The ribbon cutting for the building that housed the Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center at UT was held on October 19, 1990, but the partnership between UT and EXXON Chemical Company began in 1983 with a $441,000 grant from EXXON Chemical Company to Dr. Larry Wadsworth for equipment and funds to finance ultrafine fiber and nonwoven fiber research. In 1989 EXCHEM provided $895,000 to construct a facility to hold the center and the melt-blown, spunbond lines within it, moving its melt-blown pilot line from its Baytown Polymers Center to UT. The university contributed somewhat more than $100,000 and then added approximately $55,000 to allow the office and laboratory space on the second floor to be included in the project.
The center was established to develop fibers and fabrics of the future, engaging in research both for ExxonMobil and others. EXXON purchased and donated a $4 million machine from Germany’s Reifenhäuser Group to make the laboratory the most advanced in the nation. UT sold that machine in 2008. Fabrics created by TANDEC include ones used for insulation, filtering and absorption, making of surgical masks, pest control fabrics, and heat resistant fabrics.
The study of textiles was transferred from the College of Human Ecology to Engineering, and TANDEC’s emphases changed. A process of discontinuance of TANDEC was begun in 2007, and it was phased out over a six-year period. The TANDEC building was assumed by the College of Engineering for other research programs.