Fabrics & Furnishings - Winter 2017 Issue by Fabrics & Furnishings International

Hei Fre mte e c xtil opie 4.1 s at Foy er 1 2 Volume 28, Number 1

Winter 2017/2018

The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

Kravet Acquires Third Largest Design Archive in its 100 Year History; Brothers Scott, Cary Buy Rare 3rd - 18th C. Designs Sipco News Network

ETHPAGE, New York — Fresh from their European

Brothers Cary and Scott Kravet show off design cut into Mulberry bark and held together with human hair.

travels the Kravet brothers proudly announced one of the biggest design coups in the industry with their successful purchase of an extensive design archive that will become the basis for an extensive collection of fabrics and finished textiles for all brands including CuratedKravet, its recently established off the shelf custom and readymade finished product for the designer. (see sidebar on Kravet Archive page 14) Kravet is trying to capitalize on the digital world with CuratedKravet as it experiments with new channels of distribution to the interior designer. “Over 80 percent of the product with CuratedKravet is exclu-

Rockland Adds 50% Capacity

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sive to Kravet,” says Cary Kravet, President. “Our textile world is (continued on Page 14)

D’Decor India Expects Continued Double Digit Growth Despite Strong Rupee by Vishwanath. S

UMBAI, INDIA — The Chinese mills, the closest competitors to Indian suppliers, are gaining a currency driven price advantage over Indian mills which

D’Decor is not taking lightly, says Ajay Arora, Managing Director. The Indian Rupee has seen over a four percent appreciation in recent months against the US dollar which affects the profitability of

Brazil’s Textil J. Serrano Opens Heimtextil Stand First Time

Rendering of Rockland booth for Heimtextil

Sipco News Network

OnEm is 20!

After 100 Years, Kravet’s all: Daniel, Cary, Lisa, Scott, Ellen, Sara and Sander and Utta and Larry in front row

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ARGEM GRANDE PAULISTA, SP, BRAZIL — Textil J. Serrano Ltda. is Brazil’s

largest upholstery (estofados in Portuguese) mill and will be showing at Heimtextil in Frankfurt for the first (continued on Page 16)

w w w. F a b r i c s A n d F u r n i s h i n g s . c o m

Indian furnishing fabrics exports, he points out. The Chinese Yuan has depreciated by 0.5% accruing an edge in export pricing, which is beneficial to global importers. (continued on Page 28)

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Contents Table of Contents F&FI Autumn 2017 | Vol. 28, No. 1 Kravet Acquires Third Largest Design Archive in its 100 Year History. . .

Cover

D’Decor India Expects Continued Double Digit Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cover

Brazil’s Textil J. Serrano Opens Heimtextil Stand First Time. . . . . . . . . . .

Cover

Departments

Photo Galleries

Tenace Loves Kronberg Schloss! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Intertextile Shanghai

Top 28 Upholstery Buyers List Here We Come! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Thierry Van Damme Says ‘Buy the Best—Don’t Buy Cheap.’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Bassett Accelerate Online Furniture Sales. . . . . . 26 Sunbrella®, Sunbury, Tie The Knot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 P.T. Ateja, Indonesia, Expands Stock Program, Opens S.C. Warehouse. . . . . . . . . . 28 Al Guthmi Buys European Entry with Bill Beaumont Textiles Acquisition. . . . . . . . 39 Slettvoll Family Has Unique Catalog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Aznar Brings ‘Eco Green’ Fabrics to Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Spanish Textile Manufacturers Regroup Around Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Rafa Pascual Lauches Aquaclean® Extreme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 The Use of New Fibers and Yarns Enable the Chinese to Offer Middle to High-End Ranges of Decorative Fabrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Kravet Unveils 8,200 S.F. Philadelphia Showroom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Sevim Keskinci Weds Ton Merkx. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Raymakers Taps Rietveld. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

MoOD

42 Contract/HospitalityNews Rockland Mills’ Third Wide Width Coating Line Adds 50 Percent Capacity at Bamberg, SC

36 36

Design 44

Digital Prints Cover London

WeaveUp’s Flint Davis Produces Digitally Printed Hospitality Fabric Samples In Three Days, Changing the Way Textile Print Business Is Done Materialised Says WeaveUp is Game Changing Technology

Calendar

WeaveUp Allows Valley Forge to Expand Print Basecloth Range

Advertiser Index

EDITORIAL & PUBLISHING EDITORIAL & PUBLISHING

The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

Published by:

520 West Avenue, Suite 701, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Website: www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Telephone 001.917.251.9922 | ISSN: 1523-7303 Publisher & Editor | Eric S. Schneider Art Director | Roxanne Clapp, RoxC LLC Corporate Secretary | Gail Goldman, PhD. CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Printing | Interprint Web Printing Distribution | APC Web Design | Artisian Designs E.U. Legal Counsel | Herman Nayaert

EDITOR & PUBLISHER USA & EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Eric Schneider Tel: 001.917.251.9922 E-Mail: eric@sipco.net

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WEB DEVELOPER Rocco Cerullo, Artisian Designs Tel: 001.954.914.4758 E-Mail: recerullo@artisian.com

SIPCO NEWS NETWORK India | S. Vishwanath Belgium | Jan Hoffman

U.K. | Jennifer Castoldi USA/HIGH POINT | John Lowe

Fabrics & Furnishings International is shipped via air mail to 82 countries.

USA John Lowe Contributing Editor Tel: 001.336.687.0477 E-Mail: johnlowe@northstate.net

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TURKEY Sevim Gunes Tel: 90.532.236.25.24 +31 6 8290 9965 Fax: 90.216.390.20.27 Email: sevimgunes34@gmail.com

INDIA, CHINA, ASIA S. Wishwanath Tel: 91.80.26685821 Cell: 91.93.42821379 Fax: 91.80.26684670 Email: s_wishwanath@hotmail.com

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F FI NE W S (Continued from Front Cover)

Kravet at 100 tactile but the iPad® and iPhone® have changed how everything is purchased and we have to follow Amazon’s lead with delivery of finished product in two days if possible,” Cary says. The other large archives purchased by Kravet were part of the purchase of the GP&J Baker in 2001 and Brunschwig & Fils in 2011. A smaller acquisition was made with the purchase of Lee Jofa in 1995. These also represented the most significant developments at Kravet in recent years according to Cary who engineered them. Brunschwig & Fils alone cost the company $6.5 million to purchase, records show. Kravet is on a short list of companies over 100 years old in the same family hands and an even shorter list in terms of overall sales, either number one or two in total sales compared to JAB of Germany. Cary is not closing the book on potential acquisitions either. “We look for complementary companies which can add to our world; that means good synergy and distribution, maybe in a category we don’t currently have. It’s really two parts: back office efficiencies, the economies of scale and opportunities for differentiating our sales.” “Showrooms will continue to be an important component for sales; it’s a matter of using showrooms for accessibility. That’s the key for getting exposure for showrooms,” Cary says. “New showrooms are coming in Los Angeles, recently in Philadelphia and Boston. (See separate story on new Philly showroom this issue) Phoenix opened last year and two in New York City just reopened,” he says. “It’s important to be wherever the customer wants to be whether it’s our website, or brick and mortar locations. We have to be quick with sampling, on the road presence and online, wherever the customer needs us to be—we have to be there,” Cary emphasizes. He acknowledges the fact that online presence has expanded the demand for Kravet memo samples to the designer.

“This business use to be dominated by residential and cut order sales. Now, we have hospitality, healthcare, piecegoods, export and retailing. As a result, we must keep improving our web presence. Designers look at the web before they go to the showroom. Social media has elevated the young designer’s interest in home in what used to be only the fashion side of the business,” Scott points out. That is why Kravet is so heavily involved in reaching out to young designers who may very well be the inspiration for future brands of Kravet fabrics. Kravet brands of Lee Jofa, Brunschwig & Fils, GP&J Baker, Groundworks and Curated Kravet eat up new designs which are developed by the in house design department making use of the extensive archives in Bethpage. Kravet generates many designer collections each year and most recently, the Oscar de la Renta collection took top awards as the best new collection of 2017 from ‘World of Interiors’ magazine. “We are editing our sku’s more closely than ever with all of our brands,” Scott Kravet, Chief Creative Director says, “but we’re also giving a wider array of offerings. We may be editing very carefully but we’re showing more product than ever,” he explains. “Fabrics are really in our DNA; we’ve been in fabric so long that we know very well our market for fabrics,” Cary comments. “Other products have lots of potential for growth because we’re starting from such a small base.” Other significant developments for Kravet are related to its entry into the carpet, bedding, lighting and decorative hardware business lines in 2005. Another area Cary is eyeing is the healthcare market for Contract fabrics. Robert Duban heads up Contract sales for Kravet and he is bringing in record sales for the company after five years with the company. “Overall, there is different kinds of competition, just as its always been. There’s retail competition, online competition, niche competition, foreign competition and we have to address all those,” Cary figures. “It’s a much more global market. Since there is an oversupply of product in the market, strategic alliances are critical. We have tom select those suppliers that mesh well with how we work; our values…our needs and the supplier’s capabilities. There are so many alternatives but we just have to pick the right ones,” he says. “We are keeping the same number of vendors but each one is

more important than ever before to Kravet.” Kravet sources fabric mainly from the USA; then India, Italy, China, Belgium and England. “India is more creative,” says Scott. “The Indian mills bought looms from Italy. The Italians are creative yarn ‘junkies’ with good design archives. The mills of Naples made goods for the Bourbon Kings, particularly damasks and brocatelle’s. The Northern Italian mills are known for their tapestries.” Scott points out there is also a slew of new start up editeurs in California. ____________________

Kravet at 100 Years Young is All in the Family! Kravet is rolling along business as usual with the fifth family generation in place, namely Sander, Cary’s son who has been involved

in finance and operations for the past three years since 2014; Daniel, Scott’s son who just joined the company as a management trainee this year after a stint at Radiate, a two-year-old upholstery converting operation started by ex Kravet and Richloom sales manager David Teitelbaum; Sara, Sander’s sister, has worked in design and the furniture division at the Boston Kravet showroom since 2012. Kravet will start its 100th year celebration with Founders Day in February. It is focusing its ad campaign on the people and makers of Kravet with documentary style photography that will be seen on a new website dedicated to 100 years of ‘Inspired Design.’ A commemorative book for designers is also planned. Kravet opened for business February 5, 1918 with one employee, Cary and Scott’s great grandfather Samuel Kravet. He was a Russian émigré to Canada and then America. He was a tailor by trade and set up a shop on the lower eastside of New York City. First, it was custom fitted suits which required elastic and wool fabric.

Samuel Kravet (Founder-Kravet) The wool fabric ultimately became upholstery and the elastic supplier also made trim. The home furnishings business started on Norfolk Street in 1918 and was incorporated in 1936 as S. Kravet and Sons with Sam’s four sons. Today, Kravet is 1,000 associates strong with operating companies in the USA, the UK, Canada, Mexico and France with a European distribution warehouse in Poole, England. (continued on Page 32)

The New Kravet Archive Purchase The collection which will be completely digitized by Kravet archivist Katie Lobell for easy use by the Kravet staff designer or the interior designer is centered around Japanese Kimono art from 1900-1930.

French and English Toile from Chinoiseries from 19th Century the 18th Century

A folkloric hand painted mural for the illiterate population illustrating the history of Siam becoming Thailand. This image of Buddha’s enlightenment’s is the first image on the mural & represents Thailand’s spiritual history.

Persian documents featuring hand embroidered paisleys 1820-1870

Scott Kravet, Chief Creative Director, Kravet in archive room Polynesian barkcloth , known as “tapas”, are made from pounded tree bark soaked in saltwater. These highly geometric patterns are used for ceremonial purposes (much like our “red carpets”) as well as decorative. Tapas of same quality are found in the Australian Museum and others worldwide.

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The archive also contains Coptic designs from Egypt from the second century to the fifth century AD.

Hand cut Japanese stencils made from layered Mulberry bark paper, using human hair between layers for reinforcement when printing kimonos or other textiles.

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F FI NE W S (Continued from Front Cover)

Brazil’s Textil J. Serrano Opens Heimtextil Stand First Time Banks on inexpensive upholstery to find more buyers, especially in Europe. time with prices for polypropylene fabrics from $1.87 for plains to $5.50 for polyester chenille, FOB USA. Vargem Grande Paulista, home of the J. Serrano factories is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil and is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. “The Brazilian market is in a political and economic crisis at

the moment, and exporting has been essential for the company,” says Claudia Gonçalves, Export Manager. “We decided to exhibit at Heimtextil, because we know this fair is a benchmark in fabric tendencies. Companies from all over the world, including Brazil, visit to see what will be fashionable. However, regardless of the moment of our country, J. Serrano has always

Textil J. Serrano’s factory

invested in external partners, and treated the export of products with importance,” she adds. J. Serrano is taking its product line, including its artificial leather line under its subsidiary company ‘Ledervin’ to the world market at Heimtextil in an effort to whip up some more business. It produces jacquard, chenille, plains and textured fabrics producing designs internally with five staff designers; about 70 percent of the production is devoted to upholstery and mattress ticking but it also produces finished area rugs, bedspreads and PVC fabrics for blinds. The company serves (1) South America and Mexico, (2) USA and Caribbean, Canada, and (3) Europe as its top three markets for sales. Ameritex division of J. Serrano distributes the J. Serrano line to key American converters and U.S. furniture manufacturers with agents in California, Tupelo, Mississippi, North Carolina, Midwest and East Coast. Ameritex carries inventory

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Tenace Loves Kronberg Schloss! John Golfetti Claudia Gonçalves for quick delivery working out of a 5,000 square foot warehouse in Medley, Florida but there are other distribution points throughout the world. Typical color lines might be 35 colors but only 10 colors are stocked in Medley for quick delivery. Minimums in the States are two pieces, Golfetti says but there are container load customers doing business with J. Serrano, he says. J. Serrano is also well represented in Europe through sales agents to all types of customers including wholesalers and of course in South America through its own sales force. With three Brazilian Reals to the USD, Serrano is able to beat the Chinese at their own game for those who want to buy cheap. Besides, China is not the only game in town anymore for inexpensive fabrics as they have had to raise prices at least five percent this year. Except for some new velvets, attendees at Intertextile in Shanghai complained there was nothing new in upholstery at that fair this year. “The benefit of buying upholstery from J. Serrano is its ability to delivery in six to eight weeks from Brazil and keep stock in the USA for two-day delivery, according to John Golfetti, U.S. Sales Manager, who has lived in the States for 28 years since he moved from his native Brazil. He has worked for Ameritex for 12 years and reports to Fernando Serrano, the sales and marketing principal. Fernando is one of the three brothers who own the mill. They are the grandsons (third generation same family) of Jose Serrano who started the business in a modest building in 1952. “You won’t find J. Serrano at any other tradeshows like Showtime in the USA but you might find its products at our customers’ stands,” Golfetti explains. “We respect the

RANKFURT — The Schlosshotel Kronberg hotel is the last stop on the S bahn #4 which is located right outside the Messe Frankfurt. It’s very convenient to get back and forth from Heimtextil from here. The hotel even gives free limo rides to guests to get to the S bahn: train station near the stadt. This hotel sits just a little outside Frankfurt. You can walk but you need about 20 minutes. This place was built in 1893 by Princess Victoria whose mother was the Queen of England. It was built by the princess, The Empress Frederick, for her husband , Frederick III, King of Prussia and German Emperor after his death as a memorial to him. She was also continued on Page 41)

(continued on Page 38)

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Top 28 Upholstery Buyers List Here We Come! John Lowe, Contributing Editor

IGH POINT—It’s easier to be a dentist and pull teeth than to put together a list of the Top 28 Upholstery Fabric Buyers. The only thing I can say without doubt is that Paula Hoyas of La-Z-Buy buys more yardage than anyone else—more than 10 million yards; but I didn’t learn that from her. When asked, she declined comment as did virtually all other top upholstery merchandisers. In this competitive world, nobody wants to talk about what they do for fear of tipping their hand to the competition and the upholstery business is no exception to this rule. Nevertheless, F&FI put together a hit list for all of you fabric sellers out there and I say to you “happy hunting.” These are the key buyers and if you’re not doing business with them, the world becomes a tougher place for you. Every mill needs big customers; although these days, every customer is a big customer! I look forward to working with all of you at future Showtime’s. So when you see me, don’t run away!

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HEADQUARTERS LOCATION Joel N es Dallas, TX Acadia, WI Bassett, VA Saltillo, MS Lenior, NC Ferdinand, IN Taylorsville, NC ing Clau Danbury, CT dis Dubuque, IA Houston, MS High Point, NC Martinsville, VA Randleman, NC Cleveland, TN Gardena, CA Mel a Jasper, IN Asheboro, NC Monroe, MI Conover, NC Thomasville, NC Newton, NC Taylorsville, NC Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Greensboro, NC Hickory, NC Berne, IN Elliston, VA High Point, NC

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NAME American Leather Ashley Furniture Industries Bassett Furniture Industries Bauhaus Furniture Group Bernhardt Furniture Company Best Home Furnishings Inc Craftmaster Furniture Ethan Allen Interiors Flexsteel Industries, Inc Franklin Corporation Heritage Home Group Hooker Furniture Corp Hughes Furniture Industries Inc. Jackson Furniture Industries Jonathan Louis International Kimball International Klaussner Furniture Industries La-Z-Boy Inc. Lee Industries Lexington Home McCreary Modern Inc Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams Furniture Palliser Furniture Schnadig Corporation Sherrill Furniture Company Smith Brothers of Berne Inc. The Rowe Companies Universal Furniture

CONTACT TITLE Jessica Green – Merchandise Manager Joel Nowacki – Vice President of Purchasing Kena Cohenour – Vice President Textile and Accessory Merchandising Aaron Larry – Senior Vice President Erica Wingo – Senior Director of Merchandising Brooke Messmer-Cook – Senior Fabric Merchandiser Suzanne Henson – VP Merchandising and Marketing Anne Lekow – Senior Director Upholstery Merchandising Carrie Bleile – Vice President of Merchandising for Home Furnishings Chuck Tidwell – Merchandising Director Regan Iglesia – Chief Merchandising Officer Sandy Teague – Vice President of Upholstery Merchandising Susan Lawrence – Director of Merchandising Anthony Teague – Vice President of Sales and Merchandising Eric Boling – Purchasing Manager Jan Dodd – Director of Marketing Jay Foscue – Senior Vice President of Merchandising Paula Hoyas – Vice President of Merchandising Bondi Coley – Marketing Director Erin Tsucalas – Product Merchandising Manager Holly McLaughlin – Director of Marketing and Merchandising Katie Czyzewicz – Merchandising Director Cameron Cook-Sellers – Director of Merchandising Tim O’Hare – Senior VP of Creative Merchandising Melanie Cooper – Executive VP Amy Wright – Merchandise Coordinator Corey Keisetz (to retire end of 2017)/Tonya Fischer (starts January 2018) – VP of Merchandising Sean O’Connor – Sr. VP of Sales

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Thierry Van Damme Says ‘Buy the Best—Don’t Buy Cheap.’ Small, luxury mill weaves for the world’s best editeurs Sipco News Network

AARSCHOOT, BE — “As the buyer, if your only interest is in price, go to India and China because we are here to do the best products,” says Thierry Van Damme, fifth generation owner of B&T Textilia and 25 years with the company. He’s living proof that five generations of Van Dammes have found a way to flourish in the textiles business by focusing on the high end of the business. The history of B&T Textilia is interwoven with the history of 5 generations of artisans – dating back to 1854 when the company’s founder was a maker of woollen suits and apparel fabrics. Located between the historical towns of Ghent and Bruges, “our company expanded its operations by absorb-

ing other weaving companies in the area,” Thierry says. B&T exhibits at Heimtextil, Proposte and MoOD Thierry says that B&T Textilia spends 10-15 percent of its annual sales on new equipment and puts another 16 percent into R&D. “Everyone wants exclusivity so we try to give that to all of our customers.” Minimums are 100 meters per and if you want to buy tapestry designs on standards warps, the minimum is just ten meters, he says. If you stand at the doorway of B&T Textilia during MoOD, you will see the world’s editeurs come through that door; companies like Pierre Frey and Dedar to name two. “Craftsmanship and quality combined with the European spirit and know how enable us to produce 12th century tapestry designs. B&T is famous for chunky fabrics with stonewashed finishes. We still weave

the unicorn designs,” Thierry laughs. When the family firm Textilia bought out Bruggeman in 1991 and all remaining shares were purchased by 2006, it was renamed B&T Textilia and started up in the home furnishings side of the business; upholstery and decorative fabrics which it sells to the world’s best editeurs and some furniture manufacturers like Minotti in Italy. It counts Ralph Lauren; Knoll, Holly Hunt among its customers with 40 percent of the production devoted to the USA, its largest market. B&T has 50 employees and 30 jacquard and dobby looms that can weave large motifs 320 cm wide. Thierry likes that he is a small supplier still producing very beautiful fabrics in the 15-25 Euro price range with some fabrics selling up to 70 Euros per meter with alpaca and silk yarns.

“We work with local design schools in Ghent and Kask in Sint Lucas,” Van Damme explains about his strategy to attract designers. “We have six designers on staff and lots of freelance designers.” The strength of B&T is the unique fancy yarns it develops in linen and wool for its outdoor collection and traditional bedcoverings. “We still buy yarn from Italy and France even though there are not a lot of yarn suppliers left,” he says. “Savonnerie and Aubusson designs sell well in the USA,” he points out. The next generation ownership may be secured with Thierry’s two sons, 16 and 18 years old but time will tell. Thierry himself remembers that he had a legal degree and was convinced he would never go into the textiles business. Of course, he ended up doing just that! F&FI

Thierry Van Damme

Nellie and Henri Carissimo

Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Bassett Accelerate Online Furniture Sales Utilizing Outward’s 3D Image Software by John Lowe

AN JOSE, California — A California-based technology company’s officials say they are making it affordable for furniture companies to feature low-cost virtual showrooms on their websites, and their client list is lending credibility to their claim. Officials of Outward Inc., a San Jose technology company founded in 2012, report having developed an extremely economical process of creating three-dimensional virtual images that permit online shoppers 360-degree views of furniture companies’ entire product lines. The result, they say, is enhanced online sales for their clients, which include Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Bassett Furniture, Hooker Furniture and Four Hands. “Retailing is one of the most challenging businesses out there, but it’s also one where technology can give a company a real competitive advantage,” according to a quote from Outward Inc.’s chief

executive officer and co-founder Clarence Chui. “We created Outward to make the visual merchandising process easier for our customers. Very simply, we’re here to help (manufacturers) market and sell (their) products more effectively.” Online furniture sales are increasing, Outward co-founder Guarev Sethi said during a recent telephone interview, even for products that many consumers might prefer to see and touch prior to purchasing. Backing up his claim, Sethi said web transactions generate more than half of Outward client Williams-Sonoma’s $5 billion annual sales. Sethi said Outward Inc.’s technology is bringing furniture manufacturer web sites into the 21st century by offering 360-degree views both from ground and overhead perspective. While each piece’s dimensions are listed, the Outward experience goes a step further by allowing customers to create a room size of any proportion, then

arrange virtual images of selected images designed to scale to provide a clear vision of how a finished room might appear. The cost-effectiveness of this technology is the capability to create 360-degree virtual views of an entire product line from a single computer-aided design (CAD) scan of a single piece. Images of the other pieces are created via efficient programming based on hard data obtained from the scanned piece and algorithms to provide realistic, subtle touches ranging from the appearances of wood grain to the varying colors, including minutely different shades of reflected light on upholstery fabric. This very efficiency also is profitable to furniture manufacturers in terms of time. Sethi said scanning all components of every product line a manufacturer offers would be an extremely lengthy process that manufacturers could find counterproductive. While waiting for product lines to be prepared for web presentation, manufacturers

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would have to choose between delaying release – and potential sales – of their merchandise or risk being forced to discontinue initially sluggish or unprofitable lines before company officials had the chance to promote them on their websites. In that case, any technological effort and expense devoted to Clarence Chui and Guarev Sethi an ill-fated line would be wasted. Sethi said Outward’s time efficiency expedites including visible factors such as manufacturers’ ability to present color, wood grain, and leg and hardand promote new products to ware styles. Add to that the different components of varying product online shoppers. Automakers have profited from lines designed for different rooms, this technology for several years. along with the fact that automakers Agencies would scan vehicle exte- had higher profit margins to dediriors and interiors. With a click cate to virtual showrooms, furniture of a mouse, prospective customers manufacturers were more or less could obtain different images of any forced to settle for web-based catgiven make and model and view it alogs featuring photographic imagin a variety of exterior and es of a product line’s components, interior angles, colors and some of which would allow customavailable options. As Sethi ers to zoom into images, creating a pointed out, an automak- more detailed view that could be er’s entire lineup consists compared to viewing a traditional of fewer visible parts, col- printed ad with a magnifying glass. “The experience now can be ors and options necessary to a create appealing con- described as the closest thing to vissumer images, compared iting a furniture showroom without to a furniture manufacturer leaving your home,” Sethi said. F&FI that most often produces numerous lines consisting of many components

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F FI NE W S PUBLISHER’S OPINION

Sunbrella®, Sunbury, Tie The Knot

Glen Raven Will Accelerate Sunbury Growth

MD Kurniadi Says European Base Comes Soon by Vishwanath.S

By Eric Schneider

LEN RAVEN, NC—On October 2, Glen Raven Mills Inc., a global textile manufacturer with an estimated $1 billion annual sales acquired its longtime co-branding and jacquard upholstery marketing partner Sunbury Mills after a 60-day deal closing. It’s nice to see a real textile company acquire Sunbury instead of a private equity company which has never worked out that well in this industry. The marriage has already meant a big payday for the 225 employees at Sunbury. They were part of the ESOP which sold the company to Glen Raven and many will be able to send their kids to college with the windfall or buy a new home. One former employee commented: “I wish I had kept my ESOP shares.” For sure, it’s another big payday for the Truslows and all of their employees. Aside from this hoopla for the employees, I think the best is yet to come for Sunbury. If I was a competitor to Sunbury, I would definitely try to raise my game because Glen Raven has had a solid history of buying privately held companies and making them stronger and more successful. With the acquisition, Glen Raven also gets several Sunbury licensed brands including Crypton,® and Nanotex®Asure. Sunbury just became a tougher competitor. No doubt, Glen Raven’s success at branding outdoor fabrics with the name Sunbrella will mean more sales for the Sunbury Sunbrella jacquard designs. Glen Raven produces Sunbrella plains, plaids and stripes for upholstery, marine and awnings. Of course, Sunbury and Glen Raven are no strangers to each other; Sunbury has been the licensing partner to Glen Raven for the production of jacquard fabrics with the Sunbrella® brand for over 22 years. Sunbury also produces its regular lines of woven fabrics for jobbers of residential and contract and furniture manufacturers in Sunbury, PA. It is expected that Glen Raven will provide the capital and additional marketing expertise to accelerate the purchase of more equipment for Sunbury so that Hank Truslow’s stated goal of $100 million in sales may become a reality in the future. The agreed upon purchase price between the two privately held companies was not disclosed

P.T. Ateja, Indonesia, Expands Stock Program, Opens S.C. Warehouse

David Swers

Hank Truslow but estimates of Sunbury sales are currently in the $25+ million range. Under the sale terms, Sunbury becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, the makers of Sunbrella fabrics. David Swers is President and COO of Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC while Hank Truslow Jr. is CEO of Sunbury Textile Mills. Neither party could be reached for comment but they will be working together closely. Other officials, including Glen Raven Chairman, Allen Gant would not make further comment. Even before the closing date for the deal was announced the Sunbury Mills website said it is “now the newest member of the Glen Raven family.” That’s how sure everyone was about the very friendly deal going through. Prior to the sale, the Glen Raven website already incorporated the Sunbury locations in Sunbury, PA as well as the newly refurbished 12,500 square foot sales and marketing offices in New York so the actual acquisition date seemed to be a fore drawn conclusion and merely a formality between very good friends. Sunbury, founded in 1954, was sold several times over the last 30 years--once to Masco Home Furnishings, a defunct conglomerate and then bought back by the Truslows, the Sunbury founding family and other partners-- and then resold again in an ESOP to its employees and now again to Glen Raven. It’s one of the big success stories in the history of American textile mills which normally end at bankruptcy auctions. The Truslows are that good at what they do and should be congratulated for their continued success. F&FI

ANDUNG, INDONESIA—In order to increase the speed of services to its customers in the Americas, Ateja opened up a 107,000 square foot warehouse this past August in Greenville, South Carolina for mattress ticking and decorative fabrics, according to Kurniadi T. Chandra. P.T. Ateja Tritunggal Director. “Ateja will add stock programs for all of our outdoor fabrics very soon,” he says. “Similar facilities are expected to start in Europe for Ateja as deliveries have to be quicker to serve the customers well,” he promises. Spread over 600,0000 square meters with three locations and eight plants “Ateja expects to be a reliable global supplier of decorative and technical textile fabrics through innovation and research”, he adds. Ateja Group started life 44 years ago with one yarn spinning plant, and over the years since then has transformed itself into a leading

textile company in Asia, Chandra says. Today Chandra says it is a totally vertical integrated mill producing decorative and transportation as well as a wide range of technical textiles catering to outdoor applications. “In fact we are a leading supplier of mattress ticking fabric throughout the world, an OEM supplier to Toyota cars and

a major exporter of decorative and outdoor fabrics to 88 countries”, Chandra says. “Ateja has realized it must strengthen its European color, design elements and a new range of ‘Life Style Collections’ with inputs from European designers. These developments will be showcased (continued on Page 32)

Edi Sumono, Plant Coordinator, Kurniadi M. Tjandra, Director & Tiar J Simbolon, Manager, Sales & Marketing.

(Continued from Front Cover)

D’Decor Expects Double Digit Growth

Brothers Ajay and Sanjay Arora, Managing Directors D’Decor is the largest home furnishings textiles manufacturer in the world with sales in excess of $250 million. “We are no exception as this Rupee appreciation hits our bottom line. As a result, we are implementing specific strategies to counter this disadvantage while we are also seeking a price increase from the customers,” Ajay Arora says. “Though international markets are currently subdued the domestic market is doing well and we have now 12 company owned outlets plus eight franchise stores and the

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focus is on developing high-end retailers to match our superior line of furnishing collections”, he informs. D’Decor has launched polypropylene and polyester rug collections from Europe and is selling them in the Indian market under the brand name ‘D’Decor Rugs.’ “In addition, for two years we have carved a sizable share of the domestic blinds business through 250 outlets,” says Sanjay Arora also Managing Director and Ajay’s brother. “Over the next three years we want to have at least 50 stores pan India as well expand in global markets, Sanjay says. “This is an opportunity to become a more efficient mill and our top priority is to focus to be more cost competitive by adopting additional energy saving technologies as well improve our productivity level further,” Ajay Arora says. “For further manufacturing cost reductions, we have added a new production facility of about 250,000 square feet as of August, 2017 bringing our total factory space in Tarapur to 1,172,000 square feet. We have also invested in the latest machines and which includes technology upgrades with wide-width high

speed weaving looms.” “D’Decor has added 64 Tsudakoma/ Somet looms in narrow and wide width; the latest yarn dyeing machines and yarn making machines; the latest fabric dyeing and finishing machines,” he points out. “This is increasing per day production by 20%”, adds Sanjay. “D’Decor has also installed roof top solar panels of 400 KW hence contributing towards Green Energy.” “D’Decor is also emphasising on input cost reduction such as finding equivalents to viscose fiber that is turning expensive. “We are also launching new product lines like linen looking polyester with innovative fibers and blackout fabrics that will extend our weaving capacity and added a new finishing line, which will give additional fabric finishes”, Sanjay explains. In terms of market trends D’Decor has observed that plain velvet demand is down but jacquard velvets are robust. During Heimtextil this January in Frankfurt, D’Decor will add new designs in embroidery in new colors, plain textures and foil and transfer prints, he says. F&FI

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P.T. Ateja, Indonesia, Expands Stock Program, Opens S.C. Warehouse, Introduces Five Pass Black Out at Heimtextil during Heimtextil, Frankfurt”, says Tiar J Simbolon, Manager, Sales & Marketing for Ateja. “Atejas’s Sun Proof outdoor fabrics are made of solution dyed acrylic yarns. This program was launched in 2008 with a single collection. Minimum orders are 500 meters per item and we have now expanded to five collections with a stock program of 50

meter rolls with basic 50 colors and sell all over,” Tiar says. He also pointed to Ateja’s ‘Waytech’ collections produced without the use of water. “Yet, the finished textiles offer good draping effects and are made from recycled yarn. ‘Waytech’ has received very positive acceptance from Europe,” he says.

“Five pass blackout, is our next launch during Heimtextil and ‘Lorenza’ for contract applications will continue with a stock program. Polypropylene recycled yarns will reduce the use of PVC further,” Kurniadi says. A five book stock program has also launched with two jacquard velvet collections as well a collection of flatwoven vel-

vets. Digitally printed Sheers in 320 cm. widths have also launched recently as well as high-end blind fabrics with very competitive pricing,” Kurniadi says. Ateja believes that its biggest challenge is the advancement in technical textiles and will keep innovating to increase the value add and more safety applications will

be unveiled including bullet proof fabrics in the coming years. “To enhance the reputation, image and progress of the company, to glorify God and to the benefit of mankind”, is the philosophy that drives our ambition”, concludes, Kurniadi. F&FI

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Kravet at 100 Years Young

New kids on the Kravet block: Sander, Cary’s son and Daniel, Scott’s son Larry Kravet, Cary and Scott’s dad was the next generation and the only child interested in the business after he came back from World War II in 1945, attended college and joined fulltime in 1949. “They handed Larry a broom and told him to sweep up,” Cary laughs. Larry was an outside sales person and then product guru who became President. In 1961, he moved Kravet to an uptown showroom in New York. For 20 years, the Kravet company was headquartered in Woodbury, NY and then to Bethpage, the current home of the flourishing business. In 1988, a warehouse was opened in South Carolina. In the 50’s and 60’s, Kravet built its outside rep force. Ultimately, these reps became dedicated to Kravet alone. “UPS allowed our products to be shipped across the USA and helped Kravet go nationwide from an Eastern Regional business. Cary and Scott joined in 1983 and 1984 respectively while Cary’s wife Lisa joined Kravet in 1986 along with Jerry Schwartz, Chief Operating Officer. Scott and Cary’s sister Ellen joined the Kravet sales department in 1987. F&FI

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Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Rockland Mills’ Third Wide Width Coating Line Adds

50 Percent Capacity at Bamberg, SC

New Roc-lon® products offer silk-like solids, printed linen texture Sipco News Netowrk

ALTIMORE, Maryland—If there is a theme at Rockland Mills for 2018, it would have to be summed up in one word ‘new.’ According to Mark Berman, President and Darren Fradin, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Rockland will introduce a new line of electrostatic flocked drapery linings with a very soft, silk-like hand at Heimtextil. The product is

called ‘Serendipity’ and is a solid color line with many colors. By mid 2018, Rockland will be able to transfer print 126-inchwide goods with the addition of a third transfer printing machine, greatly expanding the color range of Rockland solid color linings. ‘Wellington’ is the new printed linen look range of Rockland blackout being shown at Heimtextil for the first time. Rockland also can

wet print or digitally print as needed in its sole 400,000 square foot plant in Bamberg, SC. Rockland has incorporated the new products—mainly solids and textures in newly designed sample books which cover about 1,000 sku’s in the collections of blackout, decorative blackout, interlinings and FR interlinings. “The specifier or architect or distributor will now find all of our products in

Mark Berman

Darren Fradin

one book,” Fradin explains. He also pointed to Rockland’s newly

revamped website and social (Continued on Page 38)

C/HNEWS I WeaveUp’s Flint Davis Produces Digitally Printed Hospitality Fabric Samples In Three Days, Changing the Way Textile Print Business Is Done Ex-Marine helicopter pilot flies into digitally printed textiles with new approach Sipco News Network

Materialised Says WeaveUp is Game Changing Technology

URHAM, NC—The printed textile industry worldwide is $200-$300 billion worldwide, according to Flint Davis, President of WeaveUp, a digital printing specialist. He expects digital printing, still in its infancy with only three to four percent of the world printed textile market, to take over 50 percent of the printed textiles market in years to come. “Today’s digital printers are capable of producing 200 feet of fabric a minute and the crossover versus using rotary screen is now in the thousands of yards from an economic standpoint. And, with digital printing, there are no screens to make and there is no finished inventory; you print only what you need.” Davis says there are digital printers today in Turkey, Asia and South America that can print faster than rotary screen printers. Better economy and speed to market is starting to drive the print business. Eve rotary screen printers are getting into the g=digital printing business and if the design hits big, they can put it on the rotary screen printer for really big volume runs. “It takes six to eight weeks to produce a rotary screen print sample which is time consuming and

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expensive,” Davis says. It costs about $1,500-$3,000 to make a rotary printed sample. With digital printing, we can now produce samples in two to three days for a few dollars. We even inkjet print the header right on the fabric including the job number, customer design, underlying fabric type and project information.” WeaveUp developed the proprietary software to do this and the technology to print goes through the internet to the customer. “Digitally printed fabric today will now perform and pass all the commercial tests,” he explains. “The customer can pick their design from our flexible library. We pay royalties to the artist and take a percentage of the eventual sales which our clients self report to us.” He says there is no charge for the initial sample to

the client. “Today, hotel floor has different fabrics; within each floor there are many fabrics used,” Davis explains. “Prints are on trend with hotels right now and the interior architects are overwhelmed. We make it easy for them to have a diverse range of prints very quickly for their clients. Companies can produce the designs in-house with the code we give them to run their digital printers. We have control over the color, scale and size of repeat. We can also produce the sample and production for the customer; either way works.” WeaveUp works through the client who is the supplier to the hotel designer. “We have no intention of going direct to the designer,” Davis explains. (Continued on Page 38)

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LAKEHURST, NSW, AUSTRALIA — WeaveUp is a “game changer,” according to Gary Price, Managing Director of Materialised Pty, Ltd., a contract specialist here. “This business to business online platform enables our clients to take control of the selection and adjustment of a smorgasbord of designs and colors; limited only by their imagination, offering convenient specification at the Designers will. Price says Materialised launched WeaveUp mid-year at the Melbourne DEN Fair to “an amazing level of interest. One client described the level of interest demonstrated by the density of the crowd for the three-day event, as ‘an ongoing tsunami’ and another commented ‘wow! You guys will conquer the world;’ ”yet another cursed us because she had become addicted.” “Materialised has always been keen to innovate and lead change in the textile space; the addition of

Gary Price and Belinda Price WeaveUp is evident of this progressive thinking--proving to alter the way printed textiles are selected and a transaction made.” Price says the collaboration between Materialised and WeaveUp delivers “an innovative web based program, one that allows absolute creative flow, at the fast speeds expected from Digital Textile Technology. The development was a steep adaptation, executed by industry leaders in both web design and textiles, delivering an outcome that we are delighted with and one that enormously satisfies our commissioning team.” F&FI

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WeaveUp’s Flint Davis In 2015, Davis met the Dobins (the owners of Valley Forge Fabrics). Davis became a contractor for Valley Forge in Pompano Beach, Florida at that time. “They wanted to start something new in digital printing for the hospitality industry,” he remembers. “We built a platform for digitally printing samples in three days. Originally, this was an internal division of Valley Forge. We took Valley Forge’s 1000’s of designs and separated each one by color—12 colors or less because that is the user limitation.” “We eventually moved the company to North Carolina where there is more software talent and we also have the North Carolina State textile program to draw on for future employees. We need engineers and designers.” Today, WeaveUp is an indepen-

(Continued from Page 36)

Rockland Mills media to promote the new products. Rockland was the inventor of coated blackout in the 1960’s Berman explains and “we are now the last American coater still standing today, ‘Made in the USA for the world,’” he says. Also new--Rockland now offers certified FR products which meet all flammability codes including M1, certified by IFTH testing labs in Lyon, France; B1, the British fire code, 5867 and EN 13773 as well as IMO. “We finally figured out the chemistry,” Berman says. The company tried for years and finally achieved success in cracking the European FR markets. Rockland says it is turning in double digit growth in European markets now. Also, Fradin says South America is becoming very important for Rockland which he personally handles—Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia. Fradin, who cut his teeth in export markets over the years, says the next effort for the company will be in Japan where it is talking to several distributors. In order to accommodate the production of new products and new markets, Rockland first had to complete expanded production by 50 percent in Bamberg. Rockland can also offer customers the ability to commission coat proprietary designs to anyone who wants it with flexible minimums. “We think it is more economical for customers to commission coat their fabrics at our Bamberg plant,” Berman points out. If you have signature designs on your fabric, we can coat it for you to order. This will eliminate the need for customers to carry finished coated fabric

dent operation with 14 employees. It has clients like Koroseal in the wallcovering business, Valley Forge and Materialized, another contract specialist based in Australia. “Koroseal and Valley Forge have already done coordinated collections of wallcoverings and fabrics in the same design,” he says. WeaveUp also has a minority investor and customer with Springs Window Fashion. Other big customers are in the pipeline, Davis says. Originally, Davis was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot in the 90’s. He went to Harvard Business School in 1999 and after that, he became a start -up guy in video production. “I was easily bored and also curious,” he laughs. In the mid 2,000’s he bought a case manufacturing company and did on demand manufacturing work in the South for the hospital industry, making counters in wood, plastic and glass. F&FI

inventory,” Berman points out. In addition to the Bamberg plant expansion, Rockland has moved to 15,000 square feet of new offices in a suburban location after 35 years at the same industrial location in Baltimore, closing its old factory in 2007. All production is now done in Bamberg, SC where a third coating line has been added. Rockland’s 170 employee workforce in Bamberg is expected to expand to 200 people in the years ahead to handle the increased business “working around the clock,” Berman says. The new line cost $10 million to build, Berman says and “represents the state of the art in coating lines.” The new custom built line was built to Rockland specifications and is capable of producing the 110-inchwide blackout lining pioneered by Rockland in 1995, somewhat ahead of the workroom trade in the USA at that time. “It took a while for the customers to catch on. They saw the value in making their workrooms suitable for wide width linings which make use of the railroaded widths to produce no seam drapery linings at a reduced cost. “We learned recently that not all hotel rooms are built at the same height. New hotel rooms are built higher for customers who want 330 cm widths or 118 inches; 320 width or 126 inches. Our new coating line can handle 141 inch widths if need be—but there is no demand for 141 inch widths yet,” Berman explains. Rockland is the only coater left in the USA. It was founded in 1832 and is the oldest continuously operated manufacturer in the United States according to Berman. F&FI

C/HNEWS I WeaveUp Allows Valley Forge to

Expand Print Basecloth Range life. The sourcing of new designs and artists through the WeaveUp Design Library has allowed us to execute new collections and pieces that previously would take hours, days, or weeks of scheming and creation. Due to this efficiency increase in design developments, more time has been allotted for Valley Forge to continue to focus on product developments “The WeaveUp tool allows for custom design creation in minutes. Valley Forge invested in the machinery and personnel to execute samples and production yardage in 72 hours. Essentially, WeaveUp has enabled the entire process from design to delivery to be faster, better, and even more sustainable.” “New artists join the WeaveUp community daily. This is only the beginning, and I’m so excited to be a part of leading this movement. The future and possibilities are literally endless – there is no reason to settle for less than perfect.” F&FI

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T. LAUDERDALE, Florida — Valley Forge Fabrics, after being the earliest user and investor in the technology has substantially increased its usage of the WeaveUp platform for digital printing since WeaveUp was spun off as a separate business. ”At the time of the WeaveUp launch, we were running a mere fifteen basic print cloths,” says Brandi Kolanz, Director, Printed Fabrics & Textile Design for Valley Forge. Kolanz has been with the company for 12 years and has seen the growth of its digital printed fabric range which is produced internally. “Currently, we are boasting over thirty print substrates that meet commercial standards for various product categories.” “WeaveUp allows our customers to create custom, one of a kind designs within minutes – helping their design visions come to

Typical sample from WeaveUp showing the information printed on the sample header. Header is part of fabric—not separate

Brandi Kolanz

Flint Davis

Examples of patterns and textures available from WeavUp

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J. Serrano Mill Opens Heimtextil Stand distribution channel in the USA and don’t sell to wholesalers.” J. Serrano brand is present in almost all continents including the following primary countries: Argentina Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico, USA, Peru, Colombia, Russia, Lithuania, Belgium and Germany. “Besides our alliances with distribution and sales partners in several countries, we have our own corporate owned distribution in the following countries: USA (Ameritex Co.) Chile (Sur de Chile Textiles) and Colombia (J. Serrano Colombia),” according to Claudia Gonçalves, Export

Manager who will be present at Heimtextil J. Serrano stand.

J. Serrano upholstery solids

J. Serrano Upholstery fabrics

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Lucio Alves, J. Serrano controller will also be present. F&FI

deep color lines of plains from J. Serrano in new collections

J. Serrano upholstery jacquards

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Al Guthmi Buys European Entry with UK Wholesaler Bill Beaumont Textiles Acquisition Sipco News Network

ANCASHIRE, UK — Bill Beaumont Textiles, a small decorative fabric wholesaler based in Chorley, Lancashire, UK, was sold to the Al Guthmi Group of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia May 17 for an undisclosed price.

Ahmed Al-Guthmi

It is understood that Beaumont has sales under five million pounds according to industry experts in the UK. The company started in the home furnishings business in 1998 after being in the apparel business for many years under a different name. Daniel Beaumont, who joined the company in 2011, continues as Managing Director and as a shareholder with Daniel, Bill and Hilary Beaumont the firm his father (Bill) started. Bill and his wife Hilary (who was the company design director), have in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Ahmed both retired since the company was Al-Guthmi is the owner. In recent years, Al-Guthmi has introduced its sold. Al Guthmi was looking for a own export brand of fabrics under UK presence and Beaumont appar- the names of Cocoon and Murex. ently fit the strategy to access the These brands were first shown at European market. Mohammed O. Heimtextil in 2016. At the time, Al-Guthmi Sons Co. is the larg- Al Guthmi said: “we had all of our est wholesaler of decorative fabrics eggs in one basket. Now, we are in the Middle East which several taking some of those eggs and putyears ago had sales in the $50 mil- ting them in new baskets.” F&FI lion range. The company is based

Slettvoll Family Has Unique Catalog Sipco News Network

ALESUND, NORWAY— Slettvoll Mobler, a small upholstered furniture manufacturer has created a unique catalog of its merchandise featuring its 50 employees in various stages of undress wrapped in upholstery

fabrics and throws. The idea for the catalog is the brainstorm of Live Sletvoll, the daughter of the owning family. Live and her mom Torill were photographed with Jimmy Nelson, the famous photographer who shot the catalog. F&FI

Patrik, associate of Slettvoll Mobler as seen in the catalog

Marit Steinsbu shows off new catalog from Slettvoll Mobler, Alesund, Norway based furniture manufacturer

Winter 2017/18

Live Slettvoll, Jimmy Nelson and Torill Slettvoll

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Aznar Brings Recycled Cotton ‘Eco Green’ Fabrics to Market Sipco News Network

from different colored garments that are recycled into colored yarns for us,” he says. The garments are grouped by color and as a result, the different colored yarns are produced from that process. Aznar feels that eco consciousness is a form of human behavior. F&FI

BRUSSELS — In addition to a its first 200 sku outdoor collection in Dralon® acrylic fiber in 100 cm width, priced from five to ten Euros a meter, Aznar unveiled its first 100 sku ‘eco green’ collection of recycled cotton at what Eduardo Aznar says is competitively priced to new cotton fabrics, four to ten Euros a meter in 310 cm width. Eduardo Aznar, Principado, Aznar, showing off his “We want to be considered as the first Eco Green collection of recycled cotton fabrics Amazon of textiles,” Aznar states. with Cristina Sanjuan, Aznar Export Manager for “Our recycled cotton fabrics require Germany and Ana Rios, Export Director for Aznar no cultivation or dying because it is made

Spanish Textile Manufacturers Regroup Around Technology in Better Economic Conditions at Textil Hogar, But Many Did Not Survive the Last Business Downswing by Gerry Porraz

ADRID, SPAIN — Spanish manufacturers have taken advantage of different trends, current technologies and an improved economy to boost their businesses according to exhibitors at the Home Textiles Premium Fair here this past September. (7-9) “One of the biggest advantages that technology represents is that we now have the ability to do faster printing and delivery times; shorter times and longer distances,” says Marisol Aznar from Aznar Textil. However, these technological advancements have also spawned a new wave of challenges. Wholesalers now have the option to opt for smaller quantities on textiles. “We used to place orders of a thousand rolls; now the buyer can order as little as one,” says Rafa Soler, principal of Rafsol. Even though this opens the door for a new trend, many buyers still prefer to opt for larger quantities, as conveyed by an important South American buyer. Manufacturers know and understand that its creative process is key to maintain a leadership role linking design, pricing and creativity. New technologies for developing materials with nanotechnology, has been increasing, especially in the creation of new surfaces that are easier to clean, more durable and that on top of that offer a ‘chic’ look. Some of them are even creating surfaces that have antibacterial properties. Even though these nanotechnologies are not new -they actually emerged back in the 80sthese new tendencies to produce new materials are constantly evolving, and they are becoming

the new drivers in consumers demanding durability, design and low maintenance. It is a common feeling shared across Iberians, that the last decade’s economic crisis, has wiped out a good deal of smaller players out of the industry preventing its organic growth. That was shared by Pedro Becerril from Galerías Alvarez. However, positivism still remains towards new opportunities where consumers demand more customized options. Customization is at the top of the priorities list on the buyer’s side and was clearly reinforced by most exhibitors. In upholstery, velvet has become one of the indispensable materials to cover sofas, cushions and even bedding. Its soft touch and velvety feel invites the user to rest and its vast variety of colors is one of its main virtues. Also polyester rich upholstery that imitates crochet or wool, is ‘in’ with a blend of different types of textures and materials for cushions and pillows. Blending textures is the next key where the industry shows its trends and more clear evolution. “In this area Aquaclean® has created a durable and cleanable material with a ‘suede’ like texture, made by heat pressing microfibers,” says Rafael Pascual, President of Aquaclean®. “It is so resistant and flexible that any kind of stain is easily cleaned with just water and an accompanying cleaning tool,” he adds. Home Textiles Premium brought some new faces and players to the floor, the majority from the area of Valencia, the main textile manufacturing capital of the Iberian Peninsula. For Spain’s industry, the participation of 30 different countries and the revival

Francisco Vila and Paloma Bononad Vilber of the trade show in their country sets the table for good and clear expectations and a positive impact for Spanish manufacturers to look forward to Frankfurt in January, 2018. Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar featured its third edition this fall at “La Caja Magica” in Madrid Spain. The trade show has established itself as an important meeting point for the top players in the upholstery, textile and décor sectors across the Iberian Peninsula. Spain’s textile manufacturing capital is situated in the city of comes from the city of Valencia, which serves the greater Iberian Peninsula. F&FI

Klemn Battelino from Slovenia with Francisco Robles, Cañete

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Rafa soler Jr and Sr. Rafsol

Pedro José Becerril and Mariano Álvarez From Galerias Álvarez

Rafa Pascual Lauches Aquaclean® Extreme Sipco News Network

LICANTE, SPAIN — Rafael Pascual, principal of Antecuir, is further polishing up his Aquaclean® brand with a new ‘Extreme’ version of the upholstery the 8.95-9.50 Euro price range. “The structure of the fabric insures that it is pet friendly, releases stains, is anti-bacterial, anti-dust mite and is easy to clean,” he says. “It is fabric you can clean with just water,” he points out. The new collections are also FR, making them saleable to the hospitality industry, he says. Aquaclean upholstery is sold in 60 countries with Asian mar-

Rafael Pascual, Principal of Aquaclean kets leading the growth charge for Pascual. Aquaclean has pursued a successful marketing strategy by appointing exclusive distributors in each country, Pascual says. F&FI

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The Use of New Fibers and Yarns Enable the Chinese to Offer Middle to High-End Ranges of Decorative Fabrics Strict pollution control measures and increasing social and labor costs drive prices higher. by Vishwanath.S

HANGHAI-- China is no longer a cheap source of decorative fabrics and prices are increasing regularly, according to attendees at this year’s Shanghai Intertextile Fair here. The use of new fibers and yarns has enabled Chinese suppliers to move to a higher end range of fabrics and buyers are not complaining about price increases either. “After 20 years of doing business with China, I have seen incredible changes in the past three years in terms of quickly addressing environmental issues that are changing blue skies to hazy brown skies”, says Carlo Boselli, CEO, ST & I, Milano Italy, an importer of polyester and linen fabrics. “The government has rightly forecasted the future problems. It has taken action to curb pollution seriously. I cannot imagine a country that closes its 255 industrial facilities, including an oil refinery

Carlo Boselli, CEO, ST & I, Milano Italy

Glen Whitchurch, Managing Director, Trabeth Textiles, Melbourne, Australia

Vincent Kwon, General Manager, Hangzhou galaxy Limited,China

Winter 2017/18

to shut for 14 days within a 300 km radius from Hangzhou to make the sky look blue again ahead of the G20 summit”, Boselli says. “Brands like Adidas, Nokia, Apple and others seek social audit. Now, the Chinese are increasingly inclined to comply with buyer requirements. Indeed, the prices are going up due to these new social and labor costs but this is not a deterrent to increase our purchases as quality has also improved substantially”, he adds. “Yes indeed prices are increasing but doing business with China is now different,” says Glen Whitchurch, Managing Director, Trabeth Textiles, Melbourne, Australia, “When we started import and distribution of Chinese furnishing fabrics in 2012 we had to order a minimum of 1000 meters per color/design but now we order 300 as well as cut lengths”‘, Whitchurch says. “Apart, a wider selection in terms of design and quality range meets our market tastes,” he adds. “Earlier some Chinese companies were unable to accept orders due to difficulty in obtaining an export license but now it is liberalized, making import from more suppliers easier and our business is expanding,” says. Vincent Kwon, General Manager of Hangzhou Galaxy Limited, China. He has 15 years of in-depth experience of sourcing Chinese fabrics. He also markets imported lines of furnishings into China. “The current happenings are not all rosy for Chinese manufacturers who are sailing seriously in troubled waters. Excluding large well established mills, the smaller companies are facing closures due to strict implementation of pollution control measures taken by the concerned authorities”, says Kwon. Also many companies have closed their mill if it has failed emission parameters and stocks are running low. “Those who can invest again in expensive pollution control equipment and re-locate as instructed by the authorities will only leave a few efficient companies to operate,” Kwon observes. Short term pains exist but long term benefits come from the fact that China is environmentally conscious. This will be to its advantage also, Kwon notes. In China buying an artwork to translate to creative weaves is still not popular as a shorter option is achieved by clicking pictures which is a big time saver except for the few select companies who create their own designs, Kwon observes. Kirpal Mahtani (Michale) started importing blackouts and dimouts from China three years ago.

Initially the company hesitated about Chinese goods but began buying in spite of higher prices. “I visited a few mills but cleanliness from loom stage to warehousing was an issue and it was difficult to convince them the importance of keeping cleanliness as they did not speak English,” recalls Michale, Marketing Director, PN. Raj Departmental Stores Singapore. ‘Now in my recent visit, I saw a sea change in their attitude and a few are able to speak English who are willing to listen and gladly offer solutions, he noted. ‘Now I am at ease in doing business with Chinese suppliers and prices are more competitive,” adds Michale. “Since 2002, China is a very important source for upholstery and drapery fabrics and we import large quantities but over the last three years we are very satisfied with improving quality especially in terms of new varieties and finishes,”’ says Paval Krivenko, Import Manager, Textile Data, Moscow, Russia a decorative fabric distributor. The biggest change is that batch quantities have been reduced and the variety of textures now offered meets Russian consumer tastes, he notes. “To sum up, we had three suppliers earlier, seven now and our imports have multiplied though prices are increasing regularly”, Krisvenko states. China’s communist government has created a flourishing and thriving capitalistic environment for its entrepreneurs over the last decade,

observes Johnny Keeton, sales agent, Dallas, Texas, USA. “Overall quality is up for the Chinese manufacturers and they produce the cheapest to the most expensive range of decorative fabrics and the recent change in the use of new yarns has given the manufacturers a special edge leaving other suppliers behind moving in to the high-end fabrics range”, Keeton adds. “It will not be long before the Chinese will establish factories in America, which will create more employment in the USA, which is welcome,” he explains. “Of course the hardening of prices is understandable since the Chinese are moving towards up-market range”, says Keeton. “All was well for 17 years and we only did business in low value curtain fabrics buying between $2-2.50 a meter: Recently, the Chinese have directly entered the markets selling lower than our imported price”, begins Rasheed Patel, Owner Papini Trading, wholesalers of wall cov-

Rasheed Patel, Owner Papini Trading, Petermaritzzhurg, South Africa & Designer Suhyl Lockhat erings, curtaining and accessories, Pietermaritzzhurg, South Africa. The company quickly vacated the cheaper segment and moved to middle and high-end collections that cost between $ 5-10. “Now the change is we don’t import big quantities but 100 meters per color instead of 1000 meters earlier. “We have independent collections and run a book program but we still import from China and the going is good” concluded Patel. F&FI

Natalia Sokolova, Designer; Pavel Krivenko, Import Manger; and Denis Kilmenko, General Director, TexileData, Russia

(Continued from Page 16)

Tenace Loves Schloss Kirpal Mahtani (Michale), Marketing Director, P . N. Raj Departmental Stores Singapore

Johnny Keeton, Sales Agent, Texas, USA

mother to Germany’s last emperor, Friedrich Wilhelm II. She lived here for seven years after it was finished. This was originally called ‘Friedrichshof.’ It’s truly one of the nicest/ best hotels in all of Europe. I was told that by many people including some locals I met on the train. The rooms all have been designed by Nina Campbell, which is interesting for those of us in the fabric biz! Donatus Landgraf Von Hessen and Rainer Prinz bin Hessen are the owners of the

hotel, They are the descendants of the Empress Frederick! The castle harmoniously combines German Renaissance style with English Tudor as an homage to her British roots. It also has all the modern conveniences and many high tech features. Their email is: info@schlosshotel-Kronberg.de. It’s really nice to come back to this after a long day of talking and doing business!!! —Rachelle Tenace, West Palm Beach, FL

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MoOD

MoOD Photo Gallery

MoOD, Indigo Move Along as European Boutique Fairs Roue D’Or is still a grand Brussels restaurant on Rue de Chapeliers. This is a detail from the beautiful paintings on the ceiling.

BRUSSELS—This second rendition of MoOD and Indigo at the Tour & Taxi Centre solidified the Joint exhibition’s position with the European editeur community with many in attendance to shop the lines of their star boutique mills. Using Indigo to rope in high design buyers, MoOD was hoping to generate better end traffic for the fabric side of the fair and with some success. The Eurozone is showing an improved economic performance over last year and this should benefit all. Maybe you’ll recognize some of the fair goers on this page. —Eric Schneider

Brothers Goro Kawai, Executive Director and Shinnosuke Kawai, Managing Director, principals of Hachiya Corporation, Osaka, Japan, creators of Think Bee brand of fashion bags with Dennis Silbernberg, owner of Silvera International.

Irma and Peter van der Pas, Principals of Keymer wholesalers in Den Haag, The Netherlands are shaping the new collections of Guy Parmentier at Z-Wovens Europe

We found Roberto Fracassetti walking the aisles of MoOD. The Bergamo, Italy based agent has just launched a new wine label in addition to his textile activities. He has an interest in an Italian winery and he is feeling no pain from it at all! Good luck Roberto! Here’s the Think Bee catalog of fashion merchandise

Marie Van Landeghem of Dedar, Gentile, Italy with friend and supplier Thierry Van Damme, Managing Director, B&T Textilia

Stefan Gabel, a member of the Board and the Head of Design for Zimmer & Rohde in Oberusel/ Frankfurt, Germany with Kaya Cinoglu, Managing Director of Marteks, Bursa, Turkey curtain fabric maker.

Gabel says Z&R started an upholstery line to go along with Ado curtains which it purchased one year ago, making Ado a medium priced Ana Rios, interior brand for the German Export marketing export. Manager for Aznar of Spain with Marilene Safla and her daughter Soraya from the tiny Island of Reunion East of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Whatever fabric business exists is gobbled up by these two pretty ladies with Jacob Safla, the father and husband. Michael Joseph has created his new company, Lezam Ltd. based in Whitefield, Manchester, UK. London based Arevdour Ltd.’s Louise Dawson, UK agent for upholstery mill Kacar of Turkey is the ‘tallest’ supplier to Lezam. Michael was previously the sales director for Morris Jackson and Fairfield Mills.

Cenk Tuzcu, a partner of ON-EM, Bursa, Turkey with customers Ellen Burke, Head of Design for Buoyant Upholstery, Nelson, Lancashire, UK and design colleague Tanya Hargreaves with Andrew Thornber, Art of the Loom Agency in Clitheroe, Lancshire, UK Susan Weberman, bride of Nachik, the inspiration behind the only Israeli designer brand based in Tel Aviv with Steven Decaluwe, Executive Manager of Deletex Leather & Textiles,, Waregem, Belgium

Blue Drop Award Winners at MoOD 2017: Ilana Mackeliene, Commercial Director, Audejas, Vilnius, Lithuania for Best Materials; Marnix Ghesquiere, MD of Depoortere Freres, Mouscron, Belgium for Best Contract fabric; Giacomo Fumagali, Sales Director, Imatex, Italy, Strongest Identity; Marc Schoenmakers, Director, Big Impact digital printers, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Remarkable Technique; Hanna Craft, Muuna, Best Launch Pad; Abuzer Tanriverdi, Principal, Teksko Tekstil, Istanbul, Best Colors

Patrick Frey, principal of Pierre Frey, the largest European editor caught on camera outside th B&T Textilia both at MoOD Lale Mefrusat who watches the money in the business with her father Bulent and her brother Levent, CEO of La Teks, Istanbul based curtain fabric mill.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Ilana Mackeliene is the Commercial Director of Audejas, Vilnius, Lithuania who won a “Best Materials” Blue Drop award at MoOD this year. The 160 employee company sells to 30 countries and had a 45 percent sales growth this year. Audejas fabric prices range from 3-10 Euros, she says in textures and solids in recycled wool, polyester and cotton.The mill is owned by Jonas Karciauskas who bought it from the government 15 years ago.

Christina and Uno Magnusson, owners of the Ledertex Agency based in Hjo, Sweden with Marit Steinsbu, Interior Decorator Textile Purchaser for Slettvoll Mobler, the Alesund, Norway furniture manufacturer.

Winter 2017/18

Intertextile F FI NE W S

Intertextile Shanghai Intertextile Shanghai Photo Gallery Home Textiles By Vish Wishwanath

Autumn Edition 2017, Trade Fair for Home Textiles and Accessories was held at National Exhibition and Convention Centre, Shanghai during, 23 – 26 August. The 23rd edition attracted 1,106 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions. According to the organiser’s statistics the number of trade buyers increased to 38,964 from 99 countries and regions against 37,779 n 2016. The show also attracted more international buyers this edition, with a 16% increase. “We observe two distinct changes in recent times while sourcing fabrics from Chinese exporters: Firstly Chinese are able to offer better product lines with new finishes and textures to meet our market specifications either for Russian or Australian buyers”, said T. Swaminathan, Fabric Sourcing Manager LC Waikiki (TEMA Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd) Shanghai, China. LC Waikiki is a buying house that takes care of fabric development and sourcing of over 60 million meters of all types of textiles from China to its various global customers, annually. “ Second distinctive change is China is no longer cheap global sourcing hub as costs are going up regularly including labor and extra costs to adhere to environmental regulations” , added Swaminathan.

T. Swaminathan,, Fabric Sourcing Manager along with Sue Xu,, Fabric Assistnat-Merchandizer, LC Waikiki, TEMA Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd, Shanghai China

Sanjay Arora, Managing Director, DDecor, India with his customers Ahmad M.A. Alkilani, owner and son Zaid Alkilani, Administrative Manager, Al Kilani Trading Est, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Kurniadi M. Tjandra, Director, PT Ateja Tritunggal, Bandung Indonesia with his buyer Ben Wortley,, Managing Director, Wortley Group, Mulgrave, Australia.

Murat Kaba, Murat Aloglu, , Export Managers, Burcu Sancar, Area Sales Manager, Serkant Gurgunlu, Marketing Director, Epengle Tekstil Endustri, Istanbul, Turkey with their wholesaler Lily Zhang, Tony Veludu ( owners), Zhejiang, China. Pravin Choudhary, Head, Sales & Marketing, BSL Limited, India with his customer Sanjay, Owner, Ming Suo Textile, Zhejiang, China

John S. Stoddart, Director (centre), Overseas Marketers ( Aus) Pty Ltd, Moorabbin, Australia, Distributors with Joey Zhang and Ken jhang, DragstoneTextile, China, producers of Blackout drapery.

WINTER 2017/18

Alaina, Marketing Manager, Intro Asia Ltd-Mc Adam’s with her suppliers Hakan Yilseli, Sales Representative, Syet Ali koksal, Vice General Manager Boyteks Tekstil, Bursa, turkey

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F FI D E S I G N

Digital Prints Cover London By Jennifer Castoldi

hen the fall trade show season beckons, you know that London is one of the must-attend cities on the international circuit. During the ever-growing London Design Festival visiting Decorex, designjunction, 100% Design, Tent, Super Brands, The London Design Fair, Shoreditch Design Triangle, Brixton Design Trail, The V&A, The House of Wallpaper, and a slew of other off-site events, it was clear to see that an undeniably dominant theme across the board for global designs on fabrics and furnishings is digital print. Noteworthy tidbits include:

Arlette Ess

Matte and shimmering cotton velvets are hot for the cooler months. The companies who can fulfill this order discovered during the London Design Festival include Arlette Ess, Charlotte Jade, Bobo 1325, Boeme Design, Iona Crawford, Blackpop, and Woodchip & Magnolia.

Charlotte Jade

After working with Alexander McQueen, Arlette Ess branched out to form her own business. Her signature fur prints are drawn in pen and ink and digitally printed on velvet and linen. Essâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ethos evolves around slow fashion; her products are made locally in Europe with high quality materials and are intended to last well beyond next season. Her koi, giant silk moth, and various textures were attention grabbers at Decorex. Being one of the most talked about Decorex stands on social media, first time exhibitor Beth Travers took the show by storm with her budding company Bobo1325. Newcomer Traversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; style intermingles graphic illustration, fine art and photography with fashion design to create stunning layered surface patterns for the wall and home textiles.

Flock

Blind Fashion

Bobo 1325

Iona Crawford

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Winter 2017/18

F FI D E S I G N Woodchip & Magnolia

There is more than meets the eye; some of her collection calls attention to unexpected subjects such as global warming, extinction, and hunting. Years ago it was the peacock, the bird of choice for motifs and patterns. Now we witness the growing international popularity of the pink flamingo and its graceful stance on one leg. From wallpaper to window treatments, decorative accessories and furniture this feathered friend will be hanging around for a while.

Louise Body

Elli Popp for Tektura Wallcoverings

Edward O. Wilson introduced and propagated the theory that suggests that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other living things. He described ‘biophilia’ as “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life.” As urbanization increases our attraction to plants also grows. For interiors this applies to both the surge in patterns and indoor gardens. The sight of a plant, even if not real, is said to increase health and productivity. On trend greenery includes members of the palm family, succulents, Monstera deliciosa (commonly known as the Swiss cheese plant), and Pilea peperomioides (Chinese money plant). It is a great segue from the tropical trend that has saturated the market. Watercolors, layered and kaleidoscope effects provide other design directions different from the prints mentioned above. These can easily have their color palettes tweaked to match any number of interiors. Blackpop, Iona Crawford, Boeme Designs, and Flock offer a vast selection from which to choose. It is important to note that digitally printed designs need not only consist of digital print. For example, exhibiting over on Brick Lane, Louise Body showcased a combination of hand-painting, gold-leaf, and stenciling on top of her digitally printed wallcoverings. F&FI

Jennifer Castoldi is the CEO and Chief Creative Director of Trendease International. Since 2004, Trendease has been providing cutting-edge and competitive design information to readers spanning over 170 countries. Trendease is an influential resource reporting on global trends and key international design events. Hundreds of images and forward-thinking articles are presented on www.Trendease.com each month, additionally videos and podcasts are available on www. Trendease.TV.

Boeme Design

Winter 2017/18

Blackpop

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F FI C A L E N D A R

F FI NE W S

November

March

November 12-13 BDNY

March 5-8 Sea Trade Cruise Global Show

Jacob Javits Center-NY

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

December

March 19-22 New York Home Fashions Market

December 3-6 Showtime High Point, NC

January January 9-12 Heimtextil Messe Frankfurt - Germany

January 12-15 Domotex The World of Flooring - Hannover, Germany

January 15-21 Koln Furniture Fair Koelnmesse - Germany

January 18-22 Paris Deco-Off January 19-23 Maison & Objet

March 26-28 INDEX, International Interior Design Exhibition 27th edition of INDEX will be held in Dubai, World Trade Center. INDEX Design Series 2017 covers design, upgrade of residential, retail, and hospitality spaces in the Middle East.

April April 4-5 BD/West Los Angeles Convention Center

April 24-28 Evteks CNR Expo Center, Istanbul, Turkey

May

Parc des Expositions - Paris, France

May 2-4 Proposte

February

Villa Erba, Cernobbio, Como Italy

February 27-March 3: R+TRoller Blind Fair

May 2-4 HD Expo

Stuttgart, Germany

Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

Advertiser Index For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Aqua Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Ateja. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31 Aznar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Kravet Unveils 8,200 S.F. Sevim Philadelphia Showroom Keskinci Weds Ton Merkx --photos and story by Murray Felder

PHILADEPHIA, PA—Kravet’s corporate masterplan continues to roll out coordinated, vignettes of interior products in designer driven settings at all new showrooms with the latest opening of the Philadelphia Design Center on Ludlow Street here. Kravet intends to be a one-stop shopping mecca for the interior designer according to Scott Kravet, Chief Creative Director and Master of Ceremonies for the October opening of the 8,200 square foot space. Scott points to the soaring high ceilings and large windows highlighting the “easy flow of the space showing all brands of products.” He contrasted the Kravet showroom as a replacement for a “hodgepodge” presented by typical agent showrooms in the industry.

Kravet ‘floor associates’ take interior designers through each section of the Kravet space in order to further educate customers in their product knowledge. F&FI

Sevim Keskinci Gunes, longtime sales agent for Fabrics & Furnishings International walked down the aisle with her beloved Ton September 16. The pair will spend part of the year in Istanbul and part in Ton’s native Holland. Sherife and Prost! F&FI

Philadelphia showroom

Raymakers Taps Rietveld Sipco News Network

June

June 3-6 ITMA Showtime-High Point, NC June 27-29 Heimtextil India Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

Sipco News Network

Scott Kravet cuts the ribbon at Kravet’s Philadelphia Showroom: to his left is Marybeth Rose, sales associate; to Scott’s right: Marilyn Winokur, sales associate; Jill Martin, Kravet Corporate; Cynthia Rivera, Customer Service; Ashley Rivera, memo room; Regina Poteczek, merchandiser; Curtis Meier, Shwroom Manager and Nicole Precenza, sales associate.

Boyteks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . 1 Covington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 D’Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7 Dicitex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 & 47 DiNole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . 32 GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . 33-35 J. Ennis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

ELMOND, The Netherlands — Bas Rietveld has been named International Sales Director of Raymakers Royal Dutch Textile Mills here. He joined the company in February. He is responsible for sales in the USA and Canada in addition to his more local duties in Europe working with two area managers. He was previously with Artex in Aarle-Rixtel for nearly 25 years. Aarle-Rixtel is also Rietveld’s home and It is only five kilometers from Helmond. Rietveld met current Raymakers owner Richard Oussoren when both were working at Artex from 1992-1996. Oussoren bought Raymakers in 2004. “I wanted to find a new challenge in textiles,” Rietveld explains and Raymakers was it. F&FI

J. Queen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-21 Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Magitex Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ON-EM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Richloom Fabrics Group. . . . 29 Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 STI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Yongshun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25 Bas Rietveld

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Winter 2017/18