History
Stern + Stern has been a custom producer of woven fabrics since 1889. It began as a processor of silk filaments, a weaver of silk and rayon fibers, and a dyer and finisher of high-end apparel fabrics. In 1936, the company collaborated with Dupont de Nemours & Company in that company’s development of Nylon and synthetic rubber (Neoprene). In the same year, it also collaborated with Corning Glass Works to develop the first weavable fiberglass.
The work with Dupont resulted in novel weave designs and finishing techniques that allowed nylon to replace silk and allowed neoprene to replace natural rubber in almost every industrial application. Those early designs and finishing techniques are the basis of what is used today.
During those early years, the company learned the importance of managing surface cleanliness for adhesion, width-to-width uniformity for ease of coating, permeability control for elastomeric penetration and for filtration effectiveness, and many other process control variables.
The most important thing the company learned early on is that custom materials with long lead times must be delivered on time and to specification if they are to be relied upon for critical industrial applications. Stern & Stern maintains a long-established reputation for virtually 100% on-time performance.
In addition to nylon, the company was involved in the initial development of every major filament synthetic fiber: rayon, fiberglass, polyester, Orlon®, Nomex®, Teflon®, carbon, and Kevlar®. The company now manufactures and sells worldwide woven industrial fabrics primarily composed of nylon, polyester, Teflon, Nomex, and Kevlar fibers.
