From the Sector

As of October 1st, 2019, the Netherlands-based global market leading manufacturer of advanced automation equipment and solutions for composites, Airborne, strengthens its activities particularly in German speaking countries, the so-called D-A-CH region, comprising Germany, Austria and Switzerland with Dr. Michael Effing from AMAC. The Dutch company is looking for specialised partnerships to develop and deepen its international business opportunities in the aerospace and automotive markets.

Airborne’s focus is on high-end composite components, at high production rates at radically low conversion costs. Airborne is building up a suite of automated solutions for the manufacturing of composites with the aim to radically reduce costs and touch labour, minimize the footprint and use of material, and improve the time to market for their clients. The company offers i.a. solutions in automated honeycomb potting, automated kitting and automated lamination of thermosets and thermoplastics. In order to develop new business opportunities in the D-A-CH region for the end-markets aerospace and automotive, Airborne is cooperating with AMAC to accelerate the process of locating suitable partnerships.

Dr. Effing, CEO of AMAC GmbH confirms: "As a first step for the establishment of Airborne on the German market, we just signed their membership at AZL in Aachen which will help to connect with over 80 companies and latest research developments. In the framework of theirstrategy to strengthen the supply to the aircraft sector, Airborne will also exhibit at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg from March 31st to April 2nd 2020.”

Deterioration in market segments Textile Fibers and Industrial Applications in the business unit CFM will be counteracted with various measures; strategic growth markets remain intact

• Continued weakness in the business unit Composites – Fibers & Materials (CFM) in the final quarter of 2019 due to the further weakening in the market segment Textile Fibers as well as the deteriorated economic environment in the market segment Industrial Applications leads to a guidance adjustment for the full year 2019
• Earnings deterioration at CFM triggers an impairment testing; impairment charge will become necessary
• Initial outlook for 2020
• Comprehensive measures initiated to improve earnings of the CFM business unit
• CFM strategic growth markets automotive and aerospace remain intact
• Growth in higher-margin aerospace business to be accelerated

While the preliminary results for the first nine months 2019 remain, overall, within the scope of the full year outlook outlined in the ad-hoc notification of August 14, 2019 (preliminary 9M/2019 recurring EBIT: Group: approx. €54 million, CFM: approx. minus €2 million, GMS: approx. €71 million, Corporate: approx. minus €15 million), continued weakness is becoming apparent for the final quarter 2019 in the reporting segment Composites – Fibers & Materials (CFM). This is due to the further weakening in the market segment Textile Fibers as well as the deteriorated economic environment in the market segment Industrial Applications.

SGL Carbon therefore now expects for the full year 2019 a recurring EBIT in the reporting segment CFM in a negative mid to high single digit million € amount (previous guidance: positive mid-single digit million € amount). This results in a Group recurring EBIT for the full year 2019 in the magnitude of €45 to 50 million (previous guidance: approx. €55 million).

The earnings deterioration at CFM triggers an impairment testing. Based on the preliminary status of the new five-year plan, a non-cash impairment charge of €70 to 80 million is becoming apparent in CFM mainly due to the lower starting point in 2019 as well as the ongoing weakness in the market segments Textile Fibers and Industrial Applications. This impairment charge will be recorded in the third quarter 2019. In recent years acquired assets of the former joint ventures with BMW and Benteler are not affected by this impairment.

Eco-friendly dyeing auxiliary saves time, water and energy by enabling pre-scouring, dyeing and reduction clearing in a single-bath
Huntsman Textile Effects introduces the breakthrough ERIOPON® E3-SAVE dyeing auxiliary for the new “single-bath scour-dye-reduction clear concept” providing the shortest possible processing cycle for polyester thus saving time, water, energy and cost.

The demand for polyester and man-made fibers is booming as sports and athleisure apparel markets expand rapidly around the world. At the same time, brands, consumers and mills are increasingly focused on sustainability and performance resulting in raising demand for optimization of the costly, time consuming and resource intensive polyester dyeing process.

Developed by Huntsman Textile Effects specifically to meet these challenges, the advanced all-in-one ERIOPON® E3-SAVE dyeing auxiliary is engineered to help the mills achieve considerable savings in the water, energy and time for the intensive process of dyeing polyester and its blends by combining pre-scouring, dyeing and reduction clearing in a single bath.

Graf introduces at ShanghaiTex three novelties for the textile market: a new card clothing with up to 30% longer lifetime, a height adjustable comb and a helpful solution for card clothing management.
MULTISHARP, the unique wear resistant alloy for card clothings, increases the lifetime of metallic card clothings on the cylinder by up to 30%. Additionally, the work load of the maintenance team can be minimized by providing longer service cycles and less unplanned downtimes.

The yield on raw material can be increased without compromising the quality requirements – thanks to the continuous height adjustability of the new combs series. The continuous and exact gap setting between nipper and circular comb on each individual combing head provides customers a new level on raw material utilization. Additionally, the maintenance people will appreciate the comfortable and easy installation of the circular comb.

With the card clothing management the overall investment costs can be reduced. This is based on minimizing the operational expenses including optimizing the overall equipment effectiveness. Graf’s card clothing management prolongs the lifetime of flexible flats by up to three times without comprising on the quality parameters throughout the entire life cycle.

Suessen presents the new compacting devices for high flexibility, new weighting arms and premium rotor spinning components for excellent yarn quality.
COMPACTeasy is the new mechanical compacting device available as a plugon/ plug-off unit for any ring spinning machine type and suitable for most common applications like cotton, man-made fibers and blends. COMPACTeasy is the solution in compacting without additional energy requirement.

New EliTe is a versatile compact-spinning system with new innovative components. The customers profit from higher productivity, better quality and lower operational costs. Upgrade packages and spare parts packages enable the customers to benefit also on existing installations.

The new Top Weighting Arm HP 4080 for roving frames offers a new design for easy settings and improved stability. In addition, consistent yarn quality over the lifetime is guaranteed.

"Fulfillment Hub” presentation will feature collaborations with major brands, thought leadership sessions
Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in digital textile printing technology, has announced the details of its presence at PRINTING United 2019, taking place in Dallas, Texas, October 23-25, 2019.

PRINTING United brings the North American public debut of Kornit’s Konnect software, a cloud software analytics platform that provides users a single comprehensive user interface to monitor and manage their productivity. This empowers customers to receive real-time data about their operations, prioritize, assess costs, troubleshoot, and set goals from the convenience of their laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Long-established expertise and bold imagination define a state-of-the-art collection, providing an overview of the company’s complete denim services. From the idea development to the finished garment, the project was entirely envisioned, advanced and manufactured by the leading international group.

Mastery and creativity belong to Elleti Group’s character since the very beginning of its journey in the textile industry. Enhancing its unique approach, which also combines a solid tradition of excellence and the commitment towards innovation, the company returns once again to Kingpins Amsterdam Show with an exclusive new project to be presented at Transformatorhuis – Booth T7.

Inspired by six great artistic movements from the past century, Out of the blue impressions is the special capsule collection reimagining the timeless beauty of art through a unique style that breaks new ground. Twelve garments, featuring denim and more, are the result of the in-house R&D team effort and commitment to the development of one-of-a-kind solutions.

Every piece was envisioned and advanced according to a fresh and disrupting approach to art, resulting in unprecedented interpretations of much loved art periods to be realized on special canvases through specific techniques.

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced that the company is joining the One Young World global movement and sending its first ever delegates to the Annual Summit which will take place in London, UK, from 22 to 25 October 2019.

The annual One Young World Summit convenes 2000+ bright young leaders from 190+ countries, working to accelerate social impact. At the Summit, delegates are counselled by influential political, business and humanitarian leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Paul Polman and Meghan Markle, amongst many other global figures.

The 3 Archroma delegates to the One Young World Summit 2019:

• Jane Zhu: Jane Zhu is a logistic specialist with more than 4 years of experience in customs clearance and transportation of goods.
• Raul Padilla: Raul Padilla is currently a sales manager for textile process chemicals and new markets, at Archroma in the US.
• Till Felippi: Till Felippi is a young digital business specialist with more than 10 years of experience and diverse know-how in communications, online marketing and web development.

There is currently frenzied activity and investment taking place to commercialise self-driving cars, involving both the established automotive manufacturers and the technology giants of Silicon Valley.

It is no exaggeration to say that this could completely reshape the landscape of the global automotive industry once again – even after the massive shifts that have occurred since the beginning of the 21st century, including the move towards electric vehicles.

Under this challenging scenario, a new publication from Textile Media Services – Automotive Textiles: Preparing for total transformation (5th edition) – provides the latest analysis of the fast-altering global automotive textiles industry.

BorPure™ RF777MO: designed for flip-top cap applications
Borealis announces the commercial launch of BorPure™ RF777MO. Based on the proprietary Borstar® Nucleation Technology (BNT), this new resin fulfils value chain demand for high-quality solutions offering excellent organoleptics. As next generation random polypropylene (PP), BorPure RF777MO has been designed for use in flip-top caps, a growing caps and closures market segment.

Next generation random PP offers excellent organoleptics
The rapidly evolving caps and closures industry must respond to a broad and diverse set of requirements from all sides. Converters demand innovative material solutions that reduce energy consumption and help increase productivity on injection moulding lines. Resins must offer easy processability, consistency, high quality, and provide optimal performance on the capping line. For brand owners and final consumers, caps and closures must secure package contents, provide ideal organoleptic properties, safety, and convenience. They must also stand out on the retail shelf and, increasingly, offer the lowest possible environmental footprint.