From the Sector

Perlon®, a Serafin Group company, is continuing to produce its’ quality filaments at all five sites for its’ customers in the current challenging climate. Production in China has been operating again as normal since the beginning of March after having to be temporarily halted due to the spreading of Covid-19. Production is now back up to 100%.

Production in Germany at our sites in Munderkingen (Baden-Wuerttemberg), Bobingen (Bavaria) and Wald-Michelbach (Hesse) as well as in the USA is continuing to run without any constraints. Therefore all sites are working to full capacity. In particular in the paper machine clothing area is showing an increase in sales which offsets a reduced demand in other areas such as automotive.

To manage the current situation responsibly, all hygiene measures at all our sites have been significantly increased so that the employees are protected as well as possible. There is hand sanitizer in every department and all of our production lines are disinfected several times a day. It has been explained to employees, what they should do in the current climate in order to minimise risk. Where possible employees are able to work from home. Perlon® has approximately 650 employees in Germany, over 80 in the USA and more than 100 in China.

High demand for monofilament for the paper industry
The paper industry is currently experiencing a rise in demand worldwide – and Perlon® is also benefitting from this, as customers need even more high quality monofilament and twisted yarns for the tensioning of paper machines. For the paper machine clothing field, Perlon® produced filaments are used to manufacture press fabric, which can be used either as a conveyor belt or for moisture removal on a paper production line. Due to the high mechanical strain through the presses, polyamide monofilaments or twisted yarns are therefore almost always used. Paper industry customers have increased their production recently. Whether it’s boxes to cope with the increased demand for online deliveries or paper for hygiene purposes (which everybody can identify with), there is an increased demand worldwide. The dental, hygiene and food preparation fields are also experiencing increased demand. To this end, Perlon® offers filaments for the manufacture of toothbrushes and high quality cleaning system brushes.

Textile innovator and specialty chemical producer Devan answers questions regarding anti-viral textile finish solutions following the growing spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Over the past few weeks, Devan has received a lot of questions regarding an antiviral solution for textiles against Sars-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. “Not a big surprise since we put BI-OME AV forward 3 years ago. Testing has been done in cooperation with Institut Pasteur de Lille”, says Devan CEO Sven Ghyselinck. Devan studied enveloped viruses (e.g. H1N1, Corona-types, etc.) as well as naked viruses (e.g. Rotavirus). For both virus families, BI-OME AV showed strong to excellent activity in wet state.

In the first instance, the company wants to focus on professionals who need to stay working such as policemen, logistics workers, shop employees, day-care workers, … A common complication of respiratory viral disease can be a secondary bacterial infection. Professionals could be helped with either an anti-bacterial on their facemask to reduce the chance for these secondary bacterial infections, for better hygiene and less odor build-up. On workwear, a combination of a virus spread reducing and antibacterial solution could help as these garments are typically used during long hours, are non-disposable and most likely will be washed at home.

Devan has solutions which withstand washing while keeping its performance. BI-OME as a liquid product is EU BPR, Turkish BPR and US EPA registered. Depending on the rash region, commercialising treated articles be subject to additional local registration procedures.

Beaulieu Fibres International prioritizes collaborative product development & sustainable long-term partnerships

• Up & running: pilot line & new fibre line in Italy, BICO capacity for industrial fibres in Belgium
• Introducing new Meraspring for soft cushioned hygiene nonwovens
• Extended fibre range for filtration applications
• Stand 1340, INDEX™20, 31^st March – 3^rd April, Palexpo, Geneva

Beaulieu Fibres International, the leading European polyolefin and BICO fibre supplier, will announce at INDEX™20 completion of its pilot line in Terni, Italy, the start-up of the state-of-the-art multifunctional production line in Terni, and the new BICO line in Belgium. The company invites the Nonwoven sectors to join efforts in accelerating the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for a rapidly changing global market (Stand 1340).

New products are also on their way to show. For nonwoven converters serving the hygiene segment, Beaulieu Fibres International will unveil Meraspring to the European market at INDEX™20. The BICO-fibres are made with polyethylene (PE) in the sheath and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the core, and are the latest addition to the hygiene portfolio.

Because of the unpredictable risks arising from the Corona virus, the viscose speciality fibre manufacturer Kelheim Fibres has decided to stop all business trips to and from China for the time being.

“We recognise our responsibility towards our customers and our employees. Their health and safety come first”, explains Matthew North, Commercial Director of Kelheim Fibres.

Among other things, Kelheim Fibres manufactures hygiene fibres that are used, for example, in tampons and other personal care products. These highly sensitive products have been also taken into account in making this decision.

The Bavarians operate their own representative office in Shanghai and are supplier for many Chinese companies.

“We wish China and its population that the measures taken will lead to a rapid containment of the virus”, adds Matthew North.

• Organic Waste Systems and TÜV confirm fiber biodegradability also in fresh water
• All white LENZING™ Viscose, Modal and Lyocell fibers are now certified for all environments
• Global legislators aim at limiting plastic waste persisting in the environment for centuries
• EU Single-Use Plastics Directive partly regulates usage of plastic products
• Biodegradable materials such as wood-based fibers are the best alternative to single-use plastics

The Lenzing Group received confirmation of the full biodegradability of its fibers in fresh water by the independent research laboratory Organic Waste Systems (OWS). The new and existing international certifications conducted by OWS and issued by TÜV Austria verify that LENZING™ Viscose fibers, LENZING™ Modal fibers and LENZING™ Lyocell fibers are biodegradable in all natural and industrial environments: in the soil, compost as well as in fresh and in marine water.

The biodegradability of cellulosic products and the synthetic fiber polyester was tested in fresh water at OWS according to valid international standards, e.g. ISO 14851. At the end of the trial period, LENZING™ wood-based cellulosic fibers, cotton and paper pulp were shown to be fully biodegradable in fresh water in contrast to synthetic polyester fibers. The fact that synthetic materials are not biodegradable leads to major problems in wastewater treatment plants and potentially marine litter. In turn, this not only harms fish and birds living in and close to the oceans but also all marine organisms and us humans.

“The Lenzing Group operates a truly circular business model based on the renewable raw material wood to produce biodegradable fibers returning to nature after use. This complete cycle comprises the starting point of the core value of sustainability embedded in our company strategy sCore TEN and is the ‘raison d’etre’ of our company”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. “In living up to this positioning, we not only enhance the business of our suppliers, customers and partners along the value chain but also improve the state of the entire textile and nonwovens industries.”

Both the textile and nonwovens industries face huge challenges with respect to littering. If current trends continue, the oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050. Therefore, legislative bodies worldwide can no longer ignore the issue and have moved towards plastics legislation aimed at limiting the vast amount of waste. In response, European lawmakers issued the Single-Use Plastics Directive currently being transposed into national legislation in the EU member states.

Conventional wet wipes and hygiene products mostly contain plastic and were thus identified as one of the product categories to be singled out. Less polluting alternatives are generally encouraged by NGOs and legislators, e.g. products made of biodegradable wood-based cellulosic fibers. Plastic waste including microplastic can persist in the environment for centuries. In contrast, biodegradable materials are the best alternative to single-use plastics because they fully convert back to nature by definition and thus do not require recycling.

• Oerlikon presents its expanded nonwovens product portfolio at the IDEA 2019 in Miami

Neumünster – Oerlikon presents its complete nonwoven plant portfolio for the production of airlaid, meltblown, spunbonded and hybrid materials at this year’s IDEA in Miami from 25–28 March. The focus of its presentation will be on solutions for hygiene, medical and other disposable nonwovens. Visitors to this year’s IDEA can inform themselves on the wide range of products at Oerlikon’s exhibition stand (no. 1724).

Two strong partnerships for disposable nonwovens

While two years ago the Nonwoven business unit of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment focused almost exclusively on solutions for technical applications, the company has now expanded its product portfolio to include solutions for disposable nonwovens by establishing strong partnerships.

Oerlikon & Teknoweb Materials – two strong partners for the nonwoven industry

As early as spring 2017, Oerlikon Manmade Fibers' Nonwoven business unit had entered into a strategic partnership with the Italian company Teknoweb Materials. Teknoweb Materials is an established technology supplier in the field of wipes and other disposable nonwovens. With its LEVRA technology, the company has its own patented, particularly efficient manufacturing process for wipes. It also has extensive process know-how on the making and further processing of these nonwoven materials. The Nonwoven business unit of Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers segment completes this partnership with its well-established machine and plant solutions. Teknoweb Materials will also be represented at IDEA at the Oerlikon exhibition stand (no. 1724).

Cooperation with Shaoyang Textile Machinery

For spunmelt systems solutions for hygiene and medical applications, Oerlikon has been in cooperation with the Chinese machine and plant manufacturer Shaoyang Textile Machinery since Autumn of last year. The goal of these cooperation partners is to advance the international marketing of spunmelt plants outside of China. Oerlikon Manmade Fibers’ Nonwoven business unit contributes its plant engineering know-how and is responsible for product and process guarantees. Oerlikon also assumes the overall project responsibility as well as world-wide customer service outside of China. In return, Shaoyang, with its headquarters in the city of the same name in the Hunan province, supplies the plant technologies.The advantage for the customer: competitive solutions at an attractive price level with comparatively low investments.

Bobingen - Trevira GmbH, Germany, is again participating as an exhibitor at this year’s Building Healthcare show in Dubai, from 2-4 October. The manufacturer of high-value polyester fibres will present a large variety of fabrics made by 12 partners from inherently flame retardant Trevira fibres and yarns.

Modern furnishing concepts for healthcare environments are making increasing demands in terms of quality, functionality, colouring and hygiene. Perfectly matched materials and colour concepts in the interior not only help to provide good orientation for the residents, but also create more attractive spaces. In addition, the use of appropriate textiles such as curtains, drapes, blinds and sliding panels, fabric-covered dividing panels, upholstery and bedding textiles, can improve the room acoustics, protect your privacy and let the room appear in a pleasant light. In healthcare environments where hygiene and cleanliness are of particular importance, antimicrobial textiles may be used.

Trevira CS® and Trevira CS Bioactive® create a safe, attractive and comfortable environment in hospitals, clinics, spas, care homes and all other sectors in the contract sector.

Trevira CS Bioactive® contract textiles combine flame retardant and antimicrobial functions, which makes them the ideal material for use in healthcare facilities. They inhibit the growth of bacteria, prevent the formation of odours in/on the fibre and keep the textiles fresh for a longer time. The permanent flame retardant and bioactive properties of their fibres is integrated at molecular level, meaning that they remain unaffected by repeated washing, abrasion and ageing. This gives them an advantage over textiles with only a supplementary surface finish.

Trevira CS® and Trevira CS Bioactive® fabrics for the healthcare sector presented at the show stand come from these suppliers: Delius, Dina Vanelli, Fidivi Tessitura Vergnano, Gebrüder Munzert, JAB, Mattes & Ammann, Pugi, Rubelli, Rudolf Breuer Mechanische Weberei, Schmitz Textiles/drapilux, Subrenat, Verotex.

Trevira CS® and Trevira CS Bioactive® fabrics meet the requirements of the relevant international fire safety standards and can be certified according to the IMO regulations for the maritime sector. All Trevira fibres and yarns carry the Oekotex Standard 100 certificate. They are manufactured in accordance with the highest standards for sustainable products. A broad variety of collections with thousands of designs are available in Trevira CS® worldwide.

Linen, uniform and facility services operators certified Hygienically Clean Healthcare presented evidence today to members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) that medical care facilities should more carefully control public wearing of employee uniforms.

Engaging visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit at APIC’s 2018 expo, certification staff had a receptive audience for the data. Most attendees interviewed indicated they support preventing employees from wearing scrubs and other healthcare apparel outside medical facilities. Many said they have policies to this effect but find these difficult to enforce.

The 3-day APIC exhibit is building awareness of Hygienically Clean certified providers among infection preventionists: individuals who recommend what linen and uniform service their facilities should use. Discussing issues with them such as uniform hygiene positions certified operators as the foremost laundry science experts with an unprecedented commitment to educating healthcare professionals regarding linen and laundry.

Visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit received Curbing the Infection Risks of Healthcare Garments, a brief compendium of studies and journal articles that point to the risk-reduction value of professionally laundering employees’ garments, worth the additional cost to a healthcare facility that currently makes employees responsible for washing them.

Hygienically Clean staff noted that TRSA, the global association for the linen and uniform industry that administers the certification program, has begun planning to raise the issue’s profile with healthcare industry stakeholders. TRSA’s Healthcare Committee has formed a task force on the matter. Staff has contacted TRSA associate members (suppliers to the industry) who manufacture scrubs, lab coats and other healthcare employee garments to explore promoting a new voluntary standard that would urge medical providers to prevent wearing these in public.

An Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) standard currently performs this role regarding garments worn in surgical suites. TRSA will weigh the possibility of supporting creation of a much broader measure, covering all clinical functions with discernible risk of pathogen transmission from healthcare garments to patients and the public.

As TRSA investigates courses of action, hoping to involve such stakeholder groups, Hygienically Clean certified providers will continue to point to the mounting evidence of the risks of garments carrying pathogens out of healthcare facilities and inadequate domestic laundering bringing them in.

In contrast, contracting with a Hygienically Clean provider, whose processes (laundry practices) are verified and outcomes (product cleanliness) are quantified by third parties, provides maximum confidence that all garments used in a healthcare setting have diminished presence of harmful bacteria. It’s a cost-effective way to essentially eliminate this single risk of infection transmission, unlike so many others that require preventionists to constantly guard against.

Attendees of the May 19-22 National Restaurant Show in Chicago learned that linen, uniform and facility services providers serving restaurants and other foodservice operations can be distinguished by earning third-party verification of their sustainability and cleanliness, as TRSA exhibited its Clean Green and Hygienically Clean Food Service certifications at the show.
More than 150 individuals viewed the exhibit, which screened a new animated video explaining the Clean Green designation. It’s now showing on TRSA’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-24iVCNRT0).

Depicting operations within a laundry, the video shows how contracting with a Clean Green certified provider delivers services restaurants need and gives them peace of mind from doing business with a sustainable provider. Clean Green operations comply with water and energy standards and demonstrate best management practices in supplying, laundering and maintaining textiles.

Visitors to the exhibit learned which providers serving these attendees’ home geographic areas are Clean Green certified and were encouraged to work with such a certified provider if not already doing so. Speaking with attendees also gave TRSA staff the opportunity to ask them about their experience with providers and, if currently under contract with one, its identity.

• 76 percent of those questioned indicate they currently use such a provider. Most could identify it by name
• 18 percent said they use an on-premises or home laundry for linen and uniform needs. Many of these respondents indicated they work for hotels, healthcare facilities, colleges or military bases with their own laundry equipment
• 6 percent said they use disposable products (napkins, wipers) instead of their reusable textile equivalents; most of these respondents are in quick-service restaurant operations

The TRSA display distributed copies of Sustainability: Finding the “New” Green in Your Restaurant Supply Chain, a 7-page guide to using a systematic approach to choose suppliers whose products/services are proven to be more sustainable than those of their competitors and whose own practices are more sustainable.

TRSA’s exhibit also kicked off a survey of restaurant management to determine their perceptions of table linen service as a plus for facility hygiene and service to diners. Results will help TRSA communicate to the restaurant industry the value of using Hygienically Clean Food Service certified providers in the hope that doing so becomes an industry standard.

Such certified laundries commit to cleanliness through third-party, quantified biological testing and inspection. This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify linens and uniforms cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and best management practices for servicing full- and limited-service restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and other locations where food is handled and served.

ABOUT CLEAN GREEN
Clean Green certification recognizes linen, uniform and facility services companies that demonstrate responsible leadership in sustainability and conservation by acknowledging commitment to improving water and energy efficiency and adoption of best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources. Certified operations meet quality standards for effectiveness in conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact. Customers that use Clean Green certified companies to supply, launder and maintain linens, uniforms, mats and other reusable textiles can be assured that their provider maximizes sustainable practices.

ABOUT HYGIENICALLY CLEAN
Hygienically Clean certification demonstrates linen, uniform and facility services companies’ commitment to cleanliness through independent, third-party laundry plant inspection and quantified microbial testing. Inspection and re-inspection verify that items are maintained, washed, dried, ironed, packed, transported and delivered using best management practices to meet key disinfection criteria. Between scheduled and supplemental inspections, ongoing microbial testing quantifies cleanliness and indicates laundry process adjustments.

  “Trevira with its renowned brand is an integral part within our specialty portfolio strategy”, explains Mr. Uday Gill, CEO of IVL’s Fibres Business. “We see further growth potential especially in the hygiene and automotive segments, as well as in the high-end home textiles business.”

For Trevira CEO Klaus Holz the takeover of the remaining Sinterama share is just the last consequent step which documents the long-term commitment of the parent company. „For Trevira and its customers and suppliers, this consolidation reflects Indorama Ventures’ commitment to investing in the company and ensuring a continued strong and reliable partnership. IVL has supported us from the very beginning in all our activities and has integrated us in its global network. We cooperate in joint projects and benefit significantly from the synergies within the IVL group. We would like to thank the Sinterama team for their ongoing support in ensuring a seamless transition.“