Specialty Fabrics Review August 2020 - 6

BRIEFINGS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Our uncontrolled experiment

PUBLISHED SINCE 1915 BY THE
INDUSTRIAL FABRICS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

f you read any business news, you can't avoid the headlines
ruminating on the long-term effects of the pandemic on
industry and the workplace: "How has coronavirus changed
consumer spending?" "Will the COVID-19 pandemic accelerate
automation?" "Can we just work from home forever?"
There are a lot of opinions out there-but not a lot of answers.
In late May and early June, the Society for Human Resource
Management conducted an online survey to gauge how small
businesses are navigating the reopening and rebuilding of their
operations. To be expected, there was plenty of bad news:
*	70 percent of respondents reported an overall decrease
in revenue since the start of COVID-19.
*	46 percent anticipated a lack of customers going forward.
*	44 percent had laid off at least some employees permanently.
Offsetting those statistics, the report revealed some hopeful signs.
For example, the small business survey respondents were more
hopeful about a quicker comeback than economists. In addition:
*	32 percent of respondents said they have found
a new way to deliver an existing service.
*	43 percent said they have started rethinking
the way they do business.
*	75 percent agreed that if a crisis like COVID-19 were to occur
again, their business would be better prepared to handle it.
The statistic that jumped out at me the most related to
technology and innovation. Some 29 percent of respondents
reported adopting new or novel technology processes because of the
coronavirus. I would have expected that to be higher. However, of
that 29 percent, 85 percent plan to make the innovation permanent.
Companies that adopted new technologies were largely successful.
Being focused on the specialty textile industry, I've come to expect
that every successful company is always innovating-pandemic
times or no. This issue of Review is filled with examples of companies
finding ways to survive amid uncertainty. And now in every issue
of Review, we are highlighting breakthrough innovations in advance
textiles-see page 14 for yarn made from human cells, a less toxic
water repellent, and an isolation unit that was conceived of during
the Ebola outbreak and has come to fruition in the current pandemic.
In this gigantic, forced, uncontrolled experiment, agile
companies are finding new and better ways to do things. Some
innovations have immediate impact. Others, we look forward
to covering in Review in years to come.

Specialty Fabrics Review provides timely and accurate
industry intelligence to the members of the Industrial
Fabrics Association International and the global
specialty fabrics marketplace.

I
Jill C. Lafferty, Senior Editor

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Amy Collins

EDITORIAL | SpecialtyFabricsReview.com/contact
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Rebecca Post
SENIOR EDITOR Jill C. Lafferty
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Elisa Bernick
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sammi Jones
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Janet Preus
MEDIA AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Michelle Cook
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Debra Cobb, Jeff Moravec, Marie O'Mahony,
Sigrid Tornquist

DESIGN
CREATIVE MANAGER Cathleen Rose
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GRAPHIC DESIGNER Megan Shircel

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AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
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CIRCULATION SPECIALIST Jill Poirier

IFAI MEMBERSHIP | ifai.com/membership
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Elissa Decker, Moss Inc.; Cheryl Gomes, Innovative Textile
Solutions LLC; Clare King, Propel LLC; Jacob Matayev,
Textile Commission; Eddie Nohmura, Taiyo Kogyo Corp.;
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University; Kathy
Schaefer, Glawe Awning and Tent Co.; Sandy Schumaker,
Roeming Industries; Jacob Schwartz, International Tension
Structures; Jeff Viehmeyer, Alameda Canvas & Coverings

Specialty Fabrics Review is the official publication
of the Industrial Fabrics Association International
and IFAI Expo 2020.

Industrial Fabrics
Association International
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All rights reserved.

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Specialty Fabrics Review August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Specialty Fabrics Review August 2020
