FIBERS

This year we had some truly amazing materials pass through the R&D room, which means they should soon make a more noticeable appearance on the consumer market. A more creative use of Aramid fibers, which are a class of heat-resistant synthetic material traditionally used in aerospace and military applications for things like body army, has found its way into a slew of other industries such as sports, music, and even tires. The adoption can be attributed to new advances that allow it to be produced at lower costs along with new technology that can manipulate the material with greater accuracy and speed. Similarly, carbon fiber also saw an increased use by less traditional industries. Then there’s “smart” fabrics, a new class of fabric which had some noteworthy developments with companies such as Google coming out with a jacket that’s brimming with sensors to track vitals. While it might be some time before there’s a large market demand for such gear, we’re willing to bet that 2018 will see more smart fabrics beginning to roll out.

MACHINES

It’s only natural that more sophisticated fibers require more sophisticated machines to handle them. The old ways of sewing might not work on some of the newer materials circulating the market. To keep pace, we’ve updated our 77,000 square foot manufacturing facility with some truly futuristic accomplishments of technology. Competition in the contract sewing industry requires that we only reveal our mechanical secrets to visiting clients, however, we can tell you that things like lasers, automation, and precision cutting are involved.

MOVE TOWARDS DOMESTIC GOODS

2017 was a big year for nationalism, which gave the “Made in the USA” manufacturing tag more weight in the consumer market. Coupled with America’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific-Partnership Agreement in January, which placed a higher duty rate on products that weren’t domestically made, the trend created an environment that’s favorable towards American made goods. Additionally, familiar legislation to help encourage domestic production like the Buy American Act and Berry Amendment Act is expanding beyond military made products to industries like law enforcement and healthcare, bringing production back to American shores. Luckily for us at CustomFab USA, we’ve maintained a robust domestic and multi-skilled workforce which, augmented with the latest technology and machines, has allowed to handle the high demand.

From all of us here at CustomFab USA, wishing you a happy and healthy New Year. See you in 2018!!!