SITTARD, The Netherlands — March 30, 2011 — As a result of continued escalations in the costs of
key raw materials, DSM Engineering Plastics will increase prices on several engineering plastic
product lines in North America. Increases effective as of April 14, 2011 are as follows:

Akulon® Film Grades     +$0.12 per pound

Novamid® Film Grades  +$0.12 per pound

DSM Engineering Plastics, Inc. will increase the price of Akulon® polyamide polymer for use
in fibers, extrusion, and compounding effective as of April 4, 2011 as follows:

Akulon® Polyamide 6     +$0.12 per pound

Posted on March 30, 2011

Source: Royal DSM N.V.

For decades, the international textile community has been arguing about that fact that too many
exhibitions exist all over the world. However, in spite of all initiatives to stop this costly
trend, there is no end of the inflation of shows.

Another trend can be seen in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Exhibition organizers Messe
Frankfurt GmbH succeeded in attracting the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) Garment and Leather
Technology Association away from a cooperation with Koelnmesse GmbH to be the conceptual sponsor of
the IMB show for textile processing machinery in Cologne, Germany, after the close of IMB 2009. The
association is now Messe Frankfurt’s conceptual partner for a new show in Frankfurt. Maybe with the
idea to reduce the number of exhibitions, Messe Frankfurt established Texprocess, and will hold its
first edition May 24 to 27, 2011, alongside Techtextil 2011, the most popular exhibition for
technical textile applications. Texprocess, International Trade Fair for the Processing of Textiles
and Flexible Materials, will mainly show manufacturing equipment and technologies for the apparel
industry.

Techtextil

Techtextil 2011 will be held May 24 to 26. The organizers call it “International Trade Fair
for Technical Textiles and Nonwovens, the leading trade fair for the technical textiles and
nonwovens sectors.” However, the forthcoming INDEX in Geneva, is still the number-one venue for the
entire nonwovens sector only
(See ”
The
Rupp Report: INDEX, The Nonwovens Industry Summit,” www.
TextileWorld.com, March 8, 2011).

Techtextil is no doubt the world’s highlight for the combined technical textiles/nonwovens
sector, and an absolute must for every company and individual that is working with industrial
fabrics and is willing to enter new market opportunities. Fibers, fabrics, machinery, R&D, and
even retailers and wholesalers can find the solution under one roof for any new product relating to
industrial fabrics, including durable nonwovens. Nevertheless, with nearly 1,200 exhibitors from 45
countries and 24,000 trade visitors from 85 countries exhibiting at Techtextil 2009, Michael
Jänecke, brand director of Techtextil, is expecting at least the same figures regarding exhibitors
and visitors for this year’s show. Pre-sales figures show a positive trend.

Material Vision

In addition to Texprocess, also taking place in parallel to Techtextil is Material Vision,
Materials for Product Development, Design and Architecture International Trade Fair and Conference.

“Three trade fairs at the same time and at the same place — not only does this offer
significant synergies, but it is also of interest to both exhibitors and visitors in terms of cost
and time considerations,” Jänecke said. However, time will tell if three events plus a symposium at
the same time are not competing with one another and confusing not only the exhibitors of each
sector, but also — and even more — the visitors.

Communication

In the field of industrial textiles applications, it has been of major importance that there
be an ongoing discussion and cooperation among all interested parties. In this connection,
nanotechnology can play an important role, including nanofibers for various applications such as
filtration as well as nanoscale surface finishes including soil-release, abrasion-resistant,
conductive and luminescent. However, nanotechnology has not yet totally been explored. There is
still some strong hesitation because the results and influence of this technology are not yet fully
known.

Clever Products

Today, technical fibers must have additional properties such as antimicrobial and flame
resistance, warming and cooling qualities, or self-cleaning effects — or even
temperature-regulation, as in phase-change polyester fiber, which should neutralize temperature
fluctuations.

A Swiss manufacturer will demonstrate new high-performance fabrics including what it calls a
rechargeable drug-delivery textile whose approach turns around the improvement of factors such as
wellbeing, prevention and therapy. The textile base material can be impregnated individually with
substances that provide beneficial or therapeutic effects. Originally, the manufacturer conceived
the material for medical wellness in protective apparel or sportswear, but now, the plan is to use
it for dispensing drugs. The product was under development for more than seven years.

Composite Fabrics

Composite structures are probably the most promising sector of this industry in the next few
years. Using the right fibers for the right fabrics and combining them in different layers — even
with nonwovens — results in products with inherent characteristics that were impossible a few years
ago. Virtually every product is possible, and the further development of new resins and fibers such
as carbon opens new possibilities, where the skies are the limit. And textiles play an important
role in the sky: airplanes are constructed more with composite materials instead of steel, thanks
to the inherent qualities of composites and — first of all — much lower weight, which leads to
reduced fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Various companies are focusing on the prominent subject of sustainability, which is becoming
more and more a key factor for market success, mainly in the West, but also in Asia, thanks to the
increasing awareness for the environment.

For a cleaner environment, duroplastic and thermoplastic bonded layers are also applied for
rotor blades of wind-driven power-generating equipment. The discussion about alternative energy
production is again on the front pages of all newspapers and in the focus of television news around
the globe after the disaster in the Japanese nuclear plants. “These facts,” Jänecke said, “will
lead the producers of tailor-made industrial fabrics and products to the forefront of interest, and
I expect that this will lead them to considerable growth rates.”

March 29, 2011

Safety Components Fabric Technologies Inc., Greenville — an International Textile Group company —
has revamped the HydroMax™ water-repellent, mildew-resistant, breathable finish it applies to its
WeatherMax® outdoor fabric, woven using Greensboro, N.C.-based Unifi Inc.’s solution-dyed SaturaMax
solution-dyed yarns. The company has replaced the traditional C8-based polytetrafluoroethylene
chemistry previously used in the finish with more eco-friendly C6-based chemistry, and reports the
revamped finish retains its original high-performance characteristics.

“Our technical staff and suppliers have been working on making our fabric even more
environmentally friendly for over a year to make sure our performance level did not decline,” said
John Pierce, WeatherMax product manager. “We are very pleased we were able to improve the finish
for both WeatherMax 80 and WeatherMax LT, while reducing environmental impact.”

WeatherMax 80 weighs 8 ounces per square yard (oz/yd2), and WeatherMax LT weighs 6.5 oz/yd2.
Safety Components also makes WeatherMax in an 8.5-oz/yd2 flame-resistant variety, WeatherMax FR.

According to Safety Components, WeatherMax is completely recyclable and highly breathable,
and is twice as strong and six times as tear- and abrasion-resistant as acrylic fabrics. The
company guarantees the fabric’s color retention for five years minimum.

March 29, 2011

The 2011 edition of the Denim Runway design contest — a competition launched in 2010 for apparel
design students at Lubbock, Texas-based Texas Tech University with the purpose of educating
contestants on all links of the denim supply chain — is underway. Sponsored by Lubbock-based Plains
Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) and Cotton Council International (CCI) — the Washington-based
export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council, Memphis, Tenn. — in collaboration with the
university’s Apparel Design and Manufacturing Department (ADM) in the College of Human Sciences,
the contest offers students a comprehensive look at the cotton industry.

“It is vitally important for consumers to know and understand where their fiber comes from
and everything involved in the entire supply chain,” said Wally Darneille, president and CEO, PCCA,
which operates the only vertically integrated denim apparel supply chain in the Western Hemisphere.

Students visited a local cotton farm during harvest in October 2010 to learn about cotton
production and environmental stewardship and also visited a cotton gin to see the first steps of
processing cotton and hear presentations about PCCA’s cotton marketing programs. In February 2011,
the students toured American Cotton Growers, PCCA’s denim mill in Littlefield, Texas, to observe
production of the denim fabric they will use in their designs for the contest. Students will return
to the mill April 7-8 to work with PCCA employees to finish their designs.

“This year, we worked with the ADM faculty to add two new categories so more students can be
involved and to give these student-designers an opportunity to see every phase of cotton production
from cotton fields to denim manufacturing,” Darneille said.

In addition to the fashion jeans competition featuring designs for men’s and women’s jeans,
the Casual category offers contestants the opportunity to design and create anything using denim
fabric, and the Cotton Trend Board category allows contestants to research trends for cotton fiber
and apparel.

Denim Runway 2011 contest winners will be announced at Texas Tech’s TECHStyle Fashion Show on
April 30. Winners in the women’s and men’s jeans category will receive an all-expense-paid trip to
Denimatrix LP, PCCA’s cutting and sewing facility in Guatemala, where they will have the
opportunity to participate in the entire process of creating high-fashion jeans; as well as an
all-expense-paid trip by CCI to the Colombiamoda apparel sourcing show in Colombia. The winner in
the Casual category will receive a $500 cash prize and a recognition plaque, and the Cotton Trend
Board winner will receive a $200 cash prize and a recognition plaque.

March 29, 2011

Charlotte-based SATO America Inc. — a manufacturer of barcode printing, labeling and electronic
product code/radio frequency identification solutions, and the North American division of
Tokyo-based SATO Corp. — has introduced GY412, an industrial-design direct thermal printer with two
print heads that print simultaneously on both sides of a coated label. According to the company,
the new printer offers improved productivity and cost savings because it removes the need for
secondary printers to print packing slips and the associated cost of additional printing supplies;
and also eliminates waste such as the label liner used with single-sided label printers.

“Typically, most companies utilize up to three printers for their picking, packing, and
shipping processes,” said Robert Linse, president, SATO America. “One printer for the pick list,
one for the packing slip, and one for their shipping label; but now with the GY412, the need for
the packing slip printer and the associated costs of paper, ink or toner, and packing slip adhesive
pouches is eliminated. This is a significant savings in real dollars as well as in labor costs as
the solution may allow process modification and reassignment of staff to more critical need
activities.”

The GY412 is suitable for applications including transportation, logistics, e-commerce
fulfillments and forms, and shipping labels, among others. The printer features a variety of
onboard linear and two-dimensional symbologies; high-speed printing up to 10 inches per second; and
interface options including USB 2.0, LAN (10/100BaseT) and RS-232C (Serial).

March 29, 2011

AmSafe Industries Inc. — a Phoenix-based provider of engineered textile products for aviation,
defense and specialty vehicle applications — has received a $4 million contract from the United
Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence (MOD) to supply its Tarian QuickShield rocket-propelled-grenade
(RPG) protection system.

Tarian QuickShield is based on Amsafe’s patented Tarian technology, which comprises a
lightweight modular system that replaces traditional bar or slat armor on vehicles such as
high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) that cannot handle the weight of traditional
RPG armor. The lightweight textile net system can be used in place of damaged or missing bar armor.
According to the company, it can easily be stowed aboard the vehicle and immediately fitted to
replace damaged bar armor without disrupting a crew’s mission.

“The introduction of Tarian QuickShield into operations in Afghanistan allows vehicle crew to
rapidly repair damaged bar armor in the field, without the need for specialist tools, and will
therefore help to ensure better vehicle protection during extended missions away from bases,” said
Major Gareth East, REME, UK MOD Specialist & Logistic Vehicles Project Team.

Introduced in 2009, Tarian technology has been tested in the UK by the Defence Science and
Technology Laboratory, a division of the Ministry of Defence, and in the United States by the
Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and has been shown to
withstand more than 550 live firing shots. Tarian is up to 98-percent lighter than steel bar/slat
armor and up to 94-percent lighter than aluminum bar/slat armor.

March 29, 2011

Morrison Textile Machinery Co., Fort Lawn, S.C., reports it recently has received orders for denim
processing machinery and equipment from several denim manufacturers in Mexico and Asia. Sales of
Morrison Denim Systems include the following:

Mexico-based Manufacturas Kaltex S.A. de C.V. is expanding its production with the
installation of two MDS integrated denim finishing ranges that feature S8 compressive shrinking
units with AutoGRIND™ for automated resurfacing/belt grinding based on a two-hour grind cycle.
AutoGrind documents current belt thickness and meters produced since the previous grind cycle. A
GrindVAC™ vacuum system captures belt resurfacing by-products.

In Bangladesh, Ha-Meem Denim Ltd. has ordered a second MDS integrated denim finishing range,
this one featuring a new modular component design and S8 rubber belt shrinking unit with GrindVac
and SanforTROL™ shrinkage control. According to Morrison, SanforTrol is the only truly closed-loop
shrinkage control system available.

As part of a planned expansion, Partex Denim Ltd., also based in Bangladesh, has ordered
Morrison’s SPECTRUM™ 250 indigo rope range for 24 or 32 rope production, four BW 450 ball warpers
with creels, 10 MDS RB 550 rebeamers with yarn strummers, reverse drive accumulators and tub
turners, and two MDS integrated denim finishing ranges with S8 rubber belt shrinking unit with
GrindVac and SanforTrol and a WESTechnologies™ data collection system.

Three China-based companies — Shaoguan Shunchang Weaving, Shijiazhuang Fangyu I & E and
Upper Universe — have ordered indigo rope dye ranges for 24 ropes with 12 dye boxes and over dye
steamers to enable processing of dark shades and maximize color flexibility.

In India, Oswal Denim Ltd. has ordered another Spectrum rope range with eight dye boxes for
processing of dark shades and certain sulfur dyes; as well as a second MDS integrated denim
finishing range with a new modular designed compressive shrinking unit featuring AutoGrind.

India-based LNJ Denim, part of RSWM Ltd., has ordered 2 MDS RB 550 rebeamers, each featuring
AC drives, reverse drive accumulators, sheet strummers and single end winders.

March 29, 2011

Bekaert Carding Solutions, part of Belgium-based advanced materials and coatings supplier NV
Bekaert SA, reports its SiroLock® doffer and worker wire provides improved fiber control and web
quality, and increased productivity on nonwoven and long-staple roller cards.

SiroLock was developed for use on the breast section of the card’s main cylinder, where it
can take up to 50-percent more fibers than conventional card wire, thereby reducing recycling of
fibers as well as the need for cleaning stops, according to Bekaert. Other advantages include
reduced fly, resulting in decreased raw material costs and improved web regularity; and improved
blending and the ability to have wider settings between cylinders and workers/doffers than with
conventional wire as a result of the higher carding spaces created. The wire also can be used in
processing a wide range of fibers including hollow, siliconized, aramid and melt fibers; as well as
a wide range of fiber densities.

March 29, 2011