Carolina Narrow Fabric

What Carolina Narrow Fabric does

Carolina Narrow Fabric is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of custom-designed specialty narrow fabrics and tapes, founded in 1929 and headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The company produces woven and warp-knitted textiles in widths from 0.25 to 120 inches and thicknesses from 7 to 250 mil, using fiberglass, polyester/poly-glass, carbon fiber, para-aramid (Kevlar), meta-aramid (Nomex), liquid crystal polymer, S2-glass, quartz, and ceramic fibers. Its products serve eight primary verticals: aerospace, automotive, electrical equipment, medical/healthcare, oil and gas, marine, recreation, and composites manufacturing, with reference customers including NASA and Airbus.

The company's core manufacturing capability rests on two processes: Raschel warp knitting, in which it is a pioneer for fiberglass tapes used in conformability-critical applications such as orthopedic casting, refrigeration coil insulation, and pipe repair; and narrow fabric weaving on state-of-the-art looms capable of producing tapes from 0.25 to 12 inches wide to commercial and military specifications. A broad post-manufacturing treatment portfolio (silanes, polyurethane and acrylic coatings, water-activated urethane, calendering, edge coatings, colored yarns stable to 700°F) and proprietary brands such as Form-I-Glas (U.S. Navy-approved, Mil-C-20079 compliant) support specialty applications including pipe reinforcement up to 50,000 psi crush strength.

Carolina Narrow Fabric operates a direct B2B enterprise field sales model, with quote-based negotiated pricing per application. Revenue derives from two streams: industrial textile manufacturing across the verticals listed, and medical products sold through the wholly owned CNF Medical subsidiary, which operates from an ISO 13485- and FDA-approved facility following the 2018 acquisition of Parker Medical Associates' splinting and casting assets. Distribution is direct to enterprise customers, supplemented by trade show presence (including JEC Americas) and content-driven website marketing. The company is family-controlled under the Freeman family (grandson Jeffrey Freeman is president), privately held, HUBZone-certified, and reported 101–250 employees at last disclosure.

Name

Carolina Narrow Fabric

Legal name

Carolina Narrow Fabric Company

Website

https://carolinanarrowfabric.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Carolina Narrow Fabric is a 1929-founded Winston-Salem, NC manufacturer of custom woven and warp-knitted narrow fabrics and tapes, serving aerospace, automotive, electrical, medical, oil/gas, marine, and composites customers through direct B2B enterprise sales and its ISO 13485-certified CNF Medical subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Textile Manufacturing: Manufactures and sells custom-designed specialty narrow fabrics and tapes for industrial applications. Products include electrical insulation tapes, composite reinforcement tapes, thermal protection tapes, and medical substrates. Revenue generated through direct B2B sales of manufactured products.
2. CNF Medical Products: Through subsidiary CNF Medical, manufactures and sells Performance Casting and Performance Splinting brands for medical applications. Products include orthopedic cast tapes, splinting materials, and medical bandages. Operates from ISO 13485 certified facility.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Carolina Narrow Fabric manufactures custom-designed specialty narrow woven and warp-knitted fabrics and tapes for industrial applications, in widths ranging from 0.25" to 120". Its product portfolio centers on electrical insulation tapes, composite reinforcement tapes, thermal protection/lagging products, Form-I-Glas knitted fiberglass tapes, specialty high-performance fabrics (Kevlar, Nomex, Carbon, Vectran), and CNF Medical casting and splinting products. The company serves aerospace, automotive, electrical, medical, oil/gas, marine, recreation, and military end markets, conforming to commercial and military specifications.

Product overview

Carolina Narrow Fabric is a manufacturer of custom-designed specialty textiles for industrial applications, operating since 1929. The company produces narrow fabrics and tapes, specializing in woven and warp knit fiberglass materials in widths from 0.25" to 120". Their product portfolio centers on six core offerings: Electrical Insulation Tapes (fiberglass, cotton, and polyester/poly-glass tapes for transformers, motors, and electrical equipment); Woven Knitted Composite Reinforcement Tapes/Boat and Tooling Tapes (for aerospace, transportation, marine, and pipe repair applications); Thermal Protection/Lagging/Insulation products (7-250 mil fiberglass tapes for heat management); Form-I-Glas™ Knitted Tapes (conforming thermal and electrical protection); Specialty Fabrics (high-performance fibers including carbon, aramid, S2-glass, quartz, and ceramic); and CNF Medical products (Performance Casting® and Performance Splinting® brands, wound care, and medical felts). The company also offers manufacturing capabilities including Raschel warp knitting, narrow fabric weaving, and extensive fabric treatments (heat-cleaning, silane treatments, resin coatings).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Performance Casting: Medical casting products manufactured by CNF Medical in its ISO 9001 and 13485-certified facility.
• Performance Splinting
• Form-I-Glas

Products and services

• Electrical Insulation Tapes

Quantifiable outcome

• Crush strength up to 50,000 psi possible with pipes wrapped with urethane coated fiberglass tapes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Parker Medical AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2018Acquisition of Parker Medical Associates splinting and casting assets. Bruce Parker founded Parker Medical Associates in 1986. Horace Freeman, founder of CNF, originally supplied Parker with raw materials to manufacture his first samples. The acquisition combined two North Carolina companies, making CNF Medical the only medical splinting and casting manufacturer in the USA. Parker Medical brand discontinued with manufacturing moved to Winston-Salem, creating new skilled labor jobs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DJO Global (Enovis): Major orthopedic device manufacturer offering casting, splinting, and bracing products through brands like Aircast and DonJoy; competes with CNF Medical across medical casting/splinting channels.
• 3M Health Care: Dominant medical casting and splinting materials supplier (Scotchcast, etc.) competing with CNF Medical; a large diversified incumbent across the orthopedics medical textile space.
• Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics: Producer of engineered coated and reinforced fabrics for industrial, aerospace, and medical markets; comparable fabric-coating capability and aerospace/medical customer overlap.
• Freudenberg Performance Materials: Global manufacturer of technical textiles, nonwovens, and engineered industrial fabrics for automotive, construction, and apparel; broad incumbent with adjacent product overlap.

Direct peers

• Neptco: Manufacturer of specialty narrow tapes, woven fabrics, and cable-strength members for industrial and telecommunications markets; competes in the same narrow-fabric technical textile space with custom-engineered offerings.
• Tex Tech Industries: Manufacturer of specialty technical textiles and narrow woven fabrics serving aerospace, defense, industrial, and medical markets; comparable high-performance fabric capability and end-market overlap.
• Prodesco: Narrow woven fabric weaver specializing in custom narrow textiles from fiberglass, Kevlar, Nomex, and other high-performance yarns for industrial and aerospace customers; directly overlapping weaving technology and customer base.
• BGF Industries: U.S. manufacturer of industrial/narrow technical fabrics including fiberglass, aramid, and carbon reinforcements for aerospace, electronics, and industrial markets; closest scale and product overlap to Carolina Narrow Fabric.
• Jason Mills: U.S. converter of industrial knit and woven narrow fabrics for aerospace, medical, automotive, and military end-uses; comparable scale and vertical mix serving custom engineered textile programs.

Emerging players

• Saati Americas: Technical textile manufacturer of woven and knitted industrial fabrics (filtration, composites, electronics); partial overlap with CNF's fiberglass weaving and composite reinforcement tape lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CNF_Fabric

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Carolina Narrow Fabric