From the Sector

The brand Re.VerSo ™, representative of a zero-waste circular production system for wool and cashmere, has been selected as one of the protagonists of the Sustainable Thinking project of the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo. The Exhibition aims to provide an artistic and cultural contribution on the crucial issue of sustainability, understood as "a development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the possibility of future generations to meet their needs "(Brundtland Report, 1987).

Re.VerSo™, the advanced supply chain entered the exhibition project. Leftovers can be sourced directly by Re.VerSo™ supply chain, otherwise the Re.VerSo™ advanced technology process welcomes retailers and brands to supply their pre-consumer wool and cashmere woven and knitted off cuts, transforming them into high quality yarns and fabrics integrated for a circular economy.

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, will be at Techtextil to launch its latest innovations and system solutions aimed to help textile manufacturers with optimized productivity and/or value creation in their markets.
Archroma offers a wide portfolio of dyes and chemicals aiming to increase sustainability and innovation along the entire value chain, from fiber to finish.
Archroma is reputed for its continuous flow of ground-breaking innovations, such as the EarthColors®, a range of dyes made from non-edible natural waste from the agricultural and herbal industry, or more recently, the purest indigo, Denisol® Pure Indigo, an aniline-free* synthetic pre-reduced liquid indigo launched in 2018.
At Techtextil, Archroma will present 10 solution systems and 4 innovations, and will hold an “Innovation Session” to present the most prominent of those for the first time ever: Appretan® NTR, a new nature-based binder. (See “Agenda” below).

The Archroma Way
The systems and innovations presented by Archroma have all been selected for their compliance with “The Archroma Way: safe, efficient, enhanced, it’s our nature”. The approach finds its origin in Archroma’s deep belief that it is possible to make the textile industry sustainable.
The Archroma Way is based on 3 pillars:

1. Safe - with the deeply rooted goal to protect people and our planet. Safe to use, safe to release and also safe to wear.
2. Efficient - with innovating application processes that minimize resources and maximize productivity, both in Archroma’s and its customers' manufacturing.
3. Enhanced – with the added value created from additional effects, functionalities and aesthetics.

At Techtextil, visitors will be able to discover how The Archroma Way can help them create value in their textile applications and markets.

TINTEX is this year recipient of the unique and prestigious annual recognition from The “Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação” (IAPMEI). TINTEX has been selected in recognition of its pioneering, Naturally Advanced global leadership, and the company’s superior and responsible fabric making for a fashion system that is driven by investments, transparency and fully traceable innovation.

TINTEX is pleased to open its doors as the Naturally Advanced centre of excellence in the latest IAPMEI OPEN DAY for textile leaders, protagonists, media and customers to experience, understand and enjoy the unique achievements TINTEX offers to the contemporary Portuguese textiles industry .
“We selected TINTEX to underline the importance of taking advantage of digitization and modernization at different levels in the textile industry being stunned by their commitment, shedding light on our territory’s most advanced and responsible processes and skills” José Marques dos Santos, president of IAPMEI.

In a fast moving globalized market, all companies must be able to adapt quickly and using innovation, creativity, and responsibility can help deliver successes. And here TINTEX can network between Technological Centers, Universities, and Knowledge Centers, as a strategic business and holistic imperative. And so sharing the Naturally Advanced strategy of TINTEX as a driver for change, IAPMEI recognizes this TINTEX OPEN DAY as a demonstration of practical market potential, and has partnered with CENTI  (Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials the Institute for New Technologies) and CITEVE (an institution of national and international reference for the promotion of Innovation and Technological Development) as a way to guarantee this success.
 
Being able to drive material innovation, and to promote a new generation of sustainable values to contemporary fashion, active, sports and lingerie markets through responsible supply chains can be transformative for our future fashion systems, and TINTEX is proud to be selected as part of the Make Fashion Circular initiative by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helping  to better activate these changes across the fashion industry for all to enjoy.

Techtextil 2019: Schoeller launches its new finishing technology called NanoSphere® Plus. The special effect of this new development is its protection against fingerprints and greasy stains. Furthermore, even after being absorbed by the fabric stains are quickly and easily wiped away without washing.

Every human being leaves its marks. In particular, on daily-use items that are picked up or touched often. Especially on textile surfaces, hand and fingerprints in combination with dirt and dust particles leave an unpleasant, greasy dirt film, which is very difficult to clean.

NanoSphere® Plus, developed by Schoeller Technologies AG, the business unit for technologies at Schoeller Textil AG, works on the basis of a functional chain. Textiles are equipped with a matrix finish to reduce the capillary effect in the textile’s fibers. Especially unpleasant sebum residues and dirt that are often released by finger and handprints are less absorbed by the fabric and can be easily wiped away.

Beside the excellent protection against finger and handprints, textiles with NanoSphere® Plus are additionally water and oil repellent, abrasion resistant and extremely durable. The finishing technology rarely affects the look or feel of the fabric.

Non-washable textiles that are often touched by hands or fingers, or fabrics that are in direct contact with the skin benefit most from this new technology. Therefore, NanoSphere® Plus is ideal for woven fabrics and synthetic leather or synthetic suede for bags, covers of electronical devices, head phones, loud speakers or other items in the field of interior equipment.

Swiss textile innovator HeiQ partners with BUFF® on their new CoolNet UV+® fabric to stay dry and feel cool. For 25 years, BUFF® has premiered and innovated the tubular headwear category. Headquartered in Spain, the company was founded to keep warm the founder’s neck and head during his crosscountry motorcycle rides. Today, BUFF® continues its heritage of quality and reliability of multifunctional headwear.

HeiQ Smart Temp is an intelligent thermoregulation technology. Cooling is activated by rising body temperature and deactivated once cooling is complete. HeiQ Smart Temp keeps the wearer cooler, dryer and more comfortable.
“HeiQ and BUFF® have a shared vision of quality and reliability in our products. With the new CoolNet UV+® fabric, we are pleased that our HeiQ Smart Temp technology will allow the consumer to Stay Dry and Feel Cool”, says Christian von Uthmann, HeiQ’s Chief Sales Officer.

Just like the first product from BUFF® in 1991, the new CoolNet UV+® was developed to keep customers safe and cool from the sun’s dangerous UV rays. Today the fabric is a recycled performance polyester microfiber with HeiQ Smart Temp’s activated cooling technology to keep the wearer cool and comfortable. The fabric also includes UPF 50+ sun protection, offers a 4-way ULTRA stretch weave and is 100% seamless for the perfect fit.

TINTEX is this year sole recipient of the unique and prestigious annual award from The “Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação” (IAPMEI). TINTEX has been selected in recognition of its pioneering, Naturally Advanced global leadership, and the company’s superior and responsible fabric making for a fashion system that is driven by investments, transparency and fully traceable innovation.

TINTEX is pleased to open its doors as the Naturally Advanced centre of excellence in the latest IAPMEI OPEN DAY for textile leaders, protaganists, media and customers to experience, understand and enjoy the unique achievements TINTEX offers to the contemporary Portuguese textiles industry . “We selected TINTEX to underline the importance of taking advantage of digitization and modernization at different levels in the textile industry being stunned by their commitment, shedding light on our territory’s most advanced and responsible processes and skills” José Marques dos Santos, president of IAPMEI.

In a fast moving globalized market, all companies must be able to adapt quickly and using innovation, creativity, and responsibility can help deliver successes. And here TINTEX can network between Technological Centers, Universities, and Knowledge Centers, as a strategic business and holistic imperative. And so sharing the Naturally Advanced strategy of TINTEX as a driver for change, IAPMEI recognizes this TINTEX OPEN DAY as a demonstration of practical market potential, and has partnered with CENTI  (Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials the Institute for New Technologies) and CITEVE (an institution of national and international reference for the promotion of Innovation and Technological Development) as a way to guarantee this success.
 
Being able to drive material innovation, and to promote a new generation of sustainable values to contemporary fashion, active, sports and lingerie markets through responsible supply chains can be transformative for our future fashion systems, and TINTEX is proud to be selected as part of the Make Fashion Circular initiative by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helping  to better activate these changes across the fashion industry for all to enjoy.

FONG’S EUROPE, based in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its flagship THEN brand for advanced dyeing technology with a special reception for customers and agents at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona.

The company, which has been a member of the CHTC FONG’S group since 2004, has its origins in the German city of Chemnitz, where back in 1919 Rudolf Then founded a barrel-making business which soon branched out into piece dyeing machines.

The company’s reputation for innovation began early, with the introduction of ceramic linings for dye baths, which were then made of wood, in order to avoid staining and allow easy cleaning. At the end of the 1920s, Rudolf Then was also quick to recognise the acid-resistant advantages of stainless steel for dyeing vessels.

Relocating to West Germany after World War 2, Rudolf Then ran a number of businesses in Schwäbisch Hall, eventually founding THEN in 1955 with partner Karl Kurz, who later took over the business specialising in dye vats and other textile equipment.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the company continued to further improve its technologies, but it was the introduction of the first THEN AIRFLOW system at ITMA 1983 in Milan which significantly boosted the company’s fortunes, representing a milestone in the development of dyeing machines.

Prior to this, the dyeing of just one kilo of fabric required around 150 litres of water and THEN’s AIRFLOW system, invented by engineer Wilhelm Christ and colleagues, drastically reduced the requirement to between just 35-40 litres. Instead of the traditional dye liquor used for hydraulic fabric transport it efficiently distributed much smaller amounts of dye liquor via aerosol. This technology has subsequently been further developed in successive machine models and has made an enormous impact on sustainable dyeing operations.

Now, as FONG’S EUROPE, the company continues to innovate, and at ITMA 2019 is showcasing the THEN SMARTFLOW TSF hydraulic high temperature dyeing machine, designed to achieve the lowest possible energy and water consumption rates available on the market for jet dyeing.

The company has a number of patents pending on the innovative new features of this machine, including the SMARTFLOW’s fabric transport design. This is based on a smart, winchless fabric transport system which eliminates the need for a loading rope, and a circular plaiter with programmable rotation speeds which provides full filling of the drop zone.

Its newly-developed nozzles and reel-less transport, in combination with smart controlled circular plaiting and variable chamber adjustment, provide even fabric treatment without entanglements and the highest loading capacity with the lowest kier volume

“Further developments, including the new THEN AIRFLOW PLUS system with a round design are in the development pipeline and will once again result in further reductions in power consumption without sacrificing performance,” says FONG’s Europe Sales Director Richard Fander. “Similar innovations are being made to our hydraulic long shape machine, the THEN SUPRATEC LTM. The ability to transport fabrics with reduced tension and without the need for a transport winch which is being introduced on all of our recent machines will allow new fabrics to be created and further increase the efficiency of textile finishing.

Fong’s Europe will be at stand D101 in Hall 2 at ITMA 2019.

Prompted by the need to offer an adequate in-depth analysis of topics such as the integration of sustainability in fashion and the importance of the transition to the circular economy, the shared journey of C.L.A.S.S., the multi-platformhub, a reference resource since 2007 for smart innovationin fashion and Polimoda, the internationally recognized institute, world-renowned for its independent approach and innovative vision in terms of “fashion education”, as a result of the perfect combination of business and design.

Eight sessionsduring which topicsrelated to smart innovation, the new role of the designer and the importance of a new generation of communication along withthe urgency of a transversalcooperation and the development of new business models strictly linked to a circular economy approach.
An inspirational path,intensive and engaging, aimed at involving Polimoda students of theFashion Design and Design ManagementMasters –in their future role of protagonists of the fashion industry.
A shared project, aimed at fostering the development of punctual knowledges on responsible innovation, which is to consider effective because of that concrete approach that involves the introduction of smart materials with a view to a circular economy approach.
This is how Polimoda, the fashion institute that boasts an innate and strong policy and strategic vision on the fashion universe at 360 °, and C.L.A.S.S, a reference point since 2007, specialized in the integration of smartvalues withinproducts and fashion companies, in addition to education, partneringto givelife to a driving force thattranslates into a culturalbackground for students.

Hexcel has joined forces with a Lyon-based startup, LAVOISIER COMPOSITES. This company has developed CARBONIUM®, a new generation of material sourced entirely from carbon composite by-products generated by the French aerospace sector.

Hexcel supplies high-performance composite materials for the latest generation of aircraft such as the Airbus A350 XWB (53% composite structure). This has greatly contributed to the reduction of the aircraft's weight, thereby reducing its fuel consumption and carbon footprint. Composites are a significant first step toward tackling environmental and economic challenges, and eco-sourcing of the industry by-products also plays a key role.

CARBONIUM®, which was developed with a process based on three patents pending, reduces overall environmental impact by 40-50%, compared to equivalent products derived from virgin materials. Based on the "climate change" factor, the life cycle assessment carried out with Hexcel revealed that the up-cycling of by-products from the aerospace composites industry leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 13kg per kg of CARBONIUM® used.
In its first year of operation, LAVOISIER COMPOSITES has already enjoyed commercial success, including the launch of two top-of-the-range watch models by Swiss luxury watchmaker ULYSSE NARDIN using this new material.

From aircraft fuselages to watchmaking, the composites manufacturing cycle presents opportunities for reducing our impact on the environment.

Hexcel and Arkema have announced that they will open a joint research and development laboratory in Les Avenières (Isère), France in April.

This follows the companies’ previous announcement in March 2018 that they were forming a strategic alliance to develop thermoplastic composite solutions for the aerospace sector, combining the expertise of Hexcel in carbon fiber and Arkema in PEKK.

The companies’ objective at this new lab is to develop carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg tapes to enable lightweight parts to be produced for future generations of aircraft. These solutions will provide lightweight and cost effective technologies including faster production cycles for customers in the aerospace and the space and defense sectors.

Thanks to Hexcel and Arkema’s close collaboration, an initial industrial pilot line will be installed in the new lab in the coming weeks. The companies expect to start supplying carbon/thermoplastic UD tapes from this pilot line to customers for evaluation beginning in Q3 2019.