From the Sector

Composites use in Building and Construction will be highlighted at JEC newest event dedicated to this specific Composites Industry next month in Chicago, IL, USA. The numerous and diverse benefits that these innovative materials bring to the Building Industry will help overcome the coming challenges such as, urbanization, increase of natural disasters (floods, storms, tsunamis, earthquakes…), along with the decrease of non-renewable raw materials and the high standard levels set by the society in terms of lightness and fluidity. Composites Materials bring answers and opportunities to tackle those issues in sustainable, durable and reliable manners. Solutions like ease of fabrication (Owens Corning), structures durability (Biteam), anti-seismic reinforcement (DowAksa), use of end-of-life products such as recycled bottles of water (Premier Composites Technologies), aerial forms (Optima Projects Ltd) or again energy saving (Armageddon Energy).

Following its strategy to address every Composites End-user, the JEC Innovation Awards will reward these 6 Composites Innovators in Building & Construction that will change the way we build.
If the majority of submissions relied on glass fibers, which is common in the Construction field, we see an increased interest in carbon fibers, especially for structural applications. And similarly to all sectors of the composite industry, thermoplastics are gaining in importance in Construction. Therefore, to promote the growing use of composites as a construction material, 6 categories are awarded, covering a large panel of applications and possibilities.

Compared to the past years we are a little late in advertising the upcoming 13th China International Recycled Polyester Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai at September 05 – 06, but as during the past twelve years we are expecting again an succesful international event with a large number of Mainland Chinese and Oversees delegates, speakers, exhibitiors and sponsors. The Conferece venue is the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao this year, which is located near the Hongqiao Airport and so about 30 min by car from the city and 15 min walking distance to the subway No. 6. With a production of about 8 Mio t/a the Chinese polyester recyclers are producing all kind of textile intermediates like staple fiber, POY, DTY, FDY, BCF, technical yarn and spunbond products based on mainly PET bottle flakes. Meanwhile also bottle-to-bottle and bottle-to-film or strapping technology is on the way. Therefore conference and exhibition are an ideal meeting place for those who are involved in the whole production chain including engineering and equipment manufacturer. Very interesting will be discussion and latest information about the impact of new governmental action to improve environmental standards. This new development might be of importance especially for those who are involved in raw material sourcing.

German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries presented the first-ever German Global Health Award at “Global Health – the International and the German Agenda”, an event with more than 200 participants from around 30 countries taking place in the context of the B20 Health Conference. The prize honours German companies, associations or individuals for innovative projects and partnerships in global health that contribute to health system strengthening in developing and emerging countries.

The German Global Health Award, under the patronage of Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries, is granted in two categories by the German Healthcare Partnership (GHP), the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and BIO Deutschland. Federal Minister Zypries lauded the work of the recipients, saying “Both projects demonstrate how the German healthcare sector drives innovation to attain the worthwhile goal of supporting global health at home and abroad,” adding, “The recognition of such work is especially important in the context of the meeting of the Health Ministers of the G20 countries taking place in Berlin later this week.”

Pilatus is displaying the PC-24 at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition, taking place in Geneva on May 22-24. This highly versatile jet is able to take off and land on very short runways and unpaved strips due in part to the composite-intensive structure, which makes great use of Hexcel’s composite materials and adhesive.

Hexcel’s HexPly® 8552 woven prepreg in carbon and glass variants is used to manufacture a number of the aircraft components including the belly fairing, which is the largest composite structure on the aircraft. HexPly® 8552 is one of Hexcel’s most successful and widely used prepregs for aircraft programs including commercial aircraft and fighter jets. Hexcel’s Redux® 319 epoxy film adhesive is also used for bonding the composite structures. The PC-24 is in the final stages of its certification program following the first flight of the third and final test aircraft on March 6 2017. The aircraft is scheduled for certification and entry into service in the 4th quarter 2017. Pilatus has so far secured 84 orders for the PC-24, which equates to three years of production.

An exhibit at the recent Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) annual meeting in Washington promoted the value of doing business with a Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified launderer. More than 120 attendees learned how the certification verifies laundries’ best management practices (BMPs) and quantifies laundered product cleanliness. The display marked the first such promotion of Hygienically Clean Healthcare to an outpatient medical market. Previous exhibits touted the certification to hospital audiences: the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Like members of those groups, most ASCA participants interviewed were industry customers, but represented a wider variety of professions, including M.D. owners and these job titles:

• Administrator • Business Manager
• CEO, President, CFO, COO
• Chief Medical Officer
• Clinical Coordinator, Director
• Nursing Director
• Regional Director, VP

Roughly 10 percent of the visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit on May 3-5 expressed concern about the product and service quality of their linen, uniform and facility services providers. Using a Hygienically Clean certified launderer addresses quality concerns, they were told, as inspectors focus on a facility’s quality assurance manual as the hub of control measures (BMPs) that minimize potential for error. In addition, unlike Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) certification, Hygienically Clean microbial testing measures finished product quality, enforcing a total microbial content ceiling, including yeasts, molds and bacteria.

 ActiveSeam, Merrow's newest technology, is poised to revolutionize medical and compression garment manufacturing by replacing the traditional flatlock seam with a flatter, stronger stitch. The new Activeseam for Compression is set to be introduced in new product by a global medical device company in late 2017 or early 2018, leveraging Merrow's new MB-4DFO 2.5 series industrial sewing machine-- now available through regional distribution in 87 countries. Additionally, ActiveSeam is the world's first branded stitch, bringing a distinctive value to retail products.
Why is ActiveSeam great for medical and compression garments?

- With a flat profile and twice the stretch built into the seam, ActiveSeam garments are extraordinarily comfortable and do not restrict movement
- ActiveSeam replaces Flatlock with a stronger, more elastic, and infinitely more attractive seam construction that is ideal for specialized applications like Medical Compression garments
- When compared to a 6-thread flatlock seam with identical thread, fabric, and SPI, Merrow ActiveSeam 2 & 3-thread seams proved to be more than 30% stronger and had the ability to stretch (linear travel) 100% further
- ActiveSeam is almost undetectable when applied next to skin
- With more stretch built into the seam, the garment can be designed to fit the human body better without restricting athletic movement
ActiveSeam is uniquely suited for any application that entails a garment's seams be pressed against skin because of its extremely flat profile, flexibility, and unparalleled comfort. This is great news for anyone who utilizes compression wear, particularly compression garments or athletic apparel, as ActiveSeam substantially increases pliability and improves overall fit.

  The new cutting room will expand the German car parts maker’s airbag cutting capacity in Europe. This latest collaboration between Lectra and its longtime customer builds on a mutual relationship of trust reaching back to previous ZF TRW projects in Portugal, Poland, Mexico and China. Having recently devised a worldwide airbag growth strategy, the company turned once more to Lectra to help reinforce the capacity of its European manufacturing base.
Early in 2016, Lectra unveiled the revolutionary FocusQuantum range, leading to certification of the integrated airbag cutting solution by the customer’s cutting room managers across the globe. Later that year, ZF TRW also certified Lectra’s FocusQuantum Suite cutting preparation software. The stringent process carried out by ZF TRW bore out the productivity, performance and quality of the state-of-the-art airbag cutting solution and advanced software system.

“By evaluating the solution in accordance with established practices, we were able to confirm that FocusQuantum will help satisfy the projected output of our newest facility,” notes Victor Seoane, head of Global Manufacturing Engineering for Inflatable Restraint Systems, ZF TRW. "We were impressed by the innovation that Lectra’s FocusQuantum offers, enabling us to significantly reduce our cutting cost per bag."
“With this new collaboration, Lectra demonstrates yet again the added value built into the integrated design of FocusQuantum,” states Céline Choussy Bedouet, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lectra. "The acquisition of two FocusQuantum will enable ZF TRW to meet short-term productivity objectives while also laying the foundation for future growth.”

Unter dem Thema „Nachhaltigkeit als Chance für den Textilservice, seine Lieferanten und Kunden“ hatten die Vereinigung MaxTex und der Wirtschaftsverband Textil Service (WIRTEX) das 3. MaxTex Forum in Berlin organisiert. Auch der Deutsche Textil Reinigungsverband (DTV) hatte seine Mitglieder zu diesem hochkarätigen Tag im Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit eingeladen. Die Teilnehmer im vollbesetzten großen Saal des Ministeriums erlebten eine spannende Reise von textilen Rohstoffen bis zum Endkunden und - für einige überraschend - zurück zum Rohstoff. Kreislaufwirtschaft par exellence.

Rückenwind aus dem Ministerium
Gerhard Becker, MaxTex-Geschäftsführer, und Dr. Andreas Marek, Geschäftsführer von WIRTEX, eröffneten die Veranstaltung. „Gastgeber“ Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Staatssekretär im Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, dankte den Verbänden für ihr Engagement und stärkte den Rücken der Unternehmen aus der Textilwirtschaft, die sich Ihrer Verantwortung bewusst seien und sich für eine transparente und nachhaltige Entwicklung einsetzen. Er unterstrich, dass 90 % der finanziellen Mittel im Rahmen der wirtschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit aus dem privaten Sektor kämen.

Nach zwei Jahren ist es wieder soweit: Unter dem Motto „Connecting the Future“ präsentieren in Frankfurt vom 9. bis 12. Mai auf der Techtextil, der internationalen Leitmesse für technische Textilien und Vliesstoffe, 1.477 Aussteller aus 55 Ländern das gesamte Spektrum der Einsatzmöglichkeiten textiler Materialien und Technologien. Mit dabei – die textile Industrie aus Baden-Württemberg. Auf einem großen Gemeinschaftsstand, organisiert und durchgeführt von Baden-Württemberg International (bw-i) gemeinsam mit der Allianz Faserbasierte Werkstoffe Baden-Württemberg (AFBW) und dem Wirtschafts- und Arbeitgeberverband Südwesttextil, zeigt sie den Fachbesuchern ihre textilen Produktneuheiten.

Ein echter Eyecatcher der Standarchitektur ist die Theke: In den Landesfarben schwarz und gelb leuchtet der Meeting Point aus Ettlin-Lux®-Gewebe der Firma Ettlin in dreidimensionalen Lichtstrukturen und ist nur ein Beispiel für die innovative Vielfalt aus Baden-Württemberg. Insgesamt 16 Aussteller präsentieren ihre kreativen Produkte: neueste Elastic- und Umwindegarne bis zu einer Feinheit von 5 dtex von Lederer Elastic-Garne aus Amstetten, Verbindungstechniken mit thermischen Füge-verfahren und Automatisierungstechnik von bielomatik Leuze aus Neuffen sowie 3D-Faser-Formteile hergestellt mit der zukunftsweisenden Faser-Einblastechnik von Fiber Engineering aus Karlsruhe.

 Technical textile producers are invited to discover the diverse finishing and innovative customisation opportunities possible with BTT’s advanced, fully automated line for Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE) and Polyester (PES) woven fabrics and nonwovens.
BTT’s extrusion coating process can apply a wide range of polymers as a liquid layer – one-sided, two-sided or multi-layer – to make a fabric printable and/or achieve specific protective and functional performance, including waterproofing, flame resistance and antistatic properties. Optional UV stabilisation is also offered. Transparent and white transparent, standard white and black, and coloured coating options are available. Coatings range from minimum 25-30 g/m² up to 450 g/m². As well as standard widths, BTT offers extensive possibilities to customise lengths and widths, with supplementary cutting provided on a separate line with up to 6 cutters in width.

In addition to extrusion coating, BTT is also equipped for extrusion laminating to support the production of composite structures.
Franky Viaene, Global Sales Manager Beaulieu Technical Textiles, comments: “As an established leader and driving force in technical textiles, Beaulieu Technical Textiles supports a wide range of customers in varied markets, and our expertise extends right through to the finishing process. Our in-house extrusion capabilities are available to external customers and we offer close technical collaboration to ensure the optimal treatment for the desired result for their application. We’re looking forward to discussing new possibilities for the industry to benefit from our support, starting at Techtextil.”