Everyone Shares In Sunbrella Anniversary Celebration 2

Coast New ZealandFounded On Comfort,Inspired by KIWI designnyone who has spent time on a sailboat is wellaware of the challenges of comfortable seating.Cockpits, even with cushions, are only so tolerableon long voyages, and forget about trying to sit on a pillowon the foredeck. Bruises and stiff limbs are sure to result.A4Alex Webster of New Zealand was all too familiar with thisneed after observing America's Cup yacht racing on Auckland'sHauraki Gulf from several spectator boats in 2002. This iswhen he began to think: there has to be a better way andthere just might be a business opportunity to be had.incorporate a waterproof liner, handle and a stainless steel D-ring fromwhich it can be hung for storage. The waterproof liner allows theSunbrella shell to be removed for cleaning, airing or long-term storage.“While our original target was yachting, the MarineBean has found its real home ashore in homes,hotels and resorts in New Zealand and aroundthe world.”Nicola Webster“The idea for the ‘Marine Bean’ was born a few years earlieron a long sailing trip between Curacao and Grand Cayman,”Alex said. “During that voyage, I spent most of the time in abeanbag covered in a canvas sail-bag. It was, far and away, themost comfortable spot on the boat, and I could immediatelysee the possibilities.”Alex worked his way through a number of trial-and-errorprototypes until he hit upon just the right design for the MarineBean, which is a bean bag specifically designed for the rigorsof sailing. He and his wife, Nicola, founded Coast New Zealandin Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003 to take the new productto market.“While our original target was yachting, the Marine Bean hasfound its real home ashore in homes, hotels and resorts inNew Zealand and around the world,” Nicola said. “The MarineBean remains our best-selling product.”The Marine Bean withstands prolonged exposure to sun, seaand sand, yet maintains its good looks. Coast beanbags arehand made in New Zealand using premium marine-gradematerials including Sunbrella brand fabrics, quick-dryingreticulated foam and stainless-steel fittings. Marine Beans“The Marine Bean is successful because it borrows many of thematerials and methods previously reserved for luxury yacht-building,”Alex said. “Contemporary ocean-going sailing yachts must becomfortable, even opulent, yet withstand the harshest conditionsat sea. We emulate the exacting standards of modern boat buildersin our choice of materials and the application of good design. If itcan survive on the ocean, it can survive on a deck or patio.”In creating the Marine Bean, the selection of Sunbrella fabrics wasan easy decision given the demands for durability and the benefitsof brand recognition, particularly among the sailing community.Simon Gatliff, Glen Raven’s marketing representative for Australia,New Zealand and the South Pacific, has been part of the Coastteam from the beginning.“The Marine Bean is a classic piece of Kiwi design – a stylish marriageof form and function,” Gatliff said. “The result is a range of softindoor/ outdoor furniture that is perfectly suited to its purpose andits environment – durable, stylish and practical.”Building on the success of the Marine Bean, Coast New Zealandhas expanded into additional furniture designs, which also featureSunbrella fabrics. The emphasis remains on collections of contemporary outdoor furniture and accessories that are luxurious,durable and stylish.“We recently launched the Isla Collection, which combines thecomfort of a conventional beanbag with the flexibility of modularfurniture,” Nicola said. “This offering was achieved through thedevelopment of a patent pending internal structure of multiple‘reticulated chambers.’ We are also expanding geographic marketsinto Europe and South Africa. We’ll take on North American next.”In addition to distinctive offerings in furniture, Coast New Zealandhas an equally distinctive line of casual luggage, a logical extensionof the company’s focus on the marine market. Coast bags featureSunbrella canvas shells, stainless steel hardware, nubuck leathertrim and waterproof lining.“Our goal is to encourage customers to enjoy a casual lifestyleoutdoors without sacrificing comfort or style,” Alex said. “We dothis through purposeful innovation, thoughtful design, enduringmaterials and attention to detail. Our name ‘Coast’ says it all – thesimple and universal pleasure of being at the water’s edge andgazing out to sea.”For more information on Coast New Zealand products, visit thecompany on the web at www.coastnewzealand.com or emailinfo@coastnewzealand.com.TOP LEFT Nicola and Alex Webster, owners of Coast New Zealand.Originally designed for yachts, the Marine Bean from Coast New Zealand has founda dedicated following among homeowners, hotels and resorts. Casual luggage fromCoast New Zealand also features premium performance materials that supportan active, outdoor lifestyle based on a sense of global design and attention todurability and function.

Glen Raven ApplyingTechnical Resourcesto Mine Safety67hile the nation continues to develop new forms ofenergy from wind to solar, there is no escaping thefact that coal will be an essential energy resource formany years to come. More than 40 percent of all energy todaycomes from coal, and industry estimates peg the coal reservein the U.S. at more than 300 years.WTo help assure that U.S. coal resources can be mined as safelyas possible, Glen Raven is increasing its focus on service, research and development for the coal industry. Through its R.J.Stern Subsidiary, Glen Raven is a major supplier of curtainsused for mine shaft ventilation, which places it in an idealposition to lead safety innovation.“We are exploring how our capabilities in geogrid fabrics for soilstabilization, protective apparel fabrics for oil and gas workersand logistics systems can be applied to mine safety,” said JustinAlberto, recently named general manager of R. J. Stern.A graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree intextile science and technology, Alberto worked for a numberof years with the mining company Martin Marietta Materialsas a laboratory technician. Since joining Glen Raven, he hasserved as a quality analyst/ project manager with a concentrationin statistical analysis. One of the most important of his projectshas been the installation of a digital fabric inspection system,which is one of the most advanced in the world.Alberto also recently assisted with the migration of laminationmanufacturing from Glen Raven’s Statesville, N.C. facility to thePark Avenue Plant located in Burlington, N.C. Laminated fabricsare provided to R.J. Stern for fabrication into mine curtains.“We look forward to working closing with our distributionpartners and with mine owners and operators to enhance ourcurrent offerings and explore new ways of adding to minesafety,” Alberto said.Glen Raven entered the mining industry in 2007 when it acquiredJohn Boyle & Company. Boyle had several years earlier purchasedR.J. Stern, a company in Logan, West Virginia, that specializesin fabricating curtains for mine shaft ventilation. The custom,craftsman-like operation fabricates laminated vinyl panels fordistributors throughout the Appalachian and Mid-West coal fields.“While the mining industry was not a target of our acquisitionof John Boyle, we are excited about the opportunities that R.J.Stern represents,” said Harold Hill, president of Glen RavenTechnical Fabrics. “We are investing in this business with agoal of driving innovation.”Debbie Butcher, operations manager for R.J. Stern, is a nativeof Logan and has been with the mining products operationsince 1974. She directs a team of experienced machine operatorswho cut and sew laminated panels to customer specifications.“Mr. Roy James Stern started the company in 1959 in his basement,” she recalled. “He had been a miner and used hisknowledge to patent a filter for dust collection underground.From there, the company began to make mine curtains in theearly 1960s.”Mine curtains are hung from mine roofs to the floors andpositioned to direct air flow coming from the surface. Safetyregulations require continual venting of mine shafts, and thecurtains play a critical role in assuring that air ventilates theentire shaft and is directed to areas where active mining istaking place.“We look forward to working closing with ourdistribution partners and with mine owners andoperators to enhance our current offeringsand explore new ways of adding to mine safety.”serving coal mines, but we support other types of mining,including limestone, salt and other minerals. We are also involvedin specialty applications such as tarps and slope covers.”Service is essential for the industry, and Glen Raven’s miningdivision has implemented improved inventory controls to increaseon-time deliveries. Butcher and her team in Logan use theiryears of experience to assure quality. Customer issues are rare,and R.J. Stern products are regarded as high quality withinthe industry.“With Glen Raven’s commitment to research and developmentand with its expertise in fabric formation and finishing, ourgoal is to become a valued development resource for mining,”Alberto said. “Worker safety is our mission, which makes ourproducts an excellent fit with Glen Raven’s core values thatchampion safety and environmental protection.”Justin Alberto“Glen Raven is one of only four companies that manufacturemine curtains,” Alberto said. “All of our products meet federalmine safety standards, the most important of which is fire retardency. The vast majority of our customers are distributorsABOVE Justin Alberto with Sue Hemphill adjacent to the fabric laminationsystem at Glen Raven’s Park Avenue facility.

he ability to adapt and change is crucially importantto all businesses, both large and small, and one of thebest examples of reinvention is Glen Raven’s ParkAvenue Finishing Plant. From double knits to athletic wearand from commission finishing to high-tech fabrics for themilitary, Park Avenue has demonstrated resilience acrossfour decades, all focused on meeting changing customer needs.TPark Avenue PlantProves the Valueof Reinvention“Change is a way of life at Park Avenue, and Glen Raven hashad the patience to work through these changes,” said HaroldHill, president of Glen Raven Technical Fabrics, which operatesPark Avenue. “This manufacturing center is one of the mostmarket-driven organizations that you will find anywhere.”The Park Avenue Finishing Plant, which is located a stone’sthrow from Glen Raven’s North Carolina headquarters, beganoperations in the mid-1960s amidst the booming era of doubleknit fabrics. As double knits faded from the fashion scene,Park Avenue began its long-held tradition of reinvention,which included stints with performance active wear and asa commission dyeing and finishing operation.In the early 1990s, a phase of strategic reinvention beganunder Hill’s direction. The goal was to create an operationthat could build on core strengths in dyeing and finishing,while focusing on high-end technical fabrics. The vision wasto create a vertically integrated facility capable of leveragingGlen Raven’s other manufacturing assets, while formingpartnerships with outside companies that specialize in weaving,knitting and fabric finishing.“Change is a way of life at Park Avenue, andGlen Raven has had the patience to workthrough these changes.”Harold Hill“Park Avenue is where we add the secret sauce to fabrics totransform them from commodities to unique, value addedcomponents,” Hill said. “Our plant is typically the last to toucha fabric before it becomes a finished product, and it’s our jobto create a differentiator that no one else offers.”The differentiators at Park Avenue are extensive – specialcoatings for fabrics used by the military to avoid radardetection, laminated fabrics deployed in coal mines to assurefresh air flow, protective apparel fabrics for industrial workersin the oil and gas industry and coated geo-grid products for soilstabilization. One of the plant’s marquee offerings is a line ofhigh-tech fabrics used for automotive headliners, inventedat Park Avenue and today the market leader.Supporting Park Avenue’s expertise in color matching, dyeing,finishing, coating and laminating is an extensive infrastructureof production planning, inventory management and costcontrol. The operation is obsessive about product qualitygiven the rigorous demands of its customers and operates oneof the industry’s most advanced digital quality systems.“We are working to raise quality standards throughout theentire supply chain,” said Ricky Michael, Park Avenue Plantmanager and a 40-year Glen Raven veteran. “Our technicalspecialists work with both our raw product suppliers and withour customers to elevate everyone’s expectations and abilitieswhen it comes to higher levels of quality performance.”The ideal opportunity for Park Avenue begins with a uniqueopportunity in the marketplace and a strong outside partnerwho can help to capitalize on that opportunity. Other essentialsinclude Glen Raven’s ability to differentiate the offering andproduce it within a globally competitive cost structure.“We are not interested in ‘me too’ products or someone whois looking to knock off another product with a lower-costoffering,” said Patti Bates, vice president of operations forGlen Raven Technical Fabrics. “We look for products thatare a good fit for our capabilities and where we can offersomething that is truly unique. There are more times whenwe say ‘no’ than ‘yes,’ but when we decide to take on a newproduct, we are fully committed from start to finish.”While Park Avenue is highly discriminating in the newproducts it accepts into the development process, it is keenlyaware of new opportunities and continually adding to itstechnical expertise. During the past year, expansion hasoccurred in fabric lamination and coating.“The majority of our business consists of strong collaborationswith strategic customers who are positioned as market leadersand who can combine their ideas with our own,” Hill said.“We can best be described as a ‘build to suit’ operation; we area solutions provider.”For the future, Park Avenue is focused on advancing solutionsin all of its current markets – mine safety, geo-grid, protectivework apparel, military and automotive – while continuallyscoping out new opportunities. One of the newest of theseventures is water filtration.“Park Avenue has proven itself to be flexible enough and nimbleenough to make whatever adjustments are needed based onmarket opportunities,” Hill said. “We will continue to be amarket-driven organization, creating unique differentiatorsthat we can share with our customers.”OPPOSITE PAGE Members of the Park Avenue management team include, leftto right, Mike Harrington, project manager; Eddie Gant, assistant operationsmanager; Ricky Michael, plant manager; Patti Bates, vice president ofoperations; Willard Haggins, production manager; and Terry Shambley, dyeingmanager. BELOW (left) Product testing includes tensile strength for fabricsused for automotive headlines. (right) One of the latest additions to ParkAvenue Finishing is fabric lamination, which is used for fabrics deployed incoal mine ventilation.9

Lessons In SafetyCommon For All,Result in best practiceshether you’re operating a million-square-foot manufacturingcenter or a five-person awning shop, there are manycommon elements when it comes to the challenges, solutionsand benefits of a safe workplace.W“Experience has shown that if employees will stay within the procedures we have outlined for a job, they will be safe,” said DicksonCoatings General Manager Matthew Watson. “Stepping outside ofthe established procedures is when accidents happen.”“The return on investment in safety is harder to measure than theROI on new equipment or a more efficient process,” said JackWoodson, operations manager of Glen Raven’s Sunbrella fabricsmanufacturing center in Anderson, S.C. “ROI from safety comesin the form of what doesn’t happen. You don’t lose productivity, youdon’t incur medical costs, you don’t disrupt your operations and,most importantly, you don’t hurt your people.”TrainingSafety is a top priority throughout all of Glen Raven’s facilitiesglobally, resulting in safety records that are consistently higher thangovernment requirements and industry standards. Through years ofsafety experience, a core set of best practices has emerged applicableto manufacturing and fabrication operations of all sizes.Management CommitmentThe single most important element for a safe workplace beginswith management’s commitment to safety, which translates intoinvestments in safety training and equipment.10“The primary driver for us to invest heavily in safety is the Glen Ravenculture, which is reflected in our vision and values expressed in our2020 Quest statement.” Woodson said. “We believe that there is noreason for anyone to get hurt, ever, and we’ll never be satisfied untilthere are no injuries. If we provide the proper work environment,proper tools, proper training, proper oversight, and, most importantly,our associates take care of themselves and each other, we shouldnever see an injury.”Employee OwnershipManagement can only do so much as it relates to safety. Employeesmust take ownership because they know the risks and must executeprocesses that will prevent injuries. This fact has proven true throughout Glen Raven. For example, when Dickson-Constant in Franceshifted more responsibility for safety to individual work units, safetyperformance improved. At the Anderson Plant, an extensive networkof employee committees oversees every aspect of the safety program.“Our safety committees are chaired by hourly associates with amember of management in attendance and serving as mentor,” saidConnie Rice, organizational development and training manager atAnderson Plant. “All committee chairs meet with the plant manager,so the process is transparent and flat. Everyone has input.”Employee training cannot be over-emphasized. “You have to trainnew associates in safe practices from their first day on the job,”said Rebecca Walker, a training specialist at Anderson Plant.“Teaching someone safety from the start means they don’t have tounlearn bad habits later. It’s important to watch for indications ofa problem – such as a near miss or a minor accident – that couldindicate the need to get an associate back into training.”Top of Mind AwarenessSafety is not a sometime thing – it must be an everyday thing. GlenRaven Technical Fabrics assures that safety remains top of mindeveryday through a practice called “Take 2.” Before the start of everyshift, Glen Raven associates receive a two-minute safety tip thatcould range from wearing safety gear to the proper use of ladders.“We have found these two minutes extremely effective in remindingassociates everyday that safety must be foremost, on and off the job,”said Human Resources Manager Hal Bates.“If we provide the proper work environment,proper tools, proper training, proper oversight,and, most importantly, our associates take careof themselves and each other, we should neversee an injury.”Jack WoodsonDavid Cates, corporate manager of safety, security and environment,has global responsibilities for safety at Glen Raven. Cates and amember of his team visit every Glen Raven manufacturing site atleast once a year. As a 40-year veteran of workplace safety, Catesviews safety as an absolute essential for every manufacturing andfabrication company.“A manufacturing operation can be viewed as a stool with three legs– quality, productivity and safety,” Cates said. “Take away any oneof those three and the stool will fall.Workplace AssessmentsAssessing the workplace, identifying hazards and establishing workprocedures should be a continual endeavor. Whenever DicksonCoatings in France introduces new products, machines or processes,it reviews best safety practices, including ergonomics and handlingof hazardous materials. Essential procedural elements are emphasized, such as securing machines and eliminating strain and backinjury hazards.“Safety is a never ending task,” Cates continued. “You can never letyour guard down; just because you didn’t have an accident yesterdaydoes not mean there aren’t risks today and tomorrow. You must alwayslook ahead.”OPPOSITE PAGE (above left) Glen Raven Anderson Plant associates Ryan Bolden and Angela Norris participate in a safety committee meeting. (above right) ConnieRice, organizational development and training manager at Anderson Plant, leads a safety committee meeting at Anderson Plant. (below) Glen Raven training specialistRebecca Walker emphasizes safe procedures with all new employees, such as spinning trainee Carol Manley.

Students KeepGlen Raven GroundedIn ‘What’s Next’1213s an Elon University law

for awnings, the marine industry soon discovered Sunbrella fabrics and adopted them as the gold standard for boating . As with awnings, boaters had historically relied on cotton canvas, which was no match for salt, sun and sea. Sunbrella marine fabrics assured years of carefree service. Outdoor and casual furniture was the next market segment