From the Sector

Double the production rate, with lower energy consumption per kilogram of fiber material – that might sound like a contradiction, but the new Trützschler pre-cleaner CL-X makes it possible. It gently and reliably removes coarse contaminants like leaf debris, stalks or seeds from cotton with minimum loss of good fibers. The pre-cleaner CL-X provides more efficiency and lays the foundation for a high-quality end-product before the cotton is further processed in mixers and fine cleaners.

CL-X features at one glance

• Continuous production of 1,600 kilograms per hour for present blow room configuration.
• 30% energy saving compared to the current benchmark.
• Integrated WASTECONTROL for automatic adjustment recommendation of waste excretion to avoid unnecessary fiber loss.
• 2.60 m long cleaning section.
• New and improved grid geometry for better separation and gentle tuft treatment.
• Material draft due to 10 % higher speed of second opening roller for reliable and consistent fiber transport.
• Optimal cleaning level and minimal fiber loss due to individual and stepless grid adjustment for each opening roller by motor.
• Gentle tuft treatment with adjustable opening roller speed.
• Synchronized lot management (automatic lot change for up to three lots).
• Connection possibility for a waste box (for waste analysis).
• Lower cost of ownership.

Bag-converting equipment manufacturer Hudson-Sharp—part of Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) and Barry-Wehmiller’s converting equipment platform—is pleased to announce that Jason Beauleau has joined the company as Regional Sales Executive.

In his new role, Beauleau will be responsible for the Midwest region, as well as for serving multiple key customers. He will be replacing longtime Sales Executive John Krebsbach after he retires on Oct. 1, 2021. Beauleau has more than 25 years of experience in the packaging and printing industry, including 20-plus years with PCMC.

In addition to the in-person event, the company invited its visitors to a virtual booth. Groz-Beckert welcomed a total of almost 3,600 visitors during the trade fair – 2,300 of them in person and around 1,300 virtually.

This year, the virtual booth complemented the traditional booth on the trade fair grounds to enable us to reach as many customers as possible despite the coronavirus pandemic and worldwide restrictions. At both booths, the product highlights were explored using 3D models and discussions were held. At the virtual booth, each visitor had their own avatar which they could use to move through the virtual world. An exchange between customers and Groz-Beckert took place either in person or – also in real time – via chat or video cal
 
In Shanghai, most of the visitors came from China due to the pandemic. The ranking in the virtual environment puts India top in terms of visitor numbers, followed by Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

Iluna Group comes back to Milano Unica with a great and important goal: to relaunch the qualities and dimensions of sustainability by going beyond the ingredient.

Iluna’s new path, which was born in a moment when the market seems to speak about “fragility”, begins with the investment in the renewal of machines, which allow it to fly ever higher in terms of high-tech developments, quality, definition, effects of yarns and patterns. The journey into the new dimension of responsible quality continues with ad hoc developments in the field of GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified recycled yarns, aimed at unprecedented effects both in look, in performance and in the hands of fabrics. Including cord yarn, shiny threads and an expansion of the range of GRS yarns, previously available only opaque. The cord yarn is a precious yarn with a ROICA™ EF premium stretch yarn core, GRS certified and developed with 50% of pre-consumer waste materials content - double, covered with an equally recycled shiny thread; the bright and translucent is instead to add brilliant effects so far not possible with a GRS yarn.

The printing processes are also born from this constant search for innovation towards new materials and new techniques, becoming more and more sustainable: Global Recycle Standard (GRS)-certified sublimation printing and register printing carrying Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification. This one overlap exactly on the design and color the details, reaching where the dye cannot reach.

Diversification has become essential in today’s competitive market and the fragility of the moments experienced in 2020 was the stimulus to return to being here again, to return to action. Flexibility is the watchword today, along with research. And Iluna has managed to go further: starting from the ingredients at the base of the materials, last year launched a collection with natural dyes made with GOTS certified plant-based dyes, up to proposing magnificent prints with extraordinary effects for this edition of the Milanese fair.

The three dimensions of sustainability, design and innovation are thus finally linked thanks to valuable partnerships with expert and excellent reference companies that have allowed these new developments and these unique results thanks to advanced technologies designed specifically for Iluna, which is today the only company to offer ingredients, natural colors and prints, all three strictly certified.

ISKO and textile research and development company HKRITA are proud to announce a licensing agreement for HKRITA’s award-winning, revolutionary Green Machine – a one-of-a-kind technology that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale.

The technology is still in the pilot stage, but is an additional step in ISKO’s drive to improve and commercialize recycling technologies which will eventually enable the company to offer a 100% post-consumer recycling solution to all of its customers. In addition, ISKO and HKRITA will work together to develop related technology, further strengthening the company’s position in sustainability.

The Green Machine uses an innovative and ultra-efficient hydrothermal treatment method that decomposes cotton into cellulose powders and enables the separation of polyester fibres from blended fabrics. The process is a closed loop and uses only water, heat and less than 5% biodegradable green chemicals. Crucially, this method does not damage the polyester fibres and therefore maintains their quality; the cellulose powders, which are clean and toxic-free, can be used in a variety of ways.

The investment in this new technology is the latest in ISKO’s ongoing drive for advancements in sustainability. As part of the company’s R-TWO™ programme, it is also working to develop fabrics with a guaranteed minimum 50%+ GRS (Global Recycle Standard) recycled content blend. This will significantly reduce the carbon and water footprint of a fabric, as well as make it easy for consumers to trace a garment’s sustainable journey step-by-step from the beginning of the supply chain through to the end product they purchase.

Circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company has secured investments totaling 30 million euros in its latest financing round completed on June 30. The round also brought Infinited Fiber Company new investors, including sportswear company adidas, Invest FWD A/S, which is BESTSELLER’s investment arm for sustainable fashion, and investment company Security Trading Oy. Among the existing investors contributing to this round of financing were fashion retailer H&M Group, who was the lead investor, investment company Nidoco AB, and Sateri, the world’s largest viscose producer and a member of the RGE group of companies.

This securement of new funding follows Infinited Fiber Company’s April announcement of plans to build a flagship factory in Finland in response to the strong growth in demand from global fashion and textile brands for its regenerated textile fiber Infinna™. The factory, which will use household textile waste as raw material, is expected to be operational in 2024 and to have an annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tons. The new funding enables Infinited Fiber Company to carry out the work needed to prepare for the flagship factory investment and to increase production at its pilot facilities in the years leading to 2024.

“We are really happy to welcome our new investors and grateful for the continued support from our older investors,” said Infinited Fiber Company co-founder and CEO Petri Alava. “These new investments enable us to proceed at full speed with the pre-engineering, environmental permits, and the recruitment of the skilled professionals needed to take our flagship project forward. We can now also boost production at our pilot facilities so that we can better serve our existing customers and grow our customer-base in preparation for both our flagship factory and for the future licensees of our technology.”

H&M Group is one of Infinited Fiber Company’s earliest investors. They first invested in Infinited Fiber Company in 2019.

H&M Group has also signed a multiyear sales deal with Infinited Fiber Company to secure its access to agreed amounts of Infinna from the planned flagship factory.

New investor BESTSELLER has struck a similar sales deal with Infinited Fiber Company.

In addition to strong interest by global fashion leaders, the technology has significant promise for major textile fiber producers. Allen Zhang, President of Sateri, said: “Sateri is excited to continue to invest in and collaborate with Infinited Fiber Company as part of our long-term commitment towards closed-loop, circular and climate-positive cellulosic fibers. This financing round marks a major milestone for our collaboration in scaling up next-generation fiber solutions.”

Infinited Fiber Company’s flagship plant preparations are also proceeding on other fronts. Several Nordic and international investment banks have given Infinited Fiber Company proposals on the financing options for the investment.

Infinited Fiber Company’s technology turns cellulose-based raw materials, like cotton-rich textile waste, into Infinna, a unique, premium-quality regenerated textile fiber with the natural, soft look and feel of cotton. Infinna is biodegradable and contains no microplastics, and at the end of their life, garments made with it can be recycled in the same process together with other textile waste.

Pulcra Chemicals, with headquarters in Geretsried (Germany) has announced its first acquisition in its history by acquiring fellow-industry player Devan.

Devan, with origins since 1977 and Belgian headquarters, is since 2013 owned by Pentahold (a Belgian private equity fund). Devan is known from its antimicrobial range BI-OME, its large sustainable track record with a.o. probiotics solutions, a wide range of recently introduced bio-based textile finishes and a long standing in Thermoregulation and Flame Retardants. Devan has offices in the UK, Portugal, the US and a team in Shanghai.

The acquisition price will not be disclosed.

Marabu is one of the first ink manufacturers to achieve climate neutrality. All Marabu Business Units will, where possible, make a specific contribution to achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with PROJECT GREEN and therefore participate in the Green Deal.

"We are safeguarding the future of the next generations and are proud that we have managed to be a climate neutral company from July 2021 with the Tamm and Bietigheim sites. All our products, whether printing inks or creative colours, are climate neutral, too," explains York Boeder, CEO Executive Committee. "Our so-called PROJECT GREEN combines all measures that are taking us on our journey to climate neutrality. Climate protection is a particular concern for us, to which we have made a binding commitment within the scope of an extensive sustainability strategy. In accordance with our Marabu Green Deal, we avoid and reduce emissions wherever possible, e. g. by using green electricity, energy-saving schemes, mobility concepts or environmentally friendly materials. We offset all unavoidable CO2 emissions by supporting internationally certified climate protection projects. We are continually implementing measures to improve our carbon footprint and update them annually to make their success measurable. We have therefore set ourselves the active goal of reducing our CO2 emissions by another 25 % by 2030."

For decades, Marabu has invested in the research and development of safe production processes, environmentally friendly products, and clean technologies with the aim of preserving the natural environment. Marabu has worked with Climate Partner to analyse all the CO2 emissions from the sites in Tamm and Bietigheim and determine its carbon footprint. Including all product-related factors such as raw materials and logistics, Marabu currently generates approx. 18,500 tons of unavoidable CO2 emissions. This value is the positive result of a number of climate-friendly measures pursued by Marabu, such as the early switch to green electricity in 2007.

Marabu's main activities to avoid and reduce CO2 emissions:

• Energy - Switching to green electricity from hydropower
• Mobility - Migration of the company's vehicles to electric and hybrid cars as well as in e-charging stations
• Production - Use of renewable energies and resource-efficient production processes
• Raw materials - Replacing critical substances with environmentally friendly alternatives for new and existing products
• Transporting - Climate-neutral freight carriers and lower-emission transport methods like shipping or road transport replace air freight wherever possible
• Product technology - Modern, low-emission products

• Borealis deepens partnership with innovative recycling solutions provider Renasci N.V., acquiring a 10% minority stake in the Belgium-based creator of the Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept
• Deal supports Borealis integrated approach to achieve a true circular economy of plastics in the most eco-efficient way, as defined by its circular cascade model
• EverMinds™ in action: Game-changing collaboration to accelerate plastics circularity

Borealis announces that it has entered into a multi-dimensional partnership with Renasci N.V., a provider of innovative recycling solutions and creator of the novel Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept. The partnership is another key enabler for Borealis to realise its ambitions to bring circular base chemicals and polyolefins to market, and to deliver on its promise to bring 350 kilotons of recycled polyolefins into circulation by 2025.

SCP concept leaves no waste behind
The SCP concept developed by Renasci is a proprietary method of maximising material recovery in order to achieve zero waste. It is unique because it enables the processing of multiple waste streams using different recycling technologies – all under one roof. At the newly-built Renasci SCP facility in Oostende, Belgium, mixed waste – plastics, metals, and biomass – is automatically selected and sorted multiple times.

After sorting, plastic waste is first mechanically recycled, and then in a second step any remaining material is chemically recycled into circular pyrolysis oil and lighter product fractions, which are used to fuel the process.

Other types of sorted waste such as metals and organic refuse are further processed using other technologies. In the end, only 5% of the original waste remains, and even this residual material is not landfilled, but used as filler in construction materials. Because of this extremely efficient way of processing, the overall CO2 footprint of these waste streams is greatly reduced – yet another advantage of the circular SCP concept.

The cascade model is Borealis’ integrated circular approach
Borealis circular cascade model sits at the heart of its ambition to achieve a truly circular economy, by combining carefully chosen technologies in a complementary and cascading way to achieve full circularity. In this way, Borealis aims to give plastic products multiple lifetimes in the most sustainable way possible. Starting with optimising product design, first for eco-efficiency, then for re-use and finally for recycling. Once a product has reached its end of life, we must close the plastics loop: first with mechanical recycling to make products with the highest possible value, quality and lowest carbon footprint; then utilising chemical recycling, as a complement to mechanical recycling, to further valorise residual streams which would otherwise go to incineration, or even worse to landfills. The valorised material from mechanical and chemical recycling is then processed with Borealis Borcycle™ recycling technology consisting of Borcycle M for mechanical recycling and Borcycle C for chemical recycling, providing high quality solutions for more sophisticated applications, such as food packaging and healthcare.

The SCP concept is aligned to Borealis’ ambition to close the loop on plastic waste as encapsulated in its circular cascade model.

• Organic cotton project with thriving prospects

Dibella is participating in a joint project to promote organic cotton cultivation in India. The project aims to protect organic cultivation through targeted training measures and by paying premiums to small farmers, to support the conversion from conventional to organic cotton, to increase crop yields and at the same time to achieve better fibre quality.

The demand for organically grown organic cotton is growing rapidly, but crop yields are lagging well behind global demand. The Alliance for Sustainable Textiles (Berlin), initiated by Development Minister Dr. Gerd Müller, therefore wants to increase organic cotton volumes for its member companies with practical solutions. In cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), it is now promoting a forward-looking project for which Dibella provided the impetus.

"In India, it is mainly micro-farms and village cooperatives that are active in organic cotton cultivation. Conversion of additional land and sustainable management could increase yields and fibre quality of organic cotton. The Chetna Organic initiative, with which we have been working successfully for many years, advises the farmers in these processes. It supports the farmers and village communities with targeted education, training and practical assistance in organic farming, thus preparing the ground for better income and living conditions for the families," says Ralf Hellmann, Managing Director of Dibella.

Several alliance partners - Dibella, Fairtrade Germany, GIZ, Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) and Tchibo - have taken the exemplary initiative as an opportunity to promote the cultivation and expansion of organic cotton in India. In cooperation with Chetna Organic, they focus on supporting Indian women's cooperatives, women farmers and families in the production of organic cotton as part of the "Organic Cotton Pilot Project". Tchibo and Fairtrade subsidise micro-farms during the conversion phase of the fields (the fibres are only recognised as organic cotton four years after conversion) and contribute to the provision of GMO-free seeds, which have become a scarce commodity in India. Together with Dibella, they finance training courses that teach the optimal use of natural rainfall as well as efficient, ecological cultivation methods, which subsequently lead to improved fibre quality. In addition, they commit to purchasing Fairtrade organic cotton for many years.

Ralf Hellmann: "The pilot project enables us to expand our Dibella Good Textiles collection because it guarantees us long-term access to fair-trade organic cotton. At the same time, it improves the living conditions of the small-scale farmers and their families. We therefore hope that "Organic Cotton" will also set a precedent in other cotton growing regions and bring organic farming forward in India."