From the Sector

Assuming social responsibility and acting sustainably has been Autoneum's focus since it became an independent company. In order to achieve the best results possible, the Company last year has defined a number of quantitative and qualitative targets in the areas of “Sustainable Products and Production Processes”, “Fair and Attractive Workplace”, “Good Corporate Citizenship” and “Responsible Supply Chain Management” for 2025. In all these areas Autoneum has achieved important successes already in 2018.

Through the consistent implementation of environmental efficiency projects – a total of over 80 worldwide – Autoneum reduced its environmental impact further in 2018. For example, both the amount of waste (–5.9%) and water consumption (–13.4%) have fallen sharply. At the same time, various plants – particularly in Asia and North America – have expanded their recycling capacity, significantly increasing the amount of production waste reused in the manufacturing process (14.9%).

To further improve working conditions especially in production, measures were taken in all Business Groups in 2018 to enhance occupational health and safety and well-being in the workplace. A global employee satisfaction survey conducted in fall last year has confirmed the first positive effects of these measures.

A complete overview of all targets and activities during the past year can be found in the Corporate Responsibility Report 2018 and is available at www.autoneum.com/corporateresponsibility/.

• Clean Technology. Smart Factory.

Remscheid – Oerlikon invites all visitors to this year's ITMA in Barcelona on a journey into the future of manmade fiber production. From 20 to 26 June 2019, the world market leader will show all its guests its vision of a sustainable and automated manmade fiber production in a virtual 4D showroom at its 1,000 m² stand in Hall 7, A101: "Clean Technology. Smart Factory." is the motto of the future. And this is only a stone's throw away from reality at the stand. Because today Oerlikon is presenting four world premieres for efficient machine and plant concepts in a new, innovative industrial design. Together with numerous other innovations, all this forms the new DNA of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment.

The challenges for the manmade fiber industry are manifold and Oerlikon shows its customers solutions:

1. Choosing the right business model
Price pressure on fiber and yarn manufacturers is growing due to global market consolidation. Here it is important to position oneself correctly. Are you producing polyester, nylon or polypropylene for the niche market and skimming off good margins with innovative products and ingenious material properties, or are you looking for business success through economies of scale in the volume market such as the constantly growing apparel sector? Oerlikon has the right answers for both business models. And the most important thing: the market leader supplies all solutions from a single source. See for yourself at the world premieres of the machine and system concepts of WINGS FDY PA6, BCF S8 Tricolor and the revolutionary eAFK Evo texturing machine.

2. Finding alternatives for good personnel
Finding good operators in the manmade fiber industry is becoming increasingly difficult, even in emerging industrial nations such as China, India and Turkey. The solution is obvious. What, for example, the automotive industry achieved years ago with the 3rd Industrial Revolution is now also taking its course in the textile industry. And at the same time it is even shifting up a gear. In the next step, automation in combination with digitization will lead to new, sustainable production. Oerlikon will be showing how automation and digitization interact at ITMA. Self-learning machines and systems, artificial intelligence (AI), remote services and edge computing are just a few of the key words in the digital half of the new Oerlikon Manmade Fibers DNA.

3. Guarantee quality and traceability
The qualities of the fibers and yarns must meet the highest demands and their production must be traceable throughout the textile value chain. This no longer only plays an important role in the automotive industry, where safety is of paramount importance. Other branches of industry that use fibers, yarns and nonwovens also want to know where the raw materials they produce for consumer articles come from. Legal regulations are demanding this more and more frequently. Oerlikon offers optimal solutions with its DIN ISO certified manufacturing processes. More than half of the world's manmade fiber producers are convinced every day that the qualities produced on Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven equipment are right – and all visitors to ITMA can do the same on site.

4. Efficient and sustainable production
In the future, the materials produced from manmade fibers must become part of a further improved global recycling economy. The recycling of polyester – with over 80% market share the most frequently used manmade fiber in the world – has not only been on the agenda since today. Oerlikon already has solutions at hand: from PET bottles to fibers and filaments, to textiles and carpets. ITMA is the next step. With the VacuFil® Oerlikon in cooperation with the subsidiary company BBEngineering presents the world premiere No. 4 – a recycling solution within a running polyester production with a waste-free approach.

Vision becomes reality
The Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment thus demonstrates what the ITMA in Barcelona promises as the world's leading trade fair for textile machinery and plant construction: "Innovating the world of textiles – sourcing for a sustainable future". In Hall 7, A101, this is already reality.

A focus on customer service, aligned with the drive to constantly innovate, has long ensured that the member companies of TMAS – the Swedish texile machinery manufacturers’ association – stay well ahead of the curve.

“All of the Swedish textile machinery companies are doing really well in major markets such as Europe, China, India and the USA,” says TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson. “They are now gathering forces to prepare for the most important show – ITMA 2019 in Barcelona in June. I expect to see new players and partnerships as we enter the industry 4.0 era for real. We are ready to display an even higher degree of the real time monitoring of processes, automation, flexible customisation, and the incorporation of robots into production lines.  Our customers expect a lot of in terms of knowledge and our ability to customise and offer turnkey solutions.”

The forward-looking attitude of the Swedish companies is perhaps best summed up by Reimar Westerlind, the owner, since 1961, of ACG Gruppen.
At the age of 90, Reimar still travels to his office every day to oversee the operations of the diverse companies operating under the ACG umbrella.
“Everything now is about automation and digitisation,” he says. “We have to be on that track or we will be lost – innovate or die.”

Robotics
One ACG Gruppen company moving rapidly forward with new innovations in this area is ACG Kinna, which at ITMA 2019 will be providing dramatic live demonstrations of its new robotic pillow filling system.
This has the ability to fill and finish some 3,840 pillows per eight-hour shift, which is a considerable improvement on what is currently possible with existing systems, resulting in significant savings in both labour and energy for busy home textile businesses.

At ITMA 2019, Eton will be demonstrating a complete material handling solution with advanced software providing real-time information covering every aspect of the process.
“Our systems are a natural fit with the major Industry 4.0 networked manufacturing plants that are now being constructed worldwide for sectors such as the garment and home textiles manufacturing and automotive industries,” says Eton’s Sales and Commercial Director Roger Ryrlén.

Sensors
Advanced senor developments are playing a large part in moving many areas of the textile industry forward too.
Eltex of Sweden, for example, is achieving considerable success with its yarn fault detection and tension monitoring systems across a range of sectors, including the tufting of carpets, the creeling of woven materials and even the production of woven reinforcements for the composites industry.

At successive ITMA shows, IRO AB has also consistently introduced new milestones in the field of yarn feeding technology for weaving machines, and ITMA 2019 will be no exception.
“Following significant investment in our R&D capabilities, we have been making great progress in further boosting the efficiency and performance of our expanding X3 range,” says IRO AB Managing Director and Chairman of TMAS Mikael Äremann. “I can’t remember a time since the 1980s when we had so many new innovations to unveil at an ITMA, and I’m greatly looking forward to the positive response to them we are anticipating in Barcelona this June.”

Resource savings
ITMA 2019 will meanwhile see the launch of TexCoat G4 – the next generation of Baldwin Technology’s non-contact precision application system for fabric finishing. The TexCoat G4 enables a continuously high-quality and productive textile finishing process with zero chemistry waste and minimised water and energy consumption.
The non-contact spray technology brings a range of advantages including single or double-sided application,  the elimination of Foulard bath contamination, low wet pick-up levels leading to the elimination of drying steps, zero chemistry waste in changeovers of chemistry, colour or fabric, and the possibility of batch reporting, visibility of pad loading, chemical usage etc.

Other TMAS companies exhibiting in Barcelona include Texo AB, whose wide-width weaving looms make the belts for machines on which half of the world’s paper is made, ES-Automatex, which specialises in bespoke automation concepts and Svegea, a company leading the field in a number colarette machines and cutting and slitting equipment.

“At the last ITMA in 2015 in Milan, there was much talk about Industry 4.0 technologies but certainly from the perspective of TMAS, ITMA 2019 will be the place for concrete solutions as to how data and the new tools we have available can be exploited to the full,” says Therese Premler-Andersson. “There is already much more networking between the companies, with software very much the enabler and common interfaces bringing ideas closer together. We are greatly looking forward to further exchanges of ideas when meeting with customers old and new in Barcelona.”

Archroma announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Textile University (NTU) in Pakistan. The memorandum will pave way for cooperation initially for a five-year period.

The partnership will explore innovations in textile research with futuristic visualization to help the textile industry to align with the fast pace of global requirements and evolutions. Another important aspect of this collaboration will be research in the field of unsaturated polyester resins in establishing quality and accessible product lines in non-conventional technical textiles. Both partners will jointly hold sessions to prepare students for the challenges of the textile industry through in-house training sessions, developmental projects, research in textile applications and process innovative methodologies by pioneering value additions. The students of NTU will also be able to join internship placement programs at Archroma’s Center of Excellence in Karachi.

This year’s Annual General Meeting of Lenzing AG resolved today, Thursday, April 17, 2019, to distribute a dividend of EUR 3.00 per share as well as a special dividend totaling EUR 2.00 per share. On balance, the dividend will amount to EUR 5.00 per no-par value share for the 2018 financial year (compared to EUR 5.00 per share in the previous year). The dividend payment is scheduled to take place on April 25, 2019, whereas ex-dividend day is on April 23, 2019.

The Annual General Meeting also adopted a resolution discharging the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board for the 2018 financial year, and also resolved upon the remuneration to be paid to the Supervisory Board members for the 2018 and 2019 financial years. KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- u. Steuerberatungsgesellschaft was appointed to serve as the auditor of the annual and consolidated financial statements for the 2019 financial year.

Effective at the end of this Annual General Meeting, Hanno Bästlein, the previous Chairman of the Supervisory Board, as well as Christoph Kollatz have retired from the Supervisory Board at their own request. “We would like to thank Hanno Bästlein and Christoph Kollatz for their dedicated work on the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG. Thanks to their expertise, they made a major contribution to important strategic decisions in the company. During his four years as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hanno Bästlein decisively supported the strategy of the Lenzing Group and thus contributed to the enhanced resilience of the company based on the expansion with specialty fibers”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing AG.

At next month’s Techtextil 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will be highlighting all of the innovative features that have made the Montex stenter the undisputed leader in the field of technical fabric finishing.

“Techtextil is a very important show for us, because technical textiles are a key pillar of our production programme and many of our existing customers will be exhibiting or attending, as well as those we have yet to meet,” says Jürgen Hanel, Head of Technical Textiles at Monforts. “The show provides us with an opportunity to explain the diverse end-products that can be successfully finished on our stenters, as well as with our coating units.”

A number of successful recent Monforts Montex stenter installations in Europe, for example, are dedicated to the production of wide-width digital printing substrates, to high volume automotive fabrics and to heavy duty filter media, to name just three advanced technical materials.

Digital print
Three Montex stenters have just been installed at the plant of a leading finisher of substrates for digital printing substrates in Germany – two of them in extra-wide widths of 5.4 metres – for drying after both washing and coating processes.

A new standard in pure white, 100% clean and fault-free textile substrates has been demanded in recent years by the rapid growth in digitally-printed banners and hoardings – often referred to as ‘soft signage’.

“The substrates of choice for digital printing are 100% polyester warp knits which have extremely smooth surfaces,” says Hanel. “This is becoming increasingly critical due to the general move away from PVC coatings which were the standard in the past. Quality inspection and control systems analyse every square metre of fabric to ensure completely uniform and blemish-free production.”

The fabrics produced are resilient and allow excellent take-up of inks for vibrant colours and clear and precise images to be achieved with digital printing techniques. The knitted construction also has the advantage of elasticity, which is a plus in terms of flexibility for soft signage installers.
These fabrics are being supplied fully finished, in weights of between 50-350gsm and in rolls of up to 600kg or 1,800 metres.

TINTEX is this year sole recipient of the unique and prestigious annual award from The “Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação” (IAPMEI). TINTEX has been selected in recognition of its pioneering, Naturally Advanced global leadership, and the company’s superior and responsible fabric making for a fashion system that is driven by investments, transparency and fully traceable innovation.

TINTEX is pleased to open its doors as the Naturally Advanced centre of excellence in the latest IAPMEI OPEN DAY for textile leaders, protaganists, media and customers to experience, understand and enjoy the unique achievements TINTEX offers to the contemporary Portuguese textiles industry . “We selected TINTEX to underline the importance of taking advantage of digitization and modernization at different levels in the textile industry being stunned by their commitment, shedding light on our territory’s most advanced and responsible processes and skills” José Marques dos Santos, president of IAPMEI.

In a fast moving globalized market, all companies must be able to adapt quickly and using innovation, creativity, and responsibility can help deliver successes. And here TINTEX can network between Technological Centers, Universities, and Knowledge Centers, as a strategic business and holistic imperative. And so sharing the Naturally Advanced strategy of TINTEX as a driver for change, IAPMEI recognizes this TINTEX OPEN DAY as a demonstration of practical market potential, and has partnered with CENTI  (Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials the Institute for New Technologies) and CITEVE (an institution of national and international reference for the promotion of Innovation and Technological Development) as a way to guarantee this success.
 
Being able to drive material innovation, and to promote a new generation of sustainable values to contemporary fashion, active, sports and lingerie markets through responsible supply chains can be transformative for our future fashion systems, and TINTEX is proud to be selected as part of the Make Fashion Circular initiative by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helping  to better activate these changes across the fashion industry for all to enjoy.

IPC, the Industrial Technical Centre with expertise dedicated to plastic and composite innovation, is presenting two prototypes on its stand: an intelligent motorcycle helmet and a multifunctional windturbine blade. "With these two prototypes, IPC demonstrates its ability to functionalize composites, particularly with printed electronic components. Live demos will be organized during the three days of the show on our booth," explains Bertrand Fillon, General Manager of Research at IPC. The helmet was manufactured in partnership with the technical and creative paper manufacturer Arjowiggins, and the wind turbine blade, with the CEA. These two demonstrators will also be exhibited in Germany at the LOPEC exhibition 2019 in Munich on 20-21 March.

IMPROVE THE USER EXPERIENCE
The objective is to add new features to improve the user experience, without impacting security. The motorcycle helmet is equipped with sensors and NFC communication functions. "Here, printed organic electronics are used in the helmet to allow remote temperature changes," adds Lionel Tenchine, Program Line Manager for "Technologies for Intelligent Products" at IPC. The helmet manufacturing process is based on the use of composites and the infusion process.

DETECTING POTENTIAL DAMAGE IN ADVANCE
Developing predictive maintenance is an important issue when it comes to avoiding sudden, serious accidents. A recent McKinsey study estimates that by 2025 it will save $630 billion for companies, for example. The wind turbine blade presented at JEC World detects potential damage that could occur on the blade structure beforehand, making it possible to carry out preventive repairs on the one-meter-long blade. Printed organic electronics are used in the demonstrator to integrate strain gauges and the temperature detection function.

• Christian Bruch and Stefan Fida proposed to serve as new members of the Supervisory Board
• Hanno Bästlein and Christoph Kollatz will resign from their positions on the Supervisory Board at the upcoming Annual General Meeting

Prior to the Annual General Meeting of the publicly traded company Lenzing AG scheduled for April 17, 2019, the Nomination Committee dealt with the future composition of the Supervisory Board. It has proposed that the Annual General Meeting appoint Christian Bruch to serve on the Supervisory Board. Mr. Bruch has been a member of the Executive Board of Linde AG since 2015 and a member of the Management Committee of Linde plc since 2019. The graduate in mechanical engineering will contribute his extensive experience in plant engineering and various technical and management positions in internationally operating industrial companies. The Viennese lawyer Stefan Fida has also been nominated as a future member of the Supervisory Board.

As previously announced, Hanno Bästlein will resign from his position on the Supervisory Board at the upcoming Annual General Meeting in order to be able to increasingly devote his attention to his own business activities. Christoph Kollatz will also step down from the Supervisory Board for professional reasons at the Annual General Meeting in April 2019.

“We would like to thank Hanno Bästlein and Christoph Kollatz for their dedicated work on the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG. Thanks to their expertise, they made a major contribution to important strategic decisions in the company. During his four years as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hanno Bästlein decisively supported the strategy of the Lenzing Group and thus contributed to the enhanced resilience of the company based on the expansion with specialty fibers”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing AG.

Composite reinforcement specialist Chomarat will exhibit its latest woven and multiaxial carbon fibre reinforcements at JEC World 2019. "Prepregs are used in the most demanding markets, such as aerospace or the automotive industry. Due to their high performance, Chomarat’s carbon fabrics are highly considered by prepreggers. Compared to standard solutions, the multiaxial reinforcements developed by the group offer Chomarat’s converter customers significant productivity gains. With its production sites in France, Asia and the United States, Chomarat is able to supply its customers and guarantee the same high level of quality in all countries," explains Group Managing Director Michel Cognet.

C-WEAVE™ - THE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY BENCHMARK
In just a few years, prepreggers have come to consider Chomarat's C-WEAVE™ carbon-fibre fabrics as a benchmark for surface-finish quality and processability.
The reinforcement contributes to productivity and reliability during the prepregging process. Helen Doughty, Director at SHD Composites, testifies: “The consistent high quality of C-WEAVE™ has been a key part of SHD Composite Materials continued success and growth.”
"Prepreg users often manufacture Class A surface parts for demanding applications, and they need excellence and reproducibility," explains Chomarat’s Prepreg Market Manager Ulrike Salmon.

C-PLY™: GOING FURTHER WITH CARBON MULTIAXIALS
The advantages of multi-axial reinforcements are now well established - oriented axes, absence of resin-rich areas allowing a high fibre content, and improved mechanical tensile and/or bending performance thanks to the non-crimp fibres.
By developing its C-PLY™ range, Chomarat further demonstrates that multiaxials are a real asset in terms of performance and appearance. "Chomarat strives to minimize marking on parts and to optimize surface quality through fibre spreading and the use of suitable stitches. C-PLY™ can also integrate aesthetic functions by using the assembly seam as a graphic design", continues Ulrike Salmon.
These new advantages are important for the automotive, sports-equipment and consumer-electronics markets, which seek to combine premium quality and productivity.