FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — May 3, 2012 — An interdisciplinary team of engineers at the University of
Arkansas has developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient
information, regardless of the patient’s location, and communicates that information in real time
to a physician, hospital or the patient herself.

The system includes a series of nanostructured, textile sensors integrated into a
conventional sports bra for women and vest for men. Via a lightweight and wireless module that
snaps onto these garments, the sensors communicate with system software that relies on a smart
phone to collect information, compress it and send it over a variety of wireless networks.

“Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological
changes,” said Vijay Varadan, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering. “It is a platform
on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the fabric. The garment
collects and transmits vital health signals to any desired location in the world.”

The system monitors blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption,
some neural activity and all the readings provided by a conventional electrocardiograph (ECG),
including the ability to display inverted T waves, which indicate the onset of cardiac arrest. The
system does not require a cuff or any extra accessories to measure blood pressure and could
therefore replace conventional blood-pressure monitors. It could also replace the cumbersome
combination of ECG sensors and wires attached to patients while they walk on treadmills.

The sensors, which are smaller than a dime, include gold nanowires, as well as flexible,
conducting textile nanosensors. The sensors are made of arrays of gold nano-electrodes fabricated
on a flexible substrate. The textile sensors are woven into the bra material. These sensors do not
require conventional sticky electrodes or the use of gel.

Electrical signals and other physiological data gathered by the sensors are sent to the
snap-on wireless module, the contents of which are housed in a plastic box that is slightly smaller
than a ring box. As the critical wireless component, the module is essentially a low-powered laptop
computer that includes an amplifier, an antenna, a printed circuit board, a microprocessor, a
Bluetooth module, a battery and various sensors. The size of the module depends heavily on power
consumption and minimum battery size. Varadan said that anticipated battery and Bluetooth upgrades
will allow the researchers to build a smaller – 1.5 inches long, 0.75 inch wide and 0.25 inch deep
– lighter and flexible module that will replace the rigid box.

Data from the sensors then stream to commercially available cell phones and hand-held
devices, which expand the use of the system beyond health care. By carrying a cell phone, athletes
can monitor all signs mentioned above and other metrics, such as number of calories burned during a
workout. To render clean data, the software includes filtering algorithms to mitigate problems due
to motion of the hand-held device during exercise.

Whether on a computer or cell phone, the software is set up so that users can view all data
on one screen or window, or they can view each measurement on its own unique window. The software
also includes a global positioning system that tracks the exact latitude and longitude of the
patient or athlete. The geographic information is transferred to a cloud cluster and stored in a
secured database that doctors or other health-care personnel can access to view location of the
patient as well as historic or real-time ECG data. The system can also be programmed to send
emergency messages, via voice or text messaging, if it detects extreme or abnormal conditions.

Varadan has not yet published findings on the e-bra, but results on the system, which he
calls an e-Nanoflex Sensor System, were published in the
Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine. The research is supported by the
Global Institute for Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine.

Varadan holds the College of Engineering’s Twenty-First Century Endowed Chair in Nano- and
Bio-Technologies and Medicine and the college’s Chair in Microelectronics and High Density
Electronics. He is director of the High Density Electronics Center and the Center for Wireless
Nano-, Bio- and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Varadan is also a professor of neurosurgery in the College of Medicine at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Ark.

Source: University of Arkansas

The controversy over inclusion of a strong yarn-forward rule of origin in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement that is currently being negotiated is evident in two letters sent last
week – one from a bipartisan group of House members to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador
Ron Kirk and one from a bipartisan group of Senators to President Barack Obama — urging opposing
positions on the rule. In their wake, textile, apparel and retail groups have released statements
supporting one or the other of the two positions.

The letters were sent out in anticipation of the round of TPP negotiations that began today
in Dallas and will conclude May 18. The current U.S. position supports a strong yarn-forward rule
of origin.

In the House, 76 congressmen — led by Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Larry Kissell, D-N.C., and
including 35 Republicans and 41 Democrats — sent a letter to Ambassador Kirk urging that strong
textile rules be included in the TPP agreement in order to “stimulate private investment, exports
and job growth within free trade partnering countries, including the United States. To date, we are
pleased at the strong position the United States has taken regarding Rule of Origin issues and we
urge USTR to likewise take a strong stance in support of other key textile and apparel negotiating
objectives regarding market access and customs enforcement.” The letter lists three objectives on
which to focus: the yarn-forward rule of origin; market access rules; and customs enforcement
rules.

In the Senate, 15 senators — led by Mark Warner, D-Va., and including seven Democrats and
eight Republicans — sent a letter to President Obama urging more flexible textile and apparel rules
and “meaningful market access.” The letter calls the current U.S. position “an overly broad
approach” and urges instead “a new approach which reflects the significant value created by
American retailers, apparel brands, manufacturers, and importers as well as domestic textile
producers. Such an approach should include a flexible general rule of origin for apparel that
maximizes the incentive to grow U.S. exports, value and jobs in the TPP.” The letter goes on to
say, “For specific products for which there is significant U.S. production, we suggest that you
work with industry to develop criteria to determine when it would be appropriate to include rules
of origin that require more U.S. or TPP content.”

The Textile and Apparel Alliance for the TPP (TAAT) — a coalition comprising fiber, textile
and apparel organizations representing 30 countries in the Americas and Africa; and including U.S.
organizations the American Fiber Manufacturers Association, American Manufacturing Trade Action
Coalition, National Cotton Council, National Council of Textile Organizations, National Textile
Association and United States Industrial Fabrics Institute — strongly supports the position taken
in the House letter sent to Ambassador Kirk. TAAT was formed in February 2012 after TPP participant
Vietnam proposed textile and apparel country of origin rules that would enable its state-owned
enterprises to use subsidized inputs produced in China and export the finished goods duty-free to
other TPP participants. The coalition notes that allowing inputs from China in Vietnamese goods
would provide China with new, unrestricted access to the U.S. market. It supports textile rules
that are based on rules in free trade agreements (FTAs) the United States has negotiated over the
last 25 years.

On the other side, the TPP Apparel Coalition — a coalition of American retailers, apparel
brands, apparel manufacturers and importers; and including U.S. organizations the American Apparel
& Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Outdoor Industry Association, The Retail
Industry Leaders Association, and The United States Association of Importers of Textiles and
Apparel — strongly supports the position taken in the Senate letter sent to President Obama.
Coalition members have long opposed the yarn-forward rule in its current iteration, which they say
is not viable in current global value chains and has not led to new U.S. exports or new apparel
trade with TPP countries with which the United States has had FTAs.

May 8, 2012

ITM Texpo Eurasia 2012, the International Textile Machinery Exhibition, took place from April 21 to
24 in Istanbul, Turkey. Some 1,132 exhibitors from 33 countries filled 85,000 square meters of
fairground space in nine well-organized halls. The Rupp Report spoke to the organizers as well as
to some important exhibitors to get a first impression of the show. Since its start in 2004, the
event has enjoyed continuing growth.

For Necip Güney, marketing and sales director of co-organizer Teknik Fuarcılık Ltd., it was
clear from the start in 2004 that the ITM trade fair should be held in one country for the whole
region. “This year,” he said, “the show was presented in a different way; it was merged with Texpo
Eurasia trade fair, which before took place every year. And our idea was right, the exhibitors were
quite happy with the result of ITM 2012.”

Most of the interviewed exhibitors were happy; however, some had mixed emotions. The first
and second day were considered to be very good, but the third day — which was a national holiday —
was rather poor. “It seems that the Turkish people don’t want to spend a free day from their work
to visit an exhibition,” one exhibitor explained to the Rupp Report. However, the overall results
and the quality of the visitors were judged to be good, and the expectations were fulfilled. A very
big agent of many European top labels explained that this show is the best for him: “Here, we see
not only the decision makers but also the boss, who is spending all the money, and that’s very
important for Asian people.”

Many Different Visitor Countries

According to the organizers, most visitors came from Turkey, of course, as well as from the
Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa. Umit Vural of co-organizer Tüyap Tüm Fuarcılık said,
“The visitors coming from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen were showing some kind of
‘Arab Spring.'” At the moment, the Turkish government is supporting the textile industry with a
considerable amount of money. For Vural, the consequences are clear: “Since the beginning of the
industry, the textile industry has been Turkey’s locomotive industry. I’m convinced that this
recent stimulus package has been another motivation and a driving force for a successful show.”

Exhibitors confirmed that many visitors came from Turkey, followed by people from Egypt,
Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan and Ukraine as well as some from Belarus. There is no doubt that Turkey is
the hub and ITM is the gateway to the up-and-coming countries of the Middle East. More than one
exhibitor mentioned the establishment of a high-quality man-made-fiber industry in some Middle East
countries: “Iranians and Syrians are ready to invest,” said one exhibitor. “However, due to the
well-known political problems, they are not able to place the orders.”

Sufficient Feedback

Since the beginning of this year, Turkey’s export figures have been soaring to new heights
every month. The export figures of the first quarter of 2012 show a total of US$12.6 billion, and
the first four months netted US$16 billion. Experts estimate the share of the textile industry
within these first-quarter export figures total some US$4 billion to US$5 billion, underlining the
importance of the textile industry for the national gross domestic product.

Where Are The Weavers?

One exhibitor mentioned that the ITM standard has improved considerably, up to the European
standard. But one thing was quite strange: The big European weaving machinery manufacturers didn’t
show up. The Rupp Report heard many different rumors through the grapevine. One source said they
didn’t show up because Turkey is a knitting country. Another one said there was an agreement among
the absent producers, for whatever reason. Well, probably, the truth will never be discovered.

Important Markets

Of course, all interviewed people confirmed that the Chinese market is still the most
important one, but Turkey has become the second-most important market in the last eight to 10
months, even ahead of India. And the reasons are evident: the stimulus program from the Turkish
government on one side and the internal problems of India on the other side.

No doubt, and this was the unanimous opinion of all interviewed exhibitors, Turkey will
become even more important for the textile machinery manufacturers and the global retailers. The
already mentioned stimulus package is one reason. “But,” said one European exhibitor,
“geographically, Turkey has an outstanding strategic position. It’s moving, vibrant and full of
innovation. On top of that — and this is quite a surprise — there is no bureaucracy like there is
in many other countries. If you want to move something, you can do it fast.” This was confirmed in
another way by a few Turkish textile producers from the yarn and fabric-forming sectors: “Our order
books are full up to the end of 2012, and we look into the year 2013 with confidence.”

May 8, 2012

Highland Industries Inc., a Greensboro, N.C.-based industrial and automotive textiles manufacturer,
recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Cheraw, S.C., manufacturing facility, which
includes fabric forming and aqueous finishing capabilities and is said to be the largest airbag
manufacturing facility worldwide. Festivities included a traditional southern barbeque that was
attended by employees, company leaders and community officials.

Highland Industries was founded in 1940 as Burlington Industries Industrial Fabrics Co., and
the Cheraw facility was built in 1961. In 1988, the company and the plant were acquired by Takata
Corp. — a Japan-based manufacturer of automotive safety systems including airbags, seat belts,
interior parts, electronics and other related products — and was renamed Highland Industries.
According to the company, the cooperative spirit of its employees and a commitment to innovation
and technological advances have helped it survive the challenges brought by lower-cost competition
in other countries. In addition, the leadership of Takata Corp., including Juichiro (Jim) Takada
and his son, President and COO Shigehisa Takada, has been very important to Highland Industries’
success.

“The personality of Cheraw is one to be held up and admired,” said Shigehisa Takada in an
address to those attending the celebration. “Since I first came here nearly a quarter-century ago
when my father first purchased the facility, the consistent things I see are the people, some I
recognize still here today. The building and the machines have changed, but many of the people have
remained. This stable and dedicated workforce is a unique trait, and that togetherness and
commitment has helped to make you the success you have become. Combining individual pride with a
commitment to teamwork is a winning combination, and that is what Cheraw represents.”

As part of the celebration, Cheraw Mayor Andy Ingram presented Takada with a key to the city
of Cheraw and declared April 10 to be officially recognized each year as Takata Day in Cheraw.

“This has been a tremendous day for all of us,” said David Jackson, president and COO,
Highland Industries. “What made it extra special was we celebrated this milestone appropriately
with our company’s corporate leaders in attendance — especially Mr. Shigehisa Takada. Plant
leadership, employees, and the community representatives have all worked together over the years to
make Cheraw a shining example of what can be accomplished through constant teamwork. It has been
said that in order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

“We have had a very strong and dedicated team with tremendous leadership over the years who
are undaunted by challenges,” Jackson continued. “That type of dedication is what has kept us
moving forward over the past half-century, and is what will drive us to the challenges of the next
50 years.”

May 8, 2012

Dell’Orco & Villani S.r.l. — an Italy-based manufacturer of fiber blending equipment and
machinery and plants for recycling textile waste materials — has introduced the Twin Carding Opener
(TCO) fiber carding and opening machine. A revision of the company’s CO single drum opener, the
state-of-the-art machine features two cylinders that work in tandem as well as a number of
peripheral working rollers.

The TCO comprises two sections: the first featuring two feed rollers with rigid wire
clothing, a main cylinder that can be clothed with rigid wire or supplied with lags and pins, and
three working rollers with rigid wire clothing; and the second featuring a main cylinder and five
working rollers, all with rigid wire clothing. According to the company, the different combinations
possible for wire clothing choice, speed options and the distance setting between rollers and main
cylinders enable flexibility in the machine’s applications, allowing opening of a range of
nonwovens production waste — even that which usually cannot be processed on comparable machines on
the market. The machine is available in either a 1,500-millimeter (mm) or 1,000-mm working width,
and can be fed either manually or by a chute feed or regular hopper feeder.

Dell’Orco & Villani reports the machine uses only 20 percent of the power usually
required for comparable operations; offers high productivity; and has a low footprint.

May 8, 2012

France-based industrial company Reyes Groupe has acquired all the assets of SwissTex France S.a.s.
— a manufacturer of twisting, assembling, cabling, covering and winding machinery for technical
and textile yarn markets, and formerly part of the SwissTex group also including SwissTex
Winterthur AG, Switzerland. Going forward, Reyes will operate the company under the name Verdol.
SwissTex France has been operating under a Chapter 11-type regulation of the French courts.

Reyes has worked with SwissTex for more than 25 years and is familiar with its products and
expertise — including brands such as Verdol, ICBT, Rieter ICBT and RITM. The new owner believes
this knowledge will help it enhance Verdol’s technological, commercial and financial strength.

“Verdol and its teams, which we renewed our confidence for the quality of work in recent
years, will be able, given the new resources that we put now at their disposal, to bring you again
a better service and remove the failures of the past,” said Reyes Groupe CEO Christophe Reyes and
Verdol General Manager Jean-Claude Gnonlonfoun, in announcing the acquisition.



May 8, 2012

Croatia-based Azonprinter d.o.o. has debuted a direct-to-garment printing solution that is faster
and less energy-consuming than the current Azon models, requires little maintenance and produces
textiles with a soft touch. The printing solution uses new INVI inks, which require no primer and
facilitate printing on dark garments, the company reports. It comes in sizes A2+ as well as A1,
which has exchangeable dual platens designed for industrial production and large quantities.

May 8, 2012