Specialty Fabrics Review March 2022 - 51

shearer. In Australia, sheep shearers are
a dying breed, but the sheep still need
to be shorn, " Abramowitch says. " This
gentleman started a business where he
can bring his shearing building, with
all his equipment and tools, directly to
the farm and inflate it. "
Versatility
Growth in the industrial side of
Giant Inflatables stems from getting
people to understand the versatility
of inflatables, Abramowitch says.
For example, because inflatables
conform to whatever contains
them, they make ideal instant plugs.
Wherever pipes, ducts, vents or
tunnels need to be temporarily sealed
to stop air or water flow or control
contamination, inflatable blocking
bags are a fast solution.
For salvage operations, the company's
inflatable lifting and buoyancy
bags replace heavy equipment with
products that are light and efficient.
" You put a bag under anything-a
block of concrete, a car or truck, or
even a plane-and you can lift it with
very little pressure, " Abramowitch says.
" We are doing a lot more inflatable
lifting bags and blocking bags than we
have ever done before. "
A long way from tennis domes
" Our bread and butter used to be
sports, but the market has changed, "
says Donato Fraioli, head of Technical
Sales and Product Development at
ASATI (Air Structures American
Technologies, Inc.), based in Rye
Brook, New York.
" We used to put up a lot of tennis
domes-10,000 to 30,000 square
feet, " he says. " Now we're working on
structures that are growing to 80,000
or even 200,000 square feet, much
more often. We're building these
multimillion-dollar structures. "
These are not just standalone air
structures anymore, he says. The structures
are often built as part of youth
entertainment parks or schools. " I'd
say it has almost become a necessity for
a school to have an indoor space. Many
schools are turning to air-supported
structures because kids demand indoor
recreation spaces where they can play
intramural sports and so on. "
Fraioli says there's no faster, more
cost-effective way to build such
spaces than with an air structure.
" Schools and other facilities can
really stretch their budget, " he says.
" Instead of a 30,000-square-foot
conventional building, they can get a
120,000-square-foot space and serve
all kinds of community needs. "
Fraioli says this has taught him that
there is a growing need for industrial/
commercial structures. ASATI
recently patented what it calls a Rapid
Deployment Structure. It's a container
package that has everything needed to
quickly build an air-supported system.
It includes HVAC units, doors, garage
www.SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 51
 An experimental growing
dome by ASATI is helping
Cornell University extend the
growing season for industrial
hemp plants. Photo: ASATI.
There's no faster, more
cost-effective way to
add space than with
an air structure.
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Specialty Fabrics Review March 2022

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