President's Message
Koen Van Goethem
Dear All,
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful end of summer and fall with prosperous existing business and interesting new developments and opportunities to proceed with your continuous growth. Together we can move our industry forward to another level, where we can strengthen our position of ropes made out of synthetic fibers.
On the evening of the 15th of October, Sim Whitehill was offered the Gale Foster Award of Merit for his long-term service to the industry on behalf of the Cordage Institute by his daughter Elizabeth during a nice dinner amongst family, board members, past presidents of the CI, and friends of the industry.
At the board meeting, a new task force was created to develop a written plan for a formalized collaboration between the Cordage Institute and Eurocord, which can be considered and accepted or rejected by the two associations.
During our fall Technical meeting, which took place on the 16th and 17th of October in Philadelphia, we had many attendees with very constructive input. The subcommittees achieved good progress in the guidelines and standards. Furthermore, a new subcommittee ‘Plastic Waste Management’ was created. (thanks Sarah Padilla and all technical chairs)
A big thanks to the Associate members which sponsored this fall meeting with their continued support: Hailide America, Inc., Honeywell, I-Coats N.V., Kuraray America, Inc, Lumat USA, Teijin Aramid, TP Industrial Yarns B.V., and Whitford Corp/PPG.
I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, happy year ending, and an excellent start of 2020.
Looking forward to seeing you at our next winter Technical Meeting, 29th – 30th of January 2020 in Philadelphia.
Please note in your agendas that our next Annual Conference will be held at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, 2nd – 4th of June 2020.
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Cordage Institute Happenings
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Save the Date for the Cordage Institute's Annual Conference and 100th Anniversary Celebration
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Please mark your calendar for the Cordage Institute’s Annual Conference and 100th Anniversary Celebration on June 2-4, 2020 at the
The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
To commemorate the Cordage Institute’s 100th anniversary, a special President’s Night Reception and Dinner, featuring a black tie optional dress code, is being planned for Wednesday, June 3rd. The evening will feature entertainment, a group photo, presentation of the 2020 Gale Foster Award of Merit and the Richards Technical Contribution Award, and several surprises.
The program will also feature technical working group meetings, a meeting of the Technical Committee, the annual business meeting, a technical seminar, the Annual Gale Foster Memorial Golf Tournament, and plenty of opportunities to interact and connect with Cordage Institute members and industry professionals.
Located amid the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia, The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark and world-class resort that has been welcoming guests from around the world since 1778. With a guest list that includes 27 of 45 U.S. Presidents, the resort has long been a favorite destination of royalty, celebrities, and business leaders.
Resort highlights include three picturesque golf courses; a world-renowned spa offering a variety of massages, facials and treatments; a dining collection of 20 restaurants, lounges, and bars; The Greenbrier Casino Club, which was recently ranked the 18th Best Casino in America according to TripAdvisor reviews; an extensive retail collection with over 35 shops and boutiques; over 55 indoor and outdoor activities; and the declassified Bunker at The Greenbrier, a must-see experience that takes you behind the scenes of an emergency Cold War fallout shelter that was once a top secret U.S. government relocation facility for Congress.
The Greenbrier is proud of its time-honored traditions and impeccable standards, and requires adherence to a dress code, which stipulates that gentlemen wear a jacket and tie for dinner in the Main Dining Room and a jacket in the Lobby Bar, the Casino Club (after 7:00 p.m.), and Prime 44 West.
Click here for a suggested packing list and the dress code requirements for each venue.
The Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB) is located only 15 minutes from The Greenbrier, and SkyWest offers daily flights to and from Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Washington Dulles (IAD) Airports. Other airports convenient to The Greenbrier include Roanoke, VA (ROA), Charleston, WV (CRW) and Beckley, WV (BKW) with service provided by major carriers.
It is highly suggested that you make your hotel reservations early, particularly if you plan to extend your stay, by
clicking here.
A meeting notice, with information on the program, will be sent to members and posted on the website in early 2020.
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Sim Whitehill Receives the 2019 Gale Foster Award of Merit
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Sim Whitehill, a Past President and long-time member of the Cordage Institute, was presented the 2019 Gale Foster Award of Merit during a special dinner on October 15, 2019 at the Radley Run Country Club in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Named after the well-respected former Cordage Institute Technical Director, the Gale Foster Award of Merit is presented to individuals who have contributed outstanding service to the organization and to the industry over a substantial period of time.
Sim served on the Cordage Institute’s Board of Directors from 1997 to 2008, and he served as President from 2001 to 2005.
The award was presented by Sim’s daughter, Beth Huntely with Whitehill Manufacturing, and brief remarks were also made by the Cordage Institute’s President, Koen Van Goethem with I-Coats N.V., Vince Pappas with Fiber-Line Inc., John Flory with Tension Technology International, Dennis St. Germain, Bill Huffaker, and Forrest Sloan with Kuraray America, Inc.
During his acceptance speech, Sim remarked that he was both humbled and honored to receive the award named after Gale Foster, a man that he called “incredible” and one that he greatly admitted. He also spoke about his career in the cordage industry.
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Beth Huntley presenting the Award of Merit to Sim Whitehill
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Call for Technical Papers
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This is a call for abstracts for technical papers to be presented and published at the Cordage Institute 2020 Annual Conference and 100th Anniversary Celebration on June 2-4, 2020 at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. These presentations will be included on the program for the Annual Technical Seminar on June 4, 2020. The papers will then be published as part of a numbered series of special Technical Publications on the Cordage Institute website.
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Don't Miss the Winter 2020 Technical Meeting in Philadelphia
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The next meeting of the Cordage Institute Technical Committee will be held on January 29-30, 2020 at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia. Based on feedback from members, we are going to try out a venue in Center City Philadelphia instead of an airport location.
The Kimpton Hotel Monaco, located in the “Old City” section of Center City Philadelphia, is across the street from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and close to contemporary boutiques, theaters, galleries, and plenty of bars and restaurants. It features a complimentary wine hour, with red or white wine plus hot toddies in the winter, in the lobby each evening from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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Knots & Notes
by Sarah Padilla, Cordage Institute Technical Director
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Back by popular demand, the Knots and N
otes section of RopecordNews will inform you of the standards being developed by the Cordage Institute, as well as by other industry organizations. As we develop this section of the newsletter, please let us know what type of content is of interest to you by sending an email to
sarah@ropecord.com or
info@ropecord.com.
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Standards Update
Updates from the Cordage Institute Standards subcommittees on how things are progressing since the last newsletter
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The Standard Review
Updates from other standards bodies that are relevant to the cordage industry.
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Member News and Press Releases
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TP Industrial Yarns Proudly Presents the Establishment of Its US Entity: TP Industrial Yarns USA Inc.
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With well over 30 years of experience in the field of technical textiles, Theo and Peter, founded TP Industrial Yarns B.V. working from their homes in 2002. An initial focus of trading and converting gradually evolved into a focus on value addition. After two years of working from a home office, TP moved to a rented office space and warehouse. In 2012, TP moved to its brand-new headquarter in Bleiswijk - near Rotterdam - bringing materials and people under one roof. To further enhance the value-adding strategy, four years ago the first rewinding (e.g. SSM), twisting (Roblon & Sima) and testing machinery (Instron) was acquired. The transition was continued with the acquisition of more machinery (SSM, Galan, Twistechnology) and the launch of TP’s own brand of Ultra High Modulus Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE): TITAN.
Following the establishment of TP Industrial Yarns Asia Ltd. in 2009, TP Industrial Yarns continued to recognize the necessity to serve its clients locally and source globally, in order to increase its global footprint. As a result, TP established its US entity in the state of North Carolina, TP Industrial Yarns USA in October 2019. Subsequently, TP will be able to provide a further improved service and maintain more direct contact with its customers from the United States. TP, furthermore, aims to expand its presence in the US following this strategical decision.
Along with the founding of TP Industrial Yarns USA we are proud to introduce you to our new US Sales Manager, Philip Snead. With vast experience ranging from production to sales, Philip is no newcomer in the field of industrial textiles. Moreover, Philips experience in production lines up fittingly with TP’s strategic focus to provide customized, engineered yarns.
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Lumat, Dominion Fiber Technologies and EuroFibers Merge Into FibrXL
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The combination creates an unparalleled portfolio of high-tenacity yarns, renowned high-performance fibers, fiber processing capabilities and a global distribution network.
Leading fiber companies Lumat Group (Lumat), Dominion Fiber Technologies (DFT) and EuroFibers, with a collective experience in technical textiles and fiber enhancing services of over 60 years, have officially announced their merger. The new group will trade under the name FibrXL from January 2020. Marcel Alberts (previously EuroFibers) and Jeroen Drenth (previously Lumat) will continue as Managing Directors of the combined company. Significant synergy opportunities as well as global expansion of the high-performance fibers’ portfolio are the main reasons to combine the three companies into one. FibrXL is fully committed to becoming the global leader in the sales, marketing and distribution of high-performance fibers, industrial yarns and related converting services.
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World's Largest Floating Wind Turbine Ready for Deployment
By
The Maritime Executive
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The largest floating wind turbine in the world is about to be installed. The 8.4 MW offshore wind turbine is the first of three semisubmersible units designed by California-based Principle Power. It is continental Europe’s first larger-scale floating wind farm, and it is located about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Viana do Castello, Portugal. The design is ABS-classed.
“ABS has supported innovation in offshore energy since 1958. This landmark installation underlines how we continue to support promising technology more than 60 years later,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO. “Floating turbines enable us to reach offshore wind resources in water that is too deep for conventional bottom-fixed turbines. It is breakthroughs such as this that will make a vital contribution to the global transition to clean energy.”
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Seafloor Cable Used to Detect Earthquakes, Faults, and Storm Waves
By
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
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In a paper appearing this week in the journal Science, researchers describe an experiment that turned the seafloor cable on MBARI’s MARS ocean observatory into the equivalent of 10,000 seismic stations on the ocean floor. During a four-day experiment in Monterey Bay, the researchers recorded a 3.5 magnitude quake, detected storm waves and internal waves, and discovered a new fault zone.
The technique, which was initially tested using fiber-optic cables on land, could provide much-needed data on quakes that occur under the sea, where few seismic stations exist. Eventually the technique could be applied to seafloor telecommunications cables around the world, helping scientists learn about offshore earthquakes and geologic structures hidden deep beneath the ocean surface.
The study was a joint effort by researchers from MBARI, the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), and Rice University.
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Dead Sperm Whale Had 220 Pounds of Garbage in its Stomach, Including Rope, Plastic and Gloves
By Lateshia Beachum,
The Washington Post
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Researchers on a Scottish island found disturbing items during a necropsy of a juvenile sperm whale: 220 pounds of land and sea debris.
The young male found himself stranded on the sands of Luskentyre Beach on the Isle of Harris, which is located at the northwest corner of the Western Isles in Scotland.
His insides revealed an entangled ball of litter that dismayed responders with the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme, an organization that collects and analyzes data on stranded marine life native to Scotland, according to the organization’s Facebook page.
The young whale had ingested a large amount of refuse, including bundles of rope, plastic cups, bags and gloves. Examiners also found packing straps and tubing inside his stomach.
The adolescent whale could have swallowed the debris at any point between Norway and the Azores, an archipelago in the Mid-Atlantic, marine experts said.
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Proposed EU Tariffs to Hit Home Textile Categories
By Home Textiles Today Staff,
Home Textiles Today
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Cotton bedding, cotton blankets and several types of floor coverings are on the Trump administration’s hit list for up to 100% tariffs on European imports.
The Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) informed members that the US Trade Representative (USTR) has published a draft notice listing additional goods from the EU that it will consider hitting with additional tariffs due to the Airbus subsidy dispute. The USTR will be accepting comments, once the notice is published, until Jan. 13, 2020.
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January 29 - 30, 2020
Philadelphia, PA
Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia
April 6-9, 2020
Singapore
Marina Bay Sands Convention Center
April 19-22, 2020
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton Resort & Spa
May 4-7, 2020
Houston, Texas
NRG Park
May 11-13, 2020
Hilton Salt Lake City Center
Salt Lake City, UT
June 2-4, 2020
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
The Greenbrier
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RopecordNews
RopecordNews is published by the Cordage Institute. The Cordage Institute is an international association of rope, twine, and related manufacturers, their suppliers, and affiliated industries. Articles appearing in RopecordNews are the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Cordage Institute. Members are encouraged to contribute articles and items of interest by emailing them to
info@ropecord.com.
Rates for advertising
are available from the Institute.
Cordage Institute Headquarters
Peter M. Lance, Executive Director
Tel: 610-971-4854
Fax: 610-971-4859
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