From the Sector

• Nathalie Brunel’s role is to support Lectra’s global teams in the roll-out of its new strategy to customers

Paris – Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nathalie Brunel to the role of Vice-President Sales, Fashion & Apparel. Based at Lectra’s headquarter’s in Paris, Nathalie reports to Edouard Macquin, Chief Sales Officer, Lectra and a member of the executive committee.

Nathalie Brunel’s role is to support Lectra’s subsidiaries as they conduct the Group’s strategic roadmap through the deployment of an offer—integrating the PLM and the cutting room of the future—which is rooted in customer experience. Nathalie will notably work with six countries: United States, China, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy.

“The fashion and apparel industry, a historic market for Lectra, is the pillar of our international presence. Our customers expect a high level of expertise and advice to meet the challenges they face due to the digitalization of their professions. Nathalie Brunel’s experience in transforming organizations and developing business for complex solutions within large groups is a valuable asset for both Lectra and our customers,” states Edouard Macquin.

“The fashion and apparel ecosystem is clearly entering the digital era. I aim to bring Lectra’s value proposition to our customers, facilitating their adoption of Industry 4.0 principles. I am proud to contribute to the integration of new technologies in their processes, from design to the finished product. It is crucial to meet the needs of companies facing a complex and fragmented market that is generating both local, and global, pressures,” underlines Nathalie Brunel.

Nathalie Brunel has over 20 years of experience in managing large accounts and management responsibility. In 1996, she joined the Altran group where she successively held the roles of Development Director, Director of a business unit, Associate Director, and Executive Director of large accounts. In 2011, Orange Business Services recruited Nathalie Brunel as Vice-President, Business Operations and Support, then Vice-President Large Accounts, Manufacturing and IT. Prior to joining Lectra, Nathalie Brunel held the position of CEO and shareholder of Okavango Energy, a consulting and industrial energy performance company.

Nathalie has a diploma from the Institut supérieur de commerce de Paris.

• Revenue up 9.4 percent to EUR 1,726.6 mn
• EBITDA improvement of 23.9 percent to EUR 397.1 mn
• Retail bond of EUR 120 mn redeemed – Lenzing with net liquidity as at end of September
• State-of-the-art application innovation center opened in Hong Kong

Lenzing – The Lenzing Group generated a substantial increase in revenue and earnings in the first nine months of the 2017 financial year compared to the prior-year period. The company is continuing the implementation of its Group strategy sCore TEN in order to further expand the offering of specialty fibers and be even closer to its customers and business partners.

Consolidated revenue climbed 9.4 percent year-on-year to EUR 1,726.6 mn. This increase is mainly attributable to higher prices for all three fiber generations. Consolidated earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 23.9 percent to EUR 397.1 mn, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 23 percent, up from 20.3 percent in the prior-year period. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 34.6 percent to EUR 298.4 mn, resulting in a higher EBIT margin of 17.3 percent (Q1-3 2016: 14 percent). The profit for the period improved by 35.3 percent to EUR 219.3 mn, and earnings per share rose 36 percent to EUR 8.12 per share. In September Lenzing redeemed the retail bond of EUR 120 mn. At the end of the reporting period the Group had net liquidity of EUR 16.9 mn.

“In the first three quarters of 2017, we successfully captured value in a very positive market environment and we continue to implement the sCore TEN strategy with great discipline. The opening of our new application innovation center in Hong Kong is an important step to boost our regional innovation capabilities. We were particularly proud to launch TENCELTM Luxe as a sign of Lenzing’s ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability”, states Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. “After three excellent quarters we are confident to deliver substantially better operating results in 2017 compared to 2016, but at the same time we do expect more headwinds in 2018.”

Focus on customer intimacy

In September 2017, the Lenzing Group opened a new application innovation center (AIC) in Hong Kong, thus setting a further milestone in strengthening its innovation offering to all partners along the value chain. New applications for Lenzing fibers will be developed and tested at the new facility, among them applications for recent innovations such as the TENCELTM Luxe branded lyocell filament, the RefibraTM branded lyocell fiber and the EcoVeroTM branded viscose fiber.

Furthermore, new sales and marketing offices were opened in Turkey and South Korea in the first half of 2017. The direct contact to customers and well-equipped showrooms featuring products made of LenzingTM fibers serve as the basis for providing even better customer support.

Investment program in progress

The Lenzing Group aims to increase the share of specialty fibers as a percentage of revenue to 50 percent by 2020. Following the capacity expansion initiatives in Heiligenkreuz (Austria) and Mobile, Alabama (USA) which are both underway, Lenzing announced its intention to construct the next plant to produce TENCEL® fibers in Thailand.

A new era of sustainable production

In October 2017, the Lenzing Group presented a new product, TENCELTM Luxe, at an exclusive event held in Paris. The TENCELTM Luxe branded filament yarn represents Lenzing’s entry in the filament market. This fiber will support the Lenzing Group’s path towards becoming a true specialty player in the market for botanic materials derived from the sustainable raw material wood.

The launch volumes of TENCELTM Luxe are being produced at the Lenzing site. The basic engineering for a commercial scale plant was commenced.

Outlook
Demand development on the global fiber market remains positive within the context of a generally friendly macroeconomic environment. Lenzing expects wood-based cellulose fibers to grow at an even higher rate than the overall fiber market. After three excellent quarters, the Lenzing Group will achieve an operating result in 2017 that is significantly better than 2016.

For 2018, Lenzing sees a number of somewhat opposing factors that limit visibility regarding fiber price developments. Overall market demand is expected to remain high. However, the Group expects a substantial increase on the supply side, especially for viscose but also for cotton. Price trends for selected key raw materials, especially caustic soda, are difficult to predict. Against this background the Lenzing Group expects a much more challenging market environment for standard viscose during the upcoming quarters.

The above-mentioned development reassures the Lenzing Group in its chosen corporate strategy sCore TEN. The Group initiated its transformation from a volume-oriented viscose player to a value-oriented specialty fiber player at the end of 2015, and will continue the disciplined implementation of its business strategy.

• Lectra’s latest PLM solution selected by Jinfa Labi to improve its product development process through supply chain digitization

Paris – Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, is pleased to announce that Jinfa Labi, one of the first publicly listed maternity and infant clothing companies in China, has chosen Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0 to help digitally transform their supply chain, making it more efficient, integrated and connected.

Spurred by the continued growth of the Chinese economy, young Chinese parents are now demanding maternity and baby products that are more personalized and sophisticated in terms of material and design. To meet these new market needs, Jinfa Labi has chosen to implement Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0 after researching on all PLM vendors in the market. With the help of this solution, the company aims to further improve their product development process by digitizing their entire supply chain, from design to production, enhancing business agility and collaboration. By embracing digitalization, the company hopes to make progress in adopting the government initiative “Made in China 2025”.

Lectra’s ultimate collaborative platform—Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0—gives fashion and apparel companies the extra speed and agility they need to tackle the challenges of Industry 4.0 head on. With the widest functional scope on the market, this technology serves as the intelligent backbone for the digital supply chain, facilitating the entire design-to-production process. This ensures a consistent flow of error-free data between process, technology and people, thus enabling organizations to quickly adapt to different business models and keep pace with the latest trends.

“As one of the first domestic companies to engage in R&D, design, production and distribution of baby clothing, Jinfa Labi is now growing exponentially. We are looking for a partner with a worldwide perspective and in-depth knowledge on the industry’s best practices,” said Lin Ruowen, General Manager, Jinfa Labi. “And Lectra fits the bill. Their latest PLM solution connects CAD, industry-standard software, company IT systems and external suppliers together, allowing us to fully digitize our supply chain by covering all production stages. We can then focus on improving our core competencies.”

“We are confident that Lectra will help Jinfa Labi make their mark for “Made in China 2025”. This Industry 4.0-based initiative will not only revolutionize the way in which manufacturers operate but also change the way in which the brands and retailers run their businesses. Lectra is committed to providing the technology and support that our customers need to thrive in this new digital era,” said Andreas A. Kim, Managing Director, Lectra, Greater China. “Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0 is the only PLM solution purpose-designed for the fashion industry that covers the entire value chain. We hope to leverage our 44 years of experience in the fashion industry to help Jinfa Labi succeed through operational excellence.”
 

At JEC Asia 2017 (1-3 November), the international textile group CHOMARAT will receive a JEC Innovation Award in the Sports & Leisure category for its C-PLY™ Hexagonal with visual & structural stitching. “CHOMARAT provided NEILPRYDE and COBRA with its C-PLY™ Non-Crimp Fabric (NCF) technology to help them manufacture an innovative windfoil board, and we are very proud to be rewarded with our partners”, says Pascal JOUBERT DES OUCHES, Sports Equipment Market Director at CHOMARAT.

C-PLYTM HEXAGONAL COMBINES NEW CARBON LOOK AND PERFORMANCE

The unusual stitching of this carbon multiaxial NCF reinforcement combines visual appeal and mechanical performance. C-PLY™ Hexagonal is an innovative carbon NCF with a unique stitching yarn designed to be visible within the resin and to capture resin colour pigments. The stitching yarn also improves fracture toughness compared to standard NCF.
“We researched the right stitching yarn among multiple options before coming up with a tailor-made yarn solution. C-PLY™ Hexagonal provides a unique honeycomb carbon design that appeals to end users”, adds Philippe SANIAL, R&T Director at CHOMARAT.

A WIDE RANGE, FROM AERONAUTICS AND AUTOMOTIVE TO SPORTS & LEISURE APPLICATIONS

Originally dedicated to the design of aerospace and automotive parts, the concept is now successfully applied to the sports & leisure sector. In this innovative windfoil board construction, tows are spread to create thin plies, which are then stitched with precise ±45° angles. The C-PLY™ NCF structure respects the fibre alignment and is optimized in terms of fibre angles and ply weights, thanks to unique spreading technology. The result is a leading-edge carbon NCF reinforcement allowing structural design benefits, premium surface quality and overall parts cost savings. “Bringing a new carbon visual signature for our high-performance C-PLY™ range of NCF is a key to boost retail sales in the whole sports & consumers product industry”, concludes Pascal JOUBERT DES OUCHES.

Bobingen - On the 4th October 2017 a new brand was introduced at Trevira: Trevira SINFINECO®. This label may be carried by all textiles that contain sustainable Trevira products. Sustainable, innovative, high-value and responsible – these are the values the new brand stands for.

As an industrial enterprise, Trevira is conscious of its special responsibility for an intact environment and has long advocated the recycling of valuable raw materials and waste products. Trevira CEO Klaus Holz: “We at Trevira wish to preserve the environment and at the same time work to create value. These are the criteria of our sustainability concept.“

Creation of the new brand is therefore only a logical step, one that enables customers to label their sustainable Trevira products as such. Trevira is known for the high quality of its products. In every way recycled products are as good as the original materials in terms of quality and performance.

Two vital elements in Pre-Consumer Recycling and an important concept in Post-Consumer Recycling form part of the sustainability strategy of Trevira to conserve resources and maintain value. :

In the area of Pre-Consumer Recycling, on the one hand, residual materials resulting from the manufacture of polyester fibres and filaments in Bobingen and Guben, dependent on the manufacturing step, are processed in the agglomeration plant and restored to become serviceable primary material. The recyclates are then fed back to our fibre and filament spinning mills, to be made into new top-quality products.

On the other hand, in fibre production there occurs in the manufacture of tow a small proportion of tow that cannot be used for converting and has to be cut out. Instead of selling this material as waste, it is cut up, pressed into balls and then carded / combed by a partner, resulting in a 1A quality product. The GRS certification (Global Recycled Standard) is requested for this. As with converter tow from new material, the recycled tow is mostly incorporated into polyester wool blends (55 % PET / 45 % wool), which are used primarily in corporate wear and uniforms.

In the area of Post-Consumer Recycling, Trevira offers filament yarns consisting of 100 % recycled PET bottles. Our parent company Indorama manufactures very high quality recycled chips from PET bottles. Since only transparent PET bottles are used in Thailand, the flakes and chips are of a particularly good and very uniform quality. The recycled chips, fibres and filaments from Indorama bear the GRS certificates (Global Recycled Standard) and RCS-NL (Recycled Claim Standard). Trevira processes the regranulate made by Indorama from bottle flakes into filament yarns consisting 100 % of recycled material. The filament yarns are available in titres 167 and 76 dtex normal polyester. Alongside technical applications, they are used in the automotive and apparel sectors. In addition, many promising developments with the recycled material are on their way.

• INVISTA to showcase ‘Innovative Attitude’ at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics
• Innovative INVISTA products, findings from a new textile industry IP protection survey, in-depth consumer insights and fashion trends will be revealed

INVISTA, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibres, will showcase the innovative attitudes enabling it to maintain a leading position in the textile industry at the upcoming Rendez-Vous 2017 at October’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – the world’s most influential apparel event. INVISTA Rendez-Vous will showcase innovative INVISTA products, offer consumer insights and reveal the results of a textile industry IP protection survey.

INVISTA Rendez-Vous 2017 will be held at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 11 – 13 October at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, with INVISTA occupying two booths in hall 5.2 E49 and hall 7.2 E55. 

As a global authoritative trade show in textile industry, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics has been a platform for INVISTA to communicate with players across the value chain for 23 years. This year’s event will be no exception. The rich and vivid content delivered at the show will focus on INVISTA’s Innovative Attitude to consumers, partners as well as the whole industry.

To build a healthy and sustainable marketing environment, INVISTA cooperated with a number of media organisations to conduct a survey on IP protection in the textile industry. The results will be revealed during a seminar entitled ‘Innovation and IP: An Avenue for Sustainable Textile Industry Development’, which will be held on 11 October, 2:45 – 3:45pm in the Textile Dialogue area in hall 5.2. Representatives from textile industry associations, legal firms and INVISTA will share the findings and offer insights during what will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of INVISTA Rendez-Vous 2017.

The main pavilion of the show will be located in the International Hall (hall 5.2), where three of INVISTA’s most innovative products will be on show. Visitors will experience the latest possibilities offered by LYCRA® MOVESTM BRA, LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS and LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY.

LYCRA® MOVESTM BRA

According to consumer research conducted in 2016, bra products in China’s domestic market don’t match consumer demands in a host of critical areas, including support, comfort and aesthetic design. To address these concerns, streamline the industry and consolidate its leadership, INVISTA is launching LYCRA® lastingFIT technology for bra wings. In addition, INVISTA’s cutting-edge technology can contribute to meeting specific quality standards in bra wing fabrics, enabling Chinese consumers to experience higher levels of comfort and the appropriate support they expect from a bra in different occasions.

LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS

INVISTA’s longstanding commitment to legging fabrics will also be on display at Rendez-Vous. INVISTA’s LYCRA® MOVESTM LEGGINGS has already spawned LYCRA® SPORT Power-Comfort-Energy (PCE™) index-certified fabrics, which are now commercially available.

The revolutionary fabrics present excellent recovery performance for LYCRA® SPORT legging products. They also offer the industry an opportunity to develop a number of targeted segment markets – from compression and medium compress to light compression leggings.

LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY

LYCRA® MOVESTM HOSIERY is all about fabric technology innovation. Due to excellent properties, such as anti-laddering, fit and durability as well as comfortable waistbands, INVISTA’s LYCRA® FUSIONTM technology has already been widely adopted in China’s hosiery sector.

A Packed Pavilion

At the LYCRA® MOVESTM Denim pavilion in the Beyond Denim hall (7.2), visitors won’t just see the innovative denim products offered by INVISTA; they will also learn about three themes highlighted through consumer insights – fit, shape and embracing heat & cold. There will also be a special session outlining the latest woven bottom trends, hosted by INVISTA experts.

Introduced commercially in 2010, LYCRA® dualFX® dual core yarn technology provides denim with super stretch and super recovery that fits all day and every day. It effectively prevents seam slippage and uneven fabric surfaces, keeping denim looking good, feeling comfortable and fitting, which in turn creates new denim fabric applications and fashion trends in the China market.

Last But Not Least

An interactive program, that includes visitors uploading pictures they take at the INVISTA booth to the official INVISTA WeChat account, will give every visitor a chance to win a special INVISTA gift. Visit INVISTA at hall 5.2 E49 and hall 7.2 E55 from 11 – 13 October at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 2017.

The Industry of the Future Alliance (AIF) has awarded Lectra with their ‘Showcase for the Industry of the Future’ label for demonstrating the criteria exemplarity, innovation and commitment. This certification is given to companies who have concretely developed a ground-breaking project to organize their production by leveraging the potential of digital.

The AIF bestowed Lectra with this distinction for its competitiveness concerning cost, quality and delivery times, all obtained thanks to a lean approach and reflection around the design of its products. Further, Lectra received the certification for its competitiveness regarding value, achieved thanks to mastering customer use from which new associated services have flowed. Since 2013, Lectra has invested €86 million in R&D, representing 9.4% of its revenues. This Investment has enabled Lectra to undergo a metamorphosis—based on methodological advances and fundamental technologies—increasing recruitment and growing competitiveness in all of its markets and geographical sectors.

With ten years’ experience in the industrial internet of things for cutting and expertise in software Solutions to automate and optimize design and product development, Lectra is in an unrivalled position to Support customers as they enter the ‘industry of the future’ era.

Pressure from certain shareholders to relocate manufacturing to China in 2005, triggered Lectra’s industrial project. Following risk analyses—the cost of transport for the European market, the turnover in qualified labor, uncertainty over patent rights and quality—Lectra decided to keep manufacturing in France. This choice was conditional on: disruptive innovation; upgrading; increased value to customers; and a rise in productivity.

The project was accompanied by a well-structured lean approach and organizational changes, which enabled Lectra to achieve the desired level of excellence in terms of productivity and competitiveness.

Some of the changes that took place thanks to this project are as follows: Growth in industrial performance due to an improvement in working conditions, with teams involved in the lean approach; Production engineers involved in creating awareness around factory constraints for a new offer as early as the design process. This co-design product/process optimizes global costs; Emphasis on product, process and logistics’ modularity with the latest possible integration of options (delayed differentiation). This enables logistics’ constraints to be taken into account as early as the engineering phase. Product modularity allows, for example, machines to be put in containers when they might otherwise require special heavy-goods transport.

Lectra’s factory improved its productivity rate by 18 points in three years, and has since maintained it at 89%. Costs have already reduced by 25% and the quality and level of service has improved. In terms of positioning, Lectra has confirmed its leadership in the high-end segment. Lectra has enriched its offer with end-to-end services and innovative, connected products whose embedded intelligence offers Smart Services, notably for predictive maintenance.

Up To Date Laundry, Baltimore, has again achieved Hygienically Clean (HC) Healthcare certification, reflecting their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.
Up-To-Date was first certified in 2014. Recertification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:
• Employees are properly trained and protected
• Managers understand regulatory requirements
• OSHA-compliant
• Physical plant operates effectively

To achieve certification initially, laundries pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and zero presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. They also must pass a facility inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations by verifying quality control procedures in linen, uniform and facility services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.
“Congratulations to Up To Date Laundry on their recertification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their ongoing commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry facilities take every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Based in Porto, Portugal, Rodrigo Siza will focus on nurturing new regional collaborations to benefit the needs of Lectra’s customers, and faciliate their success in the Industry 4.0 era. Rodrigo will rely on Lectra’s highly experienced teams located in the region.
“Rodrigo has very effectively established long-term partnerships with our fashion and apparel, automotive and furniture customers in Portugal. He has helped our customers to emerge stronger from the world crisis which heavily impacted them. After 10 successful years as head of Lectra Portgual, Rodrigo is now also in charge of meeting the expectations of our Spanish customers,” stated Daniel Harari, Lectra Chairman and CEO.

Players in the region are witnessing a strong dynamic, notably fashion brands in Spain and fashion and automotive industrialists with heightened added-value in Portugal. With the recent announcement of a new strategy to focus on Industry 4.0, Lectra is in a strong position to support these businesses in the digitalization of their processes.
For industries faced with more demanding consumers and ever-shorter product development and manufacturing cycles, integrating all steps along the extended supply chain, from design to cutting, is now a top priority. This is particularly apparent in Spain and Portugal, two countries positioned, in their own way, at the heart of Europe’s fashion and automotive industries.
Rodrigo started his career at Tradetex, a trading company of textiles for clothing, as a textile designer. From 1991 to 1999, he was an associate of V-Sistemas Informatica, specialized in the development and distribution of technical solutions for the textile industry. In 2000, he joined Lectra Portugal as a design and merchandising manager, and then evolved into the position of international consultant in 2004. He left Lectra in 2005 to take the position of Sales Director of RPB Têxteis e Vestuario, a company that makes clothes, before returning to Lectra in 2007 to take over the management of the Portuguese subsidiary. Rodrigo has a masters in marketing from Minho University and a degree in design and communication from Porto University, both located in Portugal.

Lectra has developed partnerships with over 850 fashion schools across the world, providing them with solutions and expertise to help the teachers prepare students with the skills they require for the workplace. Working with leading education partners, Lectra organises regular student competitions in association with customers. The latest competition with Istituto Secoli, renowned for its pattern-making savoir-faire, and organized with Armani, is a clear example of industry and education working hand-in-hand to nurture young fashion designers.
Students at Istituto Secoli developed their collections using Lectra’s Modaris® and Diamino® solutions to create their patterns, prototypes and markers. In addition, students from the master’s program in menswear cut their creations with Vector®, Lectra’s state-of-the-art fabric cutting solution.

Thanks to the trusted relationship that Lectra has with its customer G.A. Operations of the Giorgio Armani group, one of the winning students, graduating in menswear, has the opportunity to take up an internship in the collection development department. "We were very pleased with Lectra's initiative and were delighted to offer educational internships at G.A. Operations. We chose the winning student for his creative skills and for his training on Modaris and Diamino. This gives us the important advantage of bringing somebody with proven technical skills into our team," stated Giorgio Ferremi, industrial director G.A. Operations at Trento.