From the Sector

Perlon® - The Filament Company - headquartered in Munderkingen, Germany, which specializes in the manufacture of synthetic filaments for the Paper- Technical Textile - Brush- Personal- and Dental industry, buys Shaun Filaments in Goa, India.

Shaun Filaments is a leading Indian producer of different types of filaments mainly for the Asian market. Perlon® herewith expands its Asian presence and market leadership in the following business segments: Paper Machine Clothing, Advanced Technical Textiles, Technical Brush Filaments and Personal Care.

“With the acquisition of Shaun Filaments, we are expanding our presence in the Asian market and creating a company that is geared towards the global filament industry of the future and we are expanding our market leadership in all segments. Shaun Filaments is a perfect fit for the Perlon® Group with its long-term experience, strong reputation and knowledge in the production of filaments for the Asian market.” states Florian Kisling, CEO of Perlon®.

The Perlon® Group will take over Shaun Filaments with all employees and production lines located in the Shaun Filaments factory in Goa, India.

SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., Italian subsidiary of leading Japanese computerized knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD., will exhibit at the 93rd edition of the Pitti Immagine Filati exhibition in Florence, Italy. It will exhibit as part of the new CustomEasy section, which explores the various aspects of customization in the presence of textile machinery, including a multi-faceted lineup of SHIMA SEIKI WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines.

The WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine SWG-XR® features 4 needle beds for all-needle knitting of high quality WHOLEGARMENT® products using the company's original SlideNeedle™. SWG-XR® features a re-designed sinker system and a compact, light-weight carriage featuring 4 systems as well as auto yarn carriers. All contribute to increased productivity of more than 25% over the previous MACH2®XS machine, as well as increased product range using a wider variety of yarn for supporting knits for all seasons, and higher quality for knitting beautiful fabrics and silhouettes; even items that were impossible to knit with the MACH2® series, including punch-lace patterns, variable stitch knitting and intarsia knitting. Setting new standards for the next generation of waste-free, sustainable WHOLEGARMENT® knitting, SWG-XR® at Pitti Filati will be shown in 18L.

Affectionately referred to as “SWG®-Mini,” SHIMA SEIKI's compact line of WHOLEGARMENT® machines allows customers to take advantage of the same short lead times and versatile production as larger WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines, but with minimal investment. SWG®091N2 with its 36-inch (90cm) knitting width is especially suited to knitting a wide variety of items including accessory items as well as childrenswear and smaller size garments, all without the need for linking or sewing afterward. At Pitti Filati SWG®091N2 will be shown in 5 gauge.

A new proposal in WHOLEGARMENT® knitting will also be shown in the form of the N.SVR®183 WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine. SHIMA SEIKI's global standard in shaped knitting, the N.SVR® series now features a model for producing WHOLEGARMENT® knitwear using every other needle in fine gauge. N.SVR®183 is equipped with the R2CARRIAGE® system and a compact, lightweight carriage for even higher productivity. Shown in 21G at Pitti Filati 93, N.SVR®183 is the ideal machine for flexible, entry-level WHOLEGARMENT® production, with the versatility to respond to fluctuating market demand.

APEXFiz® subscription-based design 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. By replacing physical samples, virtual samples reduce time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste. APEXFiz® thereby helps to realize sustainability and digitally transform the fashion supply chain.

Continuing from past editions of Pitti Filati are knit samples produced in collaboration with Italian designer Vittorio Branchizio, as well as samples from SHIMA SEIKI headquarters for assessing the potential of SHIMA SEIKI knitting machines.

Around EUR 355 million in overall turnover, 350 extruders delivered creating an additional recycling capacity for 1.6 million tons of recycled pellets as a result - these are the figures with which the EREMA Group was able to close the 2022/23 financial year in March.

"With demand for recycled plastics remaining high, the past financial year brought many challenges that we needed to handle," says Manfred Hackl, CEO of EREMA Group GmbH. The challenges included persistent delays in the supply chain and unexpected supplier outages. Logistics and production processes had to be adapted several times as a result. The situation has improved significantly meantime as a result of these measures and more stable supply chains.

The production locations in Austria manufactured 270 extruders and delivered them to customers around the globe. Taking the whole group into consideration, this figure rises to 350 including the extruders from PLASMAC, the Italian subsidiary. The recycled pellet production capacity of all extrusion systems delivered in financial year 2022/23 adds up to around 1.6 million tonnes per year. On top of that there are around 130 additional components and modules such as filter systems and ReFresher anti-odour units.

Recycling innovations for high-quality pellets
K 2022 - the highlight trade fair of the past financial year - saw the EREMA Group launch seven
new recycling systems and components. These included the new INTAREMA® TVEplus® DuaFil® Compact recycling system and the EcoGentle® plasticising unit, which was also newly developed. Thanks to their gentle polymer treatment and significantly lower melt temperature, both extrusion innovations deliver effective advantages in terms of the quality of the melt, recycled pellets, and final product, as well as impressive energy efficiency in post consumer and PET recycling applications. The significance of these innovations for plastics recycling is underlined by the nomination of the DuaFil® Compact technology for one of this year's Plastics Recycling Awards Europe in the category Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year.
The same applies to the READYMAC 1109 TVE machine made to stock by EREMA Group subsidiary UMAC, as well as to the new ALPHA XS edge trim recycling machine for the inhouse recycling segment made by PLASMAC. The market launch of the deinking system presented at K 2022 by the EREMA Group company KEYCYCLE delivering a throughput of 1,200 kilograms per hour has been a success, as has the commissioning of a further unit sold to a film manufacturer.

40 years of EREMA
The beginning of the new financial year falls almost to the day on EREMA's 40th anniversary. On 14 April 1983, Helmut Bacher, Helmuth Schulz and Georg Wendelin founded EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen GesmbH, laying the foundation for the 40-year success story. In celebration, the comapny will hold the event EREMA Discovery Day at the company headquarters on the 1st of June. This event with live insights into the latest post consumer and PET recycling technologies will also see the official opening of the newly built research and development centre.

A little over three years have passed since RadiciGroup announced the acquisition of Zeta Polimeri, an Italian company headquartered in Buronzo (VC) with over 30 years' experience in the recovery of pre- and post-consumer synthetic fibres and thermoplastic materials. Today, the company has become a full member of the Group with its new name Radici EcoMaterials Srl.

The new company’s long-standing know-how, combined with RadiciGroup’s as a whole, will create a virtuous production system that recovers worn-out materials (fabric, yarn and granules), or otherwise unusable materials, and processes them into raw materials available for other production cycles by taking advantage of industrial synergy.

Radici EcoMaterials is a strategic production site because it handles all the preliminary recovery stages: the sorting, processing and pre-treatment of materials, including those used for the production of post-consumer yarns and engineering polymers. In this sense, Radici EcoMaterials is in line with the most recent European policies on sustainable textiles, which address minimizing the share of materials destined for disposal sites, favouring instead more structured recycling solutions.

Radici EcoMaterials is also GRS certified. GRS certification ensures the complete traceability of its materials, which are made in a safe plant that meets the highest environmental and social certification standards.

The company is also equipped with a photovoltaic system and, for the portion of its energy needs not covered by the photovoltaic source, it partially relies on renewable energy. The goal is to use 100% green energy in the next few years, in accord with RadiciGroup's goals.

Effective March 1st, Ib Jensen takes over from Jan Secher as Chief Executive Officer of Perstorp Group, a specialty chemicals company headquartered in Malmö, Sweden and since 2022 part of PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG).

Ib Jensen is a highly respected senior industry executive with a long career as CFO and extensive experience from M&A and integration of acquired companies, something that will be required in the next phase for Perstorp.

After more than 9 successful years as the CEO of Perstorp Group, Jan Secher has decided to step down. This decision is based on a personal direction set more than a year ago, prior to the acquisition by PCG, allowing for a full search process to be conducted for his replacement. Ib Jensen has been CFO of Perstorp for the past year and was considered the most qualified candidate based on his knowledge of the company, long term experience of the specialty chemicals industry and high level of appreciation in both Perstorp as well as in PCG. Previous experience include CFO and executive roles within Finance and IT at companies such as Arxada, Lonza, Syngenta, Danisco and LEGO.

Jan Secher remains in the CEO role until March 1st and will thereafter serve as an advisor to the new CEO and the Chairman, focusing on strategy and transferring external relationships. Monica Jönsson, currently deputy CFO, will take on the role as CFO when Ib Jensen assumes the position as CEO. PCG is fully committed to the Executive Leadership Team of Perstorp and expects the team to continue the successful integration work as well as dealing with the volatile global macro situation.

• Building Leadership Position in Luxury Market

Oerlikon announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Riri, a leading provider of coated metal accessories for the luxury fashion industry. This transaction marks a milestone in Oerlikon’s growth strategy and diversifies Surface Solutions’ offerings and market access. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.

“Riri is highly complementary to our existing luxury business and will reinforce our fashion jewelry and metallic components for leather goods. It is the ideal next step after our acquisition of Coeurdor in 2021 and will make us a market leader and an integrated provider with a complete offering of coated luxury metalware for high-end fashion brands,” said Michael Suess, Executive Chairman, Oerlikon. “The acquisition will drive cross-selling and strengthen our footprint in the global luxury metalware market, which sees mid- to-high single-digit growth rates annually.”

“Our portfolio, particularly in zippers and buttons, is an excellent fit to Oerlikon’s strengths in coated metal-based fashion components. Together, we are ideally positioned in Italy and France – the two major European fashion hubs – and can provide a complete offering to fashion customers,” said Renato Usoni, CEO, Riri. “We are excited to join Oerlikon as it will allow us to accelerate the luxury goods industry’s sustainability transition to greener technology by applying technologies such as Oerlikon’s PVD¹.”

Riri, headquartered in Mendrisio, Switzerland, is a market leader in metal accessories manufacturing, with a wide product range and unique offering. The company supplies global leading brands in the luxury fashion industry and has a strong foothold in the Italian luxury market. The company has more than 1 100 employees and expects to generate sales of EUR ~170 million (CHF ~165 million) in 2022.

¹ PVD, or physical vapor deposition, coating is a thin-film coating solution that is more environmentally friendly than traditional processes such as chrome plating.

The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG, a world-leading provider of sustainably produced specialty fibers for the textile and nonwoven industries, has appointed Nico Reiner as its new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Reiner will join Lenzing’s Managing Board led by Chief Executive Officer Stephan Sielaff on January 1, 2023. He will succeed Chief Financial Officer Thomas Obendrauf, who is leaving the company of his own volition after seven years.

Nico Reiner has held several positions in his professional career to date, including CFO at globally operating companies such as Schüco Group, AL-KO Group and Pfleiderer Group, as well as management consultant roles. His most recent appointment was as CFO of Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG, a global player with headquarters in Hanau that specializes in the development, production and marketing of magnetic materials.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) has concluded a high-volume, multi-year contract with a global automotive tier one supplier to supply high-performance gas diffusion layers for the stacks forming the core of the fuel cell systems produced by the leading automotive supplier. Global target applications are mid-sized and heavy commercial vehicles as well as buses. Freudenberg is supporting the customer’s global fuel cell activities, thereby also accelerating the breakthrough of mass-produced fuel cell stacks.

Fuel cell technology is an important element of a successful energy transition. Gas diffusion layers play a key role in this context: they are indispensable for the functioning of a fuel cell and have a significant impact on the performance of a fuel cell stack.

A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen into electricity. Functionally-optimized gas diffusion layers made of carbon-fiber based nonwoven are installed on both sides of a catalyst-coated membrane positioned in the middle of the fuel cell. The gas diffusion layers distribute hydrogen and oxygen evenly to the membrane and remove the electricity, heat and water generated by the CO₂-free chemical reaction. They also protect the sensitive membrane and are optimized to suit the bipolar plate. A fuel cell stack is made up of several individual fuel cells.

Freudenberg already has more than 20 years of unique expertise in the development and production of gas diffusion layers for fuel cell applications in the mobility sector and for porous transport layers used in electrolyzers. Freudenberg is currently expanding its production capacity at its Weinheim headquarters by installing additional lines. Further investments are on the verge of implementation.

As an accredited testing and certification body, the “OETI - Institut fuer Oekologie, Technik und Innovation GmbH“ (OETI for short) has been successfully responding to prevailing market requirements for 55 years and, in the process, has made a name for itself worldwide. To mark its anniversary, this international centre of excellence with its origins in Austria is taking a look back at the most important milestones in its history as well as providing interesting insights into future developments.

As renowned flooring manufacturers founded the Austrian Carpet Institute on 25th of September 1967, no one could have imagined how successful the company would become. But even back then, one thing was clear to the experts: the need to establish a carpet research and testing centre in the form of an association. Today, over five decades later, OETI is a testing and certification services provider for OEKO-TEX® certificates and labels, textiles, leather, due diligence along the textile and leather supply chain as well as for personal protective equipment (PPE), flooring technology, furnishings and indoor air quality.

In 1992, OETI was a founding member of the ‘International OEKO-TEX® Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology’ with independent certifications and product labels. Ever since, OEKO-TEX® has enabled companies along the textile and leather supply chain and every consumer to make responsible decisions for safe, environmentally friendly and fairly manufactured products.

In line with its focus on sustainability, OETI and its Swiss parent company, TESTEX AG, wanted to build the new OETI headquarters using low energy construction techniques and ensure its carbon-neutral operation. To achieve these goals, the highest possible thermal insulation and energy optimisation standards were applied, while the carbon-neutral power supply is generated by its in-house photovoltaics system as well as domestic renewable energy.

The new headquarters, which the company moved into in 2021, provides space for 75 employees over 2,500m2 and boasts bright and perfectly equipped office areas. The laboratory areas, the analytical/chemical laboratory and the physical / fire laboratory were also designed based on the latest methods and technologies. This makes OETI, alongside its Swiss parent company TESTEX, the second fully fledged laboratory site in the entire, global TESTEX Group.

Freudenberg Performance Materials – the Freudenberg Group’s nonwovens specialist – was hosting a meeting of the German National Hydrogen Council at the Freudenberg headquarters in Weinheim, Germany, on September 16. As a leading global supplier of technical textiles, Freudenberg Performance Materials provides fuel cell components for mobility applications and for electrolyzers used to produce CO₂-free hydrogen.

The German National Hydrogen Council was appointed by the German government and acts as an independent, non-partisan advisory board. The council board currently consists of 25 high-ranking experts in the fields of economy, science and civil society. The objective is to assist and advise the State Secretaries’ Committee on Hydrogen in the further development and implementation of Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy. Council meetings are hosted by one of the board members to enable the council to deepen its knowledge of the relevant technologies, value chain roles and challenges. Dr. Silke Wagener is a member of the council board, and represents the Freudenberg technology group, giving input on suppliers’ know-how as well as contributing her decades-long expertise in technological solutions for the hydrogen industry.

During a tour of the factory organized for the council board members, Freudenberg Performance Materials explained the development and production of performance-critical gas diffusion layers manufactured from carbon fiber-based nonwovens for fuel cells and porous transport layers for electrolyzers. The tour highlighted the potential for improvements from a supplier’s perspective, such as the need for very timely exchange and collaboration along the value chain. Functioning, unbroken and scalable value chains, in parallel with the development and scaling of hydrogen infrastructure, are key prerequisites for the hydrogen industry to fulfill its vital role in the transformation to climate neutrality.

Gas diffusion layers are one of the main components at the heart of the fuel cell. Their function is to transport gases and liquids in the cells. They have a significant impact on system performance and costs, and are indispensable for the functioning of fuel cells. The same applies for porous transport layers that are the key component of electrolyzers for the CO₂-free production of what is called green hydrogen.

Fuel cells in combination with green hydrogen are an important technology for CO₂-free mobility, in particular with reference to buses, heavy-duty trucks and trains. Other uses include stationary applications such as stationary power generation or heat generation in buildings or industry.
Apart from mobility, green hydrogen also plays a key role in climate-neutral energy supplies in the industrial sector, particularly in the chemical and steel industries.