Posted October 15, 2014

 

I’ve spent the last two days canvassing the Minneapolis Convention Center’s exhibit hall, site of this year’s Industrial Fabric Association of America’s Specialty Fabrics Expo and Advanced Textiles Expo. Having not attended this event (formerly the IFAI Expo) in several years, I didn’t have a timely frame of reference regarding expectations, activity or traffic. I was told that attendance was slightly down from a year ago, but several exhibitors said the quality of those stopping by was good. More serious visitors than “Lookie Lou’s” were here, one exhibitor told me. Several booths seemed consistently steady with guests the first two days of the three-day event.

 

For me, the show was exceptional. It gave me the opportunity to evangelize about eTextileCommunications, now in its sixth month of existence, and share its mission and my enthusiasm about the website. And it provided the chance to see dozens of other friends, many of whom I haven’t seen in years. People such as John Blasman Sr., who, at 85, still attends these events and remains deeply passionate about his family business, software provider Jomar Softcorp of Ontario, Canada. And people such as Steve Adair, representing DNA Technical Fabrics of Columbus, Ga., and attending this expo for the 40th consecutive year. And people such as Jeff Jimison of Tempotest, who recognized me from previous trade shows years ago and stopped me in the aisle to say hello. I also bumped into some “drive-by” floor walkers who had dropped in for a day or so on their way to see customers in the vicinity or the region.

 

One of the most excited people I met was Fred Schecter of Sommers Plastic Products. He had just been notified that one of the products he developed had been selected for an innovative Showstoppers Award at the show. For various applications such as fashion accessories and interior design, the product is genuine Italian stone shaved thin and ply-laminated with fabric and resin backing. “It is the first genuine stone that can be cut and sewn,” Fred told me at his booth, before walking me to the awards area to show me a briefcase made from the material. Pretty cool.

 

A few other new products were introduced at the expos, including an embroidery thread made by American & Efird, working collaboratively with Trivantage to match the durable attributes of Glen Raven’s Sunbrella fabric. Also, Somfy introduced mobile capabilities for its radio-controlled motors for window covering applications. And Gerber demoed its newest product, the MP Series pattern plotter, and offered a sneak peek at its Pattern System cutting platform. We’ll have more information on these innovations in the coming weeks.

 

As is the norm nowadays, social media was a popular communications tool among organizers, exhibitors and visitors. The IFAIExpo hashtag on Twitter saw plenty of action this week as users were kept up-to-date on show happenings. The American Association of Textile Chemists & Colorists (AATCC) was among those tweeting frequently during the trade fair, which perhaps helped attract more traffic to its stand, which was somewhat off the beaten path on a far-end wall. Several companies’ tweets certainly led me to their booths.

 

All in all, the trip to the Twin Cities was productive and fruitful for me, and I’m willing to guess it was for many exhibitors. I’d like to thank the fine folks at the IFAI for their nice Midwestern hospitality and for staging yet another successful event, this year in their own backyard.