The

Textile Industries Media Group (TIMG)
has relaunched TextileWorld.com after a comprehensive redesign. The updated site now features
a more streamlined look, a more user-friendly homepage, easier-to-use search functions, and a
comprehensive textile news archive of more than 10,000 articles searchable across a range of
textile industry segments.

Additionally, TextileWorld.com has been redesigned to be more search-engine-friendly, making
Textile World content more accessible to major search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

TextileWorld.com continues to feature breaking textile industry editorials and news, current
and past issues of

Textile World
, the

Textile World
Resource Store and the

Textile World
International Buyers’ Guide, as well as links to sister publications

Textile World Asia
and
Textiles Panamericanos. TextileWorldAsia.com and TextilesPanamericanos.com are
currently undergoing redesigns as well and will launch in 2008.

November 19, 2007

The Washington-based American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved NSF 140-2007,
Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard, as an American National Standard. It is the first
multi-attribute ANSI-approved standard for environmentally preferable building materials. The
approval also gives the US carpet industry the distinction of being the first industry to have a
unified sustainable standard for the entire United States.

The standard was developed over the last five years by a group that included government
representatives, manufacturers, consumers and other stakeholders, with guidance from Ann Arbor,
Mich.-based NSF International. NSF 140-2007 now offers the carpet industry a market-based
definition for a route to creating sustainable carpet, and establishes environmental and
performance requirements for public health; energy and energy efficiency; bio-based, recycled
content and environmentally preferable purchasing materials; manufacturing; reclamation and
end-of-life management.

Carpet products certified with the new standard are expected to be available at retail by the
second quarter of 2008, according to the Dalton, Ga.-based Carpet & Rug Institute.



November 13, 2007

In order to accommodate increased customer demand for tensioned fabric structures, American
Spaceframe Fabricators International (ASFI) LLC has relocated from Crystal River, Fla., to Ocala,
Fla. The 120,000-square-foot (ft2) headquarters in Ocala will serve as home to all of the company’s
operations and 55 employees.

ASFI received assistance for its relocation in the form of an $115,000 grant from the City of
Ocala’s Economic Improvement Fund, which the company used to purchase machinery for the new
facility.

The company began relocating in June, and last week held a grand opening ceremony to
celebrate completion of the transition. Approximately 40 people — including members of the Ocala
Chamber of Commerce, the Ocala Marion County Economic Development Council, clients, vendors and
media — attended the event, which included speeches by company and local government
representatives, among other activities.

“Although tensioned fabric structures have been around for decades, recent advances in
technology combined with flexibility and cost effectiveness of these structures has led to a
significant increase in both the size and number of projects being developed,” said Craig Anderson,
president and CEO, ASFI. “As architects and businesses become more aware of the possibilities that
exist with fabric structures, demand will continue to grow. The new facility will enable us to grow
our business and take on more complex and larger projects.”

Current ASFI projects include the design and manufacture of a 60,000-ft2 covered seating
structure at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s new amphitheatre; a temporary aircraft canopy for
Lockheed Martin that will serve as a portable hanger for stealth fighter jets; a 400,000 ft2
worship and meeting center in Puerto Rico for La Carpa, an international religious and peace
organization; and an indoor soccer facility to be installed in Northern Siberia.



November 13, 2007

The Switzerland-based Rieter Group has signed an agreement to purchase Berkol, the textile
components business unit of Switzerland-based Huber+Suhner AG, for an undisclosed price, effective
Jan. 1, 2008. The acquisition includes the Berkol business, employees and trademark rights. Berkol
will be integrated into Switzerland-based Bräcker AG, a company within Rieter’s Textile Systems
Division, for the purpose of expanding the division’s technology components product offerings.

Berkol designs and manufactures cots and aprons for spinning machines, and equipment and
machinery to service and maintain such components. The business employs 23 people and generates
annual sales of approximately 11 million Swiss francs (US$9.8 million). Bräcker is a manufacturer
of ring travelers and spinning rings for ring-spinning machines, and employs some 75 people. The
two companies serve the same global market.

Going forward, Huber+Suhner will focus on its core business of providing electrical and
optical connectivity solutions. “The sale of the [Berkol] unit to Rieter offers Berkol the best
basis for continuing and sustaining its development as part of the core business of a worldwide
active, leading Swiss group,” said Urs Kaufmann, CEO, Huber+Suhner.



November 13, 2007

Effective December 1 or as contracts allow, The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., will increase
list and off-list prices of certain oxygenated solvents products sold in North America.

Acids will increase by 4 to 5 cents per pound; alcohols by 4 to 6 cents per pound; acetone
derivatives by 4 cents per pound; esters by 3 to 4 cents per pound; E-series glycol ethers by 3 to
4 cents per pound; and P-series glycol ethers by 3 cents per pound.

Also effective December 1, the company will increase North American list and off-list prices
of certain TERGITOL™, TRITON™ and DOWFAX™ surfactants by 2 to 5 cents per pound; and certain
CARBOWAX™ and CARBOWAX SENTRY™ polyethylene glycols, methoxypolyethylene glycols and other
polyglycol products by 2 to 5 cents per pound.

November 13, 2007

Israel-based apparel manufacturer Delta Galil Ltd. has selected Needham, Mass.-based Parametric
Technology Corp.’s (PTC®’s) FlexPLM™ (product lifecycle management) Web-based solution for retail,
footwear and apparel for implementation across its manufacturing enterprise. Delta Galil — which
employs 10,500 associates at locations in North and Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia — will
implement the solution in order to cut lead time and optimize product development efficiency across
all locations.

FlexPLM offers a central product repository through which product information may be shared
and controlled, calendar management and event tracking, streamlined process management and approval
routings, and view and mark-up capabilities via computer-aided design tools, among other features.

“Since Delta became a more global-focused company, there was a growing need in managing the
complete product lifecycle from concept through to the consumer,” said Avi Pinhas, CIO, Delta
Galil. “We needed to reduce the development time and automate processes to cut the lead time. In
parallel, we wanted to improve and better control the extended supply chain, thus making it more
transparent.”

Pinhas added that the company expects FlexPLM to improve collaboration with customers; help
to increase product margins; and improve data accuracy, product quality and operational efficiency.
PTC’s Global Service Organization will assist Delta Galil in implementing the solution and
customize it to meet specific customer needs.

November 13, 2007

Germany-based chemical manufacturer BASF AG and Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University’s Office
of Technology Development have agreed to jointly establish the BASF Advanced Research Initiative
with the aim of defining and undertaking projects that may lead to commercial development by BASF.
Application areas include applied physics, physics, applied mathematics, chemical biology, systems
biology, bioengineering and materials science

The initiative, based at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will benefit
from relationships with a number of schools and departments within the university. BASF will fund
Harvard researchers directly, initially supporting 10 postdoctoral students. The company expects to
provide up to $20 million over the next five years.

Dr. Jens Rieger, scientific director, Polymer Research, BASF; Dr. David Weitz, Mallinckrodt
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics; and Dr. George Whitesides, Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers
University Professor; will lead the initiative and work to create a research network within the
university. Harvard faculty researchers will be able to distribute and publish any research
findings resulting from the initiative.

Initial research topics include finding new chemical approaches to materials and processes
such as carbon dioxide chemistry; understanding the formation of biofilms and developing strategies
to inhibit or limit their growth by surface or material modification; and targeting new and
improved concepts to deliver active ingredient molecules to a particular place where they develop
activity in a controlled procedure.

“We are delighted to be working together with one of the world’s most respected universities
for science and engineering,” said Dr. Stefan Marcinowski, executive research director and member
of BASF’s Board of Executive Directors. “We expect this initiative to generate new and
unconventional innovations, which can lead to future products that are relevant to the needs of
society.”



November 13, 2007

Effective December 1, Charlotte-based DAK Americas LLC will increase the price of its polyester
staple fiber products by 3 cents per pound. In addition, Wellman Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., will
increase the price of its Fortrel® polyester staple fiber products on December 1 by 3 cents per
pound.

Both companies attribute the price increases to continued high costs of such raw materials as
ethylene glycol.

November 6, 2007