HANNOVER, Germany, and CHICAGO — October 23, 2014 — The gates are opening on DOMOTEX 2015 from January 17 to 20, when some 1,300 exhibitors from more than 60 countries will be showcasing their product innovations and collections for the coming season at the world’s leading trade fair for carpets and floor coverings in Hannover, Germany. Visitors can look forward to a highly international and innovative event. As a global meeting place and driving force behind the industry, Domotex 2015 is guaranteed to provide fresh impetus and generate business. With Innovations@DOMOTEX, Domotex offers a unique showcase to highlight selected innovations in a concise and targeted way. In 2015, the trade fair is expanding its successful concept and will for the first time also feature innovations in applications and installation technology. These will be showcased in one of the three special display areas, which will also include textile and resilient floor coverings, parquet and laminate flooring, as well as modern hand-made rugs and carpets. In addition, internationally renowned architects and designers such as Stefan Diez, Ross Lovegrove and Roberto Palomba will be discussing the latest developments and applications in the flooring sector at the Innovations@DOMOTEX Talks.

“In terms of the breadth and diversity of products, innovations and trends, there is no alternative to Domotex. It is both a global trend barometer and a showcase,” says Dr Jochen Köckler, Member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe in Hannover. Nowhere else do so many foreign trade visitors from the retail and wholesale trades, skilled trades, architecture and interior design come to find out about new products and trends in the industry. More than 90 percent of these visitors are involved in their companies’ purchasing decisions.

The world’s leading suppliers of floor coverings will be represented at Domotex in January, with more than 85 percent of the companies coming from outside Germany. Exhibitors at Domotex show products and innovations ranging from textile and resilient floor coverings for the residential and commercial sectors to rugs, carpets, parquet and laminate flooring and floor coverings for outdoor areas, as well as installation, maintenance and application techniques.
 
Following its successful debut this year, Innovations@DOMOTEX will be back for a second time in January 2015. “The concept of providing visitors with more orientation, which significantly helps to initiate business contacts at the exhibitors’ stands, has been well received by the industry,” says Köckler. The coming year will also see innovations in applications and installation technology featured in one of the three special exhibition areas for the first time. On November 5, 2014, a jury of ten chaired by internationally renowned industrial designer Stefan Diez will be selecting the best ideas from those submitted.

Berlin architectural firm Matter puts innovations center stage
Headed by André Schmidt, Berlin-based architectural firm Matter is responsible for the creative presentation of the innovations in the three special display areas. Schmidt has developed a customized design for each Innovations@DOMOTEX area relating to the particular qualities of the product categories in halls 6, 9 and 17. As a central meeting place and highlight of the trade fair, the areas provide an inspiring overview of the product innovations and their design options.

Special guests: top designers Stefan Diez, Ross Lovegrove, Roberto Palomba
A series of presentations and discussion forums complete the program. With the focus increasingly shifting towards the design of striking floors, internationally renowned architects, interior designers, planners and designers, such as Stefan Diez, Roberto Palomba and Ross Lovegrove will discuss tomorrow’s trends and the effects on their work at the Innovations@DOMOTEX Talks in Hall 6. In addition, architects and designers participating in the presentation program will lead visitors on Guided Tours from the special areas to the exhibitors’ stands.

Luxurious and exclusive hand-made rugs are featured in Hall 17, where renowned designers and manufacturers – including Rug Star, Floor to Heaven, Jan Kath Design, Makalu, Obetee, Reuber Henning, Hossein Rezvani, Wool & Silk Rugs and Zollanvari – will be showcasing their latest creations. Classic hand-made rugs can be found mainly in halls 15 and 16. Hall 14 will also include an exhibition space for antique rugs, which provide an exciting contrast in modern home interiors.
 
Carpet Design Awards 2015 presented in conjunction with Innovations@DOMOTEX
For the first time, the Carpet Design Awards will be presented as part of Innovations@DOMOTEX in 2015. “Uniting the two will offer exhibitors significant added value for the presentation and promotion of their exclusive creations,” underlines Köckler. The renowned competition is regarded as the most prestigious international award for modern hand-made carpets. Chaired by London-based designer Michael Sodeau, an international jury will select three carpets in each of eight categories. These will be featured in the Innovations@DOMOTEX area in Hall 17. The winners in each category will be announced on Sunday, January 18, 2015 during the official award-giving ceremony.

A more hands-on approach will be taken in Hall 7, where parquet layers, floorers, interior decorators, painters and carpenters can find out all they need to know about innovative installation, maintenance and application techniques as well as useful information for their day-to-day professional lives. Moreover, visitors can obtain comprehensive information about parquet, wooden and laminate floors and also outdoor flooring in halls 8 and 9.

Posted October 28, 2014

Source: Domotex
 

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — October 28, 2014 — Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN), a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting technology and product authentication solutions, announced today a commercial agreement with a textile manufacturer to purchase a SigNature T^® DNA mark, in order to protect and authenticate Extra Long Staple Pima cotton starting October 27, 2014. This agreement will enable the textile manufacturer and its large retail partners to assure quality and preserve the integrity of the textile supply chain, starting from the grower to the consumer.

The SigNature T commercial program involves the creation of a unique, SigNature T DNA marker that will be used to mark the customer’s annual demand of Extra Long Staple Pima cotton at the ginning stage. Once marked, the premium Pima cotton fiber may be authenticated for textile identity along any node in the supply chain, from grower to ginner to spinner to manufacturer to distributor to retailer. The company calls this approach to managing textile identity in the supply chain “Fiber Forward^™.”

Pima or Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton is a highly valued, luxuriously long fiber. It represents about 5% of the overall U.S. cotton output, the equivalent of an estimated $1.25 billion per year industry in the United States. Production of all types of cotton fiber is a $25 billion-per-year industry in the United States, employing over 200,000 people.

Once the Pima cotton is marked following each step of the process, its textile identity will be tested accumulating “provenance data” linking the original cotton fiber to finished product, preserving the authenticity of the product and the integrity of the supply chain.

MeiLin Wan, Executive Director for Apparel and Textiles, Applied DNA Sciences, said, “The kind of value that comes from a trusted, traceable and transparent supply chain is immeasurable, and we know consumers respond well to brands they trust, and even more to products they know will wear and launder well. Every moment of our daily lives involves a textile — from the bed sheets you woke up in, to the wrinkle free cotton oxford shirt you wear with that wool suit, to the upholstered fabric in the car you drove to work in, to the carpet in your office,” commented Wan.

The SigNature T DNA marker, an advanced technology based on botanical DNA, is robust, long-lasting, and uncopyable. APDN’s platform also includes a unique test for Extra Long Staple Pima cotton identity called fiberTyping, and can also include a cloud-based track and trace system called digitalDNA.

Applied DNA Sciences is a security provider in the form of a biotechnology platform. Many of its customers are protected under confidentiality.

“We have found in all our businesses — electronics, plastics, and many others — that supply chain participants must work together,” said Dr. James A. Hayward, President and CEO, Applied DNA Sciences. “There is no substitute for communication, trust and information exchange. We can help empower, with our DNA solutions, all supply chain stakeholders in building this kind of community.”

Posted October 28, 2014

Source: Applied DNA Sciences
 

RALEIGH, N.C. — October 23, 2014 — Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced today that E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) is expanding its operations in Lenoir County.  The company plans to create 18 new jobs and invest $30 million over the next three years in Kinston, N.C.

“DuPont is one of North Carolina’s best known employers,” said Governor McCrory. “By adding these high-paying, quality jobs to their production facility in Kinston, the company is making a much-needed difference to the economy in this part of the state.”

DuPont employs more than 750 workers in North Carolina.  The company’s Kinston site produces DuPont^™ Sorona^® renewably sourced polymer. Sorona is made in part from annually renewable plant-based ingredients and is used primarily in fiber applications, including textiles used in apparel, home furnishings, and for carpets, including residential, commercial and automotive carpets and mats.  Producing Sorona uses 30% less energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 63% compared to producing an equal amount of nylon 6, a widely used carpet material. The Kinston site is the largest polymer plant in the world that produces DuPont Sorona.

“Cities like Kinston in eastern North Carolina are continuing to see the benefits of employers recognizing what a great state we are to do business in,” said Secretary Decker. “By adding these jobs in Lenoir County, DuPont is able to take advantage of North Carolina’s incredible workforce and business-friendly attitude.”

Salaries will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs will likely exceed $60,000 plus benefits. The Lenoir County average annual wage is $32,744.

“Our expansion is due to the strong demand for our renewable Sorona polymer,” said William Feehery, President of DuPont Industrial Biosciences. “Sorona is the cornerstone of our biomaterials business – a product with superior performance in terms of softness and stain resistance.  We are pleased to be able to manufacture these innovative products in the state of North Carolina with a fantastic workforce and the support of forward-thinking leaders and the local community.”

The project was made possible in part by a performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund of up to $80,000. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance, through local governments, to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. Companies receive no money up front and must meet job creation and investment performance standards to qualify for grant funds.  These grants also require and are contingent upon local matches.

“This is good news for Lenoir County and for Kinston,” said Representative John Bell. “These additional jobs are a great sign that eastern North Carolina is continuing its economic comeback as we work to continue to promote our state as a great place to do business.”

“Lenoir County and Kinston will benefit,” said Representative George Graham. “DuPont has been a part of our community since 1953 and we are very fortunate to have them as a corporate citizen.”

Other partners that helped with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Rural Economic Development, N.C. Department of Transportation, N.C. Community Colleges, Lenoir Community College, Duke Energy Progress, Lenoir County Economic Development and Lenoir County.

Posted October 24, 2014

Source: N.C. Office of the Governor