From the Sector

Messe Frankfurt Texpertise Network announces commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals in global collaboration with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and the United Nations Office for Partnerships to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into over 50 leading international textile trade fairs attracting more than 22,000 companies and over half a million trade visitors annually.

In January 2019 the Sustainable Development Goals were introduced to a Messe Frankfurt event for the first time during the world's leading platform for sustainable fashion, Neonyt, in Berlin as part of Berlin Fashion Week, where the Conscious Fashion Campaign was presented.

The initiative, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, engages global industry events to commit to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and champions fashion as an influential sector to address the world’s most pressing issues. The campaign is dedicated to driving change through advocacy, education and engagement

Global fashion brand Weekday decided to show initiative in circular fashion on White Monday and is now the world’s first global fashion brand who has published a garment from IFC fabric.

Weekday wanted to raise awareness of IFC by contacting Maisie Williams who’s known to speak about causes she cares about. Maisie co-designed a two-piece outfit which is made entirely from IFC fabric.

IFC’s technology enables the millions of kilos of textile waste that is currently burned or landfilled, to be turned into a cost efficient, high quality cotton-like fiber.

”Infinited Fiber Company has a really interesting new recycling technique that has potential to help Weekday in our goal towards 100% recycled or sustainably sourced materials. For us, this material is extra interesting because of its cotton-like appearance and durability,” says Ulrika Jakobsson, Sustainability and Material Responsible at Weekday.

IFC provided Weekday with a few meters of newly processed denim fiber to test and they are now the first in the world to use this fabric.

At the moment this garment is not a collection that can be purchased. Weekday is testing the material and they are hoping to create a full collection soon.
IFC‘s technology is operating in Finland and is patented, proven and ready for global up-scaling and licensing. Its investors include global fashion corporation H&M Group and Singapore based global biomaterials company RGE Pte Ltd.

• Glass fiber textiles for helicopter type H145
• First ever material supply for primary structural components in the aerospace segment

Since August of this year, SGL Carbon delivers two special glass fiber textiles, so-called non-crimped fabrics, for the new version of helicopter model H145 from Airbus Helicopters. These materials are used in the new, especially efficient five-blade rotor. Developed in close collaboration with Airbus Helicopters, the material has been qualified for the application for the next years to come.  

Thanks to their unidirectional fiber orientation, the fabrics are extremely resistant, providing optimal support for the new geometry of the especially long H145 rotor blades. The fabrics are manufactured at the SGL Carbon site in Willich near Düsseldorf in a multi-stage process and delivered to Airbus Helicopters in Paris.  

“The order emphasizes our growing presence in the aerospace business. With the fabrics for Airbus Helicopters, we have realized, qualified, and started serial production for a material concept for primary structural components for the first time,” underscores Dr. Andreas Erber, Head of the Aerospace segment in the business unit Composites – Fibers & Materials at SGL Carbon.

The current deliveries are part of a framework contract with Airbus Helicopters, intended to gradually intensify collaboration. Besides the current development of materials for helicopter components, Airbus Helicopters and SGL Carbon have worked together in the area of component material processing for Airbus group aircraft doors for years. In addition, Airbus and SGL Carbon are jointly involved in various associations and research projects in the area of components, such as Carbon Composites e.V.

Sustainability is part of SEEK’s internal make-up and has always been part of the team and community experience. Over 80 sustainable brands make up the brand portfolio, including players like Veja, Dedicated and Kings of Indigo. Experts will be sharing their experiences on this market-defining topic as well, with a host of live podcasts, talks and panel discussions, and will be shaping SEEK’s programme of content.
 
BIG PLAYER: the new SEEK Culture
 
SEEK is Europe’s most successful trade show for pop, street and sneaker culture. This is where the key players meet, where the looks of tomorrow are showcased, modelled and retold, where classics are celebrated, authenticity rules the roost and where icons take their positions alongside shooting stars. SEEK is essential participation for anyone looking to curate a modern, youthful and relevant range.

The shift from a niche event to a large trade show is now complete with a new logo and campaign design. SEEK has emerged from its transformation to reveal that its content and visual look are as relevant as ever!  

Together with creative agencies Karl Anders and Haebmau, the SEEK team has been working for weeks on the brand’s new branding. The result: a visual concept with a strong message.

“The handshake is the right imagery and commitment to our stance and that of the SEEK community.”

“SEEK stands for strength and business just as much as for communality and good vibes! ‘Get Along’ articulates a feeling of agreement, of moving forward and getting to grips with things. We all want to shape a positive future for our industry – as partners and by joining forces.”, explains Fashion Director Maren Wiebus.

CREATIVE CONNECTION: Karl Anders and Haebmau
 
The Hamburg-based agency Karl Anders, which was established by Claudia Fischer-Appelt and Lars Kreyenhagen, was commissioned to come up with the creative concept and design language for the logo and campaign.

“With the new look we are entering a new era for SEEK as a brand. Lots of brands have chosen a design using Helvetica in recent years,” says Claudia Fischer-Appelt, Creative Director at Karl Anders. “We are now signalling a clear shift in another direction. Confident, bold and independent. With the logo we are inviting the viewer to play with the linear layout in their head; we are breaking viewing habits, making a statement and revving things up a gear. SEEK, there it is.”
 
The artwork is the result of a process of in-depth debate with the SEEK brand that took place over several weeks both within the team and also with the support of lifestyle agency Haebmau. Workshops, research and analyses ultimately led to a new, strong brand identity. SEEK is focussed on both established and new players and stands for the WE.

“I have known SEEK since it was in its infancy, so to me it was always like a little brother of the large, successful PREMIUM. Quirky and different, always interesting but somehow not quite so imposing,” says Markus Bublitz, Executive Creative Director at Haebmau. “SEEK today is more grown-up, confident and sharper. Thanks to its position in the market, which it has conquered over the years, it no longer needs to please everyone but can afford to be controversial. This can offer space for new, creative ideas.”

SEEK is edgy, clean-cut and unpolished.

We are all about statement design, new classics, denim and sportswear. SEEK is the trade show event for the fashion community. SEEK knows who calls the shots; it boosts sales and is the place for the next generation of decision-makers to get together. Unlike all the others, SEEK is unconventional and the antidote to boring.

Since 2018 the CHT Group has broken new ground in communication with BeSoEFFECTIVE. Complex chemical interrelations are translated into simple and hardly technical words in combination with stylistically clear pictures.

The Best Solutions ”BeSo“ were specifically tailored to the communication with the target group of textile brands and retailers and do therefore not only appeal classic B2B clients but are also visible and comprehensible for end consumers of textile goods. The agency RTS Rieger Team from Leinfelden-Echterdingen that had already supported the new brand identity of the CHT Group in 2017 assisted CHT again in developing and creating the BeSoEFFECTIVE concept. One year after its publication, the communication concept has now achieved great success. BeSoEffective was honoured with the GWA Effie Award 2019 in bronze in Frankfurt am Main on 14th November.

Since 1981 the Effie has been awarded for efficiency in marketing communication by the Gesamtverband Kommunikationsagenturen GWA (general association of communication agencies). It’s not exclusively the convincing look or content of campaigns that is honoured by the jury of experts with the GWA Effie Award but it’s rather the proven success and efficiency of such ideas and campaigns. By using the BeSoEFFECTIVE communication the CHT Group has so far increased the brands’ & retailers’ demand for innovative effects by about 30 %.

with CHT products are put in a nutshell by BeSoEFFECTIVE. The brand promise BeSo (”Best Solution“) is supplemented by an effect name deriving from the corresponding functionality – BeSoCOOL, BeSoFRESH or BeSoSMOOTH. Thus, each effect of the portfolio is given a uniform yet individual branding and a clear structure. The functionality of each effect is supplemented by pronounced and symbolic pictures which visually stress the benefits.

Eric Knehr, Head of Brand & Retail Service of the CHT Group states: “To us its of utmost importance to speak our target group’s language. Therefore, our BeSoEFFECTIVE campaign focuses on a clear communication with unique pictures and a uniform effect branding. Our customers’ positive reactions and this award prove, that our strong concept optimally supports our daily work as well as market and customer demands. However, it also puts the excellent performance of our innovative and sustainable effects into the right light."

Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will be providing information on its extensive range of coating and finishing technologies for the production of nonwovens and technical textiles at the forthcoming Techtextil India exhibition.

“India is already a very important market for Monforts and there are exciting prospects ahead for Indian manufacturers of technical textiles, who are well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities,” says Monforts Head of Denim Hans Wroblowski, who will be at the Monforts stand in Hall 4, booth C52 at the show. “India has one of the largest working-age populations in the world and a complete textile value chain for both natural and synthetic fibres.”

In addition, he adds, India’s government, through its Ministry of Textiles, has been actively promoting the growth of technical textiles through various programmes based on investment promotion, subsidies, the creation of infrastructure and the stimulation of consumption.

As a result, India’s Ministry of Textiles is forecasting that the growth of technical textiles in the country will be over 18% annually in the next few years, from a value of US$16.6 billion in 2018 to US$28.7 billion in 2021.

Value addition

High value-added technical products such as wide-width digital printing substrates, carbon fabrics for high-performance composites, filter media, flame retardant barrier fabrics and heavy-duty membranes are now being coated on Monforts texCoat ranges and finished with the company’s industry-leading Montex stenters.

“Since we acquired the technology that our coating units are based on in 2015, we have made a lot of refinements,” says Hans. “All of these developments are reflected in higher coating accuracy and the resulting quality of the treated fabrics. At the same time, our latest multi-functional coating heads offer an unprecedented range of options, with a wide range of modules available.”

The texCoat user interface is now equipped with the unique Monforts visualisation system and the magnetic doctor blade has greater power reserves. Options include a carbon fibre-reinforced composite coating drum with a more scratch-resistant surface and maximum rigidity and remote control which simplifies exact adjustment for the operator.

Montex stenters in special executions are meanwhile ideal for the drying and finishing of both technical woven fabrics and nonwovens and characterised by high stretching devices in both length and width.

“The European-built Montex range of stenters has earned its leading position in the technical textiles market due to the overall robustness, reliability and economy of these machines,” Hans concludes. “Whatever the intended end-product – and we continue to discover potentially new areas in which technical textiles can be utilised all the time – we have the machine specification and know-how to turn ideas into reality. In India we also benefit from the strong sales and service support of A.T.E. Enterprises.”

Texchtextil India takes place alongside World of Composites at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from November 20-22.

• Porcher Industries presents the future of quiet and clean mobility solutions with materials that offer high-performance thermal and acoustical insulation.

The 5th Edition of the Annual Automotive Exhaust Systems Summit, to be held in Dusseldorf on November 28th-29th, will see Porcher Industries showcase the market’s most complete range of high performance thermal and acoustical insulation products.

With a key strategic thrust targeting quiet and clean mobility by developing new insulation applications, Porcher Industries’ range of textiles meet the demands and requirements of the Automotive, Aerospace and other transport sectors by delivering unsurpassed levels of thermal and acoustical management.

On display the group will showcase its Techmat®, SilcoSoft® and ThermoShield® materials – all highly functional non-woven textiles that can be found in key areas of both the hot and cold ends of vehicle exhaust systems.

Produced from 100% non-respirable fibres, these binder free non-wovens are safe to handle and can be tailored to provide application specific thermal insulation and heat shields at temperatures ranging from 650˚C to 1150˚C (1200°F to 2100°F).

Porcher Industries is able to deliver its Techmat®, SilcoSoft® and ThermoShield® materials in a wide range of formats from roll goods, flat or formed shapes through to sub-assemblies and finished parts that combine metallic layers with their insulation materials.

Porcher Industries’ thermal and acoustical insulation solutions will also be on show in Dusseldorf: technical textiles that blend chemistry and fibre processing technology to produce a powerful range of non-woven and glass mat thermoplastics (GMT) materials that can be tailored to a customer’s specific acoustical and thermal insulation requirements.

In addition, Andreas Stoeferle, Technical Support Engineer, EMEA, Porcher Industries, will present a detailed view of the group’s expertise in high performance insulations, their global reach, products and delivery formats on the opening day of the conference.

“As one of the leading manufacturers of specialist technical textiles within the Automotive sector, we have responded to demand and placed significant development time and resource into developing our range of thermal and acoustical material solutions for Automotive and Aerospace.” commented Pierre-Yves Quéfélec, Global Aerospace & Automotive BU Head.

• Hexcel  at Space Tech Expo, Bremen Hall 5 - Stand B20

STAMFORD, Conn. – Hexcel is exhibiting for the first time at the Space Tech Expo Europe show in Bremen, Germany on November 19-21 to promote its latest technologies and innovations for space applications. More than 3,000 visitors are expected at this major international forum that is dedicated to new and innovative solutions for space business and technology.

Hexcel is improving the way the world’s spacecraft components are manufactured and will feature a number of 3D-printed flight-ready carbon fiber parts manufactured from HexAM® additive manufacturing technology, combining Hexcel’s proprietary high performance PEKK thermoplastics with aerospace grade carbon fiber. HexPEKK® structures offer significant weight, cost and time-to-market reductions, replacing traditional cast or machined metallic parts in highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications.

Other Hexcel solutions for space applications that will be presented include carbon fiber, prepregs and honeycomb materials with proven performance for satellite structures and launchers.

Archroma will be at ChromaTexChem India 2019 to present its latest innovations and solution systems aimed to help textile manufacturers with optimized productivity and/or value creation in their markets. Archroma will also moderate a panel at the exhibition official conference on “Sustainable innovation in textile processing”.

At ChromaTexChem, visitors will be able to discover 24 systems developed along the principles of The Archroma Way to help them create value in their textile applications and markets.

Anjani Prasad, Head of Sales, India, Archroma, comments: “With the growing concerns about resource scarcity and product safety, brands and manufacturers in India work with us, because we continuously develop the innovations and solution systems that help them to address these challenges, increase productivity and create value for them. We do that with in mind the planet and its inhabitants, in line with the objectives of “The Archroma way": Safe, efficient, enhanced. Because it’s our nature!”

Chomarat Group, expert in composite reinforcements for the marine market developed a high performing C-PLYTM reinforcement for the hull and deck of Arcona 435 and 465. Both cruiser-racer are a unique combination of comfort onboard and performances, for fast family cruising and high-level races thanks to their specific design, and the use of C-PLY™. The carbon NCF reinforcement allows structural design benefits, premium surface quality and overall parts cost saving.

“With 45 years of expertise, Chomarat is a pioneer in developing solutions to achieve weight reduction, improved surface appearance and stronger structure.

C-PLY™ makes it possible to meet these specifications, while ensuring stable quality and cost-effectiveness” explains Vincent Cholvy, Marine market Manager at Chomarat.

THE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY FOR SERIAL PRODUCTION OF CARBON BOATS
A study was led to determine the optimal construction to develop a high performing C-PLY™ range for a better permeability in infusion process. The result is a carbon NCF that achieves high mechanical performances, multi resins compatibility and cost efficiency. “Chomarat is the best choice for supplying the product our factory prefers to work with: stable quality and cost effectiveness are the key benefits” explains Nicolas Broberg, Managing Director Arcona Yacht.

Infusion technology for hull and deck with up to 70% level of carbon in the laminate gives the greatest possible strength.