SPESA —Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas, the association of equipment and service suppliers to the sewn products industry— held its Annual Business Meeting on Thursday, October 29, in San Antonio, Texas, as part of its 2026 Executive Conference. There, members elected the new class of the Board of Directors and the association's new leadership team was presented.
The Board Class of 2029
Members unanimously approved the four members of the Class of 2029:
- Laura Adams, Dürkopp Adler America.
- Dan Berzack, Sewn Products Equipment Co.
- David Handal, Agencia J.E. Handal.
- Aimee Heuschkel, Lectra.
David Handal and Dan Berzack have served on the Board in previous terms; Laura Adams, President of Dürkopp Adler America, and Aimee Heuschkel, Vice President Marketing, Americas, at Lectra, join it for the first time. Each will serve a three-year term that began on October 29, 2026. Board seats are held by individuals, not companies.
For Agencia J.E. Handal, an active SPESA member, it is a new term with a voice in the decisions of the association that brings together the industry's manufacturers and suppliers across the Americas. And two of the companies on the Board and the new officer slate are brands the company represents: Dürkopp Adler and Consew.
The new officers
On October 28, the Board approved the team that will lead the association for the next two years:
- Chair: Michael Rabin.
- Vice Chair: Eric Schlossman, Vice President at Consew.
- Secretary & Treasurer: Bert Feinberg, President of Frontier Distributors & Phillocraft.
In brief remarks to members, Rabin announced plans to change things up at SPESA over the next few years and asked members for their feedback. His first priority will be growing and improving Texprocess Americas, the association's trade show, with a focus on its 2027 edition.
The industry's Rising Stars
Ahead of the conference, SPESA asked its members to nominate the emerging leaders who stand out in the sewn products industry. At the meeting it honored two of them as Rising Stars: Zain Khan of Everra, one of the association's newest members, and Lionel Vargas-Cruz of ISAIC, who joined the Board last year. In lieu of a plaque, each received a bottle of local whiskey with a star on its label.