Miami-based private investment firm Empire Investment Holdings has concluded its 12-month
transition services agreement with Leggett & Platt (L&P) related to Empire’s acquisition of
Polyester Fibers LLC. All services, including accounting, treasury, logistics, information
technology, global services, and manufacturing resource planning and financial software have been
transitioned over from L&P to Empire ahead of schedule.

“Our team has completed this complex extraction from the L&P platform two months ahead of
schedule,” said David F. Alfonso, Empire Investment Holdings’ chairman and CEO. “Through the course
of the due diligence process, we were able to see beyond the challenges related to this extensive
carve-out and identified significant opportunities to unlock value.”

Empire purchased Polyester Fibers — a manufacturer of high-loft nonwoven products used in
furniture, filtration, bedding and retail applications — from L&P in November 2008. As soon as
the transaction closed, Empire sent its operational transition team to Polyester Fibers’ locations
to begin the transition. Empire’s team worked to stabilize the employee and customer base, improve
leadership and efficiencies, strategically create growth and market share, and develop the
business’s standalone infrastructure. During the handover, Polyester Fibers continued to operate
without any customer disruption.

“This acquisition fit perfectly with Empire’s investment profile and now represents a
flagship enterprise for our firm,” Alfonso said. “It boasts an expansive manufacturing footprint
and distribution model that delivers well known brands to a mature and established customer base.”



October 20, 2009

Kornit Digital Ltd. — an Israel-based developer, manufacturer and marketer of digital printing
solutions for the apparel industry — has unveiled the Kornit 921 Breeze entry-level
direct-on-garment printer. Developed to provide small- and medium-level production businesses with
cost-effective, high-level printing, the compact, digital unit can print on light and dark clothing
and comes with an integrated, automatic pre-treatment system. It employs Spectra’s ink system with
six industrial print heads — each comprising 256 nozzles — and uses Kornit’s pigmented ink and
QuickP Ripping application.

According to the company, the Kornit 921 Breeze is simple to operate and maintain, and can be
hooked up to any computer, desktop or laptop and operated from virtually any location without using
an air compressor. The printer will be available in early 2010.

October 20, 2009

Through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Spartanburg, S.C.-based textile and chemical
manufacturer Milliken & Company has acquired Aston, Pa.-based Rebus Inc., a 17-year old
manufacturer of custom-blended color dispersions and additives for thermoset plastics and
high-performance industrial coatings.

“Rebus is an excellent fit for Milliken given our existing expertise in colorants and their
application in a variety of plastic materials,” said Dr. Joe Salley, president and CEO, Milliken.
“We have been working hard on this acquisition for some time and are pleased to bring this exciting
news to our Milliken associates and customers.”

Jim Steever, Rebus founder, will work for the new organization in a business development
role.

“Rebus is pleased to become part of the Milliken tradition of product and service
excellence,” Steever said. “The depth and breadth of products and global reach of the merged
organization will benefit customers with new resources and capabilities.”

October 20, 2009

Israel-based Shalag Industries Ltd. — a supplier of nonwovens fabrics for hygiene and wipes
applications — has announced it will invest more than $17 million to open a new plant in Oxford,
N.C. The investment, aided in part by a One North Carolina Fund grant in the amount of $110,000, is
expected to create 42 jobs paying an average annual wage of $39,966, not including benefits. The
One North Carolina Fund offers financial assistance to businesses through local governments to draw
business projects to the state and boost economic activity.

The plant — where polypropylene, polyester and viscose fibers will be thermobonded into
nonwoven fabric that will be used to manufacture products for customers including Johnson &
Johnson, Nicepak and Kimberly Clark — will be an addition to Shalag’s manufacturing plant in
Israel.

“Shalag is looking forward to becoming a successful corporate citizen in North Carolina and
in Oxford,” said Ilan Pickman, CEO, Shalag Industries. “North Carolina is a recognized center for
nonwovens manufacturing and [research and development] and we have identified here a strong
infrastructure to support our business.”

October 13, 2009

Spartanburg-based textile and chemical manufacturer Milliken & Company has purchased Calhoun,
Ga.-based Constantine LLC, a designer and producer of broadloom carpet, modular carpet tiles, and
hard surface and resilient flooring. The acquisition expands Milliken’s floor covering offerings in
commercial architectural and design (A&D) markets, and is the result of strategic organization
and product alignment by Milliken in order to grow the companies’ core technologies and capitalize
on emerging markets. “Given the world’s continuing economic slump, it is encouraging for us to be
on the growth side of the business alignment equation,” said Richard Dillard, director of public
affairs, Milliken & Company.

Approximately 300 employees from Constantine’s four manufacturing locations and distribution
center will become part of Milliken’s Floor Covering Division.

“Constantine is a design leader in the premier commercial floor covering industry,” said Joe
Salley, president and CEO, Milliken. “This acquisition will immediately expand our market space
while also building on Milliken’s commitment to innovation, technology and sustainability. We are
excited to have Constantine join the Milliken family.”

“This transaction represents the strengthening of two organizations that together will offer
unique and innovative solutions to the A&D industry,” said Bob Weiner, founder and former
chairman, Constantine.

October 13, 2009

In an effort to grow its Performance Apparel Division, Montreal-based Dorel Industries Inc. has
announced a number of changes. Under its new name, Apparel Footwear Group (AFG) — a division
comprised of Sugoi Performance Apparel, and the Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Iron Horse and Mongoose
apparel lines — the business will focus on custom apparel as well as its regular offerings. Dorel
plans to expand a recently created center of excellence, invest in new equipment and hire
additional associates. The company also will relocate Sugoi to a 70,000-square-foot facility in
Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Chris Fuentes, a sales and marketing veteran, will lead AFG as president.

“An important focus of AFG will be to build the custom apparel business — developing
specific riding and running uniforms for teams and clubs,” said Robert P. Baird, president, Dorel’s
Recreational/Leisure segment. “The new Vancouver facility will allow Sugoi to increase custom
apparel capacity and offer lead times well above industry standards. We’ve barely scratched the
surface in this expanding market and expect Sugoi to triple its custom apparel business within five
years.

“This is another example of Dorel’s strong commitment to this business,” Baird added. “We are
confident that this latest investment and new direction will allow AFG to grow exponentially by
providing quality performance apparel with a variety of silhouettes, textiles, features and designs
to match each brand’s market position.”

October 13, 2009

Turkey-based Eruslu Saglik Urunleri San. Ve Tic. A.S. — a of bulk-continuous yarn and carpet
manufacturer that also owns a converting business for baby wipes and diapers — recently purchased
a new spunlace line from France-based Rieter Perfojet. The line consists of a Rieter Jetlace®3000
hydroentanglement machine and a Perfodry3000 dryer. The company also will install a Rieter
filtration system in order to comply with local regulations.

Once operational, the line will have a 12,000-ton production capacity. Ersulu plans to
produce spunlace fabrics ranging from 30 to 100 grams per square meter using bleached raw cotton,
viscose, polyester and polypropylene.

October 13, 2009

Germany-based A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG reports that Belgium-based Utexbel — a
fully-integrated yarn and fabric manufacturer with bleaching, mercerizing, dyeing and finishing
operations — has implemented a turnkey conversion on a Monforts Thermex first installed at its
facility in 1989. During the modernization, which occurred during a five-week machine shutdown, 15
alternating current inverters were installed — one on each motor — to replace outdated direct
current drives. Ventilator motors were replaced, a new programmable logic controller system was
installed, and the unit’s underground cables were moved to above ground to reduce corrosion
problems caused by chemical seepage. All of the work was completed by Monforts’ service department
to a predetermined schedule for a fixed price.

Monforts reports the upgrade has helped the company realize 15-percent energy savings. The
unit now consumes less gas when it is idle because the variable speed inverters turn off power to
the various motors.

“In addition, we have also eliminated the frequent electronic failures of the past resulting
in reduced maintenance and service call outs,” said Jan Morel, engineering and maintenance manager,
Utexbel.

October 13, 2009

At a special ceremony during the recent 2009 International Nonwovens Technical Conference (INTC) in
Denver — an event cosponsored by the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), and the
Technical Association of the Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Converting Industries’ Nonwovens Engineers
and Technologists Division — Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi received the ninth annual INDA Award for
Lifetime Technical Achievement, and Stephen P. Quinn received the third annual INDA Service Award.

Pourdeyhimi, who obtained his doctorate in Textiles from the England-based University of
Leeds, is the associate dean for Industry Research and Extension, and William A. Klopman
Distinguished Endowed Professor at Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina State University’s College of
Textiles. Pourdeyhimi also is executive director of the The Nonwovens Institute and its Nonwovens
Cooperative Research Center, a facility established in 1991 as a partnership between NCSU and the
nonwovens industry. In addition to teaching, Pourdeyhimi participates in the industry as a
presenter at INDA events, and is involved with INDA’s Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics as
well as the Fiber Society. He also writes for industry textile and nonwoven publications and is a
technical editor for

Textile World
.

Quinn, currently vice president and general manager of Rochester, N.Y.-based R.P. Fedder
Corp., has worked in the filtration industry for more than 25 years. He served as chairman of
INDA’s Filtration Committee from 2001 to 2005 and as chairman of INDA’s IDEA 2004 Committee from
2002 to 2004. Quinn obtained a bachelor’s degree in Education from Elmira College and a Master’s
degree in business administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

“Stephen Quinn and Behnam Pourdeyhimi have played important roles in the technical
development of the nonwovens industry throughout their impressive careers and they richly deserve
this recognition from their peers in the nonwovens technical community,” said Rory Holmes,
president, INDA.

October 13, 2009