From the Sector

At Chinaplas 2025, the Reifenhäuser Group will present its latest technological innovations for the efficient and sustainable production of plastic films. The extrusion specialists will showcase at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center from April 15 – 18 solutions that address the key challenges of today’s plastic industry: reducing resource consumption, increasing recyclability, and making production more autonomous and efficient. Meeting these demands requires advanced production technologies that Reifenhäuser already offers today.

A central focus at the show will be the use of Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) technologies for producing fully recyclable mono-material films with performance and cost-effectiveness equivalent to conventional multi-material structures.

Marcel Perrevort, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group, explains: “In the flexible packaging sector, we are currently seeing a huge trend away from conventional and non-recyclable mixed material laminates towards fully recyclable mono-material composites, both for blown and cast films. Our state-of-the-art MDO stretching units enable enhanced mechanical properties for all-PE or all-PP films. Thus, PET films commonly used in material composites can be replaced. By downgauging, we also reduce production costs to a competitive level, making recyclable films a profitable choice.”

MDO for blown film lines
With the EVO Ultra Stretch MDO unit for Reifenhäuser’s blown film lines manufacturers produce all-PE mono films for applications such as high-barrier food pouches. Due to the stretch process film thicknesses of 18μm (with properties of a 25μm product) and less can be achieved, keeping production costs within the range of conventional films. With the patented integration of the MDO unit directly into the haul-off, the film is stretched in the ideal phase of the process – using the first heat – for maximum efficiency and film stability. Furthermore, the all-PE film achieves the required barrier effect with an EVOH content of less than five percent, fully meeting the criteria for recyclability. At the same time, Ultra Stretch enhances the performance of the EVOH barrier layer while reducing material usage, delivering cost and sustainability benefits.

The Lenzing Group is presenting the Lenzing Young Scientist Award at the Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (GFC) from September 10 to 12, 2025 for bachelor, master and doctoral students who develop innovative solutions to ecological challenges in the fiber and textile industry. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2025. The best thesis by Bachelor's and Master's students will receive a prize of EUR 3,000, while the best doctoral thesis will receive EUR 5,000.

For the fourth time, the Lenzing Group honors young researchers with the Lenzing Young Scientist Award for excellent research work in the fiber and textile sector. The Dornbirn-GFC, as a platform for international exchange of experience in the field of fibers, offers an ideal stage for this research competition. Bachelor's and Master's students can submit their scientific work under the guiding theme “Unlimited inspiration from nature: Together we research sustainable innovations based on cellulose, including regenerated cellulose fibers and films, as well as cellulose composites” and face a jury of renowned experts from the industry. The aim is to support students who inspire the industry with their research results and create a platform for networking with the textile and fiber industry.

Austrian Fibers Institute as organizer of the Dornbirn GFC
For the 64th time, the Austrian Fiber Institute is organizing the Dornbirn Fiber Congress on a non-profit basis and will provide the framework for presenting the Lenzing Young Scientist Award from September 10 to 12, 2025. The Austrian Fiber Institute, based in Vienna, was founded in 1960 by fiber producers and the Austrian textile industry to promote the market launch of fibers and their products. The Fiber Institute also offers the opportunity to exchange information and experience about fibers and supports contact with educational institutions. The GFC focuses on an international exchange of experience in close coordination with the umbrella organization CIRFS in Brussels and deals with topics relevant to the future, such as fiber innovations, sustainability and the circular economy.

Applicants for the Lenzing Young Scientist Award have the opportunity to submit their work (theses, papers, etc.) in English until June 30, 2025 to the following e-mail address: YSA2025@lenzing.com. Further information can be found online at https://www.lenzing.com/young-scientist-award.

JEC World will take place from 4 to 6 March 2025 under the motto ‘Pushing the Limits’. The leading trade fair for lightweight construction is a networking centre for creativity, vision and action. It shows how composite materials are pushing the boundaries of projects and ambitions.

The Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI) is building on this motto and will be presenting highly oriented semi-finished products and organic sheets made from recycled carbon fibres for aviation in Paris in 2025. These semi-finished products currently represent the limit in the field of rCF. In addition, the members of the MC4 consortium, in which the STFI optimises recycling solutions for composite materials made from glass and carbon fibres with European partners, will be presenting their results at their own stand. With the newly installed wetlaid nonwoven system, the Saxon institute also offers a nonwoven technology that will also be of interest for the reuse of short carbon fibres in the future. Visit us at the joint stand of the Saxony Economic Development Corporation and talk to our team of lightweight construction and recycling experts.

At this year's JEC Composites Innovation Awards ceremony, the award in the "Construction & Civil Engineering" category went to the "DACCUSS" project, coordinated by the DITF. TechnoCarbon Technologies GbR, the inventor of Carbon Fiber Stone (CFS), received the JEC Award together with its development partners. The award is for the development of house walls made of Carbon Fiber Stone (CFS), a CO2 negative composite material.

Each year, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards recognize innovative and creative projects that demonstrate the full potential of composite materials. With the help of a development team from 12 companies and research institutions, TechnoCarbon Technologies GbR successfully submitted its innovative DACCUSS building element for house walls made of Carbon Fiber Stone.

Carbon Fiber Stone is a building material made of natural rocks and bio-based carbon fibers. It serves as an environmentally friendly replacement for CO2-intensive concrete in the construction industry. While conventional concrete walls release large amounts of CO2 during production, the DACCUS building element binds 59 kg of CO2 per square meter and therefore has a negative carbon footprint. In addition, the panels weigh only one-third of equivalent reinforced concrete house walls.

Each DACCUS element consists of several high-strength natural stone slabs made from magmatic rock. Inside the construction are bio-based carbon fibers, which the DITF Denkendorf is working intensively to develop. They form the stiffening element that enables the high strength of the construction elements and, in turn, contribute to the negative CO2 balance. The layer between the natural rock slabs is filled with carbon-negative biochar granulate, which is responsible for the insulation of the building element. The mineral sawdust from the cut rock slabs can be used as a soil amendment and serves as a binder for free CO2 from the atmosphere. The strict focus on processes and materials that actively bind CO2 has made it possible to produce a building material with a negative CO2 balance.

Partners: Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung Denkendorf (DITF), TechnoCarbon Technologies GbR, Universität Hamburg (UHH), Labor für Stahl- und Leichtmetallbau GmbH (LSL), AHP GmbH & Co. KG, Technische Universität München (TUM), GVU mbH, Silicon Kingdom Holding Ltd., Gallehr Sustainable Risk Management GmbH, Peer Technologies GmbH & Co. KG, GREIN srl, Convoris Group GmbH, RecyCoal GmbH, ITA, Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen, LISD GmbH.

Stylish and recyclable carbon fibre furniture
Cobra and its partners have coordinated the design, engineering, material selection and manufacturing of a range of innovative carbon fibre-based furniture. The furniture uses the recyclable epoxy resins, along with other production waste, and recycled raw materials.

Cobra, Aditya Birla Group, Burapa University, Hankuk Carbon, and Luxara Design Studio present a recyclable composite meeting table and barstool. The Liana table uses Recyclamine resins, high-modulus prepreg and Cobra’s production-waste BMC material for its structure. Neolith, a 100% sustainable artificial marble with 52% recycled content, and Hankuk woven carbon fabric provide the exceptional surface finish. The Loop barstool uses a looping design style, and again, it uses Recyclamine resins and Hankuk carbon over a recyclable PET core for a high-end yet sustainable seating solution.

Cobra International (Thailand)
Partners:
• Aditya Birla Chemicals Ltd. – Advanced Materials (Thailand)
• Burapha University (Thailand)
• HANKUK CARBON CO., LTD. (South Korea)
• LUXARA DESIGN CO.,LTD. (Thailand)

Key benefits:
• Thin yet strong, only achievable with carbon fibre
• Lightweight yet durable for lasting performance
• First recyclable carbon fibre furniture
• Upcycling composites waste
• A step towards circularity

The Teijin Group companies Teijin Carbon America, Renegade Materials and Teijin Aramid will participate in CAMX. the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America, in San Diego, USA. At the TEIJIN booth, visitors can explore innovative composite solutions and learn about the comprehensive technical support and provided services.

Teijin's diverse network of materials companies excels across various fields, ranging from high-performance carbon and aramid fibers to cutting-edge industrial textiles and revolutionary, cost-effective prepreg composite solutions. The shared commitment to quality, innovation, and environmental responsibility unites Teijin in their mission to deliver eco-friendly solutions across multiple industries and applications, including pressure vessels, aerospace, and both defense and commercial aircraft construction.

Teijin’s dedication to acquiring appropriate certifications for sustainable production and product development underscores the high level of commitment to lead in this field. In the past years, Teijin has continuously striven to minimize their carbon footprint and global impact, while also supporting customers on their own sustainability journeys. This year, Teijin Aramid achieved the EcoVadis Gold Medal recognition, placing the company in the top 5% of all companies across all industries globally and in the top 3% of all man-made fiber manufacturers worldwide.

Teijin Carbon has been awarded the ISCC Plus certification for its production in Germany and Japan and is on track to receive the same certification in the U.S. in the coming months. This accreditation allows the Teijin Carbon Group to prove to its customers sustainable products that contribute to a circular economy. Teijin Carbon is diligently working toward establishing new sustainability standards, promoting ecological innovations, and fostering partnerships for a more sustainable world.

Teijin is looking forward to engaging with customers and partners at CAMX 2024 in San Diego to discuss innovative ideas for the circular economy and recycling processes.

Teijin Carbon is one of the world's leading manufacturers of Tenax™ carbon fibers and carbon fiber-based materials, with production sites in the US, Germany, Japan and Vietnam. Teijin Carbon develops solutions for the aerospace, automotive, energy, electronics and sporting goods industries using high-performance technologies in an international environment. They work closely with their partners to create a fully circular value chain. The goal to make Teijin’s products net CO₂-free by 2050 aligns with the commitment to global society to find solutions and take action to combat it.

As a manufacturer of intermediate materials in the US, Renegade Materials is known for its product expertise and commitment to customer satisfaction. Renegade Materials distinguishes itself by merging cutting-edge materials science with advanced prepreg manufacturing and testing equipment, all meticulously controlled by rigorous quality management systems. Renegade is steadfast in their commitment to the development and largescale production of advanced, multi-functional materials that offer engineered solutions to the current composite design, usage and affordability initiatives in the aerospace industry.

Teijin Aramid is a global leader in high-performance aramid fiber, a subsidiary of the global Teijin Group. Specializing in high-performance aramid fibers, their materials are used in automotive and aerospace industries, ballistic protection and more.

Latest developments in the sustainable textile industry will be introduced and discussed at the “Cellulose Fibres Conference 2025 – New with Biosynthetics” in Cologne, Germany and online, on 12-13 March 2025. Abstract submission is now open.

In 2024, 214 participants enjoyed two conference days in Cologne or online. The highlights were 40 presentations with lively panel discussions afterwards, the innovation award “Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year”, an exhibition, the poster session and plenty of networking possibilities. All of this will be repeated in 2025, including new topics, new speakers and new inputs. The “Cellulose Fibres Conference 2025” will again cover the entire value chain, from lignocellulose, chemical pulp, cellulose fibres such as rayon, viscose, modal or lyocell and new developments to a wide range of applications, e.g. textiles from renewable fibres, nonwovens such as wet wipes and composites, hygiene and packaging. The conference will further address topics like circular economy, fibre-to-fibre recycling and sustainable carbon cycles, biosynthetics, new technologies and feedstocks.

Call for Abstracts
Enterprises and research institutes are invited to contribute to the program and present their innovative products, technologies or developments. Deadline for submission is 30 September 2024.
cellulose-fibres.eu/call-for-abstracts

Call for Innovations
The conference will conclude with the innovation award “Cellulose Fibre Innovation 2025” whose winner can join the ranks of amazing innovations. The deadline for innovation submissions is 30 November 2024. The innovation award “Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year 2025” is sponsored by GIG Karasek.
cellulose-fibres.eu/award-application

Call for posters
The poster exhibition is highly anticipated event at the conference. Poster submissions are open until 31 January 2025.
cellulose-fibres.eu/call-for-posters

Die ASGLAWO technofibre GmbH (ASGLAWO) und ASGLAFORM composites GmbH, zwei Unternehmen der ASGLAWO group, präsentieren ihre neuesten Entwicklungen im Bereich der Technischen Textilien und Vliesstoffe auf der Techtextil 2024.

Die Highlights umfassen unter anderem neue Materialkompositionen und verbesserte Verarbeitungstechniken. Die Produkte der ASGLAWO group finden vielseitigen Einsatz in anspruchsvollen Branchen. Hitzeschutzlösungen werden in der Automobilindustrie, im Maschinenbau und in der Luftfahrt verwendet. Die Brandschutzmaterialien bieten Sicherheit in der Bauindustrie, in öffentlichen Einrichtungen und im Transportwesen. Schallschutzprodukte verbessern die Lebens- und Arbeitsqualität in der Baubranche, im Fahrzeugbau und in der Industrieanlagenfertigung. Darüber hinaus werden die Verstärkungsstoffe in der Produktion von Verbundmaterialien für die Automobilindustrie, den Bootsbau und den Sportgerätebau gebraucht.

Mit der ASGLAPLATE Bodenschutzplatte, die ebenfalls auf der Techtextil gezeigt wird, ist in diesem Jahr die eigene innovative Produktentwicklung durch die Tochterfirma ASGLAFORM composites GmbH erfolgt. Von Bauunternehmen, Baumaschinenherstellern, Infrastruktur- und Logistikunternehmen bis zur Automobilindustrie, der Agrar-, Forst- und Landwirtschaft sichert die ASGLAPLATE durch einen Glasfaser-integrierten Kunststoff die einfache und schnelle Unversehrtheit des Bodens.

The EPTA – European Pultrusion Technology Association in cooperation with the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) invites you to the 17th World Pultrusion Conference which takes place on 29 February – 1 March 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.

This conference takes place every two years and is the meeting point of the European and worldwide Pultrusion Industry. More than 25 international speakers from Finland, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK, USA, Canada and others will present practical presentations about innovative applications, technologies and processes. Equally current market trends and developments are on the agenda.

This World Pultrusion Conference takes place again in the week before the JEC World Composites Show (5-7 March 2024, Paris).

The program is available here.

From April 25^th to 27^th, 2023, the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM) of TU Dresden will be exhibiting at the pavilion SAXONY! at JEC World 2023.

The ITM will provide a comprehensive overview of its current research in the field of machine and product development along the entire textile process chain.

The upcoming JEC 2023 exhibition will highlight innovative Customised Connective Cores (CCC), which are custom-made core-insert structures additively manufactured using cellular metal and a form-fit integrated insert. These CCCs can be seamless integrated either as patches or as full-surface core material into lightweight panels, offering significantly improved load-bearing behavior (especially 4 times the load-bearing capacity and fail-safe behavior) compared to existing technologies. This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for fastening lightweight panels.

Another highlight at the exhibition is the repair process for fibre-reinforced composites (FRP) developed at the ITM. Instead of mechanically grinding the damaged area, the matrix in the repair area is locally dissolved using a UV-rays-induced depolymerisation process. Damaged fibres can thus be replaced by a customized repair patch. Free yarn ends on the textile repair patches are spliced with the UV-exposed yarn ends in the repair area using an adapted splicing process. In this way, a very clean, simplified and mechanically improved repair area can be achieved compared to the state of the art.

The diverse possibilities offered by the structure and process simulation of textile high-performance materials and textile manufacturing processes will also be presented. By means of multi-scale modelling and simulation, a profound understanding of materials and processes is achieved at the ITM. Finite element models on the micro, meso and macro scale have been developed and validated for this purpose. Examples from current ITM research projects demonstrate the various possibilities and areas of application of modern simulation methods in the field of textile technology.

Moreover, an innovative process for the integral manufacturing of 3D rib-stiffened preforms with complexly arranged stiffeners in 0°, 90° and ± 45° orientation was developed and successfully implemented at the ITM. Due to the process-integrated structure fixation and the continuous fibre reinforcement between shell and rib structure, the 3D preforms are perfectly suited for the production of highly load-bearing FRP components with increased bending stiffness, which will be exhibited at JEC. Hence, the lightweight construction potential of high-performance fibres can be fully exploited.

A successfully established development are partially flowable 2D textile reinforcement fabrics that are continuously manufactured in one single process step. For this purpose, the entire process chain was developed at the ITM, which allows a cost-effective and high-volume production of load-bearing thermoplastic 3D FRP components with continuous fibre reinforcement between shell and stiffeners.

At JEC 2023, the ITM will also present a partially embedded textile latice girder as reinforcement for carbon concrete applications, which was produced by means of an innovative textile manufacturing process based on the multiaxial warp knitting technology. Through the development of a customized warp insertion, manipulation and take-off system as well as appropriate shaping methods, it is now possible to produce tailored textile semi-finished products, e.g. for use in wall and ceiling panels. These textile latice girders represent a resource-saving alternative to conventional steel girders due to the reduced among of concrete required and the additional cavity for media and cable guidance.

The integration of textile actuators and sensors in FRP provides structures with additional functionalities. The research and application of such interactive FRP with different matrix materials (e.g. with thermoset, elastomer or concrete matrix systems) for structural health monitoring or adaptive systems is one of the key research areas of the ITM.

Moreover, the development and implementation of innovative yarn constructions based on recycled high-performance fibres (e.g. rCF, rGF, rAR) for sustainable FRPs is successfully promoted at ITM. By use of a special carding machine, recycled fibres are opened up, separated and joined to form a wide, uniform ribbon. Subsequently, innovative hybrid yarn constructions made of evenly mixed recycled high-performance and thermoplastic fibres with variable fibre volume fractions can be manufactured by means of various spinning technologies. Selected yarn constructions and components will be showcased at JEC.