Founded on Innovation

Bal Dixit perfected a process for texturizing and entangling glass filaments into a yarn capable of replacing Asbestos.

In 1978, Sudhakar "Bal" Dixit left his product development job in Corporate America to pursue an idea. After working for a company producing asbestos, he was aware of its risk and believed he could modify fiberglass to match its performance in insulation and fire protection applications.

In less than a year, Bal created Zetex® Fiberglass Fabric, the industry’s first safe and commercially viable alternative to asbestos. After perfecting his texturization and weaving processes in his garage, he purchased land, built a factory, and travelled globally demonstrating how Zetex & ZetexPlus out-performed asbestos without the health risk.

For nearly 50 years, Newtex has continued his spirit of innovation and quality, and is trusted by leading industrial companies when temperatures or risk of fire is extreme.

In 1984 Mr. Dixit was recognized as a finalist for Small Business Person of the Year by President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Dixit was inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2003 and recognized as an Outstanding Alumni of Rochester Institute of Technology in 2022.