From the Sector

İşbir Bedding, a Turkish company, has teamed up with Hologenix® and its CELLIANT® infrared technology. The Energy CELLIANT® mattress is the first pure white CELLIANT mattress to be offered in Turkey. It marries the sleep technology of İşbir mattresses with the advantages of CELLIANT, a natural blend of bioceramic minerals which, when embedded into textiles, converts body heat into infrared energy to help consumers sleep better and recover faster from physical activity.

the Energy CELLIANT mattress has a cover infused with CELLIANT, a high-density, next-generation ViscoStar Aeromax Comfort Layer that adapts to the body and a V2 Active Zone Pocket Spring Support Layer, which consists of specially designed 7-zone pocket springs. The Energy CELLIANT mattress is suitable for any sleep position and ideal for users who prefer a medium to firm mattress. The mattress is also available in a variety of sizes for both junior and adult athletes.

The Energy CELLIANT mattress helps the body recover after sports or intense activity thanks to the infrared technology and comfort layers. The CELLIANT fabric helps the body thermoregulate, whether you run hot or cold, for a more comfortable sleep experience. CELLIANT minerals help to increase energy levels by reflecting body heat lost during sleep back to the body in the form of infrared energy, so consumers wake up refreshed.

Dibella already announced a year ago that there would be a change of managing director in the middle of this year. As of 01.08.2023, Carsten Ridder will fill the position of additional managing director together with Stefan Tenbusch. At the same time, the previous managing director Ralf Hellmann will take on an advisory role in the company.

Carsten Ridder is no stranger to the company and has many years of experience as a committed member of the management. In 2001, the banker and graduate in business administration first joined the sister company Bimeco, before moving to Dibella in 2017 as an authorised signatory and member of the management. During this time, the active shareholder has contributed significantly to the development and implementation of important strategies in the areas of human resources and finance, among others.

Ralf Hellmann will continue to play an important role in the company after his retirement from the management by supporting Dibella in an advisory capacity. His experience and knowledge will remain a valuable resource to ensure the success of the projects already initiated as well as new ones.

adidas announced a further release of YEEZY inventory with a range of existing products being available in phases throughout the month of August across the world. As previously communicated, adidas will donate a significant amount to selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism.

As with the release in May 2023, the second release will feature products which were initiated in 2022. The range available will include some of the most popular existing designs including the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2, 500 and 700 as well as the YEEZY SLIDE and FOAM RNR.

adidas will continue the support of partners combatting discrimination and hate with donations to existing and new partners. The company will continue to support the work of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change. In addition, adidas is proud to partner with Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) to fight all forms of hate.

To create further impact adidas will show support for the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism by including blue square pins with selected products sold directly by adidas in North America. These blue square pins were established by FCAS through their #StandUpToJewishHate campaign launched earlier this year, as the universal symbol for standing in solidarity and unity in the fight against antisemitism and all hate.

Since terminating the YEEZY partnership in October, adidas has been exploring multiple scenarios for the potential use of the existing YEEZY inventory. The process involved seeking feedback and listening to a diverse group of employees, organizations, communities, and consumers for how to responsibly manage the existing product.

• Revenues: 239.6 million euros (-4%)*
• EBITDA before non-recurring items: 35.3 million euros (-21%)*
• Net income: 13.9 million euros (-31%)
• Free cash flow before non-recurring items: 16.6 million euros (+13%)

Lectra’s Board of Directors, chaired by Daniel Harari, reviewed the consolidated financial statements for the first half of 2023, which have been subject to a limited review by the Statutory Auditors.

Comparisons between 2023 and 2022 are based on 2022 exchange rates unless otherwise stated (“like-for-like”). As the impact of the acquisition of TextileGenesis (see press release dated December 8, 2022) on the financial statements for 2023 is not material, like-for-like changes exclude only the variations in exchange rates.

Business Trends and Outlook
In its 2022 Annual Financial Report, published February 8, 2023, Lectra presented its new roadmap for 2023-2025. The Group also specified that 2023 remained unpredictable given the degraded macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, which lead to numerous uncertainties that could continue to weigh upon the investment decisions of its customers.

At the beginning of the year, the Group had set itself objectives of achieving, in 2023, revenues in the range of 522 to 576 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items in the range of 90 to 113 million euros.

Given the delay in orders for new systems in the first quarter, and poor visibility on new systems orders for subsequent quarters, the Group reported on April 27 that it now anticipated revenues in the range of 485 to 525 million euros (-5% to +3% at constant exchange rates relative to 2022) and EBITDA before non-recurring items in the range of 78 to 95 million euros (-15% to +3% at constant exchange rates relative to 2022). The Group also noted that despite limited visibility regarding new systems orders over the next few quarters, there is strong visibility regarding recurring revenues, which should enjoy substantial growth and account for 65% of total revenues in 2023. These revised scenarios had been prepared on the basis of the closing exchange rates on April 27, 2023, for the remaining nine months of the year, and particularly $1.10/€1.

The results of the second quarter support these revised objectives.

A 1-cent appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar in the second half of the year (at an exchange rate of $1.10/€1) would mechanically decrease revenues by approximately 1.0 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items by 0.45 million euros. On the contrary, a 1-cent fall in the euro against the dollar would mechanically raise revenues and EBITDA before non-recurring items by the same amounts.

Because the Group's customers operate in a highly competitive environment that demands they continue to improve performance, their investments will pick up as soon as the macroeconomic situation improves. Lectra's roadmap for 2023-2025, which was launched on January 1, 2023, will enable the Group to take full advantage of the upturn and accelerate its growth.

To reach its goal of being the world’s leading supplier of enhanced recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), gr3n is signing a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its shareholder Intecsa Industrial to set up a Joint Venture.

gr3n together with Intecsa Industrial will join forces and build a “First-of-a-Kind” manufacturing facility able to produce 40.000 tons of virgin-like PET, commencing EPC phase in Q4-2024 and aiming to be operational in 2027. gr3n’s chemical recycling technology is capable of processing PET from various industries including textile waste, closing the loop for hard-to-recycle PET applications.

The world’s first industrial-scale MADE PET recycling plant will have the capability to process post-industrial and post-consumer PET waste including hard-to-recycle waste, to produce approximately 40.000 tons of virgin PET chips from the recycled monomers saving nearly 2 million tons of CO2 during its operating life. The post-consumer and/or post-industrial polyesters will be both from bottles (colored, colorless, transparent, opaque) and textiles (100% polyester but also mixtures of other materials like PU, cotton, polyether, polyurea, etc. with up to 30% of presence in the raw textile).

The technical concept of the MADE plant is to break down PET into its main components (monomers) so they can potentially be re-polymerized endlessly to provide brand new virgin PET or any other polymer using one of the monomers. Polymers obtained can be used to produce new bottles/trays and/or new garments, essentially completely displacing feedstock material from fossil fuels, as the recycled product has the same functionality as that derived traditionally. This means that gr3n can potentially achieve bottle-to-textile, textile-to-textile, or even textile-to-bottle recycling, moving from a linear to a circular system.

gr3n’s process has the potential to change the way PET is recycled worldwide, enabling huge benefits for both the recycling industry and the entire polyester value chain. Many efforts have been made in the past to transfer enhanced recycling from research laboratories to the manufacturing industry, but the economics and skepticism of the first adopters have constantly blocked the progress of the proposed solutions. Thanks to the MADE technology developed by gr3n, this approach is now feasible and makes gr3n one of the few companies with the potential to provide a reliable enhanced recycling solution that closes the life cycle of PET, and also offers food grade polymer material, processes a large variety of waste and reduces the carbon footprint of these materials usually destined for incineration or landfill.

The KARL MAYER GROUP and the Südwolle Group have joined forces in a project to explore the possibilities of merino wool for warp knitting technology. The project was triggered by the increasing demand for textiles made from sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. The cooperation was to develop innovative fabrics from renewable raw materials for use in underwear and functional sportswear. The focus of the work was on the use of wool as a material with excellent comfort properties and the look and feel of lightweight single jersey goods. The natural fiber fabric qualities are not typical for warp knitting processing, so the challenges during the project work were diverse.

Merino wool yarns with good running properties
Regarding the choice of material, the product development team of Südwolle Group recommended the Hidalgo yarn from their product portfolio. The yarn was created using the in-house developed Betaspun technology, in which a filament was twisted around a merino core. When natural fibres such as wool, cotton or silk are combined with sustainable fibres such as biodegradable polyamide as the filament, the spinning process can create durable, lightweight yarns that disintegrate completely without residue after use. The yarns made from the two components also have good running properties for use in warp knitting. "The polyamide content of the yarn increases its tenacity, reduces hairiness and makes it an excellent choice for warp knitting technology," confirmed Gabriela Schellner from KARL MAYER's Textile Product Development Department.

Shape stability paired with single jersey "look and feel"
The Hidalgo yarn, which is made from merino wool, was processed on a warp knitting machine using a carefully thought-out lapping selection to produce a light, soft fabric which, above all, retains its shape. The textile specialists at KARL MAYER had experimented with two different single bar fabric qualities beforehand and had thus adopted a new approach for jersey machines.

The first results are promising. Now more trials are needed to perfect the technique. Development partners are needed, including fabric producers, brands, and garment manufacturers, with whom the fabric qualities, machine equipment and orientation to the end applications can be refined. The KARL MAYER GROUP and the Südwolle Group are also unanimous in their desire to push the boundaries of what is possible with merino wool and knitting technology and to develop new solutions for the textile industry through further project work.

Highlights Q2 2023 (compared with Q2 2022)

• Revenue 4% down on unfavorable exchange rates, 3% up in constant currencies1
• Pricing up 5%, volumes 1% lower
• Operating income up 36% at €279 million (2022: €205 million)
• Adjusted operating income2 up 25% at €311 million; ROS3 11.3% (2022: €249 million and 8.7%)
• Net cash from operating activities positive €305 million (2022: negative €52 million)

2023 Outlook
AkzoNobel expects the ongoing macro-economic uncertainties to continue and weigh on organic volume growth. The company will focus on margin management, cost reduction, working capital normalization and de-leveraging.
Cost reduction programs are expected to partly mitigate higher than expected inflationary pressure on operating expenses for 2023. AkzoNobel expects declining raw material costs to have a favorable impact on profitability.
Based on current market conditions, AkzoNobel targets to deliver €1.40 to €1.55 billion adjusted EBITDA.
The company aims to lower its leverage ratio to less than 3.4 times net debt/EBITDA, including the impact of the Kansai Paint Africa acquisition, by the end of 2023 and return to around 2 times post-2023.

According to preliminary figures for H1 2023, SGL Carbon's Group sales increased year-on-year from €549.8 million to €560.5 million, with EBITDApre¹ almost unchanged at €88.0 million (H1 2022: €87.9 million). The expected good business performance of the Business Unit Graphite Solutions and the better-than-expected sales and earnings development of the segments Process Technology and Composite Solutions compensated the drop in demand in the Business Unit Carbon Fibers.

Graphite Solutions (GS) increased sales by 15.3% year-on-year to €280.6 million and EBITDApre by 20.6% to €65.1 million. With a 30.9% rise in sales (€64.4 million) and a significant improvement in EBITDApre from €4.1 million to €11.9 million, the business performance of Process Technology (PT) was significantly ahead of the original budget. Composite Solutions (CS) also reported a higher-than-expected sales increase of 14.4% to €79.6 million in H1 2023 and an increase in EBITDApre of 26.8% to €12.3 million compared to H1 last year. By contrast, the business performance of the Carbon Fibers (CF) unit was not in line with expectations, with a 28.9% decline in sales to €125.1 million and an EBITDApre contribution of €6.1 million (-78.4% compared to the 1st half of the previous year).

An important market segment of the Carbon Fibers Business Unit is the wind industry. Demand for carbon fibers for the wind industry has declined sharply since the beginning of the year. According to current estimates, the expected recovery in demand in H2 2023 will not materialize for the time being. SGL Carbon expects customer demand from the wind industry to pick up in 2024.

Based on this, an impairment loss of between €40-50 million will be recognized on the assets of the Carbon Fibers Business Unit as of June 30, 2023. The impairment relates exclusively to Carbon Fibers, the operating business of the other Business Units is not affected.

SGL Carbon's equity ratio after the impairment as of June 30, 2023 is approximately 36% (December 31, 2022: 38.5%).

Further information on the first six months of fiscal year 2023 can be obtained from the half-year report, which will be published on August 3, 2023.

¹The definition of key figures used in this release is aligned to the Annual Report 2022.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg), a global supplier of high-performance technical textiles has begun operating a new 3D entangled mat production line in Changzhou (China). It enables Freudenberg to supply customers in the APAC region with Enka®Solutions made in China for building, industrial and civil engineering applications. Freudenberg now is also able to serve customers in diverse technical markets with finished and semi-finished products.

This investment in China will significantly increase Enka®Solutions production capacity and will play a fundamental role in the development of Enka business with customers in the APAC region. Freudenberg inaugurated the new line in Changzhou at an opening ceremony on July 13th.

The new production line in Changzhou complements the manufacturing operations in Obernburg (Germany) and Asheville (North Carolina, USA). With a global manufacturing presence on the three different continents Europe, Asia and America, Freudenberg can now serve markets locally and deliver Enka®Solutions products faster and efficiently. This will not only help to better meet customer needs, but also reducing the company's environmental footprint by increasing local production.

In the printing industry, direct-to-film technology is having a transformative impact on the apparel decoration space. It provides a simple and affordable garment printing process that facilitates vibrant, dynamic, full-colour designs with a durable print. It opens up opportunities for digital print service providers (PSPs) to expand their product offerings in the textile industry, their network of potential customers and expand the range of fabrics they can print on.

Direct-to-film vs. Screen Printing
Direct-to-film printing is the process of digitally printing directly onto a special transfer film sheet. The printed film is subsequently sprinkled with a hot-melt powder and heated. Once the transfer sheet is cured and dried, it can be heat-pressed onto a variety of fabrics to create premium transferred designs for customised merchandising, sportswear, and an array of other promotional applications for the textile market. Compared with traditional screen printing, the plate creation required for that process is far too time-consuming. Not only this, but it does not match direct-to-film’s ability to produce vivid colours and quality details such as shapes, lettering, and motifs often sought after in the promotional and merchandising space for bespoke textiles.

The Mimaki TxF150-75
Mimaki’s first direct-to-film inkjet printer is the TxF150-75, a fitting extension to the 150 series, with a maximum printing width of 80cm. Offering a stable printing plotter, the model’s built-in ink circulation system and degassed ink pack are resolutions to common direct-to-film challenges such as poor ink ejection and white ink clogging. The new printer also includes core Mimaki features including NCU (Nozzle Check Unit) and NRS (Nozzle Recovery System) for stable, uninterrupted print production. Operating in harmony with the textile printer itself is Mimaki’s ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certified water-based pigment textile inks, formulated especially for the TxF150-75. Coupled with Mimaki’s RasterLink7 RIP software, users are offered end-to-end oversight and efficiency from creative design to final product.

In addition, and in line with Mimaki’s collaborative approach to meeting customer needs, Adkins has developed an 80cm wide powder shaker cure unit to complete this ‘A brand’ direct-to-film printing solution. By offering the printer and post-processing unit at 80cm wide, customers can print larger garments with less waste and quicker production times, making the process much more cost effective.