BST To Open Manufacturing Facility In North Carolina

BST Safety Textiles, a division of
Southampton, Pa.-based automotive textile manufacturer Narricot Industries LP, will invest $35
million to open a facility in Cordova, N.C., to produce side-curtain air bags for automobiles. The
new facility, which will employ 200 workers — mostly weavers, technicians and material handlers —
will expand the company’s manufacturing capacity to enable it to satisfy growing demand in the
North American market for side air bags.

BST, which is owned by New York City-based investor group WL Ross & Co. LLC, will move
into available space in a plant owned by Greensboro, N.C.-based International Textile Group (ITG),
also owned by WL Ross. According to Joseph L. Gorga, president and CEO, ITG, speaking on behalf of
WL Ross, preparations are already underway to make that space ready for occupation.

“The machinery is on order and should be on the floor as early as April,” Gorga said. “We
expect to get to the production level needed to match our needs within six months to a year.”

BST also operates a state-of-the-art facility in South Hill, Va., for the manufacture of air
bags. “We invested $20 million in Virginia, and it’s filled to the brim with machinery,” Gorga
said. “The Cordova plant will be additive and complementary to the Virginia plant.”

The company received a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina fund, as well as a
nine-year Job Development Investment Grant that could provide as much as $1.37 million in state
personal withholding tax equivalent benefits if the company creates all the jobs proposed and keeps
them for nine years.


February 6, 2007

Dornbirn Man-made Fibers Congress Scheduled After ITMA

The 46th Dornbirn Man-made Fibers
Congress, organized by the Austrian Man-made Fibers Institute, will take place in Dornbirn,
Austria, Sept. 19-21, 2007, directly following the International Exhibition of Textile Machinery
(ITMA) 2007, scheduled for Sept. 13-20 in Munich, Germany. Organizers expect more than 600 experts
from the global textile industry to attend, including more than 80 industry and research experts
who will present the newest man-made-fiber trends and developments.

The Dornbirn congress will include special lectures under the topic “Impact of ITMA on Fiber
Technology,” which will offer a survey by international fiber producers and research institutes of
the interaction, required properties and impact on fiber developments.

The first day of the congress will include plenary lectures presented by the Brussells-based
International Rayon and Synthetic Fibers Committee (CIRFS) and the Beijing-based China Chemical
Fiber Association (CCFA), among others. The CIRFS lecture will discuss globalization challenges and
development strategies for the European man-made fibers industry. The CCFA lecture will cover the
same issues from the perspective of the Chinese industry.

A series of papers covering new fiber developments will include such topics as
nanotube-reinforced polyethylene fibers, polyvinylidene fluoride yarns, polyethylene terephthalate
developments, environmentally friendly regenerated cellulosics, bicomponent fibers and yarns,
polyetherimide and electroconductive fibers, among others.

Other topics include transportation fibers and textiles, carpets, protective textiles and
technology platforms for US and EU fiber-driven projects. For additional information, contact 43
5572 368 50; www.dornbirn-mfc.com.


January 30, 2007

Senators Seek Penalties For Sweatshops

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation banning imports made in sweatshop
factories and permitting injured competitors to sue them. The bill not only imposes fines of up to
$10,000 per violation, but also gives US retailers the right to sue their competitors in the US
courts if their competitors sell merchandise produced in sweatshop factories.

The bill defines a sweatshop as a factory that does not comply with the labor laws of its own
country.

The measure immediately received an enthusiastic endorsement from the Washington-based
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), which represents a wide range of
manufacturers including textiles and apparel. AMTAC’s Executive Director Auggie Tantillo said, “The
failure of other countries, such as China, to adequately enforce minimum labor laws effectively
grants their producers a substantial subsidy over those companies and countries that treat their
workers fairly.” He said an anti-sweatshop law would be a practical solution to the problem.

Initial sponsors of the bill are Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Russ
Feingold, D-WI; and Bernie Sanders, I-VT.

In introducing the legislation, Dorgan said: “There is no reason for the United States of
America to allow the sale of products made in slave labor-like conditions. This bill would put an
end to it. It also would stand up for American producers and American workers and tell them they
don’t have to compete against those who cut corners at the cost of human health, dignity and even
human lives.”

Dorgan charged that free trade agreements negotiated between the United States and other
nations have fueled a growth in sweatshop production, and goods made in those countries enjoy
duty-free access to the US market at the expense of legitimate manufacturers.

The Democratic leaders of the new Congress have said they will seek to have labor and
environmental standards incorporated into future free trade agreements.

January 30, 2007

Chicopee To Raise Wiper Product Prices

Effective Feb. 26, 2007, Chicopee Inc., a division of Charlotte-based Polymer Group Inc., will
raise the prices of all wiper products by 6 percent. The company said the increase will mitigate
the impact of higher viscose prices, which increased more than 20 percent during 2006 and are
expected to remain high for some time to come.


January 30,2007

Cognis Honors Skintex Team With Innovation Award

International specialty chemicals
supplier Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, has presented one of three 2006 Cognis
Innovation Awards to company employees who developed Skintex® encapsulation.

Developed three years ago, Skintex technology enables apparel manufacturers to treat their
products with microcapsules that contain active naturally derived ingredients that are released to
the skin at a controlled rate over a fixed amount of time, providing benefits that consumers can
feel. The award-winning team has developed this technology to the point where it can be
mass-produced in large batches. Skintex is already found in jeans, pants, underwear and T-shirts
produced by certain apparel makers.

“Many textile producers regard cosmetotextiles and medical textiles with added, long-lasting
functionalities as one of the most important products of the future,” said team member
Oliver-Daniel Bogatu, director, business development textile technology. “Our aim is to help them
open up new markets through specialty chemicals that combine health and beauty benefits. Skintex is
the first branded, effective technology that successfully allows manufacturers to create textiles
with lasting functionalities that consumers can really feel.”


March/April 2007

DyStar Opens Service Center In Shanghai, Offers Service Packages

Germany-based DyStar Textilfarben
GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG has opened a new service center in Shanghai to serve textile
finishers and retailers in China and Asia. The 3,000-square-meter facility is equipped with
latest-generation laboratory dyeing and printing machines and testing equipment, enabling it to
test for such properties as lightfastness and wetfastness, and also to develop customized solutions
for its clients.

Service packages offered by DyStar Textile Services include: Testing Solutions, including
colorfastness tests and analytical services based on international standards; Color Solutions,
providing improved color communication in order to reduce lead times; Ecology Solutions, providing
advice and recommendations to enable customers to comply with ecological specifications; and Expert
Solutions, offering advice, customized solutions and new technologies to help customers improve
productivity, comply with quality standards and protect brand image. These service packages are
available not only at the Shanghai service center, but also globally.


January 31, 2007

Association Sees Progress And Challenges On Trade Front

In its annual business review and
forecast, the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) cites some
significant changes and accomplishments on the international trade front, and points to some “
daunting challenges” in the coming year.

The report shows that virtually all of the industry’s economic benchmarks in 2006 were down
from 2005 — except for a small gain in profits — as rising imports continued to take their toll. On
the plus side of the ledger, NCTO reports free trade agreements negotiated during 2006 with Peru,
Colombia and Panama were the tightest ever with regard to textiles and apparel. The report also
says the US government, for the first time in 20 years, has moved aggressively on dumping on behalf
of a specific industry, and adds “in a post-quota world, this represents a new and fresh approach
to addressing the problem of dumped and subsidized apparel imports from countries that refuse to
act responsibly and live by their commitments.”

NCTO Chairman Smyth McKissick of Alice Manufacturing said the industry’s successes during
the past year are the “direct effect of relationships we have built with members of Congress and
the Administration.” He added, “It is only through partnerships with elected officials and public
servants that significant results have been achieved by the industry.” McKissick noted that a
series of “Hill to the Mill’ plant tours and other educational activities showed government
officials “a 21st Century, highly innovative industry that is capable of competing against anyone
in the world as long as the rules of trade are applied equitably and fairly.”

Looking toward 2007, McKissick sees a number of major issues to be confronted, but the
long-term treatment of China and Vietnam remain the industry’s top priorities. “With the expiration
of the China safeguards in 2008, the implementation of a new trade preference program for Haiti and
the push to conclude a Doha Round global trade agreement, our future challenges will be no less
daunting than the ones we have confronted in the past,” he said.

He also cited Chinese currency manipulation as a “major issue” and said NCTO will be working
with the China Currency Coalition, which includes a number of manufacturing industries and labor
representatives, to get a “strong” China currency bill enacted. He added that NCTO is looking
forward to working with the new Democratic-controlled Congress on fair trade proposals that will “
ensure the future viability of the US textile industry.”


January 30, 2007

DRA Launches Expanded DRATEFS Forecasting System

England-based textile industry
business strategists David Rigby Associates (DRA) has expanded and improved its forecasting system
designed for textile product, fiber and chemical suppliers, as well as for applications within
other industrial sectors.

The new DRATEFS system, comprising a product database and a driver-based forecasting model,
provides a report on the global textile end-use market for any of 281 products in the garment,
interior textiles, carpet, technical textiles or nonwovens categories. Product analysis includes
textile fiber and fabric components; dyeing, finishing and process components; and product
characteristics.

The system can provide forecasts up to 10 years ahead for up to 210 countries or specified
regions. It also can customize forecast tables according to client specifications.


January 30, 2007

Cognis Honors Skintex® Team With Innovation Award

International specialty chemicals
supplier Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, has presented one of three 2006 Cognis
Innovation Awards to company employees who developed Skintex® encapsulation.

Developed three years ago, Skintex technology enables apparel manufacturers to treat their
products with microcapsules that contain active naturally derived ingredients that are released to
the skin at a controlled rate over a fixed amount of time, providing benefits that consumers can
feel. The award-winning team has developed this technology to the point where it can be
mass-produced in large batches. Skintex is already found in jeans, pants, underwear and T-shirts
produced by certain apparel makers.

“Many textile producers regard cosmetotextiles and medical textiles with added, long-lasting
functionalities as one of the most important products of the future,” said team member
Oliver-Daniel Bogatu, director, business development textile technology. “Our aim is to help them
open up new markets through specialty chemicals that combine health and beauty benefits. Skintex is
the first branded, effective technology that successfully allows manufacturers to create textiles
with lasting functionalities that consumers can really feel.”


January 30, 2007

Lectra Introduces Easy Grading, Updated Fashion PLM

Paris-based Lectra, a developer of software, CAD/CAM equipment and related services for fashion
businesses, has released Easy Grading, an automated grading application that will be included in
the company’s PGS and Modaris pattern-design software solutions beginning February 2007.

Easy Grading — which has undergone testing in a variety of applications for men’s, women’s
and children’s wear in several global apparel-sector companies — utilizes conventional grading
methods through Lectra’s grading calculation tools, optimizing the grading process for
apparel-sector companies, and facilitating and accelerating grading activities by up to 70 percent,
according to the company.

The new system enables the user the select a graphical template from a user-customized
library, with grading information by product type. Once a measurement chart is selected, the user
loads the pattern pieces and automatically or manually positions them onto the template. Grading is
then performed with a click of the mouse.

“With this intelligent application, … grading of the majority of garments can now be
performed by anyone,” said Astrid Marlier, product manager for pattern-making and marker-making
applications. “Easy Grading enables fashion professionals to optimize grading activity and greatly
increase their productivity while capitalizing on the company’s knowledge and best practices. With
this innovation, grading takes only four clicks and a few minutes!”

Lectra also has released the latest version of Lectra Fashion PLM, V1R3. The totally
Web-based solution enables all those involved in a product’s life cycle to collaborate on the same
virtual version of fabrics and models. The latest version offers such improvements specific to
collection development process management as Workflow Management and Product Development
applications.

According to Lectra, Product Development enables rapid and precise synchronization and
management of multiple bids, prototype review and effective cost simulation that takes into account
a product’s multiple variants. Workflow Management organizes and controls collection project
activities, allowing close monitoring of collection development activities at various levels.


January 30, 2007

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