From the Sector

Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG announced its participation in the upcoming Igatex Trade Show, scheduled from 1 to 5 May in Lahore, Pakistan. Mahlo, known for its innovative solutions in the textile industry, will present its latest advancements aimed at improving quality, efficiency, and sustainability in textile manufacturing.

Pakistan ranks among the world's top textile-producing nations, making the Igatex Trade Show a significant platform for industry players to convene, share insights, and explore technologies.

“The visitors can discover our various weft straightening solutions, suitable for different kind of textile applications”, says Clemens Kaplan, Product Manager Textile at Mahlo. He is on site together with the service partners of Mahlo Pakistan and Al Ameen Trading Corporation. “A process control systems tailored to the needs of the customer helps to regulate parameters such as dwell time, exhaust air or temperature. With its commitment to sustainability, Mahlo offers eco-friendly solutions aligned with the industry's growing emphasis on green production from energy-efficient equipment to resource-saving process optimization tools.

Stratasys Ltd. published its second Mindful Manufacturing™ ESG and Sustainability Report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, fulfilling its commitment to transparency. The report includes an extensive overview of activities and advancements in Stratasys’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs.

Some highlights of the Mindful Manufacturing ESG and Sustainability report, by category, include:

Environmental

• Stratasys reduced water intensity by 32.5 percent across global operations, leading to an overall reduction in water usage by the company.
• Solar panels installed at Israeli facilities generated 441,339 kWh of renewable energy, which contributed to 207 metric tons of reduced CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of planting 3,423 trees
• Double digit (11.3 percent) increases in the number of spools, cartridges and canisters recycled through a new recycling program.

Social

• More than 38,000 hours of employee training were provided, equaling 18 hours of training per employee.
• Approaching world-class status with employee engagement, with a 78 percent participation rate in the last all-employee survey, with an all-time high engagement score of 73.
• 81 percent of managers participated in management training.
• 4 diversity KPIs were set in 2022, focusing on hiring practices. Targets were:
• 100 percent of candidate slates for manager and above will have a diverse slate
• 35 percent of management hires will be women
• 25 percent of tech hires will be women
• 40 percent of intern/student hires to reflect a range of ethnicity and gender diversity.

Governance

• 100 percent of new suppliers in 2021 and 2022 signed the Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes environmental, social and ethical standards.
• More than 97% of all employees completed compliance training.
• No product-related health and safety incidents of non-compliance occurred in 2021 or 2022.

Carbitex – a leader in flexible carbon fiber composites focused on footwear, travel, and accessories – announces the appointment of Filippo Sartor to Vice President of Global Sales and Sam Gardner to the role of Vice President of Engineering and Operations. After a restructuring of manufacturing operations and the return of Carbitex founder, Junus Khan, as company president in 2023, the brand welcomes two strategic hires to catalyze the next phase of the leading materials brand.

With over 20 years in the footwear industry, including nearly 11 years as the Global Senior Sales Manager at JV International, official worldwide licensee for Michelin Soles, Sartor brings high level sales expertise within performance footwear and material innovation. With extensive focus on building new business in the US and Far East, and based in Milan, Italy, Sartor is uniquely positioned to help propel Carbitex globally into the next chapter.

Gardner, based in Renton, Washington, will manage product development and manufacturing at Carbitex. With time at Square One Distribution - a long-time Carbitex brand partner in the wake and waterski segment - and most recently as VP for Union Aquaparks, Gardner has considerable experience designing new products and managing sourcing, logistics, and supply chain. His background will help Carbitex strengthen both factory and brand partner relations and push product innovation.

These recent hires position Carbitex to better serve strategic brand partners, achieve forecasted growth in the short and long term, and expand global market presence.

At the upcoming SaigonTex, taking place from April 10th to 13th in Ho Chi Minh City, the KARL MAYER GROUP will present its innovations.

DThe KARL MAYER exhibition for warp preparation is entirely dedicated to sustainability. With BLUEDYE, an innovative machine is introduced, which ensures more sustainability and lower costs in the process of indigo dyeing. Thanks to innovative technological solutions, the amounts of water and chemicals used are significantly reduced. Additionally, less yarn waste is generated. Another innovation for more sustainability is CASCADE, a steam and condensation system that requires significantly less steam in the drying process of sizing and indigo dyeing plants by using a solution for energy recycling that is protected against imitation.

For the warp knitting sector, the group of companies presents its latest technological developments. Highlights include a digital solution from KM.ON for optimizing production management (DPM), innovations for enhancing performance in the HKS segment, and a double raschel machine that enables unique creative multi-color designs in spacer textiles with more colour and new Jacquard techniques.

"Vietnam is a growing market for textile production, which is gaining importance especially for major international sports brands," says Eddy Ho, Senior Sales Manager at KARL MAYER.
The sales professional expects a large number of visitors, especially from Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. SaigonTex is one of the most important textile machinery exhibitions in East Asia, located in close proximity to production centres. Vietnam is, in turn, the second most important market for the KARL MAYER GROUP after China. It benefits from increasing foreign direct investments in textile production from China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the election of five new members to serve on its 2024 Board of Directors. The Board of Directors play a key role in advancing INDA’s strategic objectives, actively supporting both the industry and the membership. Their primary responsibility lies in ensuring that INDA remains responsive to the evolving needs of its members and the broader nonwovens industry, guiding the formulation of policies and programs.

The five new Board members include:

• Jaren J. Edwards, President, Stein Fibers
• Edward McNally, Sales Director Nonwoven, Oerlikon Nonwoven
• Thomas Olsen, Senior Vice President, Americas Business Area, Suominen
• Patricia A Sargeant, Vice President, Glatfelter Corporation
• Paul Wood, President, Ontex North America

The Board is comprised of elected Board Officers. One-third of the entire Board is elected each year for a three-year term by INDA’s general membership. INDA’s Executive Committee, empowered to act on behalf of the Board between meetings, consists of the Board Officers plus appointees.
The Executive Committee includes:

• Chair: Mark Thornton, Vice President, The Procter & Gamble Company
• Vice Chair: Barbara Lawless, VP of Sales and Marketing – Medical Products, Precision Fabrics Group, Inc.
• Past Chair: Bryan Haynes, Senior Technical Director for Global Nonwovens, Kimberly-Clark Corporation
• Appointee: Mike Clark, President, Filtration Solutions, Hollingsworth & Vose Company
• Appointee: Jodi Russell, Vice President R&D, Cleaning Innovation, Packaging & Sustainability, The Clorox Company
• Appointee: Jeff Stafford, Vice President of Nonwovens, Milliken & Company
• Appointee: Robert Weilminster, EVP & General Manager, US & Canada – Health, Hygiene and Specialties Division, Berry Global
• Appointee: Tom Zaiser, CEO, Indorama Ventures

Fibre Extrusion Technology Ltd (FET) of Leeds, UK has appointed Dr Kristoffer Kortsen as Senior Materials and Process Scientist. He will report directly to R&D Manager, Dr Jonny Hunter, who joined FET in early 2023 in a growing Research and Development team.

Kortsen’s main area of work is in Gel Spinning of UHMWPE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene). His contribution will help provide gel spinning expertise and equipment in the near future to a range of industries including medical, aerospace, defence aerospace and marine.

He completed a Master’s in chemistry at KU Leuven, graduating magna cum laude in 2018. For his Master’s placement, he worked on the production of impact modifier additives for PVC at Kaneka Belgium. Continuing a partnership with this international chemical manufacturing company, he joined the Howdle group at the University of Nottingham for a PhD project looking into the industrial potential of scCO₂ dispersion polymerisations for additive production. After graduating, he worked in the Shaver group at the University of Manchester, developing a holistic approach to plastics recycling and sustainability across the many stakeholders in the field.

RadiciGroup announced the appointment of Stefano Pigozzi to the Board of Directors of Radici Partecipazioni SpA, the parent company overseeing all the Group's business activities in the chemicals, engineering polymers and advanced textile solutions sectors.
 
A professional with proven experience in the chemical industry, Mr. Pigozzi will complement the Board with his strategic vision acquired in international organizations.
 
Stefano Pigozzi graduated from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland with a degree in Business Administration and started his work experience in the finance division of BASF in the late 1980s. Since then, chemistry has remained at the centre of his career: over the years, he has held marketing and sales positions of increasing responsibility in various business sectors (plastics and inorganics), moving up to more strategic and managerial roles within BASF, including president of the Monomers Division and, most recently, head of the Group Global Purchasing Division at the Ludwigshafen headquarters.
 
During his more than 30-year career at BASF, Mr. Pigozzi has consistently demonstrated his leadership capability, his financial analysis skills and his dedication to corporate business success. He has also contributed significantly to the positioning of BASF as a global leader in the chemical industry.
 
Mr. Pigozzi’s appointment to the Board of Directors of Radici Partecipazioni is aimed at strengthening RadiciGroup's presence in the market and helping to guide the company towards new goals.

Software group Everfield has acquired the Swedish software reseller “SoCom Scandinavia AB” (SoCom Scandinavia). The previously independent reseller is now a subsidiary of German “SoCom Informationssysteme GmbH” (SoCom), which Everfield acquired early 2023. SoCom Scandinavia distributes SoCom’s ERP system for the commercial laundry industry in Scandinavia. SoCom is among Europe’s leading providers in this segment and with this acquisition is further expanding its market position in the Nordic countries.

“By acquiring SoCom Scandinavia, we have successfully completed the first so-called bolt-on acquisition for one of our portfolio companies”, says Oscar Koberling, Acquisitions Manager at Everfield. In a bolt-on acquisition, the company being purchased is integrated into an existing portfolio company. “We focus on long-term sustainable growth and work closely with the management of our portfolio companies to identify the right targets”, Koberling highlights. “With the addition of SoCom Scandinavia, SoCom can now further strengthen the sales and support in this region and thereby continue to foster growth in Scandinavia.” With its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software “TIKOS”, the German software developer SoCom from Krumbach enables laundries of any scale to achieve end-to-end process management.

SoCom Scandinavia distributes the “TIKOS” laundry software in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The company was founded in 2017 by the sole shareholder Anna Johansson, in close cooperation with the German SoCom Informationssysteme GmbH. “I myself come from the commercial laundry industry and was therefore able to convince myself of the performance and flexibility of the TIKOS software in practice”, says Anna Johansson. “Our success in the past years shows that many laundries in Scandinavia share this assessment. In the future, we will work even more closely with our German colleagues to further expand our market share in the region.”

Johansson and her team will continue to be available to customers at the existing location. “Since establishing SoCom Scandinavia, Anna and her team have already won and supported a plethora of well-known clients for our software”, emphasizes SoCom’s CEO Michael Wieser. “By integrating SoCom Scandinavia, we can streamline our processes even further. Our main goal remains to offer the best possible service to our clients.”

With its steadily growing software and service portfolio, SoCom has been operating in the laundry industry for over thirty years and is a market leader in the German-speaking region. In total, SoCom’s products are used in over 350 laundries across 17 countries.

Growth, digitalisation and re-commerce – the forthcoming INNATEX (the international trade fair for sustainable textiles) is devoted to highly topical themes. From 20 to 22 January 2024 at the Messecenter Hofheim Rhein-Main near Frankfurt, over 200 exhibitors will be meeting up with retailers, experts and journalists. The motto for the winter trade fair is GROW, representing the call for sustainable, social and commercial growth that will not be possible without the green fashion movement.

Optimistic expectations despite the challenges
According to Alexander Hitzel, INNATEX Project Manager, and the organisers, MUVEO GmbH, various new trends are opening up that might, if exploited strategically, unlock new business areas. These range from ‘quiet luxury’, travel, internationalism and focused storytelling to services for specific target groups. On the Monday, members of the expert panel will be discussing re-commerce with the Hessen Retail Federation in the Community Lounge.

From storytelling to digital tools – the INNATEX themes
“Second-hand is in fashion,” says Julia Frings of IFH Köln. “Sales of used and recycled products have been on an upward trend for some years now and with the rising importance of sustainability, their relevance will continue to grow. There is great potential in this area for the trade to reach new target groups and expand the range on offer. To be successful, though, it is essential to have a concept tailored to the needs of consumers.”

Alongside Julia Frings of IFH Köln, other Federation panellists will include Steffen Riegel of Hessnatur. The first Lounge Talk at the start of INNATEX will deal with Strategies for Sensible Growth, borrowing from the motto for the fair. This topic will be followed by Fair Wages in the Global South, Storytelling as a Strategy, and Digital Trends.

Brand portfolio and partners of INNATEX
The collaboration with the Hessen Retail Federation, like that with Fashion Changers and Greenstyle Munich, has already proved its worth at previous fairs, as a way of adding variety to a well balanced fair programme. The new collaborative partners include AMD Academy of Fashion and Design (AMD) in Wiesbaden, the Fashion Campus 2030 Initiative and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN, a network promoting internationalisation among smaller and medium-sized businesses).

The brand portfolio includes fashion for all generations, tastes and occasions. Labels exhibiting for the first time include businesses such as Fuza Wool from Denmark with its high quality traditional knitwear, and the hemp-based accessories of 8000Kicks from Portugal. The DESIGN DISCOVERIES comprise Anfisa Roumelidi, C/OVER and Consci.

• Bernhard Jucker will not stand for re-election as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on April 17, 2024 due to reaching the age limit
• Thomas Oetterli will be proposed as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors at the 2024 Annual General Meeting and will continue in his role as CEO of the Rieter Group
• Roger Baillod will be named as Lead Independent Director
• Jennifer Maag will be proposed for election as a new member of the Board of Directors

Bernhard Jucker will not stand for re-election as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the next Annual General Meeting on April 17, 2024, having reached the age limit. The Board of Directors would like to thank Bernhard Jucker for his outstanding and valuable commitment. During his term of office, he has successfully developed the company through acquisitions and optimization of the sites.

The Board of Directors of Rieter Holding AG proposes to the shareholders the election of Thomas Oetterli as the new Chairman of the Board. He will continue in his role as CEO of the Rieter Group. The dual mandate is an interim measure to ensure the sustainable implementation of the “Next Level” performance program. The Board of Directors is convinced that Thomas Oetterli has the qualifications and the ideal background experience as the future Chairman of Rieter Holding Ltd.

Roger Baillod, member of the Board of Directors since 2016 and Vice Chairman since 2022, will be named as Lead Independent Director. Together with the Board of Directors, Roger Baillod will use his many years of experience to continue to ensure good corporate governance.

Jennifer Maag will be proposed for election to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on April 17, 2024. Ms. Maag, native-born in the USA, has Swiss and German citizenship and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (USA). Ms. Maag is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Kardex Holding AG, Zurich, Weidmann Holding AG, Rapperswil, VT5 Acquisition Company AG, Pfäffikon (SZ) and Nova Property Fund Management AG, Pfäffikon (SZ). In 1999, Jennifer Maag founded Capital Concepts International AG, Zurich (Switzerland), a mergers and acquisitions consulting firm, where she remains as managing partner. From 1996 to 1999, she was a senior manager in the corporate finance department of KPMG AG in Zurich. She previously worked in auditing at Deloitte in Munich (Germany) and Zurich, during which time she completed her education as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).