From the Sector

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen will take place from 25 to 27 March 2026 at the Bremen Parliament. The program will focus on technical innovations, market trends, and regulatory frameworks across the entire value chain – from agriculture to the circular economy. As well on the focus of high-profile speakers: Cotton quality and testing methods 

Raw cotton from different areas of production varies considerably in terms of fibre properties, thus directly influencing how well cotton can be spun into yarn and how textiles behave in further processing. Innovative testing methods enable assessing each bale reliably and reproducibly according to defined quality parameters. The aim is to make cotton qualities comparable, as this is a key prerequisite for global trade, pricing and reliable supply chains. Quality and quality testing are the historical focus of the Bremen conference. 

Real comparability on focus 
Various methods for testing cotton include High Volume Instrument Testing (such as Uster HVI) as a common method for instrumental cotton classification for price deter-mination and bale composition; Uster AFIS for testing the length, fineness, neps, etc. of individual fibres and the Mesdan Contest as a thermomechanical method for deter-mining the tendency of cotton to stick together. 

Mourad Krifa from Kent State University (USA) has been conducting research in the characterisation of cotton fibres for decades, focusing on length distribution. In his presentation he will introduce reliable statistical and software-based tools that help cotton growers, biotechnologists and processors to better analyse and utilise fibre distributions. 

Dr Müge Ekizoğlu, İzmir Commodity Exchange (ICE), is going to present the certified storage and classification system for Turkish cotton based on instrumental classification using High Volume Instruments. As one of the leading cotton-growing and producing countries, objective quality assessment for export and international standards is crucial for the Türkiye. 

Deninson Lima, ABRAPA Brazil, will present the results of a study on the measurement uncertainties determined for HVI devices used in Brazil. Based on the GUM standard, significant sources of uncertainty such as instrument design, environmental conditions, sample preparation and operator influence were analysed. The study quantified three repeatability, reproducibility and possible distortions and emphasises the importance of regular calibrations, quality controls and systematic uncertainty budgeting. 

Gabriele Salvinelli, Mesdan, Italy, will present the Contest S series testing equipment. These super automated systems measure the stickiness of raw cotton, which can mess up spinning machines and may lead to higher maintenance effort as well as lower quality. Since standardised environmental conditions are often not fully complied with in practice, the study examines the extended humidity range in which reliable measurement results are possible and provides users with practical recommendations.

UNITEX is expanding its capacity by a further 36,000 tons per year with a new filament yarn production plant. Once again, the Vietnamese company is relying on solutions from Barmag. UNITEX is a subsidiary of Century Corporation and a leading Vietnamese supplier of high-quality specialty yarns and recycled DTY.

What makes it special is that the plant, which was inaugurated in Trang Bang at the end of January, is completely digitalized using Barmag's atmos.io digitalization platform. This means that the entire material flow is digitally recorded and networked, and each individual package is individualized and documented with its personal characteristics. With the help of artificial intelligence, deviations in production are detected at an early stage so that operators can react immediately. Corrections in the material flow can be made in real time. The laboratory, which is digitally integrated into the process, safeguards interventions in the material flow. As a result, atmos.io increases efficiency on the shop floor and enhances process quality – and thus product quality as well. “With the atmos.io digitalization platform, we create a holistic solution that unifies the entire production process. This not only enables us to achieve consistently high overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), but also supports fast, well-informed decision-making and flexible adaptation to individual customer environments,” says UNITEX CEO Jack Dang, explaining his decision to choose atmos.io..

Extensive third-party automation is also seamlessly integrated into atmos.io. “atmos.io is the platform for the smart factory. We don't stop at connecting our scope of supply, as that would not help our customers. Our aim is comprehensive tracking from the melt to the stored package,” explains Jörg Groß, Lead of Digital Product Development. The Remscheid-based plant manufacturer and solution provider for manmade fiber production supplied the hardware for all process stages, from chip preparation to extrusion, spinning, and texturing, including utilities. 

Dibella is increasing its demand for Cotton made in Africa (CmiA)–verified cotton by 9% compared to the previous year (825 tonnes), reaching a total of 900 tonnes in 2026. This underscores the company’s strategic objective to continuously support the cultivation of sustainable fibers. 

By supporting CmiA cotton, Dibella makes a measurable contribution to greater sustainability along the textile value chain. CmiA stands for more resource-efficient cotton cultivation: reliance on natural rainfall instead of irrigation, the exclusion of hazardous pesticides, and low greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the initiative strengthens the economic resilience of smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa. A key impact of CmiA lies in its social effect: through training programs on efficient agriculture, occupational safety, and gender equality, incomes are stabilized and living conditions sustainably improved. In addition, education, health, and infrastructure projects in the growing regions are financed. 

“Increasing our CmiA cotton volume is far more than just a number for us,” emphasizes Michaela Gnass, CSR Manager at Dibella. “It represents tangible improvements on the ground—for farming families, for environmental standards, and for more responsible textile production. The annual increase in the use of CmiA fibers in our supply chain is part of our sustainability strategy. As a provider of contract textiles, we see it as our duty to take responsibility and not merely to source materials.” 

Dibella uses Cotton made in Africa cotton in accordance with a mass balance approach. This enables the company to efficiently integrate sustainable cotton into existing production processes while systematically increasing demand for CmiA cotton. This creates an important lever for anchoring more sustainable cultivation methods in the market over the long term. In addition to the mass balance system, Cotton made in Africa also offers full traceability from the origin of the cotton to the finished product.

Fibers made from bio-based plastics reduce dependence on fossil raw materials and promote the circular economy. The covalent bonding of flame-retardant additives can open the way for these fibers to enter the mass market.

The recent fire disaster in Switzerland has revealed how crucial the use of flame-retardant materials is in construction materials, insulation, and many other everyday objects. Textiles with flame-retardant properties fulfill a particularly important function here, as they are used in considerable quantities - not only in building materials, but also in safety and protective clothing, in vehicle interiors, and in home furnishings such as carpets and upholstered furniture.

Flame-retardant compounds have been used for synthetic fibers for decades. Inorganic, brominated, or organophosphorus compounds, which are particularly used in polyester fibers, have proven to be highly effective. Phosphorus compounds are slightly less harmful to the environment when released and are therefore often the first choice. Their effectiveness is based on the fact that they form a protective carbonization layer and intercept radicals, which reduces the flammability of the material. The release of toxic gases and further heat development is limited.

For several years now, there has been a shift in the use of synthetic fibers toward bio-based fibers. Although their market share is still small compared to established synthetic fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate or polypropylene, they are growing steadily. Bio-based fibers are gaining in importance because they reduce the demand for fossil raw materials. At the same time, their use supports the circular economy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Persistent and effective flame retardancy in bio-based fibers that is also inexpensive and environmentally friendly could give bio-based textiles a boost in innovation and contribute to significant market expansion. This is where the DITF's “Polymers and Fiber Composites” research team comes in with the development of a flame-retardant, bio-based plastic called polyethylene furanoate (PEF). PEF is similar in many properties to the widely used polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but unlike PET, it is made from bio-based monomers. While PEF is already technologically advanced and on its way to the mass market, it currently lacks flame retardancy, which would enable its widespread use in the textile sector.

At the DITF, PEF is not only synthesized in in-house reactors. Extensive test series have also been conducted to evaluate the suitability of various phosphorus-based flame retardants in different concentrations. Two things are important to the researchers here: First, the flame retardant should be covalently bound to the polymer molecules to prevent bleeding. This is crucial for long-term fire protection of fibers because of their small diameter and high specific surface area. Second, the concentration of flame retardant should be as low as possible while still providing the best possible effect. Despite their good fire protection properties, all common additives share that they are potentially harmful to health and, when released into the environment, are difficult to degrade because they are chemically stable. In Denkendorf, they have not only succeeded in meeting these requirements. They have also been able to increase the molecular weight of the synthesized polymers by solid state polymerization to spin fibers with higher strength.

Further thermal and rheological investigations of the polymers with different flame-retardant concentrations identified the most suitable variant for the spinning process. In addition to the PEF variant containing five grams of phosphorus per kilogram of polymer in the form of copolymerized organophosphorus compounds, a flame retardant-free PEF reference was spun. The fibers obtained in the spinning laboratory were processed into textile fabrics, which were subjected to fire tests. The flame-retardant knitted fabrics showed significantly reduced flammability. The DITF will continue to study in flame-retardant, bio-based PEF fibers.

• The companies UBE and ZIKNES, the University of Valencia, and the AIMPLAS Plastics Technology Centre are collaborating on this project, funded by IVACE+i Innovation with support from ERDF funds.
• Applications include packaging, agricultural covers, automotive components and large-scale 3D demonstrators.
• Collaboration with Sea2See ensures the supply of recovered nets from Ghana and strengthens the project’s circular value chain.

The abandonment of fishing nets in seas and oceans is one of the most persistent environmental problems. In response to this situation, the REDES4VALUE project works to recover and recycle disused fishing nets, transforming them into new sustainable, high value-added products such as recycled nylon, films for packaging and agricultural covers, automotive components, and large-format parts produced by additive manufacturing. These developments are achieved through innovative mechanical and chemical recycling processes, combined with reactive extrusion technologies.

This initiative, funded by the Valencian Institute of Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+i) and ERDF funds, brings together a consortium formed by AIMPLAS (Plastics Technology Centre), UBE, ZIKNES and the University of Valencia. Their shared objective is to close the life cycle of polyamides and reduce marine pollution through innovative, industry-ready solutions.

Although many nets are made of polyethylene or polypropylene, the project focuses on polyamide nets, a material with great potential for chemical recycling. Its molecular structure allows the recovery of monomers such as caprolactam, enabling the production of new polyamides with properties virtually identical to those of virgin materials.

‘We are achieving optimised conditions for depolymerising fishing nets and recovering monomers with purities above 95% in some laboratory-scale streams, and over 80% at pilot scale”. This will allow us to repolymerise and obtain new polyamides with quality equivalent to virgin material,’ explains Nairim Torrealba, a researcher in Chemical Recycling at AIMPLAS.

Recycled polyamides are intended for sectors such as packaging, agriculture, automotive and 3D printing. Companies such as UBE are already analysing their commercialisation and ZIKNES is adapting its equipment to validate large-format parts. Initial applications include packaging films, agricultural covers, automotive components and large-scale 3D demonstrators.

‘These materials have immediate industrial applications and a clear sustainability advantage over conventional polyamides. These solutions not only reduce dependence on virgin raw materials, but also open up new opportunities for industry in terms of sustainability and the circular economy,’ said Torrealba.

Disruptive technology and international collaboration
REDES4VALUE is advancing in processes such as hydrothermal depolymerisation, ionic liquid-assisted solvolysis and reactive extrusion, as well as comprehensive life cycle and feasibility assessments. One of the main challenges of the project is the treatment of highly degraded nets with a high presence of impurities, but the results are very promising.

Collaboration with the Sea2See brand has ensured access to fishing nets recovered in Ghana since 2019 and has been key to structuring the project’s circular value chain from the waste source. ‘Without this supply of material, it would not be possible to move forward. The nets that arrive from Ghana are essential for validating the processes and obtaining real results,’ said Torrealba.

Consortium and next steps
The project involves AIMPLAS, which is responsible for chemical recycling tasks, UBE for scaling and repolymerisation, ZIKNES for 3D printing validation, and the MATS group at the University of Valencia (MATS-UV) for solvolysis and kinetics studies. ‘Our goal is to consolidate a chemical recycling line that can be applied to complex waste and demonstrate that it is a real and necessary solution,’ concluded Torrealba.

This initiative is funded by the Valencian Institute of Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+i), through the Strategic Cooperation Projects programme in its 2024 call for proposals, with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Shareholders' Nomination Board of Suominen Corporation proposes to the Annual General Meeting 2026 that the number of Board members will be decreased from seven to six.

The Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that Andreas Ahlström, Gail Ciccione, Nina Linander, Maija Joutsenkoski and Laura Remes would be re-elected as members of the Board of Directors and that Ville Vuori would be elected as a new member of the Board of Directors.

Out of the current Board members, Björn Borgman, is not available as a candidate for the Board of Directors. Additionally, the current Chairman of the Board, Charles Héaulmé, has decided to step out from the Board of Directors due to his role as the President & CEO of the Company. 

Ville Vuori (b. 1973, B.Sc. (Mech. Eng.), eMBA, Finnish citizen) currently acts as the Chairman of the Boards of Incap Oyj and Aspocomp Oyj. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of Kemppi Oy and Incap Oyj. Ville Vuori’s CV is attached to this stock exchange release. The proposed current members of the Board of Directors are presented on the company website www.suominen.fi.

All candidates have given their consent to the election. All candidates are independent of the company. The candidates are also independent of Suominen’s significant shareholders, with the exceptions of Andreas Ahlström who acts currently as the CEO of Ahlström Invest B.V. and Maija Joutsenkoski who acts as the Investment Director at A. Ahlström Corporation. The largest shareholder of Suominen Corporation, Ahlstrom Capital B.V., belongs to the same group of companies as Ahlström Invest B.V. and A. Ahlström Corporation.

The Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that Ville Vuori would be elected as the Chair of the Board of Directors.

With regard to the election procedure for the members of the Board of Directors, the Nomination Board recommends that the shareholders take a position on the proposal as a whole at the Annual General Meeting. In preparing its proposals the Nomination Board, in addition to ensuring that individual board member candidates possess the required competences, has determined that the proposed Board of Directors as a whole has the best possible expertise for the company and that the composition of the Board of Directors meets the other requirements of the Finnish Corporate Governance Code for listed companies.

Proposal on the Board remuneration
The Nomination Board proposes that the remuneration of the Board of Directors remains unchanged and would be as follows: the Chair would be paid an annual fee of EUR 74,000, the Deputy Chair an annual fee of EUR 45,000 and other Board members an annual fee of EUR 35,000. The Nomination Board also proposes that the additional fee paid to the Chair of the Audit Committee would remain unchanged and be EUR 10,000.

Further, the Nomination Board proposes that the fees payable for each Board and Committee meeting would remain unchanged and be as follows: EUR 500 for each meeting held in the home country of the respective member, EUR 1,000 for each meeting held elsewhere than in the home country of the respective member and EUR 500 for each meeting attended by telephone or other electronic means. No fee is paid for decisions made without convening a meeting.

75% of the annual fees is paid in cash and 25% in Suominen Corporation’s shares. The shares will be transferred out of the own shares held by the company by the decision of the Board of Directors within two weeks from the date on which the interim report of January–March 2026 of the company is published.

Compensation for expenses will be paid in accordance with the company's valid travel policy.

The composition of the Nomination Board
The members of the Nomination Board, as of September 2, 2025, are Jyrki Vainionpää (President & CEO of A. Ahlström Corporation) as a member appointed by Ahlstrom Capital B.V., Mikael Etola (CEO of Etola-Yhtiöt) as a member appointed by Etola Group Oy and Ville Vuori (Board Professional) as a member appointed by Oy Etra Invest Ab. Charles Héaulmé, Chair of Suominen’s Board of Directors, serves as the fourth member of the Nomination Board.

Jyrki Vainionpää acts as the Chair of the Nomination Board. 

All of the proposals made by the Nomination Board were unanimous, except that Charles Héaulmé and Ville Vuori abstained from participating in the decision making relating to the Nomination Board’s proposal for the Chair of the Board.

The Board of Directors of Suominen Corporation will include the proposals submitted by the Nomination Board to the Notice of the Annual General Meeting of Suominen which will be published at a later date. The Annual General Meeting of Suominen Corporation is scheduled to be held on April 15, 2026.

Kornit Digital Ltd., a global market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production technologies, today announced the appointment of Andrew G. Backman as Chief Capital Markets Officer, effective January 13, 2026. In this role, Mr. Backman will support Kornit’s capital markets activities, investor relations, and corporate and business development initiatives. 

Mr. Backman, who will be based at the Company's U.S. Headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey, has extensive capital markets and investor relations experience, participating in more than $30 billion in capital markets transactions, and maintaining long-standing relationships with institutional investors, sell-side analysts, and global investment banking partners. He previously served as Kornit’s Global Head of Investor Relations from 2021 to 2023. 

Mr. Backman recently served as Global Head of Investor Relations at EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME), with prior experiences including senior capital markets and investor relations roles across more than 14 industries. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Boston College and is a graduate of AT&T / Lucent Technologies’ Financial Leadership Program. 

LAB 102 – the blue veins of CHT – brings the Denim Industry closer to permanganate-free bleaching through new application findings within the organIQ seek platform

CHT Group announces new technical findings within its organIQ seek platform that significantly advance the transition toward permanganate-free denim bleaching. Through extensive industrial testing and application research, CHT confirms that organIQ seek can now be used with remarkable effectiveness as a substitute for potassium permanganate in spray bleach, while remaining aligned with sustainability expectations and cost realities in the European market.

The global denim sector continues to rely heavily on potassium permanganate to achieve the characteristic “used look.” Internal calculations indicate that approximately 250,000 liters of permanganate solution are consumed daily in continuous global production. Despite growing regulatory pressure and brand commitments under European sustainability frameworks, the adoption of ecological alternatives has been limited due to technical challenges such as inconsistencies in color loss, fiber sensitivity and equipment corrosion.

CHT has a long history of pioneering sustainable denim chemistry. In 2015, the company introduced organIQ BLEACH T, the first ecological alternative to potassium permanganate with near-unrestricted application performance. Although highly effective, costs prevented broad industry adoption at the time.
 
After more than a decade of focused research conducted by the specialists at LAB102, the blue veins of CHT can now confirm a major advancement within its organIQ seek ecosystem. While organIQ seek has been known for its versatility and ecological profile, its performance level now brings the industry significantly closer to truly permanganate-free bleaching. The technology has reached a stage where it performs incredibly well as a permanganate substitute in spray bleach, delivering consistent fading effects, excellent color removal and reliable process stability – without the environmental drawbacks traditionally associated with KMnO₄. Furthermore, the same chemistry remains fully compatible with water-based bleaching, nebulization (fogging) and foam applications, including sharp contrast effects such as the classic salt-andpepper finish.

“Since the introduction of organIQ BLEACH T, our objective has been to offer ecological solutions that meet the technical realities of industrial denim finishing. The confirmed capabilities of organIQ seek in spray bleach applications represent a meaningful step toward reducing and ultimately replacing permanganate use - both technically and economically. This is an important development for the denim industry in Europe and worldwide.” says Thomas Aplas, Head of LAB102.

These new findings fit naturally within the existing organIQ seek platform and support the growing demand for safer and more responsible chemistry in the EU textile sector. They also align with emerging European regulatory frameworks, including the EU Green Deal, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and increasing brand commitments to phase out hazardous substances.

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, participates in Colombiatex 2026, one of the most influential textile and apparel industry events in the Americas. The event will take place in Medellín, Colombia, from January 27 to 29. 

At Colombiatex 2026, Archroma will highlight its latest innovations designed to support more sustainable, high-performance textile production. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the company’s award-winning AVITERA® SE dyes and SILIGEN® D2W, alongside a strong portfolio of advanced solutions including BLUE MAGIC, THIOTAN® R, ERIOFAST®, ERIOPON® E3 SAVE, and TERASIL® W-VM. In addition, visitors will also be able to explore solutions from our latest partnership with HeiQ. 

“These innovations reflect our commitment to helping the textile industry meet growing demands for performance, efficiency, and sustainability,” said Gerardo Estrada, Vice President, Americas, Archroma. “Colombiatex is a key platform for connecting with partners across the Americas, and we look forward to demonstrating how our solutions can enable more planet conscious textile production.” 

Terrot Textilmaschinen GmbH has unveiled the new T-Frame, a universal machine frame platform for large-diameter circular knitting machines. Designed to meet growing demands for flexibility, stability, and operational safety, the T-Frame provides a next-generation foundation for both current and future industrial knitting machines, combining German engineering expertise with a modular, future-ready design approach.

Industry Relevance & Market Context
Circular knitting producers worldwide are facing growing pressure to increase output flexibility while maintaining consistent fabric quality under tighter cost and labor constraints. At the same time, demand for ergonomic operation, machine safety and sustainable production concepts are rising. The T-Frame directly addresses these challenges by combining mechanical robustness with smart structural design, enabling manufacturers to respond faster to market changes without compromising process reliability.

Technological Core
With the T-Frame, Terrot introduces a newly engineered tubular machine frame made from premium steel, developed to handle higher mechanical loads while improving precision and machine accessibility. After nearly three decades of proven large-diameter machine concepts, the company has completely redesigned the frame architecture.

At the core of the innovation is an intelligently welded frame construction that combines structural rigidity with modular adaptability. A single, standardized frame platform supports multiple extraction and take-down variants, reducing mechanical complexity while enabling fast configuration changes. Integrated cable routing, centralized display positioning and optimized component layouts replace traditional add-on solutions and improve both ergonomics and safety.

Industrial Benefits & Business Impact

The T-Frame platform delivers measurable advantages in daily production environments:

• Operational flexibility:
  One universal frame supports multiple machine configurati¬ons, enabling rapid adaptation to changing fabric requirements.
• High productivity:
  Increased structural stability guarantees knitting precision at industrial speeds, particularly in large diameters ranging from 26 to 54 inches.
• Improved efficiency:
  Standardized components and optimized accessibility redu¬ces setup times and simplifies maintenance routines.
• Enhanced safety & reliability:
  Intelligent cable management and reduced external attachments minimize failure points and support long-term process stability.
• Future readiness:
  The platform is designed to accommodate upcoming machine generations, protecting customer investment.

Terrot T-Frame platform is available for large-diameter tubular circular knitting machines in multiple frame sizes and configurations. The development stands for transformation in textile manufacturing, combining the company’s long-standing engineering expertise with a clear commitment to future-oriented, user-friendly production processes.