Bal Dixit founded Newtex in 1978 after being one of the first researchers to formulate a viable alternative to asbestos in fire safety gear.
After receiving his degree in Textile Technology from the University of Punjab, he emigrated to the United States in 1964, joining Union Carbide Corporation as an Advanced Technologist.
At Union Carbide, Dixit helped develop carbon fiber for lightweight structural composites that were later incorporated in General Dynamics' F-111B fighter aircraft.
Dixit earned his master's in Textile Technology from the University of Massachusetts in 1966 and soon after joined Garlock, where he was tasked with establishing a modern asbestos plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
[3] In 1980, just 2 days before the annual stockholders' meeting, a large fire caused extensive damage to the Newtex plant.