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The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology (c) Oerlikon
The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology
14.05.2020

Oerlikon Nonwoven deliveringmeltblown technology to FleeceforEurope

Protective masks for Europe
With FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner, Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasing consultancy and Berlin-based industrial consultancy Bechinger & Heymann Holding plan to manufacture and distribute up to 50 million protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks a month exclusively for the European market from the beginning of fall. And the primary focus will be on quality.
With protective masks – including those used in operating rooms – this quality is provided above all by  virus-absorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufactured by ‘FleeceforEurope’ using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system.
But masks effectively protecting against infections can only be guaranteed with the right quality. A crucial factor in this is the inside of the mask. Because the nonwoven used in protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks plays a decisive role.

Protective masks for Europe
With FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner, Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasing consultancy and Berlin-based industrial consultancy Bechinger & Heymann Holding plan to manufacture and distribute up to 50 million protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks a month exclusively for the European market from the beginning of fall. And the primary focus will be on quality.
With protective masks – including those used in operating rooms – this quality is provided above all by  virus-absorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufactured by ‘FleeceforEurope’ using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system.
But masks effectively protecting against infections can only be guaranteed with the right quality. A crucial factor in this is the inside of the mask. Because the nonwoven used in protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks plays a decisive role.
Here, the meltblown technology from Oerlikon Nonwoven will be deployed. In a special, patented process, the fibers laid into a nonwoven fabric during manufacture are subsequently electrostatically-charged, before the material is further processed downstream.

European market for protective masks with a promising future
Those responsible at Oerlikon Nonwoven and FleeceforEurope, which will primarily focus on producing high-end nonwovens, and Lindenpartner, which will manufacture and distribute the protective masks, are certain of one thing: the market for protective masks has a very promising long-term future in Europe.
What has been commonplace in Asia for many years now will also become normal in Europe. People will be increasingly wearing face masks when venturing out, in order to better protect themselves against health risks such as the current pandemic and also against increasing environmental pollution in the form of  fine particles and exhaust fumes in the future. A

Medical face masks from a vending machine
Mask producer Lindenpartner has already secured supplies of nonwovens and will be producing face masks for the European healthcare sector over the coming weeks. To fight the coronavirus pandemic, Lindenpartner is planning to install 100 self-service face mask vending machines in Germany over the next four weeks, positioning them in publicly-accessible places such as shopping centers and airports, for example.

Source:

Marketing, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs

02.05.2020

NCTO: Buy American Policy for Personal Protective Equipment

National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas issued a statement, urging the government to institute Buy American policy changes to help bolster U.S. manufacturers producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If the government is sincere about reconstituting a U.S. production chain for medical personal protective equipment (PPE) to resolve the drastic shortages we are experiencing during the current pandemic, it is going to have to make key policy changes to help incentivize domestic production. A strong Buy American mandate for these vital healthcare materials needs to be instituted for all federal agencies, coupled with other reasonable production incentives, to help ensure a strong U.S.  manufacturing base for these essential products.

National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas issued a statement, urging the government to institute Buy American policy changes to help bolster U.S. manufacturers producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If the government is sincere about reconstituting a U.S. production chain for medical personal protective equipment (PPE) to resolve the drastic shortages we are experiencing during the current pandemic, it is going to have to make key policy changes to help incentivize domestic production. A strong Buy American mandate for these vital healthcare materials needs to be instituted for all federal agencies, coupled with other reasonable production incentives, to help ensure a strong U.S.  manufacturing base for these essential products.

Our government already has an existing example of such a mandate that serves as an excellent model. The U.S. Department of Defense operates under a fiber-to-finished product Buy American rule for military textiles. This rule ensures that the vital textile materials our U.S. warfighters depend upon, come from a secure domestic production chain that cannot be severed during a military emergency by offshore entities.

There is a bipartisan call for action as members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have begun to acknowledge the need for these types of reasonable and essential policy changes.

Anything short of fully instituting domestic purchase requirements through Executive Order and other legislative initiatives will ensure that PPE production through U.S. supply chains that have been created overnight don’t evaporate as soon as this crisis is over.  

In the midst of the crisis, our failure to confront this challenge will allow for a repeat of the sins of the past that allowed sourcing agents to offshore the entire production of medical PPE in search of lucrative profits. While chasing the lowest cost import may have seemed cost effective at the time, these past few months have demonstrated that we paid a deadly price through this approach by jeopardizing the very lives of frontline medical personnel that are fighting the pandemic.   

This is a national security issue. It’s also a vital healthcare issue and it is decision time for U.S. policymakers. If our country is to be prepared for future deadly pandemics such as the one it is now facing, reasonable policy changes need to be implemented to ensure that we strengthen our domestic supply chain to address America’s security, safety and healthcare requirements.”


NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers. 

Source:

NCTO

ndré Rehn, Head of Sales for Trade Fairs & Congresses at C³ GmbH (c) C³ GmbH
ndré Rehn, Head of Sales for Trade Fairs & Congresses at C³ GmbH
30.04.2020

2020 “mtex+” cancelled because of the corona crisis

  • The “Newcomer Award” will still be presented at the 8th Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles
  • Chemnitz organisers considering forward-looking forums using the “mtex+” brand

The 8th mtex+ Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles, which was scheduled to be held on 9-10 June 2020, will not take place because of the corona crisis. “We’ve made this decision following in-depth consultations with the members of the advisory board who are working in the textile sector; they were also opposed to moving the date to the autumn because of the unforeseeable consequences arising from the crisis,” says  André Rehn, Head of Sales for Trade Fairs & Congresses at the organiser, C³ GmbH, Chemnitz.

  • The “Newcomer Award” will still be presented at the 8th Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles
  • Chemnitz organisers considering forward-looking forums using the “mtex+” brand

The 8th mtex+ Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles, which was scheduled to be held on 9-10 June 2020, will not take place because of the corona crisis. “We’ve made this decision following in-depth consultations with the members of the advisory board who are working in the textile sector; they were also opposed to moving the date to the autumn because of the unforeseeable consequences arising from the crisis,” says  André Rehn, Head of Sales for Trade Fairs & Congresses at the organiser, C³ GmbH, Chemnitz.

“Cancelling the event is a particularly severe blow for us, as the “mtex+” was supposed to be held with a modernised concept and a very attractive programme at our new Carlowitz Congresscenter at the heart of Chemnitz for the first time. The considerable economic loss associated with this is naturally painful for us too. However, we will be presenting our “mtex+” “Newcomer Award” to the prize-winners at the next possible, suitable opportunity. 15 students and graduates from all over Germany have taken part in the young people’s competition with creative ideas for recycling, upcycling and downcycling textiles. We’re also now considering special events, which could operate using our well-known “mtex+” brand in future. Sustainability in the textile value-added chain as well as health and protective textiles made by the domestic market are obvious, forward-looking topics in this field.”

More information:
mtex+
Source:

C³ GmbH

24.04.2020

Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG found Hygiene Austria LP GmbH

Center of competence for hygiene established in Wiener Neudorf to support Austria and the EU in the Covid-19 crisis for the industrial production of high-quality protective masks with a monthly capacity of 12 million pieces.

Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG found “Hygiene Austria LP GmbH”, in which Lenzing AG holds 50.1% and Palmers Textil AG 49.9%. The newly founded company will start producing and selling protective masks for the domestic and European markets from May 2020.

Over the past few weeks, Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG have invested several million euros in a modern production infrastructure at the Wiener Neudorf location and secured the corresponding raw materials for protective masks production. In a first step, the company produces so-called mouth-nose protective masks (MNS) and surgical protective masks of class EN14683. Hygiene Austria LP GmbH plans to increase its capacities to over 25 million masks per month over the next few weeks and to expand this business geographically as well.

Center of competence for hygiene established in Wiener Neudorf to support Austria and the EU in the Covid-19 crisis for the industrial production of high-quality protective masks with a monthly capacity of 12 million pieces.

Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG found “Hygiene Austria LP GmbH”, in which Lenzing AG holds 50.1% and Palmers Textil AG 49.9%. The newly founded company will start producing and selling protective masks for the domestic and European markets from May 2020.

Over the past few weeks, Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG have invested several million euros in a modern production infrastructure at the Wiener Neudorf location and secured the corresponding raw materials for protective masks production. In a first step, the company produces so-called mouth-nose protective masks (MNS) and surgical protective masks of class EN14683. Hygiene Austria LP GmbH plans to increase its capacities to over 25 million masks per month over the next few weeks and to expand this business geographically as well.

The demand for high-quality MNS and respiratory masks for medical personnel is increasing rapidly, and there is real competition on the international market for these products. In order to sustainably secure domestic supply now and in the future and to strengthen the business location, the two companies Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG have now set a milestone with their own competence center for hygiene based in Austria.

Hygiene Austria LP GmbH thus makes a significant contribution to combating the Covid-19 pandemic and ensures the long-term supply of these critical goods in Austria in high quality.

Source:

Lenzing AG

Logo oerlikon
Oerlikon blickt positiv in die Zukunft
23.04.2020

Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment looking positively towards the future during the coronavirus pandemic

Staggered in terms of timing and with varying magnitude, the global spread of coronavirus is impacting the development of the regional economies in the core markets of the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group.
The sales markets for manmade fiber systems and equipment have been primarily located in China, India and Turkey for many years now. Together, these markets – above all China – make up the lion’s share of the project landscape at Oerlikon Manmade Fibers. And this is paying positive dividends at the moment. Because the production facilities of the major manmade fiber manufacturers in
China have been systematically fired up again over the past few weeks, with capacity utilization increasing consistently.

Staggered in terms of timing and with varying magnitude, the global spread of coronavirus is impacting the development of the regional economies in the core markets of the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group.
The sales markets for manmade fiber systems and equipment have been primarily located in China, India and Turkey for many years now. Together, these markets – above all China – make up the lion’s share of the project landscape at Oerlikon Manmade Fibers. And this is paying positive dividends at the moment. Because the production facilities of the major manmade fiber manufacturers in
China have been systematically fired up again over the past few weeks, with capacity utilization increasing consistently.

Going against the flow
The Segment CEO, Georg Stausberg explains the reason: “Long before the coronavirus situation developed, the major manmade fiber manufacturers in China had decided to reverse-integrate their production chains to include petrochemicals in order to expand their portfolios with targeted investments, to reduce their dependence on a ,single product’, to optimize their costs and ultimately to acquire greater control over margins in a global volume business”.
Similar processes and decisions – albeit not on the same scale as in China – have also
been detected at the large manmade fiber manufacturers in India and Turkey. Even though businesses in India and Turkey are presently still temporarily severely impacted by the coronavirus situation, their long-term commitment cannot however be questioned, as the company-internally-agreed plans will be systematically implemented moving forward.

Long-term investments of global market players
All this has recently resulted in increased demand for spinning and texturing systems – just like those supplied by total solutions provider Oerlikon Manmade Fibers with its
Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven product brands.
“The investments in petrochemical systems are based on long-term strategic considerations and are resulting – even during the coronavirus pandemic – neither in short- and medium-term economic dips, nor in changed customer behavior. (...)”, states Segment-CEO Georg Stausberg.
As a result of Oerlikon Manmade Fibers delving into the digital age years ago, the segment has experienced the intensive and short-term benefit from all the measures, in part also in its processing of customer projects.

Source:

Marketing, Corporate Communications
& Public Affairs