Connections Winter 2014

CONNECTIONS

S P E C I A L I S E D T E X T I L E S A S S O C I AT I O N I N C .

WINTER 2014

WINTER 2014

DESIGN | TECHNOLOGY | INDUSTRY TRAINING | BUSINESS | MEMBERS

SUSTAINABILITY Underway and not going away

Textiles in the

Vines THE 2014 CONFERENCE PROGRAM INSIDE!

PRINT POST 100016128

FABRIC AND INK COMPATIBILITY A little understanding can improve results

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furnishing industry

careers DAY

fitag.

victoria

For booking and sponsorship information, go to:

fitagvic.weebly.com Or contact FITAG (Victoria) by email: fitag.vic@gmail.com

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Expression of Interest The furnishing industry in Australia needs to strengthen and elevate its profile, especially to the new generation of prospective members of our industry. We need to make students, graduates and the general public aware of who we are, what we do, and the job opportunities available in our industry.

FITAG (Victoria) is holding a furnishing trade careers day on Thursday 17 July between 11am and 7pm at CATC Design School’s Melbourne campus at 595 Little Collins Street, Melbourne.

The event will include industry kiosks where participants can showcase their products and services and provide career information, as well as seminars and talks on subjects ranging from ‘What does an employer look for?’ to ‘What does a kitchen designer do?’ Invitations will be extended to VET students, secondary students, career advisers and the general public.

FITAG is calling for expressions of interest from you, the industry businesses, to make this event a success.

About fitag.victoria FITAG Victoria (the Furnishing Industry Training Advisory Group, Victoria) was formed in 2013 primarily to identify and assess the development and implementation of the Furnishing Training Package within Victoria.

The group comprises representatives of: • Carpet Institute of Australia Limited (CIAL) • Kitchen and Bathroom Designer Institute (KBDI) • Australian Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA) • Aust. Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA), Victoria • Architectural Glass Design Australia (AGDA) • Picture Framers Guild of Australia Incorporated • Piano Tuners Guild • Specialised Textiles Association • Window Coverings Association Australia • VET/Design Educators

We need your support In order to make this a successful event, we need your support through your organisation/company’s participation or donations in kind, or both. We need: • Participants • Seminar speakers Contact FITAG • Donation of goods for event sample bags for more information • Door prizes and raffle/competition prizes on how you can • Event marketing materials participate and/or sponsor • Event catering

the event.

YOUR COMPANY LOGO WILL BE INCLUDED IN ALL MARKETING MATERIAL AS A PARTICIPANT AND/OR SPONSOR

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04 CONTENTS

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44 EDITORIAL

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STA NEWS

COMMITTEE ROUND-UP

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Rouse Phillips’ hand-painted fabrics, kilims and rugs.

23

How Roland DGA saved Mr Banks from looking too modern.

Beatrice Moonen explains the Cover Our Kids campaign, which is currently having a significant impact in New South Wales.

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TECHNOLOGY

Shann’s new name and logo.

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Reports from the Fabric Structures, Marine Fabricators, Women in Textiles and Editorial committees.

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NEWS

SME FOCUS This month we look at networking – how to do it, how not to do it and other ways to make contact if a room full of industry peers fills you full of dread…

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MEMBER PROFILE Connie Hellyar talks to the team at ABC Products, a family run business since 1978.

List of exhibitors and floorplan Program

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EVENTS Upcoming events for the specialised textiles industry, locally and internationally.

Speaker profiles Exhibitor profiles

62 CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

BUSINESS Alan Rodway of Leap Performance examines the key issues for organisations today.

All you need to know about the STA’s annual conference:

Booking form

INDUSTRY TRAINING A reminder of why training is so important and where you should go to get it.

TEXTILES IN THE VINES 2014

Overview

SPECIAL FEATURE Fabric and ink compatibility – Michael Labella reveals how to improve your printed products.

Bob Cahill explains the importance of pre-tension when erecting outdoor fabric structures.

30 32 33 36 38 40

SPECIAL FEATURE Sustainability – William C Smith explains why this hot topic is ‘underway and not going away’.

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VICOSC’s printable solar panel trials.

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The recent Melbourne Now exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria showed some wonderfully inventive uses of fabric courtesy of design duo Tin & Ed.

Report from outgoing president, Tom Gastin.

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DESIGN

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06 EDITORIAL

Editorial Contributions by the STA Editorial committee

Welcome to the Winter issue of Connections

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ou may have noticed that the magazine looks rather different and that’s because we’ve not just had a redesign, but we have a brand new team behind the magazine – a new publisher, new designer and new editor.

There are other changes too – from now on the magazine will appear quarterly – four issues a year to coincide with the seasons. And we couldn’t have picked a better time to do it. This month, as we are all aware, it’s the Specialised Textiles Association’s (STA’s) annual conference.

As your brand new editor, I’m really looking forward to spending three days in the beautiful Hunter Valley with you all, getting to know you and finding out your interests, concerns and what sort of thing you’d like to see in this magazine over the next year.

The title is ‘Textiles in the Vines Conference 2014 – blending innovation with inspiration’. As usual, it will combine a raft of top quality speakers and forums with extensive and innovative trade displays.

But in among the information sessions and inspiring speakers, on such topics as geosynthetics and sales and marketing for SMEs, there will be plenty of time for less structured networking and social activities. Highlights include the golf tournament, and a whole Spanish cooking event, where you can try your hand at making paella, churros and even sangria. And, of course, sampling your creations afterwards.

The Awards for Excellence Ceremonial dinner will be another social highlight. The STA has organised these awards for 27 years now and they go from strength to strength.

And, of course, don’t forget to get up early enough for the Keynote Speaker breakfast on Saturday with ex-AFL player Sam Kekovich – he of the legendary ‘Serve Lamb on Australia Day’ ad campaigns. If anybody can convince the world that now is the time to focus on and support Australia’s home-grown textile industry, Sam, as they say, is the man.

The conference is the main theme of this issue, of course, but we have plenty more in the magazine to interest, inform and entertain you.

The slightly less structured approach of the past will change, and we will be bringing you a range of regular columns and articles – such as the traditional STA news, a round-up of the activities of the STA’s various committees, Industry News, Profiles of existing and new STA Members, Industry Training, Design, Technology and SMEs in focus – looking at issues of particular relevance to small to medium businesses. And, of course, there will be our usual special features and spotlights on the latest innovations and happenings in the industry.

Remember, this magazine is for you. If there are general topics or specific stories you’d love to see covered, let me know about them.

You could email me at madeleine.swain@niche.com.au. Or, even better, why not come up and introduce yourself at the conference?

I’ll be the one standing over by the paella stall, salivating…

Madeleine Swain Editor

NEXT ISSUE OF CONNECTIONS In the Spring issue of Connections, we’ll be looking back at the Textiles in the Vines conference.

If you have ideas and suggestions for possible content in future issues of the magazine, don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know.

You can contact the STA on 9521 2114 or visit www.specialisedtextiles.com.au. Or you can contact the editor directly on madeleine.swain@niche.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you.

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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ASSOCIATION MANAGER Ana Drougas EDITOR Madeleine Swain madeleine.swain@niche.com.au Design ART DIRECTOR Keely Atkins PRODUCTION MANAGER Julia Garvey julia.garvey@niche.com.au PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Heather Bloom heather.bloom@niche.com.au

Publishing CHAIRMAN Nicholas Dower MANAGING DIRECTOR Paul Lidgerwood GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Joanne Davies FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Sonia Jurista

Connections magazine is published on behalf of the Specialised Textiles Association Inc by Niche Media Pty Ltd ABN 13 064 613 529 142 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, Vic 3205 Tel: 03 9948 4900 / Fax 03 9948 4999 Printing Southern Colour (VIC) Pty Ltd Cover image Mike Newling, Destination NSW

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Specialised Textiles Association 201/22 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda Vic 3182 Tel: 03 9521 2114 / Fax: 03 9521 2116 Email: office@specialisedtextiles.com.au www.specialisedtextiles.com.au All unsolicited material should be addressed to the attention of the editor at the address above. Material will only be returned if a postage prepaid self-addressed envelope is supplied. Niche Media Pty Ltd accepts no liability for loss or damage of unsolicited material.

Connections is a publication of Niche Media Pty Ltd, ABN 13 064 613 529, 142 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne Vic 3205 Australia, tel +613 9948 4900, fax +613 9948 4999. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication. The opinions and material published in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, publisher or Niche Media Pty Ltd, unless where specifically stated.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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08 STA NEWS

President’s report

I

am now in my last two months as president of the STA and it has been an amazing experience. This association has so much history and depth that it has been a pleasure to be involved in both Council of Management and as president.

The passion in this industry is second to none and all our members that I have spent time with over the last few years have been open and willing to communicate challenges they face and make suggestions for our association to gain strength and value.

Fortunately, with this role, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to this member passion at the front end. It has not only made my job easier by being well-informed, but also provided me with tons of learnings in both business and life itself… so I thank you all.

The role as president is a very interesting one. The preceding years in Council of Management give you the opportunity to really understand the strategic plan and current initiatives. In a way, the one-year role as president seems very short, as some initiatives take years to deliver on, and sometimes it feels like you are in a rugby back line – you study the set play, the ball gets passed to you, you throw a few steps in and push forward, then you do your best to deliver the ball correctly to the next player, so the team can continue momentum.

One of the keys to the association is the ‘set plays’ or the strategic plan.

This plan drives the Council of Management and is an ongoing process of the STA. I have been very lucky to be around when it is jam-packed full of initiatives.

The Association Strategic Plan is developed by feedback from members who donate their time to improve the industry as a whole. This comes in the form of joining subcommittees, providing feedback to the Council of Management and attending state members’ meetings. As the Association bases its strategic plans around the needs of our members, this communication is imperative.

Being my last Connections report in this role, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the excellent team we had on the Council of Management this year: Dave Burton (vice president), Jamie Howard, Connie Hellyar, Glenn Barlow and Daniel Gollan. I have really enjoyed working with you. A big special thanks also goes out to Ana and Mina in the office, who have been so committed to their own roles and the STA as a whole.

I look forward to seeing all our members and partners at the Conference in the Hunter Valley. The format is a little different this year and, with an emphasis on education and learning, there are some big names presenting. So bring your paper, pen, business cards and a party hat, and I’ll see you there!

Tom Gastin – President

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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23/04/2014 12:40 pm

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10/04/14 3:33 PM

10 COMMITTEES

COMMITTEE NEWS The STA couldn’t represent, service and inform the specialised textiles industry as well as it does without the sterling work and support of its individual committees. Here we hear from four of them – Women in Textiles, Fabric Structures, Marine Fabricators and Editorial – about what’s been happening in the first few months of 2014.

WOMEN IN TEXTILES COMMITTEE The Women In Textiles committee has had an enormous amount of support from all our STA members this year. Supporting Ovarian Cancer as our choice of charities has proved to be a rewarding sideline for our group. The donations that have come in through our state meetings have been amazing. We would like to thank each and every one of you for getting behind this initiative.

We have also received several nominations for some outstanding candidates for our 2014 Woman of the Year Award, and the judging committee is going to have a difficult time ahead choosing our first winner.

The WiTs committee is not about just organising this award, but also about contributing to making this a wonderful opportunity. We want women to know that you can achieve whatever it is you want to if you put your mind to it and have the grit and determination – that you can be a great mum, wife, partner and business woman; they are not mutually exclusive.

Being a woman in our industry can sometimes be a challenge, but with self-belief and confidence, more and more women are joining the industry and making a difference.

Connie Hellyar Chairperson

FABRIC STRUCTURES COMMITTEE We have a new committee line-up this year and we all look forward to tackling the issues that you, the STA members, believe are of most concern to the well-being of our fabric structure industry.

Of particular interest this year, the Fabric Structures committee has been corresponding with Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman. A new policy directive introduced seeks to remove capital works funding for shade sails in public schools. What this policy means is that there will be less funding to build shade sails in Queensland schools. This will have an immediate impact on our Queensland installers. The FSC believes the rationale for the decision by Queensland education facilities is flawed. The shade industry can build for extreme weather conditions and can offer ongoing maintenance programs.

There is a sentiment echoed around public education departments that only steel COLAs (covered outdoor learning areas) can provide suitable shade in schools. This is incorrect.

The STA through the FSC has online resources in place to promote and educate the public on the merits of fabric structures.

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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We have a long way to go. In complete contradiction to this Queensland education policy, Australia is demanding more, not less shade for children.

A campaign that is absolutely raging at the moment in the Western Sydney media is the ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign, which centres on a public and media drive to have more built shade in council playgrounds and public spaces. The basis for this campaign is a Cancer Council New South Wales study released this year showing that councils in higher income areas are allocating more funding to the provision of shade in parks and public spaces, when compared to less affluent council areas.

The STA thought the FSC should be involved in this campaign, informing the media and councils that effective shade solutions are not expensive, can be designed and built to high standards, and designed and built to discourage vandalism. A more detailed article appears on page 12 of this edition of Connections.

The Australian Standards committee to review AS4178 on shade cloth standards had its inaugural meeting in March and we look forward to a positive participation from Tony Watts from ProKnit Industries, who represents the STA on this committee.

Beatrice Moonen Chairperson

MARINE FABRICATORS COMMITTEE The Marine Fabricators division of STA was launched to help improve awareness of local expertise and establish standards of excellence for business practices. This sub-division of STA has grown steadily since April 2013 and now has a fully subscribed committee that is energetic and passionate about promoting and maintaining an identity for marine fabrictors.

Following the success of the August workshop at Ultimo TAFE, New South Wales in 2013, David and Andrea Elliott of Dave’s Custom Trimmers, in Brisbane, have kindly offered their facility to hold the first Australian Marine Fabricators Regional Workshop in late May. This initiative will help marine fabricators learn new skills, discuss industry news and mix with peers and suppliers in an inclusive environment that will aid and assist all participants.

Further workshops are being planned for Melbourne, Sydney and Perth this year.

Our long-term goal is to be proactive with the challenges that face all small businesses and to find the resources and information that is relevant to marine fabricators specifically while respectfully challenging all participants to embrace new products, skills and change as the key to success.

Neil Hancock Chairperson

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 10:06 am

CONNECTIONS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE The Connections magazine committee has been operating for about 12 months now. We are very fortunate to have a dedicated and enthusiastic committee working hard to bring the most relevant and useful magazine for all in our industry. The current members of the Connections magazine committee are Daniel Gollan, HVG Fabrics; Daniel Halse, Pattons; Melissa Vine, Shann; Ron Gottlieb, Ricky Richards; Rosemary Grubb, Innova and me (Lance St Hill, Fabric Solutions) as chairperson. Ana Drougas (STA’s association manager) sits with the committee and also does most of the legwork. In fact, without Ana’s huge input and work, we would not have a magazine at all. Thank you Ana. As you will now no doubt be aware we have a new publisher and a new look. We are very excited by the changes thus far and are working on the look and feel of the magazine for upcoming issues. We are always interested to hear 2feedback and suggestions from anyone, regarding the 40527_1_DDT QP.indd magazine and/or the digital version posted online.

Our magazine, as is the case with most print media, faces serious challenges in terms of readers, revenue and even its very existence. Our relationship with CommStrat has ended and this prompted reviews by our committee and the search for a new publisher.

We welcome Niche Digital and their first publication of Connections magazine. You will notice many changes, but this of course is part of the continuing evolution and hopefully improvement of our magazine and the way in which it is delivered and read by you the reader.

It is no secret that readership of many forms of print media, especially newspapers, has been in decline for many years. In the main, this loss of readership also equates to lost revenue, which ultimately dictates the very survival of any media or at least most products. It is these challenges that we are now grappling with as we, with our new publisher, strive to produce and deliver the best magazine in whatever form to inform, educate and entertain our readers, whoever they are.

The committee and I look forward to the challenges moving forward and hope that we can in concert with the publisher bring you a magazine that our industry wants and deserves.

Lance St Hill Chairperson

2014 Marine Fabricators Regional Workshop

14/04/14 5:17 PM

Hands on workshop for marine fabricators focusing on frame manufacturing, patterning and production.

When: Tuesday 20th May and Wednesday 21st May Where: Wakerley, Queensland Fee: $120 (STA members) $200 (non members) NB: As spaces are limited for this workshop, positions will be allocated to STA members first before being made available to non-members.

Register online to attend: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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24/04/2014 3:48 pm

12 NEWS Elderslie Park structure.

TACKLING THE ISSUE

THE ‘COVER OUR KIDS’ CAMPAIGN GETS TRACTION IN NSW The STA’s Fabric Structures Committee chairperson, BEATRICE MOONEN has been on a crusade recently, becoming involved in a campaign aimed at encouraging councils to increase funding for urban spaces. The ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign was prompted by a Cancer Council study that revealed children in disadvantage socioeconomic areas are simply not getting the same protection as their peers in wealthier areas.

First, Beatrice wrote to the Cancer Council of NSW responding to a study that the Council published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Having introduced the work of the STA and explained its role as a representative of shade structure installers across Australia, she went on to explain what the STA recommends for councils in the area of shade installation.

Following this, Beatrice drafted a further letter that was sent to various media outlets across New South Wales.

“Increasingly councils and public authorities are looking at shade policies.

Turning this into adequate shade over playgrounds where kids play is the challenge for forward-thinking councils.

The Specialised Textiles Association (STA) represents designers, suppliers and installers of shade structures and works to raise standards and educate the public on what makes a quality shade structure and how to avoid the misinformation pitfalls.

The key areas a shade decisionmaker must consider are to: ● identify qualified installers; e.g. develop installer registers ● use the best materials for strength, UV protection and warranty ● ensure the design provides enough shade; i.e. shadow diagrams, and ● use design that discourages vandalism.

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Vandalism of shade sails in public places can be discouraged using a few clever design measures. There are numerous examples of shade sails in public areas that are strong and vandal free. Design measures should include: â—? keep shade sail posts at least 1.5 metres from climbing aids such as playground equipment, fences and walls â—? include anti-climbing plates/prongs on the tops of posts as visual deterrents â—? use wide posts to discourage climbing â—? use tall posts that are daunting to climb â—? install lockable fences â—? install warning signs, and â—? install cameras in well-used areas.

The STA and shade professionals wish to work cooperatively with councils to develop suitable shade structures that will protect the health of our children.

Childcare centres in NSW must have high levels of shade over play areas for accreditation to operate. Many nongovernment schools are committed to shade structure policies. Policies are less clear in the public arena. Shade sails are a major fundraiser for public schools, as funds may not be available centrally.

A Cancer Council study, ‘Shade in urban playgrounds in Sydney and inequities’, addresses the issue of

OUR SKIN CANCER RATES ARE THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD AND HOW WE PROTECT CHILDREN TODAY DETERMINES CANCER LEVELS INTO THE FUTURE. THE INDICATORS ARE VERY WORRYING IF SOCIOECONOMICS HAVE A ROLE IN DETERMINING WHICH KIDS GET PUBLIC SHADE PROTECTION. THE PROTECTION KIDS RECEIVE TODAY IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO WHO WILL DEVELOP SKIN CANCER IN THE FUTURE.

the inequities in the level of built shade structures in less affluent local government areas such as Western Sydney.

The STA is supportive of the Cancer Council study and the ‘Cover Our Kids’ campaign being run in the Western Sydney region. After all, a third of Western Sydney’s population are children under 15 – well above the state average. Playgrounds are desirable and loved by children and parents. Councils are community focused and invest a lot of money and thought into the design of playgrounds. Shouldn’t similar

planning go into providing shade for these playgrounds?

Our skin cancer rates are the highest in the world and how we protect children today determines cancer levels into the future. The indicators are very worrying if socioeconomics have a role in determining which kids get public shade protection. The protection kids receive today is directly related to who will develop skin cancer in the future.

Shade sails are integral to the Cancer Council’s ‘Slip Slap Slop Seek and Slide’ campaign and make good sense in Australia.

Information is available on the STA’s website (www.specialisedtextiles.com.au) on what makes a good shade structure and selecting the most suitable installer.�

Beatrice also contacted wellknown radio personality Ray Hadley on 2GB, who highlighted the issue on his weekday morning show.

She says the response so far has been very enthusiastic across the board. “The public is wholeheartedly behind the campaign. Councils too are on board and Glenn Barlow and George Formosa, representing the STA, met with Council mayors and officials in March,� she says. “I believe this issue will have a flow-on effect throughout Australia over the next few months and the STA is ready to support our industry,� she concludes. C

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14 NEWS

SHANN MOVES ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

VICOSC RUNS TRIALS OF LARGE PRINTABLE SOLAR CELLS

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hann Australia has a new name and logo.

The company will now be known as The Shann Group. The rebrand is all part of Shann’s ongoing growth and evolution, says managing director Martin O’Shannassy.

“Our previous name and logo served us well, reflecting our growth into a leading distributor across Australia and New Zealand. Now, as we move towards our 60th anniversary, our new brand identity and logo reflects a new direction for who we are as a company,” he explains.

“Operating a joint venture factory in Vietnam and an office in China, the new direction also better reflects the position of The Shann Group as a more global company.”

The new livery represents a more modern look while maintaining the integrity of key elements the company believes are synonymous with Shann: longevity and commitment to service, as well as offices and warehousing across all of Australia and in New Zealand.

O’Shannassy continues, “It was important to evaluate our brand, ensuring it was in sync with who we are and our direction for the future. In recent years, we have established a solid business in the print and window fabrics markets and the result was to introduce a dedicated business unit and identity for each of these key areas, while freshening our corporate brand.”

The new business units for Window Fabrics and Digital Print Media operate dedicated sales teams and website support, specifically catering to those markets.

The changes will be filtered across the business over the coming months, as part of an ongoing roll-out. www.shannwindow.com www.shanndpm.com www.theshanngroup.com

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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ast September the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) in Australia began trials to develop flexible, large area, cost-effective printable plastic solar cells. The trial aims to speed manufacturing of organic solar cells ‘printed’ onto polymer in much the same way as money is printed on paper.

The potential to mass-produce solar cells cheaply and install them over large areas may make solar energy on every rooftop a reality. “The trial could also lay the groundwork for a world-leading Australian industry in printable electronics,” says Senator Kim Carr, Australian minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

VICOSC partners include Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency; the Universities of Melbourne and Monash; and businesses Securency, BP Solar, BlueScope Steel and Merck. “The technology used for these cells is still in its infancy, but this project aims to speed up the development of this technology and take it from research to rooftops as quickly as possible,” says Peter Batchelor, Victorian minister for Energy and Resources. Read more at www.csiro.au.

Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

This article first appeared in Specialty Fabrics Review magazine.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 11:44 am

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16 SME FOCUS

NETWORKING IS BULLSHIT HERE’S A BETTER WAY TO DO IT The ‘Textiles in the Vines’ conference is almost upon us. This is our annual opportunity to hear from industry leaders, to discover what’s new and exciting in the industry and to socialise and network with our peers and colleagues. But how do you turn those newfound connections to your advantage? And what if the thought of a crowded room makes you cower in fear? MAT JACOBSON spills the beans on what networking really means.

T

here is a lot written on networking and many so-called experts on things like ‘The Five Steps to Networking Success’ or ‘The Ultimate Networking Guide’. I’m a little bit more sceptical about magic networking formulas for at least a couple of reasons.

First of all, those who typically have the ‘rule book’ for networking success are often theoretical writers, not real world businesspeople who have used effective networking to build a billion-dollar business. Second, as we will see, there is no single formula.

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Let’s start by taking a look at a couple of real life examples. Lindsay Fox, founder of Linfox, self-made billionaire and a Ducere Global Faculty member, says in typically candid fashion: “Networking is bullshit.”

What he means is you don’t go out to network looking for some transparent business outcome. Instead you should focus on building genuine, long-lasting friendships, as people will prefer to work with friends they know and trust. As Fox puts it: “Friendship is earned, and with that comes the trust, the integrity and the loyalty.”

Another Ducere Global Faculty member is Kay Koplovitz. Koplovitz established the first US cable TV company, USA Network, which negotiated licence deals with every major US sporting league and ultimately sold for around US$5 billion. Since then, Koplovitz has established Springboard and has helped hundreds of women-led businesses to raise over US$6 billion in venture funding. So what does she say about networking?

“If people would think of their networking time as transactional, they would make good use of their networking

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18 SME FOCUS

time. Women are very good at networking in a social way, but don’t think of people they have met in a transactional way.

If you look at people who network successfully, they know that you ‘give to get’.”

If you think simply, ‘I want to network with ‘so-and-so’ because he can give me an intro to someone I want to do new business with,’ it won’t work, because there is no mutual value. You have to think equally, a transaction, like: ‘How could I help this person, who do I know that might assist his business?’ If people feel they are being used, they will very quickly stop providing you with any networking benefits. It has to be a twoway street.

So the question is, which of these seemingly polarised views is correct? The answer, of course, is there is no correct method. And, believe me, this is actually good news for you if want to network effectively. It’s good news because it means you’re not going to succeed by trying to fit into someone else’s mould.

My company works with dozens of world leaders including presidents and CEOs and the only common thread I can see in all of these incredibly successful individuals is one thing: they don’t fit a mould; they each have developed their own style.

There are, however, some familiar traits: they are all genuine networkers.

Don’t try and disguise a poor attempt at interest in someone just to get an introduction. They will see right through you. Whether you have a genuine way to offer mutual benefit, or want to build long-lasting friendships, the key is to be transparent, ethical and genuine.

Let’s say you’re very sociable and confident and are at a major function. If you want an introduction, come right out and say it. After the usual introductions and small talk try: ‘I understand you work at X. I’ll be totally honest with you, I’d love to meet your marketing director, but don’t know how to get in touch with her, if you can help me I’d love to return the favour in any way I can.’ This level of honesty is far better than the person knowing in the back of their mind that it’s just a veiled attempt to try and get something.

However, if you’re the type that feels sick in their stomach about approaching

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THERE ARE, HOWEVER, SOME FAMILIAR TRAITS: THEY ARE ALL GENUINE NETWORKERS. DON’T TRY AND DISGUISE A POOR ATTEMPT AT INTEREST IN SOMEONE JUST TO GET AN INTRODUCTION. THEY WILL SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU. WHETHER YOU HAVE A GENUINE WAY TO OFFER MUTUAL BENEFIT, OR WANT TO BUILD LONG-LASTING FRIENDSHIPS, THE KEY IS TO BE TRANSPARENT, ETHICAL AND GENUINE.

a total stranger in a room filled with 350 total strangers, then network a different way. Contact an individual you would like to meet by phone, and ask them if they could spare 15 minutes for you to buy them a coffee as you think there are some areas of mutual interest you and they may have.

If it’s someone higher up the ladder and you may need a bit more to impress,

offer to take them out to a nice lunch.

I have attempted to get through in the past to senior level people with numerous unreturned phone calls.

Then I’d try leaving a message with the secretary, ‘Can you please pass on a message to John? I’d like to take him out to lunch next Thursday to Flower Drum’ (one of Melbourne’s best restaurants). I give no explanation of who I am or the purpose of the lunch, so John has no idea who I am. But what happens next?

I get a phone call because John is, at a minimum, intrigued: ‘So what’s this about a lunch at Flower Drum and what are you looking for?’ … Door opened.

People often think that networking means a major luncheon trying to scramble for business cards. I have probably collected 1000 business cards in this way, and probably followed up with 15 of them. It’s just not my style. But I know others who would get all 1000 cards, put them in their contact base, categorise them, email all of them to follow up and keep in contact (usually, I’d have to say, in some non-intimate way like a mass email communication or newsletter). If this works for you, that is fine. This approach I guess is just playing the numbers.

Think about networking in this way: how many new connections do you really want? Thousands? Probably not likely. In most cases, it would be better to network with 20 great and relevant new people a year that you can build a meaningful relationship with. With a number like that, everyone could achieve this in a style they are comfortable with. Initially, you may think this is a small number, but think about it – in five years that is 100 strong relationships you have. Imagine the reach you can access when you total all of their connections.

If you build 20 trusted and genuine relationships a year, the value both personally and professionally of those connections will be infinitely greater than a room full of business cards. C Mat Jacobson is the founder of Ducere, a global education company delivering the world’s most innovative business courses online. He is also the founder of the Ducere Foundation, working with African governments to improve the quality of education in third world countries.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 9:39 am

Visit us at booths 24 and 31 during STA’s 2014 Conference and Trade Display

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20 DESIGN

THE FABRIC OF DESIGN GRAPHICS FOR THE GALLERY When the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) turned its attention to the local creative community, the result, Melbourne Now, didn’t just look to the city’s artists as the single mode of creative community, but to many designers as well. Part of the show’s incredible appeal (already on its way to becoming the gallery’s most popular show in its history) is the breadth of its scope, and ingenuity of its briefs and invitations.

One of the recipients of these briefs was the design studio Tin & Ed, the multidisciplinary workshop of Tin Nguyen and Ed Cutting. While graphic designers in a commercial sense, the duo have always made it a daily part of their practice to extend the materials, approaches and equipment they use to communicate their ideas – whether for a client or for self-initiated studio challenges. They were part of a group of designers and artists, including the likes of John Warwicker and Annie Wu, who were invited by the NGV to design On Top of the World: Flags for Melbourne, to be flown all over the city. The project was developed

by Stewart Russell, for the launch of Melbourne Now.

SPACECRAFT Melbourne Australia, established 2000 / On Top of the World: Flags for Melbourne 2013 / Cotton, mono filament polyester, silk, metallic foil, digital prints, screen printing, reverse applique, fringing / (1-48) dimensions (variable) (each) / Supported by the City of Melbourne

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www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 9:40 am

THE BRIEF Flag flying, like nationalism, has progressive and regressive faces. Events such as the Cronulla riots in 2005 challenge the claims of any flag to represent a kind of unity. This project offers alternative opportunities for flag-waving, rejoicing in the ambiguous and contested poetics of symbolic community representation, the politics of place and cultural identity, communication and belonging.

Flags on top of buildings are traditional, unchanging, seen but rarely looked at. As such, artists’ flags can be seen as nonflags, flags that signal change, flags that demand we stop and consider. If traditions are the beliefs by which a community understands its place in the world, then Melbourne’s evolving demography demands we consider that tradition is also evolving.

This project transformed the Melbourne summer skyline, extending the curatorial range of Melbourne Now beyond the gallery, into part of the day-to-day city experience. It was a unique opportunity for artists and designers to engage with the city through the conversion of 16 significant flagpole sites into temporary gallery spaces.

Site historian John Mathews researched individual flagpole sites and assists artists, where possible, with the research of specific lines of enquiry.

The chosen site coordinates existed outside colonisation, boundaries and the emergence of a ‘built environment’.

THE OUTCOME Tin and Ed: Our flags for Melbourne Now explore the feelings of being an outsider, as well as the feelings of being part of a community, and how these two things can actually co-exist.

Our site was the T&G building on Collins Street. We were presented with the research of the flagpole site by John Mathews and, through this, we discovered that the T&G building was originally built on the outskirts of the city. The idea of this really stuck with us. We took this notion, as well as drawing upon our own experiences of living and working in Melbourne as creatives, and started drawing aliens. We titled the work, Spacecraft.

The flags were made by Australia’s oldest flag making company, Evans Evans, using the traditional appliqué technique. C

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

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22 DESIGN

RUGS TO RELISH Sydney-based textile company Rouse Phillips’ latest range of products includes handpainted fabrics in bespoke designs and a series of kilims and hand knotted rugs.

T Â

he newly established fabric producer, Rouse Phillips, was one of the highlights of the recent Decoration + Design Exhibition in Sydney.

Rather than provide a printed range, the company gave us fabrics that are handpainted. Drawing on their formal training

in art and design, the principals, Tim Rouse and Anastasia Phillips, have been accruing a skillset through their work with fashion brands in Australia and abroad.

The decision to move into their own practice was instigated by the realisation in 2012 that original high-quality fabrics

were lacking in the Australian offering.

Enter the very specific art talents of the pair and a range quickly developed. The style varies from subtle cherry blossoms to vibrant abstractions and heady graphics.

Sofala, for example, combines rich oranges, blacks and silvery greys in a lively abstraction. Moreover, being hand-painted, the scope for bespoke iterations is without limit. Available in medium-weight cotton and a heavier cotton-linen blend, the range is available to the trade directly.

Expanding the offering is a range of kilims and hand knotted rugs, all of which are produced in keeping with ethical and fair trade practices. C

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R

ural turn-of-the-century Australia and Hollywood in the 1960s are bound together by a book, P L Travers’ Mary Poppins, in the recent Disney movie starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, Saving Mr Banks.

Recreating the two distinctive locations through ads, signs and décor elements fell to Martin T Charles of SagaBoy Productions, Santa Monica, California, an award-winning graphic designer. Charles researched old photographs, developed hand-drawn illustrations, digitised the images and then commissioned Roland DGA Corp from Irvine, California to print the images on artist canvas using Roland large-format printers.

Charles focused on two large scenic venues, the Allora Fair in Australia and the Los Angeles Airport (LAX).

The images printed on canvas were enormous, some as long as 10 metres.

Graphic designer Martin T Charles of SagaBoy Productions uses historical research and photos, as well as high-tech digital printing, to set the stage for films as diverse as Seabiscuit and Saving Mr Banks. Photos: Roland DGA Corp.

Used as backdrops to the film’s recreated Mary Poppins movie premiere scenes, the images reflect a colourful nostalgia for the entertainment icons of more innocent times.

The images also transform a 1960s LAX into a mid-century modern launch pad for dreams of the future. More than 180 square metres of printed graphics were installed on the sets of Saving Mr Banks, including canvases with difficultto-reproduce metallic accents.

“To achieve an authentic look, we literally stomped on the prints to age them,” says Charles. The results worked for the producers, director and,

apparently, the audiences. The movie garnered critical attention, good box office (with an estimated budget of US$35 million, it has earned over US$112 million to date) and multiple awards and nominations, including one for a Golden Globe award (for Emma Thompson as best actress, who lost out to Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine). For more information, visit Roland DGA at www.rolanddga.com. C Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International. This article first appeared in Specialty Fabrics Review magazine.

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24 TECHNOLOGY Mildura Soundshell.

FABRIC STRUCTURES WHY THE STRESS? There are several factors to take into account when erecting an outdoor fabric structure, not the least of which is making sure you get the pre-tension right. BOB CAHILL explains the process.

T

ensile fabric structures are a great example of some complex work being done to create something that looks deceptively simple. The best structures look both elegant and simple.

It is the design and engineering of these structures that seems to be a combination of art and science and can be neglected in some structures.

Often underestimated are the forces that are applied to these structures. A good analogy is to look at sailing boats.

A relatively small sail area can move several tonnes of boat across the water at significant speed, so why do we often underestimate the forces on ‘sail’

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structures? There are a number of them to take into account.

First, there is the pre-stress, or tension, that is applied to the fabric to form a tight skin. These forces are transferred from the fabric and cables to the attachment points and support structures. The pre-stress must be high enough to stretch the fabric to the point that there will not be slack in the fabric when the structure is loaded with wind and rain – and snow in some locations.

Determining the correct level of pre-stress requires some engineering input and some understanding of fabric

construction and fabric behaviour. In some cases, structures are not given enough pre-stress to perform well over the life of the structure. You may think that simply tightening the fabric to remove all wrinkles is enough, but coated fabrics have some interesting patterns of behaviour.

The first time a coated fabric is placed under load, it will stretch irreversibly.

This stretch comes from two main areas.

First, the yarn used in the warp and weft generally has some twist in it to improve the tear strength and to reduce fibre damage in the weaving process. When placed under load (stress), some of this twist allows the yarn to stretch.

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26 TECHNOLOGY

Custom-made cover for the Neighbours film set to allow ‘outdoor’ filming during inclement weather.

THERE IS A GROWING DEMAND FOR FABRIC STRUCTURES. THEY ARE VERY COMPATIBLE WITH OUR OUTDOOR LIFE STYLE. THEY PROVIDE SHELTER FROM SUN AND RAIN AND CAN TRANSFORM AN OUTDOOR AREA INTO SOMETHING SPECIAL. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO CONTRIBUTE TO PUBLIC AMENITY WITH THESE STRUCTURES. ONE OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS AN INDUSTRY IS TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT AND INSTALL THEM IN A SAFE AND PROFESSIONAL MANNER.

This yarn is then woven to form the base cloth. The weaving process places some crimping into the yarn. This is the second factor that allows some stretch.

Some of this crimp straightens out when the fabric is placed under load. If you do not apply enough pre-stress to your structure you may not have removed this stretch factor – and remember it is not stretch and recover, it is irreversible stretch.

Fabric manufacturers and engineers commission tests to measure the behaviour of the material under different loads. Tests are done that apply force

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to the fabric in both the warp and weft direction at the same time. These are called bi-axial tests because they measure the stretch of the fabric when force is applied in both directions. This simulates what happens when tension, wind or water loads are applied to the fabric surface. In these tests, the fabric is placed under load (stressed) and then allowed to relax. The load may be about 10 percent of the fabric’s breaking load (or some other factor). The first loading stretches the fabric irreversibly. The second loading also stretches the fabric;

the third loading stretches it even more.

Generally, the fabrics go through a series of at least three cycles of loading and relaxing before there is any repetitive behaviour in the stretch under load.

Why is this important? That initial loading during installation may not be enough to remove all of that stretch. How often have you had to go back and retension an installation?

We apply pre-stress to tension the structure, but it then has to deal with environmental factors such as wind, rain and temperature variation. These factors place additional load on the structure and are again trying to stretch the fabric.

If the fabric stretches significantly you will risk flapping or ponding. Flapping of loose fabric will rapidly transfer forces to the fabric attachment points (corners) and there is risk of material failure near the attachment point. Ponding of rainwater on the surface will place ever-increasing loads on the material.

This can stretch the fabric to the point of failure, or can place dangerous loads on the cables and other structural components. Insufficient pre-stress can be a contributing factor to the risk of ponding or flapping.

This is why engineers earn their money – they have to take into account the shape of the structure and how this influences the transfer of forces to the supporting structure. They have to understand how the fabric will behave under various load conditions. They assess wind loads that will generate sideways, downwards or upwards forces on the structure. This will influence the selection of the strength of fabric, cable sizes, post sizes and footings etc.

There is a growing demand for fabric structures. They are very compatible with our outdoor life style. They provide shelter from sun and rain and can transform an outdoor area into something special.

We are fortunate to contribute to public amenity with these structures. One of our responsibilities as an industry is to design, construct and install them in a safe and professional manner. C Bob Cahill is the Australian agent for Hiraoka Architectural Structure Fabrics (Japan) and has worked in the industry for over 25 years supplying specialised textiles to highly skilled fabricator customers.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 4:37 pm

ADVERTORIAL 27

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Our S3259 Ezi Hold Dee Ring is the first of two products created as an alternative to corner and termination discs in shade sail assemblies. A ProRig Original Design, this fitting was designed to give high break loads by using a curved shape and thicker web attachment bar.

The retaining ring reduces movement in the wire and prevents it from slipping out during installation or under load. The Ezi Hold Dee Ring is cost-effective, made from high quality AISI 316 marine grade stainless steel and suits wire up to eight millimetres.

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sail and the fixing point by eliminating the need for a turnbuckle, therefore allowing more shade coverage.

When properly installed, this product is a cost-effective and stylish alternative to corner discs when finishing your shade sail assembly. To correctly align, ensure you can see a straight line through the centre of the fixing point, the grooved channel

and the webbing. The recommended distance when the fixing point and the grooved channel are in alignment is 180 millimetres. Each installation application may vary the dimension.

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Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

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Invitation

Book online now to attend – www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/2014-conference For further information contact Ana on 03 9521 2114 or email ana@specialisedtextiles.com.au

CONFERENCE 31 May – 2 June SPECIALISED TEXTILES ASSOCIATION

Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

2014

Textiles in the vines Blending innovation with inspiration

The Conference and Trade Exhibition event for manufacturers, installers and suppliers in the specialised textiles industry Something for everyone: • Conference • Trade exhibition • Networking

Entertainment by: • Sam Kekovich • James Galea, Australia’s #1 magician • Jelly Bean Jam

Informative and educational sessions on: • Social media • Geosynthetics • Sales and Marketing

• Textile Print Technology • Fabric structures • Outstanding customer service

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30 CONFERENCE 2014 / OVERVIEW

Welcome to Textiles in the Vines!

T

he Specialised Textiles Association’s (STA) main event of the year is only around the corner and excitement is building across the country in all areas of the textile industry.

Following the SuperExpo last year and feedback from both supplier and fabricator members, the STA is doing something a little different this year. It is a conference style event with an emphasis on business sessions, education and networking.

On the day he was assassinated, US President John F Kennedy was due to give a speech that included the following quote, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” This quote is spot on. If leaders want others to grow with and around them, learning is imperative.

Accordingly, format of the conference is designed around giving leaders in our industry the opportunity to build on their personal and business development through some quality presenters and topics. There will be many key items covered during the conference with quality speakers and presenters coming in from across the country.

The program will have speakers running in two different tiers, giving attendees the option to pick and choose presentations based on relevance to their businesses. Some of the key issues that will be covered are:

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communication and delegation marketing strategies ● engineering and architectural properties ● geosynthetics ● sales ● utilising social media to work for you ● the future of print media, and ● customer service.

This year, we have invested in some big names to present on some of these areas. Vivienne Forbes of Social Ties will be showing us how to leverage social media and use it properly. It is a major part of business these days and it can be your business’ best friend or worst enemy. Learn from the expert on how to avoid the latter and leverage off this technology the right way.

We all know that without sales there is no business. Surprisingly though, a vast majority of people in our industry that operate in this role have little or no training in this area. Fortunately, we have Simon Harrop at the conference to show us a strategic sales structure that is proven and works.

Martin Grunstein, whose entertaining and value-packed performances have made him one of Australia’s most indemand speakers, will be teaching us techniques on how to understand the

ego of our clients for a better result and for our businesses.

And to kick off our conference and to emcee our Awards Night is this year’s keynote speaker ‘Slammin’’ Sam Kekovich – a hilarious and informative presenter who will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the weekend.

These big names, along with many industry experts, will all be on hand throughout this wonderful weekend.

Feedback from supplier members has been that they have found it difficult in the past to attend the business sessions, as leaving the stand could lead to lost business. This year, the program will include trade displays of industry suppliers in the middle of the day, giving suppliers the opportunity to take time to leave their stands and gain value from the speakers while still having the opportunity to network with clients.

For fabricators and installers, the value is endless – product information,

● ●

THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE SPEAKERS RUNNING IN TWO DIFFERENT TIERS, GIVING ATTENDEES THE OPTION TO PICK AND CHOOSE PRESENTATIONS BASED ON RELEVANCE TO THEIR BUSINESSES. networking opportunities, tons of learning opportunities and, of course, loads of fun! There is also an opportunity to tour the Wax Converters Textiles factory to see firsthand how fabric is made and to gain more understanding of the materials you are working with on a dayto-day basis.

Our traditional events such as the Awards Night, Theme Nights and Partners’ Programs will ensure you will return from the conference with a smile on your face.

The setting is in the picturesque wine region of the Hunter Valley in regional New South Wales. Enjoy all the facilities that the Crowne Plaza has to offer and come along to learn, network, swing a golf club and drink some quality local wine at the STA’s 2014 Conference, Textiles in the Vines.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 9:42 am

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STORAGE

GOLD SPONSORS

BOOTH NUMBER/S

BUSINESS NAME

9 13

Exhibitor List Aeronaut Automation Austech Welders Brella Buz Software Carr Australia Dasec Pty Limited Defab Elizabeth Machines Co Epson Eyelets Supply Company Gale Pacific (Synthesis) Goodearl and Bailey Hiraoka (Aust) Pty Ltd HVG Fabrics Nolan.UDA NSW Tafe, Sydney Institute Polyfab Australia Pty Ltd Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd Stayput Fasteners Shann Australia Specialised Textiles Association

3 6 15, 16 4 18 13, 14 20 9, 10 19 29 27, 28 22 7, 8 11, 12 1, 2 33 5 21, 34 17 23 32

Wax Converters Textiles Pty Ltd WeatherMax (Contender Sailcloth) Wilson Fabrics

30 24, 31 25, 26

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSOR

MAM9118

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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31/03/2014 12:34 pm 23/04/2014 5:06 pm

CONFERENCE 31 May – 2 June SPECIALISED TEXTILES ASSOCIATION

Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

2014

Saturday 31st May 10.00am – 2.00pm Golf tournament Includes golf fees, lunch, competition prizes and celebratory beverages.

Location: Crowne Plaza Golf Resort

1.00pm – 2.00pm

Young Leaders networking event

4.00pm – 5.30pm

STA members Annual General Meeting Room: Semillon 1, Crowne Plaza Hotel

10.15am – 2.00pm Hands on paella, churros and sangria making (and tasting) plus a winery tour and wine tasting.

Location: The Verandah Restaurant at Calais Estate Wines.

7.00pm – 9.00pm

Welcome Reception BBQ dinner Time to relax and enjoy dinner while catching up with old friends and making new ones.

Location: Under the pergola by the pool at Crowne Plaza Hotel.

10.00am

Morning tea

Sunday 1st June 8.00am – 9.00am

Conference Opening Keynote Breakfast What better way to start the conference than a humorous and riveting breakfast with “Slammin’” Sam Kekovich - You know it makes sense!

10.15am – 11.00am Business Session 2 BUSINESS SESSION 2A Social Media for Business Made Easy

9.15am – 10.00am Business Session 1

How and where you can apply social media to your business. This session will be presented with simple, easy to understand terminology. An interactive session with real life examples of successes (and failures).

BUSINESS SESSION 1A Communicate, appreciate and delegate No matter the size of the business, team or group. Knowing your stakeholders is a crucial part of smart business decision making.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Vivienne Forbes, Social Ties

A work in progress, never to be ignored Understanding where emotion sits in bringing out the best in many.

BUSINESS SESSION 2B Engineering and Architectural Properties of Fabrics

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Glenn Barlow, Positive Resolutions

Solid Fabrics – yarns (polyester, glass), coatings (PVC, Teflon), Foils, Shade Cloth Materials, UV protection, Threads. Basic joining methods (welding, sewing)

BUSINESS SESSION 1B Introduction to Architectural Tension Fabric Structures

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Bob Cahill, Hiraoka

History of Tension Fabric and Shade Structures in Australia. Types of applications, general concepts and geometric forms.

Comparison to conventional structures (load transfer, deflections).

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen, EO, LSAA BRONZE SPONSOR

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SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS

Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

23/04/2014 5:06 pm

CONFERENCE 31 May – 2 June SPECIALISED TEXTILES ASSOCIATION

Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

2014

Sunday 1st June CONTINUED 11.00am – 2.00pm Trade Exhibition open Lunch served in trade exhibition area

3.15pm – 4.00pm

BUSINESS SESSION 4A Geosynthetics forum – Part B

2.15pm to 3.00pm Business Sessions 3 BUSINESS SESSION 3A Geosynthetics forum – Part A

Trends.....especially the increasing use of Electronic Leak Location surveys.

Getting value from your IAGI membership dollar usefulness of the CWT program.

Other matters raised from the floor.

Usefulness of the AIC program.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenters: IAGI

(The perennial) 500ft (150m) DT rule debate.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenters: International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI)

BUSINESS SESSION 4B The Good, Bad and the Ugly Reflections on things that can go wrong.

BUSINESS SESSION 3B Engineering and Architectural Concepts

Extent and prediction of shade, water ponding problems, hail, hardware connections to allow for movement, access to panels for vandals.

Applied loadings (prestress, wind, snow, hail, rain), geometric forms, pretensioning, supports (edge cables, edge beams/trusses, internal masts, arches), magnitude of forces, basic concepts of structural analysis and patterning and compensation factors.

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen, Peter Lim Engineering and Architectural Concepts.

3.00pm

Business Sessions 4

Regulations, Quality Assurance, Design.

Guidelines (LSAA/STA) and Standards.

Room: Semillon 2 Presenter: Peter Kneen and Joseph Dean, Wade Design Engineers 7.00pm - midnight Awards for Excellence Ceremonial Dinner

Afternoon tea

Showcasing winning entries of the 2014 Awards for Excellence, Young Achievers Award and Woman of the Year Award.

MC for the evening: Mr Sam Kekovich Pre-dinner drinks: 7.00pm to 7.30pm Dinner: 7.30pm to midnight Dress: Formal

GOLD SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSOR

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

1_Conference Program.indd 34

SILVER SPONSORS

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 5:06 pm

CONFERENCE 31 May – 2 June SPECIALISED TEXTILES ASSOCIATION

2014

MAM9114

Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

Monday 2nd June 8.30am – 11.00am Onsite tour - Wax Converters Textiles Open to fabricators only. An insightful opportunity to see the manufacturing operations at WCT. Visitors will be shown the complete processes that go into producing a number of fabrics that are regularly utilised

by Australian fabricators. The manufacturing processes will include weaving, dyeing, printing, coating and finishing.

Room: Semillon 1 Presenter: Patrick Snelling PhD, MA, BA(Hons), Grad.Dip.(Museum Studies) Program Manager, Textile Design HE - RMIT BUSINESS SESSION 6B Overview of Architectural Tension Fabric Structures A review of engineering, geometry, fabric materials, cables and other supporting structural elements, fabrication, installation etc.

Panel Discussion on Industry Issues Standards, Design Guidelines, Licensing and Accreditation Issues Room: Semillon 2 Presenter/Chair: Peter Kneen, LASAA

9.15am – 10.00am Business Session 5A SALES AND MARKETING - PART A What is the best sales approach to win you more business and improve your client relationships?

Simon from Straight Ahead Sales will share his 25 years selling experience and proven sales structure that works for his clients, across all industries.

He will show you how to effectively open and control meetings with your clients and prospective clients. From there, how to ask great questions so you can recommend the best solution and gain commitment to do business. “You don’t close a sale, you open a relationship”.

Presenter: Simon Harrop Room: Semillon 1 10.00am

3.00pm

Afternoon tea

3.15pm – 4.15pm

BUSINESS SESSION 7 OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS Understanding the ego of the customer.

How, once an ego is crushed, price doesn’t matter anymore, the motivation becomes revenge.

The skills required to preserve the customer’s ego, even in difficult situations.

The difference between your core product and your value added services.

How business will be done differently in the future and how to get ahead of your competition.

Special offer: Martin will extend his consultancy services (at no additional cost) to all attendees for 12 months in order to help you implement the strategies and ideas from this session.

Room: Semillon 1 Speaker: Martin Grunstein, Success Communications Pty Ltd

Morning tea

10.15am – 11.00am Business Session 5B SALES AND MARKETING - PART B Straight Ahead Sales Presenter: Simon Harrop Room: Semillon 1 11.00am – 2.00pm Trade Exhibition open Lunch served in trade exhibition area 2.15pm – 3.00pm

Business Session 6 BUSINESS SESSION 6A Customisation, textile print technology and architecture ideas.

Trend futures for designers and manufacturers. How will next ‘gen’ machines develop. UV issues and ink technology is one thing, scoping Australian and global innovation in this product sector, is another.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

1_Conference Program.indd 35

7.00pm till late

Theme dinner Wear your best cowboy boots or red shoes and get ready to dance – line dance that is! With exciting surprises and prize draws arranged by WiT (Women in Textiles) Committee.

Venue: McLeish Estate Winery

Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

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23/04/2014 5:06 pm 24/04/2014 7:44 am

Please advise of any dietary requirements:

Email

Mobile

Postcode

State

Suburb

Address

Business name

Member number

Name of attendee

Attendee Information

Your full delegate registration includes: Welcome BBQ dinner, Keynote breakfast session, all business sessions, lunches, morning and afternoon teas, Awards Dinner and Theme Dinner.

Member Full Delegate registration $727 Non Member Full Delegate registration $827

FROM 6TH MAY ONWARDS

(Events marked with * are included in the full delegate registration package)

Q * Theme Dinner

Q * Business Session 7: Outstanding Customer Service

* Business Session 6: (please select one of these parallel sessions) Q 6A - Customisation, textile print technology and architecture ideas Q 6B - Overview of Architectural Tension Fabric Structures

Q * Monday Lunch and teas

* Business Session 5: Q 5A - Sales and Marketing Part A Q 5B - Sales and Marketing Part B

Q WCT Tour (open to fabricators only)

MONDAY 2ND JUNE

Q * Awards for Excellence Dinner

$95

$100

$30

$30

$30

FREE

$195

$30

$30

* Business Session 3: (please select one of these parallel sessions) Q 3A - Geosynthetics forum – Part A Q 3B - Applied loadings * Business Session 4: (please select one of these parallel sessions) Q 4A - Geosynthetics forum – Part B Q 4B - The Good, Bad and the Ugly

$30

Q * Sunday Lunch and teas

$30

$30

* Business Session 1: (please select one of these parallel sessions) Q 1A - Communicate, appreciate and delegate Q 1B - Introduction to Architectural Tension Fabric Structures * Business Session 2: (please select one of these parallel sessions) Q 2A - Social Media for Business Made Easy Q 2B - Engineering & Architectural Properties of Fabrics Solid Fabrics

FREE

Member Full Delegate Early Bird $627 Non Member Full Delegate Early Bird $827

Q * Visitor Only to trade display (11am – 2pm)

$95

Q * Welcome BBQ dinner

REGISTER BEFORE 5TH MAY TO SAVE $200

$80

Q Young Leaders Networking Event

$80

$120

Q Paella, Churros and Sangria

Q * Breakfast with Sam Kekovich

$80

Q Golf Tournament

$ $

TOTAL

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$118.75

$125

$37.50

$37.50

$37.50

FREE

$248.75

$37.50

$37.50

$37.50

$37.50

$37.50

FREE

$100

$118.75

$80

$120

$80

$

/

/

/

/

Q Mastercard

Accommodation bookings are now open and can be made online direct with Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley via the STA website or by calling Crowne Plaza on +61 2 49910970.

Accommodation

MAM9114

Terms and Conditions: Specialised Textiles Association Inc. ABN: 83 594 171 330 reserves the right to amend this program without notice. Your registration will be confirmed and a tax invoice will be issued upon receipt of your booking form and once funds have been cleared. By registering for this event, you agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions for this event which can be found on the STA website in the 2014 Conference page and will be supplied with your tax invoice.

Specialised Textiles Association Inc. and post to PO Box 1003 Elsternwick Vic 3185

Q Cheque - Please make payment to

NAB, BSB 083-155 Account 19919-3312

Q EFTPOS

Signature

Name on Card

Expiry Date

Card No.

Amount $

Q Credit Card - Q VISA

OPTION B

Register online at www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/ 2014-conference/attend

SATURDAY 31ST MAY

$827

$727

SUNDAY 1ST JUNE

2014

OPTION A

Includes all dinners, business sessions and lunches (early bird offer – book by 5 May and deduct $100)

Payment Details

Registration after 5 April

Sub Total

FULL DELEGATE REGISTRATION

Non Member Member

Early E l Bi Bird d Off Offer

Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

CONFERENCE 31 May – 2 June

SPECIALISED TEXTILES ASSOCIATION

Conference Booking Form

The advantages of becoming a member Learn, share and network with others in the industry who have a similar passion for our industry at national and state based events held throughout the year.

Get listed in our comprehensive member and product directory - published in hard copy and searchable online.

Connect with buyers and suppliers by exhibiting, presenting or attending one of the premier exhibition and conference events in this region.

Be acknowledged for your great work by entering your projects into the Awards for Excellence, an annual competition, designed to recognise excellence and innovation in our industry.

Take advantage of event discounts by enjoying reduced fees on a variety of events such as the annual trade exhibition and advertising in Connections Magazine. Your membership also gives you access to IFAI bookstore at discounted rates.

Educate and inform others using Connections Magazine to communicate to a niche market hungry for knowledge and news about our industry.

Members can use Connections to advertise their products and services to their target markets.

Have your say about the direction of our industry and association through involvement on Council of Management, industry focus groups and special interest groups.

Differentiate yourself from non members by making use of the Specialised Textiles Association logo on your stationery and other collateral.

Access expert information and advice by accessing the specialist knowledge and expertise of our member fabricators, installers and suppliers.

Specialised Textiles Association is also a member of Australian Industry Group with access to comprehensive range of information and member advices on employee and industrial relations, occupation health and safety issues and much more.

MAM9 MAM M AM9126 12

Be part of an innovative and progressive industry association Join online today or contact us for further information

Manufacturers, installers and suppliers. Together we cover the world Specialised Textiles Association Inc. Suite 201, 22 St Kilda Road, St Kilda Vic 3182 Phone 03 9521 2114 I Local Call 1300 555 787 Fax 03 9521 2116 I office@specialisedtextiles.com.au ABN 83 594 171 330 I Registration Number A0010895W Association www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

A S S O C I A Textiles TION Specialised Suite 201, 22 St Kilda Road, St Kilda Vic 3182 Phone 03 9521 2114 Fax 03 9521 2116 www.specialisedtextiles.com.au I

38 CONFERENCE 2014 / SPEAKER PROFILES

GLENN BARLOW

BOB CAHILL

VIVIENNE FORBES

Glenn is a high energy, passionate and relatable person with a drive to see people perform to their maximum potential. He has a unique understanding of believing in yourself first and foremost in order to gain optimum performance in both life and business.

Glenn draws on his beautifully balanced life of family, business and life in general in his presentations, creating a true understanding of what we do and why we do it. His business coaching skills are based around sound advice and grass roots issues that can be the making or breaking of small to medium businesses or corporate groups.

Glenn is a down to earth speaker, who is able to engage everyone in the room on some level and he focuses on coaching, mentoring and the importance of leadership.

Bob has worked in the industrial fabrics industry since 1988 and prior to that as an agricultural scientist.

In that time he has worked in sales and marketing as well as product development roles involved with polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC-coated textiles.

In 2003 he established the Tex Connex business and is the Australian agent for Hiraoka’s specialised textiles. This includes a range of fabrics used in architectural structures.

Bob enjoys working in the diverse industrial textile industry and is always impressed with what can be manufactured from a roll of fabric. In particular, the elegant and graceful tensile structures are great examples of what this industry can achieve.

Vivienne is an expert in the art of relationship building. She is adept in marketing and advertising, and possesses consummate skills in business development, all acquired from over 25 years’ experience in radio, magazines (digital and print), news media agencies, leading newspapers, outdoor advertising, direct mail, event management and training.

Vivienne established Social Ties after learning clients often found using social media for their business daunting or were unable to dedicate the time and resources. Having used social media for business for several years, she recognised an opportunity to assist small business owners and small to medium enterprises establish and realise the benefits of a social media presence.

Her knowledge, expertise and welcoming personality are now available for your business. Vivienne is passionate and determined to assist others grow their business through social media.

Speaker profiles CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

40447_p38-39_CON speakers.indd 38

MARTIN GRUNSTEIN Martin studied psychology and marketing at the University of New South Wales. He spent four years in sales and marketing with ColgatePalmolive before setting up Success Communications in 1985.

His outstanding results with over 500 companies across over 100 industries have made him Australia’s most in-demand speaker on ‘outstanding customer service’.

He has also worked with sportsmen up to international level in rugby league, rugby union and soccer, taking teams from losing to winning situations by teaching players the mental side of their game.

One of Martin’s strengths is his ability to customise his material to the needs and situation of an individual organisation and that is one of the strongest themes in the many corporate testimonials that are evidence of the success of his involvement in a conference or meeting.

Most importantly, Martin believes that entertainment is the best form of education and in his spare time has written comedy professionally.

SIMON HARROP Simon has over 20 years’ experience in selling and sales leadership for Australian and global companies.

His career in selling started in 1986 with a Swedish technology company before he was head hunted to become a sales manager in a competitive start-up company at the age of 22. Simon built a successful sales team and consistently exceeded targets.

In 1993 he was recruited by Vodafone and then he joined Ericsson as a senior account manager in 1998. Simon’s most recent corporate posting was with Telstra in sales director and general management roles for both the business and consumer divisions.

His business, Straight Ahead Sales, has helped businesses increase their sales since 2008. He works across industries such as finance, manufacturing, software, corporate catering, mining, web development, telecommunications, boating and building suppliers.

Simon currently sits on the NSW Business Chamber council and is president of the Sydney North advisory council.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 4:31 pm

IAGI

SAM KEKOVICH

DR PETER KNEEN

PETER LIM

The International Association of Geosynthetics Installers is a dynamic association of geosynthetic professionals created by and for installers.

IAGI’s mission is to advance installation and construction technologies, as well as to provide a central clearinghouse for worldwide industry information.

Geosynthetic installers encompass the planning, fabrication and installation of geosynthetic materials in a wide variety of applications. Types of project include: landfill liners and caps, wastewater treatment ponds, landscape ponds, mining heap leach pads, reclamation sites, floating covers and other containment applications.

Incorporated in 1995, the Association represents organisations that are involved or interested in all aspects of geosynthetic installation. By working together, our members have made exciting things happen for the industry!

Sam (or Slammin’ Sam as he became known) played 125 games for North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) between 1968 and 1976.

An enigmatic player who possessed great strength and skills, Kekovich could turn a game with explosive breakaways and the ability to kick a vital goal. Like Les Foote before him and Wayne Carey in the nineties, Kekovich had the ability to inspire and win a game off his own boot.

On Grand Final day in 1975 he was one of North’s best, collecting 16 kicks, three marks, six handballs and one goal.

He has gone on to develop an impressive career in the media – his weekly commitments first on ABC’s The Fat and now ESPN’s PTI (Pardon the Interruption) have continued to grow his profile, as well as his infamous Australia Day lamb commercials.

Peter is the part-time executive officer of the Lightweight Structures Association of Australasia.

He has been a pioneer in lightweight structures since 1965, having been involved in the design of a number of space frame structures, including several domes, towers and large space roofs. In the 1970s, his work included the emerging field of architectural tension fabric structures.

He developed early software for the computer aided design of these structures.

He is a founding member of the LSAA (Lightweight Structures Association), and has spent 26 years as an academic in Australia and Canada. His semiretirement interests include 4WD and photography.

Peter is a director of Tensys, an international specialist engineering design practice in lightweight structures, and has worked in the field of lightweight structures and space frames for the past 25 years. His expertise and experience is also in project management, execution and delivery of these unique structures internationally He is a recipient of the Indian National Group (ING) of International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) 2007 ING-IABSE medal.

He provided expert advice and review on the 2010 Commonwealth Games Stadiums in New Delhi, India (especially the Jawalharlal Nehru Stadium, S P Murkurjee Aquatic Stadium, Wrestling Stadium and Weightlifting Stadium).

He has also broken new ground in designing the first ETFE structures in Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE. Peter is a frequent speaker at various conferences involving tension lightweight structures and is vice president of the Lightweight Structures Association of Australasia committee.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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PATRICK SNELLING Patrick was born in London and completed undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Nottingham Trent and Manchester Metropolitan Universities in the UK. He undertook postgraduate Museum Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne and completed a PhD research project at RMIT University, investigating new technologies, digital craftsmanship, the augmentation and customisation of printed textiles.

His 25-year exhibition and professional profile includes co-authoring Design for Printed Textiles published

by Oxford University Press, expert witness in textile design copyright representing clients in the Federal Court of Australia, curator of textile exhibitions, examiner of PG students, representation in major gallery collections in Australia and in many touring exhibitions overseas. He continues to explore the relationship between craft traditions and technology through printed textiles. Patrick is currently the program facilitator of textiles at RMIT University, Melbourne.

Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

23/04/2014 1:47 pm

40 CONFERENCE 2014 / EXHIBITOR PROILES

GOLD SPONSOR

03

AERONAUT AUTOMATION PTY LTD

15 16

BRADMILL OUTDOOR FABRICS

18

CARR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

4-6 Tepko Road, Terrey Hills, NSW 2084 Tel: 02 9450 0800 Fax: 02 9450 0477 Email: sales@aeronaut.org www.aeronaut.org

3/100 Fulton Drive, Derrimut, Vic 3030 Tel: 03 9368 2222 Fax: 03 9368 2211 Email: bhall@bradmilloutdoor.com.au www.bradmilloutdoor.com.au

1 Spireton Place, Pendle Hill, NSW 2145 Tel: 02 9636 9525 Fax: 02 9636 8844 Email: dankelley@carrgroup.com.au www.carrgroup.com.au

Aeronaut Automation is an Australian manufacturer of fully automated cutting systems: • Blade • Laser • Ultrasonic • Crush All our cutters are made to your specifications up to 10 metres wide. Aeronaut’s highly developed cutter control software and customised programs cover a wide range of industries including canvas/PVC, window furnishings, membranes, pools, trucks, cardboard, leather and much more.

We offer rapid patterning using camera digitising systems with automatic shape recognition and flattening software for 3D digitisers.

As a gold sponsor of the STA, we are excited to be involved with the 2014 Conference and Trade Display. Under our national brands Brella, Bradmill Outdoor and Styleshade Acrylic, we lead the way for internal and external products.

This year we are very pleased to announce that the Brella brand has launched a new evolution of external canvas. Come talk to us at our stand.

Also come view our ranges of internal window products. With our low minimums and quick turnaround, we can offer you branded ranges or develop an exclusive range for your company. We look forward to catching up with you at the Hunter Valley.

At Carr we draw from our manufacturing background in plastics and machinery to source the best solutions for our customers by providing them with quality products from around the world. We have offices based in Sydney and Auckland, which allow us to sell our products throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific.

We supply a wide range of fabrics and products to the following industries: protective garment, medical, sign/banner/printing, tarpaulin, transportation covers, eyelets for home/commercial applications, and products for the stationery industry.

06

04

AUSTECH WELDERS

2/10 Hendon Way, Kelmscott, WA 6111 Tel: 08 9497 7574 Fax: 08 9498 0315 Email: sales@austechwelders.com www.austechwelders.com Austech Welders is a leading supplier of plastic welding machines, heat sealing equipment, industrial sewing machines and commercial embroidery machines. Since 2008 it has been the sole Australian distributor for the Sinclair Equipment company, including its full range of wedge welders, impulse welders, rotary hot knife cutters, extrusion welders, hot air welders and testing equipment for infield geo textiles industry.

It also has a full service, repair and engineering workshop. If you need to weld, sew or join a thermoplastic or textile call Austech.

13 14 BUZ SOFTWARE

Mob: 0414 785 032 Ph: 02 9634 7599 Email: daryl@buzsoftware.com.au www.buzsoftware.com.au The complete retail/manufacturing/wholesale solution… for custom-made products: • Online CRM, access your leads, quotes from anywhere.

• Measure lead sources and outcomes.

• Mac, PC, mobile quote on-the-spot work on any system.

• Visualise your sales representative’s diary with Google Maps.

• Customers enter wholesale orders, on the web and track progress online.

• Work sheets for the factory with your calculations and words.

• Incorporates inventory control, supplier ordering and customer financials.

• BUZ’s integration with Xero or MYOB makes BUZ a complete ERP system.

• Get your installers organised and manage final payments.

DASEC DURKOPP ADLER

3 Gunya Street Regents Park NSW 2143 Tel: 02 9645 2500 Fax: 02 9644 4711 Email: info@dasec.com.au www.dasec.com.au DASEC Durkopp Adler has a long history of unmatched service in automated industrial sewing and the heavy duty sewing industry. Our knowledge and experience goes beyond just understanding our machines and products, we understand your industry and can demonstrate solutions that work.

As a highly accredited Durkopp Adler specialist and sole distributor in the Oceania region, we can service your needs using this market leading product range. Our team is committed to finding the right solution to your specific need and will ensure that the machinery supplied will stand the test of time.

00 BOOTH NUMBER

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

23/04/2014 8:16 am

SILVER SPONSOR

20

DEFAB

28-30 Somerton Park Drive, Campbellfield, Vic 3061 Tel: 03 9305 3988 Fax: 03 9 305 1377 Email: info@defab.com.au www.defab.com.au Defab is a proudly independent Australian family-owned and operated specialist woven textiles business serving the needs of myriad diverse markets for over 41 years across Australia and extensively overseas.

We are engaged in weaving, production, distribution and marketing of high performance, quality engineered woven fabrics.

Exclusive brands distributed by Defab include our Australian made Somerton awning canvas, Camperfield annex, Cavallino horse rug and now our Supaproof canvas program; we guarantee them all.

World-class design and manufacturing facilities, a national sales network and a responsive customer-focused and after-sales service team have enabled Defab to achieve unrivalled expertise in total textile solutions.

09 10

ELIZABETH MACHINES

876 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, Vic 3207 Tel: 03 8671 0000 Fax: 03 8671 0055 Email: melinfo@elizabethmachines.com.au www.elizabethmachines.com.au Founded by Max Skurrie in 1960, Elizabeth Machines grew from being a supplier of domestic sewing machines into the large-scale supplier of industrial sewing machines it is today, with a wide network of wholesale dealers around the country.

Acting as the Australian agent for such brands as Mitsubishi, Seiko and the Siruba range, Elizabeth Machines (named after the Melbourne street where it was originally located) remains a closeknit family business, proud of its history and loyal staff.

19

EPSON AUSTRALIA

3 Talavera Road, North Ryde, NSW 2113 Tel: 02 8899 3666 Fax: 02 8899 3772 www.epson.com.au Epson Australia offers an extensive array of awardwinning image capture and image output products for the commercial, industrial, consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets, and is also a leading supplier of value-added point-ofsale (POS) solutions for the retail market. Epson is the market leader in Australia and worldwide in sales of projectors for the home, office and education. Established in 1983, Epson Australia is headquartered in North Ryde, New South Wales and is a subsidiary of the Epson Group headquartered in Japan.

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GOODEARL & BAILEY

25-27 Salisbury Street, Botany, NSW 2019 Tel: 02 9316 1300 Fax: 02 966 9644 Email: info@goodearlandbailey.com.au www.goodearlandbailey.com.au Fabrics for all lifestyles‌ Goodearl and Bailey offers a wholesale service in outdoor | indoor textiles.

Established since 1886. See us on stand 22.

SILVER SPONSOR

07 08

HIRAOKA

Unit 2, 37 Rimfire Drive, Hallam, Vic 3803 Tel: 03 8795 7322 Fax: 03 9703 2476 Email: info@hiraoka.com.au

29

EYELETS SUPPLY COMPANY

11 Newcomen Road, Springvale, Vic 3171 Tel: 03 9558 5400 Fax: 03 9558 5778 Email: sales@eyelets.com.au www.eyelets.com.au Eyelets Supply Company is the leading manufacturer and supplier of eyelets and eyeleting equipment throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Eyelets Supply Company specialises in providing fastening solutions to a diverse range of industries.

Eyelets Supply Company will be showcasing our range of self-piercing canvas eyelets, sheet eyelets, snap fasteners and eyeleting equipment. We look forward to providing a fastening solution for you.

Hiraoka has an inspiring range of architectural fabrics. White, coloured, semi-transparent and Heat Shield fabrics all offer an opportunity to design some unique structures. Some of these materials have up to 20 years of UV warranty.

Hiraoka also has some beautiful fabrics for printable blinds and awnings. These are available in high translucency and mesh formats. Come and see some examples at our booth.

Hiraoka – renowned for innovative and high quality materials.

GOLD SPONSOR

11 12

27 28

HVG FABRICS

29 Henderson Street, Turrella, NSW 2205 Tel: 1300 854 811 Fax: 1300 658 889 Email: fabrics@hvg.net.au www.hvgfabrics.com.au

GALE PACIFIC

145 Woodlands Drive, Braeside, Vic 3195 Ph: 03 9518 3333 Fax: 03 9518 3398 Email: synthesis@galepacific.com www.galepacific.com Gale Pacific leads in technology, research and development, and in the manufacture of technically advanced outdoor polymer fabrics.

Our continuing expansion into the industrial and commercial sectors is driven by our search for excellence and innovation. Synthesis is part of Gale Pacific Limited; it is a global manufacturer of advanced polymer fabrics for the widest range of industry applications.

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HVG Fabrics distributes specialised performance fabrics to conversion sectors including blind and awning, domestic and commercial shade, transport, marine and agriculture. With 130-plus years of combined industry experience, you can rely on our nationwide sales specialists for the very best in fabric application solutions.

National stock support means you have product where and when you need it.

With a constant desire to innovate, push boundaries and develop product HVG Fabrics is an alliance partner with instinct that you can trust.

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42 CONFERENCE 2014 / EXHIBITOR PROILES

SILVER SPONSOR

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NOLAN.UDA

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STAYPUT FASTENERS

Tel: 1800 357 585 Email: info@nolanuda.com.au www.nolanuda.com.au

Tel: 08 8555 4258 Fax: 08 8555 4273 Email: custservice@stayputfasteners.com.au www.stayputfasteners.com.au

Nolan.UDA is a diverse national supplier of commercial and industrial textiles. Our network of seven branches are strategically located throughout Australia. Over many years, Nolan.UDA has established a reputable group of strategic partners from around the globe. We pride ourselves on our core business principles of integrity, innovation and value for money. Working with our valued customers, we endeavour to find textiles solutions that will help them develop growth and profitability.

Stayput Fasteners Australia is a family owned and operated business specialising in the development and manufacturing of nylon and stainless steel fasteners for the industrial fabric converting industry.

The original three Stayput Fastener models were invented over 40 years ago by Roy Vaughan, who was unhappy with other fasteners on the market and so designed a better product for use on his own boat. Word spread quickly and soon friends and other boat owners were asking him for some of these innovative fasteners.

Today, three generations later and with a variety of products in our range, Stayput Fasteners are distributed around the globe.

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POLYFAB AUSTRALIA

63 Frankston Gardens, Carrum Downs, Vic 3201 Tel: 03 9770 8480 Fax: 03 9770 8483 Email: sales@polyfab.com.au www.polyfab.com.au Polyfab is a wholesale supplier of a large range of fabrics for outdoor shade structures, including our world first flame retardant shade cloth, FR Comshade (California Fire Marshall Approved), designed for large-scale shade structures like car parks and shopping centres. Whether it’s fabric for pool or patio shade cloths, windbreaks, bird-netting, greenhouse material or haystacks, Polyfab has a fabric to suit your environmental control needs.

GOLD SPONSOR

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RICKY RICHARDS (SALES) PTY LTD

16 Park Road, Homebush, NSW 2140 Tel: 02 9735 3333 Fax: 02 9735 3311 Email: sales@rickyrichards.com.au www.rickyrichards.com.au With over 30 years of experience in the development and distribution of window furnishing and industrial textiles across Australia, Ricky Richards has the knowledge and expertise to assist you with any standard or speciality textile solution.

Visit stand #21/34 during display hours to meet our friendly team and our friends working with us from Pro-Knit Industries. As a gold sponsor, we look forward to seeing you and to discussing new and exciting innovations in textiles. See you there!

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WAX CONVERTERS TEXTILES

77 Racecourse Road, Rutherford, NSW 2320 Tel: 02 4932 6338 Fax: 02 4932 5895 Email: jamesk@waxcon.com.au www.waxcon.com.au WCT is Australia’s premier manufacturer of outdoor and industrial fabrics. Our booth at the 2014 STA Conference and Trade Display presents the Dynaproofed™ Canvas ranges, as well as the only Australian made PVC ranges of Senator 680 TS, Endeavour 600 and the revolutionary new Duralite 440. WCT is also Australia’s only manufacturer of insect screening and sunscreen fabrics, with our full ranges of these fabrics on display.

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WEATHERMAX (CONTENDER SAILCLOTH)

4A Wilmette Place, Mona Vale, NSW 2103 Tel: 02 9997 4099 Fax: 02 9997 1292 Email: jan@contender.com.au www.contendersailcloth.com

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THE SHANN GROUP

2/23 Bell Street, Preston, Vic 3072 Tel: 03 8480 0800 Fax: 03 8480 0829 Email: enquiry@shann.com.au www.theshanngroup.com The Shann Group is a market leading importer and distributor. For almost 60 years, Shann has been at the forefront of managing and distributing leading products to a diverse range of industries and customers, driving development and sourcing new products.

Our broad range can be found in many everyday products from apparel to caravans as well as unique and highly technical tensile and geomembrane installations.

Representing leading companies worldwide, including Sedac, Leggett & Platt, Mehler, Sattler, Oxley-Amann, Miederhoff, Velcro and Seaman Corp, Shann is proud of the combined expertise, product knowledge and passion of our team and we look forward to welcoming you on our stand.

The 2014 Hunter Valley STA Conference and Trade Display will be our fourth STA trade show. This year we will be introducing our new Weathermax PU awning and cover material offering a 100+ Hydrostatic Pressure rating. Another new addition to the marine canvas industry is the Breakwater X for rigid or soft enclosures, T-Tops, or any other permanent or semi-permanent installation.

Breakwater is an advanced alloy-coated fabric with a 10-year warranty. We are proud to once again be a sponsor of the STA Conference and Trade Display.

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WILSON FABRICS

1E Marine Parade, Abbotsford, Vic 3067 Tel: 1300 656 100 Fax: 1300 654 101 Email: sales@wilsonfabrics.com.au www.wilsonfabrics.com.au Established back in 1926, Wilson continues to be a completely Australian-owned company, proudly supporting our local industry and keeping jobs in Australia. Wilson Fabrics produces an extensive collection of Australian made blind and drapery fabrics and has just extended the collection to Australian made awnings and canvas fabrics.

Wilson Fabrics’ specialisation lies in designing and developing an exciting range of innovative decorative and functional quality fabrics, inspired by global trends.

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ADVERTORIAL 43

Recycling PVC textiles

M

alaysian authorities recently replaced, after 17 years, their Bukit Jalil Stadium roof, making effective use of the Serge Ferrari Texyloop® recycling process.

Renovation required the intervention of 30 operators specialising in difficult access work to dismantle the 44 roof panels (each with an area of 1000 square metres). Replaced panels were fitted with new Précontraint 1202 S2 flexible composite membrane: the same material already in place on the roof of the neighbouring station, which forms part of the 1997 infrastructure and remains in service today.

The 50 tonnes of membrane returned to France from Malaysia were inspected, weighed and shredded, before being reshipped to Italy for Texyloop® recycling to give birth to new raw materials.

These second generation resources will be used in new products such as PVC granule-based hoses or polyesterbased growing mats for green roofs. Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) conducted by environmental consultant EVEA, in compliance with ISO 14040, compared the impacts generated by different end-of-life scenarios, including burial versus Texyloop® recycling. Texyloop® processing of the 50 tonnes of flexible materials proved to be the most viable option, generating the following resource savings: WATER SAVING 8,406 M3

1. Dismantling the roof

2. Receipt of composite membrane for sorting

3. Shredding

4. Selective dissolution at Texyloop Ferrara plant

5. 2nd generation raw materials: PET growing mats for green roofs

REDUCTION OF CLIMATIC HEATING 70,247 Kg CO2 eq ENERGY CONSUMPTION SAVING 2,063,571 MJ Within Australia, Innova International manages the collection of PVC textiles for Texyloop® recycling. For more information on how to become involved with this environmentally sustainable business opportunity, phone Innova on 03 9551 8722, email texyloop@innova.com.au or visit innova.com.au.

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2nd generation raw materials: keder and membrane

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UNDERWAY AND NOT GOING AWAY Sustainability is today’s hot topic and will impact the way in which the textile industry functions in the future.

William C Smith explains the current state of play.

Olympic Stadium, which the Cooley Group wrapped in a non-halogenated fire-retardant product, before recycling the material after the event.

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ustainability is often discussed and often misunderstood; yet, nothing is more important to our industry than providing what our customers require while supporting good stewardship of this planet. Are the two goals – protecting the environment and a prosperous industry – compatible? Some would answer with an emphatic ‘yes’; others are not so sure.

For many, sustainability is recycling: using plastic bottles to make new fibre and using those fibres in less demanding applications. To others, it is not wasting chemicals, energy or water, not producing harmful off-gases into the air or releasing effluent that pollutes.

Recycling has been promoted for decades – identifying waste, reducing it, segregating it, collecting it and/or selling it for new purposes: reduce, reuse, recycle.

But the emphasis in those efforts was on reducing costs. Reducing and selling waste to be used in other ways could have a substantial impact on the bottom line.

Less thought might have been given to the environment, as such. What we couldn’t reuse or sell, we paid someone to take away for us.

Things have changed.

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY Today, sustainability procedures are increasingly integrated into business practice. Even countries like China are enacting regulations for reduced water, chemical and energy usage. Europe is far ahead of the US in terms of programs for control and certification. Although the US has many regulations, those who wish to do business globally are using European guidelines and standards. Special certifications indicate what sustainable practices a company is using, and audits confirm compliance. This is necessary to do business in Europe and elsewhere.

SUSTAINABILITY SELFEVALUATION What, then, is sustainability, and how does it relate to technical textiles and advanced textiles, in particular? Three ‘pillars of sustainability’ have been popularly referenced since first discussed at the 1992 Earth Summit: environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic prosperity, or ‘planet, people and profit’. In a talk given at the International Conference

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on Textile Coating and Laminating 2012 in Valencia, Spain, Dan Dwight, president and CEO (chief executive officer) of Cooley Group, Pawtucket, Rhode Island in the US posed these questions as a means to determine one’s sustainability commitment (paraphrased): Environmental stewardship. Are the products you make environmentally sound? Do your products have a lower carbon footprint than alternatives? Are the processes you use to make your products environmentally sound? Are the chemicals and polymers used focused on keeping wasteful or harmful by-products at a minimum? Does your energy consumption have the same approach? Is what and how you make your products harmful to the people involved in producing them? Are you doing your best to maximise the health and safety of your employees?

Social responsibility. Are your products designed to minimise the impact on society and the waste stream? What happens to them when their useful life is over? Is there another use? Can they be recycled into new or other products? In a best-case scenario, do your processes allow for ‘perpetual cycle’ or ‘cradle-to-grave sustainability’, which means that you make it of materials that can be recycled, you ship it, you (or someone else) take it back after its use and recycle it when the need is finished. This area impacts your neighbours and the community in which you operate, as well, not just those in your plant.

Economic prosperity. A sustainable product is often thought to cost more to manufacture, so one must charge more for it or else reduce your earnings. Dwight believes this is false. His company is spending more time educating customers on the benefits of sustainability with a focus on dispelling the myth that sustainability should cost more. “If you cannot operate at a profit, it is not sustainable. No one can sustain a loss. Either you turn a profit or you stop producing,” he said. Turning a profit allows you to invest in more modern and efficient equipment and to recruit the best and brightest people who can help find more efficient ways to meet your sustainability goals.

FIBRES, FABRICS, FINISHES The textile industry is energy, water and chemically intensive. Finding more efficient dry finishing techniques is a priority, so

FOR MANY, SUSTAINABILITY IS RECYCLING: USING PLASTIC BOTTLES TO MAKE NEW FIBRE AND USING THOSE FIBRES IN LESS DEMANDING APPLICATIONS. TO OTHERS, IT IS NOT WASTING CHEMICALS, ENERGY OR WATER, NOT PRODUCING HARMFUL OFFGASES INTO THE AIR OR RELEASING EFFLUENT THAT POLLUTES.

research in plasma treatments is garnering attention. Plasma is an ionised gas that allows the use of many chemicals to change and improve the surface of fabrics, resulting in a system for coating and otherwise treating fabrics utilising no-wet finishing and without changing or actually improving fabric properties. The basic technology has the potential to create more efficient alternative finishes.

Vacuum plasma treating for textiles has been around for years, such as depositing silver molecules onto fabric for electronic applications, but it is slow and expensive. Other types of plasma have been studied for fabrics, but they have deficiencies: too hot, too weak or they have some other undesirable trait that limits their applicability. High-pressure plasma treatments have been developed, but they are costly and energy inefficient.

The ‘holy grail’ has been practical and cost-efficient low-pressure atmospheric systems. Though many claim to have made breakthroughs, no equipment is commercially in place at this time, but some promising prototypes are being evaluated for their practicality.

Gary Selwyn, a consultant and pioneer in the field of atmospheric plasma systems, says, “Plasma finishing of textiles works.”

Plasma is an all-dry system with no chemical baths or water discharged that could pollute. There is no waste stream. No

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tenters or large energy-wasteful ovens are required. The system uses energy only when treating fabric. Dual functional treatments are possible, stacking layers of the same or different monomers/treatments on one side or both for uniquely different properties on either side. For example, one side may be hydrophobic, the other hydrophilic.

There are drawbacks. Selwyn says that the systems currently being developed are expensive; there is a need to reduce machine capital and increase throughput speeds to aid depreciation costs. Future work will focus on new plasma designs using gases other than the expensive helium currently being used.

Although it’s taken awhile, Selwyn expects breakthroughs. Atmospheric plasma treatments are being developed and refined as a cost-effective and versatile finishing technique. He expects this method to change the way textiles are treated and finished.

AN ALL-DRY CHEMICAL, THERMAL APPROACH Other novel dry treatment systems have evolved that do not require plasma. Selwyn has recently established Green Theme Technologies LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico with a new approach that, he says, breaks new ground in providing a long-term sustainable solution to textile finishing.

Chem-Stik® is an all-dry, solid chemical technology using a proprietary blend of non-hazardous chemicals and natural ingredients to produce an inexpensive and highly durable finishing treatment. The treatment is applied with a proprietary method and cured with a short (30 seconds or less) thermal exposure. Because no water is needed and no fluorocarbons used, it is a more eco-friendly and energy efficient method. The system is still in development, but is expected to be released soon.

SURFACE MODIFICATION Surface modification with new dry, sustainable techniques are being developed and offered by a number of companies and are likely to evolve as major breakthroughs in finishing. Alexium International Group based in Australia and the US produces and commercialises its Reactive Surface Treatment (RST) approach. The patented technology was developed with the US Air Force for multiple high-value defence applications for personal protection. By combining particular chemistry with

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microwave curing to alter the surface of fabrics, many special properties can be imparted to a range of materials. Alexium earned a substantial contract from the US Department of Defence treating nylonbased fabrics for personal protection applications. This has enabled the company to raise sufficient funds to continue its research, and to perfect and expand into the civilian sector, including high-performance advanced textiles.

Declared a ‘World’s Best Technology’ (WBT) at the 2009 WBT showcase, an annual investment and licensing forum, it is considered “a potentially disruptive process of rapidly attaching nanoparticles and multifunctional groups to surfaces”.

The technology produces fabrics for military use that are self-extinguishing, antimicrobial, oil and water resistant, anti-odour and chemical agent reactive.

The process is flexible, cost-efficient, environmentally compliant and potentially applicable to a variety of fibres, including aramids, etching the fibres and fabric surfaces for better adhesion and infusion of other properties.

Commercial spin-offs and licensing of Alexium’s technology are planned.

The company recently allied with Duro Textiles LLC, a technical textiles finishing and distribution company, to license its fire-resistant technology for nylon. Future environmentally friendly products will evolve. Their special chemical technology minimises waste and reduces energy consumption. Alexium is at the forefront of introducing non-halogenating products to the technical textile marketplace.

BIOBASED FIBRES

SURFACE MODIFICATION WITH NEW DRY, SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND OFFERED BY A NUMBER OF COMPANIES AND ARE LIKELY TO EVOLVE AS MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN FINISHING.

Water droplets on treated polyester show Green Theme Technology’s Evergreen treatment in action.

(Photo by Oleg Maltsev)

Several companies have introduced new biobased products into the marketplace.

Brazilian nonwovens producer Fitesa SA is producing hygiene and personal care products of 100 percent biobased, bicomponent, spunbond nonwovens in its South Carolina plant. Fitesa is allied with Brazilian company Braskem SA for fibre with a sheath of biobased polyethylene (bio-PE) derived from sugar cane-based ethanol and a core made of NaturWorks’ 100 percent biobased PLA (polylactic acid) fibre made from renewable resources.

The fibre replaces the petroleum-based bicomponent spunbonds currently used.

Its softness is “exceptional and counters the misconception some may have that

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[sustainable products] must represent compromise in performance,” says Ray Dunleavy, Fitesa’s director of marketing.

The technology should be applicable to technical textiles, as well.

PLA polymers, incidentally, have been touted as a potential PVC replacement for certain coating applications, though acceptance so far has been limited – showing, perhaps, that not all sustainable products will easily replace some longestablished materials.

FAST ENOUGH? Suppliers of chemicals and adhesives and many areas of high performance textiles are working toward developing and supplying more sustainable products. It is perhaps more problematic where heavy capital expenses are involved for machinery. While many of the textile industry and technical textile producers have modernised in the last few years (they would be hard pressed to compete if they did not) some of the new, more efficient equipment may still incur burdensome costs and may slow down the growth of sustainable products.

But attention to sustainability is not just desirable, but essential.

Not all feel the industry is moving quickly enough. The Netherlands company, Klieverik, a major producer of specialty coating and laminating equipment, offers machines and techniques for more environmentally friendly processes. Karel Lansu, director

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of marketing and sales for Klieverik, is a bit more pessimistic about the industry embracing newer equipment. He says, “It’s a hard sell to promote environmentally friendly equipment and change the industry.

You need first to convince the R and D, then you need to convince marketing, then you have to convince sales.”

Management should have a vision on this issue, he says, and should back up their employees investigating it and then implement it. This is happening, but slowly. Lansu finds that most companies are interested only if the production is cheaper, if they’ll get better performance or it will solve a specific problem facing them. But he sees environmental issues finally turning the corner, although many are still reluctant to pay for a cleaner environment and reduce, reuse and recycle. The impression that the consumer does not want to pay for it persists.

Lansu is not speaking only of the US, but globally. “The urgency is just not there,” he says. Many companies want to keep the status quo, believes Lansu, not investing in new equipment for new production technologies.

Is that an indictment on the future of sustainability? No, but only legislation will change this situation, not something that US companies or citizens want to hear.

Yet, while many ideas and technology developments are in the works to improve sustainability efforts, the US is near the bottom in applications of patents for

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48 SPECIAL FEATURE

“WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING MORE AND MORE TIME EDUCATING OUR CUSTOMERS ON THE BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY. WE ARE FOCUSED ON DISPELLING THE MYTH THAT SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD COST MORE.”

(Photo by Oleg Maltsev)

‘green’ procedures. Japan, Canada, Russia, Australia and most countries in Europe are far ahead. Only China and India are behind.

As an example, remember automotive air bags? A good idea but ‘the customer won’t pay for it’ was the mantra. It took 20 years before the US Government required them in cars and suppliers adjusted. Today air bags are standard and we never give it a second thought. This could happen in the area of sustainability.

EARLY ADOPTERS While some may be pessimistic, many are proving that sustainability efforts can pay.

The Cooley Group, a supplier of fabric media for graphics applications, is helping to change the landscape, not only switching major customers over to a new material – polyethylene – which is easily recyclable, but using fewer materials, making it lighter weight and still staying cost competitive.

Alliances for many will be essential for sustainable development. By partnering with Dow, says Dwight, they had a much broader access to chemistries “that increased the likelihood of success for designing a product with the lowest carbon footprint possible”. The result met

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customers’ needs for a socially responsible non-halogenated, fire-retardant product for the print industry. Olympic Stadium in London was wrapped in such a product and, when the event was over, Cooley took the material back and recycled it.

Cooley has revised its product line to address the three pillars of sustainability, illustrated, in part, by their impact on billboards. This market has dramatically changed with innovative, wider fabrics and ink-jet printing technology replacing conventional printing and printed paper.

The billboard market, for example, has typically used a 340-gram (12-ounce) PVC. Cooley, with a large share of the billboard market, has helped by transitioning many to a 198-gram (seven-ounce) product. This saves the customer 15 percent and reduces the quantity of raw materials needed.

The company is working on a 150-gram (5.3-ounce) polyethylene that will reduce weight by 25 percent and will be 100 percent recyclable.

Dwight says, “We have been spending more and more time educating our customers on the benefits of sustainability.

We are focused on dispelling the myth that sustainability should cost more.”

Cooley received ISO 9001-2008 certification about a year ago. The designation recognises that the company has a systematic framework for managing its manufacturing. It just recently received ISO 14001 certification, as well, a standard that reflects a company’s commitment to sustainability.

New developments are being announced almost daily in some phase of technical and advanced textiles: new fibres and forms; new coating, laminating and finishing techniques; more efficient machinery; new markets; and upgraded applications. Virtually all of those developments have some relationship to sustainability. C William C Smith is a technical textile consultant. He can be reached at billsmith@intexa.com or www.intexa.com.

This article first appeared in the November 2013 issue of Advanced Textiles Source and is reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

Copyright Industrial Fabrics Association International. www.advancedtextilessource.com.

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success story Kuala Lumpur

Bukit Jalil Stadium PROJECT DATA BACKGROUND: Original 44,000m2 composite tensile roof (of German origin) suffering from irreversible premature ageing required total replacement.

SOLUTION: Malaysian authorities, working closely with contractors, opted for the Texyloop® recycling process (as the only viable end-of-life solution to avoid landfill disposal).

REPLACEMENT FABRIC: 44,000m2 of Serge Ferrari Précontraint 1202 S2 composite textile was utilised, which will also be 100% Texyloop® recyclable at the end of it’s useful life.

See page 43 for further information.

RECYCLING IN AUSTRALIA Innova International actively promotes Texyloop® recycling to Australia’s fabricator and solar protection industries.

Bright orange collection bags for Serge Ferrari fabric offcuts are being used by an increasing number of environmentally responsible manufacturers.

See page 43 for further information.

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FABRIC AND INK COMPATIBILITY Knowing how and why inks and fabrics go together will help improve your printed products. By Michael Labella PREPARE FOR PRINTING For optimal results and image quality, textiles should be properly prepared for printing. Proper textile preparation should include the removal of loose fibres that can get stuck in the nozzles of the print heads and coating of the material. Coating the textile for inkjet printing keeps the ink droplets that are deposited by the printer in place to prevent the ink from wicking. The coating facilitates or prevents the penetration of the inks in the deep layers of the fabric.

Just think of the difference between a photo printed on photo paper and one printed on copy paper. Photo paper is coated for inkjet printing and designed to keep the ink droplet in place on the surface with minimal dot gain (expansion of the dot), while on regular paper the ink tends to get absorbed by the paper and expand.

It is important not to confuse the coating used to prepare a textile for inkjet printing with the coatings used for reactive dyeing. The two can be combined, but serve different purposes.

At a recent apparel show in Guatemala, I attended an interesting series of presentations organised by the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN). The

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theme I picked up on as I listened to these sourcing and manufacturing professionals was that buyers have learned to look at the big picture when deciding how and where to produce their goods.

In addition to the actual cost per item, other cost factors include the financing of long lead times, markdowns to eliminate excess inventory, intellectual property theft by manufacturers located in countries with little or no protection for the intellectual property of brands, and designers. As a result, major buyers are looking for ways to buy smarter and be more flexible in their purchasing in order to quickly respond to market demand and supply the market with new products more often while keeping inventories low. Additionally, an emerging middle class in Asia, especially China, is driving demand for foreign-made designed goods and brands expanding the market for high-end goods beyond North America and Europe.

While the specifics of this shift are outside the scope of this article, suffice to say that buyers and retailers are trying to avoid getting stuck with large quantities of products that might not be well-received by customers, while being able to respond to

market demands by being able to quickly order and replenish inventories for those products that sell. Increased margins of high-end goods certainly make this easy.

Furthermore, bringing production closer to the market the goods are destined for reduces cost and lead times, increasing the efficiency of the supply chain, while reducing the need for large inventories.

This is a trend that has been slowly, yet steadily developing with US and European buyers, and manufacturers have been looking at digital technology to help them deliver. Digital inkjet printing has already transformed the world of signs and promotional graphics into an ondemand, fast-turnaround industry. But due to limited speeds and the relatively high cost of consumables, it never took off in truly industrial, high-volume, production environments such as those of the traditional textile industry.

In 2009, 27 billion square metres of fabric was printed using traditional printing methods (Source: John Provost presentation FESPA 2011); of that, 88 percent was printed using rotary or flat screen systems. This method for printing textiles is fast (over 40 metres per minute) and cost-effective.

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This shift in the market dynamics has not gone unnoticed by inkjet suppliers who, in collaboration with major textile manufacturers, have been investing significant R&D resources to develop solutions that could compete with traditional printing methods in terms of speed and cost, while providing the incredible flexibility that makes digital inkjet so attractive.

TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES EQUIPMENT Very recently, Italian printer manufacturer Reggiani Macchine introduced the Renoir digital inkjet printer, which uses Kyocera print heads and Sensient’s ElvaJet ink technology to print at speeds of up to 275 metres (300 yards) per hour, with minimal fabric pre-treatment, while reducing the cost of consumables by as much as 30 percent or more compared to older inkjet technologies.

Garment manufacturers, such as Fabra of Ormond Beach, Florida in the US, are replacing their automatic screen printing lines with the Reggiani Renoir, allowing them to go from concept to delivery in a matter of weeks rather than months, and change design, colours and quantities on the fly without interrupting production – a process that on their older equipment could take a few days or more during which production would be halted.

In Italy, Miroglio Textiles, a world leader of textile manufacturing and design using Sensient’s ElvaJet Alpha inkjet technology in conjunction with MS’s industrial inkjet textile printers, can image upwards of 36 metres (40 linear yards) of fabric per minute while drastically reducing costly water usage and urea waste (a by-product of some traditional printing methods).

Another development is in the wider variety of fabrics that can now be printed digitally, from silk to polyester, thick or thin, woven, non-woven or knit, and even four-way stretch. Actually, today almost any kind of textile can be printed says Ken Bach of Aberdeen Fabrics. And in the new world of digital printing, dye sublimation and direct-dispersed processes seem to be the winners thanks to the incredible versatility of polyester-based technical fabrics.

But each of these materials has its own ink and colour-fixation requirements says Dr Martial Blanc of Sensient Technologies. There are also specific performance requirements based on the

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COATING THE TEXTILE FOR INKJET PRINTING KEEPS THE INK DROPLETS THAT ARE DEPOSITED BY THE PRINTER IN PLACE TO PREVENT THE INK FROM WICKING. THE COATING FACILITATES OR PREVENTS THE PENETRATION OF THE INKS IN THE DEEP LAYERS OF THE FABRIC.

Left: All printed on Epson Dye Sublimation Printers.

type of product made, from silk scarves to car seats, flags, garments, soft signage, shoes and upholstery. Indeed, inks play an important role in this new frontier. While the technology that delivers the ink to the textile is rapidly evolving and the challenges ink manufacturers face to formulate inks that are reliable and outperform those from the previous generation are significant, one thing that is not changing is the need to select the right colourant for the right type of fibre.

INKS AND THE FABRICS THEY LOVE The third edition of The Colour Index, edited by The Society of Dyers and Colourists, lists over 8000 colourants. These colourants can be categorised as being either dyes or pigments, depending on their method of application, chemical structure and specific colour within The Colour Index. In general terms, dyes are soluble and have an affinity with the substrate they are applied to. Pigments are non-soluble and have no affinity to the material they are applied to.

A third category has some characteristics of each of the primary two

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and is called dispersed dyes. In specific cases, pigments can behave like dyes and vice versa. What really matters to us as printers is that different fibres require the use of different types of colourants in order to deliver rich colours that last. For this purpose, five types of inks are generally used to print on fabric, and all use pigments, dyes or dispersed dyes as colourants. And, except for differences in the way they are formulated, all five types are available for traditional as well as digital inkjet printing platforms.

Different types of fibres have different porosities, and their molecules can be either positively or negatively charged. A variety of dyes and treatments have therefore been developed to optimise penetration and dye retention based on the specific properties of each fibre and the required end result. Using the right combination of dyes and ancillary treatments for each fibre will result in better colour reproduction and better colour fastness properties.

Fibres that are printed with dyes include protein-based fibres, such as silk, and cellulose-based fibres, such as cotton and polyamides (nylon). However, not all of them are printed with the same type of dyes or are processed under the same conditions.

The two most common types of dyes used for digital inkjet textile printing are acid and reactive dyes.

Acid dyes are best used to print on protein-based fibres, such as wool, angora, cashmere and silk. Polyamides, such as nylon, can also be printed using this type of dye. Acid dyes are not indicated for the printing of cellulose-based materials, such as cotton and rayon, nor are they effective on other synthetic fibres, such as polyester.

This type of dye is thought to fix to fibres by hydrogen bonding and ionic bonding.

In simple, practical terms, the acid dyebased ink is printed directly to the textile, then heat is applied, generally through a steamer, in order to form a strong bond between the two. At the end of the steaming process, excess dyes that have not been absorbed by the textile need to be removed by washing the fabric. The fabric then needs to be dried.

Fibre reactive dyes are mainly used to print cellulose (plant-based) fibres, such as cotton and rayon. They are also used to dye nylon, although the fixation process is slightly different. Reactive dyes have the ability to bond to the compatible fibre through a chemical reaction that requires a mildly alkaline environment. The main advantage of this type of colourant over standard or acid dyes is that it is wash-fast and durable when used on cotton, and it produces vibrant colours.

Reactive-dye printing is possibly the most complicated of the available textile

printing processes because the multiple factors and variables that influence the outcome and the chemical reactions between the dyes and the textile have to be controlled precisely in order to obtain a durable, vibrant print. The key in reactive dyeing is in initiating a chemical reaction that will cause the dye molecule to lose the chlorine atom and the fibre to lose the hydrogen atom in order to allow the two molecules to ‘stick’ to each other. This chemical reaction is initiated with the introduction of a base, such as sodium carbonate. The base can be introduced after the printing process; however, in inkjet printing, it is usually applied to the fabric as a coating before printing. Heat is then applied to the printed textile in order to facilitate the chemical reaction. Excess dyes that didn’t bond are removed from the fabric through a washing process and then the fabric needs to be dried.

Pigments are a class of colourants that are used in a non-soluble form and cannot be absorbed by any fibre. Where a chemical reaction allows the dye molecules to be absorbed within the structure of the fibre, binders are used to ‘glue’ pigments to the surface of the fibre’s structure. Pigments are ground into extremely fine powders and suspended in a liquid carrier in order to be used in an inkjet printer. Water-based pigmented inks are widely used in inkjet

ReNOIR digital printing machine .(Image: Reggiani)

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the fibres close, encapsulating the dye that returns to a solid state. Since the inks are not printed directly to the fabric in a dye sublimation transfer process, the fabric does not need any pre-treatment and any excess dyes remain on the carrier so no washing or drying is required. (With the other methods, up to 50 litres of water per 0.91 metres [one yard] are used to wash the textile after printing.) This makes dye sublimation transfer a versatile and efficient process that can be applied not only to polyester textiles, but to virtually any surface made of or coated with PES-based (polyester) materials.

WHEN PRINTED USING INKJET SYSTEMS, THE FABRICS TYPICALLY REQUIRE MINIMAL PRETREATMENT (PRIMARILY TO REDUCE DOT GAIN) WHILE WITH TRADITIONAL PRINTING THE FABRIC NEEDS TO BE WASHED TO REMOVE EXCESS COLOUR THAT DID NOT BIND TO THE TEXTILE.

printers for desktop applications and, in the world of textile printing, they are quite popular on rotary screen systems to print on a wide range of fabrics, but mainly cotton and poly/cotton blends. In digital inkjet textile printing, the use of pigments is still in its infancy, as formulating a pigment-based ink that meets the stringent standards of the textile industry is challenging. A select few manufacturers are making great strides in this area, however, and you should expect great advancements in the next few years.

For now, the most common use for these inks today is direct-to-garment printing, sampling and custom-printed fabrics for interior décor, fashion and other speciality markets.

When printed using inkjet systems, the fabrics typically require minimal pretreatment (primarily to reduce dot gain) while with traditional printing the fabric needs to be washed to remove excess colour that did not bind to the textile. Whether textiles need to be washed when digitally printed with pigments greatly depends on the pre-treatment used.

Dispersed dyes are the colourant of choice to print on hydrophobic fibres, such as polyester, acetate rayon, poly Lycra and

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THE CASE FOR DIGITAL

acrylics. Dispersed dyes are dyes used in a non-soluble form and dispersed (like pigments) in the ink. The dyes have the ability to form a solid solution with the fibre or dissolve within the fibre and become part of it. Dispersed dyes are typically direct printed on to the textile and then processed through a heat press to fix and develop the colour. As with other processes, excess dyes need to be washed off.

DYE SUBLIMATION A specific subset of dispersed dyes has the ability to sublimate (go from a solid state to a gaseous state without going through the intermediate liquid state). These dyes are used to manufacture dye sublimation inks, which have become quite popular in recent years and are the most widely used ink for digital textiles (52 percent of digitally printed fabrics are printed with dye sublimation inks). With dye sublimation, the inks are printed on a carrier media, such as paper, and then transferred onto the fabric by applying heat and pressure using a heat press.

In the heat press, the dyes take a gaseous form and the synthetic fibres ‘open’ to receive the gas. Once the heat is removed,

In recent years, the cost of equipment and supplies for digital printing has decreased substantially and advancements in ink technology have drastically increased dye loads, further increasing the efficiency and speed of the process, while printer speeds have increased significantly, making digital printing a viable option not only for shortand medium-run productions, but also for larger industrial productions.

The technology is flexible, the end product is fully customisable down to the individual unit, the graphics are of photographic quality and a virtually unlimited number of colours and pattern combinations can be applied to the textile on the fly, in mid production and without additional cost. Digital printing requires less manpower to operate – allowing manufacturers in high-labour cost markets to once again be competitive.

If initial sales of this new generation of inkjet systems are any indication of what’s to come, brace yourself for a sweeping change in how and where textiles are going to be sourced, printed and delivered to our markets. C Michael Labella has 14 years of sales and marketing experience, seven of which have been in the field of dye sublimation and textile printing. He is currently regional account manager for Sensient Technologies, a leading supplier of inkjet inks for digital textile, industrial digital and sublimation printing.

This article first appeared in the Sep/Oct 2013 issue of Fabric Graphics, a publication of the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

Reprinted with permission from the Industrial Fabrics Association International.

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54 INDUSTRY TRAINING

TRAINING/ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT A KEY INGREDIENT OF SUCCESS With the specialised textile industry covering such a wide range of business areas, the thought of offering appropriate training and professional development can often be overwhelming. Between technology advancement, new legislation, environmental change and the pressures of everyday business life, off the job training tends to be something that gets overlooked, when really the opposite should be the case. No matter in which sector of our great industry you or your company is involved, a highly trained, educated and inspired workforce can be a true ingredient for success.

By Glenn Barlow, STA Council of Management

STA’S COMMITMENT TO TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT In efforts to ensure our industry has relevant and quality training available into the future, STA is constantly working behind the scenes with organisations such as Manufacturing Skills Australia, government, various other bodies and RTOs (registered training organisations) nationally on funding and development issues.

As the majority of training is heavily linked to government funding for RTOs, the importance of industry showing commitment, dedication and genuine interest is vital to maintain funding levels.

Putting it bluntly, it’s a ‘bums on seats’ environment, where numbers of trainees and RPL (recognition of prior learning) students passing through RTO doors normally determines the level of government support an industry receives.

Although trainee numbers are determined by the number of companies willing to pursue professional development for their staff, the STA constantly makes huge efforts to make sure our industry training not only exists, but also remains relevant.

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In recent times, the STA has sourced out funding money via the NWDF (National Workforce Development Fund) Scheme for the Certificate 2 in Blinds and Awnings, while continuing to work closely with the training providers that have serviced our industry so well for many years, and helping them maintain relevance and importance.

We have also taken some of our most recent state members’ meetings into the workplace of some of our industry’s finest companies, offering a real insight into their operations and procedures. Two of the most recent members’ sessions – involving ABC Products (Sydney) and Tebbs Canvas Products (Melbourne) – were of incredible value to many of our members that attended. I’m sure they all took away thoughts and ideas that can assist them in their own companies’ development. Keep an eye out for a future session in your state.

EXISTING TRAINING The whole industry has been fortunate over many years to have the services of some fantastic training providers.

Although the number of training facilities for our industry has dwindled over the years, due to low attendance rates resulting in funding cuts, the actual quality of training only moves in a positive direction.

The courses directly linked to the textile components of our industry, such as Textile Fabrication Certificate III and Marine and Motor Trimming Certificate IV, are now being delivered on a national basis from just two institutions: Sydney Institute (TAFE NSW) and RMIT Victoria.

As well as New South Wales, the Sydney Institute takes care of training in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and now possibly Western Australia.

In particular, the work done by Lawrence De Paoli and his dedicated team at the Sydney Institute to make their training relevant, broad and transportable has been nothing short of brilliant, taking into account also the pressures they continually face from government funding decisions.

Over the past 12 months, the Sydney Institute has also worked hand in hand

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with the STA in delivering the first round of Certificate II in Blinds and Awnings to people already working within the industry. This course is directly linked with licensing for installation purposes.

The brilliant work that our RTOs do can only continue if industry supports them, by way of either taking on new trainees and enrolling them into courses or professionally developing existing staff – something highly recommended as it’s so often a win/win.

WHAT IS IN STORE FOR FUTURE TRAINING? In order for our industry to prosper and be an attractive, viable career choice for young people joining the workforce, we need to provide true career pathways and training.

The future development of any training package, whether existing or new, lies heavily in what industry wants and needs. Our members are always the best source of information when it comes to what they expect they themselves or their employees will get out of training courses and professional development sessions/ workshops. Of course, the STA is always keen to receive your feedback in this area.

One of the biggest keys to fostering new and up-to-date training is having across the board acceptance and support from the majority and, while that may sound easy to achieve, it’s sometimes the biggest hurdle.

More often than not consultation, differing opinions, feedback and brainstorming result in successful future training outcomes and give the STA as an Association vital information in getting things into play.

We live in a world where now more than ever career pathways and professional development cannot be overlooked and can be the difference between people staying in or leaving an industry.

Our collective dedication as industry stakeholders to maintain a focus on training and development will go a long way into the future, hopefully attracting many more young people to our industry as their first career choice.

The STA is in the process of establishing a dedicated training committee in order to stay on top of the training requirements and needs of our members and potential members.

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We would absolutely love representation from all states as the legislation and needs of the different states can vary depending on the issue.

If you would like to be involved in the direction of training in the industry going forward, we are eager to hear from you.

We realise there are areas of business at the moment that are crying out for future

training and will constantly work towards facilitating this.

Likewise, if you have any feedback or comments in regard to existing or possible future training and development, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact the STA Office or, alternatively, through the contact page on the website. C

Training delivery Methods of delivery vary from state to state and region to region, and can be broken down broadly into three main methods: ● workplace training, with an RTO located remotely to the business, perhaps interstate ● TAFE-based training, and ● a mixture of 1 and 2, with RTOs delivering some parts of the training and the business delivering the balance in the workplace.

There are now other RTOs that also offer this form of training in addition to the other forms of delivery.

Any fabricator can learn of the alternative RTOs by contacting their local Australian Apprenticeship Centre (AAC), which can also assist in recruiting trainees and providing advice on how to access government funding available to businesses taking on trainees. Training can similarly be provided to existing staff as part of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Again your AAC or RTO can give you advice on the available government funding.

Businesses taking on new trainees are generally entitled to around $4400 per trainee over the term of the traineeship. This is payable in two instalments – one payment upon completion of the probationary period and the final instalment at the conclusion of the traineeship.

How to access training or trainees First, recruit or identify those existing employees who you wish to undertake training, remembering your local Australian Apprenticeship Centre can help with recruitment, accessing your government funding entitlement and identifying a suitable RTO. Still confused? Then feel free to speak with the Specialised Textiles Association office or contact the RTO in your state: New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory Sydney Institute of TAFE – Lawrence de Paoli Email: lawrence.depaoli@tafensw.edu.au Ph: 02 9217 4601 Tasmania Tasmanian Institute of TAFE – www.tafe.tas.edu.au Ph: 1300 655 307 Victoria RMIT University – Liz Debono Email: liz.debono@rmit.edu.au Ph: 03 9925 9102 You can identify your local AAC and find out other useful information on training from the following website: www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au.

In summary, training your staff is a very beneficial thing, both for your business and the trainees involved. It can be done in a very cost-efficient manner that helps secure not only the future of your own business, but our industry as a whole, by improving the skills of our people and the quality of the products we make.

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56 BUSINESS

KEY ISSUES FOR ORGANISATIONS TODAY As I travel around Australia, coaching and meeting with many different organisations, in an array of industries, these are some of the critical issues for success.

PERFORMANCE OF PEOPLE No matter how we come at it, the performance of our own people is still the most important aspect to any organisation’s success. And yet, in my observation, it’s the one area that we continue to struggle with most. Many of the big organisations are throwing significant resources at the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ – they have the resources to do so – but even they are still struggling with this, because it’s everyone’s performance that contributes to the success of the organisation.

The body of work on human performance is enormous (signifying the importance of the issue and our continual struggle to conquer it), but one thing strikes me above everything else: every person within the organisation must be involved in a process to improve human behaviour. It’s not just a session, not just a document, not just information, not just surveys, but a fully fledged ongoing process – well-laid out, well-communicated, well-tracked and with full commitment from the organisation. It’s costly though, in time and money, but imagine the impact that even a one percent uplift in human performance across the board does for the organisation!

Vision: What’s the end game? What does it look like in the end? Where is it heading? Has everyone bought in to it?

Mission: What’s the purpose of the organisation? (And avoid ‘To be a leading provider of X…’ Make it real to everyday people.)

Values: What are the agreed values to underpin everyone’s behaviours?

Credo: What one thing is the reference point for all behaviours? What is in the ‘gut’ of the organisation? As examples: ‘performance matters’, ‘no excuses’, ‘have a go’, ‘total honesty’… something that people can seriously connect with in what they do.

In all of these, avoid fancy words and phrases and don’t think that creating them once will make an ongoing difference (revisit them regularly for

NO ORGANISATION CAN BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE, AND WILL FAIL IF IT TRIES. SELECT THE HIGH IMPACT TARGETS AND BEHAVIOURS AND STICK TO THEM. THIS APPLIES TO PEOPLE WITHIN THE ORGANISATION AS WELL.

Alan Rodway CEO Leap Performance

Strengths are what get an organisation into the arena; they don’t win the game. I like to ask the question in this way, ‘What makes you staggeringly different to your competitors?’ By asking it like that, it stops the answer being just a statement of what the organisation is good at, rather than different, and it prevents ‘vanilla’ answers.

Too often, there isn’t an answer to the question (or the organisation convinces itself there is, but there really isn’t). Sure, it’s very difficult to create the answer to this question, but therein lies one of the most important aspects for future success. That’s the thing – create the answer and build it into the organisation moving forward. The next problem is when this is successfully created and implemented, it won’t last because competitors will copy it quickly, so it has to be recreated consistently.

INABILITY OF ORGANISATIONS TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE This is simple – don’t try! No organisation can be all things to all people, and will fail if it tries. Select the high impact targets and behaviours and stick to them. This applies to people within the organisation as well.

SHORTAGE OF TIME VISION, MISSION, VALUES, CREDO When these four things are handled well, this can almost create success by itself; when not, it’s a fundamental flaw in the organisation. My experience is that few organisations handle this well, as few as 10 percent if I had to put a number on it. Sure, many organisations have them written down somewhere but that’s often the extent of it. There are two aspects to this: how clear are each of these four and are they actually ‘lived’? The second is one of the most fundamental ingredients of success.

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relevance). New people coming in must also be drawn into all of this, with the words being used often and sincerely, to translate into behaviours – that’s the whole point. As an aside, if those ‘at the top’, don’t live all of this, not only will others not live them either, but they are likely to go completely the other way due to the hypocrisy they experience.

POINTS OF DIFFERENCE Not strengths, but genuine and fundamental aspects of the organisation that make it different to every other.

We are busy in this world, busier than ever! Hours worked, emails, calls, tasks, traffic, information coming at us, technology moving at light speed, white noise, etc. We are all time-poor. It’s a matter of not trying to solve that – unless you’re going to retire and live on an island.

Shortage of time is to be managed, not cured. Put your time where you know you should and don’t sweat the rest!

And if you feel out of control (and I’m observing that many do) take a day off to genuinely consider how you’re ‘running’ your life (and not just your professional

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life), make some choices, then change it up from the very next day forward. If you don’t think you have time to do that then reread this paragraph! And change the concept of ‘work/life balance’ to doing what’s important to you, your family, your colleagues and your friends.

REVENUE AND MARGINS It’s getting harder to drive revenue up and maintain or grow margins.

Pressure on price is massive now.

The internet and globalisation have increased competition to levels that some organisations don’t even realise yet. Some of the smaller organisations, because they are resourced at lower levels, are the last to find out how these aspects are changing and affecting their performance, and that’s a fundamental challenge for their very existence – how are they going to compete in future with the rapidly growing larger entities that are ‘consuming’ competitors? Some may not be able to and that is (sadly) a fact; they will need to find a niche somewhere else. Get big or become a niche. A bigger organisation negotiating with a smaller

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organisation is going to win, purely on size. If your organisation is in that boat, you need to change tack or get into a bigger boat.

Digital marketing and social media have already changed the face of marketing itself. The entire marketing industry has changed (almost overnight).

The good news is it has become significantly cheaper to market an organisation (compared to TV advertising and newspapers etc), but it requires completely different expertise to do so.

There is no choice in this. And this is the opinion of many experts I have spoken with – establish a presence on this front or face the consequences inside the next three years.

Smaller entities will be challenged by the absence of expertise, but they can at least harness the skills of a Gen Y employee, for example, regrading social media and find ways (maybe collectively with other organisations who don’t compete with yours) to digitally market yourself. You may have to think outside the square to handle this, but it is possible.

It’s certainly not going to go away.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT This is particularly relevant to the SMEs. Let me make this really simple – if you don’t do all of the following, you’re asking for trouble!

Fully fledged profit and loss budget, month by month, line by line, seasonalised (meaning don’t just divide the annual number by 12 and apply it to each month), signed off and agreed to by all key personnel within the organisation by the end of May for the coming financial year.

Cash flow budget for the coming 12 weeks, week by week, line by line, estimating the cash balance at the end of each week.

Profit and loss reports, monthly, including year to date, within three weeks of month’s end, against budget, against same periods last year, showing variances.

Cash flow reports, weekly, against budget.

A productive working relationship with an accountant. Engage an accountant who will partner you, not just react to you, and one that’s cost-effective.

If all that seems a very timeconsuming and expensive approach to

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58 SME FOCUS

take to financial management, consider the reality of the statistics that there has been an upward trend in small businesses going bankrupt since 2008 – and poor cash flow management is being blamed.

At the end of 2013, an average of 44 small businesses in Australia were closing their doors each day, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Better get across financial management or there is not much point being good at anything else.

CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE PRIVATE OWNERS I don’t have statistics, just my own experience, but it’s safe to say that when there is more than one business owner, there are challenges to be faced!

Who makes the decisions? How are disagreements dealt with? What if one doesn’t ‘perform’? How are different personalities dealt with? How are owners paid? What happens if it all goes pear-

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shaped? How does someone exit the business (role and/or equity)?

The following are absolute necessities to make multiple ownership work: ● in-depth discovery before going into business with anyone to establish alignment of goals and values ● properly constructed shareholders’ agreement, covering the fundamental workings of the business, as well as exit arrangements, and ● alignment of goals and values of any additional owners who join, over time.

This raises a question for many businesses: what if any of these have not been dealt with? Answer: get across them now (and it’s best to use external expertise in doing so). If doing this exposes problems and challenges, then that’s OK. Be mature about it and set about communicating effectively to deal with the issues. This will take some time, but it’s worth it in the end.

The worst outcome if these are not all dealt with is a falling out between owners and that normally turns ugly.

SHOULD YOU GO INTO BUSINESS? There are absolute and fundamental questions that anyone should answer before going into business (or examine if already in ownership). The questions below have been constructed by Tony Jolley, from JPR Business Group, business advisers to Leap Performance.

The who, what, when, where and why of being in business: ● What are you planning to do? When and why are you changing your life for this, and is anyone coming along with you? This goes to goal setting, mission statement, partner alignment and risk assessment. ● What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and constraints?

This goes to a detailed, realistic assessment. ● What funds are you going to need to start and grow your business, where are they coming from and what repayment terms will you want? This

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IF YOU CANNOT ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS YOU ARE NOT READY TO GO INTO BUSINESS! IF YOU CANNOT ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS AND YOU ARE ALREADY IN BUSINESS... YOU BEST GET ACROSS THEM NOW.

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goes to funding, finance, budgets and cash flow forecasts.

What business structure are you going to use, will it allow for future growth and partners, and who will advise you on these and other issues? This goes to structure, obligations and advisers.

Where will you operate from, what processes do you need to produce your goods or service and what systems and records will you use? This goes to premises, processes, systems and record-keeping.

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What are you going to sell, why will customers buy it from you instead of someone else and what is the future of your product/service? This goes to products, services, selling proposition, competitors, research and growth.

What price are you going to sell your product for, what will it cost you to make, what profit do you want to make and what will you do with the profit?

This goes to price, budgets, cash flow, reinvestment and owners’ return.

Who are you going to sell to and who are you going to use to sell your product? This goes to target customers, staffing and suppliers.

Where are your customers, what device will they use to find you and what processes/devices are you going to use to find them? This goes to customer focus, marketing and social media.

What are you going to use to track your progress, who will assist you in this and when are you going to track it? This goes to bookkeeping,

accounting, coaching/mentoring, meetings and communications. � Who will be your next employee/ partner and what attributes do they have? This goes to growth requirements and aspirations. � What do you want your business to be worth when you sell and what is your exit strategy? This goes to ‘payday’.

If you cannot answer all of these questions you are not ready to go into business! If you cannot answer all of these questions and you are already in business... you best get across them now. C Alan Rodway is one of Australia’s leading business coaches, having run his own coaching practice prior to starting Leap Performance. He has coached into businesses such as Westpac, Deloitte’s, Toll, PFD FoodServices and CGU. He is also a renowned public speaker on success in business, having made presentations around Australia and New Zealand for many years.

“I only use GOREÂŽ TENARAÂŽ Sewing Thread, because I’m conďŹ dent it will see my clients through [cyclones] and any other dramatic weather they may encounter. A [225 km/h] microburst forced the boat of one client under a dock, where it was held by its bimini top. When the dock was ďŹ nally lifted off the boat, every stitch in that bimini top was intact. That’s how I know I’m giving my clients the best quality project, built to last.â€? – Pamela Leahy Mariner Canvas Company

Pamela with Kismet, winner of the 2008 MFA Award of Excellence, 2007 Virginia-Carolinas First Place — Marine Soft Enclosures and 2008 IFAI International Achievement Award

GOREŽ TENARAŽ Sewing Thread makes you look good to your customers. It will not weaken or degrade with exposure to UV, extreme temperatures, salt, rain or chemicals. It comes in a variety of colours that will not fade. And it’s guaranteed for the life of the fabric. When your good reputation is at stake, count on us.

For more information, and to ďŹ nd a GOREÂŽ TENARAÂŽ Sewing Thread distributor in Australia, www.gore.com/tenarathread GORE and TENARA are registered trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates.

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It’s Not Just Thread – It’s Your Reputation

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22/04/2014 am 23/04/2014 10:20 8:34 am

60 MEMBER PROFILE Left: James Formosa.

Below: George, James and Anthony Formosa of ABC Products.

ABC PRODUCTS “It’s all about the positive results for the client” The warm welcome you receive whenever you visit George and James Formosa at ABC Products makes it clear why they have such a successful business and loyal customer base. By CONNIE HELLYAR.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Founded in 1978 by George Formosa, ABC Products started in a garage out the back of the family home in the Sydney suburb of Greystanes, predominantly specialising in motor trimming. The business soon began to flourish, which meant that bigger premises were needed to accommodate the workload. Additional premises were opened in Villawood, 25 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, where the demand for Bulker Bags for the mines and large roof tarps kept George and his small team hard at work, while still maintaining the Greystanes workshop. In 1987, George purchased his first high frequency welder, which helped the business evolve and enabled it to produce bigger and greater projects.

SMITHFIELD Over the next few years, business continued to develop as customers’ requirements changed, commanding more and more diverse products. This

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left the company no choice, but to once again look for larger premises. So in 1990 Smithfield was the next port of call.

ABC Products was respected for its retractable tarps and canopies, but George, not one to rest on his laurels, recognised a need for the manufacturing of shade sails for installers. And so, once again, there was a need for something bigger.

Now George and James can continue doing what they do best with state-of-theart equipment throughout the factory and the many multi-talented staff they have in their employ. Shade sail manufacturing is a large component of their business, but they also specialise in retractable tarps, PVC membranes, canopies and environmental bunding systems.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX GLENDENNING In 2005, George and James set about constructing a purpose-built factory that could accommodate their ever-increasing workload, as well as staff, in Glendenning (44 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD).

Preparation was key to ensuring that the necessary equipment of plotters, welding systems and sewing areas could be accommodated, as well as ensuring there was the opportunity to expand even further on the site if necessary. This dream was finally completed and the new ABC Products factory was born.

During this year’s Australia Day celebrations, ABC Products in conjunction with Nans Tarps fabricated what looked like a giant version of the floral emblem of New South Wales, the waratah flower, using Soltis fabric. This opened up during the fireworks display, creating a pyrotechnic spectacle at Darling Harbour and showering the air with a mass of colour. Originally shade cloth was going to be used; however, shade cloth would hold water and would not be acceptable near the fireworks. Soltis 86 was chosen as the only suitable product due to its aesthetic

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and technical properties. The colour also needed to be close to that of a waratah flower, so Soltis Poppy Red samples were sent to the designer for confirmation.

The time-frame was the biggest obstacle, as the event could not be delayed and the project needed to be ready for rehearsals even earlier than Australia Day. To make it even harder for ABC Products and Nans Tarps, the budget restraints meant that proper 3D drawings could not be created, which impacted ABC’s ability to pattern and cut the unique shape. It had to mock up a prototype first and test fit, again remeasure and repattern before daring to cut into the Soltis fabric. To add to the chaos, the Soltis fabric had to be air freighted over the Christmas break, landing the same week as fabrication. With dedication and teamwork, the job was completed on time and the waratah display was a huge success.

www.specialisedtextiles.com.au

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STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD Sometimes the defining differentiator of a company isn’t one thing and it isn’t really beliefs and values either, say George and James. Sometimes it’s a combination of things that, when all rolled up together, produce greater results and make a company stand out. Service, quality and ABC’s beliefs in who they are and the relationships the company has developed with both clients and suppliers over the years have been the catalyst to its success.

ABC PRODUCTS TOWARDS THE FUTURE James Formosa is a strong advocate of accreditation within the industry.

He feels that it reflects the quality benchmarks by which a company conducts its business. It speaks to a sense of public trust, as well as to professional quality. There will always be change and

ABC Products will continue to ensure that it keeps moving forward and keeps abreast of new fabrics, trends and technologies.

James is aware that there is a lack of new blood coming into the industry and that this needs to be addressed before skill sets are lost through attrition.

The Young Leaders Program that the STA promotes goes a long way to developing and encouraging young people to be a part of the industry.

There is a huge benefit in giving young people the opportunity to experience what it takes to put together a project, work as a team and feel every single aspect of what it takes to complete and deliver a project from start to finish. C Connie Hellyar is on the STA Council of Management and is chair of the Women in Textiles committee.

Winter 2014 CONNECTIONS

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62 EVENTS

Upcoming events for the Specialised Textiles Industry

ADVERTISING DIRECTORY

Austech Welders Pty Ltd

58

Buz Software

12

Carr Australia

22

Contender Sailcloth Pty Ltd

19

Dasec

17

DDT

11

16 June 2014 Venue to be confirmed

Elizabeth Machines Co

15

For registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

Eyelets Supply Company

23

OFPANZ 2014 CONFERENCE AND EXPO

FITAG

2-3

STA’S 2014 CONFERENCE AND TRADE EXHIBITION 31 May to 2 June 2014 Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hunter Valley NSW A conference and trade exhibition with something for everyone: informative, educational and innovative business sessions trade display, and networking opportunities.

For further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/2014-conference

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – MELBOURNE

19 to 21 June 2014 Waipuna Hotel, Auckland NZ For further information go to: www.ofpanz.co.nz

Hiraoka ( Australia) Pty Ltd

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – SYDNEY

HVG Fabrics

64

4 to 5 August 2015 NSW TAFE, Ultimo NSW

Innova International Pty Ltd

49

Miami Stainless

25

Nolan.UDA

31

Plastral Pty Ltd

13

For registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

9

MARINE FABRICATOR WORKSHOP – PERTH 12 to 13 October 2014 Mandurah, WA For registration and further information go to: www.specialisedtextiles.com.au/events

IFAI SPECIALTY FABRICS EXPO AND ADVANCED TEXTILES EXPO

Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd 5 + 7

13 to 16 October 2014 Minneapolis Convention Centre, Minneapolis, Minnesota US

Shann Australia

28

Pro-Knit Industries

63

15 to 17 January 2015 Oakland, California US

W L Gore

59

For further information go to: www.marinecanvas.com

Triax

47

For further information go to: http://ifaiexpo.com

2015 MFA NATIONAL CONVENTION

CONNECTIONS Winter 2014

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National Distributor: Ricky Richards (Sales) Pty Ltd 16 Park Road, Homebush NSW 2140 Phone: 02 9735 3333 Fax: 02 9735 3311 www.rickyrichards.com.au

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