From the Sector

Sicomin has partnered with GREENBOATS® on the supply of GreenPoxy® bio-based resins for the FLAX 27 - the most complete natural fibre composite project realised by GREENBOATS® to date. Sicomin’s hand lamination and infusion production processes have been optimized for natural fibre composites, providing an uncompromising performance.

GREENBOATS® has been producing innovative natural fibre composites at their Bremen facility for more than a decade, expertly crafting a range of marine and industrial products with a mission to use 100% renewable and sustainable raw materials in sandwich composite structures.  

The FLAX 27 is an 8.2m classically styled daysailer designed by renowned naval architects Judel/Vrolijk & Co. The hull, deck and internal structure of the vessel were infused with Sicomin’s very low viscosity GreenPoxy® InfuGreen 810 resin and flax fibre reinforcement fabrics.  

Vacuum infusion with Sicomin’s InfuGreen 810, produced crystal-clear natural fibre laminates with outstanding mechanical properties, whilst the closed mould process also improved working conditions in the factory. Available with a choice of hardeners to adjust the curing time as required, InfuGreen 810 also carries DNV-GL approval, providing a reassuring 3rd party confirmation of the product’s exceptional quality, performance and consistency.
GREENBOATS® typically apply a bespoke lifecycle assessment tool to optimize their projects for performance as well as sustainability. This detailed view of a project’s environmental impact and GREENBOATS® expertise in product development has now created a number of larger scale composite applications for bio-based resins.

Sicomin are looking forward to continuing to work alongside GREENBOATS® in 2020, with industrial production capacity for their market leading range of GreenPoxy® bio-based epoxies positioning the company to support the forecasted large scale growth in the natural fibre composite market.

“Our goal is to really get people excited about Natural Fibre Composites. Sicomin’s GreenPoxy® products help us create sustainable composites with no compromise in performance or appearance.” commented GREENBOATS® founder Friedrich Johann Deimann.

The GREENBOATS® FLAX 27 will be on display on the JEC planets at JEC World 2020 Paris from 3 to 5 March 2020.
 

The Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment will be presenting itself at the Egy Stitch & Tex 2020 between March 5 and 8, 2020 in Cairo – with a clear focus on the needs of the African market. In Hall 1, Stand B2 The Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag experts will also be showcasing the comprehensive product and service portfolio of the world market leader for manmade fiber systems at the stand of Oerlikon’s representative ATAG Export & Import.

The spotlight of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment’s trade fair attendance will be on two core technologies: the new generation of Oerlikon Barmag eAFK Evo texturing machines is to be unveiled within the African market for the very first time. It promises higher speeds and productivity with consistently high product quality, along with lower energy consumption and simpler operation vis-à-vis comparable market solutions. In particular, the numerous value-added features include two that convince with cutting-edge technology: the optimized, innovative EvoHeater and the EvoCooler, a completely newly-developed active cooling unit.

The second technology focus offers new opportunities for the Egyptian market and the Middle Eastern markets in particular: with Oerlikon Neumag’s BCF S8 monocolor and tricolor system, the segment will be unveiling its new carpet yarn production flagship. Superlative spinning speeds, up to 700 individual filaments, finer titers of up to 2.5 dpf – the performance data and technological finesse of the new system have already made a huge impression at numerous trade fairs and roadshows over the past year. The tricolor’s core component is the new, patent-pending Color Pop Compacting unit (CPC-T) for even more flexible and more even color separation. With the CPC-T, individually-controllable air pressures for each color provide pre-tangling, which accentuates the colors and hence makes more than 200,000 different shades possible. Whereas it has been very difficult to manufacture strongly color-separated or color-accentuated BCF yarns from polyamide 6 to date, this will in future be possible thanks to the CPC-T system. As a result of the new design, the CPC-T is now also suitable for processes with low yarn tensions.
 
Expanded product offering for manufacturing carpet yarns
Know-how covering all relevant technologies deployed in manmade fiber spinning plants enables Oerlikon – as the world’s only manufacturer – to expand its range of products and services for making carpet yarns. The POY- and texturing-based system concept is designed for a carpet and home textiles segment that demands particularly soft and bulky polyester yarns with BCF-like properties. Here, the aim is to produce yarns with titers of max. 1300dtex and typically more than 1,000 filaments, with typical products including, for example, 1300dtex f1152, 660dtex f1152 and 990dtex f768. The machine concept comprises the well-known WINGS HD POY winder, along with the eAFK Big-V texturing machine.

The integrated sustainable network making fashion circular, Made in Italy and 100% traceable

World leading textile manufacturer Manteco presents its sustainable path for a better future: The Manteco System. A strategy and a vision shaping the company’s sustainable imprint since 1943. The system consists in the development and engineering of a production network involving 100 partner-companies from the whole supply chain “We all team up responsibly to create premium collection based on transparent , traceable  circular economy practices,” comments Matteo Mantellassi, co-CEO of Manteco.
 
To achieve meeting the demand for fair and sustainable fashion that consumers believe in, and is expected  from our clients, the company and its partners have created and accomplished to a Protocol of Sustainable Values and Commitments in line with the highest standards of the global market.

“On a hand, the protocol preserves the unique ‘genius loci’ of our territory – it respects the heritage of all our partners, from the smaller businesses to the more structured ones - on the other hand, it works like a shared compass of sustainable values, allowing the whole supply chain behind Manteco products to stand out and be competitive on the global stage” adds Mantellassi.
 
The protocol and its monitored and traceable system cover virtuous management of resources – e.g. Water, energy and chemical products - waste management and low production impact on the environment but also responsible standards in terms of employment, quality of the working environment, equal rights and anti-discrimination policies.

One of the key  results of such commitment and sustainable development is the creation of an upgraded version of the recycled wool  MWool™: a top ingredient made from premium recycled wool process guaranteed by the Manteco System.The System works like a symphony where management, measurement and controls  are not there just to test  the quality of each single phase of processes or  products , but to make sure and offer the complete traceability of Manteco production.  From raw material, to yarn, spinning, finishing, testing and final fabric.

Some productions tips about Manteco:

•  5.3 million kg of raw materials processed annually.
•  6.860 tests on raw material per year.
•  34.400 tests on finished products.
•  100% made in Italy system completely based in the Prato district since 1943.
•  Total transparency and traceability thanks to a highly skilled management system.

With a turnover of over 91m Euro in 2019 and an annual growth of 17,80% since 2012, Manteco SpA is the 4th textile company in Italy, listed in the TOP30 companies of the Italian fashion system. “The unique Manteco system adds value to our products while highlighting the sustainable path we share with all our partners both upstream and downstream”.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven experts will be presenting efficient solutions and comprehensive technology know-how for challenging filtration tasks to an international trade audience at the FiltXPO 2020 in Chicago, USA (Stand # 420), taking place between February 26 and 28.

Meltblown technology is one of the most efficient methods for producing very fine and highly-separating filter media made from manmade fibers. New, unique and highly-sophisticated filter media are easy to manufacture thanks to Oerlikon Nonwoven’s optimized meltblown technology. This process is characterized by its constant melt pressure distribution and consistent dwell time across the entire width of the spinning beam, Furthermore, the novel guidance and distribution of the process air outside the coathanger distributor offered by the Oerlikon Nonwoven technology prevents so-called hotspots, which overall ensures particularly homogeneous nonwoven properties and basis weights even in the case of delicate raw materials.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit stands out against other concepts currently available on the market. Users can freely choose from a large number of variation possibilities and set the optimum charging method depending on the filter application, allowing the Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit to also be used for the manufacture of EPA- and HEPA-class filter media.

The new forming section ensures improved nonwoven formation evenness across the entire width, even in the case of high spinning speeds, special polymers and polymer combinations. In addition to this, the newly-designed system also ensures that nonwovens only require minimal edge trimming at the end of the production process. The newly-developed mixedfiber technology enables the combining of various filament cross-sections and polymers, in order to set ideal filtering and pleating performances, for example.

Innovative cleaning cloth material and solvent formulas reduce environmental impact for offset printers
Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has announced innovations within its PREPAC® Advanced product line of original cleaning consumables. Designed for newspaper, commercial web and sheet-fed presses, the new technologies optimize production time by shortening the cleaning cycle and minimizing waste.

All Baldwin original PREPAC consumables offer pre-impregnated wet cloth rolls with high ink and lint absorption capacity, so printers can achieve cleaning results that are 100 percent accurate with every run. The next generation of PREPAC Advanced consumables features unique and regionalized solvent formulas, as well as a new sophisticated cloth material. Compared to other products on the market, Baldwin’s solutions decrease waste up to 50 percent and can cut cleaning cycles in half, enabling up to 100 extra production hours annually.

“Since its introduction in 1995, PREPAC has remained the top choice for pre-impregnated wet cloth rolls. If it’s not Baldwin, it’s not PREPAC,” explained Tomas Anderbjer, President, Precision Applications, at Baldwin. “With the new PREPAC Advanced consumables, Baldwin once again innovates blanket and impression cylinder cleaning for the print industry, providing technologies that optimize productivity and decrease the impact on the environment.”

• New composite e-mobility application gains momentum
• Strengthening regional footprint in North America
• Potential for further extensions

Following the production of first prototypes of battery enclosures for a Chinese automotive manufacturer in 2018, SGL Carbon has now received a contract from a North-American automaker for high-volume serial production of carbon and glass fiber-based composite top and bottom layers for battery enclosures. The serial production of the components will start end of 2020. The carbon fibers and fabrics as well as the assembled components come from SGL Carbon’s fully integrated value chain. On top of this order, there is the potential for more extensions with further substantial volumes for the shared platform business of the manufacturer.

In addition, SGL Carbon has won a smaller volume contract from a European sports car manufacturer to serially produce bottom layers made of composite as of mid-2020. The company is additionally in talks with further automakers to develop and manufacture battery enclosure solutions for their e-car platforms.

“Driven by the increasing need for e-cars worldwide and thus for new flexible chassis platforms, our composite battery enclosures are a very promising new application in our product portfolio. The recent contract wins show that our approach of developing custom-made solutions based on our integrated value chain offers an excellent value proposition”, says Sebastian Grasser, Head of Automotive Segment.

SGL Carbon and Solvay collaborate to develop highly-competitive advanced carbon fiber composites for aerospace primary structures

SGL Carbon and Solvay have entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) to bring to market the first composite materials based on large-tow intermediate modulus (IM) carbon fiber. These materials, which address the need to reduce costs and CO2 emissions, and improve the production process and fuel efficiency of next-generation commercial aircraft, will be based on SGL Carbon’s large-tow IM carbon fiber and Solvay’s primary structure resin systems.

The agreement encompasses both thermoset and thermoplastic composite technologies. It builds on Solvay’s leadership in supplying advanced materials to the aerospace industry and SGL Carbon’s expertise in high-volume carbon fiber manufacturing.

“For Solvay, this is an opportunity to lead the aerospace adoption of a composite material based on 50K IM carbon fiber. This is a highly competitive value proposition that brings more affordable high-performance solutions to our customers. We see this as the first step in a long-term partnership,” said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, member of Solvay’s executive committee.

“By combining SGL’s carbon fiber expertise in our newly developed, unique 50K IM fiber with Solvay’s resin formulation and aerospace market expertise, both partners are aiming to develop an advanced aerospace material system. This alliance supports our strategic direction and accelerates our growth in the attractive aerospace market,” said Dr. Michael Majerus, spokesman of the management board of SGL Carbon.

Composite materials for aerospace applications represent a multi-billion-dollar market that is expected to grow strongly in the coming decade. Solvay and SGL Carbon are uniquely positioned to develop solutions to address the needs of this market.

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.

Experts from the tire industry will meet again in 2020 for the annual Tire Technology Expo in Hanover, Germany. Saurer Twisting Solutions is looking forward to welcoming customers and visitors at Booth 4006 in Hall 6 from 25 to 27 February 2020 and to presenting the innovative CableCorder CC5. With a complete package of numerous innovations, the CC5 once again demonstrates its technological leadership and the associated customer benefits.

The Saurer CableCorder for the production of high-quality tire cord is a permanent fixture in the tire industry. The fifth generation of the CableCorder will appeal to customers with its numerous innovations. It provides Saurer's customers with decisive competitive advantages: they benefit from lower energy consumption, a smart spindle concept, modern quality monitoring, improved ergonomics, flexible automation solutions and the integration of the CableCorder into Senses, the Saurer mill management system.

Chomarat Group’s composite reinforcements will be featured at the KraussMaffei stand during the next K Messe in Düsseldorf. Chomarat has created a glass reinforcement adapted to the mass production of automotive parts, helping to lighten leaf springs by 60% compared to metal.

Automotive: Producing 60% lighter leaf springs for car's underbody
The new leaf springs made of composites are 60% lighter than their pendants made of steel thanks to KraussMaffei process and the involvement of a network of partners, including Chomarat with G-PLY™ glass reinforcement. Their strength can be deliberately increased in sections where it is required and the corrosion resistance offers further added value.

“We created the fabrics, when Engenuity developed the component, Huntsman supplied the matrix system made of epoxy resin, Johns Manville supplied the glass fibers, Schmidt & Heinzmann manufactured the preforms, Alpex designed the RTM mold and Hufschmied (Bobingen, Germany) took charge of post-mold processing of the component by milling. KraussMaffei has taken over the project management for Hengrui and coordinates the project with the partners.” Francisco De Oliveira at Chomarat explains.