From the Sector

• Mit eStandards in die digitale Transformation starten
• Offene Werkstätten zeigen, wie eStandards auch im Mittelstand für bessere Wettbewerbsfähigkeit sorgen
• 40 Umsetzungsprojekte mit mittelständischen Unternehmen geplant

Köln, 12. September 2017. Für den digitalen Wandel sind Normen und Standards unverzichtbar – nicht nur in Großkonzernen, sondern auch im Mittelstand. Er ist das Herz der deutschen Wirtschaft und muss mit der Digitalisierung und der Nutzung neuer Technologien die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Deutschlands vorantreiben. Das neue „Mittelstand-4.0 Kompetenzzentrum eStandards“ unterstützt kleine und mittlere Unternehmen nicht nur im GS1 Germany Knowledge Center, dass die Offene Werkstatt Köln beheimatet, sondern auch an den Standorten Hagen und Leipzig bei der digitalen Transformation.

Heute erfolgte der offizielle Projekt-Kickoff gemeinsam mit Unternehmen, Vertretern des Fördergebers BMWi (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie) und des Projektträgers DLR (Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt) sowie Vertretern aus Kammern und Verbänden. Erörtert wurde in diesem Rahmen auch, wie eStandards zu einer nachhaltigen Digitalisierung im Mittelstand beitragen.

„ Mit dem Zentrum für eStandards eröffnen wir das erste thematische Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum. Standards und Normen sind elementar für eine erfolgreiche Digitalisierung, denn sie definieren eine gemeinsame Sprache. Vernetzte Produktion, IT-Sicherheit, einheitliche Nutzererfahrung bis hin zum Datenaustausch brauchen klare Regeln und bewährte allgemein gültige Lösungen über Branchen hinweg“, sagt Dirk Wiese MdB und Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär bei der Bundesministerin für Wirtschaft und Energie. „Das Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum eStandards steht allen Unternehmen zur Verfügung, die sich vor Ort in Köln, Hagen oder Leipzig informieren und einbringen möchten, um die Digitalisierung mitzugestalten“, so der Parlamentarische Staatssekretär Dirk Wiese weiter.

Geschäftsstellenleiterin Bettina Bartz ergänzt: „Während der dreijährigen Projektlaufzeit wollen wir den Einsatz der verschiedensten Standards in zahlreichen Umsetzungsprojekten demonstrieren. Hierfür laden wir kleine und mittlere Unternehmen ein, sich bei uns zu melden, um in die Digitalisierung zu starten, Prozesse zu optimieren oder sich unverbindlich zu informieren.“

Grundsätzlich sollen herstellerunabhängige und offene Standardisierungslösungen für die Digitalisierung demonstriert und erprobt werden. Kompetente Ansprechpartner aus Forschung, Normung und Standardisierung sowie aus gemeinnützigen Instituten vermitteln Grundlagen, Praxiserfahrungen und aktuelles Wissen. Im Fokus steht die inner- und überbetriebliche Standardisierung einschließlich Usability, Nachhaltigkeit und neuer Geschäftsmodelle. Mit umfangreichen Transferhilfen, Vernetzungs- und Dialogformaten, Qualifizierungsangeboten sowie spezifischen webbasierten Tools entstehen zahlreiche Angebote, die im Rahmen regionaler und bundesweiter Öffentlichkeitsarbeit kommuniziert werden.

Getragen wird das Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum eStandards von einem Zusammenschluss der Partner der HAGENagentur Ges. für Wirtschaftsförderung, Stadtentwicklung, Tourismus mbH, des Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production gGmbH, des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Angewandte Informationstechnik (FIT) Sankt Augustin und des Fraunhofer-Zentrums für Internationales Management und Wissensökonomie IMW unter der Konsortialführerschaft von GS1 Germany.

Das Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum eStandards gehört zu Mittelstand-Digital. Mit Mittelstand-Digital unterstützt das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie die Digitalisierung in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen und dem Handwerk.

• Asia comes to Paris and is ready to buy

The next Business Beyond Borders matchmaking event will take place in Paris at Texworld, the leading textile, clothing and apparel trade fair, September 2017.

After two successful matchmaking sessions at Genera (Madrid) and African Utility Week (Cape Town), the next Business Beyond Borders (BBB) matchmaking event turns its attention to one of the most renowned European trade fairs – Texworld - the leading textile, clothing and apparel trade fair. Twice a year Texworld Paris welcomes exhibitors and professional buyers from all over the world a rich variety of products from basic textiles to creative high-end fabrics of excellent quality. Hosting thousands of visitors, Texworld Paris is famous as the must-attend market for textile companies, especially from the EU and Asian side.

Business Beyond Borders supports businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Clusters, to operate internationally. During the fair, BBB facilitates the participation and meetings between relevant potential trading partners from Europe and abroad with the aim of assisting them in the conclusion of business deals.

Welcoming Arnaldo Abruzzini, CEO of EUROCHAMBRES, says “with over 80% international exhibitors, Texworld is the perfect marketplace for EU textile SMEs keen to do business internationally”. Takin into account the Free Trade Agreements which have been concluded by the EU in the last five years and those that are currently under negotiation, the EU is making several progresses in facilitating international trade as well as on the simplification of the Rules of Origin. “The BBB matchmaking at Texworld present itself an opportunity to increase the export rate of textile and clothing products to non-EU markets, which currently stands at 20%.”

The event will also be supprted by Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. “With over 15 EEN partners co-organising the event – says Federica Leonetti, Chair of the Textile & Fashion EEN Sector Group – the companies taking part in the BBB matching event at Texworld will receive personalised support to be successful in their goals.”  

Companies attending the BBB Matchmaking will be able to benefit from a unique package:

Color Solutions International, a member of the DyStar Group is launching their Color Analysis for Spring/Summer 2019. Color Analysis is CSI’s trend forecasting magazine that provides high-level global color trend information for color managers, directors and designers to support the color palette development process. It contains a forecast of key colors, accents and core neutrals that will be most relevant for the upcoming seasons. The forecast is based on consumer reports, detailed market research, current social trends and generational mindsets. Every issue features an artist who influences and inspires forward thinking.

The magazine includes a seasonal color palette selected from a wide range of approximately 9,000 CSI colors. The color palette is also available as cotton swatches sold on a ring. Part of the CSI service offering is to provide color direction based on a wide scope of palette searches as well as validated color use. Every issue will include an exclusive Relative Color Popularity (RCP) report, which provides color validation based on seasonal color palette usage by comparing similar hues.
CSI and DyStar support brands, retailers and their business partners from development to production. The CSI and DyStar team of experts work together and assist their customers in color development, communication as well as in the dyeing and quality inspection process to achieve best possible results and sustainable fashion. All CSI products are produced with high-quality, eco-friendly DyStar colorants.
“The Color Analysis Magazine is an important feature of our service for designers, offering them competitive color trends for upcoming seasons. At CSI, we are here to assist with color selections and provide all the necessary tools needed for a successful seasonal palette.” -CSI Color and Trend Director.

Lectra has developed partnerships with over 850 fashion schools across the world, providing them with solutions and expertise to help the teachers prepare students with the skills they require for the workplace. Working with leading education partners, Lectra organises regular student competitions in association with customers. The latest competition with Istituto Secoli, renowned for its pattern-making savoir-faire, and organized with Armani, is a clear example of industry and education working hand-in-hand to nurture young fashion designers.
Students at Istituto Secoli developed their collections using Lectra’s Modaris® and Diamino® solutions to create their patterns, prototypes and markers. In addition, students from the master’s program in menswear cut their creations with Vector®, Lectra’s state-of-the-art fabric cutting solution.

Thanks to the trusted relationship that Lectra has with its customer G.A. Operations of the Giorgio Armani group, one of the winning students, graduating in menswear, has the opportunity to take up an internship in the collection development department. "We were very pleased with Lectra's initiative and were delighted to offer educational internships at G.A. Operations. We chose the winning student for his creative skills and for his training on Modaris and Diamino. This gives us the important advantage of bringing somebody with proven technical skills into our team," stated Giorgio Ferremi, industrial director G.A. Operations at Trento.

The H160 was designed by Airbus Helicopters to create added value for customers in terms of performance, economic competitiveness, safety and comfort. The use of Hexcel’s composite materials throughout the structure (fuselage, tail boom, tail rotor and main rotor blades) contributes to the lightweight fuel-saving design and performance optimization.
“Hexcel’s composite materials have been used in Airbus Helicopters’ programs for many years and we are honored to be continuing our long term relationship, based on innovation and continuous improvement” commented Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President Aerospace EMEA-AP. “We thank Airbus Helicopters for their selection and look forward to our ongoing supply of high performance, weight saving composites materials for this innovative rotorcraft”.
H160 configurations in development include offshore transportation, business and private aviation, emergency medical services, public services, and commercial passenger transport. The helicopter is planned to enter into service in 2019.

Schoeller Textil AG announces strategic cooperation at this year’s Outdoor in Friedrichshafen. At fair stand A4-402, visitors will experience the debut of Taurex® technology on Tuesday, 20 June, 2017. Tuesday, 20 June, 2017: Taurex® - a development from Red Bull and Schoeller Textil AG Red Bull and Schoeller are proud to unveil the jointly-developed Taurex®-finishing technology at Outdoor in Friedrichshafen. The Taurex® garment material and fabrics feature different types of fibers that encapsulate the essence of Red Bull into clothing – living up to claims of increased performance. The innovative Taurex® fabrics increase physical and mental performance capacity. Taurex® reflects the body’s energy back to the garment’s wearer. As a result, it provides improved wellbeing, greater concentration, reduced fatigue and speedy regeneration.
For some time now, Taurex® has been featured in the Red Bull clothing brand, AlphaTauri, but can now also be applied to other clothing brands, providing certain criteria are met. On 20 June, 2017, together with Red Bull staff, the Schoeller Competence Team provides detailed information on the Taurex® technology at the Schoeller fair stand A4-402.

With digitalization transforming the way consumers shop, today’s fashion companies are playing a neverending game of catch-up, as they compete for the attention of a generation of connected, fickle-minded millennials who want it all: personalization, sustainability, quality and speed, accessible at all times, across multiple channels, and at the lowest price. Industry 4.0 is not only revolutionizing how manufacturers operate, but also how brands and retailers need to function, if they want to be fast and agile enough to meet the needs of this demanding new consumer. The stakes are high and how effectively companies harness technology to put the consumer at the heart of their process will be the deciding factor in who comes out ahead and who gets left behind.

Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0 has undergone a drastic reboot to give fashion and apparel companies the speed and agility they need to tackle the challenges of Industry 4.0 head on. Lectra Fashion PLM 4.0, with the widest functional scope on the market, acts as an intelligent nerve center to the digital supply chain, from planning through design to production. This ensures a consistent flow of error-free data between processes, technologies and people. The system connects CAD, industry-standard software such as Adobe Illustrator, company IT systems (such as ERP) and external suppliers, so that actors across the supply chain can work on, save and share information on the platform, ensuring data integrity.
The solution also draws on best practices, fashion-business intelligence and real-world scenarios to automate administrative and repetitive tasks, with templates, standard libraries and shortcuts that allows more time for value-added activities. The final result is a fast, connected digital supply chain that helps fashion companies jump on trends quickly and deliver products that fulfill their customer’s expectations.

Compared to the past years we are a little late in advertising the upcoming 13th China International Recycled Polyester Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai at September 05 – 06, but as during the past twelve years we are expecting again an succesful international event with a large number of Mainland Chinese and Oversees delegates, speakers, exhibitiors and sponsors. The Conferece venue is the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao this year, which is located near the Hongqiao Airport and so about 30 min by car from the city and 15 min walking distance to the subway No. 6. With a production of about 8 Mio t/a the Chinese polyester recyclers are producing all kind of textile intermediates like staple fiber, POY, DTY, FDY, BCF, technical yarn and spunbond products based on mainly PET bottle flakes. Meanwhile also bottle-to-bottle and bottle-to-film or strapping technology is on the way. Therefore conference and exhibition are an ideal meeting place for those who are involved in the whole production chain including engineering and equipment manufacturer. Very interesting will be discussion and latest information about the impact of new governmental action to improve environmental standards. This new development might be of importance especially for those who are involved in raw material sourcing.

Eindrucksvoll spiegelte die INDEX als Leitmesse der Nonwovensindustrie die Dynamik des immer anspruchsvolleren Vliesstoffmarktes wider: Mehr Besucher und Aussteller als je zuvor suchten auf diesem internationalen Fachforum in Genf vier Tage lang den intensiven Austausch. Großes Interesse der Fachbesucher galt den neuentwickelten gewebten Bändern für die Vliesformierung, - verfestigung und -trocknung der GKD – GEBR. KUFFERATH AG. Im Mittelpunkt des Messeauftritts der Gewebespezialisten standen das Formierband CONDUCTIVE® 7690 sowie beschichtete Glashybrid- Gewebe für den Einsatz in Ein- und Doppelbandtrocknern. Da sich diese Produkte bereits bei namhaften Referenzkunden in der Praxis bewähren, nutzten zahlreiche Besucher auf der Messe die Gelegenheit für vertiefende Gespräche. Die Bandbreite der ganzheitlichen Vliesstoffkompetenz von GKD verdeutlichten außerdem Filtermedien aus Metallgewebe für die Polymerfiltration sowie das neue Produktsegment Spiralgliederbänder aus eigener Fertigung. Mit einem neuen Standdesign, das die verschiedenen Anwendungsbereiche optisch gliederte, unterstrich der Weltmarktführer für Technische Gewebe seine Anziehungskraft.