From the Sector

• Joint proposal of TUD and RWTH Aachen University

On 29 May, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) decided to fund the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Transregio 280 "Carbon reinforced concrete" at Technische Universität Dresden, short TUD, and RWTH Aachen University with the participation of the Institut für Textiltechnik, short ITA, with 12 million euros over the next four years.

The CRC/Transregio 280 “Design Strategies for Material-Minimised Carbon Reinforced Concrete Structures - Principles of a New Approach to Construction” breaks with the traditional way of designing reinforced concrete plants. The interdependence of reinforcement and matrix is being investigated in depth and a completely new design and construction strategy for building with carbon reinforced concrete is being developed.

Carbon reinforced concrete enables completely new design and construction possibilities in the building industry. The reasons for this are its very high strength and the possibility of a very low concrete overlay of only a few millimetres, as carbon, unlike structural steel, does not rust. However, the successful use of the new material, which was awarded the German Future Prize in 2016, requires completely new design and production strategies, which are being investigated in the CRC/Transregio.

Up to now, textile reinforcements have been coated and cured prior to component manufacture. This process is called offline consolidation. These stiff semi-finished products are not suitable for the production of complex components based on new, digital and continuous manufacturing processes (including 3D concrete printing and concrete extrusion). Therefore, ITA is investigating in the sub-project B02 of the CRC/Transregio how forming and consolidation steps are shifted in time by prepreg systems into the concreting process and how they can be applied within the new digital continuous manufacturing processes. In addition to established curing mechanisms, such as by heat or UV radiation, new approaches are also being researched. These new approaches include activation via the alkalinity of the concrete, microwaves and induction

The TUD and RWTH Aachen were awarded the grant on the basis of many years of experience in the research field of textile reinforced concrete. The material textile reinforced concrete was developed in two special research areas at both universities from 1999-2011 and was first fundamentally researched.

19 individual institutes are involved in the CRC/Transregio 280. The spokesman of the TUD is Professor Dr Manfred Curbach, the spokesman of the RWTH is Professor Dr Josef Hegger.

Pinko has finally re-open its stores inthis occasion will launch a special project dedicated to its loyal customers. Pinkoi s glad to announce the official launcho f the Concierge project, which includes a series of exclusive services to make the shopping experience even more exciting and which at the same time guarantees an innovative, functional integration between physical andd digital retail.

To meet the customers needs ,the Concierge program includes three main services.
In particular, those who love to shop at home but cannot renounce the charm of brick- and mortastore, Pinko offers a personal shopper, who will live from the boutique follow the wishes of the customer, who will have the opportunity to see the clothes worn by a model.
Those who want indulge in an exclusive instore shopping session will be able to enjoy their time with a driver.
Last but not least Pinko also unveils the Surprise Box service, available only on invite to the Pinkoclub. The brands fashion stylists will make a specialised selection of ready to wear pieces and accesoires based on the customers preferences. When the Surprise Box arrives, the customers has three days to decide what to keep and what to send back.

In these actions Pinko tries new innovative and creative ideas, breaking the rules of traditional retail. Pinko wants to focus on a unique shopping experience based on the individual needs.
 

Digitisation, Industry 4.0 and the expertise in this field should make fit for the working world of tomorrow. Nevertheless, these important topics are pushed into the back-ground in times of Corona. says ITA Academy ofefrs now online remote trainings for home-office: "Digital Transformation", the "Textile Summer School" and "Basics of Textile Technology"

The "Textile Summer School" will be held from 13 - 15 May and the training course "Basics of textile technology" from 28 - 30 July. They will impart expertise about the entire textile process chain. Starting with fibre science, through yarn and surface production to finishing and textile testing methods, all essential topics are cov-ered.
Both training courses are therefore suitable for interested employees and trainees from all areas of the company along the textile chain who wish to acquire or refresh specialist knowledge. This also gives lateral entrants and specialists with training from outside the indus-try the opportunity to enter the world of textiles more easily.

The "Textile Summer School" addresses both international and national customers. A good knowledge of English is required for participation. The course "Basics of Textile Technology" will be held in German.

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.

Join this webinar session with Kornit CEO Ronen Samuel and CMO Omer Kulka that will take place on Monday, 23rd March 2020 at 2:00 PM CET. To learn more about what the Softener is, how it works, and why it presents a great many opportunities for making the fashion industry more eco-friendly, more reactive to emerging demands, and more conducive to efficient and versatile business models.

We'll be presenting you with:

• our new NeoPigment™ Robusto Softener solution for Presto, the company’s system for digital, pigment-based roll-to-roll direct-to-fabric decoration. Kornit’s pigment-based print process can help companies achieve their sustainability goals. Traditional rotary reactive ink six-color printers use 60-80 liters of water per linear meter, and digital reactive ink for fashion designs use 14-40 liters; Kornit’s award-winning* NeoPigment™ Robusto ink set, which is both GOTS and ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certified, is waterless.
• the Presto - Kornit’s Presto solution eliminates the need for pre- and post-treatment of fabric and allows for high-quality printing on an extraordinarily broad variety of fabric types and applications.

Please register for our webinar Here 

Exhibitor registration for the Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles has been strong since applications opened in December last year. Renowned global players such as D Décor Home Fabrics (India), G.M. Syntex Pvt (India), Naturtex (Hungary) and SIC Global Textiles (Poland) are amongst those to have already confirmed their participation. Held from 24 – 26 August 2020, the fair is the largest trade platform in China for international buyers to meet potential supply partners in the second half of the year. The fair’s early bird discount will be extended until 30 March. Interested companies can register online to enjoy a 10% discount.

Discover abundant new products and design trends
As the leading business platform for the home and contract textile industry in the Asia Pacific region, participants of Intertextile can always discover the latest innovations and trends of the textile and interior design industry. This year, the fair continues to cover the entire spectrum of home and contract textile products including:

• Decorative Fabrics (Upholstery & Curtains)
• Bedding, Bath, Kitchen & Table
• Carpets & Rugs
• Sun-Protection
• Wallcoverings
• Textile Editors
• Whole Home Products
• Digital Print & Technics
• Fibres, Yarns & Chemicals
• Textile Designs

In addition, Intertextile is pleased to cooperate with the renowned international forecasting agency NellyRodi™ from France again in presenting the hottest international home furnishing trends. A trend committee led by NellyRodi and formed by top forecasters including Carlotta Montaldo, Juliette Lamarca, Shen Lei and Studio NOCC will be responsible for determining the major design trends which will be demonstrated in the three-day fair via a series of events and displays. More details about the trends will be announced soon.

Leading fashion and textile industry training centre offers UK professionals hands-on experience with 3D digital design tools
 
EFI™ Optitex®, Electronics For Imaging's global provider of integrated end-to-end 2D & 3D CAD/CAM software solutions for the fashion and apparel industry, today announced its partnership with Fashion Enter Ltd. (FEL), a UK training and technical skills development centre for the fashion and textile industry. FEL has implemented EFI Optitex 3D solutions into its course curriculum.
 
Established in 2006, London-based FEL is a veritable "all-in-one" technology hub for the fashion and textile industry, offering multiple training and technical skills development services encompassing the entire design to production cycle. A not for profit, social enterprise, FEL also provides apprenticeships and adult learning through an Educational Skills and Finding Agency- and Social Enterprise London-approved technical centre supported by Haringey Council, Mayor's Good Growth Fund and online fashion retailer ASOS®.
 
To help lay the foundation for the UK's fashion and textile industry on its imminent journey towards digital transformation, FEL was determined to close the mounting skills gap in both industry and academia and offer UK professionals hands-on experience and exposure to 3D digital design tools. With a keen understanding of the market's growing need for speed, flexibility and shifting demands, in September 2019, FEL selected EFI Optitex as its 3D technology partner. FEL sought advanced 3D solutions that would enable innovative digital design courses, apprenticeships and bespoke training, including collaboration with leading fashion retailers such as Marks & Spencer®, ASOS, Next®, and many others.
 
After a short but highly intensive training period FEL implemented EFI Optitex 3D into its design and production processes, including pattern design and 3D tools for design and fitting. Since the recent implementation, FEL has already reaped the benefits of EFI Optitex 3D fully digital design, from sampling and grading, through to production. During a preliminary implementation phase, EFI Optitex 3D will enable FEL to deliver a wide range of accredited 3D design courses and forge collaborations with new customers, a result of EFI Optitex 3D's intuitive design tools, ease of use, and time and resource savings.

Retailers invest in emotionalisation and digitalisation +++ Top theme: linking online with offline shopping +++ Focus on sustainability +++ Accompanying Stages and Specials received very well

The World’s No.1 Retail Trade Fair, EuroShop 2020, drew to a close on Thursday (20 February 2020) after five successful days in Düsseldorf: 2,300 exhibitors from 57 nations reported of very good leads and concluded business deals. Furthermore, lively follow-up business is expected. 94,000 visitors travelled to the Rhine to gather information on the line-up of products, trends and concepts for retailers and their partners featured in 16 exhibition halls.  

“We are delighted that EuroShop once again successfully proved to be the most relevant platform for the global retail community when it comes to trends, inspirations and networking. Our exhibitors deserve the highest praise for their loyalty. With their innovative power they again proved the major attraction for an entire industry,” said Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, voicing his great satisfaction with EuroShop 2020 results.

Exhibitors especially applauded the high international attendance at EuroShop. 70% of the EuroShop audience travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad. Large delegations came for example from Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. Trade visitors from a total of 142 countries attended EuroShop 2020.

“This high level of international interest clearly documents the dynamism of the global retail world and the exceptional position EuroShop enjoys as its economic engine,” said Michael Gerling, Chairman of the EuroShop Advisory Board and CEO of the EHI Retail Institute Cologne.

“The success of eCommerce is a real encouragement for retailers: they have understood they have to give their shoppers good reasons beyond the ranges to enter their stores. This competition has taken retail as a whole to the next quality level. Investment is being made in shop fitting so as to create customer journeys,” explains Gerling who adds: “Beyond this, retail digitalisation is booming. It enables retailers to offer their shoppers even more services and link online and offline channels, on the one hand, while simplifying process flows, logistics and lots more, on the other.” At EuroShop 2020 digital transformation was therefore a key focus, also in terms of achieving the highest energy efficiency and sustainability possible.

Exhibitors underlined the high level of expertise among visitors at the event, especially their pronounced decision-making powers, because 70% of the trade fair guests were in international top management. Many of them also used their visit to EuroShop to learn about best practice cases and forward-looking trends in retail at the in total eight Stages. The varied programme of lectures held on the individual Stages on such topics as Retail Technology, Architecture and Store Design or Expo & Event was well attended across the board. Meeting with the same high level of approval were the numerous Specials at EuroShop, including the Start-up Hub, the Designer Village and Premium City.

Numbers speak for themselves here: 96% of trade fair visitors were satisfied with their visit to the trade fair. Just as many confirmed the outstanding position of EuroShop as a trend barometer, networking platform and largest event for the retail sectors.

Due to the current situation associated with the Coronavirus 19.000 visitors less attended this time than at the record event 2017.

The next EuroShop will be held in Düsseldorf from 26 February to 2 March 2023.  

Exhibit to showcase solutions answering sustainability demands in fashion supply chain
Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT),  announced that the company is exhibiting at the Pure Origin event, taking place February 9-11 at the Olympia London. Hosted in conjunction with Pure London, Pure Origin is billed as “the UK’s only fashion sourcing show to bring every element of the fashion supply chain together in one location.”

The Kornit exhibit (Stand PO-A4) will call on brands and manufacturers to produce fashion in the most sustainable manner possible, approaching the fashion market with a statement that clothing can be produced on demand, in a profitable manner, without compromising on environmental concerns.

With its unique single-step printing solution and proprietary water-based NeoPigment™ inks, Kornit Digital enables on-demand textile manufacturing in a sustainable way. Furthermore, these solutions provide retail-quality impressions that enable retailers to become e-tailers.

The origins of both Industry 4.0 and an awareness of the need for more sustainable manufacturing methods can arguably be traced back to the year 1971.

It was in 1971 that the first microprocessor was introduced by Intel, and also that the first and perhaps now most well-known environmental campaigner, Greenpeace, was founded.

As such, a direct line can be charted from that year to today’s automated textile manufacturing machinery concepts, as well as the drive to develop more increasingly resource-efficient processes.

All of the recent innovations which have been introduced to the market by A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG, for example, are being powered by the possibilities of Industry 4.0 and developed in response to the market demand for more sustainable production.

They include the new ‘digital twinning’ capability introduced in 2019 for all Monforts machines, with advanced sensor technologies which make it possible to access comprehensive technical machine data from any location using the company’s Smart Support and Smart Check apps. In addition, the digital twin system provides information on individual wear parts, such as, for example, converters or gears.

These latest developments have been very favourably received by Monforts customers, especially in Europe.

50th anniversary
The very first Heimtextil – the leading trade fair for the home textiles market – was also held in Frankfurt in January 1971 and Monforts customers Bierbaum Group and Konrad Hornschuch AG are amongst the German companies who were there from the very start and have attended every annual show since.

Bierbaum Group, based in Borken, is the company behind the well-known Irisette bedding brand and is celebrating its own 125th anniversary in 2020. It has also introduced products bearing the German government’s new Grüner Knopf textile seal of approval for sustainable production.

As a specialist in synthetic leathers for home surfaces, as well as vehicle interiors, Konrad Hornschuch AG, of Weissbach, has been a member of the €44 billion automotive giant Continental AG since 2016.

Representatives from both companies received memorial trophies at a special presentation held on January 7th during the 50th anniversary Heimtextil show.

The home textiles market remains very strong in Germany, with sales amounting to some €9.6 billion in 2019, according to analyst IFH Cologne.

Global growth
The first Heimtextil in 1971 was a significant success, attracting 679 exhibitors from 26 countries.

This year’s show, however, attracted a total of 2,952 exhibitors from 66 countries, reflecting not only the growth of the home textiles industry, but also the globalisation which has taken place over the last half century.

Monforts now has customers for its advanced finishing technologies around the world, with home textile customers from India and Pakistan being particularly well represented at Heimtextil 2020.

Among stand outs from Indian companies at this year’s show was the 2020 collection of Welspun India’s famous Christy England brand, inspired by botanical studies of the gardens of British stately homes. Welspun towels meanwhile benefit from the company’s HygroCotton hollow core yarn technology, produced by a proprietary spinning method which ensures they become softer, fluffier and more absorbent after every wash.

An equally ground-breaking new technology is being introduced by Trident Group, which is one of India’s largest vertically-integrated home textiles manufacturers and two years ago installed five complete Monforts finishing ranges for its new linen department.

Trident’s patented Air Rich yarns feature pores throughout their cross sections for high breathability and absorbency, as well as rapid drying.

Monforts home textile customers from Pakistan stressed the resource efficiency of their processes and products as a result of investments in advanced technology, and during the show the ‘Sustainable Pakistan’ initiative was announced.

Supported by GIZ, the German Society for International Cooperation, the initiative aims to reshape global perceptions of Pakistan’s manufacturers and their innovations. So far, twenty producers have been carefully chosen to be presented on this global platform and will help rebrand Pakistan’s textile industry at the Heimtextil exhibitions going forward.

Heimtextil’s organiser Messe Frankfurt also announced its own new alliance with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, in order to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Constancy
Many things have changed since 1971 and home interiors are certainly no longer predominantly orange and brown – and perhaps unlikely to ever become so again.

It’s clear, however, that there has been a constancy in the push to consistently improve textile technologies, processes and products that may have originated in Europe, but have subsequently spread around the world.

And the significance of both microprocessors and sustainability in 2020 could only have been guessed at back in 1971.