From the Sector

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited announced it has strengthened its Indorama Management Council (IMC) – the company’s highest operational management committee – by rotating experienced executives and adding the COOs of the Fibers and Integrated Oxides & Derivatives (IOD) segments.

The elevation of Mr Christopher Kenneally, COO of Fibers, and Mr Alastair Port, COO of IOD, to the IMC – will enable more agile decision making as they build their high-growth segments into self-sustaining organizations that maximize value for IVL stakeholders. The appointments are effective immediately.

In a rotation of roles, Mr Sanjay Ahuja, the current CFO of IVL, will switch to Interim COO of Combined PET (CPET) for a period of 2 years, effective January 2022, as part of a rotation of senior expertise across the IMC. He will report to Mr D K Agarwal as CEO, who will take on additional broader responsibilities as CFO. The CPET role rotation will enable new dynamism in this largest segment of IVL and establish a self-sustaining organization for the permanent successor that IMC selects over this period. Mr Agarwal will be supported by Mr Ashok Jain in an enhanced role as Controller, covering Banking & Finance, Global Consolidation, Taxation and M&A.

Further, Mr Klaus Holz will join the IMC as Chief Human Resources Officer, effective 1 January 2022. He replaces Mr Roberto Bettini who will retire at the end of 2021.

With enthusiastic participant registration and continued strong growth projected in absorbent hygiene & personal care markets, excitement is building for the seventh edition of Hygienix as it returns as an in-person event just weeks away, Nov. 15-18, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

INDA reports that more than 300 participants have signed up to attend the conference with participation expected to approach pre-pandemic levels in the 500 range.

The Hygienix conference program will focus on compelling topics including New Options for a Responsible End-of-Life; Product and Process Innovation in Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHPs); Haptics: Four Approaches to Assessing Feel, and E-Hygiene Advancements; Absorbent Hygiene Products Market Stats, Trends and Policy Insights; Feminine Care: Challenges to the Status Quo; and New Approaches and Unmet Needs in Baby and Incontinence AHPs.

The conference will also feature two nonwovens workshops, a welcome reception and opportunities for 60 tabletop displays with receptions.

Hygienix Innovation Award Finalists
Among the conference highlights will be the selection of the Hygienix Innovation Award™. The three finalists are all tapping into key trends that are driving growth in this segment – innovation and sustainability – with products that promote health and a healthy environment.

Award finalists making presentations include:

• Expandable Core Wrap from Curt G. Joa, Inc. – Chris Nelson, Business Development Manager, will provide an overview of this new patent-pending expandable core wrap design that allows the core to expand within the containment wrap as the product is insulted, regardless of the blended fluff and Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) ratio.    
• GlatPure™ Back Sheet from Glatfelter – Vishal Bansal, Ph.D., Vice President, Innovation, will share how this product differs from most back sheets in today’s market that are made from plastic film and nonwovens such as Polyethylene (PE).
• Kudos Diapers from Kudos – According to Kudos Founder & CEO Amrita Saigal, a typical baby spends over 22,000 hours in diapers before potty training, making the material that touches their skin matter. Kudos is the first and only disposable diaper where baby’s bottom touches 100 percent doctor-recommended, carbon-negative, sensitive-skin-friendly cotton all day versus fossil-fuel-derived plastic

Renewcell and Kelheim Fibres Gmbh have signed a Letter of Intent for a long term commercial collaboration to add the crucial missing link for a circular economy for textiles in Europe. Together, the two technology leaders will collaborate on developing com mercial scale production of superior quality viscose fibers from up to 10 000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100% textile recycled material Circulose® annually. The collaboration paves the way toward a fully European closed loop in which textile waste is collected, recycled and regenerated into new Circulose® fibers for people that want to reduce their fashion footprint significantly.

"European fashion consumption has great impact on climate and the environment globally. It also contributes to tremendous amounts of waste going into landfill and incinerators either in Europe or abroad after export. We will now work with Kelheim to prevent waste and reduce the need for virgin resources, while also enabling a fully regional supply of low impact circular fibers for text iles” comments Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with a partner like Kelheim, who is at the leading edge of innovation and sustainability in this industry” he adds.

Craig Barker, CEO at Kelheim Fibres adds: "We see an excellent fit between our two companies, not only on the technical side with Renewcell we have found a highly professional partner who shares our vision for future forward technologies that enable full circularity in the textile chain. Finding the answers to the challenges of our times is what drives us every day. Our recycled cellulose fibre solution made of Renewcell’s Circulose® and manufactured using environmentally sound processes at our Kelheim plant is an answer to the fashi on industries need for sustainable, resource and waste reducing solutions, and a more regional and reliable supply chain."

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas issued a statement following President Biden’s remarks on the global supply chain crisis and stressed the importance of investing onshoring and nearshoring:

"We appreciate President Biden’s call to ensure we are building more resilient and reliable supply chains and to invest in our manufacturing industries here at home, in his address earlier today.

There is a reason we got into this mess and there is a reason we have a global supply chain crisis. Years of offshoring production in a race to the bottom –exacerbated by predatory trade practices that have undermined so many manufacturing industries--has led to a tipping point. In fact, it was not too long ago that nurses in New York City and beyond were wearing garbage bags as gowns as our overreliance on Chinese production chains exposed severe fragilities in keeping our health care workers safe during the height of the pandemic.

China’s virtually unlimited and unrealistic pricing power coupled with its subsidies and lack of enforceable environmental standards strips benefits and undermines policy objectives, and leaves us in an untenable situation of overreliance on a foreign supply chain for critical products and raw materials. This must change.

We must hold China accountable for predatory trade practices that have offshored our industries and our jobs. We must onshore and nearshore more textile and apparel production chains out of Asia to the U.S. and also to Western Hemisphere trade partners. This has a multitude of benefits to ensure more reliability in production and also has remarkable job benefits to U.S. manufacturers and our allied trading partners who adhere to higher labor and environmental standards. Further, it will help address the migration crisis and grow better paying jobs.

Now is the time to we need to unlock long-term commitments to source product from the USA and from our Hemispheric partners.  If we moved another 10 percent of global production to the U.S. and the Hemisphere, imagine the benefits that could be achieved.  Ensuring further verticalization and investment in all aspects of the industry, from raw materials to finished products, is good for the American economy and workers in the U.S. and in the region.

Our industry stands ready to help and provide the solutions to onshore and nearshore these production chains that benefit manufacturing workers, the U.S. economy, our Western Hemisphere allies, and consumers.   Further, onshoring and nearshoring these critical production chains has remarkable benefits for the environment and addresses the growing, systemic and alarming issues associated with climate change.  

It is critical that supply chains mitigate risks so that we are never in this situation again.  We appreciate President Biden recognizing the value of onshoring these critical production chains and stand ready to work with the administration in these efforts."

Recycling is the key factor in achieving the EU climate targets. This is shown by the results of the "resources SAVED by recycling" study published today, which Fraunhofer UMSICHT prepared on behalf of the ALBA Group, one of the ten leading recycling companies worldwide. According to the study, 3.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and 28.8 million tons of primary resources could be saved in 2020 alone. Further potential could be raised, for example, through minimum quotas for the use of recycled raw materials.

“Fit for 55” thanks to the circular economy: the recycling of raw materials leads to a systematic reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of our civilisation – and can therefore make a key contribution to achieving the EU climate goals. This is the outcome of the “resources SAVED by recycling” study presented today, which the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT prepared on behalf of the ALBA Group. Thanks to the closed-loop circulation of 4.8 million tonnes of recyclable materials, the ALBA Group succeeded in preventing some 3.5 million tonnes of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2020 alone. This amount is equivalent to the emissions from some five million return flights between Frankfurt am Main and Mallorca. At the same time, recycling also secures valuable raw materials for the industry: in 2020, in comparison with primary production, recycling saved 28.8 million tonnes of resources, such as crude oil and iron ore.

“The circular economy is one of the strongest pace-setters on the journey to achieving climate neutrality,” highlights Dr. Axel Schweitzer, CEO of the ALBA Group. “We will only achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent throughout Europe by 2030 if we make consistent use of recycled raw materials.” This includes the area of plastics, for example: compared with primary plastics made from crude oil, the use of high-quality recycled plastics achieves a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 50 per cent. “It is now necessary to lever this potential,” explains Schweitzer. “We are expecting the new Federal Government in Germany to act decisively and push ahead directly with the transition to a circular economy. The environmental benefits of recycling due to its clearly superior CO2 balance should also find reflection in prices. As immediate climate protection measures, clear industry standards for recyclates combined with minimum quotas on the use of recycled raw materials in products and packaging are also urgently necessary. Last but not least, the state sector is also called upon to prioritise resource protection in the area of procurement. Sustainable procurement can ultimately provide a significant boost to the circular economy”.

Plastics, metals, waste electrical (and electronic) equipment, wood, paper, cardboard, cartons or glass: the Fraunhofer UMSICHT has now been researching the specific benefits of recycling for 14 years. Detailed comparisons have also been made of the primary processes and recycling processes for the various material flows. “This means we can precisely quantify the extent to which the recycling activities of the ALBA Group can contribute to reducing the burden on the environment,” explains Dr.-Ing. Markus Hiebel, Director of the Department for Sustainability and Participation at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. Hiebel believes that the greatest savings can be achieved if the entire value chain is aligned consistently with the circular principle: “The transformation towards a genuine circular economy requires completely new thinking. Products should be designed and managed to ensure that they contain recycled raw materials right from the start – which enables them to be recycled appropriately.”

• Pushing technical textile investments into the State

In a bid to strengthen indigenous production through the state and attract investors, the nodal agency for investment promotion and facilitation for the Government of Tamil Nadu – Guidance has signed up for Techtextil India 2021 – the leading International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles and Nonwovens. The TN Government will be promoting technical textile policies through both physical and virtual segments of the hybrid fair, enabling investors to set up integrated facilities. Leading technical textile players from Tamil Nadu and across the nation confirm participation for the three-day business event.
 
As one of the first major business events in India for the technical textile sector since the pandemic, Techtextil India 2021 will reunite the industry to present a strong showcase of technical textile technologies crucial for the development of India across industries such as healthcare, agriculture, construction, infrastructure, sports, apparel etc. The first hybrid edition will take place from 25 – 27 November 2021 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.
 
Announcing a close co-operation with Messe Frankfurt India for the 2021 edition, the Government of Tamil Nadu further shared that it will be promoting textile policies and highlighting investment prospects at the trade fair in a bid to attract companies and investors to the state. Ms  Pooja Kulkarni IAS MD & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu said: “While there are several inherent advantages for the growth of technical textiles in Tamil Nadu specifically, many raw materials used in the production of sanitary products, artificial ligaments, seat belt webbings, airbags are still heavily imported. In this context, the Techtextil India Forum can help us reduce import dependency and bring investments in R&D, manufacturing, innovation by partnering with global technical textiles companies.

• CEO Stefan Doboczky will not extend contract and will step down at end of third quarter 2021

The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG, a world’s leading producer of wood-based cellulosic fibers, has come to a mutual agreement with its longstanding Chief Executive Officer Stefan Doboczky to end his contract. Doboczky has informed the Supervisory Board that he will not be available for another extension of his contract. With great regret the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG accepts his resignation and the parties mutually agreed to end the contract effective September 30, 2021.

“My sincere thanks go to Stefan Doboczky for his exceptional achievements at Lenzing. The design and implementation of the transformation of Lenzing AG into a global specialty fiber leader and the positioning of the company as a recognized sustainability champion have been major accomplishments of Stefan Doboczky over the last years”, said Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Peter Edelmann. “Thanks to his leadership, Lenzing AG finds itself today on a stable and profitable growth track with a clear commitment to become climate-neutral by 2050. And all of that in spite of the challenging environment of the COVID-19 pandemic”, said Edelmann.

Stefan Doboczky: “Developing and consistently implementing the Lenzing strategy has been the cornerstone of my work in recent years. After extensive consideration, I have decided that this is the right time for a personal change. The strategy is in place, the company is well on track – now is the ideal moment to pass on the baton. And one thing is certain: Lenzing will always have a very special place in my heart.”

Lenzing AG remains on track with its guidance for the full year 2021 as announced with the half-year results. Cord Prinzhorn has been appointed interim CEO. Prinzhorn is Member of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG and will be available until a successor is found. The Supervisory Board will immediately start the search process.

Claudia Güntert has been appointed Head of Corporate Communications at Autoneum as of November 1, 2021. She succeeds the Corporate Communications Head, Dr. Anahid Rickmann, who will be leaving the company per end of August 2021.

Claudia Güntert studied Jurisprudence at the University of Basel, Switzerland, as well as German and Eastern European Literature at the Universities of Basel and Zurich, Switzerland.

From 2008 to 2013, she was Marketing & Product Communications Manager at Von Roll Management AG in Wädenswil, Switzerland. She thereby gained broad experience in marketing and customer communications in the industry and a deep understanding of the industrial relations between suppliers and their customers. From 2013 until 2021, she was Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations at Von Roll Holding AG in Wädenswil and Breitenbach, Switzerland. In this leading position, she expanded her expertise in internal and external communication with a focus on company vision and strategy, branding, global change management, and social media presence. Claudia Güntert will report to Matthias Holzammer, CEO.

Dr. Anahid Rickmann leaves Autoneum at the end of August at her own request. After almost nine years of service, she has decided to take on a new professional challenge. Anahid Rickmann strategically realigned the Company's communications after it became independent in 2011 and significantly shaped Autoneum's external perception and reputation. Her particular achievements include the measurable success of external communications, brand positioning and the launch of Autoneum's corporate responsibility strategy. CEO Matthias Holzammer and the Board of Directors would like to thank Anahid Rickmann sincerely for her successful, always dedicated and loyal service to Autoneum and wish her the best for her personal and professional future.

For September and October 2021, Luzia Schoeck, Communications Manager, will act as interim Head of Corporate Communications.

• The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) Welcomes Senate Passage of Infrastructure Bill

WASHINGTON—The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber through finished products, issued a statement today welcoming Senate passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that will provide billions of dollars in new spending to revitalize the nation’s roads, bridges and railways and help reconstitute a domestic supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We commend the Senate for passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will provide critical resources for our nation’s aging infrastructure and at the same time help incentivize the reshoring of personal protective equipment (PPE) production, an important priority of the U.S. textile industry,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas.

NCTO worked with congressional allies to include a version of the Make PPE in America Act, legislation co-sponsored by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), in the infrastructure legislative package. The bill ensures all PPE purchased by the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs are Berry Amendment-compliant; guarantees long-term contracts (a minimum of two years) to U.S. manufacturers; and creates a tiered preference for PPE made in the Western Hemisphere by our free trade partners using U.S. components, after domestic manufacturing capacity has been maximized.

“We sincerely thank Senator Portman and Senator Peters for working to include their Make PPE in America Act in the infrastructure bill,” Glas said. “This bill will help onshore critical production of personal protective equipment (PPE) by guaranteeing long-term contracts for domestically produced PPE and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are utilized to bolster the federal purchase of American-made PPE.

The U.S. manufacturing industry has produced over a billion lifesaving PPE and other medical products over the last year, as NCTO members retooled production chains in response to the nation’s needs. We will continue to urge the government to purchase Berry-compliant products containing 100 percent domestic content for PPE to help bolster the full U.S. production chain in the future.”

• Strong operating result: EBITDA at EUR 217.8 mn, cash flow from operating activities at EUR 199.8 mn
• Major strategic projects continue fully on track – production start of the lyocell plant in Thailand in the fourth quarter of 2021
• Start of strategic cooperation agreement for textile recycling with Södra
• New milestones in the implementation of group-wide carbon neutrality: EUR 200 mn investment in existing locations in Asia
• Guidance 2021: Lenzing expects EBITDA of at least EUR 360 mn

The Lenzing Group reported a significant improvement in revenue and earnings in the first half of the year. Growing optimism in the textile and apparel industry and the ongoing recovery in retail caused a substantial increase in demand and prices on the global fiber market, in particular at the beginning of the current financial year.

Revenue rose by 27.5 percent to EUR 1.03 bn in the first half of 2021. This increase is primarily attributable to higher viscose prices, which stood at more than RMB 15,000 in May thanks to significantly higher demand for fibers, especially in Asia. The focus on wood-based specialty fibers such as TENCEL™, LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ branded fibers also had a positive impact on the revenue development; the share of specialty fibers in fiber revenue rose to 72.8 percent in the reporting period. The negative impact of more unfavorable currency effects was consequently more than offset.

The earnings development essentially reflects the positive market development and was additionally reinforced by measures to improve efficiency. Energy and logistics costs increased significantly throughout the entire reporting period. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) more than doubled and amounted to EUR 217.8 mn in the first half of 2021 (compared to EUR 95.6 mn in the first half of 2020). The EBITDA margin rose from 11.8 percent to 21.1 percent. Net profit for the period amounted to EUR 96.1 mn (compared to a net loss of EUR minus 14.4 mn in the first half of 2020) and earnings per share to EUR 3.06 (compared to EUR 0.06 in the first half of 2020).

“Lenzing had a very strong first half-year. The demand for our sustainably produced specialty fibers once again developed excellently,” says Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.