TEXTILES.ORG
The Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) launched the competition for the 2012 IFF Innovation Award in a Feb. 13 press release.
IFF director Ruth Stephens said, “Innovation is at the heart of a dynamic specialty fabrics industry, and the IFF Innovation Award encourages invention.” The IFF Innovation Award was designed to inspire and reward companies from all over the world, large and small, to create great ideas and bring them to life, the release said.
The specialty fabrics industry encompasses some of the most innovative companies in the world, and the IFF Innovation Award honors the achievements of the manufacturers whose innovative ideas have made or will make a difference in today’s competitive marketplace.
TenCate Geosynthetics of Pendergrass, Ga., won the 2011 IFF Innovation Award for its product, MirafiH2i—described as the most highly engineered geotextile on the market—which offers “a combination of high particle retention and exceptional coefficient of interaction.” The “super textile” can minimize the costs of highway repairs, especially in locations of moisture management concern.
The award competition is open to any company that has developed and manufactured an innovative product or process related to the specialty fabrics industry. The IFF Innovation Award and its $5,000 prize will be presented at IFAI Expo Americas 2012 (Nov. 7–9, Boston Convention Center, Boston, Mass.).
The press release noted that entries must meet several criteria: innovation distinctive from other products currently manufactured or processes currently in use; benefit to the specialty fabrics industry or consumer; practicality and cost-effectiveness. To qualify, entries must be a product or process that is available for the market; the final development of the product or process must have been after 2010; and the product or process must not have been entered in any previous IFF Innovation Award contest (or any other competition).
For details on how to enter, visit www.indfabfnd.com, or contact IFF managing director Ruth Stephens at +1 651 225 6545, rastephens@ifai.com. There is a fee of $250 per entry. To be considered, all entries must be received on or before July 12, 2012.