Latest news with #FIT
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
D.A. Davidson Acts as Exclusive Financial Advisor to Cha Technologies Group in its Sale of FIT
BOSTON, May 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--D.A. Davidson announced today that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Cha Technologies Group — a global conglomerate with diversified businesses in property, technology, textiles, financial services, and healthcare — in its sale of Fiber Innovation Technology ("FIT" or "the company") to Universal Fiber Systems, a global leader with a family of brands specializing in the production of high-quality synthetic fibers. Paul Colone, Managing Director, commented, "FIT is well known for developing and producing innovative fibers and will benefit from Universal's commitment to supporting growth through strategic investments. We are proud to have advised Cha Technologies on multiple transactions and to have delivered a strong strategic home for FIT and its dedicated team." Based in Johnson City, Tenn., FIT designs and produces specialty synthetic fibers for advanced applications in textiles and nonwovens, with state-of-the-art facilities that include a world-scale production line and a dedicated semi-works facility for product development. The company offers a wide range of capabilities, from developing bicomponent fibers to custom solutions. Through this partnership, FIT and Universal Fiber Systems will expand their operational footprint to better serve global customers, deliver enhanced products and services, and respond to market needs. Jacques Boubal, CEO of Cha Technologies Group, remarked, "We are highly appreciative of our long-term relationship with Paul Colone and D.A. Davidson and their key role in the success of our divesture program. Their tenacity and ability to leverage synergy value have driven the successful conclusion of our cross-border transactions." D.A. Davidson Investment Banking is a leading full-service investment bank that offers comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise. The group has extensive transaction experience serving middle-market clients worldwide across four industry verticals: Consumer, Diversified Industrials, Financial Institutions, and Technology. Together with its European strategic partner, MCF Corporate Finance, D.A. Davidson originates and executes transatlantic M&A transactions under the common brand of D.A. Davidson MCF International. About D.A. Davidson D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 with corporate headquarters in Great Falls, Montana, and regional headquarters in Denver, Greater Los Angeles, New York, Omaha and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,600 employees and offices in 30 states. Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., a full-service investment firm providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services, and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment advisor providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Deal Team Contacts: Paul Colone, Managing Director | Boston | pcolone@ Media Contact: Emily RoyProsek for D.A. Davidson(646) 818-9232eroy@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
D.A. Davidson Acts as Exclusive Financial Advisor to Cha Technologies Group in its Sale of FIT
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--D.A. Davidson announced today that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Cha Technologies Group — a global conglomerate with diversified businesses in property, technology, textiles, financial services, and healthcare — in its sale of Fiber Innovation Technology ('FIT' or 'the company') to Universal Fiber Systems, a global leader with a family of brands specializing in the production of high-quality synthetic fibers. Paul Colone, Managing Director, commented, 'FIT is well known for developing and producing innovative fibers and will benefit from Universal's commitment to supporting growth through strategic investments. We are proud to have advised Cha Technologies on multiple transactions and to have delivered a strong strategic home for FIT and its dedicated team.' Based in Johnson City, Tenn., FIT designs and produces specialty synthetic fibers for advanced applications in textiles and nonwovens, with state-of-the-art facilities that include a world-scale production line and a dedicated semi-works facility for product development. The company offers a wide range of capabilities, from developing bicomponent fibers to custom solutions. Through this partnership, FIT and Universal Fiber Systems will expand their operational footprint to better serve global customers, deliver enhanced products and services, and respond to market needs. Jacques Boubal, CEO of Cha Technologies Group, remarked, 'We are highly appreciative of our long-term relationship with Paul Colone and D.A. Davidson and their key role in the success of our divesture program. Their tenacity and ability to leverage synergy value have driven the successful conclusion of our cross-border transactions.' D.A. Davidson Investment Banking is a leading full-service investment bank that offers comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise. The group has extensive transaction experience serving middle-market clients worldwide across four industry verticals: Consumer, Diversified Industrials, Financial Institutions, and Technology. Together with its European strategic partner, MCF Corporate Finance, D.A. Davidson originates and executes transatlantic M&A transactions under the common brand of D.A. Davidson MCF International. About D.A. Davidson D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 with corporate headquarters in Great Falls, Montana, and regional headquarters in Denver, Greater Los Angeles, New York, Omaha and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,600 employees and offices in 30 states. Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., a full-service investment firm providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services, and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment advisor providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services. For more information, visit
Cision Canada
26-05-2025
- Health
- Cision Canada
Canadian Innovation Revolutionizes Menstrual Health Worldwide with the Bfree Cup - The World's First Boil-Free, Antibacterial Menstrual Cup Français
WINNIPEG, MB, May 26, 2025 /CNW/ - What if a simple, safe innovation could break taboos, restore dignity, and end period poverty? Enter the Bfree Cup, the world's only antibacterial, boil-free menstrual cup, developed by Canadian social enterprise Women's Global Health Innovations (WGHI). This small but mighty innovation is making a big impact on global health, gender equity, and dignity. Proudly made in Canada, the Bfree Cup eliminates the need to boil water to sterilize menstrual products - a barrier in many water-scarce regions. Built-in antimicrobial technology makes it a safe, reusable, and affordable solution for menstruators worldwide. It's not just changing periods, it's changing lives. More than a product, the Bfree Cup is a symbol of Canadian ingenuity and collaboration. It's helping girls stay in school, reducing stigma, and improving menstrual literacy. WGHI partners with grassroots organizations and NGOs across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to distribute cups and education, proving that small Canadian enterprises can be powerful players in global health. Supported by the Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, WGHI introduced the Bfree Cup with partners in multiple countries. FIT's funding and technical support helped transform a bold Canadian idea into a scalable global solution. " This is exactly what Canadian international assistance can accomplish, and an excellent example of the kinds of transformative, locally-rooted solutions the world needs," says Janice Hamilton, Executive Director. " WGHI's Bfree Cup not only addresses a fundamental health gap, it builds connections between Canadian innovators and communities around the world." Created by Leisa Hirtz, WGHI's Founder and CEO, the Bfree Cup was shaped by years of research and community input. " Access to safe menstrual care is a human right," says Hirtz. " The Bfree Cup removes barriers of affordability, stigma, and sanitation. It's a game-changer - especially where silence and shame still prevail." "The school incinerator is in an open space where boys stand and laugh at girls who always come to dispose of their used pads," says a 19-year-old Bfree Cup user and testing participant in rural Uganda. "But now with the Bfree Cup, the boys never know when I am on my period, and this has made me more comfortable in school and also boosted my confidence in school." With bold vision and deep collaboration, the Bfree Cup is showing what happens when Canadian innovation meets global need. It reminds us that it doesn't take a giant to make change - it takes a village. And this village is just getting started. Watch "Canadian Innovation Revolutionizes Menstrual Health" PSA Here #CIW25 #periodfriendlyworld About FIT A 7-year, $20.5 M initiative of the Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation, the Fund for Innovation and Transformation is funded by Global Affairs Canada and administered by the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation. FIT is designed to support Canadian small and medium-sized organizations testing innovative solutions that advance gender equality in the Global South. The program supports civil society organizations, social enterprises, post-secondary institutions and the private sector. About ICN The Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation is a coalition of the eight Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation. These independent member-based Councils are committed to global social justice and social change and represent more than 350 diverse civil society organizations from across Canada. About MCIC A coalition of Manitoba-based organizations involved in international development, the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC)'s mission is to support, connect and amplify the work of its members and partners, while directly engaging and collaborating with Manitobans for global sustainability. MCIC encourages dialogue on global issues and helps empower Manitobans to become active global citizens - individuals who understand that their actions here make a difference around the world. MCIC is also responsible for distributing Government of Manitoba and Government of Canada funds designated for international development and humanitarian projects. Global Affairs Canada manages Canada's diplomatic relations, provides consular services to Canadians, promotes the country's international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance. FIT is a program undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. Linkedin:
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
FIT Event Shines Light On Plus-Size Shopper Struggles
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City hosted 'From Data to Design: Rethinking ... More Fashion's Approach to Plus Size Shoppers" last month. The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City hosted 'From Data to Design: Rethinking Fashion's Approach to Plus Size Shoppers" last month. The event focused on research done by Mallorie Dunn, founder of inclusive-sizing company Smart Glamour and adjunct faculty at FIT. Funded by a President's Diversity Grant for research, Dunn measured and interviewed 300 people with a waistline of 34 inches and above. At the event, she presented measurement data as well as data on shopping habits and attitudes she had gathered. Dunn found that 55% of participants could only shop online based on their size, and most cited Target and Torrid as primary sources of clothing. She reported that the average participant had a 49.5 inch bust, a 45 inch waist, and 54.4 inch hips. 'No matter what size you are, 80% of people do not fit specifically into size charts," says Dunn. 'Size charts are based on an hourglass body shape, but the overwhelming majority of people are not an hourglass shape.' Dunn says that inclusive sizing isn't just a matter of fashion equity, it's also a sustainability issue. 'If we continue to overproduce clothing for the minority of people, it's obviously going to be thrown away. What if we just make clothes for the people that actually exist and divert a lot of waste?" Dunn says her goal is to bring the inclusivity she championed with her company, Smart Glamour, to the fashion education system. She hopes this will greatly impact the fashion industry as a whole. The company was founded with the goal of addressing the exclusion of many people, but specifically plus-size people in the fashion industry. Dunn doesn't shy away from discussing the emotional impact of the fashion industry's refusal to accommodate the bodies of the majority of American women. 'It's not just about not having access to clothes, but what (mainstream fashion) imagery does to people's psyches and how it makes them feel. I have a lot of conversations about how the fashion industry is set up to be detrimental to consumers, and it doesn't have to be that way. There are other ways to run businesses.' Mallorie Dunn, adjunct faculty at FIT, says her goal is to bring the inclusivity she championed with ... More her company, Smart Glamour, to the fashion education system. Before starting Smart Glamour, Dunn was in fashion school herself. 'Going into school to learn about fashion design just really opened my eyes even more that the industry is run off of exclusion, and it never sat well with me,' shares Dunn. She says that while attending fashion school she would often talk with women, and she noticed that they often only had negative things to say about their bodies. During that time, Dunn began to synthesize what she was hearing and had some important realizations. 'I (didn't) want to participate in this. We are so much more than this, and also where did (we) even get this this notion that (our) bodies are inherently bad or wrong? I started thinking about where all that came from, and kind of connected it back in my mind to fashion imagery and advertisements. I just so badly wanted to do something to solve the problem.' Dunn decided that in order to create solutions, she would need to step outside of her company and return to her roots. 'I know that people who work in the fashion industry come from the fashion education system. I know that because I came from the fashion education system.' She wanted to inspire fashion design students to think critically about their industry, and be more inclusive and kind. Mallorie Dunn gathered data on the measurements and shopping habits of plus-size shoppers When she started teaching for continuing education at FIT, Dunn proposed her own course on inclusive fashion pattern-making. "I teach people to make clothes for all people," says Dunn. From day one, students learn why creating patterns for a diversity of body types is important, and the realistic statistics of consumers. 'Then the next two days (students) learn the technique of editing a pattern to fit any size person,' says Dunn. 'We specifically edit the patterns to fit a plus-size fit model, but the technique can be used for any measurements. It's not specifically for plus-size people. It's how you edit a pattern to fit a specific person's measurements.' The process continues with making a draft version of the design with muslin, that design being fit on a live model, and edits being made as needed. Finally, the garment is made again with the final fabric. 'On the last day the same model comes back in, and they get to try it back on, and take pictures and videos.' The presentation video and measurement data is now archived in FIT's institutional repository where researchers, faculty, students, and fashion industry professionals will have access to it. Dunn says she hopes that her work will inspire others to be more inclusive in their designs.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside Dr. Joyce Brown's Trailblazing Legacy at FIT
For 27 years, Dr. Joyce F. Brown has been a behind the scenes force in the fashion industry. As the president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, where her tenure comes to an end this spring, she's led one of the most prestigious arts and design schools through a transformative time. Under her direction, FIT incorporated sustainability into the curricula via a natural dye garden, created a social justice center to build a pipeline to help diverse students succeed in the industry, and constructed a new 10-story academic building—the first to be added to the campus in 40 years, which opens this fall. Dr. Brown, the first woman and first African American person to lead the school, has prioritized creating a clear and egalitarian path to a career in fashion. Before FIT, she worked as an administrator with the City University of New York system, a professor of clinical psychology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, and as New York City deputy mayor for public and community affairs under David Dinkins. 'What was most outstanding to me when I arrived was the opportunity that FIT presented. People don't realize it's part of SUNY [the State University of New York system], I think because they think of it as specialized,' Dr. Brown explains. 'We have connections to all of the top designers and all of the corporations, because it's a big part of our mission to fuel those industries and to provide a career pathway for our students, so it kind of gets into rarefied air, in terms of how people think about it. What I saw was a real opportunity to get to young people who might be afraid to think of FIT as a destination for themselves.' ELLE spoke to Dr. Brown about how the ways that the fashion industry has shifted in the past three decades, what matters to Gen Z students, and what still needs to be done to advance diversity. The designers recognize the incredible talent pool that we have here. They bring in interns, and they see how talented and well-educated they are. In our design studies, they really learn the practical, as well as the aesthetic. The designers and the couture houses and the retailers want us to succeed and continue to fill the ranks of their industry. Many of the people that work in these companies also come in and teach as adjuncts. It's very mutual. We're very practical and pragmatic in terms of our students, so that they're a really value-add the day they walk into their first job. It's not some ethereal notion of making something that no one will buy. But of course, we have had to [incorporate] technology into the way design and business are [taught] and try to stay one step ahead. The danger with technology is that you often lose that hands-on element and the unique individualized notion of design, as opposed to something a machine could turn out. That's been a challenge. The students are so fearless with technology, I swear they were all born with an iPad. I would also say that one of the most overriding differences [in design today] is the notion of sustainability. It is critical and crucial to this young generation that they have a different way of designing and doing business that will protect the planet. That will have less toxicity, less wasted water, less toxic designs, more biodegradable materials. They are disdainful of excess and understand the importance of quality. We lived through a very difficult time in 2020. The pandemic, and the death of George Floyd on camera, really awakened a number of different ideas, beliefs, and responses in people. For a very long time there had been conversation about the lack of diversity in the design and retail industries, and it seemed like a really opportune moment to try and create a pipeline for young people of color and a pathway into those industries. We needed the industry to really agree that they were going to mentor these young people, so that they could diversify their leadership ranks. In [terms of] the change in the industry, I can't say so much about that because it's slow, it's difficult, and there's a lot of bureaucracy. Now, of course, we're at a very different place in our society about how these things are looked at. It's hard to articulate what exactly the point of all that is. We have to see what happens. We should just keep moving forward, we should do what we're doing. The conditions that were to be addressed with such programs will not change unless someone actively reaches in to change them. I think we'll all just keep doing what we know to be the right things. You know the expression, 'If you stand for nothing, you fall for anything?' There just has to be an ethical core of beliefs, and you have to maintain and perhaps fight for them. What I don't know is what will be. I do know that if you believe in things and you think it makes a difference and you there's an ethical purpose to them, then you have to stick with them and then deal with the fallout. It offers students context, preparation, and experience. It offers many things that redound to their ability to be successful. Is it the only way? No. There's many, many young people that are talented, and driven, and want desperately to come to FIT and they come from these families where everybody went to Princeton, or Harvard, or Yale. And they're expected to go, and so they go, but then they come here after. We have a whole contingent of graduates who got their degrees elsewhere, then came here and pursued their passion. I think for some creative people, they really cannot sit through four years of the traditional model of education. Having said that, I want you to understand, we have a full liberal arts aspect to the curriculum. People are not coming out of here with certificates in sewing. They get a New York State degree. But they also can find themselves in the studios, and in the laboratories, in addition to studying math. They haven't postponed their dream of developing their talent, they're doing it [because] they're able to be in a place like FIT. This interview has been edited and Might Also Like The 15 Best Organic And Clean Shampoos For Any And All Hair Types 100 Gifts That Are $50 Or Under (And Look Way More Expensive Than They Actually Are)
