From the Sector

wear2wear is an innovative industrial partnership dedicated to high-quality and sustainable clothing. Five expert partners in Europe have come together to cover the entire recycling loop. On cutting-edge production systems, textile fibres from used clothing will be turned into functional fabrics. Schoeller Textil AG is supplying a wholistic textile portfolio for the workwear area. At Schoeller Textil, the recyclable, functional fabrics from the wear2wear concept belong to the Inspire fabric group. These are high-quality protective workwear fabrics made of 100 percent polyester, which offer the greatest clothing comfort and often feel just like cotton. They are also compliant with the stringent requirements of the bluesign® system.

The sustainable wear2wear concept is synonymous with high-quality, responsible clothing. In European operations, textile fibres from used garments are used to produce new functional fabrics. Depending upon the area of intended use, they also meet strict waterproofing, breathability, protection and comfort requirements. To ensure that the raw material cycle comes full circle, these textiles can be recycled again when they reach the end of their service life. As a result, there is no waste, and they go on to produce new garments. As the wear-2-wear partner companies guarantee that – from the quality of the raw materials to the guaranteed recycling end process – these are 100 percent recyclable, functional fabrics made of recycled textile fibres. Water- and dirt-repelling technologies based on renewable raw materials, along with the most advanced membrane technology, will ensure that the textiles are manufactured and impregnated entirely without the use of PFC in the future too.

Five partner companies  
The five European partner companies in the wear2wear cooperation cover the entire recycling loop. Heinrich Glaeser Nachfolger GmbH is a German fibre and yarn producer and the “recycler” in the loop. Märkischen Faser GmbH (D) is the “upcycler” and fibre manufacturer. Carl Weiske GmbH & Co. KG (D) develops the polymers, fibres, yarns, chemical additives and textile systems, and TWD Fibres GmbH (D), a fully-integrated filament yarn producer, covers the entire range of polyester and polyamide 6.6 continuous filament yarns. Schoeller Textil AG, the innovative Swiss company, is responsible for textile production and manufactures sustainable high-tech fabrics with maximum clothing comfort. The matching climate-neutral and similarly 100 percent recyclable PTFE and PFC-free membrane, as well as recycled outer materials and linings, are supplied by Sympatex Technologies (D), the ecological alternative among the textile function specialists. DutchSpirit is a Dutch company which has been dedicated to environment-friendly clothing since 2010. Its mission is to significantly increase the awareness for sustainable clothing and offer recyclable clothing in the workwear segment. DutchSpirit is the initiator for the development of the Inspire products from Schoeller Textil and provided the inspiration for the wear2wear concept. Further garment-making partners who now also belong to the cooperative group include: Anchor Workwear BV (NL), Hüsler Berufskleider AG (CH), Groenendijk Bedrijfskleding BV (NL), Bedrijfskledingdiscounter BV (NL) and Rifka'S (NL).

Govier plans to scale the organization and take customer focus to the next level to drive growth
Kornit Digital, (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global market leader in digital textile printing technology, announced today that Chris Govier has been named Managing Director at Kornit Digital Europe GmbH.

Govier is a proven leader who brings broad experience of supporting customers with industrial digital transformation, a proven record of driving growth, and solid experience building and managing world class teams. In his new role, Govier will oversee Kornit Digital’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and will be instrumental in scaling up Kornit’s business.

Govier previously served in sales and general management roles at Xerox Corporation, and holds a BA from the University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Commenting on the appointment, Gilad Yron, Kornit Digital’s Executive Vice President of Global Business, said, “I welcome Chris on board as the new Managing Director of Kornit Digital Europe. He brings with him solid experience in the analog-digital transition in industrial print and deep regional understanding. Europe has traditionally been a strong performer for Kornit, and Chris’ expertise will help us grow the organization to the next level.”

“This is an incredibly exciting time to join Kornit Digital – their technology, coupled with a passion and drive will significantly disrupt the textile printing industry.” said Chris Govier. “EMEA represents a huge opportunity and I look forward to building on the fantastic success achieved so far.”

First showing of game-changing technology at a European tradeshow includes the recently launched Kornit Atlas, Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro and Kornit Presto
Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in digital textile printing technology, has announced details of its corporate presence at Fespa 2019 which will take place in Munich, Germany, May 14-17.

Kornit’s exhibit will focus on the game-changing technology that was unveiled in the beginning of the year and will now be on display for the first time in a tradeshow in Europe: the Kornit Atlas and the Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro. The presence will be complemented by a Kornit Storm HD6, a direct-to-fabric sample area featuring prints from Kornit’s upcoming Presto system and an installation of Colorgate’s Textile Production Server for Kornit.

The Kornit Atlas is a heavy-duty system created for super-industrial garment decoration businesses. It is designed to deliver a typical annual production capacity of up to 350,000 impressions, optimizing production efficiency and cost of ownership. The Kornit Atlas is aimed at highly productive garment decorators, mid to large size screen printers and innovative businesses looking to combine state-of-the art technology with lowest cost of ownership, making it easier than ever to address the requirements of leading and mid-sized brands, as well as new generation digital brands. The Kornit Atlas uses water-based Kornit NeoPigmentTM Eco-Rapid Inks which are eco-friendly, GOTS approved and OEKOTX certified, and serve as the main driver of the retail quality prints.

At ITMA 2019 in Barcelona from June 20-26 FONG’S Europe, a member of CHTC FONG’S International Group, will be providing details of its new THEN Supratec LTM hydraulic long-tube dyeing machine.

This machine is distinguished by the ability to vary the angle of the Then Flexkier for either dry (jet) or wet (overflow) mode dyeing, in order to optimise the dye liquor ratio – from 1:15 down to 1:4 – depending on the materials being dyed.

This translates into considerable savings in auxiliaries, water and energy.

The Supratec LTM is suitable for the treatment of both woven and knitted fabrics ranging from the most sensitive articles to heavyweight materials within the weight range of 25 g/lm to 380 g/lm, and operates at very low tension due to the extremely low lifting height between the variable nozzle and the plaited fabric.

“Existing Supratec machines on the market are providing excellent performance for a wide range of delicate synthetic fabrics, from polyester to polyamide with high content of elastane,” says FONG’S Europe Director of Sales and Marketing Richard Fander. “Heat-setting can often can be avoided, which improves the handle of the material and saves costs and the lengthwise-elongation of the fabric being treated is lower than on winch-driven machines.”

A focus on customer service, aligned with the drive to constantly innovate, has long ensured that the member companies of TMAS – the Swedish texile machinery manufacturers’ association – stay well ahead of the curve.

“All of the Swedish textile machinery companies are doing really well in major markets such as Europe, China, India and the USA,” says TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson. “They are now gathering forces to prepare for the most important show – ITMA 2019 in Barcelona in June. I expect to see new players and partnerships as we enter the industry 4.0 era for real. We are ready to display an even higher degree of the real time monitoring of processes, automation, flexible customisation, and the incorporation of robots into production lines.  Our customers expect a lot of in terms of knowledge and our ability to customise and offer turnkey solutions.”

The forward-looking attitude of the Swedish companies is perhaps best summed up by Reimar Westerlind, the owner, since 1961, of ACG Gruppen.
At the age of 90, Reimar still travels to his office every day to oversee the operations of the diverse companies operating under the ACG umbrella.
“Everything now is about automation and digitisation,” he says. “We have to be on that track or we will be lost – innovate or die.”

Robotics
One ACG Gruppen company moving rapidly forward with new innovations in this area is ACG Kinna, which at ITMA 2019 will be providing dramatic live demonstrations of its new robotic pillow filling system.
This has the ability to fill and finish some 3,840 pillows per eight-hour shift, which is a considerable improvement on what is currently possible with existing systems, resulting in significant savings in both labour and energy for busy home textile businesses.

At ITMA 2019, Eton will be demonstrating a complete material handling solution with advanced software providing real-time information covering every aspect of the process.
“Our systems are a natural fit with the major Industry 4.0 networked manufacturing plants that are now being constructed worldwide for sectors such as the garment and home textiles manufacturing and automotive industries,” says Eton’s Sales and Commercial Director Roger Ryrlén.

Sensors
Advanced senor developments are playing a large part in moving many areas of the textile industry forward too.
Eltex of Sweden, for example, is achieving considerable success with its yarn fault detection and tension monitoring systems across a range of sectors, including the tufting of carpets, the creeling of woven materials and even the production of woven reinforcements for the composites industry.

At successive ITMA shows, IRO AB has also consistently introduced new milestones in the field of yarn feeding technology for weaving machines, and ITMA 2019 will be no exception.
“Following significant investment in our R&D capabilities, we have been making great progress in further boosting the efficiency and performance of our expanding X3 range,” says IRO AB Managing Director and Chairman of TMAS Mikael Äremann. “I can’t remember a time since the 1980s when we had so many new innovations to unveil at an ITMA, and I’m greatly looking forward to the positive response to them we are anticipating in Barcelona this June.”

Resource savings
ITMA 2019 will meanwhile see the launch of TexCoat G4 – the next generation of Baldwin Technology’s non-contact precision application system for fabric finishing. The TexCoat G4 enables a continuously high-quality and productive textile finishing process with zero chemistry waste and minimised water and energy consumption.
The non-contact spray technology brings a range of advantages including single or double-sided application,  the elimination of Foulard bath contamination, low wet pick-up levels leading to the elimination of drying steps, zero chemistry waste in changeovers of chemistry, colour or fabric, and the possibility of batch reporting, visibility of pad loading, chemical usage etc.

Other TMAS companies exhibiting in Barcelona include Texo AB, whose wide-width weaving looms make the belts for machines on which half of the world’s paper is made, ES-Automatex, which specialises in bespoke automation concepts and Svegea, a company leading the field in a number colarette machines and cutting and slitting equipment.

“At the last ITMA in 2015 in Milan, there was much talk about Industry 4.0 technologies but certainly from the perspective of TMAS, ITMA 2019 will be the place for concrete solutions as to how data and the new tools we have available can be exploited to the full,” says Therese Premler-Andersson. “There is already much more networking between the companies, with software very much the enabler and common interfaces bringing ideas closer together. We are greatly looking forward to further exchanges of ideas when meeting with customers old and new in Barcelona.”

In unterschiedlichen Ausführungen, von Papier bis zu dickem Filz, dient das Material als Brandschutz in elektronischen Geräten, Sitzpolstern und anderen Anwendungen. GULFENG gibt es als dünnes Papier, gewebt, oder gefilzt.
 
Vom 14. bis 17. Mai 2019 präsentiert der japanische Materialtechnologie-Riese Toray die Funktionstextilien des Unternehmens auf der Techtextil in Frankfurt. Ein Highlight ist dabei das neue Flammschutzgewebe GULFENG, das hervorragende flammhemmende Eigenschaften besitzt und als Flammenbarriere dient. Das Gewebe ist in verschiedenen Ausführungen erhältlich und somit für ein breites Anwendungsspektrum geeignet.

Im Vergleich zu anderen flammhemmenden Materialien, die aus Glasfaser-, m- und p-Aramid- oder Ox-PAN-Filz bestehen, ist GULFENG leichter, dünner und flexibler. Die Papiervariante ist 0,06 mm dick und wiegt 60 g/m² – sie sieht wie normales Papier aus und fühlt sich auch so an. Zusätzlich kann das Material zu einem weichen Stoff gestrickt oder gewoben und zu biegsamen Matten gefilzt werden. Durch diese Vielfalt eigenet sich GULFENG für Batterien ebenso wie für Bettwäsche oder Bussitze.

Trotz der geringen Dicke büßt GULFENG seine flammhemmenden Eigenschaften nicht ein und dient als Flammenbarriere. Ein Feuer kann sich nicht ausbreiten oder umliegende brennbare Materialien entzündet. Um dies zu erreichen kombiniert Toray thermoplastisches Polyphenylensulfid (PPS) mit oxidierten Polyacrylnitrilfasern (OX-PAN). Erwärmt eine Flamme das Material auf 285°C, beginnen die PPS-Fasern zu schmelzen und bilden eine dünne Membran um die Ox-PAN-Fasern. Diese absorbieren Wärme und oxidieren, wodurch eine vollständig geschlossene Barriere gegen die Flammen entsteht. In Flugzeugen und Zügen wird GULFENG als Fammenbarriere in Sitzkissen verwendet.

At next month’s Techtextil 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will be highlighting all of the innovative features that have made the Montex stenter the undisputed leader in the field of technical fabric finishing.

“Techtextil is a very important show for us, because technical textiles are a key pillar of our production programme and many of our existing customers will be exhibiting or attending, as well as those we have yet to meet,” says Jürgen Hanel, Head of Technical Textiles at Monforts. “The show provides us with an opportunity to explain the diverse end-products that can be successfully finished on our stenters, as well as with our coating units.”

A number of successful recent Monforts Montex stenter installations in Europe, for example, are dedicated to the production of wide-width digital printing substrates, to high volume automotive fabrics and to heavy duty filter media, to name just three advanced technical materials.

Digital print
Three Montex stenters have just been installed at the plant of a leading finisher of substrates for digital printing substrates in Germany – two of them in extra-wide widths of 5.4 metres – for drying after both washing and coating processes.

A new standard in pure white, 100% clean and fault-free textile substrates has been demanded in recent years by the rapid growth in digitally-printed banners and hoardings – often referred to as ‘soft signage’.

“The substrates of choice for digital printing are 100% polyester warp knits which have extremely smooth surfaces,” says Hanel. “This is becoming increasingly critical due to the general move away from PVC coatings which were the standard in the past. Quality inspection and control systems analyse every square metre of fabric to ensure completely uniform and blemish-free production.”

The fabrics produced are resilient and allow excellent take-up of inks for vibrant colours and clear and precise images to be achieved with digital printing techniques. The knitted construction also has the advantage of elasticity, which is a plus in terms of flexibility for soft signage installers.
These fabrics are being supplied fully finished, in weights of between 50-350gsm and in rolls of up to 600kg or 1,800 metres.

Outgoing 2018-19 National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) Chairman Marty Moran delivered the trade association’s 2019 State of the U.S. Textile Industry overview at NCTO’s 16th Annual Meeting on March 21st at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.

Mr. Moran’s speech outlined (1) U.S. textile supply chain economic, employment and trade data, (2) the 2019 policy priorities of domestic textile manufacturers, and (3) other NCTO activities.  

A link to his remarks as prepared for delivery are included in this press statement along with a link to a data infographic prepared by NCTO illustrating the current economic status of the U.S. textile industry.

Mr. Moran is CEO of Buhler Quality Yarns, Corp., a fine-count yarn supplier headquartered in Jefferson, Georgia with plants and/or offices in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.  

• U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.  
• The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.  
• U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.  
• Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.

• Exclusive market insights, best practices and inspirational thoughts, alongside previews of Kornit’s new dedicated polyester printing technology

Kornit Digital, (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global market leader in digital textile printing technology, invites all textile printers, garment decorators, Kornit users, prospective customers and anyone who is curious about the latest trends and technology in digital textile printing, to its “Kornit Discover” events.

Taking place April 3-4 in the New York Metropolitan area, April 11-12 in Duesseldorf, Germany and April 15-17 in Hong Kong, each event will feature educational workshops with real-world insights delivered by high-level guest speakers. Highlighting the North American event will be a keynote by Breakaway Sports owner Scott Goldstone, multiple case study presentations, and a panel discussion with editors of key publications serving the imprinted apparel industry. The European event will feature a keynote called “The Future of Retail” by futurist Kai Gondlach, a digital transformation review of the textile industry by Tansy Fall, editor-in-chief of Digital Textile 4.0 and an insightful chat with Kornit user Shirtracer, Nuremburg. The Asian instance will feature Ron Gilboa as main speaker and Kornit’s customer Paintory.

Omer Kulka, Kornit Digital’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy, said: “There are still a lot of perceptions and opinions in the market about direct-to-garment printing and what its opportunities and limitations are. Printing on dark polyester is a prime example: there is an opinion in the market that digital printing and dark poly don’t go well together, and we just lifted this barrier. With Kornit Discover, we are creating an industry event that will challenge these established thinking patterns. In fact, we will transform the way visitors think and print!”

JEC WORLD 2019 closed successfully on Thursday, March 14, after three intense days of innovation, networking and knowledge sharing. "With more than 112 participating countries and 27 national pavilions, JEC World – the place where the world of Composites meets – gathered the key players of the industry and their representatives, as illustrated by the premiere meeting of the global and European industry associations. On top of that, the show highlighted the dynamic ecosystems of composite materials in France, Turkey as well as in the Netherlands, thanks to the special visit in Paris and an active participation of their companies, officials and government bodies,” Adeline Larroque, Show director JEC World explains.
JEC World organizers created special tracks, displays and conference programs dedicated to the specific audience of Aerospace, Automotive and Construction sectors, for everyone to better understand the benefits offered by Composites in these applications.