What Fabric Development does

Fabric Development Inc. is a private specialty textile manufacturer based in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, founded in 1972 and operating as a subsidiary of Kordsa. It manufactures specialty woven, knitted and braided fabrics for application-specific performance requirements across aerospace, industrial, medical, marine and recreational markets. Aerospace applications include carbon fabrics for prepreg use and fabrics for containment, critical engine components and insulation; industrial applications include automotive friction and brake uses, coated fabrics, inflatable structures, frictionless bearings and infrastructure reinforcement.

The company's production base is an 80,000-square-foot facility with 100 looms and capabilities across yarn preparation, custom weaving, knitting, braiding, multilayer weaving and physical testing. Its product portfolio includes carbon, ballistic, specialty, unidirectional, stabilized, quartz, Kevlar and hybrid fabrics, with complex forms such as fluted core fabrics, polar-weave/spiral fabrics, Tailored Advanced Blanket Insulation and closed-end radome structures. The 2000 acquisition and 2002 consolidation of Lydall Manning's weaving division expanded its advanced-composite and 3D product capabilities.

Fabric Development appears to generate revenue through direct B2B sales of standard and custom fabrics. Sales are handled through direct phone and email contact, and the company works with customer engineering teams to recommend yarns, fabric construction and weave designs based on material requirements, drawings and cost considerations. No public pricing, revenue, customer logos or revenue-mix disclosures are provided, so contract size and customer concentration cannot be observed directly.

Name

Fabric Development

Legal name

Fabric Development Inc.

Website

https://fabricdevelopment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Fabric Development manufactures custom woven, knitted and braided specialty fabrics in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, serving aerospace, industrial, medical, marine and recreational customers with carbon, ballistic, quartz, Kevlar, unidirectional, stabilized and multilayer fabric products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Textile Manufacturing

NAICS

Fabric Mills (3132), Knit Fabric Mills (31324), Knit Fabric Mills (313240)

SIC

Textile Mill Products (2200), Broadwoven Fabric Mills, Man Made Fiber & Silk (2221), Knitting Mills (2250)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Fabric Mills (Performance/Protective/Medical Substrates) (IMAOABAH)

Keywords

• Specialty textile manufacturing
• Woven fabric production
• Aerospace composite fabrics
• Industrial textile materials
• Custom braided fabrics

Headquarters

HQ city

Quakertown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Specialty Fabric Manufacturing: Manufactures specialty woven, knitted and braided fabrics to meet specific applications. Products include carbon fabrics, ballistic fabrics, speciality fabrics, unidirectional fabrics, stabilized fabric, and quartz fabrics for aerospace, industrial, medical, marine, and recreational markets. Revenue from direct B2B sales of custom and standard fabric products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fabric Development Inc. manufactures specialty woven, knitted, and braided fabrics from its 80,000-square-foot Quakertown, PA facility, operating 100 looms that have produced over 2,000 different fabric styles. The product portfolio includes carbon, ballistic, quartz, Kevlar/aramid, unidirectional, stabilized, specialty, and hybrid fabrics, along with custom weaving and multilayer/3D weaving services, sold directly to aerospace, industrial, medical, marine, and recreational OEMs and tier suppliers.

Product overview

Fabric Development Inc. is a textile manufacturing company founded in 1972, operating as a subsidiary of Kordsa. The company operates 100 looms in a 80,000 square foot facility and has manufactured over 2000 different style fabrics. The product portfolio includes six main fabric product categories: Carbon Fabrics (including unidirectional and stabilized variants), Ballistic Fabrics, Specialty Fabrics, Quartz Fabrics, and Kevlar/Aramid Fabrics (including hybrid combinations). These are complemented by custom weaving services (woven, knitted, and braided), multilayer weaving capabilities (spiral, cruciform, turbine blades), and braiding services (flat, solid, hollow/tubular). The company serves aerospace, industrial, medical, marine, and recreational markets with specialty application fabrics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbon Fabrics
• Ballistic Fabrics
• Speciality Fabrics
• Unidirectional Fabrics
• Stabilized Fabric
• Quartz Fabrics
• Kevlar Fabrics
• Hybrid Fabrics
• Custom Woven, Knitted, and Braided Fabrics
• Braided Fabrics
• Multilayer/3D Woven Products

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2000 different style fabrics manufactured
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KordsacoreOthers · 1 January 2000Fabric Development Inc. is owned by Kordsa, a global player in tire and construction reinforcement as well as composite technologies markets. Kordsa operates in 5 countries (Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, US) with 11 production facilities and 4,000 reinforcers. Kordsa acquired Fabric Development and consolidates it as a subsidiary, providing global market reach and shared technology resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BGF Industries: Manufacturer of technical woven textiles including fiberglass, carbon, aramid and other high-performance fibers used in aerospace, defense, industrial and electronics applications. Directly comparable specialty fabric mill serving overlapping customer segments.
• AGY (formerly JPS Composite Materials): Producer of fiberglass yarns and technical fabrics for aerospace, defense, electronics and industrial composites. Comparable specialty fabric manufacturer supplying reinforcement materials into the same aerospace and industrial value chain.
• Bally Ribbon Mills: US-based specialty weaver of narrow and woven textiles including 2D and 3D woven fabrics for aerospace, defense, medical and industrial markets. Highly comparable specialty weaving business with similar focus on engineered, high-performance fabrics.
• Textum Weaving: Specialty weaver of narrow and broad woven technical fabrics for aerospace, industrial and protective applications. Comparable in offering custom, high-performance woven textiles to aerospace and industrial OEM customers.

Emerging players

• Saertex: Manufacturer of non-crimp fabrics, multiaxial reinforcements and specialty composite textiles for wind energy, aerospace and automotive applications. Comparable reinforcement-fabric supplier with adjacent process technology and overlapping end markets.

Others

• Composites One: North America's largest distributor of composites materials and supplies, including reinforcement fabrics, resins and core materials. Adjacent ecosystem participant that channels demand for technical fabrics used by Fabric Development's customers.

Broad incumbents

• SGL Carbon: Global producer of carbon-based products including carbon fibers, specialty graphites and composite materials for aerospace, automotive and industrial markets. Larger incumbent competing on carbon-fiber-based reinforcement fabrics.
• Toray Advanced Composites: Manufacturer of carbon fiber, prepreg materials and composite parts for aerospace, defense and industrial applications. Major incumbent offering vertically integrated reinforcement solutions that compete with specialty fabric suppliers.
• Hexcel Corporation: Global leader in advanced composites including carbon fiber, woven reinforcements, prepregs and honeycomb core for aerospace and industrial markets. Larger incumbent with overlapping capabilities but a much broader integrated product portfolio.
• TPI Composites: Manufacturer of composite wind turbine blades and structural composite parts with deep composites engineering capability. Adjacent composites incumbent that influences demand for and competes with specialty reinforcement fabric suppliers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fabric Development