Pendergrass, Ga.-based TenCate Geosynthetics Americas — the U.S. operation of the Netherlands-based
Royal Ten Cate’s TenCate Geosynthetics business — has developed TenCate Mirafi® RS280i, a
patent-pending geotextile for roadway and railway reinforcement that combines high modulus,
permittivity, separation and coefficient of interaction to provide maximum benefits.

TenCate Mirafi RS280i is the third and final product in TenCate’s RSi series of
geosynthetics, which also includes TenCate Mirafi RS580i, a highly engineered, high-strength
geotextile that provides base reinforcement and subgrade stabilization coupled with high water
permeability and soil retention; and TenCate Mirafi RS380i, a lighter version of RS580i that offers
an economical option for less severe roadway reinforcement applications.

“We are constantly exploring ways to improve our products to provide the most economical
solutions to job owners,” said Brett Odgers, PE, market manager — roadway reinforcement. “With the
success that RS580i and RS380i have had to accomplish this goal, we felt a final product was needed
to complete the series to provide the best solution for all road and railway reinforcement and
stabilization projects.”

May 21, 2013

Researchers at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, have found that unprocessed low-micronaire
cotton surpasses other, higher grades of cotton in its ability to absorb oil, making it the most
effective cotton-based solution for cleaning up crude oil spills.

The research team, led by Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D., manager of the Nonwovens and Advanced
Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech’s The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), found
that one pound of the low-grade cotton can take up more than 30 pounds of crude oil, while
repelling water owing to its natural waxiness. The team published its findings in the American
Chemical Society journal “Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.”

“In this region, about 10 percent of the cotton grown in West Texas is low micronaire,”
Ramkumar said. “It doesn’t take a dye well, so it gets discounted. However, because low-micronaire
cotton is less mature, it shrinks, and you are able to pack more fiber into a given area. The
strength here is that the low-micronaire cotton absorbs the most crude oil,” he added, noting that
the oil sticks to the surface and is also absorbed into the fiber.

Noting the technological shortfalls seen in the cleanup efforts following the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in 2010, Ron Kendall, director emeritus at TIEHH and special assistant to the
president, said the research team’s findings are a “breakthrough discovery” that answers the need
to improve oil cleanup technology. “It gives us an excellent tool for cleanup of shorelines,
animals and ecologically sensitive areas as well as a new technology for booms that can stop oil
sheen moving into wetlands. And it’s biodegradable,” he said. “This is just another added bonus use
for low-end Wet texas cotton.”

“Our interest was to see how raw cotton straight from the bale picks up the crude oil as well
as determining the governing mechanism behind picking up the crude oil,” Ramkumar said. “We show
through sophisticated testing that low-micronaire cotton is much finer and can pick up more crude
oil. And crude oil is very different from refined motor oil. It’s very dense and releases toxic
vapors. It’s not as easy to get picked up. In contrast to synthetic sorbents, raw cotton with its
high crude oil sorption capacity and positive environmental footprint make it an ecologically
friendly sorbent for oil spill cleanup.”

Texas Tech graduate student Vinitkumar Singh performed laboratory experiments using crude
oil. Cotton Incorporated, Cary, N.C., and The CH Foundation, Lubbock, provided funding for the
research.

May 21, 2013

Raleigh, N.C.-based Xanofi — developer of XanoShear™ nanofiber production technology targeted to
filtration, acoustic and other nonwovens applications — has signed a 10-year agreement with Seika
Corp. — a Tokyo-based conglomerate with businesses in a range of industrial markets — under which
Seika will distribute Xanofi’s products in Japan.

“This agreement allows Xanofi to expand market penetration for our upcoming products while at
the same time creating awareness of our new technology,” said Miles Wright, CEO, Xanofi. “It’s a
partnership that gives us a strong presence in numerous countries.”

Xanofi introduced its XanoShear technology in November 2012 as a cost-effective,
high-yielding alternative to existing meltblown and electrospinning nanofiber production
technologies. XanoShear comprises a liquid-based platform for the production of water-dispersible
staple fibers that can be integrated using existing production methods into products for
applications including medical, filtration, acoustic and energy applications. Products have been
manufactured using wet lay methods, and the company reports is developing wet and dry spraying
capabilities.

According to Xanofi, the technology offers advantages including high scalability and the
ability to apply functionalizing coatings or particles to fibers at full production speeds. In
addition, the platform features a closed, energy-efficient system that does not release materials
into the environment.

May 21, 2013

Lenzing AG, Austria, reports it will sell 85 percent of its shares in Lenzing Plastics GmbH to a
consortium led by Invest AG, the investment arm of the Raiffeisen Banking Group Upper Austria. The
sale is part of Lenzing’s strategy to focus on its core fiber manufacturing business, which
represents 90 percent of consolidated sales.

“With this change of ownership we will enable the excellent company Lenzing Plastics to grow
further and optimally exploit business opportunities under a new and experienced industrial owner,”
said Lenzing CEO Peter Untersperger.

Lenzing Plastics will continue to operate at the Lenzing site and utilize infrastructure
services located there.

“We see outstanding future and development potential in this high-tech Upper Austrian
company, and consider Lenzing AG to be an excellent partner to further develop the company,” said
Heinrich Schaller, CEO, Raiffeisenlandesbank Upper Austria.

Consortium members include Invest AG, Beteiligungsgesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. OG, Tyrol
Equity AG, Lenzing Plastics Managing Director Johann Huber and former Lenzing AG Management Board
Member Christian Reisinger.

May/June 2013

itema Spinning business unit Savio Macchine Tessili S.p.A., Italy — with support from Europe-based
private equity fund Alpha — has acquired a controlling interest in yarn splicing and textile
testing equipment maker Mesdan S.p.A., Italy.

Savio has 1,469 employees and reported a 460 million-euro turnover in 2011. The company
produces yarn-finishing machinery and quality-control systems, and has operations in Italy,
Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, China and India.

Mesdan has 84 employees and in 2011 reported nearly 40 million euros in turnover. It has
received several patents relating to air and water joint technology. Operations outside of Italy
include a joint venture in China and a subsidiary in India. The company will continue to operate as
an independent enterprise.

May/June 2013

U.S. Representatives David Price, D-N.C., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., have reintroduced in the House
of Representatives the American Textile Technology Innovation and Research for Exportation (ATTIRE)
Act (H.R. 937).

The bill would provide $5 million in competitive grants to fund research and innovation in
the U.S. textile industry, which contributes $60 billion to the national economy and employs more
than 500,000 people. Eligible recipients would include educational and nonprofit research
institutions involved in high-tech textile research and development projects.

“The level of innovation we’re seeing in the textile industry is very promising,” Price
said. “Innovation is key to the future health and competitiveness of the American textile industry.
Critical federal investments in research and development help our domestic textile manufacturers
stay a step ahead of global competition. The ATTIRE Act will help ensure the next generation of
high-tech fabrics is made in the United States.”

May/June 2013