Vastex International, Inc.

In 1960, the husband/wife team of Mike and Fannie Vasilantone named their new textile screen printing business Vastex (for Vasilantone and textile), and quickly recognized the need for better ways to mass produce screen printed T-shirts for that fast growing market. An engineer and inventor, Mike soon dedicated Vastex to the development of new machinery designs and manufacturing standards that are still adopted by the industry today. Some of the company's patented inventions include the dual rotary printing press (where the pallets and print heads both rotate), the four-way stretch hold down for printing jackets and dual layer fabrics, and the air recirculation system for dryers. Other inventions include the first small product electric infrared dryer, a patented belt alignment/tracking device, and a small mechanical squeegee.