From the Sector

Ahead of this year’s ITMA Asia + CITME exhibition in Singapore from October 28-31, industry leading companies Archroma, BW Converting and Monforts will take part in a webtalk with German association VDMA on September 18th.

The three companies will share insights from recent trials conducted at the Monforts Advanced Technology Center in Germany, where a Baldwin TexCoat™ G4 spray unit has been integrated into a Montex stenter to apply Archroma’s latest waterborne chemicals. The collaborative effort aims to maximise resource efficiency and throughput in textile finishing. In addition, the partners will unveil details of a new, cutting-edge line concept set to debut at ITMA Asia in Singapore.

Installed in 2024 at the Monforts Advanced Technology Center in Mönchengladbach, the full-width Baldwin TexCoat G4 unit has enabled extensive real-world testing of advanced finishing formulations. The system’s integration into the Montex stenter has provided a valuable platform for evaluating performance, precision, and sustainability across a wide range of application scenarios.

“This work now enables us to guide manufacturers through the transition from standard impregnation processes to spray application systems, which have the potential to reduce water and energy consumption as less water is needed to transport the chemicals to the textile surface,” explains Michael Schuhmann, Global Marketing Segment Manager for Technical Textiles at Archroma Textile Effects. “Our latest addition to this range of options is a patent-pending, highly wash durable hydrophilic softener which enhances the longevity of the treated fabrics and will be commercially available soon.”

Commercial success
BW Converting is already seeing commercial success with the Baldwin TexCoat G4 system in the field. In Pakistan, for example, its integration into Montex stenters using Archroma chemistry has proven to be a highly effective line concept for bed sheet production.

“We have helped our customers double their stenter output, while also significantly enhancing the hand feel of the finished fabrics,” says Rick Stanford, Vice President of Business Development for Textiles at BW Converting.

Independent testing by Fashion for Good, a global platform for sustainable textile innovation, compared TexCoat G4 spray application with traditional pad-based finishing, using a Monforts stenter and Archroma formulations. The results confirmed that combining advanced equipment design, process expertise, and tailored chemistry can significantly reduce energy and water consumption while improving capacity utilisation for textile mills.

Monforts has long focused on developing optimised processes paired with energy-efficient machine layouts. Building on the success of their recent collaboration, the three partners are now working on a similar resource-saving concept, combining Monforts’ Thermex continuous dyeing range with the new Baldwin TexChroma spray dyeing system and Archroma dyestuffs.

“We are committed to continuing to work together with a focus on bringing transformative change to the dyeing and finishing space,” says Monforts Technologist Saskia Kuhlen.

The VDMA webtalk, Driving Innovation in Sustainable Textile Finishing and Beyond, will take place from 14.00 – 15.30 CET on September 18th and invitations will be published a week in advance via the VDMA LinkedIn channel.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has selected the REGEN project as one of three groundbreaking initiatives to integrate circularity into the defence sector. Uplift360, a pioneer in advanced material recycling technologies, will play a critical role in this effort, leveraging its specialist expertise in the recycling and regeneration of aramid fibres to advance sustainable material solutions for high-performance defence applications.

Uplift360 is a cleantech innovator specializing in the recycling of advanced materials, including carbon fibre and aramid. With a focus on circular economy solutions, Uplift360 provides technologies that reduce waste, lower emissions, and support a more sustainable future.

Driving Circularity in Defence
As part of the REGEN project, Uplift360 will focus on the recovery and reuse of continuous aramid fibres, a critical component in defence applications. This effort includes overcoming the complex challenge of PFAS coating removal, a significant barrier to scaling up advanced material recycling. By developing innovative technologies to increase the quality and characteristics of recycled spun aramids, Uplift360 aims to directly engage with material users for ongoing product evolution and development.

The REGEN project brings together a powerful consortium, including FECSA and AITEX from Spain, Uplift360 and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). This collaboration aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy within the defence sector by fostering knowledge sharing, technical innovation, and sustainable resource management.
 
Uplift360’s Role in REGEN
•    Advanced Fibre Recovery: Expertise in recycling and regeneration of aramid fibres.
•    PFAS Coatings Removal Technology: Developing solutions to overcome this critical scaling challenge.
•    Direct Industry Collaboration: Engaging with material users to refine and evolve product performance.
•    Circular Economy Leadership: Contributing to the long-term sustainability of defence materials.
•    Techno-economic analysis (TEA): To optimise the process accordingly.
 
Partners’ Roles in REGEN
•    FECSA: Coordinator of the REGEN project, FECSA leads the consortium and communication strategy, contributing its expertise in advanced protective textiles and sustainable innovation for the defence sector.
•    AITEX: As a partner in the REGEN project consortium, AITEX is leading the development of the fabric and characterisation testing. It is also supporting Uplift360 by contributing its expertise in optimising the wet-spinning process.
•    LIST: As a partner in the REGEN project consortium, LIST is responsible for the life cycle assessment (LCA).

Outlast Technologies, a global pioneer in temperature regulation, announces the launch of a next-generation fabric developed in collaboration with Reggiani Group, Italy’s renowned innovator in luxury textiles. This latest advancement is designed to elevate thermal com-fort across fashion, casualwear, and performance apparel - offering intelligent climate con-trol without compromise.

The new fabrics are the result of an intense collaboration between the two companies, combining Outlast’s patented temperature regulating technology with Reggiani’s heritage of textile excellence. At its core is a system of microcapsules filled with natural wax that absorb, store, and release heat as needed - constantly adapting to changes in body activity and ambient temperature. The result is a dynamic textile that keeps wearers in their com-fort zone, regardless of climate or activity level.

Engineered for discerning brands in high-end fashion, luxury athleisure, and technical sportswear, the fabric meets the evolving expectations of today’s consumers - who demand both advanced performance and responsible production. Developed using sustainable pro-cesses and carefully selected materials, the fabric reflects both companies’ deep commit-ment to innovation with purpose.

With this launch, Outlast and Reggiani Group are redefining what premium fabrics can achieve - fusing functionality, sustainability, and elegance into a single textile platform tailored for the next generation of apparel.

“This collaboration is a natural step in our Group’s ongoing pursuit of cutting-edge textile solutions,” says Giovanni Reggiani, CEO of Reggiani Group. “By combining Outlast’s tech-nological expertise with our tradition of material innovation, we have created a fabric that anticipates the needs of the future,” ads Marco Spola, General Manager of the Group.

“In a world of constant temperature shifts - from climate-controlled offices to parked cars baking in the sun - these fabrics allow wearers to stay comfortable without a second thought,” said Luca Nicolo, Outlast Sales Agent for Italy and France. “Our collaboration with Reggiani represents the perfect synergy between breakthrough technology and textile craftsmanship, and we’re proud to introduce this innovation to Europe and beyond.”

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KONGSBERG) and HEXCEL Corporation (HEXCEL) have signed a long-term partnership agreement at the Paris Air Show for the supply of HexWeb® engineered honeycombs and HexPly® prepregs for KONGSBERG’s strategic production programs over a five-year period.

HEXCEL is a leading global manufacturer of advanced composite materials and lightweighting solutions for the aerospace sector and offers a broad and evolving product portfolio, including materials designed for Defence and Space, commercial aerospace and industrial applications.

“This partnership agreement is a reflection of HEXCEL and KONGSBERG’s strong relationship over many years and the company’s joint commitment to partnering for the future. The agreement provides a solid base for Kongberg’s production program for several years to come.” says Terje Bråthen, EVP Aerostructures & MRO at Kongsberg.

Thierry Merlot, HEXCEL President, Europe Middle East Africa Asia Pacific, adds “We are delighted that Kongsberg has placed their trust in Hexcel as their advanced composites solutions partner. This partnership agreement secures business on key programs in the defence market for years to come”.

KONGSBERG Defence & Aerospace, a subsidiary of KONGSBERG, is Norway’s premier supplier of defence and aerospace-related systems and solutions. The company’s portfolio comprises products and systems for command and control, information, data handling and surveillance, communications solutions, space technology, missiles and remotely controlled systems. KONGSBERG Defence & Aerospace also has extensive capabilities within advanced composite manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul within the aircraft and helicopter market.

It is estimated that around 100 billion items of clothing are currently produced worldwide, most of which will end up in recycling processes. Sorting these old textiles by hand requires an enormous amount of human labour. A research team is now developing new technologies that will enable robotic grippers to sort textiles more effectively.

“At present, automatic sorting systems mainly use contactless methods, such as visual and near-infrared sensors. But when people sort old textiles, they can do much more: When they touch the textiles, they can also quickly classify what should be reused and what should be recycled based on the feel of the fabric”, Hubert Zangl, project manager of AdapTex at the Department of Smart Systems Technologies at the University of Klagenfurt explains. If you want robotic grippers to perform this work, he goes on to explain, many challenges remain: “Physical interaction with objects and the evaluation of haptic feedback are not yet sufficiently developed in robotics. When sorting textiles, robots have to work in a complex environment with randomly assembled quantities of textiles made from different materials and in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Contamination can further complicate matters.”

The central factor here is the gripping process, which is crucial for the effective sorting of these materials in recycling plants. The research team is therefore focusing on improving the physical interaction between the robot gripper and the textiles with the aim of improving both the handling and the classification of the textiles. To this end, the researchers are developing textile-based, adaptive sensor skins for the robotic grippers. “These will be intelligent materials containing networks of sensors and actuators that can adapt optimally when touched,” says Hubert Zangl. The unique properties of AdapTex skin offer potential not only for use in textile recycling, but also in many other areas of the textile industry, such as sportswear, lifestyle clothing, and rehabilitation garments. It might also be possible to use the improved capabilities and functions for robots deployed in industrial manufacturing and automation.

The AdapTex project is coordinated at the University of Klagenfurt and the AAU/SAL USE Lab. The project partners are Grabher Group GmbH, Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Silicon Austria Labs GmbH and V-trion GmbH. AdapTex is supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.

Textiles functionalized with antiviral agents are intended to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogens, particularly in a medical environment. These antiviral properties must be carefully tested and verified in laboratory tests. The biological testing laboratory of the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) has examined antiviral activities with coronaviruses as part of an interdisciplinary research project on textiles for infection control.

Viruses can survive on plastic surfaces or textiles for several hours to days. These surfaces therefore play an important role in the transmission of viruses as pathogens. Numerous studies were done on this topic during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Textiles treated with antiviral agents can help to reduce this risk of transmission. This offers added value, especially for textiles used in medical environments.

In order to confirm these antiviral properties, laboratory tests are the state of the art and help to minimize trials in a medical environment. However, working with viruses is very complex and elaborate, as viruses cannot be proliferated on culture media like bacteria. By definition, viruses are not living organisms because they are dependent on host cells to replicate. For laboratory tests, this means that both technical expertise in microbiology and in cell culture technology must be combined for successful work. For laboratory activities involving human and animal pathogens, official authorization is required. The DITF biological testing laboratory is authorized for work with pathogens in accordance with the German Infection Protection Act and the Animal Pathogens Ordinance up to risk group 2. These are microorganisms that can cause disease in humans or animals which can be well controlled generally.

Usually test laboratories carry out antiviral tests with so-called bacteriophages because they are easier to handle. These viruses use bacteria as host cells to replicate. A different, more realistic approach was taken at the DITF as part of a research project. Here, antiviral activity was determined against a coronavirus. With the MHV virus, a corona virus was chosen that is genetically very closely related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and uses eukaryotic cells as a host. Eukaryotic cells are cells with a nucleus such as those found in humans and animals. The test procedure for determining the antiviral efficacy against coronaviruses had to be adapted to both the viruses and the host cells. In case the host cells are infected by the viruses and used as a “replication machine”, these cells show damages, so-called cytopathic effects, which are clearly visible under the light microscope. The visible damages to the host cells are used to determine the number of viruses indirectly as they are not visible under the light microscope due to their very small size.

As part of the joint research project with Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG to develop antimicrobial protective clothing for infection control based on AGXX® technology, a test protocol was developed at the DITF biological laboratory to determine the antiviral activity against a coronavirus. A significant inactivation of MHV coronaviruses of more than 99 percent was demonstrated in textiles finished with AGXX®. The tests on the antiviral properties of textiles against a coronavirus make an important contribution to the development and quality control of antiviral textiles.

Ulrike Reich has been appointed Head Corporate Communications at Autoneum, effective immediately. She succeeds Claudia Güntert, who left the company last year.

Ulrike Reich holds a Master of Arts in communication from the University of Miami, Florida, USA, and a diploma in journalism from the University of Dortmund, Germany. With over 25 years of experience in international communication roles, most recently as Vice President Corporate Communications at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, she brings extensive expertise in global media relations, executive and crisis communication, branding, and internal communication.

Ulrike Reich is reporting to Eelco Spoelder, CEO Autoneum.

Borealis continues to invest in growth through sustainable solutions that are transforming the polymer industry. Its facility in Burghausen, Germany, is significantly expanding production capacity for an innovative polymer foam solution called Daploy™ High Melt Strength polypropylene (HMS PP). This investment—totaling over EUR 100 million—addresses growing global demand for recyclable, high-performance foam solutions. The new line, scheduled to start up in the second half of 2026, will triple Borealis’ supply capability for fully recyclable HMS PP. This expansion enables the transition to more circular and recyclable material solutions for customers in the consumer products, automotive, and building and construction industries.  
 
The development of Daploy HMS PP took place at Borealis’ Innovation Headquarters in Linz. The new product provides exceptional foamability, lightweight properties, and mechanical strength—characteristics that support material efficiency and help cut both costs and CO2 emissions. It is suitable for use in monomaterial solutions, which are easily recyclable at end of life.  
 
By supporting the sustainability principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, Daploy HMS PP addresses the growing demand for recyclable solutions across multiple industry segments:
 
In the automotive industry, Daploy is used for ultra-lightweight foamed interior and under-the-hood components. Typically 60-90% lighter than non-foamed alternatives, these components help improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. It also enables zero-waste production as all production trim-offs can be easily recycled. In addition, Daploy makes it possible for these parts to be constructed from a single material, facilitating recycling at the end of the vehicle’s life.  
In the building and construction sector, Daploy HMS PP is used to replace heavier materials in insulation and paneling applications. Its durability, strength, and heat resistance ensure excellent performance, while its lightweight properties and recyclability improve the sustainability of these components.
 
“In line with our We4Customers strategy, this investment creates value for customers by enabling them to design recyclable, foam-based products for a wide range of high-performance applications,” explains Craig Arnold, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Base Chemicals. “By expanding production, we’re ensuring a reliable supply of this advanced material to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals and deliver high-performance solutions.”

Adaptable insulation elements can ensure that the heat transfer through the building envelope can be adjusted as required. This saves heating or cooling energy and therefore costs. Intelligent systems can regulate heat transfer according to the outside temperature and the need for heating or cooling in the interior. In the ReVaD project, the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) and their partners are developing adaptive building envelopes that can also use concrete components as structural thermal energy storage units for temperature control in buildings.

The research project is developing adaptable insulation elements based on the Knudsen effect. The Knudsen effect describes the change in the thermal conductivity of porous structures with the prevailing gas pressure in the pore space. If there is a vacuum in the pore space, the thermal conductivity is low; if the pressure increases, the thermal conductivity also increases. In order to use the principle in an adjustable insulation element, the highest possible switching factor between the two states is required. To achieve this, the pore system and gas pressure range must be optimally matched. In the adaptable insulation panel, the pore system consists of a spacer fabric that is being developed at the DITF. A key challenge here is the compressive strength of the filling core, which must only allow minimal deformation at a surface pressure of 10 N/cm2 imprinted by a fine vacuum.

The research team at the Technology Center Knitting Technique at DITF has developed the corresponding pressure-resistant structures. Their pore size will be optimized in the next steps by inserting textured yarns into the pole thread space. The basic thermal conductivity of the structure should be increased as little as possible. With the knitted structures in the panel, a switching factor, i.e. the ratio of maximum to minimum thermal conductivity achieved, of 5 has already been demonstrated. Current work involves optimizing the spacer structures and setting up a demonstrator.

In the joint project, the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stuttgart is developing a thermochemical reactor component that enables precise and energy-efficient gas pressure adjustment in the vacuum insulation panel. Metal hydride-hydrogen reaction systems are used, which allow the gas pressure in the insulation panel to be set through temperature control.

The Institute for Building Energetics, Thermal Engineering and Energy Storage (IGTE) at the University of Stuttgart is investigating the integration possibilities of the panels in the wall composite using simulations and experiments. The thermal-energetic simulations make it possible to assess the energy-saving potential of the technology in different scenarios and under different boundary conditions. A demonstrator is used to test the adaptable thermal insulation in an application-oriented manner.

The ReVaD project (development of adaptable vacuum insulation elements for the needs-based adaptation of heat transfer in building envelopes and structures as well as the thermal activation of storage masses) is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy as part of joint industrial research (IGF) (FKZ: 22617 N).

Thermore, a pioneer in responsible thermal insulation, introduces Ecodown Fibers Sync — a free fiber inspired by the physics of stellar fusion. This new development represents a perfect balance between high performance, luxurious touch, and mindful design. At the core of Ecodown Fibers Sync lies the power of dual-performance fibers, engineered to offer exceptional ultra-lofty softness and resilience. The result is a next-generation insulation with a cloud-like handfeel that resists clumping — a rare combination that ensures lasting volume, even after multiple washes.

This highly flexible insulation offers unmatched versatility, making it ideal for both streamlined for technical outerwear and voluminous for fashion silhouettes. Faithful to Thermore’s legacy, Ecodown Fibers Sync also marks a step forward in sustainable progress. Crafted entirely from 100% recycled fibers sourced from post-consumer PET bottles, it reflects the brand’s enduring commitment to a more responsible design. Every fiber tells a story of transformation — from waste to warmth, from plastic to purpose.

In line with Thermore’s quality standards, Ecodown Fibers Sync is certified GRS (Global Recycled Standard), confirming the authenticity of its recycled content and traceability throughout the production chain. Ecodown Fibers Sync is bluesign® and OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified, ensuring that the product is free from harmful substances and meets the highest criteria for environmental and human safety. With this launch, Thermore redefines what thermal insulation can be — not just a functional layer, but a core element of a garment’s identity.