From the Sector

A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG presented an energy-optimised new version of its industry-leading Montex stenter for the first time at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona from June 20-26th.

With the introduction of the new MonforClean exhaust air treatment system and other unique process innovations, Monforts has been able to further reduce the energy consumption of Montex stenters by a further 13%.

Exhaust air treatment on stenter frames has posed particular challenges over the years, since the air can contain significant amounts of oil, fibre and even wax particles that may see emissions limits being reached in the processing of certain fabrics, depending on the legal specifications.

In addressing this issue, Monforts is now incorporating the MonforClean module into the stenter frame, so there is no additional space requirement. At the same time, the costs for laborious secondary installations and the piping of the exhaust air treatment components, as well as supporting structures are eliminated due to the machine configuration.

JEC Asia is the major, most insightful composites event in Asia-Pacific for products, solutions, net-working, and advanced industry thinking - 3 full days of Business, Innovation & Knowledge

JEC ASIA KEY FIGURES

• 7,000+ professional visits
• 245+ exhibiting companies from 49 countries
• 3 conference sessions
• 40+ International speakers
• 450+ business meetings
• Startup Booster competition
• Innovation awards and planet
• In parallel to eMove360° Asia

Paris - For its 12th edition and third time in Seoul, JEC Asia 2019 will gather companies from the entire composites value chain in Asia Pacific to present their latest capabilities and innovations to the composites community and the strategic end-user’s market including: Mobility, Aeronautics, Building & Construction. This year more than 245 exhibiting companies are expected with thousands of professionals from 49
countries to network, exchange ideas, explore new opportunities and strengthen their business partnerships.

Addressing the impact of composites in Mobility 4.0

During the press conference held in Seoul on July 9th to introduce JEC Asia 2019 and eMove Asia 360° main features, a roundtable gathering speakers, experts and academics from prestigious Korean research centers specialized in carbon and composites — along with Hyundai Motor and KCTech composites experts, eMove360°’s CEO & Publisher and Korean Electric Vehicle Association representatives — exchanged their views on the impact of composites in today's and tomorrow's mobility in the world with a focus on the Korean market. Discussions centered around the challenges raised by Mobility 4.0 (electric connected and autonomous vehicles) and how composites can offer highly adapted solutions for the new challenges faced by this sector, particularly in the context of the rising electrification of vehicles.

Hence, the 2019 edition of JEC Asia will welcome for the first time the eMove360° ASIA exhibition and conferences focusing on Trends in electric & autonomous mobility, Battery & Powertrain and Charging & Energy.

Celebrating Innovation and Knowledge

JEC Asia 2019 will also host the 2nd leg of the JEC Startup Booster competition, the leading startup competition in the world of composites will enable companies to find and assess innovations with a potential impact on their respective industry. The 10 finalists selected in the region by a prestigious jury, will pitch their project to win a chance to showcase their work at JEC World 2020 in Paris. The JEC Innovation Awards is a long-established and worldwide program with 3 simple goals: identify, promote and reward the most innovative composite solutions in the world. Over the past 15 years, the JEC Innovation Program has involved 1,800 companies worldwide; 177 companies and 433 partners have been rewarded for the excellence of their composite innovations. The JEC Innovation Awards reward composites champions, based on criteria such as partner involvement in the value chain, technicality or commercial applications of innovations. The award ceremony will take place on the second day of JEC Asia, on November 14th, 2019.

JEC Asia 2019 will also feature a fulfilling conference program with experts from the industry giving their insights on the latest developments in high-performance composite technologies and applications.

JEC Asia 2019 conferences main themes will focus on:

• International Carbon Festival Conference organized with our partner, KCTech.
• Automotive composite golden triangle: low CAPEX, low cost but high volume
• Automotive hybrid solutions: take the best of each material
• Aeronautics: faster processes and new materials
• Business opportunities (Raw materials, Process, Application, Countries, Region)
Finally, JEC Asia offers the opportunity to visit Composites sites. This year professionals will live a full experience of South Korea composites Industry visiting: Hanyang University, Kookmin University with Hankuk Carbon, Win & Win Co or Korean Carbon with KCTech in Jeonju.

See you @JEC Asia 2019 and eMove360° Asia, November 13 to 15,  Seoul Coex Convention and Exhibition Center

IRO AB, a member of the Vandewiele group, reports strong interest in its ZTF Zero Twist Feeder introduced at the recent ITMA 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, particularly from companies involved in the growing market of textile reinforcements for composites.

In the weaving of fibres such as carbon, glass and aramids, as well as thermoplastic tapes for highly-engineered composite fabrics, it is essential that there is no twist in the feed, which this new machine absolutely guarantees.

“The ZTF Zero Twist Feeder keeps the tape yarns or fibre tows constantly stretched to avoid the risks of any snarls or twisting,” explains Sales and Marketing Manager Pär Hedman. “During ITMA 2019 I spoke to many companies interested in this new machine, which will be supplied in bespoke versions specific to the individual needs of each customer and the intended end-use.”

JEC Forum Chicago 2019, with its new format combining business meetings and conference sessions was a great success. In fact, with 201 delegates and 490 business meetings organized on site, it reveals that North American composites industrials value this new format.

Business and Knowledge all at once
The forum was the occasion for sponsors to showcase their solutions, industry buyers from all the composites value-chain to easily meet during pre-arranged business, without mentioning a great participation of Top buyers from Arevo, Bollinger Motors, Bouygues – CBNA: Civil & Building North America, and Florida Department of Transportation and John Deere. All confirmed that their meetings were very successful and would be leading to prolific cooperation in the future.

STAMFORD, Conn. – At this year's Paris Airshow [Le Bourget, June 17-23] Hexcel will promote a range of carbon fibers and composite materials used to manufacture high-performance weight-saving structures in civil aircraft, engines, helicopters, and space applications.

Visitors to the Hexcel stand will see an Integrated Wing Panel demonstrator and an I-beam, both made with HiTape® carbon fiber reinforcements. HiTape® dry carbon reinforcements were developed for the automated lay-up of preforms and to complement a new generation of HiFlow™ resin systems, producing high-quality aerospace structures using the resin infusion process. The reinforcements incorporate a toughening veil to enhance mechanical properties and meet the structural requirements for aerospace parts. The I-Beam was manufactured using C-RTM (Compression Resin Transfer Molding) and was injected with Hexcel’s RTM6 resin in a process taking less than five minutes.

Hexcel honeycomb saves weight and enhances stiffness in composite structures, and the company provides a range of engineered core solutions that enable highly contoured parts with precision profiling to be produced to exact customer specifications. A sample part made from aluminum FlexCore® that is CNC machined on both sides and formed and stabilized with both peel ply and flyaway layers of stabilization will be on display.

Another honeycomb innovation is Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® broadband noise-reducing honeycomb that significantly improves acoustic absorption in aircraft engine nacelles. The acoustic treatment may be positioned at a consistent depth and resistance within the core or can be placed in a pattern of varying depths and/or resistances (Multi-Degrees of Freedom and 3 Degrees Of Freedom), offering an acoustic liner that is precisely tuned to the engine operating conditions. These technologies have been tested at NASA on a full engine test rig and meet all 16 design conditions without trade-offs.
Another Hexcel technology to benefit aircraft engines is HexShield™ honeycomb which provides high-temperature resistance in nacelles. By inserting a thermally resistant material into honeycomb cells, Hexcel provides a core product with unique heat-shielding capabilities that allows for the potential reuse of material after a fire.

With 50 years of experience behind its comprehensive range of high-strength, high-strain PAN-based carbon fibers, Hexcel continues to innovate and is introducing two new fibers to its portfolio. HexTow® HM50 combines high modulus and high tensile strength, making it ideal for commercial and defense aircraft and engines. HexTow® 85 was developed specifically to replace rayon-based carbon fiber for ablative applications.

Another area of expertise that uses HexTow® carbon fiber is additive manufacturing, where Hexcel uses PEKK ultrahigh performance polymers and HexAM™ technology to manufacture carbon reinforced 3D printed parts. This innovative process provides a weight-saving solution for intricate parts in highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications. HexPEKK™ structures offer significant weight, cost and time-to-market reductions, replacing traditional cast or machined metallic parts with a new technology.

Later this year Hexcel will open a joint research and development laboratory in Les Avenières (Isère), France with Arkema to develop carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg tapes for aerospace, space and defense applications. A spool of thermoplastic prepreg tape will be on display on Hexcel’s stand to showcase this cost-effective technology that enables lightweight parts to be produced in faster production cycles for future generations of aircraft.

Hexcel’s stand is located next to Hexcel’s official distributor for aerospace products, Groupe Gazechim Composites. In 2018, Hexcel and Gazechim formed a joint venture, HexCut Services, to provide aerospace and defense customers with customized kitting services that include Hexcel’s innovative carbon fiber prepreg, fabrics and adhesives. Pre-cut kits save customers time and investment, reduce inventory and minimize material losses through scrap reduction.

• Inspired by the health megatrend, the keynote theme for DOMOTEX puts wellbeing, naturalness and sustainability at the top of the agenda  
• Stronger focus on contract business
• Manufacturers invited to creatively frame their products as expressions of the keynote theme

Preparations are already ramping up for the 2020 edition of the world’s leading trade show for carpets and floor coverings DOMOTEX. The upcoming show, to be held from 10 to 13 January 2020, has ATMYSPHERE as its keynote theme, symbolizing its central focus on all those qualities of floors and floor coverings that contribute to wellbeing, naturalness and sustainability.
 
Examples of products from the floor coverings industry that possess these qualities include floors with acoustic properties or sound-insulation components; carpets that bind fine dust particles or have thermal insulation properties; resilient floor coverings that are hypo-allergenic; and natural-wood floorboards that improve the interior climate by capturing excess humidity and releasing it again when the air in the room is dry. Other qualities that enhance positive indoor atmospherics include softness and pleasantness to the touch, sustainability, and aesthetic details that help transform rooms into oases of personal wellbeing.
 
“This year, as indeed in previous years, the lead theme is inspired by a current megatrend,” explains Sonia Wedell-Castellano, Deutsche Messe’s Global Director DOMOTEX. “And that trend is society’s heightened focus on health. Health is synonymous with quality of life and living well – and therefore translates into high expectations of the spaces around us. Alongside this, considerations of sustainability and recycling – and hence natural materials – continue to play a major role in our society. In terms of floor coverings, these are considerations and themes that are currently very much to the fore with our exhibitors and their work, especially given the great importance of floors as elements of creative interior design. With the right materials and design, carpets and floor coverings can be important factors in personal wellbeing and in the design of homes and workplaces that promote it. That is why ATMYSPHERE is of such definitive importance for all our exhibitors and visitor target groups.”

The “Framing Trends” showcase at DOMOTEX 2020 is a unique opportunity for manufacturers, artists and students to stage interior designs inspired by the ATMYSPHERE keynote theme and hence position themselves as trend leaders in innovative products and solutions for today’s modern floors and their positive, lifeaffirming qualities. Applications for participation at the “Framing Trends” showcase  are now open. Interested exhibitors and flooring-industry companies are invited to submit their ideas for displays of indoor oases of wellbeing that are built from the floor up.

STITCH & TEX EXPO - AFRICA EDITION, renowned as “Africa’s No. 1 Trade Fair for textile industries”, is gathering Over 1,200 exhibitors from more than 40 countries; with almost 90% of the available space already booked. The trade fair will occupy a space of 50,000 m² of exhibition space, and more than 40,000 trade visitors, delegates and buyers from all over the African continent are expected to attend the event.

STITCH & TEX EXPO - AFRICA EDITION will feature the new concept of organizing two consecutive trade fairs; The first trade fair is dedicated to garment processing technologies including Sewing, Embroidery, Fabrics and their Accessories; While the second is dedicated to textile processing technologies including Weaving, Spinning, Knitting, and Dyeing Machinery, Technologies and Spare Parts; The two events are held under the giant brand STITCH & TEX EXPO - AFRICA EDITION; and will be held in the prestigious venue Cairo International Conventions and Exhibitions Center- Egypt during the period 27 February - 1 March 2020 and 5 - 8 March 2020 successively.

For eight days, the brightest minds of the textiles technologies business will meet in Cairo to demonstrate the latest industrial know-hows; discuss up-to-date tendencies and set the perception for the future. STITCH & TEX EXPO - AFRICA EDITION calls attention to its superior ranking not only through its prominence with the global industry but also by addressing the current challenges being the performance scale for the entire value chain of the African textile industries Bustling, energetic and wide-ranging, STITCH & TEX EXPO - AFRICA EDITION is a premium multi-format event with a distinct commercial and business identity; where cutting-edge technologies, products, services and turnkey solutions are provided by global strategic players and technology makers to serve the ever - growing evolving textile markets of Africa.

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, will be at ITMA to launch its latest innovations and system solutions aimed to help textile manufacturers with optimized productivity and/or value creation in their markets.

Archroma offers a wide portfolio of dyes and chemicals aiming to increase sustainability and innovation along the entire value chain, from fiber to finish.

Archroma is reputed for its continuous flow of ground-breaking innovations, such as the EarthColors®, a range of dyes made from non-edible natural waste from the agricultural and herbal industry, Inkpresso®, a digital printing system that enables ink mixing on site and on demand, Smartrepel® Hydro, a nature-friendlier protection that keeps cotton, polyester and polyamide textiles dry, the Color Atlas, a revolutionary color system comprising of a physical and online library of 4,320 new colors developed on cotton poplin.

More recently, Archroma introduced the purest indigo, Denisol® Pure Indigo, an aniline-free* synthetic pre-reduced liquid indigo launched in 2018, Appretan® NTR, a new nature-based binder for nonwovens, and Fadex® AS New, a new “super UV protector” for automotive & transportation textiles, both introduced in May 2019.

At ITMA, Archroma will present 24 solution systems and 5 innovations, and will hold “Innovation & Solutions Sessions” at its booth to present them.

The systems and innovations presented by Archroma have all been selected for their compliance with “The Archroma Way: safe, efficient, enhanced, it’s our nature”. The approach finds its origin in Archroma’s deep belief that it is possible to make the textile industry sustainable.

• Herzog: Organic start of Industry 4.0 scenarios with an app
• Mahlo: Better production results with digital help
• Lindauer DORNIER: An addition to personalized services

On the occasion of a VDMA press conference themed “ITMA countdown” in Frankfurt, speakers from member companies Lindauer DORNIER, Herzog and Mahlo showed how Industry 4.0 solutions are going to impact the textile process chain and what technologies visitors can expect to see at ITMA 2019. The products examples of the respective companies made clear that Industry 4.0 is no end in itself but helps to improve production processes and results and supplements the range of services.

Interview 1

Interview 2

Two successful events made in Bangladesh where fashion and innovation have, once more, come together to champion change and foster sustainability.

Bangladesh has a mission: to fetch its share in the global 130 billion dollars market of smart apparel by 2025. To reach this goal, the country aims to foster modern, innovative, technology-driven apparel manufacturing and to constantly engage in supply chain conversations.

A fitting stage for these conversations was the 2nd Bangladesh Fashionology Summit that took place on day 1 of the Bangladesh Denim Expo – held on 02-03 May 2019 at the International Convention City Bashundhara. This was a platform for thinkers, innovators, experts, educators to share innovative ideas on this edition’s main theme: “Digitalization – the Next Destination”. Sessions were provided to learn more on how innovation, specifically digitalization, fits in the world of the fashion industry.

Further to an increase in cost of production, the industry is even more compelled to focusing on finding added value for products. Here is where the smart clothing market comes in, an opportunity on which a thriving community of thinkers will commit to lead the “current-generation” garment production into the “next-generation” apparel manufacturing by using latest digital technology.

The Summit has also provided a Tech Innovation Zone (Tech Innovators: Trustrace, Shimmy Technologies, Infinited Fiber, Seachange Technologies, Reverse Resource) in collaboration with Fashion For Good, a platform for innovators to meet with the other components of the eco system, and an Exhibition Zone (Exhibitors: Pivot88, Lectra, Sindabad.com, Pacific Associates, Earlycavehuman, Foursource Group GmbH, A2i-Access to Information, GoBlu, Rudholm Group, QuizRR, BRAC, SNV, SR Asia, Swiss Contact) for companies to showcase their latest innovations, paying special attention to information sharing.