From the Sector

EURATEX has just released its Spring report, offering a detailed insight into trade figures for the European textile and apparel industry in 2021. The numbers are encouraging: comparing with the dramatic corona-year 2020, EU exports of textile and clothing articles increased by +10.6%, while imports dipped by -7.5%. As a result, the EU trade deficit improved, even it remains significant (- €48 billion).

Furthermore, import prices went slightly down in clothing and dropped in textiles, following a strong decrease of Chinese import prices of face masks and protective medical supplies.

The boost in exports was mainly due to strong performance on the Swiss, Chinese and US markets. On the other side, EU sales of textile & clothing to the United Kingdom fell sharply (-23%), due to Brexit new requirements, customs’ delays and shortage of truck drivers.  Imports from the EU top supplier, China, plunged by -28%, corresponding to €13 billion. Similarly, textile and clothing imports from the United Kingdom recorded a sharp decrease over the period (-48%, equal to €-3 billion).

Director General Dirk Vantyghem commented: “the 2021 export figures, presented in this Spring report, confirm that EURATEX members have gained momentum; even if energy prices are causing some serious short-term disruptions, our long-term ambition remains to be a world leader on sustainable textiles.”

The international trade dimension is indeed critical for the competitiveness of the European textile ecosystem, and needs to be fully embedded in the EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The Commission insists that “all textile products placed on the EU market, are durable, free of hazardous substances, produced respecting social standards…” This is an essential condition to create a level playing field between all textile and apparel companies, regardless of their production base. With €100 billion of imports, and over 20 billion of “foreign” textile items put on the Single Market, this requires a dramatic upscaling of market surveillance, without however disrupting fluid supply chains.

Looking at the impact of war in Ukraine, EURATEX has strongly condemned the Russian aggression, and offered support to the Ukrainian textile industry. Ukraine offers valuable sourcing opportunities for European textile and apparel brands, as part of a broader nearshoring trend, which seems to emerge from the trade figures.

Montalvo, an international specialist in Web Tension Control and Web Handling, publishes an article educating users on how to troubleshoot and test Load Cells. Load Cells play an integral role in measuring the Web Tension throughout the process, and as such, they must be accurate and function properly at all times. Furthermore, they are required to perform in every environment, which, at times, can present numerous challenges to their functionality, and thus knowing how to troubleshoot Loads Cells could shorten machine downtime. In this brief article, Montalvo explains why Load Cells fail and provides four ways to troubleshoot, diagnose and solve any missed performance features.  
 
Doug Brockelbank, Director of Technical Sales and Service, says, “Providing high-quality products is one thing; but providing technical support 5, 10, and even 20 years after the products were installed is entirely different. Montalvo’s technical support and services are one of our known key differentiators in the market, and we pride ourselves on it. Our Load Cells are designed to work in the roughest environments without any difficulties. But as rare as it is, Load Cells can start to miss perform, and in this case, our customers know that Montalvo is here for them. The goal of our internal sales support and technical services team is to provide our customers with the support they require, whether that be videos, technical articles, or in-person or over-the-phone support.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) reported a strong 1Q22 result, building on its record FY 2021 performance as the pandemic continued to retreat, driving demand across the company’s global integrated portfolio.

IVL achieved 1Q22 Core EBITDA of US$650 million, up 41% QoQ and 77% YoY, and a 4% increase in production volumes to 3.80 MMT. All three of IVL’s business segments grew as the company’s leading global position benefited overall in an environment of higher crude oil prices, increased ocean freight rates and a strengthening US dollar, led by resurging consumer demand and global mobility.

IVL’s Integrated Oxides and Derivatives (IOD) business benefits from a high crude oil price environment, as its shale gas advantage supports MTBE and MEG margins. As ocean freight rates increase, IVL’s PET and Fibers segments gain due to increased import parity pricing in Western markets, where about two thirds of its portfolio is situated. Management’s agile response to hedging and levying surcharges has helped to partially recuperate the surge in energy and utility costs in Europe as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The re-opening of economies bodes well for demand across IVL’s portfolio. However, China’s ongoing pandemic lockdowns impacted downstream polyester demand resulting in weakened MEG spreads. IVL’s businesses trade in US dollars and a strengthening dollar has positive impact, reducing conversion costs in emerging economies where IVL has a strong local presence.

Combined PET segment reported Core EBITDA of US$435 million, up 63% QoQ and 67% YoY supported by the reset of PTA/PET contracts at the end of 2021. IVL expects the tight supply-demand environment to continue through 2022, boosted by the upcoming peak summer season.

IOD segment achieved Core EBITDA of US$126 million, up 3% QoQ and 258% YoY as MTBE margins benefited from higher crude oil prices, demand remains strong for downstream products, and as the commissioning of the Lake Charles cracker contributes to earnings in 2022. The integration of the Oxiteno acquisition, completed in April, will bring additional upside to IOD from 2Q22.

Fibers segment delivered Core EBITDA of US$85 million, an increase of 4% QoQ and 17% YoY. Demand across the three Fibers verticals is stable with domestic sales yielding better profitability, while higher freight rates weighed on margins on export volumes from Thailand, Indonesia and India, and increased energy and utility costs impacted European operations.

1Q22 Performance Highlights

• Consolidated Revenue of US$4,444M, an increase of 12% QoQ and 37% YoY
• Record Reported EBITDA of US$784M, a YoY growth of 63%, and Core EBITDA of US$650M, a YoY growth of 77%
• Production volumes up 4% YoY to 3.80 MMT
• Reported Net Profit of THB 14,070M, Core Net Profit of THB 10,578M
• Reported EPS of THB 2.47 (LTM1Q22: 5.98) and Core EPS of THB 1.85 (LTM1Q22:4.96)
• Record Core EBITDA Margin at 15%

Huntsman Textile Effects has introduced NOVACRON® Atlantic EC-NC, one of the the industry’s first blue elements that delivers chlorine- and nitrogen oxide (NOx)-fastness alongside lightfastness for textiles, ensuring garments to look as good as new for longer.

The NOVACRON® Atlantic EC-NC blue element completes Huntsman Textile Effects’ Non-Contrasting Concept and addresses the challenges faced by mills to deliver:

• Improved light-, perspiration- and chlorine-fastness
  Ideal for the production of light-medium shades of towels and bedding and T-shirts, shirts and trousers, the dye meets the most stringent home laundering program requirements of US and Japanese brands, and also performs well in other markets where chlorine is added to water supplies.
• High NOx resistance
  NOx present in the air makes textile products more susceptible to fading during transportation, storage and retail display. The high NOx resistance of NOVACRON® Atlantic EC-NC enables mills and brands to achieve positive differentiation with textiles that are less likely to fade.
• Operational excellence
  With unique application properties for both exhaust and pad processes, and outstanding compatibility with all other trichromatic dyes, NOVACRON® Atlantic EC-NC is a breakthrough in right first-time production.

The innovative IP-protected NOVACRON® Atlantic EC-NC dye is also a great addition to the successful NOVACRON® NC concept for earth tone colors. The earth tones – from sand to brown, olive, beige, khaki and grey – are popular in casual wear and sports apparel, as well as for home and hospitality textile products such as furnishing, towels and bedding.

The global composites community reunited at JEC WORLD 2022 on May 3rd to 5th for three days of innovation, networking and knowledge sharing. The industry was excited to reconnect in Paris after three years and the show exceeded all expectations in terms of product launches, content, business activity and attendance. Overall, the event welcomed 32,000+ professional visits, in Paris and online, from more than 115 countries and featured 1,201 exhibitors and 26 pavilions, whilst the JEC World Connect platform offered an additional way to explore the show this year.

While fewer Asian participants were able to join the show this year due to travel complexities, the attendance of a high level of decision makers from 117 countries and all key players along the value chain resulted in a dynamic environment for networking and business. As a consequence, companies were keen to confirm their presence next year; by the time the show closed its doors, 50% of JEC World 2023 exhibition space had already been booked.  Exhibitors and attendees have expressed very positive feedback about the quality of the exhibition and such a successful come-back of JEC World as the pinnacle event of the industry.

Innovations at JEC World
With more than 500 product launches during this year’s show, JEC World remains a popular venue to introduce new products to the global market.

The JEC Composites Innovation Awards celebrated 10 collaborative projects, reflecting the dynamism and the resilience of our industry, and two Innovation Planets displayed 80 impressive applications.

Celebrating its five-year anniversary, the JEC Composites Startup Booster competition is now established to discover startups in the advanced composites sector.

JEC World contributing to a more sustainable world
JEC World’s conference program shone a light on this year’s theme and most impactful topic: Composites for a Sustainable World. Sustainability continues to rise as a key growth driver for the composites industry, enabling diverse application sectors to achieve ambitious sustainability goals, from energy and transportation, to building and infrastructure, and so many more. JEC World highlighted how the growing application of composites will open up exciting new horizons for human activities, improving people’s lives and leading to a better, more sustainable world.

International community
Three Country on Stage presentations showcased the structure and strengths of the composites industries of South Korea, the Netherlands and the United States. The program featured keynote presentations and business cases which demonstrate the countries’ composites expertise  in hydrogen, in sustainable excellence, and innovation in building and mobility, respectively.

Ministers, ambassadors and official representatives from 16 countries also visited the show as part of dedicated official delegation tours from the United States, Turkey, Hungary, Taiwan, Portugal, Croatia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Germany, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Sweden and Spain.

Thus, JEC World was the opportunity for government representatives to meet the leading composites actors of their respective regions or markets and show their support. Official inaugurations also took place on the Dutch, American and British pavilions.

The Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) will be presenting innovative highlights from research and development at Techtextil 2022, the international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. In addition to a warp-knitted textile façade greening in a modular system and textile lightweight construction elements for the building sector made from hemp as a renewable raw material, the STFI will also be showing innovations from nonwovens research. The project optiformTEX is an example of the nonwovens competence: in this project, the mass per unit area was specifically influenced for the production of semi-finished products in the automotive sector. Furthermore, the Chemnitz Institute exhibits an ecological foam coating for protective textiles. Central highlight of the STFI's presence at the fair is also a mobile robot system, which demonstrates the automated loading of a small-scale bobbin creel.

Highlights at Techtextil 2022
The greened façade tile is a system with which large building surfaces can be cost-effectively greened through a simple, modular segment structure. In addition to insulating the building, the system has been created to meet the design requirements of a modern city centre; low-maintenance greening is made possible through functional integration in the textile carrier layer and coordinated plant selection.

Moulded components made of natural fibre nonwovens are increasingly used in the automotive sector. Conventional nonwovens currently have uniform masses per unit area. Technical solutions for load-oriented component reinforcement and the resulting optimised use of materials represent an enormous economic potential. The basic idea of “optiformTEX” was therefore to specifically influence the mass per unit area distribution in the pile before the semi-finished product is consolidated. As a result, a textile-technological process and the corresponding plant component were successfully developed.

Future-oriented materials are offered by developments from the field of renewable raw materials in combination with bio-based resin systems: In the “Gro-Coce” project, an innovative ceiling system was developed by combining sustainable building products and methods. Currently, a high-performance hemp-based semi-finished product as well as the steps for its reproducible production by means of textile surface formation is developed by the research team. Initial application and load tests of the hemp-based semi-finished products on wooden beams confirmed the high performance potential of the natural fibre materials.

Special functional textiles are based on composite materials with coatings or membranes. The previous production of the coatings/membranes poses ecological and health risks. At STFI, solvent-free, purely aqueous coating systems and a technology for their application were therefore developed for the protective textile sector, resulting in a breathable, waterproof and wash-resistant textile coating.

The central highlight of the STFI's presence at the fair is a mobile robot system, which demonstrates the automated loading of a small-scale bobbin creel. At the STFI, the robot is part of the “textile factory of the future”, where a play mat is woven and processed step by step along the textile chain.

• Continued focus on sizeable investments in innovation and sustainability.
• Underway in India, the acquisition of the Engineering Plastics business of Ester Industries Ltd. with the objective of keeping up the Group’s global growth trend

With total sales of EUR 1.508 million generated by over 30 production and sales units in Europe, Asia and America, RadiciGroup closed its 2021 financial year with positive results, despite the difficulties due to the lingering effects of the pandemic and the steep increase in the cost of raw materials and energy, especially during the latter part of the year.

The Group – led by brothers Angelo, Maurizio and Paolo Radici – continued to pursue its strategy of focusing on the core businesses considered to be strategic and synergistic, such as nylon chemicals, engineering polymers and advanced textile solutions, while, at the same time,  introducing new products, such as a line of personal protective equipment for medical and industrial use.

EBITDA reached EUR 268 million, and net income for the year was EUR 150 million.

Despite this situation, RadiciGroup considers it essential to continue making investments.

“In 2021, the Group invested EUR 53 million financed from cash flow,” Alessandro Manzoni, CFO of RadiciGroup, emphasized. “There was no impact on net financial position, which registered an improvement over 2020, as did all our balance sheet ratios."

Furthermore, in spite of the complexity of the period, in 2022 the Group shareholders have kept on with their significant investment plan aimed at strengthening RadiciGroup’s presence in global markets and improving its competitiveness.

Indeed, the Group has moved forward, according to plan, with the acquisition of the Engineering Plastics business of Ester Industries Ltd., an India-based company engaged for decades in the production of engineering polymers and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. RadiciGroup’s EUR 35 million investment in this transaction furthers the internationalization strategy of its High Performance Polymers business area.

Following their merger, Freudenberg Performance Materials, Low & Bonar, Mehler Texnologies® and Filc will be presenting their innovative solutions at a joint stand for the first time at this year’s techtextil exhibition in Frankfurt. The focus is on sustainability. Among the highlights are Evolon® RE, a microfilament textile for a wide variety of applications and markets, FILFLEX, a sustainable padding material for car seat covers, and the truck tarpaulin POLYMAR® 8556 ECO CF. Customers will find the world's leading manufacturer of technical textiles at Stand C51 in Hall 12.1.

Evolon® textiles made from recycled PET
With Evolon® RE, Freudenberg Performance Materials is presenting an even more sustainable version of its high-performance microfilament textiles. Evolon® RE is manufactured from an average of 70% recycled polyester, which the company makes by cycling post-consumer PET bottles in-house. Evolon® RE products are available for various applications such as technical packaging, in weights currently ranging from 80g/sqm to 300g/sqm. For high-tech wiping, lightweight Evolon® RE is now available starting from 30g/sqm. The material meets the needs of cleaning specialists for more sustainable wiping solutions. Evolon® RE offers the same high quality and material performance as all other Evolon® textiles.

Tarpaulins made from recycled raw materials presented by Mehler Texnologies®
When it comes to tarpaulins on trucks, both protection of the transport cargo and advertising for the transport company place high demands on the material. Mehler Texnologies® tarpaulin material ranks among the premium products for truck tarpaulins. The company is a pioneer in sustainable development and is showcasing POLYMAR® 8556 ECO CF. This unique material has a 25% share of recycled raw materials in the coating mass. In addition, the material is made with 100% R-PES yarns. The input materials undergo a complex separation and filtering process.

Sustainable padding material for automotive and furniture seat covers presented by FILC
FILFLEX is a soft and flexible padding layer made from nonwovens for automotive and furniture seat covers. It prevents leather from creasing and improves the dimensional stability of the seat covers. In terms of sustainability, its benefit is its 100% PET composition, making FILFLEX easy to recycle. FILFLEX offers customers easier handling during sewing and the seat covering process. End users benefit from the high seating comfort.

• ROICA™ V550 by Asahi Kasei for its responsible RF (Residual Free) line

Innova Fabrics, the Italian manufacturer of knitted fabrics for apparel, underwear and sports, confirms its choice of ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei, the Japanese leader of premium stretch fiber, for its new responsible line RF (Residual Free).

Despite the deep-rooted history of the company's team in the world of textiles, Innova Fabrics is a reality that is not afraid to innovate with a focus on environmental sustainability. As a result of its push for local production and attention to third-party sustainability certifications (including OEKO-TEX Standard 100, one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances), Innova Fabrics continues its promise of responsibility with an enrichment of its conscious proposals. In the last season, Innova has increased its smart proposition by launching the RF (Residual Free) line, with the aim of reducing the impact of microplastics residues produced by the fashion industry. This is possible thanks to the combination of two responsible ingredients: SENSIL® Biocare by Nilit and ROICA™ V550 by Asahi Kasei.

SENSIL® BioCare is the premium, sustainable nylon 6.6 fiber enriched with a special technology that helps reduce the persistence of textile waste in the ocean and landfills by acting during and after the product's life cycle. Therefore, if the microplastics in SENSIL® BioCare garments are released during washing, they will decompose much faster than conventional Nylon 6.6 fibers, reducing textile waste. ROICA™ V550, part of the ROICA Eco-Smart™ family, is the premium, sustainable stretch yarn that degrades without releasing harmful substances into the environment, according to the Hohenstein's environmental certification. ROICA™ V550 also carries the Gold Level Material Health certificate from the Cradle-to-Cradle Product Innovation Institute, which evaluated the yarn's impact on human and environmental health. The strong relationship established between Innova Fabrics and ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei is a long-standing one: from the very beginning, the textile company chose ROICA™ as its main reference for premium stretch, using ROICA Colour Perfect™ in most of its articles. Having experienced the innovation of the ROICA™ line dedicated to high-quality color, Innova decided to opt for the ROICA Eco-Smart™ line as part of the extension of its environmentally conscious line.

Thanks to the constant synergy with its premium partner in innovative and responsible stretch, Innova continues its path towards a textile and fashion industry that respects the planet, without forgetting profit. And this is just the beginning. Innova Fabrics pieces containing SENSIL® BioCare and ROICA™ V550

• with a ready-to-use swatch book dedicated to its DEEP DIVE sustainable dyeing system for dark, popular color basics

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, launches its first ever ready-to-use swatch book, dedicated to creating sustainable black and dark color basics for faster time to market, to support its popular DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

In 2018, Archroma launched its system solutions, a holistic approach aimed at addressing the growing expectations of the public in terms of keeping consumers, and the environment, safe.
Under the umbrella of "The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: Safe, efficient, enhanced, it's our nature", the Archroma systems are designed to create innovation and performance, whilst reducing the impacts on water, energy and other natural resources. The savings generated by these 70+ system solutions are demonstrated by Archroma's proprietary ONE WAY Impact Calculator, a ground-breaking tool launched in 2012 and continuously upgraded to simulate and optimize the footprint of textile application processes.

One of these systems, DEEP DIVE 2.0, has attracted a lot of interest not just from textile manufacturers but also from major brands and retailers worldwide. This popular system combines Drimaren® Ultimate HD, high-performance reactive dyes, with Blue Magic, an all-in-one pretreatment, Optifix® RUB New liq and Siligen® SIH-S New liq, a finishing treatment improved rub fastness and elegant hand feel, and an effective hydrolyzed dye remover, Cyclanon® XC-W New liq. The result is a shorter dyeing process combining right-first-time productivity, an improved fabric quality for longer lasting end-articles, as well as dramatically reduced water and energy utilization for brands committed to drive more sustainable production. Savings can reach up to 31% water and 34% energy.

The system is ideally suited for medium and dark cottons that have high performing fastness to light, multiple home laundering, saliva – in other words: apparel used for fashion, sports and baby’s wear.
At the same time, interested manufacturers and brands were facing the constant challenge of the fashion industry: time to market.

Often design is separated from execution in the factory and as such often designers initially select color that cannot be met in reality on different fibers or production routes in terms of color flare, metamerism, brightness, depth and now sustainable metrics – leading to lengthy delays and compromises in function, performance and/or color.
Archroma decided to create a dedicated tool aimed at addressing these issues. The company developed a new, unique book with color swatches made with the system that is ready to implement immediately into production thanks to engineered color standards and specifications.

This new tool offers a path to bridge the gap between “art and science” by providing at inspiration phase fully executable deep colors for cotton with controlled color metamerism and at the same time demonstrate water, energy and chemical savings, enhanced color fastness using safe chemistry for the end consumer. As a wardrobe staple, medium to dark shades are very popular with consumers. As a result, most brands and retailers often have and sell up to 60% of medium to dark shades in their seasonal palettes. It’s also the dark shades that use the most water and energy in production, so prioritizing these colors would have the largest ecological positive impact. The 48 colors swatched in the DEEP DIVE 2.0 book have been selected based on market popularity to allow brands and manufacturers to match that very stable market demand. Customers may use these colors as presented, or as inspiration whereby Archroma can create and match new custom colors using the DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

Christophe Maestripieri, Global Head of the Archroma Brand Studio, the company’s department dedicated to support brands’ projects and innovations, explains: “We wanted to make sure our partners have all the tools they need to convert to more sustainable colors. We had the ideal dyeing system to do that, DEEP DIVE 2.0, with its high performance and reduced impacts on resources. Now, with the new DEEP DIVE 2.0 swatch book, we also offer to brands and manufacturers a way to select sustainable color options that meet the market demand for high quality medium to dark shades which can be implemented into production right away.”