From the Sector

• Stéphane Ferreira joined Carbios as Director of Operations and Executive Committee Member, on October 10, 2022.
• Frédéric Alarcon appointed Licensing Manager
• Arnaud Tillon appointed Group Marketing Director
• New areas of expertise complete the seniority of Carbios’ leadership team, following June appointments of Mathieu Berthoud as Sourcing and Public Affairs Director, Lionel Arras as Industrial Director, and Pascal Bricout as Strategy and Finance Director.
• Departure of Martin Stephan, Deputy CEO

Carbios strengthens its organization with the appointment of Stéphane Ferreira as Director of Operations. He will be in charge of the business’ global development and will steer the relationship with Carbios’ industrial and commercial partners.

Stéphane Ferreira's team will be reinforced by two new members, including:

• Frédéric Alarcon, Licensing Manager, who joined Carbios on September 5. His role is to build and deploy the process licensing model that is at the heart of Carbios’ business model;
• Arnaud Tillon, Group Marketing Director, who joined the firm on September 12. He will support the company’s development by defining and deploying the marketing strategy. He is also in charge of reinforcing the customer culture within the organization.

Martin Stephan will leave his position as Deputy CEO on October 15, 2022, after nearly six years at Carbios.

Emmanuel Ladent, Carbios’ Chief Executive Officer: "The appointment of Stéphane Ferreira as Director of Operations is excellent news for Carbios. His extensive experience in global markets will help Carbios reach a new level, by deploying the company’s proprietary technologies on a large scale. I am also very pleased with the recent arrivals of Frédéric Alarcon and Arnaud Tillon, whose respective expertise in licenses and mass-market offers will be invaluable. Lastly, on behalf of all Carbios’ teams, I want to salute and thank Martin Stephan for his continued commitment to the company’s development. His experience, expertise and skills have been key to developing partnerships which have enabled Carbios to be so close to industrial deployment and recognized as the future worldwide leader of plastics and fibers in the circular economy."

• Lenzing has been awarded the highest CSR rating from EcoVadis for the second consecutive time
• Global rating standard evaluates 90,000 companies: Lenzing among top 1 percent of its industry
• enzing joins the UN Global Compact sustainability initiative

Lenzing Group has been awarded platinum status in the CSR rating from EcoVadis. This comprehensive assessment covers the four key practices of corporate social responsibility: the environment, fair working conditions and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

This is the second time that EcoVadis, a leading international provider of sustainability ratings for businesses, has awarded platinum status to Lenzing for its sustainability performance. As a result, Lenzing ranks among the world’s top 1 percent of companies in its sector that are rated by EcoVadis.

In line with its “Naturally positive” sustainability strategy, the Lenzing Group has set ambitious targets in each of its core strategic areas, aimed at bolstering its capacity to move from a linear to a circular model. Lenzing reports the corresponding implementation measures and the progress it has made in its annual sustainability report. This high level of accountability and transparency was particularly praised in the assessment by EcoVadis. The rating provider also highlighted Lenzing’s comprehensive measures to reduce air pollution, wastewater and greenhouse gases, in addition to its provision of skills development training and health care programs for staff members.

Partnerships for systemic change
Lenzing forges strategic partnerships with various stakeholders to meet its ambitious climate and sustainability targets and drive forward systemic change in the textile and nonwoven industries. This is why Lenzing, as one of 15,000 companies worldwide, joined the United Nations Global Compact. As a member, Lenzing is committed to upholding human rights, respecting the rights of employees and their representatives, protecting the environment, enabling fair competition and combating corruption.

The garment is part of the New Cotton Project, an EU Consortium of key players united to demonstrate the potential of circular garment production
adidas by Stella McCartney presented a first of its kind sportswear garment designed to demonstrate the potential of a circular fashion ecosystem. Joining forces with leading names and innovators in the fashion industry to create, test, and innovate, the tracksuit forms the pinnacle expression of the brand’s pilot circularity program, Made to Be Remade. A take-back scheme where consumers can wear it down and then return it by scanning a QR code via the product so it can be remade. Moving adidas closer to its goal to help end plastic waste.

It’s currently estimated that just under 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles, so it’s vital the textile industry comes together to learn and knowledge-share. Scheduled across a three-year period, the consortium which includes partners such as Frankenhuis have collected and sorted post-consumer end-of-life textiles, which using pioneering Infinited Fiber technology have been regenerated into a new man-made cellulosic fiber called Infinna™ - which looks and feels just like virgin cotton. This is then turned into a yarn blended with organic cotton, for garment production.

Designing the tracksuit, made using viscose (60% viscose, 40% organic cotton) as a consortium member took the process from a linear to a circular model , as the apparel’s function and style were of equal focus to the garment’s end of life existence.

At the end of the project, consortium partner Aalto University, a Finnish multidisciplinary community specialising in science, art, technology , and design, will distribute learnings with the industry and bring this potential circular design solution to the ever-eco-conscious consumer.

More than 350 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year, and vast amounts of plastic waste simply end up in the environment. The circular economy offers enormous potential for keeping plastics in the loop and thus conserving resources and the environment. Since 2018, six Fraunhofer institutes in the Fraunhofer CCPE cluster have been researching how to make the plastics value chain circular, and Prof. Manfred Renner has been the new head of the cluster since August 2022. Research results, implementation projects and strategies to accelerate the transformation to a circular plastics economy will be presented by Fraunhofer CCPE at the first international Fraunhofer CCPE Summit on February 8 and 9, 2023 in Munich.

In a circular plastics economy, resources can be saved, products can be intelligently designed for long service life, and end-of-life losses can be reduced. Systemic, technical and social innovations are needed to make the transition from a linear to a circular economy a success. This is what the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE is researching in the three divisions “Materials”, “Systems” and “Business”. The cooperation of the six Fraunhofer institutes IAP, ICT, IML, IVV, LBF and UMSICHT enables a multi-stakeholder approach in which the appropriate R&D competencies are bundled.

Fraunhofer CCPE would like to present and discuss successful projects and research approaches on an international scale at the Fraunhofer CCPE Summit on February 8 and 9, 2023 in Munich. The summit is to become an international forum for exchanging ideas for solutions and innovations for a circular plastics economy.

Cross-industry collaboration - local, regional and international
Since August 2022, Prof. Manfred Renner, Institute Director of Fraunhofer UMSICHT, is the new head of Fraunhofer CCPE. He succeeds Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has retired. “Cross-industry cooperation - very local, but also regional and international - is the elementary prerequisite for a functioning circular plastics economy. At the summit, players from all points of the compass will meet and network in order to rethink the plastics value chain together," explains Prof. Manfred Renner, adding, “We want to provide answers to the following questions:  How can we make all Circular Economy principles, i.e. the ten R-strategies, known? How can industry, science and society best cooperate in a transformation to a circular plastics economy for the greatest possible impact?”

Results of the Fraunhofer CCPE cluster so far are innovative approaches for circular business models, intelligent collection, sorting, and recycling technologies, but also new formulations for circular polymers and compounds to enable multiple recycling cycles. With the newly developed assessment tool CRL® , companies can, for example, self-assess the maturity of products or product systems with regard to the circular economy. The tool checks the extent to which a product already takes into account circular economy principles in the areas of product design, product service system, end-of-life management and circular economy, and where there is still potential for improvement.

The company’s principle theme at Techtextil was Sustainability, since FET extrusion systems are ideally suited for both process and end-product development of sustainable materials. These systems are designed to be material efficient, can be bespoke designed and offer both flexibility and a high level of processing capability. They are supplied as self-contained units for ease of installation in a laboratory or small scale process evaluation environment.

FET’s enhanced Fibre Development Centre enables clients to develop and trial their own sustainable fibres and FET has now successfully processed almost 30 different polymer types in multifilament, monofilament and nonwoven formats

The innovative stand at Techtextil was specifically designed to highlight FET’s total commitment to all aspects of sustainability. It utilised as many sustainable components as possible and met with much comment and approval from visitors.

Fibre Extrusion Technology Limited (FET) of Leeds, England enjoyed another successful Techtextil in Frankfurt, with high quality enquiries from technical companies and organisations worldwide, but in particular from customers based in Europe.

adidas is adjusting its outlook for the financial year 2022. While second quarter results were somewhat ahead of expectations reflecting continued strong momentum in Western markets and a return to growth in Asia-Pacific, the company has been experiencing a slower-than-expected recovery in its business in Greater China since the start of the third quarter. Previously, the company had assumed that in absence of any major lockdowns as of Q3, currency-neutral revenues in the region would be flat during the second half of the year versus the prior year level. However, given the continued widespread covid-19-related restrictions, adidas now expects revenues in Greater China to decline at a double-digit rate during the remainder of the year.

As a result, adidas now expects currency-neutral revenues for the total company to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit rate in 2022 (previously: at the lower end of the 11% – 13% range). Because of the less favorable market mix due to lower-than-expected revenues in Greater China as well as the impact from initiatives to clear excess inventories in this market until the end of the year, the company’s gross margin is now expected to be around 49.0% in 2022 (previously: around 50.7%). Consequently, the company’s operating margin is now forecasted to be around 7.0% in 2022 (previously: around 9.4%) and net income from continuing operations is expected to reach a level of around € 1.3 billion (previously: at the lower end of the € 1.8 billion – € 1.9 billion range).

So far, the company did not experience a meaningful slowdown in the sell-through of its products or significant cancellations of wholesale orders in any other market. Nevertheless, the adjusted guidance also accounts for a potential slowdown of consumer spending in these markets during the second half of the year as a result of the more challenging macroeconomic conditions.

Despite these headwinds, adidas continues to expect double-digit revenue growth during the second half of the year for the total company. In addition to easier prior year comparables, the acceleration will be driven by adidas’ strong product pipeline, the restocking opportunity with its wholesale customers given unconstrained supply as well as the support from major sporting events.

Based on preliminary numbers, adidas’ currency-neutral revenues grew 4% during the second quarter. This increase was driven by strong double-digit growth in North America and Latin America, high-single-digit growth in EMEA (also double-digit growth excluding negative Russia/CIS impact) as well as a return to growth in Asia-Pacific. In euro terms, sales increased 10% to € 5.596 billion. The company’s gross margin declined 1.5 percentage points to a level of 50.3% and operating margin reached 7.0% during the second quarter (2021: 10.7%). Net income from continuing operations was € 360 million in Q2 (2021: € 387 million) supported by a one-time tax benefit of more than € 100 million due to the reversal of a prior year provision.

EFI™ Reggiani, the industrial textile printing business of printing technology company Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (EFI), has broken ground on a new textile campus to accommodate ongoing growth. The new 20,000-square-metre campus in Comun Nuovo, Bergamo, Italy, is expected to be completed midyear in 2023.

Sustainability and employee well-being at the centre
The new facility was designed with environmental sustainability and employee well-being in mind. That focus includes plans to install 400 kilowatts of solar panels supplying 60% of the facility’s total energy requirements. Moreover, the building will benefit from superior thermal insulation that will ensure a reduction in heating and cooling costs. Numerous skylights in the facility will provide better natural lighting and a reduction in artificial lighting usage.
 
Green space on the campus was a priority in the design process, covering an estimated 20% of the total area. For a more welcoming work environment, the campus will also feature a canteen and gymnasium for employee use.
 
A 3,000-square-metre demo centre in the new facility will be nearly twice as large as the current EFI Reggiani demo centre in Grassobbio, Italy, offering a high-end, high-tech showcase for state-of-the-art EFI Reggiani printers, as well as Mezzera pre- and post-treatment and Jaeggli yarn treatment products. The demo centre will also feature EFI Reggiani’s recently acquired portfolio of Inèdit raster image processing (RIP) and workflow software solutions.
 
Transforming the textile industry through innovation in green
Since the launch of its first analogue printer, to its newest digital solutions, EFI Reggiani has at its core a heritage and expertise that have contributed to the transformation of the textile industry worldwide. With its total commitment to providing “Innovation in Green,” EFI Reggiani’s leadership is the result of extensive research targeted at improving productivity, quality and sustainability in its customers’ operations. The company is focused on optimising the textile manufacturing process – and reducing energy use, water consumption and overall environmental impact – to ensure customers’ business growth and profitability.
 
Over the years, EFI Reggiani’s product portfolio has continued to expand, ranging from rotary and flatbed printing machines, to scanning/multi-pass digital printers, to fast digital textile printers.

Fiery®, the digital front end (DFE) and workflow business of EFI, announced that it has acquired CADlink® Technology Corp., a software company that delivers solutions for the high growth areas of digital direct-to-garment (DTG) and direct-to-film (DTF) printing; digital cutting and engraving; digital wide-format print; and vehicle wraps. CADlink’s products address increasingly important customer needs for customization and personalization, and for reducing the time spent moving work from design to production.

CADlink is a global software company that serves markets that require unique workflows involving different types of production devices. CADlink’s products are recognized leaders in design, RIP and workflow technology, and are sold globally to customers through OEM partners and an extensive network of resellers. CADlink’s products, partners and channels are a natural complement to what the Fiery business delivers for its global commercial, display graphics and industrial printing customer base.  

The CADlink software portfolio includes proven, advanced solutions that support the development and growth of e-commerce for custom-manufactured products.

“Becoming part of the EFI Fiery business will extend the geographic reach for our products and enhance our ability to support and drive greater value to customers and partners worldwide,” said CADlink Co-founder and CEO Gordon Reynen.

• Joining Science Based Targets initiative

ith its Advance Sustainability Strategy 2025 launched in 2018, Autoneum defined ambitious goals in the areas of environment, society and governance. In the past year, significant quantitative and qualitative improvements were achieved, as shown in the Corporate Responsibility Report 2021 published today. For example, CO2 emissions were reduced in 2021 and the proportion of reused production scrap (recycling) was significantly increased.

Following Autoneum’s decision last year to extend its environmental targets with quantifiable targets for all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and a time horizon to 2027, the Company has recently signed the declaration to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Autoneum acknowledges the urgent need for action and will submit its ambitious, science-based targets to the SBTi to reduce CO2 emissions in the near term. In addition, Autoneum is reporting its Scope 3 emissions in full for the first time. In line with the strategic goal of continuously reducing electricity purchases from fossil fuels and replacing them with renewable energies, ten plants worldwide were converted to renewable energies in 2021.

In the past year, Autoneum again implemented a large number of projects in the areas of “Sustainable Products and Production Processes”, “Fair and Attractive Workplace”, “Good Corporate Citizenship” and “Responsible Supply Chain Management”: 29 eco-efficiency projects with a focus on materials efficiency and recycling contributed to more environmentally friendly production and correspondingly more sustainable components worldwide. The result was a significant reduction in waste and a further optimization of processes for a range of products. Moreover, new eco-efficient products were successfully launched on the market.

A complete overview of all targets and activities during the past year can be found in the Corporate Responsibility Report 2021.

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, and Baldwin, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of precision spray systems and technology for sustainable textile manufacturing, announce a new collaboration to optimize performance and resource saving in the finishing department.

The two companies aim to support textile manufacturers in their development projects, targeting to improve their product safety, performance and functionality, while at the same time maximizing the productivity and resource utilization of the finishing application process.

Archroma and Baldwin are collaborating in multiple projects that combine Archroma’s most sustainable product innovations with Baldwin’s Texcoat G4.

TexCoat G4 is a non-contact spray technology for textile finishing and remoistening, designed to allow a controlled and optimal coverage of the exact amount of finish chemistry for reaching specific characteristics of the fabric. The system can be used to reduce water consumption by as much as 50% compared to traditional padding application processes.

Archroma and Baldwin are currently testing Archroma’s finishing products and systems, such as the soon-to-be-launched PFC-free* Smartrepel® Hydro SR for water-based soil repellence, as well as metal and inorganic particle-free antimicrobial technologies like Sanitized T 20-19 and TH 15-14, which will be launched at the upcoming Techtextil 2022.

The first test results will be available for discussions with both partners at Techtextil at their respective booths.