Hello-

Our company, Fairlane Div. VRTX, Inc. is a manufacturer of fabric located in North Carolina.

We have a particular and unique fabric which we believe would be of interest to 3M.  

The fabric has some of the tactile properties of a foam sandwiched laminate but is wholly formed on our machines.  As such, it offers unique properties and advantages over foam laminates such as:

*extended wear- it does not break down like foam laminates

*resilience-the fabric can be compressed and will continue to offer cushioning effect far longer than any foam

*environmentally friendly-  it contains no glues or adhesives like foam laminate.  It uses no formaldehyde in processing like foam.  It is 100% polyester.

*rot resistent-  fabric has the rot resistence of any 100% polyester

*no separation of layers-  the fabric is virtually impossible to separate unlike laminates

*sterilizable-  100% polyester- it can be sterilized.

*launderable- unlike foam it can be washed repeatedly without losing its physical properties

*designable- designs and surface interest patterning can be embedded in the fabric

I must confess that the idea to approach 3m came to me as I noticed that my telephone jack had fallen off the wall.  It had been held in place by a double stick foam product of the type manufactured by 3m.  The foam tape product had rotted away.

Although the foam doublestick product may be suitable for low end telephone jack applications, I am certain that there are other applications which require much more durable adhesion.

Our goal is to place this product in the hands of 3M research and development for the purpose of new product development.

Thank you for your time and attention.