N.C. State University
Dr. Abdel-Fattah Mohamed Seyam, professor and Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Textile and Apparel Management in the College of Textiles, is the principal investigator on the winning proposal.
“Our team is excited and proud to be selected to receive this award from the Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund,” Seyam said. While the proposed research is challenging, we are confident that we’ll achieve the project goals and play a part in driving weaving manufacturing costs down and bringing back jobs to the United States.”
As part of this round of grants from the fund, the Walmart Foundation granted $573,999 to N.C. State for its proposal for improving weaving efficiency, the slowest process in the pipeline of fabric manufacturing by developing a loom beam winding procedure and developing a warp sheet reservoir mechanism.
“This grant will foster new team efforts to bring manufacturing jobs to Raleigh and provide practical academic experiences for the future employers of the students involved,” said Raleigh Mayor McFarlane. “This is an exciting opportunity to partner with N.C. State, the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to make Raleigh an even more attractive place to live, work and study.”
Posted January 26, 2016
WASHINGTON – The Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced this year's U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant recipients at the 84th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors here.
Five leading research and academic institutions were awarded a total of $2.84 million in grants by the fund for their work focused on innovations in textile manufacturing. The fund, which focuses on the development of domestic manufacturing with a specific goal of advancing the production or assembly of consumer products in the U.S., will provide a total of $10 million in grants over the course of five years. This is the second round of funding under this grant.
The grant recipients were selected for their ability to address two key challenges that currently present barriers to increased domestic manufacturing. These challenges are:
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Reducing the cost of textile manufacturing, including home textiles and apparel, in the U.S. by addressing obstacles throughout production; and
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Improving common manufacturing processes with broad application to many types of consumer products.
"Through these grants we hope to help remove the barriers to revitalizing and growing U.S. apparel manufacturing, while creating more sustainable production processes," said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Walmart. "The U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund is part of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation's broader commitment to foster new economic growth and opportunity and create stronger communities."
"America's mayors work every day to create good jobs for the people who live in our cities and metro areas. The five projects we've recognized today will lead to manufacturing jobs in their respective cities and eventually, across the country," said Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "We are proud to partner with Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to support these important efforts."
The 2016 Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant winners are:
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North Carolina State University, endorsed by Raleigh, N.C. Mayor Nancy McFarlane, for developing a non-stop tying-in process/approach to improve weaving efficiency;
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Clemson University, endorsed by Greenville, S.C. Mayor Knox H. White, for energy and effluent reduction through innovative dyeing of polyester fabrics;
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University of Texas at Austin, endorsed by Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler, for on-loom fabric defect inspection using contact image sensors;
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Cornell University, endorsed by Ithaca, N.Y. Mayor Svante L. Myrick, for recycling post-consumer textile waste and a raw material substitute for new textiles; and
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Oregon State University, endorsed by Corvallis, Ore. Mayor Biff Traber, for environmentally conscious dyeing of fabrics using continuous digital printing and drying of biopigment inks.
Walmart fund awards $2.8 million to five universities
Grant awarded for innovation in U.S. textile manufacturing
Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design faculty members Tasha Lewis and Anil Netravali have developed a strategy to significantly reduce energy and water needs associated with textile production and create an additional revenue stream from reclaimed apparel.
“Our project aims to reduce the consumption of natural resources to create virgin textiles,” Lewis said. “And we’re also trying to divert used and unwanted clothing away from landfills – all the while putting textiles to better use as a raw material.”
“A lot of water is consumed during the textile dyeing and finishing processes, so if we find new ways to use discarded textiles, that’s water and landfill use we save,” Lewis added. “The fabric-shredding machine called Fiberizer – developed as a proof-of-concept with Anil Netravali, through funding from Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future – transforms textile waste to make it usable for other products. So, we’ll apply this U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant to develop an industrial-grade Fiberizer for small and medium-sized businesses.”
Netravali added: “The Fiberizer opens up the possibility of a zero-waste’ solution.”
Walmart’s broader commitment
Support for the Innovation Fund is part of Walmart's broader commitment to help revitalize U.S. manufacturing. In January 2013, Walmart announced a commitment to buy an additional $250 billion in products that support U.S. jobs by 2023.
These commitments represent a significant investment that will help accelerate the pace of U.S. manufacturing. By making production in the U.S. more cost-effective and efficient, the global retailer believes it can bring American consumers more American-made products and ultimately create jobs in communities across the country.
For more information on Walmart's commitment to U.S. manufacturing, please click here.
Source: Staff reports
Dr. Abdel-Fattah Mohamed Seyam, professor and Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Textile and Apparel Management at NCSU's College of Textiles, is the principal investigator on the winning proposal.
This is the second round of grants awarded by Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. An N.C. State College of Textiles team was also awarded in 2014 for implementing new technologies in both fabric printing and cut-and-sew automation on furniture cushions.
Clemson University
As part of this round of grants from the fund, the Walmart Foundation granted $964,000 to Clemson University for its proposal of energy and effluent reduction through the innovative dyeing of polyester fabrics. Recognizing that dyeing polyester produces significant amounts of colored effluent and also is an energy-intensive process, Clemson University has built a strategy that focuses on reducing energy use and effluent.
Additionally, its innovative approach to the dyeing of polyester fabrics fits within existing U.S. textile manufacturing processes.
“The expertise of our team of Clemson researchers bears great promise for breakthroughs in the polyester dyeing process and commercial dyeing technologies,” said Anand Gramopadhye, dean of Clemson University’s College of Engineering and Science. “We look forward to the outcomes of this project and the significant collaborative opportunities with industry partners in our region.”
“Now home to large global manufacturing and advanced industry firms, Greenville has carved out a competitive position in the global economy and, through our relationship with Clemson University, the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Greenville continues to deploy effective economic and community development strategies that facilitate investment and job growth from both new and existing companies,” said Greenville Mayor White.
University of Texas at Austin
The Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced the University of Texas at Austin as one of this year’s U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant recipients for the school’s on-loom fabric defect inspection using contact image sensors.
UT will receive nearly $350,000 to study on-loom fabric defect inspection using contact image sensors.
“This is welcome recognition for the cutting-edge research happening at UT Austin. Just as technological breakthroughs have revolutionized so many aspects of daily life, our scientists at UT Austin are driving innovation in fabric production to improve how quickly and how well textiles get made,” said Deborah Jacobvitz, director of the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Human Ecology. “Dr. Bugao Xu and his team use a modern scientific and engineering mindset to approach the ancient task of weaving, and the outcome for America’s textile industry will be fewer defects and higher efficiency that lead to better materials for consumers.”
"With this award for innovation, The University of Texas can develop a new on-loom fabric defect detection system that, if adopted by U.S. textile manufacturers, will boost America’s manufacturing renaissance,” said Austin Mayor Adler. “I want Austin to be the city where good ideas become real, and this is yet another way we are achieving that."
Cornell University
Cornell was awarded its grant for breakthroughs in textile manufacturing processes, specifically for no-waste apparel design and finding inventive ways to use post-consumer textile waste.