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IHDG GRANTED CHAPTER 11 EXTENSION The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has extended the period in which the Imperial Home Decor Group Inc. (IHDG), Cleveland, OH, has exclusive right to file and advance a plan of reorganization in its Chapter 11 case. IHDG has until August 4, 2000, during which it has exclusive rights to file a reorganization plan and another 60 days after that, until October 3, 2000, during which it can solicit creditors to vote for the plan. IHDG filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in early January of this year. (See D&WC, February 2000, page 14.) It requested an extension in mid-April. "The extension granted by the court enables us to continue working in an orderly way toward a plan that will allow IHDG to emerge from Chapter 11 and remain the industry leader and innovator," said Scott Levin, IHDG chief financial officer. "As eager as we are to have that process complete, it is crucial that we take the appropriate time to file and advance a plan that is fair to all concerned." IHDG designs, manufactures and distributes residential and commercial wall coverings products. It supplies home centers, national chains, independent dealers, mass merchants, design showrooms and specialty shops. Its product lines include Imperial, Katzenbach & Warren, Albert Van Luit, Sterling Prints, Imperial Fine Interiors and Sunworthy brand names. NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS FROM COMFORTEX Comfortex Corp., Maplewood, NY, has introduced a new line of designer pleated shades and a continuous cord loop system for cellular, pleated and Roman fabric shades that was developed in concert with an industry partner. The Ensemble Designer Series[TM] pleated shades feature 10 fabric styles including room darkening and flame retardant fabrics. The line was designed to complement the company's Universal Hardware System, released earlier this year. (See D&WC, March 2000, page 16.) "The new pleated lineup has been designed for retail fabrication and provides an economic value-added extension to their overall product offering," said John Fitzgerald, Comfortex executive vice president. The high-performance Omni-Rise[TM] continuous cord loop system provides smooth, quiet operation through the use of a proven clutch mechanism to raise and lower large shades with ease. The Omni-Rise system was developed in partnership with RollEase, Inc., Stanford, CT. "This innovative new system was a true engineering partnership," said Ray Randall, Comfortex director of product engineering. "We have taken the best available technology in the industry and developed a system that delivers exceptional performance for a wide variety of fabrics." LUTRON, VIMCO INTRODUCE SIVOIA Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., Coopersburg, PA, and its subsidiary, VIMCO, have introduced the new Sivoia Motorized Window Shading System. The system features an ultra quiet motor, built-in intelligence and smart controls designed to make adjusting window shades convenient and easy. The new shading system enhances VIMCO's extensive offering of motorized shades as well as Lutron's total package of lighting controls and shading systems. "Today, architects and designers are incorporating larger expanses of glass in homes as well as offices to create brighter, more open interiors and better views," said Ari Supran, Lutron's market development leader for motorized shading systems. "The overall effects are dramatic, but it's also important to be able to control the amount of daylight that comes into a room at any given time." The Sivoia system is designed to work by touching one button to control every window shade. Home owners can adjust shades anywhere without having to walk from room to room. Its smart controls are easy to operate and to install in new or existing spaces, the company says. Difficult-to-reach cords are replaced by wall controls that allow easy adjustment of the shades with multiple preset stop points. Many control options are available including a hand-held infrared control. SOMFY EXPANDS, ADDS TWO NEW FACILITIES To support the continued growth in tubular motor and electronic control sales, Somfy Systems, Inc. has expanded its headquarter facility in Cranbury, NJ, and opened sales and distribution centers in Florida and California. The new 5,000-square-foot addition in New Jersey houses electronic controls receiving, inventory, testing, production and quality control as well as office space dedicated to those functions. The new sales and distribution centers located in Boca Raton, FL, and Brea, CA, are fully operational and include ordering, shipping, technical support and training. The Florida facility can be contacted at (877) 227-6639, of fax (561) 995-7502; the California facility can be contacted at (877) 727-6639, or fax (714) 255-1278. FAIRFIELD INTRODUCES FOAM ALTERNATIVE Fairfield Processing Corp., Danbury, CT, has introduced a safe alternative to foam. NU-Foam® is a cushion made of compressed layers of polyester with performance results the company says are better than conventional foam products. Available in nine pre-cut sizes, four slab sizes and five rolled sizes, NU-Foam can be used for chair cushions, deck furniture, camping, boat and recreational vehicle accessories, futons, upholstery, crib bumpers and playpen mats. It is flame retardant, washable, non-allergenic, will not yellow or disintegrate, retains its shape and resists mildew, according to the company. Fairfield manufactures a complete line of fiber products including fiberfill, batting and pillow forms to the home sewing, decorating, quilt and craft industries. STORCH NAMED WISCONSIN EXPORTER OF THE YEAR Storch International, Inc., Madison, WI, has been named Wisconsin's U.S. Small Business Administration Exporter of the Year. The company was honored during the Wisconsin International Trade Conference in May. Storch is a wholesale and export management company supplying window coverings products to fabricators and wholesalers in more than 35 countries worldwide. COVINGTON REPOSITIONS DIVISIONS Covington Industries, Inc., New York, NY, is repositioning some of its divisions. Effective June 1, 2000, a new division named Covington Upholstery Fabrics has been formed to focus on developing and merchandising product specifically for the residential furniture market. Product and resources for this division will be combined from the Covington Fabrics and Rapier-Cambridge Mills/Fame Fabrics divisions as well as upholstery product from Johnston Industries, Inc. (See D&WC, February 1999) The decorative fabric business of the former Fame Fabrics division has been combined with Spectrum Fabrics. The Fame Fabrics contract business had already been integrated into Covington Industries Contract.

EXCALIBUR OPENS NEW FACILITY Excalibur, USA announces the successful opening of its new window fashions headquarters located in Oxnard, CA. Opened in April, the company's two state-of-the-art facilities total 75,000 square feet and are designed to incorporate ISO 9000 principles for efficient work flow patterns in all phases of production. The company's assembly plant also houses its fine finishing process for wood profiles: CrystalCoat[TM] Wood Finish & Sealant. All wood products produced by Excalibur will now have 300 percent greater scratch resistance, moisture resistance and protection from fading than conventional wood finishes, the company says. HEIMTEXTIL AMERICAS DRAWS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS More than 170 exhibitors from 27 countries offered a variety of products at this year's Heimtextil Americas held May 24 to 26 in Miami Beach, FL. Included in the exhibits were residential and hospitality decorative and upholstery fabrics, trim, decorative accessories, bed, bath and linen as well as innovative textile-related products. Exhibitors included companies from Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States, according to show producer Messe Frankfurt, Inc. A total of 2,500 attendees from 43 countries included retail buyers from retail shops, major chain stores and department stores from North and South America, along with top purchasing agents and specifiers from large hotel chains. New on the trade show floor this year was the "Heimtextil Trend Pavilion" showcasing textile trends for 2000 and 2001. Originally produced for Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany, the multiplexed pavilion encouraged visitors to travel through its rooms of fabric, color and mixtures of elements designed to convey five basic moods: child, office, earth, fire and water. These themes played with innovative elements such as mobiles of slate and driftwood, oversized cloth-covered beach balls, fabric wrapped office equipment and 15-foot daisies. Each room, separated by walls of flowing white sheer draperies, incorporated fabric samples supplied by Heimtextil Americas' exhibitors. Avora[TM] FR and the Florida South Chapter of ASID co-sponsored the "Contract Connection Gallery of Stars." Top U.S. hospitality designers and design students from the Art Institute of Florida, International Fine Arts College of Miami and Palm Beach Community College displayed framed concept boards using Avora[TM] FR flame-resistant fabrics from exhibiting companies. The next Heimtextil Americas will be held May 16 to 18, 2001, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL. KOJO MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY Kojo Worldwide has announced the development of a one-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mexico, to service the hospitality industry exclusively. The new facility eventually will comprise 10 factories in 100,000-square-foot increments on 28 acres of land overlooking the Pacific Ocean. These factories will be devoted to manufacturing hospitality furnishing products. The first building was completed in June 1999 and is in full operation producing draperies, cornices, valances and other drapery accessories. Kojo also manufactures the drapery hardware components in this building, which include its unique rod system that holds two or three tracks on one rod. Drapery batons, masters, glides and stiffeners and other necessary components are being made on premises as well. The second building was finished in April 2000 and is devoted to printing fabric and manufacturing bedspreads, dust ruffles, pillows and other bed related accessories. Kojo designs and converts fabric patterns for the hospitality industry and has more than 3,000 copyrighted designs. The third 100,000-square-foot building is marked for corporate offices and showrooms. More than 20 model rooms will be built at this facility for every major brand along with "Rooms of the Future" designed by top interior design companies. RODDA ENVISIONS FUTURE OF PAINT In mid-June Rodda Paint, Portland, OR, released RoddaVision, a software program that allows interior designers and architects to show clients paint colors in interiors and exteriors without having to actually paint the walls. RoddaVision Digital Color Planner can incorporate CAD building elevations and color them so a client can see a building's or room's finished look. Instead of drawing several elevations, an architect can use a computer screen with one elevation and allow the client to pick from the company's palette of more than 1,000 colors. When doing a renovation or an addition, a designer can scan photographs of the existing project so a client can choose colors before making an important investment. After choosing the colors, the designer or architect can printout a full color summary of a room or elevation so the client can see the paint names and reference numbers. RoddaVision is available exclusively at all 33 company retail stores as well as at www.hardware.com. PLAID, SHERWIN-WILLIAMS TEAM WITH DISNEY Plaid Enterprises, Inc., Norcross, GA, and the Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland, OH, have joined forces with Disney to create Disney Color, a new collection of home decorating products slated for nationwide release this summer. The Disney Color program includes paint, stencils, borders, decorative stamps and other accessories—everything needed to decorate bedrooms and play areas with safe, non-toxic and durable products. Several Disney characters are included in the program along with authentic Disney hues in satin, semi-gloss and ceiling paint. EISENHART LAUNCHES NEW COLLECTIONS AT MIDWEST TEAS Eisenhart Wallcoverings Co., Hanover, PA, welcomed spring with the launch of its newest museum collection of wallpaper and fabrics at English tea events in two Midwestern showrooms. The events featured keynote speakers from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England. The interior design showrooms—Area International in Chicago, IL, and Sunshine Draperies and Interiors, St. Louis, MO—provided the space for designers to preview the new fabric and wallpaper creations inspired by historical documents. Emma Saunders, liaison between the museum curators and the licensing process, shared insightful anecdotes on the history of the decorative products and trends that paralleled the reign of Queen Victoria to the transition of the new millennium. Her associate, Michael Cater, vice president of brand licensing for the V & A Museum, spoke on how the creative process unfolded with Eisenhart. The new collections include patterns inspired by textiles from the museum's William Morris collection plus rare works of art from his studio of Arts and Crafts designers.