04 Apr How Does SBI Stay Ahead of Industry Trends?
HOW DOES SBI STAY AHEAD OF INDUSTRY TRENDS?
The fabric finishing industry is ever-changing and evolving. As our team travels to trade shows, conferences and various client meetings, several questions come up on a regular basis. We’re breaking those down for you here with insight from SBI’s Director of R&D, Daniel Banks. Continue reading below as he weighs in on innovation, industry challenges and how SBI strives to exceed customer expectations every time.
How do you stay relevant and on top of what the market is doing?
Short answer? Customer needs and experience-driven intuition.
In the early days of SBI, our customers’ needs alone would guide the direction of the company. For example, customers would ask if we had the capability to do stain protection or a specific backing. If we didn’t have the capability, our team quickly pivoted to determine what resources were needed to make it happen. And they did! That’s what really guided the way SBI was going – whatever our customers’ needs were.
And while that is still the case to a large extent, the SBI team now has over 43 years of experience in the industry and more inklings of where the market might go. Maybe our team has a customer lined up for it, maybe not, but SBI’s experience and intuition largely provides insight into where the industry might grow.
For example, when CAL TB 117-2013 (California Technical Bulletin 117, which sets the standard for upholstered furniture flammability regulations in the furniture industry) became part of a national law, SBI had already been working on a chemical-free solution to that for several years. Our research is usually driven by listening closely to our customers, and their ideas and challenges guide our research efforts.
What is a current challenge in the industry?
One of the biggest challenges is the push and pull between finishing effectiveness and environmental concerns.
It can be a huge selling point to have organic cotton, but organic cotton is very expensive, and how do you make that last as long as possible? Stain protection and backings can increase durability significantly. Some fabrics, by the addition of stain protection and light knit backing, can have their lifespan nearly doubled.
In the end, fabric finishing in many ways comes down to tradeoffs. If you’re trying to use a highly renewable resource to make fibers, it can be difficult to make it durable for commercial applications. But it does seem that designers are wanting those products as natural and as green as possible. What’s driving their choices is what is beautiful and what is sustainable. So the question for SBI is – how do we increase the usefulness and durability of these fabrics while retaining the same look and feel?
We’re still working on the perfect solution, but our customers can rest assured that environmental concerns have always been top of mind at SBI. Daniel grew up in the company, and every chemical they used, his dad (Gene Banks, SBI’s President & Founder) would say, ‘my kid is running through the plant, so we need to make it as green as possible.’
What sets SBI apart in the industry?
Our customers can count on us. They know we won’t offer anything less than a custom solution for their unique needs AND we’ll do it faster than any of our competitors.
A large part of the SBI’s client base is interior designers. They have an incredibly stressful job. During covid, sometimes they would wait up to 20 weeks for their fabric from the fabric supplier, and then they would need multiple finishing services. For the two or three weeks the fabric was here at SBI (2-3 weeks only applies to multiple finishes. On most finishes, SBI turns it around in 3-5 days), we tried to make their life as easy as possible, before it goes on to whomever is manufacturing the goods — which would take another 10 weeks.
Our goal is to move our customers’ fabrics as quickly as possible through the finishing process, without compromising quality. Our customers cannot afford to wait extended times for their goods. SBI does offer the fastest lead times in the industry, and we are supremely proud of that fact.
If you have a project in mind, are interested in a fabric inspection or have additional questions, simply email our team at info@sbifinishing.com or call us at 903-675-1440. To place an order, you can email orders@sbifinishing.com or or submit an order online by clicking here. We would be honored to serve you!
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