For more than 60 years, Lewisburg-based Appalachian Electronic Instruments has manufactured quality-control and monitoring systems for the global textile industry. Its equipment helps textile makers detect yarn defects, control tension, and modernize older warp-knitting machines, while the company’s engineers take projects from an initial concept through prototype and production.
Fab-Con Machinery Development CorporationSince 1966, Fab-Con Machinery Development Corporation has built fabric-control machinery for processing and finishing knit textiles, including tubular and open-width equipment. The company has installed more than 1,700 machines in 20 countries and serves knitwear manufacturers across the Americas and Asia. Its patented STAR system and Gull-Wing StableSizer reflect a long-running focus on controlling shrinkage, skew and torque in finished knit fabrics.PORT WASHINGTON, NY
TensitronTensitron has been an American instrument maker since 1935, when physicist Dr. Erwin J. Saxl founded the company’s predecessor to solve industrial tension-control problems. Now part of family-owned KTC Instruments, the Pittsburgh operation preserves that engineering heritage by making precision tension meters for manufacturers and maintenance teams worldwide. Its in-house ISO/IEC 17025:2017-accredited laboratory also calibrates the instruments it builds to NIST-traceable standards.PITTSBURGH, PA
Apex MillsApex Mills has been an American textile company since its founding in 1943, when it began as a reseller serving bridal and apparel businesses. It has since become a specialty manufacturer known for working directly with customers to solve demanding fabric-design problems, with U.S. production at its facilities in North Carolina and Virginia. Its ISO 9001:2015-certified operation supports custom warp-knit textiles for technical applications.INWOOD, NY
Systems Protection (SP)Born in Pennsylvania in 1924 as Bentley-Harris Manufacturing Company, Systems Protection is a century-old textile manufacturer whose roots lie in braided electrical-insulation sleeving. Now a Tenneco business, SP carries that heritage into a global operation serving transportation and industrial customers, with its Exton innovation center supporting custom design and application testing.EXTON, PA