From the Sector

• INVISTA to showcase ‘Innovative Attitude’ at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics
• Innovative INVISTA products, findings from a new textile industry IP protection survey, in-depth consumer insights and fashion trends will be revealed

INVISTA, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibres, will showcase the innovative attitudes enabling it to maintain a leading position in the textile industry at the upcoming Rendez-Vous 2017 at October’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – the world’s most influential apparel event. INVISTA Rendez-Vous will showcase innovative INVISTA products, offer consumer insights and reveal the results of a textile industry IP protection survey.

INVISTA Rendez-Vous 2017 will be held at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 11 – 13 October at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, with INVISTA occupying two booths in hall 5.2 E49 and hall 7.2 E55. 

As a global authoritative trade show in textile industry, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics has been a platform for INVISTA to communicate with players across the value chain for 23 years. This year’s event will be no exception. The rich and vivid content delivered at the show will focus on INVISTA’s Innovative Attitude to consumers, partners as well as the whole industry.

To build a healthy and sustainable marketing environment, INVISTA cooperated with a number of media organisations to conduct a survey on IP protection in the textile industry. The results will be revealed during a seminar entitled ‘Innovation and IP: An Avenue for Sustainable Textile Industry Development’, which will be held on 11 October, 2:45 – 3:45pm in the Textile Dialogue area in hall 5.2. Representatives from textile industry associations, legal firms and INVISTA will share the findings and offer insights during what will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of INVISTA Rendez-Vous 2017.

The main pavilion of the show will be located in the International Hall (hall 5.2), where three of INVISTA’s most innovative products will be on show. Visitors will experience the latest possibilities offered by LYCRA® MOVESTM BRA, LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS and LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY.

LYCRA® MOVESTM BRA

According to consumer research conducted in 2016, bra products in China’s domestic market don’t match consumer demands in a host of critical areas, including support, comfort and aesthetic design. To address these concerns, streamline the industry and consolidate its leadership, INVISTA is launching LYCRA® lastingFIT technology for bra wings. In addition, INVISTA’s cutting-edge technology can contribute to meeting specific quality standards in bra wing fabrics, enabling Chinese consumers to experience higher levels of comfort and the appropriate support they expect from a bra in different occasions.

LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS

INVISTA’s longstanding commitment to legging fabrics will also be on display at Rendez-Vous. INVISTA’s LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS has already spawned LYCRA® SPORT Power-Comfort-Energy (PCE™) index-certified fabrics, which are now commercially available.

The revolutionary fabrics present excellent recovery performance for LYCRA® SPORT legging products. They also offer the industry an opportunity to develop a number of targeted segment markets – from compression and medium compress to light compression leggings.

LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY

LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY is all about fabric technology innovation. Due to excellent properties, such as anti-laddering, fit and durability as well as comfortable waistbands, INVISTA’s LYCRA® FUSIONTM technology has already been widely adopted in China’s hosiery sector.

A Packed Pavilion

At the LYCRA® MOVESTM Denim pavilion in the Beyond Denim hall (7.2), visitors won’t just see the innovative denim products offered by INVISTA; they will also learn about three themes highlighted through consumer insights – fit, shape and embracing heat & cold. There will also be a special session outlining the latest woven bottom trends, hosted by INVISTA experts.

Introduced commercially in 2010, LYCRA® dualFX® dual core yarn technology provides denim with super stretch and super recovery that fits all day and every day. It effectively prevents seam slippage and uneven fabric surfaces, keeping denim looking good, feeling comfortable and fitting, which in turn creates new denim fabric applications and fashion trends in the China market.

Last But Not Least

An interactive program, that includes visitors uploading pictures they take at the INVISTA booth to the official INVISTA WeChat account, will give every visitor a chance to win a special INVISTA gift. Visit INVISTA at hall 5.2 E49 and hall 7.2 E55 from 11 – 13 October at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 2017.

Bobingen - The Trevira City fair stand, which was presented at Orgatec 2016 in Cologne, has been nominated for the Famab Award in the category architecture. The Famab Award is a highly renowned award for integrated brand experiences. The award is presented to important international projects in temporary and permanent architecture or interpersonal communication.

Head of Marketing Anke Vollenbröker: “We are delighted that the stand concept, which was designed for us by the interior designers at raumkontor, has been nominated for the important Famab Award. We are already extremely excited to see whether Trevira City will be awarded the Bronze, Silver, or Golden Apple at the award ceremony in the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg on 23 November.”

The Trevira City, which was developed by the interior designers at raumkontor and realised by Buchhold and Glindemann GmbH, took up the fair’s theme: “New Visions of Work”. Trevira City, which comprised eight houses made of fabric, showed textile solutions for modern work environments. It offered a new perspective on modern work environments where the borders between working and living become blurred, thereby demanding new approaches to design. In between the houses, an open space was created that stands for the central themes of efficient work processes: communication, creativity, inspiration, networking, and motion.

The fibre manufacturer, who was a first time exhibitor at Orgatec, presented its stand in collaboration with six fabric partners who showcased their products in one of each of the houses: Baumann Dekor, Casalegno Tendaggi, Fidivi, Hohmann, Müller Zell, Pugi. The various facets of the exhibition display the huge range of possibilities created by the participating manufacturers with their Trevira CS products.

Other fabric suppliers also contributed to the textile furnishings of the fair stand. Création Baumann, JAB Anstoetz, Mattes & Ammann, and Silent Gliss were the sponsors for the textile decorations in the two Trevira houses.

The Industry of the Future Alliance (AIF) has awarded Lectra with their ‘Showcase for the Industry of the Future’ label for demonstrating the criteria exemplarity, innovation and commitment. This certification is given to companies who have concretely developed a ground-breaking project to organize their production by leveraging the potential of digital.

The AIF bestowed Lectra with this distinction for its competitiveness concerning cost, quality and delivery times, all obtained thanks to a lean approach and reflection around the design of its products. Further, Lectra received the certification for its competitiveness regarding value, achieved thanks to mastering customer use from which new associated services have flowed. Since 2013, Lectra has invested €86 million in R&D, representing 9.4% of its revenues. This Investment has enabled Lectra to undergo a metamorphosis—based on methodological advances and fundamental technologies—increasing recruitment and growing competitiveness in all of its markets and geographical sectors.

With ten years’ experience in the industrial internet of things for cutting and expertise in software Solutions to automate and optimize design and product development, Lectra is in an unrivalled position to Support customers as they enter the ‘industry of the future’ era.

Pressure from certain shareholders to relocate manufacturing to China in 2005, triggered Lectra’s industrial project. Following risk analyses—the cost of transport for the European market, the turnover in qualified labor, uncertainty over patent rights and quality—Lectra decided to keep manufacturing in France. This choice was conditional on: disruptive innovation; upgrading; increased value to customers; and a rise in productivity.

The project was accompanied by a well-structured lean approach and organizational changes, which enabled Lectra to achieve the desired level of excellence in terms of productivity and competitiveness.

Some of the changes that took place thanks to this project are as follows: Growth in industrial performance due to an improvement in working conditions, with teams involved in the lean approach; Production engineers involved in creating awareness around factory constraints for a new offer as early as the design process. This co-design product/process optimizes global costs; Emphasis on product, process and logistics’ modularity with the latest possible integration of options (delayed differentiation). This enables logistics’ constraints to be taken into account as early as the engineering phase. Product modularity allows, for example, machines to be put in containers when they might otherwise require special heavy-goods transport.

Lectra’s factory improved its productivity rate by 18 points in three years, and has since maintained it at 89%. Costs have already reduced by 25% and the quality and level of service has improved. In terms of positioning, Lectra has confirmed its leadership in the high-end segment. Lectra has enriched its offer with end-to-end services and innovative, connected products whose embedded intelligence offers Smart Services, notably for predictive maintenance.

At Heimtextil, which is to be held in Frankfurt from 9 to 12 January 2018, Trevira GmbH will be represented together with some important Trevira CS clients in Hall 4.2 at a 1,305 m2 booth.
The core of this joint booth will be a Trevira exhibition. Participating clients will present their latest Trevira CS collections for home textiles and commercially used textiles at individual stands around this core exhibit. The joint stand is located in close proximity to the new exhibition “Interior. Architecture. Hospitality. EXPO” of Messe Frankfurt.
“We are delighted to be able to make a significant contribution to the new thematic focus of Hall 4.2 with our trade fair concept for next year. It enables us to offer a platform to our clients allowing them to reach important decision-makers. In

addition, visitors to the trade fair will appreciate being able to find such a large number of Trevira CS novelties and collections in a one-stop-shop,” says Anke Vollenbröker, Head of Marketing at Trevira GmbH.
Trevira CEO Klaus Holz is pleased that the idea of a joint stand has been so well received by their clients. “The high level of demand shows that our concept of a comprehensive partnership with our clients pays off. Our long-standing clients appreciate that we not only offer them high quality and sustainably produced fibres and yarns, but that we also support them with our technical expertise and in marketing their Trevira fabrics.”

The following clients will be represented with a large selection of their beautiful and modern Trevira CS fabrics at the joint booth in January: Baumann Dekor Ges.m.b.H., Engelbert E. Stieger AG, FIDIVI Tessitura Vergnano S.p.A., Jenny Fabrics AG, Johan van den Acker Textielfabriek B.V., Mattes & Ammann GmbH & Co. KG, Pugi R.G. S.R.L., Spandauer Velours GmbH & Co. KG, SR Webatex GmbH / Getzner Textil AG, Swisstulle AG, Tessitura Mario Ghioldi & C. srl, Torcitura Fibre Sintetiche S.p.A., Torcitura Lei Tsu S.r.l., Vlnap a.s. / Wagenfelder Spinning Group, Wintex S.r.l., Mersem Teksil San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti, Teksko Kadife Kumas San. Ve Tic. A.S.

Color Solutions International, a member of the DyStar Group is launching their Color Analysis for Spring/Summer 2019. Color Analysis is CSI’s trend forecasting magazine that provides high-level global color trend information for color managers, directors and designers to support the color palette development process. It contains a forecast of key colors, accents and core neutrals that will be most relevant for the upcoming seasons. The forecast is based on consumer reports, detailed market research, current social trends and generational mindsets. Every issue features an artist who influences and inspires forward thinking.

The magazine includes a seasonal color palette selected from a wide range of approximately 9,000 CSI colors. The color palette is also available as cotton swatches sold on a ring. Part of the CSI service offering is to provide color direction based on a wide scope of palette searches as well as validated color use. Every issue will include an exclusive Relative Color Popularity (RCP) report, which provides color validation based on seasonal color palette usage by comparing similar hues.
CSI and DyStar support brands, retailers and their business partners from development to production. The CSI and DyStar team of experts work together and assist their customers in color development, communication as well as in the dyeing and quality inspection process to achieve best possible results and sustainable fashion. All CSI products are produced with high-quality, eco-friendly DyStar colorants.
“The Color Analysis Magazine is an important feature of our service for designers, offering them competitive color trends for upcoming seasons. At CSI, we are here to assist with color selections and provide all the necessary tools needed for a successful seasonal palette.” -CSI Color and Trend Director.

With seven more laundries certified this month, UniFirst Corp. has widened its lead among multi-location uniform service companies in achieving the Hygienically Clean Food Safety designation, as 30 facilities now have reached this milestone. The July additions included the company’s first such achievements in Nevada, New York and Wisconsin after UniFirst plants were already certified in 16 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
This achievement reflects UniFirst’s commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by third-party on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

The certification confirms a laundry’s dedication to compliance and processing garments and other textile products using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, the focal point for TRSA inspectors’ evaluation of critical control points that minimize risk.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for servicing animal processing, dairies, fruit/vegetable, bakeries, grain and other food and beverage industry segments.
UniFirst facilities certified in July are in Ontario, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Buffalo, NY; Amarillo, Austin and Houston, TX; and Wisconsin Rapids, WI. States with previously Hygienically Clean Food Safety certified UniFirst laundries (one each except where noted) are CA (2) CO, CT, FL (2), GA, MA, MD, NC (4), NH (2), NJ, OK, PA, SC, TX (5), UT and VA.

Lectra has leveraged more than 10 years of experience in connected manufacturing to offer Versalis®, an innovative digital solution designed to cut leather without compromise on quality. Featuring a powerful automatic nesting system for overall improvements in efficiency, the fully automated solution enables automotive leather suppliers to cut costs, improve productivity and minimize waste while also establishing a pathway to value-added Industry 4.0 processes.

Currently, almost 90% of leather used for automotive applications is cut using manual die presses, which require designers to build a physical prototype and finalize the design through trial and error. Lectra offers a fully digitalized leather solution from prototyping to cut parts—when used in combination with Lectra’s 3D prototyping and pattern-making software, Versalis digital leather cutting solution enables a 12-16 week reduction in development and launch cycles for vehicle seating models.
During the leather-cutting phase, the latest release of Versalis LeatherSuite allows automotive leather suppliers to achieve up to 15% greater productivity. Lectra’s end-to-end automotive leather offering furthermore guarantees optimal uptime through an extensive worldwide support network of field engineers and technical experts.
"Lectra focuses on a consultative approach that allows it to fully understand the customer’s needs before building a solution comprising software, hardware, consulting, training, and after-sales support,” said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. "Lectra’s equipment is fitted with more than 200 sensors that predict failure and immediately report issues to its call centres. This product feature and service has resulted in 98% uptime and very fast mean time to repair."

Although digital leather cutting solutions are an investment, leather cutters and Tier-1 suppliers have begun to recognize the value of these products. On average, Lectra’s solutions help customers achieve up to 7% savings on leather compared to manual die-press methods by minimizing human error and variability in the cutting room. A benchmark test of leather trim cutting for door panels demonstrated a 3.5% gain in material made possible by Versalis’ superior nesting capabilities compared to the customer’s yield using manual nesting with die press machines, representing potential savings of €9 million per year.
Versalis is the fruit of significant R&D investment for the company, which has always made re-investment of capital a priority. As part of a transformational plan, Lectra spent more than €50 million in investments between 2011 and 2015. With Lectra’s new strategy focusing on supporting their customers’ transition to Industry 4.0 standards, Lectra will increase the share of revenues dedicated to R&D to 10% for the period from 2017 to 2019, representing a rise of about 50% between 2016 and 2019.

Lectra has developed partnerships with over 850 fashion schools across the world, providing them with solutions and expertise to help the teachers prepare students with the skills they require for the workplace. Working with leading education partners, Lectra organises regular student competitions in association with customers. The latest competition with Istituto Secoli, renowned for its pattern-making savoir-faire, and organized with Armani, is a clear example of industry and education working hand-in-hand to nurture young fashion designers.
Students at Istituto Secoli developed their collections using Lectra’s Modaris® and Diamino® solutions to create their patterns, prototypes and markers. In addition, students from the master’s program in menswear cut their creations with Vector®, Lectra’s state-of-the-art fabric cutting solution.

Thanks to the trusted relationship that Lectra has with its customer G.A. Operations of the Giorgio Armani group, one of the winning students, graduating in menswear, has the opportunity to take up an internship in the collection development department. "We were very pleased with Lectra's initiative and were delighted to offer educational internships at G.A. Operations. We chose the winning student for his creative skills and for his training on Modaris and Diamino. This gives us the important advantage of bringing somebody with proven technical skills into our team," stated Giorgio Ferremi, industrial director G.A. Operations at Trento.

Crescent Laundry, Davenport, Iowa, has again achieved Hygienically Clean (HC) Healthcare certification, reflecting their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.
Crescent was first certified in 2014. Recertification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:
• Employees are properly trained and protected
• Managers understand regulatory requirements
• OSHA-compliant
• Physical plant operates effectively

Certified facilities pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and zero presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities. Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in textile services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Lenzing – The Lenzing Group aims to substantially increase its share of specialty fibers as a proportion of total revenue. Following the expansion drive already underway in Lenzing and Heiligenkreuz (both in Austria), Grimsby (Great Britain) and Mobile, Alabama (USA), the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG approved the proposal of the Management Board yesterday to build the next state-of-the-art facility to produce lyocell fibers in Thailand. For this purpose, Lenzing is establishing a subsidiary in Thailand and purchasing a commercial property in Industrial Park 304 located in Prachinburi near Bangkok. In the coming months, the required permits and licenses as well as technical planning will be finalized. A definitive decision on constructing the new production plant will be made in the first quarter of 2018. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2020.
The selection of Industrial Park 304 in Prachinburi was based on its excellent overall infrastructure, outstanding expansion opportunities and the sustainable biogenic energy supply. Similar to the plant in Mobile, the planned production facility will be constructed on the basis of the latest state-of-the-art technology and feature a capacity of up to 100,000 tons annually. This site will strengthen the worldwide lyocell network of the Lenzing Group and enable its global customers to source TENCEL® branded fibers from Europe, North America and Asia.