BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — April 3, 2017 — The Crypton Companies (Crypton LLC & Nanotex LLC), leading providers of performance fabrics in the contract, home furnishings and apparel markets, today announced that Berkley Capital LLC  has acquired a majority stake.

Berkley Capital will become majority owners of the new entity to be formed from the acquisition. Company co-founders Craig and Randy Rubin, and Lance Keziah, president of The Crypton Companies, will retain minority ownership. Craig and Randy Rubin will carry the titles of Founder and Vice Chairman of the new company, with Randy serving as primary brand ambassador and Craig will continue to advise the company in the areas of research and development and plant processing. Keziah will assume the role as CEO and will manage all aspects of the business.

Berkley Capital is the private equity investment vehicle of W. R. Berkley Corp., a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance company. In addition to capital, Berkley brings management expertise to guide Crypton and Nanotex as it expands its global reach.

Frank Medici, president of Berkley Capital will become Chairman of the Board of the new company, while Berkley Capital Managing Director Thomas Ghegan will be a director along with Lance Keziah and Craig Rubin.

The new company will continue to be headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., maintain operations from its state-of-the art research and manufacturing plant in Kings Mountain, N.C., and continue with its operations in Hong Kong.

The move significantly enhances the growth strategy of Crypton and Nanotex and enables the company to bring greater value to its clients as it looks to dramatically expand sales. This investment will allow for more expansion in new business lines and applications for both the Crypton and Nanotex businesses.

“By partnering with Berkley Capital, we will be able to accelerate our goal of making our brands household names,” says Randy Rubin. “We see this as an amazing opportunity for our company and will enable us to reach our full potential. I look forward to continuing my role as a Brand Ambassador to maximize our growth.”

“Berkley brings with them a deep knowledge and vision of where our company could go in its next stage of growth, so it was an ideal scenario to partner with them to move our company forward along the existing business lines now and for future ones under development,” says Craig Rubin.

“This is a very exciting time for our company and employees.  Berkley is a great partner that fits well with our culture and growth initiatives. I look forward to leading the company and closely working with the Berkley team to accelerate our growth strategy and continuing to bring value to our customers,” said Lance Keziah.

“We chose to partner with Crypton and Nanotex because of their global reputation for performance and strong brand recognition,” said Berkley Capital President Frank Medici. “By working with their established and proven management team, Berkley will be able to build upon the strong foundation that the Crypton team have built and help bring the organization to its next evolution in producing performance products for the home, contract, apparel and other businesses.”

Added Berkley Managing Director Thomas Ghegan: “Craig, Randy and the rest of the talented management team have built a company that is synonymous with performance from its employees to its products. We are excited to work with this innovation-oriented team that is committed to continuing to lead the textile industry by producing top-quality performance fabrics and technologies.”

Posted April 3, 2017

Source: The Crypton Companies

LONDON — March 31, 2017 — IDEX, the organisers of Fashion SVP, the unique sourcing tradeshow, announced today a new initiative to support up-and-coming British fashion talent with the launch of the Fashion SVP New Designer Award. The Award is presented in association with Fashion Enter and supported by UKFT.

This award will highlight the depth and diversity of design skills, and will feature a cash award and other benefits to enhance the winner’s professional profile.

The competition will be judged by an invited panel of industry luminaries, including Caren Downie and Harold Tillman, CBE.

A cash prize, a bursary for a Fashion Enter Technical Academy short course, and a design interview with a leading fashion brand, will all be awarded to the winner at the June 2017 edition of Fashion SVP at Olympia, London on the 28th June.

“We’re delighted to launch this new annual competition which is designed to support individual talent and the future of the UK apparel industry, as well as the continued development of professional skills within the industry”, said Fashion SVP event director Buzz Carter.

Fashion Enter’s CEO Jenny Holloway added: “This new designer competition is perfect for today’s fashion industry with an emphasis on combining true creative flair with the government’s newly announced T levels – technical skills.  We are looking forward to meeting the next generation of real industry-led designers.”

Entries opened on Thursday 30th March 2017 and will close at 5pm on Friday 28th April 2017

Posted March 31, 2017

Source: Fashion SVP

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — March 31, 2017 — Angelica Textile Services Inc. laundry facilities in Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago, Ill., are the company’s newest recipients of TRSA Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification, reflecting their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by TRSA inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

The certification confirms Angelica’s dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for the certification inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection also confirms essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected
• Managers understand regulatory requirements
• OSHA-compliant
• Physical plant operates effectively

Angelica now has 15 TRSA Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified facilities, the most of any U.S. company. In addition to the two newest designees, Angelica has secured the certification at various other facilities including Austin, Texas; Batavia, N.Y.; Colton, Calif.; Columbia, S.C.; Durham, N.C.; Fresno, Calif.; Lorain, Ohio; Ooltewah, Tenn.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Pittsburg, Calif.; Rockmart, Ga.; Safety Harbor, Fla.; and Worcester, Mass. Angelica is in the process of certifying its remaining facilities by the end of 2017.

Certified facilities pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and zero presence of harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in textile services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles. TRSA, which administers the certification, has unmatched expertise in laundry BMP development, with 100+ years as the uniform, linen and facility services industry’s leading business association.

“Congratulations to Angelica on their certifications,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their ongoing commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry facilities take every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted March 31, 2017

Source: TRSA

CHESHIRE, England — March 30, 2017 — Velcro Companies today announced it has acquired a minority stake in Petface Ltd., an innovative pet products company based in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The agreement will add further momentum to the company’s global consumer business and supplements its innovative product development capabilities. Established in 2011, Petface has over 3,000 products across the dog, cat, small pet and wild bird categories.

Mark Sater, vice president of Strategic Execution for Velcro Companies, said: “This new shared venture with Petface represents another strategic step in building our presence in growth markets, and we are enthusiastic about the significant further potential for Petface to develop and deliver innovative products and expand globally. This agreement reflects our commitment to create a powerful global consumer business by developing new products and leveraging the strong consumer awareness of the VELCRO® brand. With a heritage of innovation and a passion for great product design, Petface is an ideal partner to help us realize this goal.”

Peter Johnson, CEO, Petface, said: “The investment by Velcro Companies represents a resounding endorsement of our success to date and acceptance of our commitment and enthusiasm towards pets and pet owners. We are looking forward to working with their development teams, and both businesses are dedicated to the details that make products functional, durable and easy to use. This significant investment aligns the business and gives Petface the perfect platform to grow internationally.”

The existing Petface management team will remain in place. Other financial terms were not disclosed.

Posted March 30, 2017

Source: Velcro Companies