From the Sector

Solvay awarded a scholarship to facilitate an educational alliance between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Fermi High School in Cecina. The initiative unfolded during an event held at Solvay's Rosignano site in Italy, providing a platform for students and faculty. Through this partnership, 200 Fermi High School students participated in STEM* and digital lessons from MIT's Global Teaching Labs project, emphasizing the teaching of scientific disciplines by the American university.

Beyond the scholarship award ceremony, students received a tour of Solvay's factory in Rosignano. The tour highlighted the company's dedication to safety, sustainability, and bridging the gap between academia and industry challenges. The experience illustrated the practical application of academic studies in an industrial context, showcasing Solvay's advanced control procedures, safety protocols, technological innovations, digital transformation efforts, and sustainability measures.

Discussions during the event included key sustainability topics such as water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management, and Solvay's commitment to promoting a balanced work-life culture and diversity within the workplace.

This collaboration aligns with Solvay's global Corporate Citizenship program. Through this program, Solvay supports individuals and communities, channeling efforts to tackle worldwide societal challenges through strategic investments in education, sustainability, and local community initiatives.

*STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics

• EBITDA of around EUR 300 million expected for 2023
• Non-cash impairment losses of up to EUR 480 million
• Implementation of the performance program fully on track

The annual valuation of assets in accordance with IFRS for the entire Lenzing Group both nationally in Austria and internationally, has resulted in a projected asset impairment of up to EUR 480 million for the 2023 financial year.¹ The reasons for the impairment requirements are, on the one hand, continued uncertainties in the economic environment and, on the other hand, still increased raw material and energy costs as well as a higher interest rate environment.

The impairment losses are non-cash effective and have no impact on the full-year EBITDA for 2023, but do affect EBIT for the 2023 financial year. The Managing Board is specifying the previous earnings forecast for the 2023 financial year (EBITDA: EUR 270 – 330 million) and expects an EBITDA of around EUR 300 million.

Stephan Sielaff, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group: “In the third quarter of 2023, we responded to the persistently difficult market environment and launched a comprehensive performance program, which we have been consistently implementing since then with a focus on positive free cash flow and stronger sales and margin growth. We can therefore confirm our earnings forecast with an EBITDA of around EUR 300 million. The valuation adjustment in accordance with IFRS does not change the strategic orientation of the Lenzing Group.”

Nico Reiner, Chief Financial Officer, adds: “The implementation of the performance program is going according to plan. In the future, cost measures alone are expected to contribute more than EUR 100 million to earnings annually, of which more than EUR 50 million will already be effective for the 2024 financial year. We are on target, particularly in terms of strengthening free cash flow, and we also achieved positive free cash flow in the fourth quarter. The revaluation of assets is now consistent and the right step for the future direction.”

The 2023 annual results will be presented on March 15, 2024.
 

¹ Subject to potential changes resulting from the ongoing financial audit

Software group Everfield has acquired the Swedish software reseller “SoCom Scandinavia AB” (SoCom Scandinavia). The previously independent reseller is now a subsidiary of German “SoCom Informationssysteme GmbH” (SoCom), which Everfield acquired early 2023. SoCom Scandinavia distributes SoCom’s ERP system for the commercial laundry industry in Scandinavia. SoCom is among Europe’s leading providers in this segment and with this acquisition is further expanding its market position in the Nordic countries.

“By acquiring SoCom Scandinavia, we have successfully completed the first so-called bolt-on acquisition for one of our portfolio companies”, says Oscar Koberling, Acquisitions Manager at Everfield. In a bolt-on acquisition, the company being purchased is integrated into an existing portfolio company. “We focus on long-term sustainable growth and work closely with the management of our portfolio companies to identify the right targets”, Koberling highlights. “With the addition of SoCom Scandinavia, SoCom can now further strengthen the sales and support in this region and thereby continue to foster growth in Scandinavia.” With its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software “TIKOS”, the German software developer SoCom from Krumbach enables laundries of any scale to achieve end-to-end process management.

SoCom Scandinavia distributes the “TIKOS” laundry software in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The company was founded in 2017 by the sole shareholder Anna Johansson, in close cooperation with the German SoCom Informationssysteme GmbH. “I myself come from the commercial laundry industry and was therefore able to convince myself of the performance and flexibility of the TIKOS software in practice”, says Anna Johansson. “Our success in the past years shows that many laundries in Scandinavia share this assessment. In the future, we will work even more closely with our German colleagues to further expand our market share in the region.”

Johansson and her team will continue to be available to customers at the existing location. “Since establishing SoCom Scandinavia, Anna and her team have already won and supported a plethora of well-known clients for our software”, emphasizes SoCom’s CEO Michael Wieser. “By integrating SoCom Scandinavia, we can streamline our processes even further. Our main goal remains to offer the best possible service to our clients.”

With its steadily growing software and service portfolio, SoCom has been operating in the laundry industry for over thirty years and is a market leader in the German-speaking region. In total, SoCom’s products are used in over 350 laundries across 17 countries.

There are only a few days left until the SEEK community comes together at the Station Berlin on 16 and 17 January 2024. The team around SEEK's Show Director Marie-Luise Patzelt is looking forward to welcome around 200 brands, speakers such as Jessica Arnold (Adidas), Sebastian Haufellner (Lodenfrey), Yannik Dietrich (Breuninger), Martyna Zastawna (Vogue), numerous game changers from the sustainability scene and new fashion and lifestyle inspirations.

The new alliance between SEEK and UNION Showroom presents its joint project "THE JUNCTION" for the first time. A selection of high-quality brands with a focus on craftsmanship, origin, and history will be presented in Station Berlin's exclusive loft spaces, includes brands such as A New Sweden, Bruné, Freenote Cloth, Fullcount, Godspeed, Good-Alls, Hidden Aces, Nudie Jeans, Oodoo Boots, Paltò, Viberg, White Sand, and Tenue. THE JUNCTION starts simultaneously with UNION on 14.01.24 and ends with SEEK on 17.01.24.

The SEEK brand portfolio currently encompasses almost 200 brands, including 46 % conscious brands and 45 % newcomers. Buyers and visitors can look forward to brands such as Aer Scents, Bask in the Sun, Chrome, Danner, Dedicated, Givn Berlin, Hestra, Kangaroos, Novesta, Palladium, Pyrenex, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Welter Shelter and Woodbird. Newcomers include Afoam Stories, A Good Company, Dale Of Norway, Good Wool Story, Heimat, Hen's Teeth, Open Era, Pompeii, The Jogg Concept, Wax London and many more.

The SEEK Conscious Club forms the heart of the January edition and is developing into the "place to be" of the sustainability scene. Purpose-driven business practices, systematic sustainability and practical standards will become even more crucial in 2024. With this in mind, the SEEK team introduces the innovative "360 Sustainability Validation" with its partners IVALO.COM and studio MM04. The "360 Sustainability Validation" - powered by IVALO.COM and consulted by studio MM04. Customers can see brand sustainability in 8 different sustainability categories. 360 is a commercial production value chain analysis tool that provides results that are comparable. The aim is to make the complex sub-areas of sustainability in fashion more transparent and comparable. The SEEK team has been working with the sustainability experts at studio MM04 for a long time and is delighted to be part of this important step towards standardising sustainability evaluations. Participating brands in this years Conscious Club are Basic Apparel, Bread & Boxers, Cabaia, Camper, Dawn Denim, Flamingos Life, Isaora, Jan'n June, Kings of Indigo, Rita Row, Secrid, Stapf and Thinking Mu, amongst others.

Together with renowned experts, SEEK is once again presenting a content programme with live interviews, talks, panels and community classes. Speakers such as Carl Tillessen (Deutsches Mode Institut), Steffen Liese (JD Sports), Stephan Huber (Style in Progress), Penny Whitelaw (Good on You), Mimi Sewalski (Avocadostore), Valerie Vogel (Engelhorn), Cheryll Mühlen (J'N'C), Rune Orloff (Pool), Sabine Rogg (Trendbüro), Anthony Lui (A New Sweden), Patrick Bergmann (Famefact), Florian Müller (Müller PR & Consulting) will share their insights exclusively with the SEEK community. The diverse programme includes themes such as pricing and profiling success strategies in times of disruption, a "no-bullshit" guide for brand spaces, the most important LinkedIn and consumer trends for 2024, new chances for recruiting and leadership as well as mental health in fashion.

Stahl, a leader in speciality coatings and treatments for flexible substrates, announces the launch of its new visual brand identity, marking an important step in Stahl's strategic journey.

This transformative initiative marks the next step in Stahl's strategic journey, aligning the company’s visual brand identity with its purpose and strategic direction. In recent years, Stahl has been evolving its positioning and offering to meet the changing needs of its customers and markets and to drive the next phase of its growth. In particular, the rebranding project follows the recent acquisition of Stahl Packaging Coatings (formerly ICP Industrial Solutions Group) as well as the launch of Stahl’s new purpose: Touching lives, for a better world. The purpose encapsulates the company's commitment to making a positive impact on the world, reflecting not only Stahl’s proud heritage, but also its future influence as a leader in speciality coatings and treatments for flexible substrates.

Stahl has also introduced a new colour palette to help visualise and differentiate its activities and its approach to sustainability and other strategic topics.

2024 is a turning point for the European textiles and clothing industry: From 6 to 9 June 2024, European citizens will vote for a new European Parliament and, based on the results, a new European Commission will be formed. In view of this important election, EURATEX publishes a Manifesto, presenting 15 requests which will help to ensure a competitive European textiles and clothing industry.

The textile and apparel industry is making a substantial contribution to European wealth, jobs and growth. Europe counts 192,000 companies employing 1.3 million workers with a turnover of €167 billion and over €67 billion of exports. Entrepreneurship should be recognised as the foundation for a competitive textile industry, offering high quality and sustainable products, based on innovation, creativity and design. European policy makers should recognise such role to textiles and apparel companies and have an open dialogue to create better framework conditions to operate in the internal and global markets.

To realise that vision, the industry and policy makers need to work together on a mix of policy measures and initiatives, which are coherent and offer a transparent and predictable framework for our companies, and make them more resilient and competitive.

These policies should focus around four points:

Develop and implement a “smart” EU industrial policy
Europe should create policies which enhance competitiveness, instead of creating administrative burdens. To EURATEX, each new piece of legislation should undergo a “competitiveness test” to critically look at the impact of the new rules. Europe should also create a favourable environment to promote education and jobs in the industry. The EU textile industry currently employees 1,3 million people, 30% of which is above 50 years old. A critical bottleneck for the textile industry is to attract (young) people and make sure these people have the right set of skills, to operate in a changing textile ecosystem. EURATEX also asks the EU to invest in innovation and digitalisation as they are key to the European competitive advantage. Not only, as the last years have proved, Europe should provide companies with access to sustainable energy at lower prices.

No sustainability without competitiveness
The EU Strategy for Sustainable Textiles is pushing our sector towards new business models with a lower environmental footprint. To realise that ambition, no less than 16 regulatory proposals are on the table, each of them with a different timetable, managed by different departments of the European Commission. EURATEX is committed to sustainability, but asks for economic realism. This set of new regulations needs to be coherent, enforceable, feasible and applicable for SMEs, and not push textile companies out of the market. Moreover, some member states are moving forward faster and some legislations will be decided at national level, creating fragmentation of the market. Such scenarios will hamper Europe and its possibilities to grow.

Ensure free and fair trade
With $224 billion in sold merchandise, Europe is the second major world exporters of textiles and clothes after China ($321 billion). It is therefore important that the global market should be open, free and fair for our industry to continue to thrive. Besides the support to FTAs in general, EURATEX wants to emphasise that all trade agreements should offer effective market access for EU companies and a level playing field in these markets. A free and open market should go hand in hand also with protection against free riders. The EU must always consider enforcement and enforceability when making new laws; it should also take action together with the member states for a better coordination with harmonised criteria for action among Customs Authorities.

Incentivise the Demand for sustainable textiles
Sustainable textile products typically come at a premium price, making it difficult for many consumers and buyers to purchase such products. Many surveys across Europe confirm that around 50% of interviewees do not purchase sustainable fashion products and the main reason is price. EURATEX believes that, to create a demand and help consumers to buy a (genuine) sustainable textile product, there should be standard requirements and fiscal incentives. Public authorities should also implement green public procurements, by increasing the importance of sustainability criteria in their evaluation grids.

On December 7th and 8th, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) in partnership with Fashion for Good, facilitated the “Chemical Recycling Technologies: Manufacturing Markets Gateway”, in Bangladesh. Fashion for Good, the Amsterdam based global platform for innovation, along with two disruptive technology start-ups focused on textile-to-textile chemical recycling, Circ and Infinited Fiber Company, were the key stakeholders in this initiative.

The two-day visit leveraged Bangladesh's status as a major garment production hub, exploring the potential of chemical recycling technologies to enhance environmental sustainability. Emphasizing the importance of circularity, the event aimed to spread awareness about current disruptive innovations that could transform the industry's approach to waste and resource management, setting an example for future sustainable practices. It focuses on integrating these technologies within the local manufacturing landscape, securing feedstock partnerships, and developing a value chain for recycled apparel materials.

Denim Asia Limited, Knit Asia Limited, Progress Apparels Limited, Ananta BD, Reverse Resources, and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) played pivotal roles in this initiative. Knit Asia Ltd, notably acclaimed for their commitment to sustainable practices, along with Denim Asia, associated with the sustainable brand Noize Jeans, showcased their commitment to sustainable manufacturing processes.
Progress Apparels Limited, a ready-made garment producer and part of PDS Limited demonstrated its advanced sustainable production facilities. Reverse Resources and the BGMEA hosted an intimate “Meet and Greet Networking Session”, to boost awareness about the technologies in the industry.

Mr. Mostafiz Uddin, Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange, emphasized the significance of this event for the wider Bangladeshi textile industry, " Bangladesh has the biggest manufacturing sector in South Asia and this tour marks a critical step towards a circular fashion ecosystem, also how can the fashion industry become more sustainable in Bangladesh. It's not just an event; it's part of a larger movement to incorporate innovative recycling, Sustainable Fashion technologies and establish global partnerships for a sustainable fashion industry."

Featuring interactive sessions, factory visits, and knowledge sharing, this initiative offered a platform for fostering collaborations between manufacturers and technology innovators.

Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Fashion for Good are optimistic about a future where Bangladesh leads in sustainable and circular apparel manufacturing.

RUDOLF HUB1922 makes a move in response to the escalating demand for genuinely sustainable technologies, particularly from forward-thinking segments within the textile and apparel industry. In a showcase at Denim by Premiere Vision Milan, RUDOLF HUB1922 presents a pioneering range of textile chemistry that embodies true evolution.

This chemistry marks a milestone in addressing the pressing need for sustainable solutions. By harnessing raw materials derived from organic waste, plastic waste, and renewable feedstock, RUDOLF's latest textile innovations stand poised to transform the industry, promising a substantial reduction in its environmental footprint.

Alberto De Conti, Head of RUDOLF HUB1922, emphasizes the radical nature of evolutionary textile chemistry, stating, "RUDOLF's approach tackles the challenge of waste generation head-on by transforming waste materials into valuable resources". The diversion of waste and renewable feedstock away from landfills and incinerators to fuel textile chemical production is a game-changer, that diminishes the industry's reliance on non-renewable resources and endorses a circular economy model.

The successful integration of chemicals derived from organic and plastic waste, as well as renewable feedstocks, necessitates effective communication and education. Herein lies the significance of fostering collaborative efforts within the industry. De Conti underscores this point, stating, "Collaboration among scientists, fashion designers, and manufacturers is paramount. It propels a collective shift towards sustainable practices, making eco-friendly fashion the standard and minimizing the industry's environmental impact".

Successful SMCCreate 2023 Design Conference in Prague

With over 60 participants from Europe and the USA the second edition of the SMCCreate Design Conference took place from November 7th to 8th in Prague. The conference was jointly organized by the AVK – Federation of Reinforced Plastics and the European Alliance for SMC BMC, promoting the use of SMC and providing design tools to designers for applying these versatile materials.

During the SMCCreate 2023 conference topics covered the wide spectrum of the design with fiber composite/composite components in SMC and BMC technology, from conceptual design, development, and scale-up, with a special emphasis on recycling and sustainability solutions. 18 speakers from various European countries showed how they address important market trends and changing customer needs, and which solutions their companies offered in terms of materials, performance and much more.

As an introduction, speakers - including CTC/Airbus and Teijin - presented different possible applications for SMC and BMC components, including aircraft interiors, bicycle boxes, and applications in e-mobility. The topic of sustainability was broadly covered, highlighting recycling solutions and experiences (Siemens, IDI, OC, AOC), the use of renewable raw materials, as well new LCA models developed by the SMC BMC Alliance (LCS),

Specifically for designers, the use of the SMC flow and curing modelling was presented (ESI, OC), SMC positioning vs. aluminium (Spartners). The second day concluded with contributions on process optimization options for component production, including speeches by Dieffenbacher, Netzsch and EBG.

Making outdoor sports accessible to as many people as possible since 1976 through quality, innovative gear, powerhouse sporting goods brand Decathlon has launched the first product of its long-term partnership with CELLIANT® infrared technology from Hologenix® – Adult Ski Socks. They are introduced in its Wedze range of ski and snowboarding socks (“wed’ze” means ‘“a small turn on the snow” in the Savoyard dialect in the Alps where this brand is headquartered).  

Decathlon was attracted to CELLIANT’s ability to convert body heat into infrared energy, improving local circulation and cellular oxygenation to support stronger performance and faster recovery. Skiers who often suffer from muscle fatigue in the calf area will appreciate the infrared infusion and light compression attributes that were specifically chosen with this in mind. The sock was also thoughtfully designed for minimum thickness, allowing for a comfortable fit within the ski boot, without sacrificing warmth or durability. Anti-friction thread on the sole and toes helps limit irritation, and seams are intentionally positioned to eliminate discomfort. The socks are offered in a Asphalt Blue color in a variety of sizes, both online and in retail stores worldwide.