From the Sector

Trützschler Card Clothing (TCC), technology leader in the manufacture of high-performance card clothings for textile yarn processing, is expanding its site in Neubulach, Germany. With the twelve-million-euro investment, the supplier for the international textile machinery industry is expanding its production, warehouse and office capacities. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place during the coming winter.

The new building will expand the warehouse and logistics area by 600 square meters, to make a total area of 2,800 square meters. In the optimized cube of the new hall, a modern warehouse system will double the storage capacity. There will also be a fully automated warehouse for coils for sawtooth wires. During the construction phase, logistics and shipping will be temporarily outsourced to Pforzheim-Büchenbronn.

The move into the new building is planned for 2024. TCC will also expand the range of services and the production intensity at the site, while optimizing the process flows. Trützschler intends to recruit the additional employees required within a short timeframe by hiring new staff and offering apprenticeships at the Neubulach site. TCC employs more than 130 people in Germany, with a further 220 people employed worldwide at locations in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Turkey and the USA.

Overall, the production area will be expanded from 4,000 to 5,400 square meters. This will enable the process flows to be optimized. The office space will be increased to 1,000 square meters. An additional level of the building will provide modern workplaces for administration and sales.

The new building will also improve access and exit routes for truck traffic. This will provide considerable relief for the local neighborhood in terms of noise emissions and other factors. Good integration into the region is very important to Trützschler. All contracts for planning, construction and air conditioning technology have been awarded to local companies.

In the future, TCC will operate its production facility in Neubulach in a climate-neutral manner. This will contribute important progress toward achieving the ambitious climate goals of the Trützschler Group. The new production facility will meet the highest requirements for energy efficiency and climate protection. Heating is provided by process heat recovery and geothermal energy. In addition, the company produces green electricity via its own solar panels.

"By expanding our business here in Neubulach, we are strengthening our presence in this area and our leading global market position too," says Managing Director Peter Gäbler. The Trützschler Group SE is also investing in India to build a new site with over 100,000 square meters for the Spinning, Card Clothing and Nonwovens business units. "It is important to be close to the customer worldwide because our foreign companies make a significant contribution to the success of the Group," says Gäbler.

TCC achieved another record sales result in 2021. Demand for the technology components for carding fibers in spinning mills and for carding in nonwovens production has increased significantly. The steel sawtooth wires, which are wound onto coils and produced for customers around the globe, eventually get worn down by use in production processes – so it is necessary to replace them regularly. For this reason, further growth is expected in 2022 and beyond.

HeiQ takes advantage of its presence at ISPO Munich 2022, 28th-30th of November, to launch HeiQ Mint, the new proprietary odor control technology. It is plant-based and designed to make textiles smell fresh even if we use them repeatedly, avoiding the need for frequent washes, thus enabling to save water and energy.

HeiQ Fresh MNT-01, under the HeiQ Mint product family, jointly developed with Patagonia, addresses body odors on textiles and regenerates at every wash, with superior efficiency and durability that meets most end-use performance requirements, while keeping all the fabric properties such as breathability, hand feel, or wicking. This textile technology is OEKO-TEX® suited, bluesign approved, and ZDHC compliant, with a USDA bio-preferred certification in progress.

The product development tests were highly demanding, with HeiQ Mint standing out in comparison to the other two tested solutions. According to Laura Hoch, Patagonia’s Materials Innovation Engineer, “out of all the anti-odor technologies we tested, HeiQ Mint provided the highest odor control performance, with the added benefit of being plant-based. This innovation enables Patagonia to deliver our customers high-performing products made with the best available chemistry.”

Another advantage of HeiQ Mint is the ability to be applied and marketed worldwide, without the need for biocidal declaration on product labels, since it is based on a blend of essential mint oils and naturally derived deodorizing ingredients. HeiQ Mint is just Fresh by Nature.

It is ideal for next-to-skin products like sports apparel, underwear, linings, casual and business wear but also home textiles such as bed linen, pillow fabrics, or mattress textiles, both on cellulosic and synthetic fibers.

• Focus on the guiding principle of "textile intelligence" and sustainability

Long before sustainability became a trend in the textile industry, Schoeller Textil AG, which has been innovating technical fabrics and smart textile finishing technologies for more than 150 years, made it its mission to develop textile innovations in harmony with nature. Now the company is undergoing an extensive rebranding, whilst unveiling its strong brand foundation in the process. The result embodies the newly defined guiding principle of “Textile Intelligence” - the development and successful implementation of innovative textiles and intelligent textile technologies.

Innovations in the textile industry must meet requirements on several levels – offering both new and optimized solutions to sociological, ecological, and economic challenges of our time. Creating this holistic added value is firmly rooted in the Schoeller brand origin and is still the top priority in textile product development today. The brand essence has thus remained the same, but it has been embodied anew.

“At the beginning of the rebranding process, it was clear to us we had to root ourselves in (Swiss) tradition in order to fully realize Schoeller’s entire brand potential and successfully explore new, digital paths,” said Antonio Gatti Balsarri, Schoeller chief commercial officer.

“The goal of the rebranding is to communicate our traditional brand values in a completely new brand presence. The result was a sharpened brand profile, a clear brand strategy and tonality, as well as a clean, modern corporate design. We will specifically address our sustainability commitment through the expansion of digital touchpoints, their cross-media use, and an increased online presence. Simplified, straightforward, sustainable - in accordance with our greatest source of inspiration: nature.”

Transparency and Sustainability
Paramount to Schoeller’s corporate identity is the full disclosure of brand principles and transparency around all business divisions. A simplified logo design was established by reducing logo elements and colors for a modern look and feel that can be produced in a much more resource-efficient manner. Schoeller’s new brand mantra of “Textile Intelligence” speaks to its company mission of more than 150 years.

Schoeller has been a bluesign system partner from the very beginning and uses the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to assess sustainable performance. In addition to environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes and careful material selection, the highest quality and sustainability standards in production also mean guaranteeing fair working conditions. Schoeller follows a Code of Conduct that guarantees transparent production chains, environmental protection, and fair working conditions.

“Zero Textile Waste” becomes a targeted brand strategy. While the production of textiles and textile technologies is continuously being optimized to preserve resources, the manufacturing processes are often costly and complex. To this end, Schoeller offers new approaches to efforts around Zero Waste in the industry. Its new online shop, “Schoeller re-Fabric” sells textile remnants from production directly to designers and smaller productions to increase its overall production volume efficiency and avoid textile waste.

• Strategic partnership for automation system in the field of slot dies and coextrusion adapters

Reifenhäuser Extrusion Systems (RES) - the Reifenhäuser Group's business unit specializing in extrusion components - announces a strategic partnership with maku AG at K 2022, the world's largest plastics trade fair. The aim of the cooperation is the joint marketing and further development of the automation system designed by maku for coextrusion adapters and slot dies.

The so-called PAM system (precise, autonomous, mechatronic) is available immediately and exclusively as an automation option for new Reifenhäuser dies and adapters, as well as for aftermarket dies across all manufacturers. PAM enables producers in the field of flat film and sheet production as well as extrusion coating to precisely control the entire hot part (coextrusion adapter and die) via the line's control panel. This is significantly faster and more accurate than conventional control by hand or expansion bolt automation. It enables faster start-up of good production, higher output with lower energy consumption, and thus significantly improved overall equipment efficiency (OEE). The decisive advantage lies in the use of motorized manual adjustment bolts that replace conventional thermal expansion bolts. Reifenhäuser presented the system for the first time at the K 2022.

BTMA member Sellers Textile Engineers is marking its 110th anniversary this year with the introduction of a new concept in carpet shearing, as the essential final step in ensuring tuft uniformity and ‘just new’ freshness in finished carpet rolls.

The company has for many years offered two options in the construction of its shearing cylinders – the first, namely the ‘strap-on’, incorporates spiral blades bolted to the cylinder body and the second, known as the ‘caulked-in’, includes spirals which are fixed very securely in a machined groove within the machine.

The new Sellers’ Hybrid Shearing Cylinder combines the benefits of both, resulting in an improved cut and finer finish, in addition to longer repeatable finishing and increased rigidity.

“The Hybrid Shearing Cylinder has all the advantages of the ‘strap-on’ spiral blade to provide a sharper and cleaner cut, along with enhanced rigidity which significantly lengthens the intervals between the necessary regrinding of the blade,” explains Sellers Director Neil Miller. “We currently have six Hybrid Shearing Cylinders operating in the field and the earliest, which has been installed in both No1 Head position, where the majority of the shearing operation and heaviest cut is performed, and also in No3 Head, where the sharper cutting angle has resulted in a much improved surface quality.”

Sellers shearing machines have led the field in carpet finishing for many decades, enabling the leading manufacturers to stay competitive by enabling the highest quality of finish to be achieved economically and efficiently.

The latest advanced features of these machines include a load cell tension control drive system, an automated touchscreen for easy operator control and fault diagnosis, an enhanced cleaning system including cylinder and blade separation and fully controllable pivoting beds. Further options include thickness monitoring, seam detection and metal detection systems.

“The Hybrid Shearing Cylinder will become standard on our latest machines and also be made available for retrofitting, to provide significant benefits to our existing users,” says Miller. “All of our equipment is designed, manufactured, assembled and tested at our plant in the UK, and as one of the few remaining European engineering companies to make all of our components in-house – with now over a century of accumulated know-how – flexibility in design allows our finishing solutions to be targeted to specific customers and their product requirements. Aligned to this is a lead in process control systems which ensure the accurate control, reliability and repeatability of the processing parameters on all of our machines.”

Sellers remains committed to providing complete finishing solutions for all carpet, tile and artificial grass products. Its range includes machines for tufted secondary backing, both conventional, powder and extrusion lamination, Wilton and Axminster products, artificial grass and foam lines, coating lines for bitumen, PVC, PU and other polymers, as well as shearing for all carpet products.

Ongoing developments on the company’s coating and drying lines have resulted in improved guiding and product tension control as well as dryer efficiency, reducing heat loss and optimising energy use. These include a re-design of the fan pressure boxes and impingement nozzles to increase airflow efficiency, modulating gas burners and introducing easy clean, accessible filters.

In addition, the proven dual zone system has been enhanced, giving a temperature differential of up to 80°C between top and bottom zones. Dryers can be heated by either gas or steam and operation and access have been simplified with controls via touchscreen and PLC.

An extensive range of ancillary equipment is available to provide maximum flexibility to cover product requirements, for both new processing lines and as upgrades to existing equipment.

“Carpet manufacturing is now based on well-established, tried and trusted processes and it’s rare for new innovations to be introduced into this sector,” says Jason Kent, CEO of the British Textile Machinery Association. “The new Sellers Hybrid Shearing Cylinder can provide a competitive edge for manufacturers which is currently being proven in the field. It’s one of a number of new innovations the company is planning to showcase at next year’s ITMA exhibition in Milan.”

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, announced its commitment to science-based targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to help drive its ambitious sustainability programs. The company will also participate in the SBTi Expert Advisory Group for the chemicals industry.

SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature to help businesses set emissions reduction targets based on the most recent climate science. IVL has committed to science-based targets under its purpose of “Reimagining chemistry together to create a better world” which aims to reduce global warming in line with the 1.5°C Paris Climate Agreement.

Under its Vision 2030 ambition, Indorama Ventures aims to build on its global industry leadership in sustainability, including by reducing GHG intensity by 30% and increasing renewable electricity consumption to 25%. Green projects are helping the company to achieve its operational efficiency targets, increase its use of renewable energy (especially renewable electricity – both onsite generation and offsite procurement through power purchase agreements), implement new decarbonization technologies including carbon capture, introduce bio-feedstock to its petrochemical value chain, and expand its PET recycling capability.

To meet its targets, IVL recognizes the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to decarbonize its operations through a variety of strategies. The established targets help its customers and suppliers to achieve their own sustainability goals, particularly their science-based targets.

Yash Lohia, Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said, "We are pleased to make our sustainability commitment more practical and measurable through science-based targets. We are dedicated to finding new technologies that can transform our operations and products towards net-zero. The efforts are not only for our sustainable business but also to support our customers and suppliers to achieve their own sustainability goals."

Flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD., Japan, together with its Korean subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI KOREA INC., will participate in the Preview in SEOUL exhibition in Seoul, Korea this month.

Taking advantage of new regulations at the show which allow for the display of textile equipment at the venue this year, SHIMA SEIKI will be showing its latest combination of WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology that allows a garment to be produced in its entirety without the need for linking or sewing afterward, and SDS®-ONE APEX series design software yields revolutionary game-changing flexibility and efficiency, not to mention sustainability.

Shown for the first time in Korea, whose flat knitting market has a strong following for WHOLEGARMENT® knitwear, is the SWG-XR next-generation WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine. The SWG- name pays homage to the original SWG-X model of 1997, sharing with it the same 4-needlebed configuration featuring the company's own SlideNeedle™. Add to this a renewed spring-type moveable sinker system, a compact and lightweight carriage featuring 4 systems as well as auto yarn carriers. All contribute up to 25% higher efficiency, higher quality and increased product variety for supporting knits for all seasons. SWG-XR sets new standards for the next generation of waste-free, sustainable WHOLEGARMENT® knitting.

APEXFiz™ is subscription-based design software that maintains the proven functions that have made SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS®-ONE APEX series design systems so popular with fashion designers. Installed on personal computers, those strengths are now enhanced with the added versatility to adapt to different work styles and business environments including teleworking and telecommuting. APEXFiz™ software supports the creative side of fashion from planning and design to colorway evaluation, realistic fabric simulation and 3D virtual sampling. Virtual samples are a digitized version of sample making that are accurate enough to be used effectively as prototypes, replacing physical sampling and consequently reducing time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste. APEXFiz™ thereby helps to realize sustainability and digitally transform the fashion supply chain.

• Collaboration with Red Points addresses consumers’ increasing expectations on transparency and highlights Lenzing’s commitment to trademark protection
• Protects interest of Lenzing customer and partners who are making real efforts to enhance the transparency of their value chains
• Builds upon Lenzing’s overall brand protection efforts that verify the authenticity of fibers up to the end products

Lenzing Group, a global producer of wood-based specialty fibers, has announced a partnership with Red Points, a company in online IP infringement detection and removal, to strengthen Lenzing’s existing brand protection efforts globally and enable round-the-clock brand monitoring services. As Lenzing’s textile brands TENCEL™, LENZING™, ECOVERO™, as well as nonwovens brand VEOCEL™ continue to generate widespread demand from industry partners and customers worldwide, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the company’s trademarks and provide full visibility into the brands’ presence online.

Protecting the interest of Lenzing’s partners and consumers
Red Points provides the ideal technology solution to help Lenzing monitor and remove unauthorized use of its trademarks and counterfeits online. The technology works by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically detect intellectual property infringements of Lenzing’ trademarks with high accuracy and efficiency.

Brand protection is just one of Lenzing’s ongoing proactive measures aimed at enhancing transparency in the supply chain and protecting the interest of Lenzing’s partners by ensuring they are purchasing genuine Lenzing fibers which meet their high standards.

In 2018, Lenzing launched the Lenzing E-Branding Service which allows Lenzing’s customers, retailers and brand partners to effectively use trademarks in their marketing materials. The platform has been welcomed by partners globally as it continues to deliver value to the fashion, textile and nonwoven sectors by facilitating the traceability of Lenzing’s fibers and enabling customers to promote them effectively.

• Annual assembly of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers

• Digitalization and Sustainability Key to Resiliency for Italian Textile Machinery Sector

The objective critical issues faced by Italy as a whole throughout the course of 2021, primarily dictated by a pandemic that upset any and all pre-existing equilibriums, have not slowed or halted the Italian textile machinery sector.

Indeed, data presented during the annual assembly of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, held on 1 July proved decidedly positive, showing that in 2021 the sector recovered significantly compared to 2020, to the point of returning to pre-Covid levels.

Specifically, Italian textile machinery production amounted to 2.388 billion euros (+35% over 2020 and + 5% over 2019), with total exports amounting to 2.031 billion euros (+37% over 2020 and +9% over 2019).

However, these results do not cancel the obstacles that companies are still facing. Looking to the near future, expectations are for a rather uncertain outlook, as underscored by ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi: “2022 remains a year replete with unknown factors, starting with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, along with the persistence of the pandemic, which seriously risk delaying expected growth consolidation for businesses in the sector. Difficulties in finding raw materials and components negatively affect the completion and fulfilment of orders processed as far back as 2021. To boot, rising energy costs and inflationary trends affecting numerous commodities are depressing overall business confidence. So the outlook for the sector is not so good.”
As such, the two cornerstones through which ACIMIT aims to support the Italian textile machinery sector are digitilization and sustainability.

4.0: The textile machinery sector looks to the future
The road to digital transformation has already led numerous manufacturers to completely rethink their production processes, rendering them more efficient and l ess expensive. The digital world is moving ahead at a decisive rate in the textile machinery sector, where the buzzwords are increasingly, for instance, the Internet of Things connecting to a company’s ecosystem, machine learning algorithms applied to production, predictive maintenance, and the integrated cloud management of various production departments. It is no coincidence that ACIMIT has focused decisively on its Digital Ready project, through which Italian textile machinery that adopt a common set of data are certified, with the aim of facilitating integration with the operating systems of client companies (ERP, MES, CRM, etc.).

A green soul
Combining production efficiency and respect for the environment: a challenge ACIMIT has made its own and which it promotes among its members through the Sustainable Technologies project. Launched by the association as early as 2011, the project highlights the commitment of Italian textile machinery manufacturers in the area of sustainability. At the heart of the project is the Green Label, a form of certification specifically for Italian textile machinery which highlights its energy and environmental performance. An all-Italian seal of approval developed in collaboration with RINA, an international certification body.
The assembly held on 1 July provided an opportunity to take stock of the Sustainable Technologies project, more specifically, with the presentation of the Rina Consulting survey on the Green Label’s evolution and impact in recent years.

The results have confirmed the initiative’s extreme validity. The technological advances implemented by the association’s machinery producers participating in the project have effectively translated into benefits in terms of environmental impact (reduction of CO₂ equivalent emissions for machinery), as well as economic advantages for machinery users.

With reference to the year 2021, a total of 204,598 tons of CO₂ emissions avoided on an annual basis have been quantified, thanks to the implementation of improvements on machinery. This is a truly significant reduction which, for the sake of comparison, corresponds to the carbon dioxide emissions generated by 36,864 automobiles travelling an average of 35,000 km a year. In terms of energy savings, the use of green labeled textile machinery has provided excellent performances in allowing for a reduction of up to 84% in consumption.

A round table discussion on the Green Label’s primary purpose
The environmental and economic impact generated in production processes for Italian textile machinery through the use of Green Label technologies was the focus of the round table which concluded the ACIMIT assembly.

Moderated by Aurora Magni (professor of the Industrial Systems Sustainability course at the LIUC School of Engineering), the debate involved Gianluca Brenna (Lipomo Printing House administrator and Vice President of the Italian Fashion System for Welfare), Pietro Pin (Benetton Group consultant and President of UNI for the textile-clothing area), Giorgio Ravasio (Italy Country Manager for Vivienne Westwood), as well as ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi.

Called on to compare common factors in their experiences relating to environmental transition processes for their respective companies, the participants were unanimous: the future of Italian textile machinery can no longer ignore advanced technology developments capable of offering sustainable solutions with a low environmental impact while also reducing production costs. This philosophy has by now been consolidated, and has proven to lead directly to a circular economy outlook.

The upcoming ITMA 2023 exhibition
Lastly, a word on ITMA 2023, the most important international exhibition for textile machinery, to be held in Italy from 8 to 14 June 2023 at Fiera-Milano Rho. Marking the 19th edition of ITMA, this trade fair is an essential event for the entire industry worldwide, providing a global showcase for numerous innovative operational solutions on display. A marketplace that offers participants extraordinary business opportunities. The participation of Italian companies is managed by ACIMIT.

The recent Techtextil show in Frankfurt emphasised the diversity of applications for nonwovens and technical textiles, according to finishing technology specialist Monforts.

“We fielded enquiries at top management level from an extremely wide range of companies, all with very different ideas for new product applications during the show,” said Alexander Fitz, who joined the company a year ago as engineer for textile technologies and co-ordinator of the Monforts Advanced Technology Centre (ATC). Fitz brings a background in both technical textile technology and processes to the role, having previously worked for a nonwovens machinery builder and a roll-goods manufacturer.

Trials
“We are now looking forward to interesting new trials and pilot production runs, as well as the commissioning of new orders for machines resulting from the extremely busy exhibition,” he says. “Obviously, everyone at the moment is looking to make energy savings, and we have developed a range of options for helping companies increase their resource efficiency, both on new lines and as retrofitted systems, but this is not stifling innovation at the new material level.

“There was a lot of interest in what is possible with the Montex®Coat coating system and the range of different techniques it enables, and at our ATC in Mönchengladbach, a Montex®Coat unit is integrated into the full technical textiles pilot line, on which it is possible to run new fabrics in widths of up to 1.8 metres.”

Explosion proof
The technical textiles line at the ATC incorporates a Montex four-chamber stenter and is fitted with an explosion-proof coating application chamber in order to allow treatment to be carried out with organic solvents and other volatile materials.

Every single component within the chamber has to meet the standards of the European Union’s ATEX directives for working in a potentially explosive atmosphere. A range of sensors linked to alarms operate at various levels within the chamber to ensure the specified lower explosion limit (LOL) is never exceeded and the ventilation adapts accordingly.

Advanced functions
Special features on the finishing line relate to further advanced functions such as the ability to treat materials not only at temperatures of up to 320°C, but also to be able to treat the top and bottom faces of certain materials at different temperatures within a single pass through the machine.

To achieve this, the first two chambers of the stenter are fitted with special, heavy duty TwinAir ventilation motors and separate burners for individual top/bottom temperature. A temperature differential of up to 60°C can be achieved between the upper and lower nozzles within the chamber, depending on the treatment paramenters.

Another key feature of the technical textiles line at the ATC is the special stretching device which is capable of pulling ten tons in length and ten tons in width – a huge amount per square metre of fabric and necessary in the production of materials such as woven or 3D knits for high temperature filter media.