: Simon Harrop Room: Semillon 1

11.00am – 2.00pm Trade Exhibition open Lunch served in trade exhibition area

2.15pm – 3.00pm Business Session 6

BUSINESS SESSION 6A Customisation, textile print technology

and architecture ideas. Trend futures for designers and

manufacturers. How will next ‘gen’ machines develop. UV issues and ink technology is one thing, scoping Australian and global innovation in this product sector, is another.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Patrick Snelling PhD, MA, BA(Hons), Grad.Dip.(Museum Studies) Program Manager, Textile Design HE - RMIT

BUSINESS SESSION 6B Overview of Architectural Tension

Fabric Structures A review of engineering, geometry, fabric

materials, cables and other supporting structural elements, fabrication, installation etc.

Panel Discussion on Industry Issues Standards, Design Guidelines, Licensing and

Accreditation Issues

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter/Chair: Peter Kneen, LASAA

3.00pm Afternoon tea

3.15pm – 4.15pm BUSINESS SESSION 7

OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS

Understanding the ego of the customer.

How, once an ego is crushed, price doesn’t matter anymore, the motivation becomes revenge.

The skills required to preserve the customer’s ego, even in difficult situations.

The difference between your core product and your value added services.

How business will be done differently in the future and how to get ahead of your competition.

Special offer: Martin will extend his consultancy services (at no additional cost) to all attendees for 12 months in order to help you implement the strategies and ideas from this session.

Room: Semillon 1 Speaker: Martin Grunstein, Success Communications Pty Ltd

7.00pm till late Theme dinner Wear your best cowboy boots or red shoes and

get ready to dance – line dance that is! With exciting surprises and prize draws arranged by WiT (Women in Textiles) Committee.

Venue: McLeish Estate Winery



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STA Conference Program indd 5 23/04/2014 5:06 pm1_Conference Program.indd 361_Conference Program.indd 36 24/04/2014 7:44 am24/04/2014 7:44 am

Specialised Textiles AssociationSuite 201, 22 St Kilda Road, St Kilda Vic 3182

Phone 03 9521 2114 � Fax 03 9521 2116 www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

Learn, share and network with others in the industry who have a similar passion for our industry at national and state based events held throughout the year.

Get listed in our comprehensive member and product directory - published in hard copy and searchable online.

Connect with buyers and suppliers by exhibiting, presenting or attending one of the premier exhibition and conference events in this region.

Be acknowledged for your great work by entering your projects into the Awards for Excellence, an annual competition, designed to recognise excellence and innovation in our industry.

Take advantage of event discounts by enjoying reduced fees on a variety of events such as the annual trade exhibition and advertising in Connections Magazine. Your membership also gives you access to IFAI bookstore at discounted rates.

Educate and inform others using Connections Magazine to communicate to a niche market hungry for knowledge and news about our industry. Members can use Connections to advertise their products and services to their target markets.

Have your say about the direction of our industry and association through involvement on Council of Management, industry focus groups and special interest groups.

Differentiate yourself from non members by making use of the Specialised Textiles Association logo on your stationery and other collateral.

Access expert information and advice by accessing the specialist knowledge and expertise of our member fabricators, installers and suppliers. Specialised Textiles Association is also a member of Australian Industry Group with access to comprehensive range of information and member advices on employee and industrial relations, occupation health and safety issues and much more.

The advantages of becoming a member

Manufacturers, installers and suppliers. Together we cover the world

Be part of an innovative and progressive industry association Join online today or contact us for further information


Specialised Textiles Association Inc.

Suite 201, 22 St Kilda Road, St Kilda Vic 3182Phone 03 9521 2114 � Local Call 1300 555 787

Fax 03 9521 2116 � [email protected] 83 594 171 330 � Registration Number A0010895W


MAM9MAM9MAMMAMM9MAMM9MMA 12621261261


38 CONFERENCE 2014 / SPEAKER PROFILES


GLENN BARLOWGlenn is a high energy, passionate and relatable person with a drive to see people perform to their maximum potential. He has a unique understanding of believing in yourself first and foremost in order to gain optimum performance in both life and business.

Glenn draws on his beautifully balanced life of family, business and life in general in his presentations, creating a true understanding of what we do and why we do it. His business coaching skills are based around sound advice and grass roots issues that can be the making or breaking of small to medium businesses or corporate groups.

Glenn is a down to earth speaker, who is able to engage everyone in the room on some level and he focuses on coaching, mentoring and the importance of leadership.

BOB CAHILLBob has worked in the industrial fabrics industry since 1988 and prior to that as an agricultural scientist.

In that time he has worked in sales and marketing as well as product development roles involved with polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC-coated textiles.

In 2003 he established the Tex Connex business and is the Australian agent for Hiraoka’s specialised textiles. This includes a range of fabrics used in architectural structures.

Bob enjoys working in the diverse industrial textile industry and is always impressed with what can be manufactured from a roll of fabric. In particular, the elegant and graceful tensile structures are great examples of what this industry can achieve.

VIVIENNE FORBESVivienne is an expert in the art of relationship building. She is adept in marketing and advertising, and possesses consummate skills in business development, all acquired from over 25 years’ experience in radio, magazines (digital and print), news media agencies, leading newspapers, outdoor advertising, direct mail, event management and training.

Vivienne established Social Ties after learning clients often found using social media for their business daunting or were unable to dedicate the time and resources. Having used social media for business for several years, she recognised an opportunity to assist small business owners and small to medium enterprises establish and realise the benefits of a social media presence.

Her knowledge, expertise and welcoming personality are now available for your business. Vivienne is passionate and determined to assist others grow their business through social media.

MARTIN GRUNSTEINMartin studied psychology and marketing at the University of New South Wales. He spent four years in sales and marketing with Colgate-Palmolive before setting up Success Communications in 1985.

His outstanding results with over 500 companies across over 100 industries have made him Australia’s most in-demand speaker on ‘outstanding customer service’.

He has also worked with sportsmen up to international level in rugby league, rugby union and soccer, taking teams from losing to winning situations by teaching players the mental side of their game.

One of Martin’s strengths is his ability to customise his material to the needs and situation of an individual organisation and that is one of the strongest themes in the many corporate testimonials that are evidence of the success of his involvement in a conference or meeting.

Most importantly, Martin believes that entertainment is the best form of education and in his spare time has written comedy professionally.

SIMON HARROPSimon has over 20 years’ experience in selling and sales leadership for Australian and global companies.

His career in selling started in 1986 with a Swedish technology company before he was head hunted to become a sales manager in a competitive start-up company at the age of 22. Simon built a successful sales team and consistently exceeded targets.

In 1993 he was recruited by Vodafone and then he joined Ericsson as a senior account manager in 1998. Simon’s most recent corporate posting was with Telstra in sales director and general management roles for both the business and consumer divisions.

His business, Straight Ahead Sales, has helped businesses increase their sales since 2008. He works across industries such as finance, manufacturing, software, corporate catering, mining, web development, telecommunications, boating and building suppliers.

Simon currently sits on the NSW Business Chamber council and is president of the Sydney North advisory council.

Speaker profiles

40447_p38-39_CON speakers.indd 3840447_p38-39_CON speakers.indd 38 23/04/2014 4:31 pm23/04/2014 4:31 pm


IAGIThe International Association of Geosynthetics Installers is a dynamic association of geosynthetic professionals created by and for installers. IAGI’s mission is to advance installation and construction technologies, as well as to provide a central clearinghouse for worldwide industry information. Geosynthetic installers encompass the planning, fabrication and installation of geosynthetic materials in a wide variety of applications. Types of project include: landfill liners and caps, wastewater treatment ponds, landscape ponds, mining heap leach pads, reclamation sites, floating covers and other containment applications.

Incorporated in 1995, the Association represents organisations that are involved or interested in all aspects of geosynthetic installation. By working together, our members have made exciting things happen for the industry!

SAM KEKOVICHSam (or Slammin’ Sam as he became known) played 125 games for North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) between 1968 and 1976.

An enigmatic player who possessed great strength and skills, Kekovich could turn a game with explosive breakaways and the ability to kick a vital goal. Like Les Foote before him and Wayne Carey in the nineties, Kekovich had the ability to inspire and win a game off his own boot.

On Grand Final day in 1975 he was one of North’s best, collecting 16 kicks, three marks, six handballs and one goal.

He has gone on to develop an impressive career in the media – his weekly commitments first on ABC’s The Fat and now ESPN’s PTI (Pardon the Interruption) have continued to grow his profile, as well as his infamous Australia Day lamb commercials.

DR PETER KNEENPeter is the part-time executive off icer of the Lightweight Structures Association of Australasia.

He has been a pioneer in lightweight structures since 1965, having been involved in the design of a number of space frame structures, including several domes, towers and large space roofs. In the 1970s, his work included the emerging field of architectural tension fabric structures. He developed early software for the computer aided design of these structures.

He is a founding member of the LSAA (Lightweight Structures Association), and has spent 26 years as an academic in Australia and Canada. His semi-retirement interests include 4WD and photography.

PETER LIMPeter is a director of Tensys, an international specialist engineering design practice in lightweight structures, and has worked in the field of lightweight structures and space frames for the past 25 years. His expertise and experience is also in project management, execution and delivery of these unique structures internationally

He is a recipient of the Indian National Group (ING) of International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) 2007 ING-IABSE medal.

He provided expert advice and review on the 2010 Commonwealth Games Stadiums in New Delhi, India (especially the Jawalharlal Nehru Stadium, S P Murkurjee Aquatic Stadium, Wrestling Stadium and Weightlifting Stadium).

He has also broken new ground in designing the first ETFE structures in Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE.

Peter is a frequent speaker at various conferences involving tension lightweight structures and is vice president of the Lightweight Structures Association of Australasia committee.

PATRICK SNELLINGPatrick was born in London and completed undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Nottingham Trent and Manchester Metropolitan Universities in the UK. He undertook postgraduate Museum Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne and completed a PhD research project at RMIT University, investigating new technologies, digital craftsmanship, the augmentation and customisation of printed textiles.

His 25-year exhibition and professional profile includes co-authoring Design for Printed Textiles published by Oxford University Press, expert witness in textile design copyright representing clients in the Federal Court of Australia, curator of textile exhibitions, examiner of PG students, representation in major gallery collections in Australia and in many touring exhibitions overseas. He continues to explore the relationship between craft traditions and technology through printed textiles. Patrick is currently the program facilitator of textiles at RMIT University, Melbourne.

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40 CONFERENCE 2014 / EXHIBITOR PROILES

03 AERONAUT AUTOMATION PTY LTD

4-6 Tepko Road, Terrey Hills, NSW 2084Tel: 02 9450 0800Fax: 02 9450 0477Email: [email protected]

Aeronaut Automation is an Australian manufacturer of fully automated cutting systems:• Blade • Laser • Ultrasonic • CrushAll our cutters are made to your specifications up to 10 metres wide. Aeronaut’s highly developed cutter control software and customised programs cover a wide range of industries including canvas/PVC, window furnishings, membranes, pools, trucks, cardboard, leather and much more.

We off er rapid patterning using camera digitising systems with automatic shape recognition and flattening software for 3D digitisers.

06 AUSTECH WELDERS2/10 Hendon Way, Kelmscott, WA 6111Tel: 08 9497 7574Fax: 08 9498 0315Email: [email protected]

Austech Welders is a leading supplier of plastic welding machines, heat sealing equipment, industrial sewing machines and commercial embroidery machines. Since 2008 it has been the sole Australian distributor for the Sinclair Equipment company, including its full range of wedge welders, impulse welders, rotary hot knife cutters, extrusion welders, hot air welders and testing equipment for infield geo textiles industry. It also has a full service, repair and engineering workshop. If you need to weld, sew or join a thermoplastic or textile call Austech.

15 16 BRADMILL OUTDOOR FABRICS

3/100 Fulton Drive, Derrimut, Vic 3030Tel: 03 9368 2222Fax: 03 9368 2211Email: [email protected]

As a gold sponsor of the STA, we are excited to be involved with the 2014 Conference and Trade Display. Under our national brands Brella, Bradmill Outdoor and Styleshade Acrylic, we lead the way for internal and external products.

This year we are very pleased to announce that the Brella brand has launched a new evolution of external canvas. Come talk to us at our stand.

Also come view our ranges of internal window products. With our low minimums and quick turnaround, we can off er you branded ranges or develop an exclusive range for your company. We look forward to catching up with you at the Hunter Valley.

04 BUZ SOFTW AREMob: 0414 785 032Ph: 02 9634 7599Email: [email protected]

The complete retail/manufacturing/wholesale solution… for custom-made products:• Online CRM, access your leads, quotes from

anywhere.• Measure lead sources and outcomes.• Mac, PC, mobile quote on-the-spot work on

any system.• Visualise your sales representative’s diary with

Google Maps.• Customers enter wholesale orders, on the web

and track progress online.• Work sheets for the factory with your

calculations and words.• Incorporates inventory control, supplier

ordering and customer financials.• BUZ’s integration with Xero or MYOB makes

BUZ a complete ERP system.• Get your installers organised and manage final

payments.

18 CARR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

1 Spireton Place, Pendle Hill, NSW 2145Tel: 02 9636 9525Fax: 02 9636 8844Email: [email protected]

At Carr we draw from our manufacturing background in plastics and machinery to source the best solutions for our customers by providing them with quality products from around the world. We have off ices based in Sydney and Auckland, which allow us to sell our products throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific.

We supply a wide range of fabrics and products to the following industries: protective garment, medical, sign/banner/printing, tarpaulin, transportation covers, eyelets for home/commercial applications, and products for the stationery industry.

13 14 DASEC DURKOPP ADLER 3 Gunya Street Regents Park NSW 2143Tel: 02 9645 2500Fax: 02 9644 4711Email: [email protected]

DASEC Durkopp Adler has a long history of unmatched service in automated industrial sewing and the heavy duty sewing industry. Our knowledge and experience goes beyond just understanding our machines and products, we understand your industry and can demonstrate solutions that work.

As a highly accredited Durkopp Adler specialist and sole distributor in the Oceania region, we can service your needs using this market leading product range. Our team is committed to finding the right solution to your specific need and will ensure that the machinery supplied will stand the test of time.


GOLD SPONSOR

00 BOOTH NUMBER

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20 DEFAB28-30 Somerton Park Drive, Campbellfield, Vic 3061Tel: 03 9305 3988 Fax: 03 9 305 1377Email: [email protected]

Defab is a proudly independent Australian family-owned and operated specialist woven textiles business serving the needs of myriad diverse markets for over 41 years across Australia and extensively overseas.

We are engaged in weaving, production, distribution and marketing of high performance, quality engineered woven fabrics.

Exclusive brands distributed by Defab include our Australian made Somerton awning canvas, Camperfield annex, Cavallino horse rug and now our Supaproof canvas program; we guarantee them all.

World-class design and manufacturing facilities, a national sales network and a responsive customer-focused and after-sales service team have enabled Defab to achieve unrivalled expertise in total textile solutions.

09 10 ELIZABETH MACHINES876 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, Vic 3207Tel: 03 8671 0000 Fax: 03 8671 0055Email: [email protected]

Founded by Max Skurrie in 1960, Elizabeth Machines grew from being a supplier of domestic sewing machines into the large-scale supplier of industrial sewing machines it is today, with a wide network of wholesale dealers around the country. Acting as the Australian agent for such brands as Mitsubishi, Seiko and the Siruba range, Elizabeth Machines (named after the Melbourne street where it was originally located) remains a close-knit family business, proud of its history and loyal staff .

19 EPSON AUSTRALIA3 Talavera Road, North Ryde, NSW 2113Tel: 02 8899 3666 Fax: 02 8899 3772www.epson.com.au

Epson Australia off ers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the commercial, industrial, consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets, and is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) solutions for the retail market. Epson is the market leader in Australia and worldwide in sales of projectors for the home, off ice and education. Established in 1983, Epson Australia is headquartered in North Ryde, New South Wales and is a subsidiary of the Epson Group headquartered in Japan.

29 EYELETS SUPPLY COMPANY11 Newcomen Road, Springvale, Vic 3171Tel: 03 9558 5400 Fax: 03 9558 5778Email: [email protected]

Eyelets Supply Company is the leading manufacturer and supplier of eyelets and eyeleting equipment throughout Australia and New Zealand. Eyelets Supply Company specialises in providing fastening solutions to a diverse range of industries. Eyelets Supply Company will be showcasing our range of self-piercing canvas eyelets, sheet eyelets, snap fasteners and eyeleting equipment. We look forward to providing a fastening solution for you.

27 28 GALE PACIFIC145 Woodlands Drive, Braeside, Vic 3195Ph: 03 9518 3333 Fax: 03 9518 3398Email: [email protected]

Gale Pacific leads in technology, research and development, and in the manufacture of technically advanced outdoor polymer fabrics. Our continuing expansion into the industrial and commercial sectors is driven by our search for excellence and innovation. Synthesis is part of Gale Pacific Limited; it is a global manufacturer of advanced polymer fabrics for the widest range of industry applications.

22 GOODEARL & BAILEY 25-27 Salisbury Street, Botany, NSW 2019Tel: 02 9316 1300 Fax: 02 966 9644Email: [email protected]

Fabrics for all lifestyles… Goodearl and Bailey off ers a wholesale service in outdoor | indoor textiles.Established since 1886. See us on stand 22.

07 08 HIRAOKAUnit 2, 37 Rimfire Drive, Hallam, Vic 3803Tel: 03 8795 7322 Fax: 03 9703 2476Email: [email protected]

Hiraoka has an inspiring range of architectural fabrics. White, coloured, semi-transparent and Heat Shield fabrics all off er an opportunity to design some unique structures. Some of these materials have up to 20 years of UV warranty.

Hiraoka also has some beautiful fabrics for printable blinds and awnings. These are available in high translucency and mesh formats. Come and see some examples at our booth.

Hiraoka – renowned for innovative and high quality materials.

11 12 HVG FABRICS 29 Henderson Street, Turrella, NSW 2205Tel: 1300 854 811 Fax: 1300 658 889Email: [email protected]

HVG Fabrics distributes specialised performance fabrics to conversion sectors including blind and awning, domestic and commercial shade, transport, marine and agriculture. With 130-plus years of combined industry experience, you can rely on our nationwide sales specialists for the very best in fabric application solutions.

National stock support means you have product where and when you need it.

With a constant desire to innovate, push boundaries and develop product HVG Fabrics is an alliance partner with instinct that you can trust.

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

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42 CONFERENCE 2014 / EXHIBITOR PROILES

01 02 NOLAN.UDATel: 1800 357 585Email: [email protected]

Nolan.UDA is a diverse national supplier of commercial and industrial textiles. Our network of seven branches are strategically located throughout Australia. Over many years, Nolan.UDA has established a reputable group of strategic partners from around the globe. We pride ourselves on our core business principles of integrity, innovation and value for money. Working with our valued customers, we endeavour to find textiles solutions that will help them develop growth and profitability.

05 POLYFAB AUSTRALIA63 Frankston Gardens, Carrum Downs, Vic 3201Tel: 03 9770 8480 Fax: 03 9770 8483Email: [email protected] is a wholesale supplier of a large range of fabrics for outdoor shade structures, including our world first flame retardant shade cloth, FR Comshade (California Fire Marshall Approved), designed for large-scale shade structures like car parks and shopping centres. Whether it’s fabric for pool or patio shade cloths, windbreaks, bird-netting, greenhouse material or haystacks, Polyfab has a fabric to suit your environmental control needs.

21 34 RICKY RICHARDS (SALES) PTY LTD

16 Park Road, Homebush, NSW 2140Tel: 02 9735 3333 Fax: 02 9735 3311Email: [email protected]

With over 30 years of experience in the development and distribution of window furnishing and industrial textiles across Australia, Ricky Richards has the knowledge and expertise to assist you with any standard or speciality textile solution. Visit stand #21/34 during display hours to meet our friendly team and our friends working with us from Pro-Knit Industries. As a gold sponsor, we look forward to seeing you and to discussing new and exciting innovations in textiles. See you there!

17 STAYPUT FASTENERSTel: 08 8555 4258 Fax: 08 8555 4273Email: [email protected]

Stayput Fasteners Australia is a family owned and operated business specialising in the development and manufacturing of nylon and stainless steel fasteners for the industrial fabric converting industry.

The original three Stayput Fastener models were invented over 40 years ago by Roy Vaughan, who was unhappy with other fasteners on the market and so designed a better product for use on his own boat. Word spread quickly and soon friends and other boat owners were asking him for some of these innovative fasteners. Today, three generations later and with a variety of products in our range, Stayput Fasteners are distributed around the globe.

23 THE SHANN GROUP2/23 Bell Street, Preston, Vic 3072Tel: 03 8480 0800 Fax: 03 8480 0829Email: [email protected]

The Shann Group is a market leading importer and distributor. For almost 60 years, Shann has been at the forefront of managing and distributing leading products to a diverse range of industries and customers, driving development and sourcing new products.

Our broad range can be found in many everyday products from apparel to caravans as well as unique and highly technical tensile and geomembrane installations.

Representing leading companies worldwide, including Sedac, Leggett & Platt, Mehler, Sattler, Oxley-Amann, Miederhoff , Velcro and Seaman Corp, Shann is proud of the combined expertise, product knowledge and passion of our team and we look forward to welcoming you on our stand.

30 WAX CONVERTERS TEXTILES77 Racecourse Road, Rutherford, NSW 2320Tel: 02 4932 6338 Fax: 02 4932 5895Email: [email protected]

WCT is Australia’s premier manufacturer of outdoor and industrial fabrics. Our booth at the 2014 STA Conference and Trade Display presents the Dynaproofed™ Canvas ranges, as well as the only Australian made PVC ranges of Senator 680 TS, Endeavour 600 and the revolutionary new Duralite 440. WCT is also Australia’s only manufacturer of insect screening and sunscreen fabrics, with our full ranges of these fabrics on display.

24 31 WEATHERMAX (CONTENDER SAILCLOTH)

4A Wilmette Place, Mona Vale, NSW 2103Tel: 02 9997 4099 Fax: 02 9997 1292Email: [email protected]

The 2014 Hunter Valley STA Conference and Trade Display will be our fourth STA trade show. This year we will be introducing our new Weathermax PU awning and cover material off ering a 100+ Hydrostatic Pressure rating. Another new addition to the marine canvas industry is the Breakwater X for rigid or soft enclosures, T-Tops, or any other permanent or semi-permanent installation. Breakwater is an advanced alloy-coated fabric with a 10-year warranty. We are proud to once again be a sponsor of the STA Conference and Trade Display.

25 26 WILSON FABRICS1E Marine Parade, Abbotsford, Vic 3067Tel: 1300 656 100 Fax: 1300 654 101Email: [email protected]

Established back in 1926, Wilson continues to be a completely Australian-owned company, proudly supporting our local industry and keeping jobs in Australia. Wilson Fabrics produces an extensive collection of Australian made blind and drapery fabrics and has just extended the collection to Australian made awnings and canvas fabrics.

Wilson Fabrics’ specialisation lies in designing and developing an exciting range of innovative decorative and functional quality fabrics, inspired by global trends.


GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

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ADVERTORIAL 43

M alaysian authorities recently replaced, after 17 years, their Bukit Jalil Stadium roof,

making eff ective use of the Serge Ferrari Texyloop® recycling process.

Renovation required the intervention of 30 operators specialising in diff icult access work to dismantle the 44 roof panels (each with an area of 1000 square metres). Replaced panels were fitted with new Précontraint 1202 S2 flexible composite membrane: the same material already in place on the roof of the neighbouring station, which forms part of the 1997 infrastructure and remains in service today.

The 50 tonnes of membrane returned to France from Malaysia were inspected, weighed and shredded, before being reshipped to Italy for Texyloop® recycling to give birth to new raw materials.

These second generation resources will be used in new products such as PVC granule-based hoses or polyester-based growing mats for green roofs. Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) conducted by environmental consultant EVEA, in compliance with ISO 14040, compared the impacts generated by diff erent end-of-life scenarios, including burial versus Texyloop® recycling. Texyloop® processing of the 50 tonnes of flexible materials proved to be the most viable option, generating the following resource savings:

WATER SAVING

8,406 M3

REDUCTION OF CLIMATIC HEATING

70,247 Kg CO2 eq

ENERGY CONSUMPTION SAVING

2,063,571 MJ

Within Australia, Innova International manages the collection of PVC textiles for Texyloop® recycling. For more information on how to become involved with this environmentally sustainable business opportunity, phone Innova on 03 9551 8722, email [email protected] or visit innova.com.au.

Recycling PVC textiles

5. 2nd generation raw materials: PET growing mats for green roofs

3. Shredding

4. Selective dissolution at Texyloop Ferrara plant

2. Receipt of composite membrane for sorting

1. Dismantling the roof

2nd generation raw materials: keder and membrane

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44 SPECIAL FEATURE

UNDERWAY AND NOT GOING AWAY

Sustainability is today’s hot topic and will impact the way

in which the textile industry functions in the future.

William C Smith explains the current state of play.

Olympic Stadium, which the Cooley Group wrapped in a

non-halogenated fire-retardant product, before recycling the

material after the event.

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S ustainability is oft en discussed and oft en misunderstood; yet, nothing is more important to our industry than providing what our customers require

while supporting good stewardship of this planet. Are the two goals – protecting the environment and a prosperous industry – compatible? Some would answer with an emphatic ‘yes’; others are not so sure.

For many, sustainability is recycling: using plastic bottles to make new fi bre and using those fi bres in less demanding applications. To others, it is not wasting chemicals, energy or water, not producing harmful off -gases into the air or releasing effl uent that pollutes.

Recycling has been promoted for decades – identifying waste, reducing it, segregating it, collecting it and/or selling it for new purposes: reduce, reuse, recycle. But the emphasis in those eff orts was on reducing costs. Reducing and selling waste to be used in other ways could have a substantial impact on the bottom line. Less thought might have been given to the environment, as such. What we couldn’t reuse or sell, we paid someone to take away for us.

Th ings have changed.

TAKE IT SERIOUSLYToday, sustainability procedures are increasingly integrated into business practice. Even countries like China are enacting regulations for reduced water, chemical and energy usage. Europe is far ahead of the US in terms of programs for control and certifi cation. Although the US has many regulations, those who wish to do business globally are using European guidelines and standards. Special certifi cations indicate what sustainable practices a company is using, and audits confi rm compliance. Th is is necessary to do business in Europe and elsewhere.

SUSTAINABILITY SELF-EVALUATIONWhat, then, is sustainability, and how does it relate to technical textiles and advanced textiles, in particular? Th ree ‘pillars of sustainability’ have been popularly referenced since fi rst discussed at the 1992 Earth Summit: environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic prosperity, or ‘planet, people and profi t’. In a talk given at the International Conference

on Textile Coating and Laminating 2012 in Valencia, Spain, Dan Dwight, president and CEO (chief executive offi cer) of Cooley Group, Pawtucket, Rhode Island in the US posed these questions as a means to determine one’s sustainability commitment (paraphrased):

Environmental stewardship. Are the products you make environmentally sound? Do your products have a lower carbon footprint than alternatives? Are the processes you use to make your products environmentally sound? Are the chemicals and polymers used focused on keeping wasteful or harmful by-products at a minimum? Does your energy consumption have the same approach? Is what and how you make your products harmful to the people involved in producing them? Are you doing your best to maximise the health and safety of your employees?

Social responsibility. Are your products designed to minimise the impact on society and the waste stream? What happens to them when their useful life is over? Is there another use? Can they be recycled into new or other products? In a best-case scenario, do your processes allow for ‘perpetual cycle’ or ‘cradle-to-grave sustainability’, which means that you make it of materials that can be recycled, you ship it, you (or someone else) take it back aft er its use and recycle it when the need is fi nished. Th is area impacts your neighbours and the community in which you operate, as well, not just those in your plant.

Economic prosperity. A sustainable product is oft en thought to cost more to manufacture, so one must charge more for it or else reduce your earnings. Dwight believes this is false. His company is spending more time educating customers on the benefi ts of sustainability with a focus on dispelling the myth that sustainability should cost more. “If you cannot operate at a profi t, it is not sustainable. No one can sustain a loss. Either you turn a profi t or you stop producing,” he said. Turning a profi t allows you to invest in more modern and effi cient equipment and to recruit the best and brightest people who can help fi nd more effi cient ways to meet your sustainability goals.

FIBRES, FABRICS, FINISHESTh e textile industry is energy, water and chemically intensive. Finding more effi cient dry fi nishing techniques is a priority, so

FOR MANY, SUSTAINABILITY IS RECYCLING: USING PLASTIC BOTTLES TO MAKE NEW FIBRE AND USING THOSE FIBRES IN LESS DEMANDING APPLICATIONS. TO OTHERS, IT IS NOT WASTING CHEMICALS, ENERGY OR WATER, NOT PRODUCING HARMFUL OFF-GASES INTO THE AIR OR RELEASING EFFLUENT THAT POLLUTES.

research in plasma treatments is garnering attention. Plasma is an ionised gas that allows the use of many chemicals to change and improve the surface of fabrics, resulting in a system for coating and otherwise treating fabrics utilising no-wet fi nishing and without changing or actually improving fabric properties. Th e basic technology has the potential to create more effi cient alternative fi nishes.

Vacuum plasma treating for textiles has been around for years, such as depositing silver molecules onto fabric for electronic applications, but it is slow and expensive. Other types of plasma have been studied for fabrics, but they have defi ciencies: too hot, too weak or they have some other undesirable trait that limits their applicability. High-pressure plasma treatments have been developed, but they are costly and energy ineffi cient.

Th e ‘holy grail’ has been practical and cost-effi cient low-pressure atmospheric systems. Th ough many claim to have made breakthroughs, no equipment is commercially in place at this time, but some promising prototypes are being evaluated for their practicality.

Gary Selwyn, a consultant and pioneer in the fi eld of atmospheric plasma systems, says, “Plasma fi nishing of textiles works.” Plasma is an all-dry system with no chemical baths or water discharged that could pollute. Th ere is no waste stream. No

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46 SPECIAL FEATURE


tenters or large energy-wasteful ovens are required. Th e system uses energy only when treating fabric. Dual functional treatments are possible, stacking layers of the same or diff erent monomers/treatments on one side or both for uniquely diff erent properties on either side. For example, one side may be hydrophobic, the other hydrophilic.

Th ere are drawbacks. Selwyn says that the systems currently being developed are expensive; there is a need to reduce machine capital and increase throughput speeds to aid depreciation costs. Future work will focus on new plasma designs using gases other than the expensive helium currently being used.

Although it’s taken awhile, Selwyn expects breakthroughs. Atmospheric plasma treatments are being developed and refi ned as a cost-eff ective and versatile fi nishing technique. He expects this method to change the way textiles are treated and fi nished.

AN ALL-DRY CHEMICAL, THERMAL APPROACHOther novel dry treatment systems have evolved that do not require plasma. Selwyn has recently established Green Th eme Technologies LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico with a new approach that, he says, breaks new ground in providing a long-term sustainable solution to textile fi nishing.

Chem-Stik® is an all-dry, solid chemical technology using a proprietary blend of non-hazardous chemicals and natural ingredients to produce an inexpensive and highly durable fi nishing treatment. Th e treatment is applied with a proprietary method and cured with a short (30 seconds or less) thermal exposure. Because no water is needed and no fl uorocarbons used, it is a more eco-friendly and energy effi cient method. Th e system is still in development, but is expected to be released soon.

SURFACE MODIFICATIONSurface modifi cation with new dry, sustainable techniques are being developed and off ered by a number of companies and are likely to evolve as major breakthroughs in fi nishing. Alexium International Group based in Australia and the US produces and commercialises its Reactive Surface Treatment (RST) approach. Th e patented technology was developed with the US Air Force for multiple high-value defence applications for personal protection. By combining particular chemistry with

microwave curing to alter the surface of fabrics, many special properties can be imparted to a range of materials. Alexium earned a substantial contract from the US Department of Defence treating nylon-based fabrics for personal protection applications. Th is has enabled the company to raise suffi cient funds to continue its research, and to perfect and expand into the civilian sector, including high-performance advanced textiles.

Declared a ‘World’s Best Technology’ (WBT) at the 2009 WBT showcase, an annual investment and licensing forum, it is considered “a potentially disruptive process of rapidly attaching nanoparticles and multifunctional groups to surfaces”. Th e technology produces fabrics for military use that are self-extinguishing, antimicrobial, oil and water resistant, anti-odour and chemical agent reactive. Th e process is fl exible, cost-effi cient, environmentally compliant and potentially applicable to a variety of fi bres, including aramids, etching the fi bres and fabric surfaces for better adhesion and infusion of other properties.

Commercial spin-off s and licensing of Alexium’s technology are planned. Th e company recently allied with Duro Textiles LLC, a technical textiles fi nishing and distribution company, to license its fi re-resistant technology for nylon. Future environmentally friendly products will evolve. Th eir special chemical technology minimises waste and reduces energy consumption. Alexium is at the forefront of introducing non-halogenating products to the technical textile marketplace.

BIOBASED FIBRESSeveral companies have introduced new biobased products into the marketplace. Brazilian nonwovens producer Fitesa SA is producing hygiene and personal care products of 100 percent biobased, bicomponent, spunbond nonwovens in its South Carolina plant. Fitesa is allied with Brazilian company Braskem SA for fi bre with a sheath of biobased polyethylene (bio-PE) derived from sugar cane-based ethanol and a core made of NaturWorks’ 100 percent biobased PLA (polylactic acid) fi bre made from renewable resources. Th e fi bre replaces the petroleum-based bicomponent spunbonds currently used. Its soft ness is “exceptional and counters the misconception some may have that

SURFACE MODIFICATION WITH NEW DRY, SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND OFFERED BY A NUMBER OF COMPANIES AND ARE LIKELY TO EVOLVE AS MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN FINISHING.

Water droplets on treated polyester show Green Theme Technology’s Evergreen treatment in action. (Photo by Oleg Maltsev)

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[sustainable products] must represent compromise in performance,” says Ray Dunleavy, Fitesa’s director of marketing. Th e technology should be applicable to technical textiles, as well.

PLA polymers, incidentally, have been touted as a potential PVC replacement for certain coating applications, though acceptance so far has been limited – showing, perhaps, that not all sustainable products will easily replace some long-established materials.

FAST ENOUGH?Suppliers of chemicals and adhesives and many areas of high performance textiles are working toward developing and supplying more sustainable products. It is perhaps more problematic where heavy capital expenses are involved for machinery. While many of the textile industry and technical textile producers have modernised in the last few years (they would be hard pressed to compete if they did not) some of the new, more effi cient equipment may still incur burdensome costs and may slow down the growth of sustainable products. But attention to sustainability is not just desirable, but essential.

Not all feel the industry is moving quickly enough. Th e Netherlands company, Klieverik, a major producer of specialty coating and laminating equipment, off ers machines and techniques for more environmentally friendly processes. Karel Lansu, director

of marketing and sales for Klieverik, is a bit more pessimistic about the industry embracing newer equipment. He says, “It’s a hard sell to promote environmentally friendly equipment and change the industry. You need fi rst to convince the R and D, then you need to convince marketing, then you have to convince sales.”

Management should have a vision on this issue, he says, and should back up their employees investigating it and then implement it. Th is is happening, but slowly. Lansu fi nds that most companies are interested only if the production is cheaper, if they’ll get better performance or it will solve a specifi c problem facing them. But he sees environmental issues fi nally turning the corner, although many are still reluctant to pay for a cleaner environment and reduce, reuse and recycle. Th e impression that the consumer does not want to pay for it persists.

Lansu is not speaking only of the US, but globally. “Th e urgency is just not there,” he says. Many companies want to keep the status quo, believes Lansu, not investing in new equipment for new production technologies.

Is that an indictment on the future of sustainability? No, but only legislation will change this situation, not something that US companies or citizens want to hear. Yet, while many ideas and technology developments are in the works to improve sustainability eff orts, the US is near the bottom in applications of patents for

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48 SPECIAL FEATURE


‘green’ procedures. Japan, Canada, Russia, Australia and most countries in Europe are far ahead. Only China and India are behind.

As an example, remember automotive air bags? A good idea but ‘the customer won’t pay for it’ was the mantra. It took 20 years before the US Government required them in cars and suppliers adjusted. Today air bags are standard and we never give it a second thought. Th is could happen in the area of sustainability.

EARLY ADOPTERSWhile some may be pessimistic, many are proving that sustainability eff orts can pay. Th e Cooley Group, a supplier of fabric media for graphics applications, is helping to change the landscape, not only switching major customers over to a new material – polyethylene – which is easily recyclable, but using fewer materials, making it lighter weight and still staying cost competitive.

Alliances for many will be essential for sustainable development. By partnering with Dow, says Dwight, they had a much broader access to chemistries “that increased the likelihood of success for designing a product with the lowest carbon footprint possible”. Th e result met

customers’ needs for a socially responsible non-halogenated, fi re-retardant product for the print industry. Olympic Stadium in London was wrapped in such a product and, when the event was over, Cooley took the material back and recycled it.

Cooley has revised its product line to address the three pillars of sustainability, illustrated, in part, by their impact on billboards. Th is market has dramatically changed with innovative, wider fabrics and ink-jet printing technology replacing conventional printing and printed paper. Th e billboard market, for example, has typically used a 340-gram (12-ounce) PVC. Cooley, with a large share of the billboard market, has helped by transitioning many to a 198-gram (seven-ounce) product. Th is saves the customer 15 percent and reduces the quantity of raw materials needed. Th e company is working on a 150-gram (5.3-ounce) polyethylene that will reduce weight by 25 percent and will be 100 percent recyclable.

Dwight says, “We have been spending more and more time educating our customers on the benefi ts of sustainability. We are focused on dispelling the myth that sustainability should cost more.”

Cooley received ISO 9001-2008 certifi cation about a year ago. Th e designation recognises that the company has a systematic framework for managing its manufacturing. It just recently received ISO 14001 certifi cation, as well, a standard that refl ects a company’s commitment to sustainability.

New developments are being announced almost daily in some phase of technical and advanced textiles: new fi bres and forms; new coating, laminating and fi nishing techniques; more effi cient machinery; new markets; and upgraded applications. Virtually all of those developments have some relationship to sustainability. C

William C Smith is a technical textile consultant. He can be reached at [email protected] or www.intexa.com.

Th is article fi rst appeared in the November 2013 issue of Advanced Textiles Source and is reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International. Copyright Industrial Fabrics Association International. www.advancedtextilessource.com.

(Photo by Oleg Maltsev)

“WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING MORE AND MORE TIME EDUCATING OUR CUSTOMERS ON THE BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY. WE ARE FOCUSED ON DISPELLING THE MYTH THAT SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD COST MORE.”

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RECYCLING IN AUSTRALIAInnova International actively promotes

Texyloop® recycling to Australia’s fabricator

and solar protection industries.

Bright orange collection bags for Serge

Ferrari fabric offcuts are being used by

an increasing number of environmentally

responsible manufacturers.

See page 43 for further information.

success storyKuala Lumpur

Bukit Jalil Stadium

PROJECT DATABACKGROUND: Original 44,000m2

composite tensile roof (of German origin)

suffering from irreversible premature ageing

required total replacement.

SOLUTION: Malaysian authorities, working

closely with contractors, opted for the

Texyloop® recycling process (as the only viable

end-of-life solution to avoid landfill disposal).

REPLACEMENT FABRIC: 44,000m2 of

Serge Ferrari Précontraint 1202 S2 composite

textile was utilised, which will also be 100%

Texyloop® recyclable at the end of it’s useful life.

See page 43 for further information.

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50 SPECIAL FEATURE

Knowing how and why inks and fabrics go together will help improve

your printed products. By Michael Labella

PREPARE FOR PRINTINGFor optimal results and image quality, textiles should be properly prepared for printing. Proper textile preparation should include the removal of loose fi bres that can get stuck in the nozzles of the print heads and coating of the material. Coating the textile for inkjet printing keeps the ink droplets that are deposited by the printer in place to prevent the ink from wicking. Th e coating facilitates or prevents the penetration of the inks in the deep layers of the fabric.

Just think of the diff erence between a photo printed on photo paper and one printed on copy paper. Photo paper is coated for inkjet printing and designed to keep the ink droplet in place on the surface with minimal dot gain (expansion of the dot), while on regular paper the ink tends to get absorbed by the paper and expand.

It is important not to confuse the coating used to prepare a textile for inkjet printing with the coatings used for reactive dyeing. Th e two can be combined, but serve diff erent purposes.

At a recent apparel show in Guatemala, I attended an interesting series of presentations organised by the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN). Th e

FABRIC AND INK COMPATIBILITY

theme I picked up on as I listened to these sourcing and manufacturing professionals was that buyers have learned to look at the big picture when deciding how and where to produce their goods.

In addition to the actual cost per item, other cost factors include the fi nancing of long lead times, markdowns to eliminate excess inventory, intellectual property theft by manufacturers located in countries with little or no protection for the intellectual property of brands, and designers. As a result, major buyers are looking for ways to buy smarter and be more fl exible in their purchasing in order to quickly respond to market demand and supply the market with new products more oft en while keeping inventories low. Additionally, an emerging middle class in Asia, especially China, is driving demand for foreign-made designed goods and brands expanding the market for high-end goods beyond North America and Europe.

While the specifi cs of this shift are outside the scope of this article, suffi ce to say that buyers and retailers are trying to avoid getting stuck with large quantities of products that might not be well-received by customers, while being able to respond to

market demands by being able to quickly order and replenish inventories for those products that sell. Increased margins of high-end goods certainly make this easy. Furthermore, bringing production closer to the market the goods are destined for reduces cost and lead times, increasing the effi ciency of the supply chain, while reducing the need for large inventories.

Th is is a trend that has been slowly, yet steadily developing with US and European buyers, and manufacturers have been looking at digital technology to help them deliver. Digital inkjet printing has already transformed the world of signs and promotional graphics into an on-demand, fast-turnaround industry. But due to limited speeds and the relatively high cost of consumables, it never took off in truly industrial, high-volume, production environments such as those of the traditional textile industry.

In 2009, 27 billion square metres of fabric was printed using traditional printing methods (Source: John Provost presentation FESPA 2011); of that, 88 percent was printed using rotary or fl at screen systems. Th is method for printing textiles is fast (over 40 metres per minute) and cost-eff ective.

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Th is shift in the market dynamics has not gone unnoticed by inkjet suppliers who, in collaboration with major textile manufacturers, have been investing signifi cant R&D resources to develop solutions that could compete with traditional printing methods in terms of speed and cost, while providing the incredible fl exibility that makes digital inkjet so attractive.

TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES EQUIPMENTVery recently, Italian printer manufacturer Reggiani Macchine introduced the Renoir digital inkjet printer, which uses Kyocera print heads and Sensient’s ElvaJet ink technology to print at speeds of up to 275 metres (300 yards) per hour, with minimal fabric pre-treatment, while reducing the cost of consumables by as much as 30 percent or more compared to older inkjet technologies. Garment manufacturers, such as Fabra of Ormond Beach, Florida in the US, are replacing their automatic screen printing lines with the Reggiani Renoir, allowing them to go from concept to delivery in a matter of weeks rather than months, and change design, colours and quantities on the fl y without interrupting production – a process that on their older equipment could take a few days or more during which production would be halted.

In Italy, Miroglio Textiles, a world leader of textile manufacturing and design using Sensient’s ElvaJet Alpha inkjet technology in conjunction with MS’s industrial inkjet textile printers, can image upwards of 36 metres (40 linear yards) of fabric per minute while drastically reducing costly water usage and urea waste (a by-product of some traditional printing methods).

Another development is in the wider variety of fabrics that can now be printed digitally, from silk to polyester, thick or thin, woven, non-woven or knit, and even four-way stretch. Actually, today almost any kind of textile can be printed says Ken Bach of Aberdeen Fabrics. And in the new world of digital printing, dye sublimation and direct-dispersed processes seem to be the winners thanks to the incredible versatility of polyester-based technical fabrics.

But each of these materials has its own ink and colour-fi xation requirements says Dr Martial Blanc of Sensient Technologies. Th ere are also specifi c performance requirements based on the

type of product made, from silk scarves to car seats, fl ags, garments, soft signage, shoes and upholstery. Indeed, inks play an important role in this new frontier. While the technology that delivers the ink to the textile is rapidly evolving and the challenges ink manufacturers face to formulate inks that are reliable and outperform those from the previous generation are signifi cant, one thing that is not changing is the need to select the right colourant for the right type of fi bre.

INKS AND THE FABRICS THEY LOVETh e third edition of Th e Colour Index, edited by Th e Society of Dyers and Colourists, lists over 8000 colourants. Th ese colourants can be categorised as being either dyes or pigments, depending on their method of application, chemical structure and specifi c colour within Th e Colour Index. In general terms, dyes are soluble and have an affi nity with the substrate they are applied to. Pigments are non-soluble and have no affi nity to the material they are applied to.

A third category has some characteristics of each of the primary two

COATING THE TEXTILE FOR INKJET PRINTING KEEPS THE INK DROPLETS THAT ARE DEPOSITED BY THE PRINTER IN PLACE TO PREVENT THE INK FROM WICKING. THE COATING FACILITATES OR PREVENTS THE PENETRATION OF THE INKS IN THE DEEP LAYERS OF THE FABRIC.

Left: All printed on Epson Dye Sublimation Printers.


52 SPECIAL FEATURE


and is called dispersed dyes. In specifi c cases, pigments can behave like dyes and vice versa. What really matters to us as printers is that diff erent fi bres require the use of diff erent types of colourants in order to deliver rich colours that last. For this purpose, fi ve types of inks are generally used to print on fabric, and all use pigments, dyes or dispersed dyes as colourants. And, except for diff erences in the way they are formulated, all fi ve types are available for traditional as well as digital inkjet printing platforms.

Diff erent types of fi bres have diff erent porosities, and their molecules can be either positively or negatively charged. A variety of dyes and treatments have therefore been developed to optimise penetration and dye retention based on the specifi c properties of each fi bre and the required end result. Using the right combination of dyes and ancillary treatments for each fi bre will result in better colour reproduction and better colour fastness properties.

Fibres that are printed with dyes include protein-based fi bres, such as silk, and cellulose-based fi bres, such as cotton and polyamides (nylon). However, not all of them are printed with the same type of dyes or are processed under the same conditions. Th e two most common types of dyes used for digital inkjet textile printing are acid and reactive dyes.

Acid dyes are best used to print on protein-based fi bres, such as wool, angora, cashmere and silk. Polyamides, such as nylon, can also be printed using this type of dye. Acid dyes are not indicated for the printing of cellulose-based materials, such as cotton and rayon, nor are they eff ective on other synthetic fi bres, such as polyester. Th is type of dye is thought to fi x to fi bres by hydrogen bonding and ionic bonding.

In simple, practical terms, the acid dye-based ink is printed directly to the textile, then heat is applied, generally through a steamer, in order to form a strong bond between the two. At the end of the steaming process, excess dyes that have not been absorbed by the textile need to be removed by washing the fabric. Th e fabric then needs to be dried.

Fibre reactive dyes are mainly used to print cellulose (plant-based) fi bres, such as cotton and rayon. Th ey are also used to dye nylon, although the fi xation process is slightly diff erent. Reactive dyes have the ability to bond to the compatible fi bre through a chemical reaction that requires a mildly alkaline environment. Th e main advantage of this type of colourant over standard or acid dyes is that it is wash-fast and durable when used on cotton, and it produces vibrant colours.

Reactive-dye printing is possibly the most complicated of the available textile

printing processes because the multiple factors and variables that infl uence the outcome and the chemical reactions between the dyes and the textile have to be controlled precisely in order to obtain a durable, vibrant print. Th e key in reactive dyeing is in initiating a chemical reaction that will cause the dye molecule to lose the chlorine atom and the fi bre to lose the hydrogen atom in order to allow the two molecules to ‘stick’ to each other. Th is chemical reaction is initiated with the introduction of a base, such as sodium carbonate. Th e base can be introduced aft er the printing process; however, in inkjet printing, it is usually applied to the fabric as a coating before printing. Heat is then applied to the printed textile in order to facilitate the chemical reaction. Excess dyes that didn’t bond are removed from the fabric through a washing process and then the fabric needs to be dried.

Pigments are a class of colourants that are used in a non-soluble form and cannot be absorbed by any fi bre. Where a chemical reaction allows the dye molecules to be absorbed within the structure of the fi bre, binders are used to ‘glue’ pigments to the surface of the fi bre’s structure. Pigments are ground into extremely fi ne powders and suspended in a liquid carrier in order to be used in an inkjet printer. Water-based pigmented inks are widely used in inkjet

ReNOIR digital printing machine

.(Image: Reggiani)



printers for desktop applications and, in the world of textile printing, they are quite popular on rotary screen systems to print on a wide range of fabrics, but mainly cotton and poly/cotton blends. In digital inkjet textile printing, the use of pigments is still in its infancy, as formulating a pigment-based ink that meets the stringent standards of the textile industry is challenging. A select few manufacturers are making great strides in this area, however, and you should expect great advancements in the next few years. For now, the most common use for these inks today is direct-to-garment printing, sampling and custom-printed fabrics for interior décor, fashion and other speciality markets.

When printed using inkjet systems, the fabrics typically require minimal pre-treatment (primarily to reduce dot gain) while with traditional printing the fabric needs to be washed to remove excess colour that did not bind to the textile. Whether textiles need to be washed when digitally printed with pigments greatly depends on the pre-treatment used.

Dispersed dyes are the colourant of choice to print on hydrophobic fi bres, such as polyester, acetate rayon, poly Lycra and

acrylics. Dispersed dyes are dyes used in a non-soluble form and dispersed (like pigments) in the ink. Th e dyes have the ability to form a solid solution with the fi bre or dissolve within the fi bre and become part of it. Dispersed dyes are typically direct printed on to the textile and then processed through a heat press to fi x and develop the colour. As with other processes, excess dyes need to be washed off .

DYE SUBLIMATIONA specifi c subset of dispersed dyes has the ability to sublimate (go from a solid state to a gaseous state without going through the intermediate liquid state). Th ese dyes are used to manufacture dye sublimation inks, which have become quite popular in recent years and are the most widely used ink for digital textiles (52 percent of digitally printed fabrics are printed with dye sublimation inks). With dye sublimation, the inks are printed on a carrier media, such as paper, and then transferred onto the fabric by applying heat and pressure using a heat press.

In the heat press, the dyes take a gaseous form and the synthetic fi bres ‘open’ to receive the gas. Once the heat is removed,

the fi bres close, encapsulating the dye that returns to a solid state. Since the inks are not printed directly to the fabric in a dye sublimation transfer process, the fabric does not need any pre-treatment and any excess dyes remain on the carrier so no washing or drying is required. (With the other methods, up to 50 litres of water per 0.91 metres [one yard] are used to wash the textile aft er printing.) Th is makes dye sublimation transfer a versatile and effi cient process that can be applied not only to polyester textiles, but to virtually any surface made of or coated with PES-based (polyester) materials.

THE CASE FOR DIGITALIn recent years, the cost of equipment and supplies for digital printing has decreased substantially and advancements in ink technology have drastically increased dye loads, further increasing the effi ciency and speed of the process, while printer speeds have increased signifi cantly, making digital printing a viable option not only for short- and medium-run productions, but also for larger industrial productions.

Th e technology is fl exible, the end product is fully customisable down to the individual unit, the graphics are of photographic quality and a virtually unlimited number of colours and pattern combinations can be applied to the textile on the fl y, in mid production and without additional cost. Digital printing requires less manpower to operate – allowing manufacturers in high-labour cost markets to once again be competitive.

If initial sales of this new generation of inkjet systems are any indication of what’s to come, brace yourself for a sweeping change in how and where textiles are going to be sourced, printed and delivered to our markets. C

Michael Labella has 14 years of sales and marketing experience, seven of which have been in the fi eld of dye sublimation and textile printing. He is currently regional account manager for Sensient Technologies, a leading supplier of inkjet inks for digital textile, industrial digital and sublimation printing.

Th is article fi rst appeared in the Sep/Oct 2013 issue of Fabric Graphics, a publication of the Industrial Fabrics Association International. Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

WHEN PRINTED USING INKJET SYSTEMS, THE FABRICS TYPICALLY REQUIRE MINIMAL PRE-TREATMENT (PRIMARILY TO REDUCE DOT GAIN) WHILE WITH TRADITIONAL PRINTING THE FABRIC NEEDS TO BE WASHED TO REMOVE EXCESS COLOUR THAT DID NOT BIND TO THE TEXTILE.



54 INDUSTRY TRAINING

With the specialised textile industry covering such a wide range of business areas, the thought of off ering appropriate training and professional development can often be overwhelming. Between technology advancement, new legislation, environmental change and the pressures of everyday business life, off the job training tends to be something that gets overlooked, when really the opposite should be the case. No matter in which sector of our great industry you or your company is involved, a highly trained, educated and inspired workforce can be a true ingredient for success. By Glenn Barlow, STA Council of Management

STA’S COMMITMENT TO TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTIn eff orts to ensure our industry has relevant and quality training available into the future, STA is constantly working behind the scenes with organisations such as Manufacturing Skills Australia, government, various other bodies and RTOs (registered training organisations) nationally on funding and development issues.

As the majority of training is heavily linked to government funding for RTOs, the importance of industry showing commitment, dedication and genuine interest is vital to maintain funding levels.Putting it bluntly, it’s a ‘bums on seats’ environment, where numbers of trainees and RPL (recognition of prior learning) students passing through RTO doors normally determines the level of government support an industry receives.

Although trainee numbers are determined by the number of companies willing to pursue professional development for their staff , the STA constantly makes huge eff orts to make sure our industry training not only exists, but also remains relevant.

In recent times, the STA has sourced out funding money via the NWDF (National Workforce Development Fund) Scheme for the Certificate 2 in Blinds and Awnings, while continuing to work closely with the training providers that have serviced our industry so well for many years, and helping them maintain relevance and importance.

We have also taken some of our most recent state members’ meetings into the workplace of some of our industry’s finest companies, off ering a real insight into their operations and procedures. Two of the most recent members’ sessions – involving ABC Products (Sydney) and Tebbs Canvas Products (Melbourne) – were of incredible value to many of our members that attended. I’m sure they all took away thoughts and ideas that can assist them in their own companies’ development. Keep an eye out for a future session in your state.

EXISTING TRAININGThe whole industry has been fortunate over many years to have the services of some fantastic training providers.

Although the number of training facilities for our industry has dwindled over the years, due to low attendance rates resulting in funding cuts, the actual quality of training only moves in a positive direction.

The courses directly linked to the textile components of our industry, such as Textile Fabrication Certificate III and Marine and Motor Trimming Certificate IV, are now being delivered on a national basis from just two institutions: Sydney Institute (TAFE NSW) and RMIT Victoria.

As well as New South Wales, the Sydney Institute takes care of training in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and now possibly Western Australia.

In particular, the work done by Lawrence De Paoli and his dedicated team at the Sydney Institute to make their training relevant, broad and transportable has been nothing short of brilliant, taking into account also the pressures they continually face from government funding decisions.

Over the past 12 months, the Sydney Institute has also worked hand in hand

TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTA KEY INGREDIENT OF SUCCESS

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with the STA in delivering the first round of Certificate II in Blinds and Awnings to people already working within the industry. This course is directly linked with licensing for installation purposes.

The brilliant work that our RTOs do can only continue if industry supports them, by way of either taking on new trainees and enrolling them into courses or professionally developing existing staff – something highly recommended as it’s so often a win/win.

WHAT IS IN STORE FOR FUTURE TRAINING?In order for our industry to prosper and be an attractive, viable career choice for young people joining the workforce, we need to provide true career pathways and training.

The future development of any training package, whether existing or new, lies heavily in what industry wants and needs. Our members are always the best source of information when it comes to what they expect they themselves or their employees will get out of training courses and professional development sessions/workshops. Of course, the STA is always keen to receive your feedback in this area.

One of the biggest keys to fostering new and up-to-date training is having across the board acceptance and support from the majority and, while that may sound easy to achieve, it’s sometimes the biggest hurdle.

More often than not consultation, diff ering opinions, feedback and brainstorming result in successful future training outcomes and give the STA as an Association vital information in getting things into play.

We live in a world where now more than ever career pathways and professional development cannot be overlooked and can be the diff erence between people staying in or leaving an industry.

Our collective dedication as industry stakeholders to maintain a focus on training and development will go a long way into the future, hopefully attracting many more young people to our industry as their first career choice.

The STA is in the process of establishing a dedicated training committee in order to stay on top of the training requirements and needs of our members and potential members.

We would absolutely love representation from all states as the legislation and needs of the diff erent states can vary depending on the issue.

If you would like to be involved in the direction of training in the industry going forward, we are eager to hear from you. We realise there are areas of business at the moment that are crying out for future

Training deliveryMethods of delivery vary from state to state and region to region, and can be broken down broadly into three main methods:● workplace training, with an RTO located remotely to the business, perhaps

interstate● TAFE-based training, and● a mixture of 1 and 2, with RTOs delivering some parts of the training and the

business delivering the balance in the workplace.There are now other RTOs that also off er this form of training in addition to the

other forms of delivery.Any fabricator can learn of the alternative RTOs by contacting their local

Australian Apprenticeship Centre (AAC), which can also assist in recruiting trainees and providing advice on how to access government funding available to businesses taking on trainees. Training can similarly be provided to existing staff as part of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Again your AAC or RTO can give you advice on the available government funding.

Businesses taking on new trainees are generally entitled to around $4400 per trainee over the term of the traineeship. This is payable in two instalments – one payment upon completion of the probationary period and the final instalment at the conclusion of the traineeship.

How to access training or traineesFirst, recruit or identify those existing employees who you wish to undertake training, remembering your local Australian Apprenticeship Centre can help with recruitment, accessing your government funding entitlement and identifying a suitable RTO. Still confused? Then feel free to speak with the Specialised Textiles Association off ice or contact the RTO in your state:

New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Northern TerritorySydney Institute of TAFE – Lawrence de PaoliEmail: [email protected] Ph: 02 9217 4601

TasmaniaTasmanian Institute of TAFE – www.tafe.tas.edu.auPh: 1300 655 307

VictoriaRMIT University – Liz DebonoEmail: [email protected]: 03 9925 9102

You can identify your local AAC and find out other useful information on training from the following website: www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au.

In summary, training your staff is a very beneficial thing, both for your business and the trainees involved. It can be done in a very cost-eff icient manner that helps secure not only the future of your own business, but our industry as a whole, by improving the skills of our people and the quality of the products we make.

training and will constantly work towards facilitating this.

Likewise, if you have any feedback or comments in regard to existing or possible future training and development, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact the STA Off ice or, alternatively, through the contact page on the website. C


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56 BUSINESS

As I travel around Australia, coaching and meeting with many diff erent organisations, in an array of industries, these are some of the critical issues for success.

KEY ISSUES FOR ORGANISATIONS TODAY

PERFORMANCE OF PEOPLENo matter how we come at it, the performance of our own people is still the most important aspect to any organisation’s success. And yet, in my observation, it’s the one area that we continue to struggle with most. Many of the big organisations are throwing significant resources at the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ – they have the resources to do so – but even they are still struggling with this, because it’s everyone’s performance that contributes to the success of the organisation.

The body of work on human performance is enormous (signifying the importance of the issue and our continual struggle to conquer it), but one thing strikes me above everything else: every person within the organisation must be involved in a process to improve human behaviour. It’s not just a session, not just a document, not just information, not just surveys, but a fully fledged ongoing process – well-laid out, well-communicated, well-tracked and with full commitment from the organisation. It’s costly though, in time and money, but imagine the impact that even a one percent uplift in human performance across the board does for the organisation!

VISION, MISSION, VALUES, CREDOWhen these four things are handled well, this can almost create success by itself; when not, it’s a fundamental flaw in the organisation. My experience is that few organisations handle this well, as few as 10 percent if I had to put a number on it. Sure, many organisations have them written down somewhere but that’s often the extent of it. There are two aspects to this: how clear are each of these four and are they actually ‘lived’? The second is one of the most fundamental ingredients of success.

Vision: What’s the end game? What does it look like in the end? Where is it heading? Has everyone bought in to it?Mission: What’s the purpose of the organisation? (And avoid ‘To be a leading provider of X…’ Make it real to everyday people.)Values: What are the agreed values to underpin everyone’s behaviours?Credo: What one thing is the reference point for all behaviours? What is in the ‘gut’ of the organisation? As examples: ‘performance matters’, ‘no excuses’, ‘have a go’, ‘total honesty’… something that people can seriously connect with in what they do.

In all of these, avoid fancy words and phrases and don’t think that creating them once will make an ongoing diff erence (revisit them regularly for

relevance). New people coming in must also be drawn into all of this, with the words being used often and sincerely, to translate into behaviours – that’s the whole point. As an aside, if those ‘at the top’, don’t live all of this, not only will others not live them either, but they are likely to go completely the other way due to the hypocrisy they experience.

POINTS OF DIFFERENCENot strengths, but genuine and fundamental aspects of the organisation that make it diff erent to every other.

Strengths are what get an organisation into the arena; they don’t win the game. I like to ask the question in this way, ‘What makes you staggeringly diff erent to your competitors?’ By asking it like that, it stops the answer being just a statement of what the organisation is good at, rather than diff erent, and it prevents ‘vanilla’ answers. Too often, there isn’t an answer to the question (or the organisation convinces itself there is, but there really isn’t). Sure, it’s very diff icult to create the answer to this question, but therein lies one of the most important aspects for future success. That’s the thing – create the answer and build it into the organisation moving forward. The next problem is when this is successfully created and implemented, it won’t last because competitors will copy it quickly, so it has to be recreated consistently.

INABILITY OF ORGANISATIONS TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLEThis is simple – don’t try! No organisation can be all things to all people, and will fail if it tries. Select the high impact targets and behaviours and stick to them. This applies to people within the organisation as well.

SHORTAGE OF TIMEWe are busy in this world, busier than ever! Hours worked, emails, calls, tasks, traff ic, information coming at us, technology moving at light speed, white noise, etc. We are all time-poor. It’s a matter of not trying to solve that – unless you’re going to retire and live on an island. Shortage of time is to be managed, not cured. Put your time where you know you should and don’t sweat the rest! And if you feel out of control (and I’m observing that many do) take a day off to genuinely consider how you’re ‘running’ your life (and not just your professional

Alan Rodway CEO Leap Performance

NO ORGANISATION CAN BE

ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE,

AND WILL FAIL IF IT TRIES.

SELECT THE HIGH IMPACT

TARGETS AND BEHAVIOURS

AND STICK TO THEM. THIS

APPLIES TO PEOPLE WITHIN

THE ORGANISATION AS WELL.

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life), make some choices, then change it up from the very next day forward. If you don’t think you have time to do that then reread this paragraph! And change the concept of ‘work/life balance’ to doing what’s important to you, your family, your colleagues and your friends.

REVENUE AND MARGINSIt’s getting harder to drive revenue up and maintain or grow margins. Pressure on price is massive now. The internet and globalisation have increased competition to levels that some organisations don’t even realise yet. Some of the smaller organisations, because they are resourced at lower levels, are the last to find out how these aspects are changing and aff ecting their performance, and that’s a fundamental challenge for their very existence – how are they going to compete in future with the rapidly growing larger entities that are ‘consuming’ competitors? Some may not be able to and that is (sadly) a fact; they will need to find a niche somewhere else. Get big or become a niche. A bigger organisation negotiating with a smaller

organisation is going to win, purely on size. If your organisation is in that boat, you need to change tack or get into a bigger boat.

Digital marketing and social media have already changed the face of marketing itself. The entire marketing industry has changed (almost overnight). The good news is it has become significantly cheaper to market an organisation (compared to TV advertising and newspapers etc), but it requires completely diff erent expertise to do so. There is no choice in this. And this is the opinion of many experts I have spoken with – establish a presence on this front or face the consequences inside the next three years.

Smaller entities will be challenged by the absence of expertise, but they can at least harness the skills of a Gen Y employee, for example, regrading social media and find ways (maybe collectively with other organisations who don’t compete with yours) to digitally market yourself. You may have to think outside the square to handle this, but it is possible. It’s certainly not going to go away.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTThis is particularly relevant to the SMEs. Let me make this really simple – if you don’t do all of the following, you’re asking for trouble!

Fully fledged profit and loss budget, month by month, line by line, seasonalised (meaning don’t just divide the annual number by 12 and apply it to each month), signed off and agreed to by all key personnel within the organisation by the end of May for the coming financial year.

Cash flow budget for the coming 12 weeks, week by week, line by line, estimating the cash balance at the end of each week.

Profit and loss reports, monthly, including year to date, within three weeks of month’s end, against budget, against same periods last year, showing variances.

Cash flow reports, weekly, against budget.

A productive working relationship with an accountant. Engage an accountant who will partner you, not just react to you, and one that’s cost-eff ective.

If all that seems a very time-consuming and expensive approach to

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58 SME FOCUS

take to financial management, consider the reality of the statistics that there has been an upward trend in small businesses going bankrupt since 2008 – and poor cash flow management is being blamed. At the end of 2013, an average of 44 small businesses in Australia were closing their doors each day, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Better get across financial management or there is not much point being good at anything else.

CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE PRIVATE OWNERSI don’t have statistics, just my own experience, but it’s safe to say that when there is more than one business owner, there are challenges to be faced! Who makes the decisions? How are disagreements dealt with? What if one doesn’t ‘perform’? How are diff erent personalities dealt with? How are owners paid? What happens if it all goes pear-

shaped? How does someone exit the business (role and/or equity)?

The following are absolute necessities to make multiple ownership work: ● in-depth discovery before going into

business with anyone to establish alignment of goals and values

● properly constructed shareholders’ agreement, covering the fundamental workings of the business, as well as exit arrangements, and

● alignment of goals and values of any additional owners who join, over time. This raises a question for many

businesses: what if any of these have not been dealt with? Answer: get across them now (and it’s best to use external expertise in doing so). If doing this exposes problems and challenges, then that’s OK. Be mature about it and set about communicating eff ectively to deal with the issues. This will take some time, but it’s worth it in the end. The worst outcome if these are not all dealt with is a falling out between owners and that normally turns ugly.

SHOULD YOU GO INTO BUSINESS?There are absolute and fundamental questions that anyone should answer before going into business (or examine if already in ownership). The questions below have been constructed by Tony Jolley, from JPR Business Group, business advisers to Leap Performance.

The who, what, when, where and why of being in business:● What are you planning to do? When

and why are you changing your life for this, and is anyone coming along with you? This goes to goal setting, mission statement, partner alignment and risk assessment.

● What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and constraints? This goes to a detailed, realistic assessment.

● What funds are you going to need to start and grow your business, where are they coming from and what repayment terms will you want? This

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goes to funding, finance, budgets and cash flow forecasts.

● What business structure are you going to use, will it allow for future growth and partners, and who will advise you on these and other issues? This goes to structure, obligations and advisers.

● Where will you operate from, what processes do you need to produce your goods or service and what systems and records will you use? This goes to premises, processes, systems and record-keeping.

● What are you going to sell, why will customers buy it from you instead of someone else and what is the future of your product/service? This goes to products, services, selling proposition, competitors, research and growth.

● What price are you going to sell your product for, what will it cost you to make, what profit do you want to make and what will you do with the profit? This goes to price, budgets, cash flow, reinvestment and owners’ return.

● Who are you going to sell to and who are you going to use to sell your product? This goes to target customers, staff ing and suppliers.

● Where are your customers, what device will they use to find you and what processes/devices are you going to use to find them? This goes to customer focus, marketing and social media.

● What are you going to use to track your progress, who will assist you in this and when are you going to track it? This goes to bookkeeping,

accounting, coaching/mentoring, meetings and communications.

● Who will be your next employee/partner and what attributes do they have? This goes to growth requirements and aspirations.

● What do you want your business to be worth when you sell and what is your exit strategy? This goes to ‘payday’.If you cannot answer all of these

questions you are not ready to go into business! If you cannot answer all of these questions and you are already in business... you best get across them now. C

Alan Rodway is one of Australia’s leading business coaches, having run his own coaching practice prior to starting Leap Performance. He has coached into businesses such as Westpac, Deloitte’s, Toll, PFD FoodServices and CGU. He is also a renowned public speaker on success in business, having made presentations around Australia and New Zealand for many years.

IF YOU CANNOT ANSWER ALL

OF THESE QUESTIONS YOU

ARE NOT READY TO GO INTO

BUSINESS! IF YOU CANNOT

ANSWER ALL OF THESE

QUESTIONS AND YOU ARE

ALREADY IN BUSINESS... YOU

BEST GET ACROSS THEM NOW.

40475_2_Austech HPH.indd 2 9/04/14 10:27 AM

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CONNECTIONS Winter 2014 www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

60 MEMBER PROFILE

The warm welcome you receive whenever you visit George and James Formosa at ABC Products makes it clear why they have such a successful business and loyal customer base. By CONNIE HELLYAR.

ABC PRODUCTS“It’s all about the positive results for the client”

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGSFounded in 1978 by George Formosa, ABC Products started in a garage out the back of the family home in the Sydney suburb of Greystanes, predominantly specialising in motor trimming. The business soon began to flourish, which meant that bigger premises were needed to accommodate the workload. Additional premises were opened in Villawood, 25 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, where the demand for Bulker Bags for the mines and large roof tarps kept George and his small team hard at work, while still maintaining the Greystanes workshop. In 1987, George purchased his first high frequency welder, which helped the business evolve and enabled it to produce bigger and greater projects.

SMITHFIELDOver the next few years, business continued to develop as customers’ requirements changed, commanding more and more diverse products. This

left the company no choice, but to once again look for larger premises. So in 1990 Smithfield was the next port of call.

ABC Products was respected for its retractable tarps and canopies, but George, not one to rest on his laurels, recognised a need for the manufacturing of shade sails for installers. And so, once again, there was a need for something bigger.

GLENDENNINGIn 2005, George and James set about constructing a purpose-built factory that could accommodate their ever-increasing workload, as well as staff , in Glendenning (44 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD). Preparation was key to ensuring that the necessary equipment of plotters, welding systems and sewing areas could be accommodated, as well as ensuring there was the opportunity to expand even further on the site if necessary. This dream was finally completed and the new ABC Products factory was born.

Now George and James can continue doing what they do best with state-of-the-art equipment throughout the factory and the many multi-talented staff they have in their employ. Shade sail manufacturing is a large component of their business, but they also specialise in retractable tarps, PVC membranes, canopies and environmental bunding systems.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOXDuring this year’s Australia Day celebrations, ABC Products in conjunction with Nans Tarps fabricated what looked like a giant version of the floral emblem of New South Wales, the waratah flower, using Soltis fabric. This opened up during the fireworks display, creating a pyrotechnic spectacle at Darling Harbour and showering the air with a mass of colour. Originally shade cloth was going to be used; however, shade cloth would hold water and would not be acceptable near the fireworks. Soltis 86 was chosen as the only suitable product due to its aesthetic

Left: James Formosa.Below: George, James and Anthony Formosa of ABC Products.

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and technical properties. The colour also needed to be close to that of a waratah flower, so Soltis Poppy Red samples were sent to the designer for confirmation.

The time-frame was the biggest obstacle, as the event could not be delayed and the project needed to be ready for rehearsals even earlier than Australia Day. To make it even harder for ABC Products and Nans Tarps, the budget restraints meant that proper 3D drawings could not be created, which impacted ABC’s ability to pattern and cut the unique shape. It had to mock up a prototype first and test fit, again remeasure and repattern before daring to cut into the Soltis fabric. To add to the chaos, the Soltis fabric had to be air freighted over the Christmas break, landing the same week as fabrication. With dedication and teamwork, the job was completed on time and the waratah display was a huge success.

STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWDSometimes the defining diff erentiator of a company isn’t one thing and it isn’t really beliefs and values either, say George and James. Sometimes it’s a combination of things that, when all rolled up together, produce greater results and make a company stand out. Service, quality and ABC’s beliefs in who they are and the relationships the company has developed with both clients and suppliers over the years have been the catalyst to its success.

ABC PRODUCTS TOWARDS THE FUTUREJames Formosa is a strong advocate of accreditation within the industry.

He feels that it reflects the quality benchmarks by which a company conducts its business. It speaks to a sense of public trust, as well as to professional quality. There will always be change and

ABC Products will continue to ensure that it keeps moving forward and keeps abreast of new fabrics, trends and technologies.

James is aware that there is a lack of new blood coming into the industry and that this needs to be addressed before skill sets are lost through attrition. The Young Leaders Program that the STA promotes goes a long way to developing and encouraging young people to be a part of the industry.

There is a huge benefit in giving young people the opportunity to experience what it takes to put together a project, work as a team and feel every single aspect of what it takes to complete and deliver a project from start to finish. C

Connie Hellyar is on the STA Council of Management and is chair of the Women in Textiles committee.

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CONNECTIONS Winter 2014 www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

62 EVENTS ADVERTISING DIRECTORY

Upcoming events for the Specialised Textiles Industry

STA’S 2014 CONFERENCE AND TRADE EXHIBITION31 May to 2 June 2014Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hunter Valley NSWA conference and trade exhibition with something for everyone: informative, educational

and innovative business sessions trade display, and networking opportunities.

For further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/2014-conference

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – MELBOURNE16 June 2014Venue to be confirmedFor registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

OFPANZ 2014 CONFERENCE AND EXPO19 to 21 June 2014Waipuna Hotel, Auckland NZ

For further information go to: www.ofpanz.co.nz

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – SYDNEY4 to 5 August 2015NSW TAFE, Ultimo NSWFor registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – PERTH12 to 13 October 2014Mandurah, WAFor registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

IFAI SPECIALTY FABRICS EXPO AND ADVANCED TEXTILES EXPO13 to 16 October 2014Minneapolis Convention Centre, Minneapolis, Minnesota USFor further information go to: http://ifaiexpo.com

2015 MFA NATIONAL CONVENTION15 to 17 January 2015Oakland, California USFor further information go to: www.marinecanvas.com

Austech Welders Pty Ltd 58

Buz Software 12

Carr Australia 22

Contender Sailcloth Pty Ltd 19

Dasec 17

DDT 11

Elizabeth Machines Co 15

Eyelets Supply Company 23

FITAG 2-3

Hiraoka ( Australia) Pty Ltd 9

HVG Fabrics 64

Innova International Pty Ltd 49

Miami Stainless 25

Nolan.UDA 31

Plastral Pty Ltd 13

Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd 5 + 7

Shann Australia 28

Pro-Knit Industries 63

W L Gore 59

Triax 47

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Chino (Cream)

Graphite (Charcoal)

Sheba (Dark Blue)

Lime Fizz (Lime)

Karloo (Sand)

Marrocan (Terracotta)

Koonunga (Green)

Mellow Haze (Yellow)

Bubblegum (Pink)

Bundena (Blue)

Abaroo (Red)

Domino (Black)

Sherbet (Orange)

Jazzberry (Purple)

National Distributor:

Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd 16 Park Road, Homebush NSW 2140 Phone: 02 9735 3333 Fax: 02 9735 3311www.rickyrichards.com.au

7 Tombo Street, Capalaba, QLD 4157Phone: 07 3245 6756 Fax: 07 3245 6955

QLD Distributor:

Made In Australia

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connections winter 2014

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