At Glen Raven, we help our customers meet and overcome a variety of challenges. Whether it's adapting an existing fabric for a new application, or inventing a new product altogether, our dedication to research and development helps us transform our customers into partners.
A leading automobile manufacturer needed a new interior headliner fabric that was colorfast, recyclable, and compatible with today's high-tech car and truck interiors.
With cockpit designs for cars and trucks incorporating roof areas for electronics and other accessories, a major automobile manufacturer convened a conference of global fabric producers to commission a new generation of headliner fabrics. The goal was to meet performance and aesthetic criteria, while creating a recyclable product. Glen Raven was invited to participate because of our previous success with an aftermarket headliner product, the company's financial stability, and our track record of technical fabric innovation. We assembled a team of design, engineering, and marketing specialists and created a certified lab for research and development.
Two of the nation's leading sailmakers faced a crisis when their only source of sailcloth went out of business.
In their search for a new supplier, the sailmakers contacted several fabric companies, but were unable to find anyone who could meet their exact requirements. Glen Raven's technical and marketing personnel accepted the challenge and began working with the sailmakers to define product requirements. Our technical and production teams fine-tuned yarn selections and weaving techniques, arriving at a fabric construction that could be run efficiently on our equipment, yet be robust enough for sailcloth.
As a result of this development partnership, the sailmakers could rely on a new, financially sound supplier of sailcloth. Through our company's technical expertise and innovative enthusiasm, we emerged, over the course of six months, as the nation's leading supplier of sailcloth.
National retail and restaurant chains wanted a reliable and consistent way to present their graphics.
We joined forces with strategic partners to develop the Sunbrella Graphics System (SGS), the industry's first warranty-backed system for faster, more efficient application of graphics to Sunbrella fabric. The SGS process is a repeatable and reliable decoration process which leads to consistent quality, and brand identity.The Sunbrella fabric, the specific 3M film, and the manufacturing process are all defined, specified, and tested to the point where Glen Raven and 3M back the results with a 5 year warranty.
Being able to match specific Sunbrella and 3M color numbers guarantees image continuity for large retail and restaurant chains over broad geographic regions and multiple SGS graphic suppliers. The process uses modern graphics software and plotter technology to produce images precisely, and multiple colors and images can be bonded to Sunbrella in a matter of minutes. Old awning painting methods that once took days to complete can now be accomplished in minutes.
A leading protective apparel manufacturer needed a comfortable, lightweight fabric that was durable and could meet the NFPA70E Class 2 standard for flame resistant material.
We searched our world-wide fiber network to find a supplier known for superior flame resistant technology. In our search we evaluated many different alternatives that could meet the NFPA70E standard. The end result was GlenGuard, a proprietary blend of fibers that created the lightest weight NFPA70E Class 2 fabric available and a fabric which meets UL certification. This remarkable new fabric is available in Navy, Cool Blue, Tan, Yellow, Orange and Red, and it feels as comfortable as everyday clothing.
In addition, GlenGuard stands up to repeated industrial washings better than the other available brands, which significantly reduces its cost per use.
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