From the Sector

Fibre Extrusion Technology Ltd of Leeds, UK has now commenced construction of a new purpose-built Research & Development Centre to enable continued growth through innovation. This modern two-storey development will be situated on the adjacent site, providing state-of-the-art facilities, including a Visitor Centre and enhanced Process Development Laboratory (PDL) for client testing and product development. Central to FET’s success has been its ability to provide customers with advanced facilities and equipment, together with unrivalled knowledge and expertise in research and production techniques. The new expanded premises will further improve this service.

Clients frequently spend several days on site participating in development trials and technical sales meetings, so the Visitor Centre is designed to make their stay more efficient and comfortable. Sales, administration and design departments will also be housed in the new building.

The addition of the Visitor Centre will free up a considerable amount of space for production and other facilities in the existing premises. This major refurbishment phase for the existing premises is scheduled for completion at the end of 2021. As a result, FET’s manufacturing capacity will increase by more than 50% to cope with customer demand.  

Substantial year-on-year growth has driven this initiative and FET’s current order book in excess of £10million has provided the opportunity for equipping the company infrastructure for the future. Sustainability has been at the forefront of FET’s growth, supporting customers in their development of sustainable textiles and this principle is reflected in the choice of building materials and products for the Visitor Centre wherever possible.

It is expected that the new Visitor Centre will be opened in the first quarter of 2022.

Monforts Head of Technical Textiles Jürgen Hanel will take part in the next international webtalk to be held by the VDMA’s textile machinery division on May 20th.

He will be joined by Johannes Lutz, Research and Development Engineer at Pleva, to provide full details of how the latest Monforts coating technology is supported by special microwave measuring systems.

The Montex®Coat magnetic roller coating option allows a wide range of coatings and finishes to be carried out, while being easy to handle for operators and much easier to clean at the end of the process.

“This roller provides textile finishers with an expanded range of options due to the fully-adjustable positioning of the magnet within the roller and with four different magnet positions possible, can be set to operate both as a direct coating system and as an indirect coater,” Hanel said.

Lutz will provide an overview of the use of Pleva microwave measurement technology in coating processes, in addition to the latest developments in electronic evaluation.

To ensure a constant high quality in coating operations it is necessary to accurately measure and control the amount of chemical being applied, and Pleva’s series 700 devices achieve this via contact-free microwave moisture measurement technology which can be supplied either as single- or three-point units, or as a traversing measurement unit.

The free-to-attend webtalk will take place on May 20th from 2-3pm (CEST) and registration can be made here, along with further information.