From the Sector

Founded in 2013, NOPINZ is a UK-based manufacturer of clothing for cyclists and triathletes. The company's first product was the ‘SpeedPocket’, a product that allows competitors to attach their race numbers more easily (and with ‘no pins’) while improving the all-important aerodynamics. Soon recognising the customer demand for premade attire with incorporated number pockets, the company embarked on a mission to manufacture these new product lines itself. Today, NOPINZ boasts a diverse portfolio, with 60% of its products made in-house, catering to a growing customer base across the UK and international markets. NOPINZ creates speed suits for some of the world’s top cycling teams, as well as competitive amateurs.

NOPINZ places a strong emphasis on sustainability and is committed to minimising its environmental impact. Using a microfactory approach gives better oversight and control of the manufacturing process, including sourcing materials sustainably and locally where possible, reducing transportation, and improving access to recycling. “Our ‘zero to landfill’ policy, means that we reduce our wastage where possible and either recycle or donate excess product to charity,” Blake adds. “We hope to become a B-Corp company in the future.”

“We tested out a few printers, before we ultimately settled on Mimaki,” Blake Pond, the founder of NOPINZ explained. Now the company’s line-up entirely consists of Mimaki’s textile dye sublimation solutions.
“During our search we prioritised the ability to produce fluorescence and accurately replicate colours. Customers often come to us with existing kit made by other manufacturers, which they want to match, so accurately replicating colour is extremely important. And even without existing kit, customers occasionally ask for specific pantone colours. When it comes to cycling kit, colour is often pivotal when considering where to buy from.”

As two flagship dye sublimation printers, both the TS300P-1800 and TS55-1800 are equipped to print on the various technical fabrics that are needed for cycling attire and faithfully reproduce colours to meet customer expectations.

International technology group ANDRITZ has successfully started up the new carding machine and opening/blending line it delivered to Albis in Roasio, Vercelli, Italy.

With its large working width of 5.10 meters, the machine allows for the production of nonwoven fabrics tailored to specific customer requirements while maintaining excellent properties and consistent quality. One example is Albis Curacell ®, a multilayer composite nonwoven fabric in a weight range between 35 and 70 gsm that is produced with a fully water-free patented process and is able to absorb liquid flows of over seven times its own weight. The production line also includes an advanced upstream opening and blending system from ANDRITZ.

Albis, a privately owned group founded in Italy in 1995 by Gianni Boscolo, has been a major player in the nonwoven market for over three decades. Through continuous research and development, the company offers innovative, high-quality nonwoven solutions across various sectors, including hygiene, medical, personal care, textiles, filtration, and agriculture.

Stahl, a leading provider of coating technologies for flexible substrates, has been awarded a Platinum rating by the sustainability rating agency EcoVadis for the second consecutive year. For the 2023 EcoVadis assessment, Stahl’s rating increased by three points compared to its 2022 score, reflecting the company’s improved performance in the area of labour and human rights.

Progress in the Labour & Human Rights category
The 2023 EcoVadis assessment revealed the progress Stahl is making in the Labour & Human Rights category, where Stahl scored 90 out of a possible 100 points. This reflects the company's recent work to improve its health and safety management systems. In particular, the majority of Stahl’s global manufacturing sites are now ISO 45001 certified and more than 94% are ISO 14001 certified. Stahl has also taken steps to improve its approach to employee career development and well-being. These include the creation of an individual career plan for all employees and the introduction of a new company-wide employee satisfaction survey.
 
Stahl moves forward with 2030 ESG ambitions
Stahl has set a 2030 target to maintain its EcoVadis Platinum rating by working closely with its value chain partners to help them reduce their impact. In 2022, 83% of Stahl’s total spend on raw materials was sourced from EcoVadis-rated suppliers.

EcoVadis is a globally recognised, evidence-based rating platform that assesses the performance of more than 90,000 organisations against key sustainability criteria across four categories: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. For the 2023 EcoVadis assessment, Stahl received an overall score of 80 out of 100, up from 77 in 2022. This score indicates an advanced level of sustainability maturity and ensures that Stahl retains its Platinum rating. This is awarded to the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. Stahl achieved its first Platinum rating in 2022, having undergone its first EcoVadis assessment in 2015.

Santoni Shanghai Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd. announced the strategic acquisition of Terrot GmbH, a manufacturer of circular knitting machines based in Chemnitz, Germany. The move comes as the latest development in Santoni Shanghai’s long-term vision to build an ecosystem that aims to reshape and consolidate the circular knitting industry. The transaction will be finalized pending approval from Chinese regulatory authorities.

The global circular knitting machine market is expected to see significant growth in the coming years, with a July 2023 report from Consegic Business Intelligence forecasting a 5.7% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, propelled by an increasing consumer preference for breathable and comfortable knitted fabrics as well as increasingly diversification of demand for knitted apparel. To seize this market opportunity, Santoni Shanghai has developed an ambitious strategic plan centered around innovation, sustainability and digitalization. The new partnership with Terrot aims to further this strategy by enhancing Santoni’s integrated and scaled-up ecosystem, while also driving the sustainable development of the global knitting machinery industry.

“With the strategic investment of Santoni, we aim to strengthen our position as the preferred solution provider to many of the world’s leading textile manufacturers and top brands as well as continue working with industry talents as we provide valuable and essential know-how to drive premium ‘Made in Germany’ textile machinery.” said Robert Czajkowski, Managing Director of Terrot GmbH. "We have found a strong, globally active partner with clear dedication to quality, performance and excellent expertise in all circular knitting segments, who understands the unique value proposition and potentials of our portfolio and with whom we can realize our growth objectives” he added.

At this year’s Techtextil India, the Polymer Processing Solutions Division of the Swiss Oerlikon group will be presenting the trade audience with new applications, special processes and sustainable solutions focusing on the production of industrial textiles. Between September 9 and 12, the discussions at Jio World Convention Centre (JWCC), Mumbai, will be concentrating on airbags, seat belts, tire cord, geotextiles, filter nonwovens and their diverse applications.

More polyester for airbags
The yarns used in airbags are made predominantly from polyamide. As a result of increasingly diverse airbag applications and also the increasing size of the systems used, polyester is today used as well, depending on the application requirements and cost-benefit considerations. Against this background, the Oerlikon Barmag technol-ogies make an invaluable contribution. In addition to high productivity and low energy consumption, they particularly excel in terms of their stable production processes. Furthermore, they comply with every high quality standard for airbags, which – as in the case of virtually all other textile products used in vehicle construction – must provide the highest level of safety for vehicle occupants - without any loss of function in any climate and for the lifetime of the vehicle

Buckle up!
Seat belts have to withstand tensile forces in excess of three tons and simultaneously stretch in a controlled manner in emergencies in order to reduce the load in the event of impact. A seat belt comprises approximately 300 filament yarns, whose individual, high-tenacity yarn threads are spun from around 100 individual filaments. “With our unique, patented Single Filament Layer Technology, we offer a sophisticated and simultaneously gentle high-tenacity (HT) yarn process for manufacturing these lifesavers and other applications made from industrial yarn”, explains André Wissenberg, Head of Marketing.

Road reinforcement using geotextiles
Low stretch, ultra-high tenacity, high rigidity – industrial yarns offer outstanding properties for the demand-ing tasks carried out by geotextiles; for instance, as geogrids in the base course system under asphalt. Normally, geotextiles have extremely high yarn titers of up to 24,000 denier. Oerlikon Barmag system concepts simultaneously manufacture three filament yarns of 6,000 denier each. Due to the high spinning titers, fewer yarns can be plied together to the required geo-yarn titer in a more cost- and energy-efficient manner.

hycuTEC –  quantum leap for filter media
In the case of its hycuTEC hydro-charging solution, Oerlikon Neumag offers a new technology for charging nonwovens that increases filter efficiency to more than 99.99%. For meltblown producers, this means material savings of 30% with significantly superior filter performance. For end users, the consequence is noticeably improved comfort resulting from significantly reduced breathing resistance. With its considerably lower water and energy consumption, this new development is also a future-proof, sustainable technology.

Giorgio Calculli has been appointed new managing director of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers. A law graduate with a Master’s degree in training and employment policies, he has been on staff at ACIMIT since 2006 as head of the Association’s training, internal relations and technical department. Calculli takes over as ACIMIT managing director from Federico Pellegata, who after 25 years managing the Association has been appointed CEO of ACIMIT Servizi srl, the company set up by ACIMIT to provide services in support of associated member companies for the promotion of the Italian textile machinery industry in Italy and abroad.

“It has been a truly enriching experience,” asserts Federico Pellegata, “for which I am grateful to our associated members, ACIMIT’s Board, and the Association’s presidents who have served during my years in ACIMIT. However, my commitment to continue to promote the Italian textile machinery sector by no means ends here. As CEO of ACIMIT Servizi, I will continue to work relentlessly to ensure that ITMA, the world’s primary textile machinery trade fair, remains a representative showcase for the success of Italian manufacturers in the sector, as has been the case for the editions of the exhibition held in Italy in 2015 and 2023.”

ACIMIT managing director Giorgio Calculli comments: “I wish to thank the Board of ACIMIT for the appointment and for the opportunity to lend continuity to the work carried out by Federico Pellegata, for whom the success enjoyed at the latest edition of ITMA is only the most evident expression. I will work to further develop the membership base and ensure member companies receive maximum support from the Association in their business activities.”