From the Sector

• Sustainable infrastructure solutions, road safety and health protection

At this year’s Techtextil, Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions will be presenting the trade audience with new applications, special processes and sustainable solutions focusing on the production of industrial textiles. Among other things, the company will be showcasing new technology for charging nonwovens that sets new standards with regards to quality and efficiency. Between June 21 and 24, the discussions will be concentrating on airbags, seat belts, tire cord, geotextiles, filter nonwovens and their diverse applications.

More polyester for airbags
Airbags have become an integral part of our everyday automotive lives. The yarns used in them are made predominantly from polyamide. As a result of increasingly diverse airbag applications and also the increasing size of the systems used, polyester is today used as well, depending on the application requirements and cost-benefit considerations. Against this background, the Oerlikon Barmag technologies make an invaluable contribution. In addition to high productivity and low energy consumption, they particularly excel in terms of their stable production processes. Furthermore, they comply with every high quality standard for airbags, which – as in the case of virtually all other textile products used in vehicle construction – must provide the highest level of safety for vehicle occupants. And all this without any loss of function in any climate and anywhere in the world for the lifetime of the vehicle.

Buckle up!
Seat belts play a decisive role in protecting vehicle occupants. They have to withstand tensile forces in excess of three tons and simultaneously stretch in a controlled manner in emergencies in order to reduce the load in the event of impact. A seat belt comprises approximately 300 filament yarns, whose individual, high-tenacity yarn threads are spun from around 100 individual filaments.

Invisible, but essential – road reinforcement using geotextiles
But it not just inside vehicles, but also under them, that industrial yarns reveal their strengths. Low stretch, ultra-high tenacity, high rigidity – industrial yarns offer outstanding properties for the demanding tasks carried out by geotextiles; for instance, as geogrids in the base course system under asphalt. Normally, geotextiles have extremely high yarn titers of up to 24,000 denier. Oerlikon Barmag system concepts simultaneously manufacture three filament yarns of 6,000 denier each. Due to the high spinning titers, fewer yarns can be plied together to the required geo-yarn titer in a more cost- and energy-efficient manner.

hycuTEC – technological quantum leap for filter media
In the case of its hycuTEC hydro-charging solution, Oerlikon Neumag offers a new technology for charging nonwovens that increases filter efficiency to more than 99.99%. For meltblown producers, this means material savings of 30% with significantly superior filter performance. For end users, the consequence is noticeably improved comfort resulting from significantly reduced breathing resistance. With its considerably lower water and energy consumption, this new development is also a future-proof, sustainable technology.

New high-tech Staple Fiber Technology Center
Extending to around 2,100 m2, Oerlikon Neumag in Neumünster is home to one of the world’s largest staple fiber technology centers. As of now, these state-of-the-art staple fiber technologies are also available for customer-specific trials.

The focus during the planning and the design of the Technology Center was on optimizing components and processes. Here, special attention was paid to ensuring the process and production parameters in the Technology Center system could be simply and reliably transferred to production systems. Here, the fiber tape processing line is modular in design. All components can be combined with each other as required. And comprehensive set-up options supply detailed findings for the respective process for various fiber products.

The Technology Center is also equipped with two spinning positions for mono- and bi-component processes. The same round spin packs are used for both processes, characterized by excellent fiber quality and properties and meanwhile very successfully deployed in all Oerlikon Neumag production systems. Furthermore, the spinning plant is complemented by automation solutions such as spin pack scraper robots, for example.

C.L.A.S.S. has taken another strategic step with Training, an educational offer made of three moments aimed at sharing valuable and practical information concerning three main areas of sustainable development. Training will be adding value to the Smart Academy offer by C.L.A.S.S., a program of events and conferences, lectures or customized training services, united by an important goal: to educate, raise awareness and inspire professionals, students and even consumers with an eye to the values of responsibility.

There are three trainings offered:

1. Introduction to a new generation of fashion
   C.L.A.S.S. team will introduce and explain the new generation of value-driven fashion where the fusion of design, innovation, communication and responsibility shapes an informed and competitive business, able to play both at an economic and social level. Since 2007, at the base of our philosophy is a formula: Virtuous Fashion, the one with the capital F, is the product of an integration of design (D), innovation (I), sustainability (S) and communication (C). In brief: F = D x I x S x C.
    
2. Introduction to Smart Ingredients
   What is a responsible material? How to source responsibly? Which are the latest smart ingredients that can enrich with new generation fashion collections?
   During the session participant will be guided through materials available in the market, and will have the chance to have an “informed background“ of each one of the materials' journey. Conscious Choices can be made ONLY IF we have all the true full information in our hands. This training informd participant to make the best informed choice for their objectives. A simple but facts driven introduction to the key available innovative and sustainable materials: naturals, transformed and innovative where traceability, transparency, innovation, performance, responsible measurements are leading both the storymaking and the storytelling of each one of them.
    
3. Introduction to Sustainability Report
   The preparation of the company's sustainability report is a fundamental moment to define objectives, identify improvement actions, and measure its environmental and social impact. It is a job that involves the entire company team, which can transform the report into an opportunity for growth.
   The package offered by C.L.A.S.S., in collaboration with Silvia Gambi, sustainable fashion journalist and podcaster of Solo Moda Sostenibile, combines training with personalized consulting with a coaching action to guide the company team in the preparation of its sustainability report, offering the necessary support to create a document that tells about the company, its values, its commitment and also its objectives.

• with a ready-to-use swatch book dedicated to its DEEP DIVE sustainable dyeing system for dark, popular color basics

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, launches its first ever ready-to-use swatch book, dedicated to creating sustainable black and dark color basics for faster time to market, to support its popular DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

In 2018, Archroma launched its system solutions, a holistic approach aimed at addressing the growing expectations of the public in terms of keeping consumers, and the environment, safe.
Under the umbrella of "The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: Safe, efficient, enhanced, it's our nature", the Archroma systems are designed to create innovation and performance, whilst reducing the impacts on water, energy and other natural resources. The savings generated by these 70+ system solutions are demonstrated by Archroma's proprietary ONE WAY Impact Calculator, a ground-breaking tool launched in 2012 and continuously upgraded to simulate and optimize the footprint of textile application processes.

One of these systems, DEEP DIVE 2.0, has attracted a lot of interest not just from textile manufacturers but also from major brands and retailers worldwide. This popular system combines Drimaren® Ultimate HD, high-performance reactive dyes, with Blue Magic, an all-in-one pretreatment, Optifix® RUB New liq and Siligen® SIH-S New liq, a finishing treatment improved rub fastness and elegant hand feel, and an effective hydrolyzed dye remover, Cyclanon® XC-W New liq. The result is a shorter dyeing process combining right-first-time productivity, an improved fabric quality for longer lasting end-articles, as well as dramatically reduced water and energy utilization for brands committed to drive more sustainable production. Savings can reach up to 31% water and 34% energy.

The system is ideally suited for medium and dark cottons that have high performing fastness to light, multiple home laundering, saliva – in other words: apparel used for fashion, sports and baby’s wear.
At the same time, interested manufacturers and brands were facing the constant challenge of the fashion industry: time to market.

Often design is separated from execution in the factory and as such often designers initially select color that cannot be met in reality on different fibers or production routes in terms of color flare, metamerism, brightness, depth and now sustainable metrics – leading to lengthy delays and compromises in function, performance and/or color.
Archroma decided to create a dedicated tool aimed at addressing these issues. The company developed a new, unique book with color swatches made with the system that is ready to implement immediately into production thanks to engineered color standards and specifications.

This new tool offers a path to bridge the gap between “art and science” by providing at inspiration phase fully executable deep colors for cotton with controlled color metamerism and at the same time demonstrate water, energy and chemical savings, enhanced color fastness using safe chemistry for the end consumer. As a wardrobe staple, medium to dark shades are very popular with consumers. As a result, most brands and retailers often have and sell up to 60% of medium to dark shades in their seasonal palettes. It’s also the dark shades that use the most water and energy in production, so prioritizing these colors would have the largest ecological positive impact. The 48 colors swatched in the DEEP DIVE 2.0 book have been selected based on market popularity to allow brands and manufacturers to match that very stable market demand. Customers may use these colors as presented, or as inspiration whereby Archroma can create and match new custom colors using the DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

Christophe Maestripieri, Global Head of the Archroma Brand Studio, the company’s department dedicated to support brands’ projects and innovations, explains: “We wanted to make sure our partners have all the tools they need to convert to more sustainable colors. We had the ideal dyeing system to do that, DEEP DIVE 2.0, with its high performance and reduced impacts on resources. Now, with the new DEEP DIVE 2.0 swatch book, we also offer to brands and manufacturers a way to select sustainable color options that meet the market demand for high quality medium to dark shades which can be implemented into production right away.”

Designed by Creative Director Alessandro Michele, adidas x Gucci merges the emblems of the House with those of the iconic sportswear brand. The collection expands on the sartorial streetwear creations that debuted on the runway with a spectrum of sport-inspired pieces, distinguished by the same kaleidoscopic aesthetics of the show.

To present the selection, Alessandro Michele envisioned a series of images inspired by archival catalogs as a cast of characters strikes dynamic poses against brightly colored backdrops alongside sporty props, captured by photographer Carlijn Jacobs.

With the heritage of both brands encoded in a trio of lines, a fixation on stripes plays out across ready-to-wear pieces that echo the silhouettes of athletic staples and leisurewear. Track pants feature the white Three Stripes of adidas on one leg, while the other is defined by the red and green Web of Gucci. Energetic prints portray how motifs like the adidas Trefoil and GG monogram find synergy to amplify two legacies. Conventionally formal pieces like leather heels, suede loafers, and silk scarves enter hybridized territory as well, as they are marked with casual codes. Similarly, retro aesthetics become intrinsically contemporary as they proclaim there are no rules when it comes to dressing up.

Reflecting a shared commitment to innovation, progress, sustainability goals and collective action, the collection features multiple pieces crafted with future-conscious material fabrications including polyester, cotton and viscose.

B.I.G. Yarns has secured its debut spot at the return of Clerkenwell Design Week (24-26 May 2022) and will showcase its sustainable contract flooring to carpet makers, architects and designers.

B.I.G. Yarns’ polyamide-based collections are high-performing with a strong emphasis on elevating design through remarkable colour contrasts and patterns: from bulk continuous filament (BCF) to twisted and heat-set yarns, one-colour to multi-colour, between 650 and 15000 dTex.

Designers can tap into the Class 33 resilience and various comfort levels of its one-step 3Ply Resilya, Softitude, and new two-step ColorMind solutions to meet application requirements, as well as access monthly inspiration care of #CatchtheColor. ColorMind offers yarn diversity to support a new level of design sophistication in high-end carpet segments. The ColorMind colour bank features predefined colours, always in stock, meaning short lead times. Manufacturers can also benefit from customized lot sizes and bobbin length, creating even more flexibility and design freedom.

B.I.G. Yarns continues to extend its ranges to reduce fossil-carbon in the industry and encourage greater product circularity. Its EqoCycle PA6 yarns incorporate recycled content originating from recycled and regenerated PA6 and are fully recyclable, improving resource efficiency and other environmental benefits throughout the value chain. Carpet tufters can also contribute to a sustainable future through less use of fossil resources and reduced greenhouse gas emissions with EqoBalance yarns. Both ranges offer the same high-quality performance as virgin-based yarns.

• Lectra’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held on April 29 appointed two new Directors, Ross McInnes and Hélène Viot Poirier, for a four-year term.
• They both become members of Lectra’s Audit Committee, Nominations Committee and Strategic Committee. Hélène Viot Poirier also becomes a member of the new CSR Committee.

 A major global player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra designs industrial intelligence solutions – software, equipment, data and services – that enable the digital transformation of its customers.
 
In 2017, Lectra launched its Lectra 4.0 strategy with the aim of making the company a key Industry 4.0 player in its markets by 2030. As part of its 2017-2019 roadmap, Lectra successfully integrated key technologies for Industry 4.0 and software solutions in SaaS mode into its offers. The company’s 2020-2022 roadmap should enable it to leverage the full potential of its new offers while ensuring the sustainable and profitable growth of its business.
 
Daniel Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lectra, says: “We are delighted to welcome Ross McInnes and Hélène Viot Poirier to Lectra’s Board of Directors. Through Ross McInnes’ appointment, we will benefit from his extensive experience as a director of listed companies and his knowledge of Lectra’s challenges, as well as his expertise in strategy, management, finance, and governance. Hélène Viot Poirier has extensive knowledge of the digital world and the fashion market. Her appointment will enable the Board of Directors to benefit from her expertise in acquisition strategy, management and the development of environmentally responsible products”.
 
In the last five years, Ross McInnes has been a member of Lectra’s Board of Directors, and a member of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Strategic Committee. This first mandate came to an end in April 2020. Ross McInnes is a graduate of the University of Oxford.
 
Since 2020, as an Independent Senior Advisor, she has supported strategic internal and external growth projects in the fashion, digital and consumer goods sectors. Hélène Viot Poirier is a graduate of HEC Paris.

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. will showcase its latest high-performance color management, surface treatment, LED-UV curing, inspection, defect detection and Industry 4.0-based analytics solutions at Print4All, which is taking place May 3 to 6 at Fiera Milano in Italy.

One of its latest advances — which will be on display at Print4All — is the XP Quatro Series™ LED-UV curing module with one head and two frequencies for broader applications. It is designed to economically and efficiently cure LED-formulated printing inks and coatings on sheetfed and web offset printing presses, as well as on larger-format flexo presses and digital print engines. The XP Quatro Series LED-UV enhances print quality, while operating at top speeds, driving increased productivity and profitability.

Italy’s ACM Flexible Packaging selected Baldwin as its LED-UV partner and became one of the first flexible film converters to offer all LED-UV curing in a narrow to mid-web format. This partnership established LED-UV printing as a growing production standard in flexible packaging and labels. Today, ACM is a 100% LED-UV, non-mercury facility.

Baldwin’s Print4All booth also will showcase Industry 4.0 and industrial Internet of Things-enabled technologies that work together to achieve greater uptime, productivity and automation. Featured solutions pair sensor-gathered data with operational data from Baldwin equipment to gain live, actionable insights to improve production monitoring, so printers and converters can achieve new levels of color consistency with fewer defects and greater assurance of curing.

Other highlights in Baldwin’s booth include the Corona Slim treatment system, which ensures the exact dyne levels needed for perfect uniformity in application, and the Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection, which provides complete print quality verification from prepress through production, reporting and archiving.

• Turkish circular knitting market offers prospects in turbulent times

After a four-year, Covid-related break the German circular knitting machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. is exhibiting with its Turkish representative Mayer Mümessillik (MMÜ) once more at the important International Textile Machinery Exhibition (ITM) in Istanbul. At Booth 713 in Hall 8, Mayer & Cie. will present three machines: the D4-2.2 X interlock machine, the OV 3.2 QCe for double jersey structures and the MV 4 3.2 II for single jersey fabrics. For the Mayer & Cie. and MMÜ team the focus will be on in-person contacts with customers, suppliers and partners. Despite the tense international situation both the manufacturer and its representative are positive about the medium-term outlook for the Turkish market.

Turkey is a market with prospects
“The challenges that the global economy faces are at present enormously wide-ranging, of course,” says Mayer & Cie.’s Turkey specialist Stefan Bühler. “The Russian invasion of the Ukraine, supply chain outages, shortages of raw materials and skyrocketing energy prices all create uncertainty.” And then there is galloping inflation in Turkey and elections in 2023. Yet despite, and in part because of, this state of affairs Bühler and Kahraman Güveri, CEO of Mayer & Cie.’s Turkish representative MMÜ, hold a positive view of the market outlook for the years ahead. Large orders, especially for standard products, are on the increase, Kahraman Güveri explains. That leads to new investments, new companies and a growing demand for refurbished machines that then need to be replaced by new machines elsewhere. And former commission merchants are now enterprises in their own right.

“Apart from that, Turkey benefits from its proximity to Europe, transport routes are manageable,” says Stefan Bühler. “This location advantage attracts brand manufacturers who together with their orders bring new approaches, new designs and new technologies into the country.” And Turkey’s already very highly developed textiles sector benefits too. That, says Kahraman Güveri, is why one can be confident for the next few years, “at least for as long as nothing unforeseen happens”.

Established machines with that something special: OV 3.2 QCe for double jersey structures
The portfolio of machines that Mayer & Cie. is exhibiting at the ITM is tried, trusted and popular. The OV 3.2 QCe is a specialist for interlock fabrics and double jersey structures that it knits in both filament and synthetic fibre yarns. With a conversion kit the OV 3.2 QCe also qualifies as a producer of 8-lock structures, spacer fabrics and fine gauges. The machine is available in a choice of three frames: from open-width and industrial to giant frame. Stefan Bühler, regional sales manager for Turkey, has this to say: “Not for nothing has the OV 3. 2 QCe been one of our most popular machines for years. It is mainly used for sportswear and for leisure- and outerwear.” In Istanbul the OV 3.2 QCe on show will be a 30-inch, E40-gauge model.

D4-2.2 X for fine rib and interlock fabrics
The double-jersey D4-2.2 X is an obvious choice for knitting fine rib fabrics of up to E28 gauge. Spacer and interlock fabrics are also part of the machine’s established repertoire. And it can produce elastomeric plating in both cylinder and dial cam. No matter which of these tasks is assigned to the D4-2.2 X, it performs it with impressive productivity.

MV 4 3.2 II for flexibility in the single jersey sector
In the single jersey sector, the long-established German firm delivers a literally fine solution. The MV 4 3.2 II on show at the ITM knits to an E38 gauge. The machine can also be supplied for gauges from E14 to E60. It is, in addition, highly flexible, with a repertoire that ranges from piqué and double piqué to one-thread fleece and smooth single jersey.

Cobra International, a leading manufacturer of advanced composite products for the watersports, automotive, marine, and industrial sectors, will highlight recent diversification into new composite markets at JEC World 2022, with exhibits ranging from VTOL drones to carbon fibre prosthetics.  Cobra will also demonstrate how it is working alongside automotive and water sports customers to further enhance the sustainability of products in these sectors.

High Volume Production Capacity for the UAV sector
Cobra will display a wing from the Swiftlet UAV. This compact tactical fixed wing UAV platform has a 5.5m wingspan and was developed by the Royal Thai Air Force and National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) for survey, monitoring and search and rescue operations. Cobra manufactured the 32kg Swiftlet composite airframe using a combination of CNC cut carbon sandwich internal structure and PVC foam sandwich skins using both high grade glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforcements.  

Sustainability Options for Automotive and Watersports
Sustainability has a been a key focus for the Cobra Waterports division and CAC, the Cobra automotive business unit. At JEC World 2022, Cobra will showcase the increasing material and process options it has developed with both bio-resin and natural fibre reinforcements variants presented alongside more traditional carbon fibre parts.

Visitors will be able to get up close to a new Bio SUP Wingfoil board featuring a basalt, flax, bamboo and GreenPoxy bio-epoxy construction created for partners NSP, as well as state-of-the-art compression moulded prepreg foils. Cobra’s first fully recyclable surfboard incorporating the Recyclamine® resin technology that Cobra was recognised for in the 2020 JEC Innovation Awards will also be on display alongside a new Audi e-tron foil by Aerofoils – the world’s safest electric hydrofoil board.

The CAC team (Automotive Business Unit of Cobra) will present a set of OEM mirror cap parts that showcase a range of carbon SMC, woven visual carbon, pure woven visual flax, hybrid flax-carbon and painted flax construction options for the same component.  Clear carbon aesthetic and structural parts including CAC made M-carbon components for the BMW S 1000 RR Motorcycle will furthermore underline the high quality and eye-for-detail for which CAC is renowned.

Carbon Prosthetics
An entirely new composite application for the company, Cobra will also show two composite prosthetic devices at JEC which were productionised by the in-house design and development team. Working alongside a leading Thai university and a medical device OEM, Cobra created a rapid and cost effective series production process for a lightweight carbon fibre prosthetic foot. In another example of lightweight composites creating major quality of life improvements, Cobra has also designed and manufactured a carbon and glass fibre prepreg foot support for Elysium Industries.

DFND, a compression and apparel brand designed for the military, firefighters, first responders and pro athletes, now available to athletes everywhere, has partnered with Hologenix®, creators of CELLIANT® to introduce a line of unisex sleepwear: DFND REST. Designed for the “warrior athlete,” the sleepwear is powered by DFND X CELLIANT®, the trailblazer in bio-responsive infrared textiles.
 
Both DFND and Hologenix are focused on increasing recovery and enhancing performance for the human body, so the partnership couldn’t be more ideal. CELLIANT’s science-backed infrared (IR) technology is a natural blend of bioceramics that allows textiles to capture and convert body heat into infrared energy. DFND REST powered by CELLIANT notes that it is “clinically proven to enhance tissue oxygen levels to help your body be at its best.”

DFND REST powered by CELLIANT includes three unisex designs in two colors each, Tan and Heather Grey: IR Short Sleeve V-Neck Shirt; IR Long Sleeve V-Neck Shirt and IR Sleepwear Long John; and two designs in Black: IR Recover RX Hood; IR Recover RX Jogger.

DFND REST, like all DFND products, is designed, tested and made in the USA. CELLIANT’s proprietary mineral formula is processed and manufactured in the USA.

DFND REST will be featured at the following upcoming shows: the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Exposition and Industry Day, April 26 to 27 at Fort Eustis; Warrior West, April 27 to 28 at the San Diego Convention Center; Modern Day Marine, May 10 to 12, Washington, D.C.; The Human Performance & Biosystems Summit, June 29 to 30 at National Harbor, Maryland; National Guard Conference & Exhibition, August 26 to 29, Columbus, Ohio; and AUSA, October 10 to 12, Washington, D.C.