Holbrook, Mass.-based Eastex Products Inc. — a supplier of textile products and solutions for
healthcare and other markets — has introduced a line of waterproof, breathable fabrics for original
equipment and contract manufacturers of healthcare products such as wheelchair cushions, mattresses
and orthopedic braces.

Eastex Medical Fabrics are made of 100-percent polyester or polyester/nylon blends; are
offered in several stretch and non-stretch versions; and may be customized with antimicrobial,
flame-retardant and other coatings to meet product specifications. Thickness, weight, tensile
strength, tear strength and other properties will differ depending on customization. The fabrics
are airtight, making them suitable for manufacturing inflatable products, and may be sewn and then
welded using sonic or radio frequency techniques. 

March 8, 2011

This year’s INDEX 11 — the 10th edition of the triennial nonwovens exposition — will take place at
Geneva Palexpo Exhibition & Congress Centre in Geneva April 12-15, 2011. Innovation and
sustainability are the drivers at this year’s event. The global meeting point of the nonwovens
industry reports that already more than 500 exhibitors have confirmed their participation, and for
the first time, the exhibition covers more than 52,000 square meters of floor space. The organizers
expect more than 12,500 visitors from more than 100 countries to attend this leading international
showcase, which takes place in Geneva every three years.

Tailor-made Products

Nonwovens are tailor-made products that are used in a wide variety of applications —
traditionally in the medical, hygiene and personal care products industries and increasingly in
applications within the automotive, construction, home furnishings, filtration and packaging
industries. They may be a limited-life, single-use fabric or a durable fabric, providing specific
functions such as absorbency, liquid repellency, resilience, stretch, softness, strength,
flame-retardancy, washability, cushioning, filtering, bacterial barrier and sterility.

Sustainability Report

Brussels-based show sponsor EDANA, the International Association Serving the Nonwovens and
Related Industries, will release its new sustainability report on the opening day. Building on the
association’s mission to create an environment beneficial to sustainable and profitable growth of
the industry participants through the active promotion of sustainable development, consumer
interests and transparency, the report examines how players throughout the supply chain work
together to achieve a more sustainable final product. A multitude of nonwoven applications will be
covered in the report.

Special Events

INDEX 11 will also host a series of special events that provide an additional platform to
share knowledge and to network with business contacts from around the world. Speakers from all over
the world, among them some leaders of the industry, will take part in the free educational and
promotional activities. Helen Rushton, product development manager of Geneva Palexpo S.A., event
organizer, told the Rupp Report: “The INDEX is truly the global showcase for nonwovens with a broad
spectrum of what is possible today with nonwovens. However, some sectors, such as innovation and
packaging, various workshops, EDANA’s vision of the future and, last but not least, sustainable
products will be highlighted.” Rushton also said in a recent interview that a few weeks before the
start of the event, the exhibition space was extended to be able to welcome more exhibitors. “The
number of visitors is more or less the same but everybody wants for floor space,” she added.

Also from the visitors’ side, there is a trend toward true globalization of the nonwovens
industry. “We see a growing interest from visitors from the Middle and Far East,” Rushton said.
“Also these people see the advantages of nonwovens for modern industrial applications.”

Interactive Workshop

A workshop dedicated to innovation will be available free-of-charge to all registered
visitors and exhibitors during INDEX 11. The “Management Workshop on Innovation” will help managers
to judge the strong and weak points of innovation in their companies. Attendees learn how to build
and sustain superior innovation capabilities. Advance registration for this valuable event should
be made online.

Product Presentations

Under the theme “Solutions for Tomorrow,” presentations from exhibitors will show the latest
innovations and the most up-to-date developments in the application of nonwovens. Visitors will
have free access in a special auditorium within the exhibition halls, and there will be around 30
presentations covering the whole range of the exhibition program, starting on the afternoon of
April 12.

Packaging Workshop

Packaging is becoming more and more important in today’s world. Economical but also
ecological solutions are very much in the focus of a special packaging workshop. The utilization of
nonwovens is growing rapidly in the packaging field in a very broad range of applications from tea
bags to fashion shopping bags. The session will also highlight revolutionary high-profile
applications and offer a networking area with displays of new packaging products.

INDEX 11 Awards

The INDEX 11 Awards are designed to encourage and acknowledge innovation and new ideas in
nonwovens, their raw materials and the machinery used in making or converting nonwovens. The
winners of the prestigious INDEX Awards will be announced April 12 at the EDANA stand. The INDEX
Awards are certainly the highest honor for the best examples of excellence in the nonwovens
industry and highlight some of the most outstanding innovations. The interest in the awards is
always strong and the entries are assessed on creative ideas, new technology and innovative
products.

Vision 2020 Launch

EDANA will publicly launch its joint study on the future of the nonwovens and related
industry in a program titled Vision 2020. Aimed at supporting member companies in identifying the
challenges and opportunities in the coming 10 years, the program was developed with support from
futurists and market experts. Information about the program will be shared with attending media on
the opening day of INDEX 11, while EDANA members will receive the information and reports the week
before. “During the crisis in the last few years, we have seen a trend towards more applications
for nonwovens in different areas,” Rushton said. “Traditional fabrics used to be the first choice
to apply, but more and more, users [are seeing the] advantages of tailor-made nonwovens products.
We’re looking forward to a successful INDEX 11.”

More information is available in the next issue of

Textile World
and

Textiles Panamericanos
, and is currently online at

www.
TextileWorldAsia.com
. For questions about the show, contact
index@geneva-palexpo.ch.

Textile World
and its sister magazines

Textiles Panamericanos
and

Textile World Asia
will be present at the show in booth 4294. We’re looking forward to seeing you in Geneva!

March 8, 2011

Dalton, Ga.-based carpet manufacturer and floor covering provider Shaw Industries Group Inc., a
subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., reports its Tuftex carpet manufacturing plant in Santa Fe
Springs, Calif., has been named the 2010 Facility of the Year by the California Water Environment
Association (CWEA) in recognition of the plant’s innovative wastewater, stormwater and air quality
conservation efforts and waste management practices. Shaw was presented the award last month at
CWEA’s 38th annual P3S Training Conference & Exhibition.

Sustainability initiatives at the plant include diverting residual waste from landfills to a
waste-to-energy facility in Commerce, Calif.; recycling its entire carpet production waste into
pre-consumer recycled content; and using low mono-nitrogen oxides burners on two ship-scale boilers
to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions into the air. The facility has received CalRecycle’s Waste
Reduction Awards Program award for six years running, as well as the Central Basin Municipal Water
District’s Visionary Stewardship Award.

“As a local manufacturer, it was important to Shaw to implement environmentally responsible
practices, especially those that drastically conserve water at the facility, being that the
Colorado River — which provides water for our county — has remained in a drought for the past 11
years,” said Bill Woyshner, Shaw’sTuftex Divisional Environmental/Safety Manager.

“Shaw’s Santa Fe Springs facility stands out in California for its commitment to
environmentally conscious practices across all aspects of its operations,” said Paul D.
Schmidtbauer, CWEA P3S Awards Committee Chair – South. “From recycling and saving millions of
gallons of water to its ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ status, the facility is a model of best
environmental practices for our state.”

March 8, 2011

Researchers at the Hohenstein Institute, a Germany-based textile research and testing laboratory,
have completed a field study financed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology through
the Federation of Industrial Research Associations on the effect of antibacterial apparel on skin
flora and microclimate.

The study involved 60 healthy volunteers who wore special T-shirts — treated on one side with
an antibacterial treatment, with no such treatment on the other side — for at least eight hours
each day for four weeks. Researchers studied the effect of an antibacterial spinning additive as
well as an antibacterial finishing treatment, both containing silver. Antibacterial activity in the
samples was tested in the laboratory using test bacteria before the survey began.

Each week during the survey, researchers investigated various parameters for the skin flora
and microclimate and had test sites on skin dermatologically assessed. At the beginning of the
trial, and during and after a series of tests, researchers identified the types of skin bacteria on
each of the volunteers’ natural skin flora. They also studied three aspects of the skin’s
microclimate: vapor loss through the skin, skin moisture levels and the pH value.

Upon completion of the study, researchers determined that antibacterial apparel provides the
intended protection against bacteria that may enter via perspiration, but it does not affect skin
flora or the microclimate of healthy skin; therefore, antibacterial apparel textiles may be
classified as safe.

March 8, 2011

The Netherlands-based life and material sciences company Royal DSM NV has entered into an agreement
to become the majority shareholder in China-based Shandong ICD High Performance Fibre Co. Ltd.
(ICD), a manufacturer of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber. According to DSM,
ICD is a strong player in the high-performance fiber market in China, and the acquisition will
strengthen DSM’s position in that market, bringing complementary technologies and manufacturing
resources.

“China is a key market for DSM and we will continue to grow our long term commitment to it,”
said Nico Gerardu, DSM Managing Board member responsible for DSM’s Performance Materials cluster.
“We have invested significant time and effort to identify the right partner to ally with for this
acquisition and we are extremely excited about the prospect of bringing ICD into the DSM
portfolio.”

“This is an exciting development for everyone at ICD and I believe it will help to secure our
future growth and success in the Chinese UHMWPE fiber market,” said Ren Yi, general manager, ICD.

March 8, 2011

After 127 years of being at the same address in Mönchengladbach, Germany, traditional textile
machinery manufacturer A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will leave its headquarters
and move to new premises at the so-called “Schlafhorst Businesspark” in Mönchengladbach. One may
say, and especially for its tenter frames, that Monforts is an internationally recognized label of
quality for finishing machinery. The company employs 148 people at its site in Germany and some
1,000 worldwide. And the results for 2010 are very positive.

Shorter Ways

Monforts is one of the global market leaders in textile finishing machinery, with an export
share of more than 90 percent and a newly rented office space of some 2,200 square meters and
production area of about 3,700 square meters. The Rupp Report asked Klaus A. Heinrichs, vice
president, marketing, about the reasons for the move: “Well, of course,” he said, “there is some
melancholy over leaving the old site. However, we can’t win anything with melancholy. With the new
premises at the business park, we will improve a lot. The internal channels are much shorter; the
organization is much leaner and more compact.”

Nothing In Common With Other Group Members

The people who know Monforts’ old premises are aware of the fact that all the divisions and
productions sites were spread all over a huge area at the Schwalmstrasse. The company was acquired
in March 2006 by the holding company L. Possehl & Co. mbH, but the other companies of the
Possehl Group have nothing in common with Monforts’ textile machinery activities. “This is another
reason to concentrate Monforts’ textile core business in one place,” Heinrichs said.The Possehl
textile finishing business unit — including the Monforts production centers in Mönchengladbach; St.
Stefan, Austria; and Monforts Fong’s Textile Machinery Co. Ltd., a joint venture (JV) with Fong’s
Industries Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen, China — is gaining ground. “On the Chinese market alone, we could
sell almost 1,200 finishing lines from the joint venture production,” Heinrichs explained. JV
project management, however, is in the hands of the people in Mönchengladbach.

Parent Company’s Best Result Ever

The Possehl Group is a diversified group that comprises nine independently operating
divisions organized within a decentralized structure. The group includes L. Possehl & Co. mbH
and its 130-plus subsidiaries in more than 30 countries. Net group sales totaled some 1.72 billion
euros for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The company has approximately 8,600 employees worldwide, with more
than half based in Germany. This represents an increase of 2,300 employees, or 36 percent, over the
previous year, and reflects mainly acquisition activities concentrated in the domestic market.

Heinrichs said that for FY 2010, Possehl realized the best operating result in its 163-year
history, leaving the crisis year of 2009 far behind. FY 2010 preliminary earnings before taxes
(EBIT) are reported to be approximately 81 million euros and exceeding the record earnings reported
in FY 2007 by some 8 percent. All corporate divisions realized profits last year.

The Rupp Report also asked about Monforts’ share in terms of turnover and benefit. Heinrichs
replied that “A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG, together with the joint venture
Monforts Fong’s, contributed a considerable amount worth millions to the pleasing results of the
Possehl Group.” Even in 2009, when the markets were quite shaky, Monforts achieved a positive
result.

It was reported that many of the group’s companies posted record profits, and emerged from
the crisis stronger than before. Possehl also benefited from the global economic recovery.

Solid Cash Flow

Consolidated net sales totaled a record 1.72 billion euros, returning Possehl to a track for
long-term growth after only one year of decline. The company reported sales increases were
strongest in the domestic market, which now accounts for well over 50 percent of total sales.
Excluding acquisitions, sales rose by some 33 percent, much greater than most industries in
Germany. In addition to rising orders reported by nearly all group divisions, increased commodities
and precious metals prices — particularly for gold — boosted sales.

The group’s net cash position improved despite the strong organic and acquisition-related
growth in FY 2010, although Possehl financed all acquisitions entirely using its existing cash
holdings. Year-end net cash totaled 48.7 million euros, compared with 28.1 million euros at the end
of FY 2009, and Possehl continues to remain debt-free on a net basis.

Promising Future

Possehl reported that the excellent capitalization and liquidity also creates sustained
growth opportunities — including additional acquisitions — going forward. Heinrichs’ look toward
the future is positive: “After the consequences of the economic crisis, the atmosphere has
brightened up further thanks to an increasing demand for our machines. We at Monforts want to
further enhance the good result from the previous year. The markets in general and particularly in
Latin America, but also in Asia, are further showing a stable upswing.”

And how does Heinrichs judge the impact of Possehl’s acquisition in the last five years? “The
Possehl philosophy of a long-term commitment secures and tightens further the strong position of
Monforts as a premium supplier of German high-tech textile machinery,” he said.



March 1, 2011