industry NEWS
2022 ABMA Innovation Award Nominations Deadline The American Brush Manufacturers Association (ABMA) is now accepting nominations for the William A. Cordes Innovation Excellence Award for 2022. Entries for the award will be accepted until November 30, 2021, and the award presentation will be made at the ABMA Annual Convention in March 2022 at the Hyatt Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Fla. The Innovation Award recognizes outstanding innovation of manufactured products, components or services in the brush, broom, mop and roller industry and is named after William A. Cordes, who served as the ABMA’s first President from 1917-1928. The 2021 award winner was The Wooster Brush Company’s Shortcut Hook & Hold Angle Sash Paintbrush. ABMA President Greg Miller says, “The ABMA Innovation Award competition is a great opportunity for companies to showcase their innovative products, components and services to the industry, and to the larger audience served by customers, users and consumers as well. It gives the greater industry a wonderful opportunity to see just how innovative, creative and vibrant we are as brushmakers.” For more information, rules and nomination forms visit www.abma.org/innovationexcellenceaward.
New Hillbrush Initiative Utilizes Recycled Bottle Fiber As part of its Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibilities (CSER), Hillbrush, the UK’s largest manufacturer of brushes and specialist cleaning tools has replaced the coco fiber used in several of its traditional brushes, with a new fiber material made from recycled plastic bottles. The new polyester PET monofilament, sourced from Beira in Sri Lanka is made from bottles, many of which are washed up on the beach, which are separated from their polypropylene caps, then the plastic is cut up into small granules. Many of these plastic granules are used for extrusion for premium brand trainer production, while the rest is extruded into brush monofilaments. As well as the environmental benefits, Hillbrush claims that the wear properties of the PET monofilament are better than
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Interbrush Revises 2024 Dates FWTM has announced an adjustment of the 2024 Interbrush dates to April 24-26, 2024. The date had been previously announced as May 24-26, but the organizers have indicated this was an error. The exhibition for the brush and paintbrush industry will be held in Messe Freiburg, Germany, in 2024. The event is normally held every four years and draws 7,000 visitors from over 90 countries. It is anticipated that the event will resume the normal four-year rotation after the 2024 edition. For more information, visit www.interbrush.com.
INBrush Moves to May 2022 Unitech Exhibitions has announced INBrush now will be held May 25-27, 2022, at the CIDCO Exhibition & Convention Centre in Mumbai, India. The event is the region’s only dedicated B2B event for brush manufacturing machinery and finished brushes. It had already been rescheduled to October of 2021 but due to prolonged international air travel restrictions by many countries, the event was delayed again. Unitech notes that all current exhibitors will have their booked stands at the same location and confirms there will be no change to the INBrush 2022 floor plan. For more information visit www.indiabrushexpo.com. its coco counterpart, not only making it more durable but retaining its brush sweeping characteristics too. While coco fiber has traditionally been used in brush manufacture due to its low cost and sustainable source, many of the methods used in its processing for use as a brush component pose significant health risks for operators, including the amount of dust created during brush manufacture and risks associated with the black dye used on the coco. Use of the PET monofilament rather than natural coco also means far more efficient brush production in the factory since it is far cleaner to use. Learn more about Hillbrush at www.hillbrush.com.
