From the Sector

SABIC will present its portfolio of PURECARES™ and TRUCIRCLE™ materials for the healthcare and hygiene market at INDEX™23 from April 18 to 21 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme of ‘Collaborating for sustainability and innovative solutions’.

At INDEX, SABIC will highlight a joint project with two market leaders, using certified circular polymers from the TRUCIRCLE portfolio in recyclable films for feminine hygiene, baby care and disposable medical applications. In all of these cases from diapers to surgical drapes and medical gowns, the sustainable materials can serve as direct drop-in alternatives with no compromise in production efficiency and product performance.

Further examples on display at the company’s booth will feature TRUCIRCLE solutions for facemasks, including an N95 design that localizes the value chain with SABIC® PURECARES PP spunbond and meltblown polymers in Saudi Arabia. SABIC provides complete solutions for facemask production as part of its localization strategy and has been a key enabler of the Saudi Made initiative. Also shown will be a closed-loop facemask developed in collaboration with industrial and research partners in Europe.

The company’s PURECARES polyolefin products are based on technologies free of both tris (nonylphenyl) phosphite (TNPP) and phthalates. Consumer comfort is achieved by using SABIC polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) polymers for bi-component fibers to answer multiple needs for soft and loft handfeel nonwovens, enabling easy lamination to other building blocks on medical nonwovens or absorbent hygiene applications.

In addition, SABIC produces TRUCIRCLE certified circular polymers for its PURECARES PP and PE portfolio with feedstock based on advanced recycling of mixed and used plastic that would otherwise typically not be suitable for mechanical recycling processes. These more sustainable solutions can be adopted in downstream processes as direct drop-in alternatives to incumbent materials with no compromise in production efficiency, purity and product performance.

Kornit Digital LTD. announced to unveil its new Smart Curing and Rapid SizeShifter solutions at TecStyle Visions 2023. Kornit Smart Curing is an intelligent and adaptive solution significantly streamlining curing processes while delivering high-quality results. Additionally, the introduction of Rapid SizeShifter eliminates time-consuming direct-to-garment pallet changes typically required to address disparate applications.

Kornit’s new energy-efficient Smart Curing solutions include Orion for mid-level production, and Titan for higher-capacity volumes – both optimized for compatibility with Kornit Atlas MAX systems and based on field-proven solutions from the acquisition of Tesoma. These highly efficient curing systems sync production and finishing for an end-to-end process that reduces both energy consumption and total cost of ownership (TCO). Kornit’s Rapid SizeShifter for Atlas MAX is an adjustable pallet that quickly adapts to disparate application requirements – reducing costly downtime associated with pallet changes and streamlining production for accelerated time-to-market.

Carbios announces the publication of an article entitled “Enzymes’ power for plastics degradation” in Chemical Reviews. The article is a comprehensive and critical review of research published to date on the enzymatic degradation of all types of plastics (PET, PLA, polyolefins, polyurethanes, polyamides) and includes almost 700 references. Co-authored by biotechnology researchers from Carbios and its academic partner Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), as well as two eminent professors in polymer science from the University of Bordeaux, the work brings together expertise in the fields of enzymology, polymer science and industry in order to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastic.

Beyond the comprehensive bibliographical study, the authors analyzed the data to discuss the scope, limitations, challenges and opportunities of enzymatic plastic recycling with a view to developing innovations and industrial processes. The article’s standpoint and added value with regard to issues surrounding plastic pollution is its critical view on technology transfer and industrial scalability.

To read the article in Chemical Reviews, click here.

A little over three years have passed since RadiciGroup announced the acquisition of Zeta Polimeri, an Italian company headquartered in Buronzo (VC) with over 30 years' experience in the recovery of pre- and post-consumer synthetic fibres and thermoplastic materials. Today, the company has become a full member of the Group with its new name Radici EcoMaterials Srl.

The new company’s long-standing know-how, combined with RadiciGroup’s as a whole, will create a virtuous production system that recovers worn-out materials (fabric, yarn and granules), or otherwise unusable materials, and processes them into raw materials available for other production cycles by taking advantage of industrial synergy.

Radici EcoMaterials is a strategic production site because it handles all the preliminary recovery stages: the sorting, processing and pre-treatment of materials, including those used for the production of post-consumer yarns and engineering polymers. In this sense, Radici EcoMaterials is in line with the most recent European policies on sustainable textiles, which address minimizing the share of materials destined for disposal sites, favouring instead more structured recycling solutions.

Radici EcoMaterials is also GRS certified. GRS certification ensures the complete traceability of its materials, which are made in a safe plant that meets the highest environmental and social certification standards.

The company is also equipped with a photovoltaic system and, for the portion of its energy needs not covered by the photovoltaic source, it partially relies on renewable energy. The goal is to use 100% green energy in the next few years, in accord with RadiciGroup's goals.

• Sales increase of 12.8% to €1,135.9 million
• EBITDApre improves by 23.4% to €172.8 million
• Net financial debt reduced from €206.3 million to €170.8 million
• Fiscal 2023 expected to be investment and stabilization year

SGL Carbon was again able to improve sales and earnings in fiscal year 2022 following 2021. All four business units contributed to this success.
Sales in fiscal 2022 increased by 12.8% year-on-year to €1,135.9 million (previous year: €1,007.0 million). The rise in sales was mainly due to both volume effects and the successful implementation of pricing initiatives to compensate higher raw material, energy and transport prices. At 23.4%, adjusted EBITDA (EBITDApre) improved at a higher rate than sales and amounted to €172.8 million in fiscal 2022 (previous year: €140.0 million). Increased sales and the associated higher capacity utilization also contributed to the improvement in earnings, as well as focusing on market segments with higher margin potential.
 
Earnings development of SGL Carbon
The increase in EBITDApre by €32.8 million to €172.8 million was mainly driven by the Graphite Solutions business unit (+€30.6 million). The Composite Solutions (+€7.9 million) and Process Technology (+€5.2 million) business units also contributed to the improvement in profitability. Although the Carbon Fibers business unit was able to offset the loss of a lucrative supply contract with an automotive customer in terms of sales with new orders from the wind energy sector, but these sales showed a significantly lower margin level. Accordingly, EBITDApre of this business unit decreased by €11.2 million to €43.2 million (previous year: €54.5 million).

Taking into account net one-off effects and non-recurring items of €8.9 million (previous year: €30.7 million) and depreciation and amortization of €60.8 million (previous year: €60.3 million), reported EBIT amounted to €120.9 million (2021: €110.4 million). This corresponds to an increase of 9.5%.
As a result of the pleasing business performance, the successes of the transformation and non-operating one-off effects and non-recurring items (€8.9 million), a positive Group’s net profit of €126.9 million (previous year: €75.4 million) was achieved in 2022. It should be noted that consolidated net income includes tax income of €31.3 million (previous year: minus €6.2 million). This development is mainly due to valuation adjustments on deferred tax assets amounting to €41.8 million, based on the good business development combined with positive earnings prospects in the USA. Current tax expenses amounted to €11.4 million in 2022 (previous year: €11.9 million).
 
Net financial debt and equity
In fiscal 2022, net financial debt was reduced significantly by 17.2% to €170.8 million compared with the end of 2021 (€206.3 million). The main reason for the decrease is the repayment of financial liabilities in the amount of €29.0 million. Free cash flow decreased from €111.5 million to €67.8 million in 2022. In this context, it should be taken into account that in the previous year, free cash flow included cash inflows of €30.6 million from the sale of land not required for operations.
After 2021, the equity ratio increased again to 38.5% at the end of 2022 (previous year: 27.0% I 2020: 17.5%). Due to the significantly improved earnings situation, the return on capital employed (ROCE) also rose from 8.0% in the previous year to 11.3% in 2022.
 
Development of the business units
As the largest business unit with a share of Group sales of around 45%, Graphite Solutions contributed €512.2 million to Group sales in 2022 (previous year: €443.6 million). The 15.5% increase in sales is based in particular on the positive development of the important market segments Semiconductor & LED and Industrial Applications. Compared to the previous year, sales to customers in the semiconductor & LED industry increased by 49.6%, driven in particular by increasing demand of materials and components for the production of silicon carbide-based high-performance semiconductors. Combined with the increase in sales, GS EBITDApre improved by 34.8% to €118.5 million (previous year: €87.9 million). Accordingly, the EBITDApre margin increased from 19.8% to 23.1%. Volume effects due to higher sales as well as margin effects from the product and customer mix had a positive impact.  Especially the higher sales with customers from the semiconductor industry should be taken into account.

In fiscal 2022, the Process Technology (PT) business unit benefited from the good order situation in recent months and increased its sales by 21.9% to €106.3 million. The main clients of the PT business unit are customers from the chemical industry. The positive development of PT is also reflected in EBITDApre which rose from €4.7 million in the same period of the previous year to €9.9 million. Higher capacity utilization and the successful passing on of increased raw material costs led to an improvement in the EBITDApre margin from 5.4%  to 9.3% in 2022. Energy costs play only a minor role at PT.

In the reporting year, sales of the Carbon Fibers (CF) business unit increased by 3.0% to €347.2 million (previous year: €337.2 million). It should be noted that CF had to absorb the scheduled expiry of a supply contract with an automotive customer at the end of June 2022. These sales were offset by orders from the wind industry and Industrial Applications. However, EBITDApre in the CF division decreased by 20.7% year-on-year to €43.2 million (previous year: €54.5 million). This earnings development is mainly attributable to the expiry of the high-margin automotive contract. In addition, a special effect from energy derivatives in the amount of minus €9.2 million impacted CF earnings in the 1st quarter of 2022. However, the implemented energy price hedges enabled the business unit to maintain its production capability throughout the entire fiscal year, that the weakening of earnings was mitigated.
The Composite Solutions (CS) business unit confirmed its upward trend in fiscal 2022 with a 25.0% increase in sales to €153.1 million (previous year: €122.5 million). The most important market segment for the CS business unit is the automotive industry. In line with the highly positive business performance, EBITDApre of CS increased by 65.3% to €20.0 million (previous year: €12.1 million). This figure also includes non-recurring positive effects of €3.7 million from compensation payments received from automotive customers for premature project terminations.

The non-operating Corporate segment contributed €17.1 million to Group sales (previous year: €16.5 million). In line with continued strict cost management as part of the transformation, EBITDApre improved slightly to minus €18.8 million (previous year: minus €19.2 million).

Outlook
"If we summarize our expectations for the 2023 financial year, it can be summed up under the guiding principle: -invest and stabilize," CFO Thomas Dippold comments on the forecast for 2023.
For the fiscal year 2023 we continue to expect solid demand for our materials and products. In particular, we expect that the demand for special graphite products for high-temperature processes, e.g. in the semiconductor, solar and LED industries, will continue to increase. On the other hand, the first-time full-year effect from the expiry of a supply contract with an automotive customer in the carbon fiber segment and the sale of our business in Gardena (USA) will burden sales development.

"The increasing demand for high-performance semiconductors for electromobility or renewable forms of energy will also boost the demand of components made of graphite for the production of these semiconductors. To benefit from the related opportunities, we will expand our production capacities in this segment and invest a double-digit million amount in 2023 . Based on existing supply relationships, we will implement this investments partly together with our customers," explains CEO Dr. Torsten Derr.
On the cost side, we expect energy and raw material prices to remain at a high level in 2023, along with significant wage increases. Our forecast implies that higher factor costs can be partially passed on to customers through price initiatives.
Based on the assumptions described, we expect Group sales to be at prior-year level and EBITDApre to be between €160 million and €180 million in the financial year 2023.
In the medium term (until 2027), we anticipate a further improvement in our EBITDApre margin between 18% and 19%.

January 2024 marks the official birth of ERCA TCS (Textile Chemical Solutions), a business unit of ERCA S.p.A. with a focus on the textile market. Founded in the 1960s, ERCA S.p.A. is an Italian company, present with six plants in three macro-regions: Europe, Latin America and Asia. The ERCA group produces specialty and auxiliary chemicals with a responsible innovation approach and its production covers several markets: textiles, cosmetics, polyurethanes, concrete.

Why a business unit that caters solely to the textile industry? The decision to give birth to ERCA TCS comes from the desire to be a unique and innovative reference point for ERCA's customers, with products and
services designed specifically for the needs of today's textile industry, grappling with the challenges and
opportunities of sustainability and responsible production.

ERCA TCS bases its activities on the principles of "Green Chemistry" with the aim of offering the textile industry chemical solutions that make the concepts of safety, performance and circularity a reality. The chemical auxiliaries of ERCA TCS are the result of a vision that incorporates responsible innovation, continuous research, and a desire to offer to the market effective yet ethically, environmentally, and economically sustainable solutions.

The green, high tech and circular commitment of ERCA TCS is demonstrated by a product and brand range that is totally based on the circular economy, which started from a problem - the disposal of used vegetable oil - and turned it into a resource, into a raw material for the production of chemical auxiliaries for the textile industry: REVECOL®, the circular range of high-performance, made-in-Italy, GRS-certified chemical auxiliaries. The REVECOL® range can be used on any type of fiber, recycled or not.

• Precious water for villages that are running on dry land

The GoodTextiles Foundation has worked to improve drinking water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa in another joint project with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). In three villages in Togo particularly affected by climate change, the partners built wells and trained people in the use of water. The curriculum included the topics of disease prevention, hygiene and health care.

In 2016, the textile company Dibella (Bocholt) established the GoodTextiles Foundation with the aim of making textile value chains more sustainable. It raises funds and implements its own support projects to benefit people at all stages of the textile industry. Now the foundation has once again supported a project in sub-Saharan Africa initiated by Cotton made in Africa (Hamburg). Funding is being provided for three villages in Togo that, according to a needs assessment by CmiA's local partner, the cotton company Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT), have no direct access to drinking water.

Difficult water procurement
The areas where CmiA's drought-resistant cotton is grown include the north and interior of Togo, where cotton farmers are particularly affected by the effects of climate change due to prolonged periods of drought. Many village communities lack access to clean drinking water, and people draw contaminated water from more distant rivers or waterholes and carry the heavy load back with difficulty.

Guide to clean water
As part of a joint project between the GoodTextiles Foundation, Aid by Trade Foundation (holder of the CmiA standard) and NSCT, three drought-affected villages - Namare/Puob-n-kpaad, Tchokoroko and Aloba - will now receive their own water supply.

The funds - 11,756 euros will be provided by the GoodTextiles Foundation, and 4,419 euros will come from the Cotton Society - will be used to construct a well operated by hand pumps in each village. The construction work is to be completed by March 2023 and the 2,300 inhabitants will be taught the basics of water handling, disease prevention and hygiene measures in so-called WASH training courses.

Driving force: UN SDGs
For years, we have aligned our company with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals for Sustainable Development). Through the sponsorship project, we are not only contributing to SDG 6 "Clean water and sanitation", but also to gender equality (SDG 5). In the African countries from which we source CmiA cotton, the physically strenuous task of procuring water is still the responsibility of women. The construction of the wells now leads to a significant improvement of their living situation," reports Ralf Hellmann, managing director of Dibella and chairman of the foundation.

Continued under their own responsibility
Once the wells have been handed over to the village communities, "water committees" will take over their management and maintenance, as well as responsibility for further hygiene training for the residents. The operation of the wells will be financed on the basis of a fund made up of small contributions from the beneficiary communities.

• Sales of CHF 1 510.9 million,
• Order intake of CHF 1 157.3 million in 2022; order backlog of around CHF 1 540 million as of December 31, 2022
• EBIT margin of 2.1%
• Implementation of action plan to increase profitability ongoing
• Dividend of CHF 1.50 per share proposed

With record sales of CHF 1 510.9 million, Rieter achieved an increase of 56% compared with the previous year (2021: CHF 969.2 million). In the second half of 2022, especially in the fourth quarter, the measures introduced to address material bottlenecks had a positive impact. Consequently, sales increased to CHF 890.3 million compared with the first six months (first half-year 2022: CHF 620.6 million).

Order intake was CHF 1 157.3 million in 2022 (2021: CHF 2 225.7 million) and thus remained at a high level thanks to the company’s technological lead and broad international presence. The market situation, especially in the second half of 2022, was characterized by investment restraint and below-average capacity utilization at spinning mills due to geopolitical uncertainties, rising financing costs, and consumer reticence in important markets.
The company had an order backlog of around CHF 1 540 million at the end of 2022, which thus extends into 2023 and 2024.

The profit at the EBIT level in the 2022 financial year was CHF 32.2 million (2021: CHF 47.6 million). The result was strongly influenced by substantial cost increases, which could only be offset in part through price increases or other remedial measures. In addition, to compensate for material shortages, expenses were incurred in connection with the development of alternative solutions, and in relation to the acquired businesses.

Completion of the Acquisition
Rieter consolidated the acquired automatic winding machine business with effect from April 1, 2022. This acquisition completes Rieter’s system offering in the largest market segment of ring and compact spinning, thus significantly strengthening the company’s market position.

Action Plan to Increase Profitability
Implementation of the action plan to increase profitability is ongoing. With regard to the margins for the order backlog, which remains high, the already implemented price increases in combination with a positive trend in costs, particularly in logistics, are having a favorable impact. In addition, progress was made in eliminating material bottlenecks and reducing expenses for the three acquired businesses.

Dividend
The Board of Directors proposes to the shareholders the distribution of a dividend of CHF 1.50 per share for 2022. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 56%.

Outlook
For the coming months, Rieter expects below-average demand for new equipment at first, with a revival expected in the second half of 2023 after ITMA, the leading trade fair in Milan (Italy). Rieter also believes that demand for consumables, wear & tear and spare parts will recover during 2023.
For the 2023 financial year, due to the high order backlog, Rieter anticipates sales in the order of magnitude of the previous year.
The realization of sales from the order backlog continues to be associated with risks in connection with the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, rising financing costs, continuing bottlenecks in the supply chains, and possible, currently unforeseeable consequences of the earthquake in Türkiye in February 2023. Despite the price increases already implemented, further global cost increases continue to pose a risk to the growth of profitability. Rieter will specify the outlook in the 2023 semi-annual report.

AkzoNobel has published its digital Report 2022, which gives details of the company’s ongoing transformation during a challenging year of persistent worldwide uncertainty.

The Report 2022 website includes coverage of AkzoNobel’s financial results and key business developments, while the company’s progress on its sustainability ambitions is highlighted throughout.

The online report offers a wide range of interactive content and infographics. Visitors can also make use of various tools to compare key data and download tables.

Meanwhile, the Sustainability statements – traditionally one of the most visited sections – has been revamped and is themed around the key areas of climate change, circularity, and health and well-being. Several case studies also feature prominently.

INDEX, a leading nonwovens exhibition, will take place in Geneva. About 90 Italian exhibitors will be present at this edition, including over 40 machinery manufacturers. As in past editions, ITA – Italian Trade Agengy, in cooperation with ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, has organized an exhibition space reserved for companies manufacturing machinery for the sector. There will be 12 exhibiting companies in the Italian pavilion. Of these, the ACIMIT members are: Bematic, Bombi, Bonino, Dell’Orco & Villani, Ferraro, Loptex, Ommi, Rf Systems, Texera, Zappa Macchine. Other ACIMIT member companies will exhibit fair with their own booths.

The nonwovens sector has grown significantly in recent years. According to EDANA, the association grouping European companies operating in the sector, after the impressive growth in the previous year, the production volume of nonwovens grew by 2% in 2021, exceeding 3 million tonnes.

“The growth in nonwovens production has also driven the demand of machinery for nonwovens, comments Alessandro Zucchi, president of ACIMIT. The Italian technological supply has consequently expanded. At the 2023 INDEX edition, the presence of a significant number of Italian machinery manufacturers testifies their desire to play a leading role also in the production of machinery for nonwovens”.

The trend of Italian exports testifies the strong increase in production of nonwovens machinery. Indeed in 2021 Italian sales abroad reached a value of 102 million euro (+77% over the previous year) and in the first nine months of 2022, the value of Italian exports stood at 92 million euro.