TW特别报告
In April 2018, the Roseville, Minn.-based Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) named Steve Schiffman, the association’s then vice president of media and sales, new IFAI president and CEO. Schiffman, with a career history in publishing, joined the staff of IFAI in 2013. Commenting on the announcement, retiring IFAI CEO Mary Hennessy said: “Steve has done a great job for IFAI since joining our team five years ago.
他是认真而坚定的，我对他的能力充满信心。我知道他将成为一个坚强而周到的领导者。”
Following IFAI Expo 2018 in Dallas, Textile World editors spent a moment with Schiffman to gain insight into the association and his new leadership role.
TW：祝贺您在IFAI的新职位。您对组织的最初印象是什么？
Schiffman： 非常感谢你。我来这里了一段时间，有机会通过我的各种职责来体验协会的大多数领域。到目前为止，由于各种原因，我的过渡一直是无缝的。玛丽很高兴能帮助我快速提高速度，董事会非常支持，工作人员已经很好地适应并接受了这一变化。我们有一支出色的团队，他们真正关心我们的会员，并想为他们的成功做出贡献。
TW：以您的出版背景以及IFAI的多个出版物，该出版物对协会及其部门的重要性有多重要？
Schiffman: We have strong media brands, starting with our flagship Specialty Fabrics Review. Each of our division-specific publications are also strong in each of their market segments. Our editorial team works with our division members and staff to identify important subjects to feature. Our print publications remain viable, relevant and frequently referenced as the most important member benefit. Our readers tell us that our content is valuable and over the past few years we’ve created brand extensions for all our print publications including monthly and twice monthly e-newsletters, custom content and, of course, our websites.
TW：IFAI会员资格有什么好处？
Schiffman: We have core member benefits that have remained constant over the years including a subscription to Specialty Fabrics Review and a division specific magazine, if applicable; access to InfoCentral, a fabric and product sourcing guide; a variety of educational offerings including access to educational video content; and free listings in our magazines and discounts for events, workshops, job postings in the Textile Career Center, e-store purchases, business services, and more. Suppliers also receive discounts on print advertising and exhibit space at both IFAI Expo and our Geosynthetics Conferences.
最近，我们提供了一项新的节能计划，成员可以为电力和天然气节省资金。我们还希望尽快推出另外两个新的好处 - 纺织业退休计划和纺织行业健康计划。
TW: Many TW readers are familiar with IFAI Expo, but please expand on other events that are central to IFAI’s mission.
Schiffman：我们在IFAI博览会后的下一个最大的活动是我们的GeoSynthetics会议，该会议现在每年生产。我们的部门活动包括海洋制造商会议；帐篷博览会/帐篷会议，每年交替；Outlook会议；智能面料峰会；以及我们最新的活动发射，女性在纺织品峰会上。
TW：随着达拉斯的IFAI博览会现在是一个包裹，您带来了什么趋势？
Schiffman: I think the overarching takeaways were that companies are embracing technology and automation, reimagining business practices and innovating to prepare for the future. As customer needs continue to evolve, their expectations of customized products will continue to increase, and companies want to be prepared to meet those needs.
TW: What is your perception of the health of the industrial fabrics industry, and what are its biggest challenges?
Schiffman: I think the Specialty Fabrics and Technical Textiles industries continue to be strong. The feedback I received after speaking to many companies at IFAI Expo is that things are good right now. Early 2018 weather issues slowed sales for a while, but they bounced back as the weather improved. Finding trained sewers continues to be a challenge for many companies. The current tariffs remain a concern at different levels for different companies which makes longer term business planning more challenging.
TW：会员教育对IFAI任务有多重要，教育采取什么形式？
Schiffman: Member education is central to our mission. We produce a significant amount of content across a variety of different channels to help our members grow and prosper. Education used to be limited to our publications and events. Over the past few years we’ve launched educational webinars in most of our divisions that allow members to listen to content designed to help them succeed, either live or later on-demand. We also believe there is an opportunity to bring education to members through hands-on workshops. Our Video Technical Library has just scratched the surface of providing educational videos members can use to educate their employees and we’re in the planning stages of developing podcasts to make it easier for members to access our content anytime from anywhere. In April 2019, we will try something new in how we deliver education by launching the Smart Fabrics Virtual Summit, a full day of programming available online, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
TW: Looking forward, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing IFAI members? What about opportunities?
Schiffman：在我们的2018年会员调查中，我们的会员告诉我们，他们最大的挑战是找到合格的员工。我们一直在努力通过IFAI Expo，我们的制造商部和杂志提供教育和培训的资源。最近，我们通过新的纺织职业中心，技术视频库，小型企业中心和越来越强大的网络研讨会时间表添加了这些努力。我认为机会是利用自动化和创新来帮助创造效率并更好地满足客户需求。
TW: What does the future look like for IFAI?
Schiffman：我对IFAI的未来感到兴奋。即使会员满意度处于历史最高水平，我们仍在不断努力改善并确定提高成员价值和投资回报率的方法。就是说，我们并非没有挑战。我们正在努力更好地了解IFAI博览会，以及它如何成为成员驱动的贸易协会的一部分，为成员每天的每一天都提供价值。您会惊讶于有多少人没有建立这种联系，因此我们必须帮助他们到达那里。我们将员工添加到我们的市场部门，我们正在积极努力通过将我们的覆盖范围和营销策略扩展到IFAI可以提供价值的新市场，以提高博览会的出勤和会员资格。我们也对与类似的协会，活动和其他合作伙伴的更多合作感兴趣，以使我们的成员和所服务行业受益。
November/December 2018
