MINNEAPOLIS — January 10, 2013 — Zepol Corporation, the leading trade intelligence company, reports
that U.S. vessel imports have risen a slight 1.2% in 2012. This was a total of over 17.6 million
TEUs (twenty-foot-containers) imported, or roughly 200,000 more containers than 2011. Slow and
steady growth seems to be the consistent pattern for the year as import volume still has not
returned to 2007 or 2008 levels. Zepol has seen a large spike from 2009 to 2010 and then a
plateau-like trend for the past three years, although 2012 was an especially unique year for U.S.
imports. 

“In the past 12 months there have been strikes at the ports, hurricanes, and shifts in
manufacturing. Not to mention that in a post-recession economy, U.S. companies are running their
businesses much more conservatively.” says U.S. trade expert and CEO of Zepol Paul Rasmussen, “It’s
no wonder that 2012 imports were less than dramatic and certainly not back to the massive
consumption seen in 2007.”

A Closer Look at U.S. Imports for 2012:

1. What countries does the United States import the most from?– U.S. imports from
Asia increased 0.2% from 2011 but it’s nowhere near the increase seen from Europe which rose 6.4%
in 2012. China, the leading exporter to the United States decreased in TEU exports for the second
consecutive year by 0.4%. Although, South Korea, the second largest exporting country, increased
1.2%. Japan and Germany, the third and fourth largest exporting countries to the United States,
also had some significant growth in 2012, rising by 2.2% and 8.7%, respectively.

2. What were the top U.S. ports in 2012? – The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
are the busiest ports in the country and both have posted slight decreases from 2011 by 0.7% and
2.3%. On the other hand, the Port of Newark/New York, the nation’s third largest port, increased in
2012 by 1.6%. Notable increases in traffic were also seen from the Port of Norfolk, Virginia by
10.3% and the Port of Charleston, South Carolina by 7.4%.

3. Which carriers brought in the most goods? – As for the ships that carry all
these goods to the United States, Maersk Line was the top carrier again for 2012 and increased in
TEUs from 2011 by 7.9%. Mediterranean Shipping Company was the second largest carrier in 2012 and
rose a slight 0.6% from 2011. APL Co. ranked third and had a solid increase in TEU imports by 5.1%.

Source: Zepol Corp.

BOZEMAN, Mont. — January 21, 2013 — TEXbase, a leading provider of web-based, on-demand and
interactive Product Integrity Management software solutions, has now amassed more than 100
suppliers and testing labs on TEXbase CONNECT, its on demand supplier collaboration platform.
CONNECT securely unifies brands, retailers, suppliers and labs for material and product
development, testing protocols, RSL’s, COC’s, quality testing and compliance documentation.

TEXbase delivers Quality data management, supplier collaboration and product compliance
solutions that improve quality, streamline operations, manage compliance and reduce cost.

The TEXbase collaboration platform includes new suppliers like YKK, Esquel Enterprises, TAL
Group and testing labs such as SGS Consumer Testing Services, and UL-STR, which increases the
breadth and depth of collaboration options for our brand and retail customers.

CONNECT provides brands and retailers with real-time access to their supplier and testing lab
data, by virtue of its multi-dimensional collaboration platform which reduces production errors and
ultimately lowers the cost of non-compliance. CONNECT provides suppliers with a solution to promote
materials and components to TEXbase brand clients, who can instantly search, view and import
materials directly into their product development process.

Joe Walkuski, Founder and CEO, TEXbase: “CONNECT is a unique platform and represents the
underpinnings of our entire solution suite, providing a data management and collaboration platform
that produces a single version of the truth by uniting brands, retailers, suppliers and labs. Much
of the apparel industry suffers from manual, fragmented and linear business processes that consume
too much time and introduce too much risk. CONNECT provides actionable data, not just documents and
a streamlined shared process that enables brands to innovate, suppliers to rapidly increase sales
and labs to cost effectively test and validate compliance requirements. This milestone of 100
CONNECT partners, validates market requirements and highlights the unique value TEXbase enables. We
expect the CONNECT ecosystem to continue its rapid growth throughout this new year.”



Posted on January 22, 2013

Source: TEXbase

PARIS — January 2, 2013 — The whole world is going to converge on Paris, the composites capital, to
take part in the industry’s largest international technological showcase: “JEC Europe – Composites
Show & Conferences”, from March 12 – 14, 2013 at the Paris Porte de Versailles.

Conferences and a trade show of an unprecedented scale

Twelve key themes will be highlighted during the 3-days trade show: Design, Non-Destructive
Testing, Robotics, Aeronautics, Automotive, E-car, Wind Power, Carbon, Biocomposites,
Thermoplastics, Multifunctional Materials and Environment.

With 50,000 sqm of floor space, the equivalent of 8 soccer fields, the JEC Show will
represent the global composites industry and its most recent advances in heavily
composite-consuming sectors such as aerospace, aeronautics, shipbuilding, railway, automotive, mass
transportation, construction, equipment and sports & leisure.

A growing sector

“The global composites market represents 81.6 billion euros in value and 9.2 million metric
tons in volume for 2012. This market is growing an average of 6% per year. Composites are used more
and more often to lighten structures, aircraft, and vehicles in general, thus improving energy
efficiency,” states Frédérique Mutel, JEC Group President and CEO.

An innovative industry

“Innovation is present in each of the steps of the value chain. Producers of raw materials
(polymers, as well as carbon, glass and natural fibers) have heavily invested in the research and
development of new formulations. Downstream, at the part manufacturing level, the industry is also
highly innovative.”

Manufacturing technologies, an area of excellence for JEC Europe 2013

“The sector, notably in Europe, has strongly advanced in the processing of composites.
Especially in Europe, innovation is directed towards manufacturing, and in particular, mass
production,” specifies Frédérique Mutel. “Of all the patents granted for composites in Europe in
2011-2012, 52% involved robotics and automated manufacturing processes. It is probable that these
technological advances will primarily interest major international contractors and decision-makers
in countries with rapidly growing populations and economies.”

Posted on January 22, 2013

Source: JEC Group

WASHINGTON — January 17, 2013 — The United States and Thailand yesterday concluded a two-day
meeting under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), agreeing to expand cooperation
on bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues in order to increase trade and investment and
support the creation and retention of jobs in both countries. The U.S. and Thai teams, which were
led by Barbara Weisel, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and
Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations at the Thai Ministry of Commerce Piramol
Chareonpao, also discussed advancing the U.S.-ASEAN Enhanced Economic Engagement Initiative
announced by President Obama and the ASEAN Leaders last November, as well as ways to coordinate our
approaches in APEC and the WTO.

The delegations focused on ways to expand goods, services, and agricultural trade, improve
the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and resolve other issues affecting
the commercial environment.  The United States raised concerns related to Thai import
restrictions on pork products, proposed measures that would require domestic processing of credit
card transactions, and regulations that would restrict foreign participation in the Thai
telecommunications sector.

During the meetings, Thailand and the United States also exchanged information on regional
developments. The United States provided an update on the status of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
negotiations, and outlined the goals and objectives we are seeking in this agreement.

Background

Thailand is a key ASEAN trading partner and longstanding ally. Currently, the United States
is Thailand’s fourth largest trading partner and Thailand is the 27th-largest trading partner of
the United States, with $40 billion in bilateral goods and services trade in 2011. Major U.S.
exports to Thailand include electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, plastics, and
cotton.  The United States has invested more than $11 billion in Thailand led by investment in
the manufacturing and services sectors.

Source: USTR

Rosemont, Ill.-based Wynnchurch Capital Ltd. has announced a growth equity investment in Foss
Manufacturing Co. LLC, a Hampton, N.H.-based manufacturer of specialty fibers and needlepunch
nonwoven fabrics.

Foss Manufacturing has significantly expanded its automotive business unit, which
manufactures headliners, upholstery, seating, carpet and other such products for original equipment
manufacturers. The company also produces and markets Fosshield® antimicrobial products, Eco-Fi®
polyester fiber made using recycled polyethylene terephthalate bottles, and a range of other
products. The company has been expanding operations at its facility in Hampton, and last year
announced plans to open a 220,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Rome, Ga.
(See ”
Foss
Manufacturing To Open Facility In Rome, Ga., Create 150 Jobs,” TextileWorld.com, October 2,
2012).

“With the support of Wynnchurch, Foss is well positioned to succeed on our strategic growth
plan and continue to deliver innovative and responsive solutions to help our customers grow,” said
AJ Nassar, CEO, Foss Manufacturing. “Our management team is looking forward to partnering with
Wynnchurch to continue to grow our business.”

“We look forward to partnering with AJ Nassar and his team to support the Company’s growth
plans and continue its long history of innovation and technical leadership,” said John Hatherly,
president, Wynnchurch Capital.

January 15, 2013

The International Oeko-Tex Association, Switzerland, has announced it will replace the current
Oeko-Tex® Standard 1000 certification system for sustainable production with Sustainable Textile
Production (STeP) by Oeko-Tex.

The goal of the new certification system is to provide production companies along the textile
value chain — including brand manufacturers, retailers, associations and non-governmental
organizations — with transparent documentation of their environmentally friendly and socially
responsible production conditions. In order to become STeP by Oeko-Tex certified, a company must
have its production facility successfully evaluated and audited by an Oeko-Tex institute and then
scored using a Web-based process.

“The heart of the new STeP certification is the modular analysis of all relevant company
areas such as quality management, use of chemicals, environmental protection, environmental
management, social responsibility and health and safety,” said Oeko-Tex Secretary General
Jean-Pierre Haug, Ph.D. “As the certification tool is specifically tailored to the situations in
the individual processing stages of the textile and clothing industry, it can provide interested
companies with targeted support for continuous improvement of their production conditions.”

The required criteria for STeP by Oeko-Tex certification will be regularly verified and
updated with consideration for international legislation and standards as well as current market
developments. Oeko-Tex reports it will take into account existing certification to standards such
as ISO 9000, ISO 14001 and SA 8000 when evaluating companies for STeP certification.

STeP by Oeko-Tex will be introduced to the public at the Prime Source Forum in Hong Kong on
March 26, 2013, and certification to the system will commence June 12, 2013.

In other news, Oeko-Tex also has updated its criteria and limit values for testing textiles
for harmful substances in accordance with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification process.
Following a three-month transitional period, the new regulations will go into force for all
certification procedures on April 1, 2013.

January 15, 2013