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16 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2017 textileinsight.com Polygiene Announces International Distributors, Personnel Appointments Polygiene announces two international part- ners to manage distribution in Turkey and India. Additionally, Polygiene appointed Ulrika Bjork as its new Chief Financial Officer and promoted North American marketing director, Colleen Nipkow, as its global marketing director. Polygiene is a bluesign approved, silver-salt treatment for textiles. Polygiene signed agreements with Istanbul-based textile company Albajer Ltd and multinational Sarex as its respective distributors for Turkey and India. "The Turkish textile industry has been experienc- ing massive growth, and Albajer is poised to help Polygiene make inroads into the market," states Polygiene's technical director, Paul Middleton. "And with Sarex as our new distributor for India and neighboring countries, we now have a local distribution network and technical team in place." Point 3 Licenses Proprietary Moisture Control Technology Point 3 Basketball is all about staying dry by integrating a unique performance fabric technology into the company's apparel. Now, the Atlanta- based brand is expanding its scope by licensing its DRYV Technologies to third-party performance apparel brands. Point 3 Basketball has become a non-exclusive licensee of the technology in the basketball space. A leading eSports accessories brand KontrolFreek has been added as a licensee with a new line of performance gaming wear. The company also recently inked a deal with Kill Cliff, a sports nutrition company well known in the func- tional fitness market, having launched an athletic training compression sleeve. Products will feature "Powered by DRYV Technology." Additionally, DRYV Technology was evaluated recently by North Carolina State's textile engineering program. A full set of standardized tests were run on DRYV's licensed products as well as competi- tor products to determine effectiveness of sweat management through moisture wicking, moisture absorption and drying time. The company reports that after looking at hundreds of permutations, NC State testing data results found that "DRYV's proprietary combination of a moisture absorbent outer layer, in combination with a moisture wicking garment increased the overall moisture wicking rate by as much as 670 percent." Now, DRYV Technologies is looking at the culi- nary, military and tactical, law enforcement, and medical industries as markets for licensing oppor- tunities, according to Michael Lushcher, founder & CEO, DRYV Technologies, LLC, and founder of Point 3 Basketball. "Think about how often sweat can inhibit performance," he adds. "We think DRYV has a place there." Champion Celebrates Anniversary of Sports Bra The first sports bra, branded Jogbra, was intro- duced in 1977 and served as a market leader for many years. In 1994, Jogbra was rebranded as Champion. Now Champion is producing an exclusive red color way of the Absolute Sport Bra to commemorate its 40th Anniversary. The bra includes a jock tag, inspired by the jock strap bra, on the back calling out the year 1977. Says Karen Black, director of sports bras, "This is a limited edition in Champion red that brings in more of a fashion component." But Black adds, "First and foremost we make supportive bras that don't chafe, then infuse fashion." Winners Named in Lubrizol Outdoor Product Design Contest Lubrizol Corporation, in conjunction with the Outdoor Product Design and Development (OPDD) program at Utah State University (USU launched a successful TPU DesignFEST challenge earlier this year. Students worked to find outdoor product applications for Lubrizol's innovative TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) material over the course of a semester. Students competed for cash prizes as well as company and public recognition for their designs. Says Kenneth Kim, Lubrizol's Global Sports and Recreation Market Development Manager. "TPU DesignFEST was a great opportunity to challenge students to envision and explore the exciting possibili- ties for TPU in the next generation of outdoor products, while competing for cash prizes and developing skills to enhance their education and future careers." And the winners are: First place - Padded sports gloves with enhanced cushion- ing and wear-resistant grip, Ryan Anderson and Nathan Larsen; Second place - Skateboarding shoes with superior impact absorption and abrasion resistance, Logan Reese and Tyler Stewardson; Third place - Medical crutches with improved comfort, cushioning and grip, Russ Jones and Zach Wootton. O IN THE MARKET | COMPANY NEWS A Round Up of the Latest Industry Developments. Left to right: Ryan Anderson; Kenneth Kim, Lubrizol; Nate Larsen; and Mark Lee, OPDD professor.