From the Sector

Kornit Digital, specialised in digital textile printing technology, announces Johannesburg, South Africa-based apparel decorator Vic Bay Apparel has implemented two Kornit Storm HD6 systems for sustainable, single-step production on demand. This installation answers increased demand for small orders and high-colour graphic designs, resulting from a dramatic growth in their e-commerce operation.

Vic Bay Apparel has been a manufacturer, supplier, and wholesaler of basic t-shirts and golf shirts for 25 years, supplying blank apparel to decorators and resellers of promotional clothing. They predominantly service resellers in the tourism, workwear, printing, embroidery, and advertising markets.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the worldwide demand for protective masks and apparel has resulted in a record number of new orders in the high double-digit millions of euros at Oerlikon Nonwoven. The meltblown technology from Neumünster is recognized by the market as being one of the technically most efficient methods for producing highly-separating filter media made from plastic fibers.

Protective equipment demands high-end nonwoven products
The rising demand for protective masks and other medical protective equipment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated global ramping up of production capacities has also resulted in an increase in the demand for nonwovens for the production thereof. Initially, this resulted in bottlenecks in the provision of meltblown filter nonwovens. To this end, there had until this point be very few producers of medical filter nonwovens outside China. Meanwhile, the demand for spunbond systems is also rising. “Due to the structure of our group, we are in the fortunate position to swiftly reallocate and free up our production capacities. This means that we are able to relatively quickly deliver not only meltblown systems, but also spunbond equipment”, explains Dr. Ingo Mählmann, Head of Sales & Marketing at Oerlikon Nonwoven, talking about the positive situation at the company.

The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. “Our machines and systems for manufacturing manmade fiber and nonwovens solutions enjoy an outstanding reputation throughout the world. Ever more manufacturers in the most diverse countries are hoping to become independent of imports”, comments Dr. Mählmann. The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown systems are being delivered to Germany, China, Turkey, United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, France, North America and – for the very first time – to Australia until well into 2021.

Quality and efficiency in demand
Depending on the purpose of the application, medical PPE (personal protection equipment) should be breathable and comfortable to wear, protect medical staff against viruses, bacteria and other harmful substances and form a barrier against liquids. For these reasons, they are often made of either pure spunbond or of spunbond-meltblown combinations. Here, the meltblown nonwoven core assumes the barrier or filter task, while the spunbond has to retain its shape, while being tear-resistant, abrasion-proof, absorbent, particularly flame-resistant and nevertheless extremely soft on the skin.

All masks are not created equal – thanks to the ecuTEC+
Protection against infections such as coronavirus can only be guaranteed with the right quality.

The nonwovens can be electrostatically-charged in order to further improve the filter performance without additionally increasing breathing resistance. Here, Oerlikon Nonwovenʼs patented ecuTEC+ electro-charging unit excels in terms of its extreme flexibility. Nonwovens manufacturers can freely choose between numerous variation options and set the optimal charging method and intensity for their specific applications. In this way, even the smallest particles are still attracted and reliable separated by a relatively open-pored nonwoven. Nevertheless, mask wearers are still able to easily breathe in and out due to the comparatively loose formation of the fibers. To this end, it comes as no surprise that all meltblown systems currently destined for the production of mask nonwovens are equipped with the ecuTEC+ unit.

• Schleswig-Holstein Minister President visits Neumünster, Germany

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the worldwide demand for protective masks and apparel has resulted in a record number of new orders in the high double-digit millions of euros at the Oerlikon Nonwoven business unit of the Swiss Oerlikon Group. From the manufacturing site in Neumünster, Germany, the high-tech meltblown systems – with their patented ecuTE+ nonwovens electro-charging technology – are meanwhile be exported all over the world. For the very first time, a contract has now been signed with a business in Australia. Today, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister President Daniel Günther was won over on site by the technology of a ‘global player’. Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Nonwoven, was thrilled, stating: “The machines and systems for manufacturing manmade fiber and nonwovens solutions from Neumünster enjoy an outstanding reputation throughout the world. It is especially in this crisis that the technology from Schleswig-Holstein has proven itself to be absolutely world-class.”

In addition to a tour of the meltblown system and its assembly and production facilities, the visit by Minister President Daniel Günther had one purpose above all: the dialog between politicians and business. Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Nonwoven, and Matthias Pilz, Head of Oerlikon Neumag, jointly expressed their thanks for the support that Oerlikon has repeatedly had the fortune to experience over the past months and years in Schleswig-Holstein and looked to the future full of hope. “As a result of our additional investment at the site here in Neumünster – be this in our new technology center that will be completed by the end of this year or in our new logistics center that is already operating – we, as one of the region’s largest employers, are continuing to move forward, supported by a State Government that is also focusing on both promoting industry and business and on advancing an efficient training and educational system, as innovation is only possible with outstanding engineers”, stated Matthias Pilz. And Rainer Straub directed his appeal specifically at the Minister President: “Treat education and training as a priority. Ultimately, they will secure the future of Schleswig-Holstein as a center of excellence and manufacturing!”

Five-million-euro digitalization program

Daniel Günther, the incumbent Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein since 2017, immediately responded, making reference to one of the Federal State’s current training initiatives: “The State Government is supporting higher education institutions and students in the present coronavirus crisis. With a five-million-euro digitalization program, we are investing on the long-term digitalization of our higher education institutions. With this, we are overall creating a future for young people, particularly also for those who could very well go on to invent the next generation of manmade fiber systems.” And the Minister President was just as impressed by the willingness and readiness with which Oerlikon has been providing high-level support since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to master the present challenges as he was with the company’s meltblown technology itself. Rainer Straub explained: “When, at the beginning of the pandemic in February, demand for protective face masks increased rapidly, we at Oerlikon Nonwoven responded immediately. We ramped up all the available production capacities here in Neumünster in order to quickly manufacture nonwovens for producing face masks using our laboratory systems. As a result, we have been able to make a small, regional contribution to covering demand. In parallel, we have pulled out all the stops in order to systematically further expand our skills as machine and system builders so as to cater to the initially expected, and now also continuing, global demand for meltblown systems as quickly as possible.”

Leading meltblown technology

The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology – with which nonwovens for protective masks can also be manufactured, among other things – is recognized by the market as being the technically most efficient method for producing highly-separating filter media made from plastic fibers. The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. “Ever more manufacturers in the most diverse countries are hoping to become independent of imports. Therefore, what we are experiencing in Germany is also happening in both industrialized and emerging countries throughout the world”, commented Rainer Straub. In addition to China, Turkey, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Austria and numerous countries in both North and South America, Australia and not least Germany will for the first time also be among the countries to which Oerlikon Nonwoven will be delivering machines and equipment before the end of 2021.

Major technological changes to Oerlikon Neumag’s RoTac³ tangling unit produce even more efficient BCF yarn tangling. On the one hand, the tangling nozzle has been flow - optimized, allowing the air pressure to be lowered by approximately 10 percent compared to its predecessor while maintaining the same knot strength. Furthermore, the nozzle bearing arrangements have been improved. Consequently, either higher speeds or nozzle rings with greater numbers of holes can be used, generating more knots in the yarn.

Even at high production speeds, tangling knots can be set considerably more evenly with the RoTac³ than in the case of other conventional tangling units. Frequent tangling dropouts are now a thing of the past. This ensures better yarn quality and has a positive impact on further processing. The result: the carpet has a visibly more even appearance.

Stable and efficient yarn production is hugely important to yarn manufacturers. Not only does the evenness of the tangling knots make the investment interesting, so too does the energy efficiency of the RoTac³. The tangling unit requires up to 50 percent less energy for generating compressed air. Against the background of rising energy prices, this represents an excellent prerequisite for optimizing production costs.

Oerlikon Neumag has been able to secure various retrofit contracts since the launch of the RoTac³ in 2015. And new systems are predominantly equipped with RoTac³. The RoTac³ is included in the standard scope of delivery for the newer BCF S8 system. The tangling unit is available as an option both for the single-end Sytec One system and the three - end S+ and it can also be retrofitted on request.

• New game-changing Kornit NeoPoly Technology with industry-first innovation for industrial polyester printing that prevents dye migration.
• New Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro system unveiled at events during April, commercially available immediately.

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global market leader in digital textile printing innovation, unveiled the game-changing Kornit NeoPoly Technology, which is the industry’s first digital, industrial process for high-quality printing on polyester.

Polyester is the second largest category in the overall T-shirt market, it is key in the sport segment, and is growing in the athleisure and functional apparel segments. Currently polyester is printed predominantly by analog solutions, which creates major technological, cost and sustainability challenges.  

The new ground-breaking Kornit NeoPoly Technology addresses these challenges with a new process and ink set implemented in the renowned Kornit NeoPigmentTM process. Kornit’s new process handles polyester applications without compromising on design, run size, substrate or labor.

The breakthrough technological innovation is achieved by an innovative ink set and a physical and chemical process specifically developed for low temperature curing, and polyester enhancing functionalities developed to maintain fabric characteristics and provide superior fastness. This unique process prevents dye migration on polyester.  The inks are Oeko-Tex and Eco-Passport certified and do not contain PVCs or other toxic ingredients.

The first system equipped with the Kornit NeoPoly Technology is the new Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro, a member of Kornit’s world-class reliable, highly productive industrial platform. The single-step Poly Pro is the perfect system for the industry, enabling easy and cost effective short-runs and on-demand printing on polyester garments.