Riley Joins Nano-Tex

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 9/5/2005 12:00:00 AM

Emeryville, Calif. —

With the naming of a vice president of business development for home furnishings, Nano-Tex plans a major expansion of its textiles enhancement technology across many segments of the interior furnishings business.

Wendy Riley has joined the company as vice president of business development for home furnishings from Newell Rubbermaid, where she was national accounts manager, responsible for national account expansion, strategic evolution and new product development.

At Nano-Tex, where she reports to Renee Hultin, president of the Americas for Nano-Tex, she will focus on building a home furnishings strategy, specifically including top-of-bed, sheets, upholstery fabrics, window coverings, throws, table linens, and mattress ticking.

The appointment of Riley and two other vice presidents, Marilyn Werner and Nicole Nelson for apparel, and activewear/intimate apparel respectively, "will continue to drive the adoption of our technology into new categories in the apparel and home furnishings markets,” according to Hultin.

The expansion efforts will focus on department store and specialty store channels, Riley explained. “We are not going after the mass market,” she emphasized.

According to Riley, nanotechnology-based textiles enhancements become inherent to the fabric without changing the comfort, look or feel of the fabric.

Over the past couple of years, “We concentrated on developing our business in the high-end apparel market, Hultin said. In December with the development of three new products, “We have been evaluating the potential and strategies for the home and expanded apparel markets.”

Currently, Nano-Tex product is being used in mattress ticking from Burlington House at Simmons, Hultin related. Nano-Tex and Burlington House, a unit of International Textile Group (ITG), are both owned by Wilbur Ross.

The Nano-Tex technology currently is offered in four categories. One, resists spills and offers liquid repellency. Another, Coolest Comfort, a moisture wicking technology, is offered for wrinkle-free cotton fabrics and resin-treated knit fabrics. A third, resists static on a permanent basis for synthetic fabrics, and the fourth repels and resists stains.

The company has business staff and labs in Greensboro, N.C., and a New York office to “execute the needs of our customers and deal with specific retailers and brands,” Hultin added.