From the Sector

SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, will be participating in the International Textile Machinery Association exhibition (ITMA 2023) in Milan, Italy this June.

The Next-Generation group of machines is represented by the letter ‘R,’ first used in the SWG-XR WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine launched last year in time for SHIMA SEIKI's 60th Anniversary event. The SWG-XR name is based on the original SWG-X four-needlebed WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine which debuted at the Milan ITMA in 1995. As ITMA returns to Milan, SWG-XR refers to its origin as a pioneering invention that launched a new genre of seam-free knits produced in one entire piece. At the same time it represents a renewal of SHIMA SEIKI's commitment to its customers, the industry and the environment, as all aspects of the machine were re-evaluated in terms of its purpose, the way it is manufactured, how it is used and how it impacts the environment. The same renewal has been applied to the rest of the company's product lineup, and it is this renewal that becomes the core of SHIMA SEIKI's exhibition concept for ITMA 2023: "Reborn."

Of the 9 knitting machines SHIMA SEIKI is exhibiting, 8 machines will be part of the Next-Generation lineup, ranging from WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines and computerized flat knitting machines to glove knitting machines. More than 300 items will be on display as proposals for knitted applications in various fields ranging from fashion, sports, shoes, bags and accessories to medical, safety, automotive, aeronautical and other wearable and industrial textile applications.

In addition to machine technology, SHIMA SEIKI's SDS-ONE APEX series computer graphic design system and software will be shown with their latest software upgrades that feature significant improvements in knit programming, 3D functions and speed. Demonstrations will be available for a comprehensive fashion tech solutions package based on realistic virtual sampling and supported by various digital solutions and web services.

Fibre Extrusion Technology Ltd (FET) of Leeds, UK will be exhibiting at ITMA 2023, taking place between 8-14 June Milan, Italy. FET has commissioned its biggest ever stand to reflect the company’s commitment to this event and the textile industry.

FET designs, develops and manufactures extrusion equipment for a wide range of high value textile material applications worldwide. Central to FET’s success has always been its ability to provide customers with advanced facilities and equipment, together with unrivalled knowledge and expertise in research and production techniques.

The new FET Fibre Development Centre will further improve this service, allowing clients to trial their own products in an ideal environment. Resident equipment in the Fibre Development Centre reflects the wide range of fibre extrusion systems offered by FET to clients worldwide and will enable continued growth of the company through innovation.  

For the first time at ITMA, the new FET Spunbond range will feature. This system provides opportunities for the scaled development of new nonwoven fabrics based on a wide range of fibres and polymers, including bicomponents. Recent customers to benefit from FET spunbond systems include the University of Leeds and an integrated metlblown / spunbond system at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany.

FET’s established expertise remains in laboratory and pilot meltspinning equipment for a vast range of applications, such as precursor materials used in high value technical textiles, sportswear, medical devices and specialised novel fibres from exotic and difficult to process polymers. FET has successfully processed almost 30 different polymer types in multifilament, monofilament and non-woven formats, collaborating with specialist companies worldwide to promote greater sustainability through innovative manufacturing processes. Where melt spinning solutions are not suitable, FET provides a viable alternative with pilot and small scale production wet spinning systems.

A major theme at ITMA will again be sustainability. The FET range of laboratory and pilot extrusion lines is ideally suited for both process and end product development of sustainable materials. “This year we are celebrating FET’s 25th anniversary” says FET Managing Director Richard Slack “and we look forward to meeting customers at ITMA, where we can discuss their fibre technology needs.”

Svegea of Sweden – a member of TMAS, the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – has recently installed an EC300-S collarette cutter for the high speed production of tubular apparel components as well as an FA350 automatic roll slitter at the plant of Löffler, in Ried im Innkreis, Austria.

The EC 300-S collarette cutter is equipped with the computer-controlled True-Drive II and high pre-feed device, which is used by garment manufacturers around the world for the production of tubular apparel components such as cuff and neck tapes and other seam reinforcements. It operates at speeds of up to 20,000 metres per hour. The integrated, fully automatic FA350 roll slitter FA500 roll slitter is equipped with three separately adjustable settings enabling three different band widths to be cut within the same cutting cycle. Automatic tube sewing units are provided for sewn tubes in optional rolled or flat folded forms, depending on customer preference.

Sports and knitwear specialist Löffler is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. Its plant in Ried houses 25 circular knitting machines and three seamless knitting machines with an annual output of around 905,000 square metres of fabric, and in addition to product development, design, cutting and some sewing are all carried out in-house.

Löffler is known for its transtex under garments, which ushered in the two-layer principle of structures combining hydrophobic polypropylene and other fibres like cotton, Modal, Tencel or merino wool.

Before transtex, endurance athletes usually wore pure cotton underwear next to their skin, which became wet over time and cooled the body down. Löffler’s two-layer fabric prevented this, since the polypropylene does not absorb moisture and instead wicks it to the outside, where it can evaporate to keep the skin dry.

Innovation has been ongoing ever since, and in December, Löffler received an ISPO Award 2022 for transtex Retr’x – its latest functional underwear made from recycled polypropylene from textile waste and a combination of recycled and GOTS-certified organic cotton. Transtex Retr’x is neither dyed or bleached and is Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex as well as Made In Green by Oeko-Tex approved.

In addition to its own branded products, the plant makes sports garments for sister company Fischer, which is also based in Ried, and is at the same time involved in significant government tender projects, including the supply of polo shirts for the Austrian Red Cross and for the German and Austrian police forces. Combined, Löffler and Fischer employ approximately 700 people in the region of Upper Austria.

Montex Maschinenfabrik – the key site for the manufacturing of Monforts finishing machines in Austria – has celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022.

Located in St. Stefan, in the centre of Austria’s Lavant Valley in Carinthia, the advanced manufacturing hub was founded by Monforts in 1982.

“From the outset, we have specialised in all aspects of machine production, including high-precision sheet metal working, laser cutting and welding, and the pre-assembly of machines and components, , along with a well-organised quality management and spare parts service,” says Montex plant manager Gert Hanzl.

“We work very closely with the Monforts research and development team in Mönchengladbach, Germany, to take the latest new ideas through testing and prototyping, in readiness for future series production,” Hanzl says. “We are fully exploiting the many new possibilities in the continuous development of design and manufacturing methods. The respective electrical switch cabinets for the machines are delivered just-in-time from Monforts in Germany according to our production schedules.”

While there is standardisation in series-produced Monforts machines, Montex is also increasingly called upon to construct bespoke machines with unique designs, according to the special needs of customers in technical textile or special textiles, he adds.

The core Monforts machine range, including the industry standard Montex stenters, along with relaxation dryers, Thermex dyeing ranges, Monfortex compressive shrinking ranges and Montex®Coat coating units is built at the Austrian site.

The Japanese textile brand ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance continues its eco-high tech path and joins ISPO, the influential fashion and textile fair dedicated to sportwear and athleisure-wear, as part of an Asahi Kasei space within the ISPO Brandnew area, presenting its AW 2024/2025 & SS2024 collections, made of high-tech fabrics implementing new-generation values, with the aim of keeping nature, body and mind in harmony.

2022 is a special time for Asahi Kasei as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. This year at ISPO Munich (28-30^th November), Asahi Kasei Group present its innovation world featuring three of its brands: ECOSENSOR™, ROICA™ and RespiGard™.
 
ECOSENSOR™ presents 47 new references that meet the needs of the contemporary consumer, such as durability, wellbeing and performance. Being capable of combining active climate control, exquisite touch, lightness and comfort with sustainable values, ECOSENSOR™ stands out as a unique eco-high-tech performance proposition in its market. The collection covers the different market applications with 3 items for INNERWEAR, 1 for OUTERWEAR, 13 for SPORT KNIT and 30 for SPORT WOVENS.

New this season is the application of the RespiGard™ by Polypore unique membrane designed for outdoor apparel. Its innovative pore structure is too small for water droplets to penetrate but features high porosity that allows for airflow and moisture evaporation.

In order to show at best the performances and possible applications of the fabrics made with RespiGard™, ECOSENSOR™ will feature at its ISPO space an ad hoc created outfit by the outerwear brand.

Furthermore, the majority of ECOSENSOR™ fabrics are made with sustainable ingredients which are certified by international certifications such as GRS and RCS through a traceable and transparent production process and supply chain.  100% of the stretch articles (representing 35% of the collection) are made with ROICA™ EF by Asahi Kasei, the recycled stretch yarn made from pre-consumer materials. Even the dyeing and finishing phases - key moments for performancewear - have been certified by international labels such as bluesign® or OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.

BOGNER has been dressing the German national ski team since 1952. The enthusiasm for alpine skiing and the technical innovations in winter sports fashion unite BOGNER, the global pioneer for athluxury sports fashion, and the top athletes of the DSV. The long-standing partnership contributes to outstanding international success and many iconic sports moments that can be celebrated together.

In 2022, both partners celebrate milestone anniversaries: 90 years of BOGNER and 70 years of DSV.
The anniversaries will be marked with new innovations in the BOGNER-DSV collection: tthe innovative Schoeller® - Energear™ material consists of a titanium-mineral matrix that can return far-infrared rays to the body when used in textiles. The recovered energy is said to have a positive effect on the body and can accelerate muscle regeneration.

The styles of the BOGNER-DSV anniversary collection are in a color palette of Lemon, Rock, Off-White and Black, and consist of a double down jacket with rain jacket, thermal jacket, softshell jacket, light down vest, overalls, athlete pants, additionally reinforced technician pants as well as racing shorts, the iconic racing suit, and a rain cape. In addition, the collection is complemented by headwear and a team sweater
This year, BOGNER is dressing a total of 200 athletes, coaches and support staff from the alpine skiing sector. As in every collection, the racing suits of the DSV athletes will be tailor-made to guarantee the perfect fit and performance in the respective disciplines such as downhill, super G, giant slalom and slalom.

90 years of BOGNER and 70 years of DSV represent many iconic moments, common goals, teamwork and Olympic Games. The success story continues with the next joint highlight: the SKI World Championships in Meribel/Courchevel.

For winter sports fans and passionate skiers, a selection of outfits based on the DSV collection is available in BOGNER stores, on bogner.com and from selected wholesale partners.

Long-standing BTMA member James Heal is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, the company’s formation dating back to 1872, when it was listed as an oil and tallow merchant and mill furnisher in Yorkshire, UK.

Today, as a testing equipment manufacturer for textiles and nonwovens, James Heal continues to expand its range, with a focus on making testing simple – most notably with the introduction of its Performance Testing collection of instruments, most recently the AirPro and HydroView systems.

AirPro
The new James Heal AirPro air permeability tester is used to test the resistance of the flow of air through woven, knitted and nonwoven textiles. Its software offers flexibility with standards and  comprehensive reporting options and different test head sizes are available, making it suitable for a range of applications and standards

HydroView
The HydroView hydrostatic head tester is meanwhile designed to measure the penetration of water in materials which have an end use that requires water resistance, such as those in the medical, geotextiles and nonwovens sectors. It is also proving essential in the testing of end-use applications for technical textiles, such as in protective gloves, diving dry suits and winter sports apparel, to fishing waders, roofing, tenting, ground sheets and more.

BTMA member Sellers Textile Engineers is marking its 110th anniversary this year with the introduction of a new concept in carpet shearing, as the essential final step in ensuring tuft uniformity and ‘just new’ freshness in finished carpet rolls.

The company has for many years offered two options in the construction of its shearing cylinders – the first, namely the ‘strap-on’, incorporates spiral blades bolted to the cylinder body and the second, known as the ‘caulked-in’, includes spirals which are fixed very securely in a machined groove within the machine.

The new Sellers’ Hybrid Shearing Cylinder combines the benefits of both, resulting in an improved cut and finer finish, in addition to longer repeatable finishing and increased rigidity.

“The Hybrid Shearing Cylinder has all the advantages of the ‘strap-on’ spiral blade to provide a sharper and cleaner cut, along with enhanced rigidity which significantly lengthens the intervals between the necessary regrinding of the blade,” explains Sellers Director Neil Miller. “We currently have six Hybrid Shearing Cylinders operating in the field and the earliest, which has been installed in both No1 Head position, where the majority of the shearing operation and heaviest cut is performed, and also in No3 Head, where the sharper cutting angle has resulted in a much improved surface quality.”

Sellers shearing machines have led the field in carpet finishing for many decades, enabling the leading manufacturers to stay competitive by enabling the highest quality of finish to be achieved economically and efficiently.

The latest advanced features of these machines include a load cell tension control drive system, an automated touchscreen for easy operator control and fault diagnosis, an enhanced cleaning system including cylinder and blade separation and fully controllable pivoting beds. Further options include thickness monitoring, seam detection and metal detection systems.

“The Hybrid Shearing Cylinder will become standard on our latest machines and also be made available for retrofitting, to provide significant benefits to our existing users,” says Miller. “All of our equipment is designed, manufactured, assembled and tested at our plant in the UK, and as one of the few remaining European engineering companies to make all of our components in-house – with now over a century of accumulated know-how – flexibility in design allows our finishing solutions to be targeted to specific customers and their product requirements. Aligned to this is a lead in process control systems which ensure the accurate control, reliability and repeatability of the processing parameters on all of our machines.”

Sellers remains committed to providing complete finishing solutions for all carpet, tile and artificial grass products. Its range includes machines for tufted secondary backing, both conventional, powder and extrusion lamination, Wilton and Axminster products, artificial grass and foam lines, coating lines for bitumen, PVC, PU and other polymers, as well as shearing for all carpet products.

Ongoing developments on the company’s coating and drying lines have resulted in improved guiding and product tension control as well as dryer efficiency, reducing heat loss and optimising energy use. These include a re-design of the fan pressure boxes and impingement nozzles to increase airflow efficiency, modulating gas burners and introducing easy clean, accessible filters.

In addition, the proven dual zone system has been enhanced, giving a temperature differential of up to 80°C between top and bottom zones. Dryers can be heated by either gas or steam and operation and access have been simplified with controls via touchscreen and PLC.

An extensive range of ancillary equipment is available to provide maximum flexibility to cover product requirements, for both new processing lines and as upgrades to existing equipment.

“Carpet manufacturing is now based on well-established, tried and trusted processes and it’s rare for new innovations to be introduced into this sector,” says Jason Kent, CEO of the British Textile Machinery Association. “The new Sellers Hybrid Shearing Cylinder can provide a competitive edge for manufacturers which is currently being proven in the field. It’s one of a number of new innovations the company is planning to showcase at next year’s ITMA exhibition in Milan.”

Wild Wonder – a hue inspired by the warm tones of harvested crops – is AkzoNobel’s Color of the Year 2023. Its upbeat glow connects with nature, creating a sense of energy and positivity.

As people search for support, connection, inspiration and balance in the world today, they’re diving into the wonders of the natural world to find it. Extensive research conducted by a team of in-house paints and coatings color experts and international design professionals found hope at the heart of global social, design and consumer trends.

“Wild Wonder speaks to us in a language we instinctively understand,” says Heleen van Gent, Creative Director of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Center. “Nature is what inspires us and makes us feel better in our lives and in our homes. That’s why, for the first time in 20 years, our entire color palette is inspired by the rhythms of nature.”

Four decorative paint color palettes have been designed around Wild Wonder: Lush Colors (the forest hues), Buzz Colors (meadow brights), Raw Colors (harvest shades) and Flow Colors (seashore tones). For consumers personalizing their homes and urban environments, the palettes make it easy to choose wall colors for a timeless look that’s also bang on trend.

Color of the Year is the spark of inspiration that ignites a long-term design partnership with industrial coatings customers. On-trend colors, textures and special effects have been designed for the aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, metal furniture, lighting, cabinetry, flooring, building products and architecture markets, as well as decorative paints. Using innovative digital tools such as the AkzoNobel Design app, coatings experts and customers work together to create the best finish for their products. 2

The year 2023 brings two major milestones to the Global Aesthetic Center. Its ColourFutures trend forecast will celebrate its 20^th anniversary, while the team also reaches three decades of trend analysis, color research, color design and art direction at AkzoNobel.

The 50th INNATEX fair opens its gates to a Green Fashion trade audience from 29 to 31 July 2022 in Hofheim-Wallau, near Frankfurt. At this anniversary fair, over 200 labels will be exhibiting, a wide range of experts and organisations will be gathering, and elaborate features and facilities are planned for the Rhein-Main exhibition centre.

According to INNATEX project manager Alexander Hitzel, one highlight is the Community Area, which brings together a range of experts. In short lounge talks, they reveal insights into what they are currently working on and a dialogue format encourages personal discussion. Mirjam Smend, whom we know well from Greenstyle Munich, introduces her recently launched sustainability magazine, Pureviu, and facilitates the morning talks.

Alongside standard bodies such as IVN and GOTS, which have taken part in INNATEX for many years, younger projects such as Fairmodel and the digital platform Retraced will be part of this special area. Fairtrade Germany, Femnet and the VDMD are to be found there too. Almost all of them are joining in with the Ask Me Anything dialouge format. Interested attendees can pre-book a slot of up to ten minutes for a personal discussion with the expert of their choice.

The supportive activities that had to be suspended during the pandemic are enjoying a comeback at this year’s summer fair: five newcomers to INNATEX designated DesignDiscoveries will be presenting their projects in another special area. Vegtus, from Barcelona, produces sneakers and other products from cactus leather. Natural textiles such as organic cotton are used by Lounge Cherie, a yoga fashion label.

Products for kids through to seniors, classics and streetwear, footwear and accessories
Nordlicht similarly relies on recyclable, renewable natural fibres for its outerwear, bags and accessories. The field of circular fashion is also served by the remaining two Design Discoveries. Both Nature is Future, with its handmade sneakers, and Freibeutler, with its functional rucksacks, make extensive use of recycled materials, while also paying due attention to broader sustainability aspects.

Regular INNATEX exhibitors include Lana, Chapati and Didymos, all of whom are also celebrating anniversaries. Labels such as Anokho with their colourful accessories in jacquard fabrics and Danish label Angel Circle with its plus-size fashion are exhibiting for the first time.