MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — January 11, 2016 — Conwed, the leading plastic netting manufacturer in the world, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016. Led by the campaign theme “Celebrating our Past, Engineering our Future”, Conwed plans to communicate the collaborative approach and thirst for innovation that have made them the partner of choice in diverse industries. Since 1966, Conwed has developed netting solutions for hundreds of industrial and consumer products worldwide. Founded in Minneapolis, MN, Conwed has now 5 manufacturing locations on two continents, more than 400 employees and a global distribution network.

During the last 50 years, Conwed netting has been a key component in diverse market applications. Netting is used to reinforce, protect, contain, separate, laminate and stretch a wide range of materials and substrates in various industries. “Our netting helps make products lighter, stronger and more durable. Netting sometimes may not be easily visible, but it hides behind the scenes in products we all use on a daily basis”, said Ivan Soltero, Strategic Marketing Manager at Conwed.

Enjoying rapid growth in its first three decades of existence, Conwed introduced reinforcement netting to bedding products, became essential in reinforcing carpet cushion and provided separation, containment and support to diverse air and liquid filtration products. Then, the erosion control industry boomed and Conwed netting became a key material in erosion control blankets, turf reinforcement mats and wattles. Conwed also thrived creating netting for hay and forage containment, turf harvesting and crop protection. “When someone asks what Conwed does, it might be complex to explain as netting can be found in many different industries; people buy turkey or produce at a supermarket contained in a netting bag, walk on their living room carpet supported by carpet cushion reinforced with netting, run on a backyard lawn harvested with netting, wear disposable diapers with elastic netting waistbands, or use industrial wipes reinforced with our netting. You can find us in the most unexpected places”, added Soltero.

In the last decade, Conwed has expanded into porous pavers, rug liners, reverse osmosis feed spacers, elastic hygiene composites, packaging multilayer netting and high-temperature netting for automotive, oil, hydraulic and liquid filtration applications. “Our netting innovation relies heavily on our customers’ product development needs. We pride ourselves on customizing each netting design to the point where we rarely have an off-the-shelf netting solution for our customers. Netting is so versatile that we encourage customers to share what their challenges are before assuming they can’t be solved”, said Soltero.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Conwed prepared a new video where company milestones and history are highlighted. “Our audience will be surprised with this new video. We wanted to bring some fun and excitement to our 50 years of netting innovation across industries. So we asked the question – 50 years ago, could you have predicted an entire world of netting?” shared Soltero.

Posted January 11, 2016

Source: Conwed

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — January 05, 2015 — Coolcore LLC, a producer of thermoregulation fabrics, announced it acquired substantially all assets and intellectual property from Tempnology on December 18, 2015. Tempnology had filed for bankruptcy on September 1, 2015.  Coolcore will retain all existing Tempnology employees and has plans to add additional staff in 2016.

“Today is an exciting day and new beginning for our industry-leading material innovation company,” stated Mark Stebbins, the lead investor in Coolcore LLC.  “We’re thrilled to provide financial commitment that will propel Coolcore into its next phase of growth.”

Tempnology recently won the award for “Best Innovation – Sports and Outdoor Apparel” for its patented line of cooling fabrics from the ITMA Future Materials Awards.In addition to the award for “Best Innovation”, Coolcore was named a finalist in the “Groundbreaking Partnership” category for its collaboration marketing launch programs.

Tempnology’s fabric formulations have also earned the prestigious “Innovative Technology” recognition from the Hohenstein Institute, a first for a U.S. company, and the only company globally to be awarded this recognition for “Cooling Power.”  The award-winning fabrics are supported by two current patents and several other pending ones.

“Mr. Stebbins and his investment group have provided crucial support for our growing company as we have established ourselves as a leader in the marketplace,” stated Kevin McCarthy, President and CEO of Coolcore.   “The future at Coolcore is very bright with our recent awards and patents and continuous development in the fast-growing thermoregulation apparel category.”

Through the sale, Coolcore obtained several partnerships with global consumer brands such as Brooks, Cabelas, Disney, Imperial Headwear, and LL Bean, to develop and commercialize thermoregulation performance fabrics.  Additionally, Coolcore intends to continue distributing to several global distribution partners who sell finished goods including accessories, towels, medical wraps and sports medicine products under the Coolcore and Dr. Cool brand names.

Posted January 5, 2015

Source: Coolcore

STAMFORD, Conn. — January 5, 2016 — Hexcel Corp. announced today that it has acquired full ownership of Formax UK Ltd. Hexcel acquired a 50 percent interest in the privately-owned company in December 2014.

Located in Leicester, UK, Formax is a leading manufacturer of composite reinforcements, specializing in the production of lightweight carbon fiber multi-axials and highly engineered glass fiber and aramid fiber fabrics. The purchase of the remaining interest in Formax will allow Hexcel to further advance dry reinforcements technology for future aerospace applications and provide scale for growing industrial markets.

Hexcel’s Chairman, CEO and President, Nick Stanage, stated: “Our joint venture has demonstrated how well Formax technologies and products complement our product line and will help us grow our aerospace and industrial businesses. We believe that fully integrating the Formax operations into Hexcel will enable us to accelerate the synergies between our operations and enhance our abilities to provide innovative solutions to our customers. We welcome Formax to our company, and we’re looking forward to a successful future together.”

Posted on January 5, 2016

Source: Hexcel

Galway, Ireland — December 21, 2015 — Proxy Biomedical Ltd. — a global innovator in the design, development and manufacturing of biomaterial based product solutions for medical implants — today announced a substantial facility expansion. Over the last 12 months, the company launched a series of innovative product solutions to address unmet needs in key markets and support growing customer requirements. The expansion is a direct result of new business, and continued revenue growth, supported by the recent launch of these new solutions.

Early this year, the company expanded its range of resorbable and non-resorbable biomaterial solutions for vascular indications. The company is now a leading supplier of PTFE encapsulation for stents, in addition to offering a range of biomaterial coating solutions for structural heart implants, as well as occlusion and retrieval devices.

Proxy also launched Proxy Bio-XT, a unique proprietary process that reinforces resorbable implants for applications such as soft tissue fixation in Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics.  In April, the company released ProTEX Med polypropylene, a custom synthesized resin with a unique FDA Master File reference. The material will be used for manufacturing implantable textiles, facilitating the approval process for products, such as hernia mesh, used in General Surgery.

To accommodate these additional technologies and services and to meet growing demand, Proxy Biomedical is undergoing a substantial facility expansion, which is due for completion in Q2 2016. The company will double cleanroom manufacturing facilities, introducing a suite of new technologies and biomaterial conversion processes.

“It has been an exciting year for Proxy Biomedical, as we have expanded our technology portfolio and enhanced both our facility and our team, to better accommodate market needs and the growing demand for our product solutions,” said Peter Mulrooney, Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to see substantial year on year revenue growth and we look forward to maintaining this momentum in the years ahead.”

Looking forward to 2016, Proxy Biomedical expects to expand its solutions portfolio for resorbable biomaterials, in both textiles and solid implants.  Pre-clinical trials are scheduled to evaluate innovative antimicrobial implantable materials, while the company’s coating capabilities are set for further expansion, to accommodate an ever greater range of indications. 

Posted January 4, 2016

Source: Proxy Biomedical