From the Sector

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced three recipients for the INDA Lifetime Service Award and Lifetime Technical Achievement Awards. David Powling, Paul Latten, and Arnold Wilkie are being recognized for their key contributions to the advancement of the nonwovens industry and INDA.

David Powling and Paul Latten will receive their awards at the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, June 18th beginning at 4:30 pm
Arnold Wilkie will receive his award at the RISE® Conference, October 1st at 4:30 pm.

The Award recipients are:

David Powling
David Powling has worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation for nearly 25 years and has been a contributor to the Wipes Task Force and Technical Committees at INDA and EDANA for over 15 years. Powling served as Chairman of the INDA Wipes Task Force from 2009-2013. His work on these committees include developing the first and second edition of the Flushability Guidance Document (GD) and he was later instrumental in the roll out of the third and fourth edition GDs. Throughout this time, Powling coordinated activities with Kimberly-Clark Corporation to provide critical supporting data, as these flushability test protocols were developed.

Powling has been actively involved in collection studies where he was key in framing the work packages of those studies, collating and analyzing the data, and drafting reports. These collection studies include: Moraga, CA (advisor); Maine – Part #1 and Part #2 (hands-on); Jacksonville (hands-on); and the Northern and Southern California studies in 2023, which combined, was the largest study to date. Powling led the charge in the California study and was personally involved in identifying 1,745 samples.

Powling has been a key technical contributor to the INDA Government Relation efforts that has resulted in labelling regulations in multiple U.S. states. He has also been an active participant in efforts to develop an ISO standard for flushable products.  In this effort, he was a test method sub-team leader during the preparation of the proposed ISO standard responsible for organizing appendices of existing flushability methodologies. Additionally, Powling has been awarded, or has pending, 25+ U.S. patents, including many covering the development of dispersible wet wipes.

Paul Latten
Paul Latten has been an active member of the nonwoven and fiber industries for over 35 years. Most recently he has led innovation at Southeast Nonwovens, commercializing more than 75 new nonwoven products per year. Prior to joining Southeast Nonwovens, Latten held senior leadership positions with Basofil, Consolidated Fibers, Invista, and KoSa (and Trevira and Hoechst Celanese precursors to KoSa.)

Latten has a successful career of reinvigorating company R&D efforts by instilling a focus on customer-centric innovation. He is an inventor of record for a number of patents and pending applications. Latten has given numerous presentations on innovative nonwoven materials, at events such as INDA’s World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics), the VISION International Conference, and the Converting and Bonding (CAB) Conference.

His recent innovations have been diverse in scope and include nonwovens for use in hydrogen fuel cells, moisture detection media, proprietary wipe designs, and natural fiber-based packaging. Aside from new fiber and nonwoven products, Latten has championed process innovation that has resulted in tangible output gains that broadened the market opportunity for his current and prior companies.

Latten’s portfolio of innovations has spanned across the nonwoven markets, often involving wetlaid and drylaid nonwovens. These include materials for moisture detection, synthetic papers, fuel cell cathodes, protective covers for treats, melamine nonwovens for surface treatment, and the development of binder fibers. His work also touched upon disposable hygiene applications entailing dry-laid web containing hollow synthetic fibers to improve absorbent core fluid uptake.

Latten has been a board member of INDA for multiple terms and served as Chairman in 2008-2010. Additionally, he has contributed to many INDA conference planning committees, helping drive the success of these events.

Arnold Wilkie
Arnold Wilkie has a distinguished career in advancing yarn, fiber, and nonwoven technologies since 1970. Since 1988, he has been President and Owner of Hills, Inc. where he has sustained their innovative culture. Wilkie has over 40 patents and applications covering yarns, bicomponent fibers, ultra-fine fibers, nanofibers, dissolvable filaments, meltblown nonwovens, and polymer processing innovations. He established Hills as a leading innovator in bicomponent fiber nonwovens and in the equipment to produce these materials. During Wilkie’s time leading Hills, their pilot capabilities have become well-known and highly regarded for enabling material innovations.

Many of his patents pertain to the development of equipment solutions that enable the production of complex bi- and multi-component fiber structures. These solutions include the method of forming a continuous filament spun-laid web, the method and apparatus for producing polymer fibers and fabrics including multiple polymer components, the method and apparatus for controlling airflow in a fiber extrusion system, and controlling the dissolution of dissolvable polymer components in plural component fibers.

Arnold Wilkie, President, Hills, Inc., earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the University of West Florida. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Florida, and has been engaged in the synthetic fibers industry since 1970. The first 17 years were with the Monsanto Company, where he held positions in Fiber Process Engineering, Fiber Product R&D, and Product Management. Since 1988, he has been a majority Owner and President of Hills, Inc., a 52-year-old company located in West Melbourne, Florida, specializing in the development, manufacture, and supply of advanced custom fiber extrusion equipment. Wilkie has been involved with and supported The Nonwovens Institute, since its founding in 1991 as the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC), with Hills joining as a Member in 2001

In a move to enhance the global competitiveness of the Turkish apparel industry, the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP).

IHKIB, representing 80% of Türkiye's apparel exports, aims to facilitate and guide its members in navigating new markets and staying abreast of sectoral developments.
WRAP, a US-based non-profit organization, focuses on promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical working conditions within the textile and apparel industry.

Mr. Selcuk Mehmet Kaya, Chairman of the International Relations and Sustainability Committee of IHKIB, and Mr. Avedis Seferian, President and CEO of WRAP, officially inked a collaboration agreement on March 8, 2024, marking a significant step towards fostering business relations between Türkiye and the USA. The agreement focuses on a pilot project developed by IHKIB and WRAP, aiming to identify leading Turkish apparel companies exporting to the USA and encouraging these facilities to attain WRAP certification. In return, WRAP will provide in-person and virtual training at no charge to guide these facilities through the certification process. The project seeks to strengthen business ties between Türkiye and the USA, creating additional opportunities for mutual cooperation between the parties in both countries.

In the fourth quarter of 2023 Italian textile machinery orders index, drawn up by the Economics Department of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, appears to be stationary compared to data recorded for the same period in 2022. In terms of absolute value, the index stood at 82.4 points (basis: 2015=100).

This is the result of an upswing in orders from foreign markets, counterbalanced by declining orders on the domestic front. While orders in Italy decreased at 18% rate, a 4% increase was observed abroad. The absolute value of the index on foreign markets amounted to 77.9 points, whereas it came in at 126.2 points domestically. Overall for the fourth quarter, the average order backlog yielded 3.7 months of assured production.

For the whole 2023 year, the index declined 25% overall compared to the 2022 average (absolute index of 82.4). On the home front however, the index dropped 24% (absolute index of 124.5), while slipping 25% abroad (absolute index of 78.4).

ACIMIT president Marco Salvadè commented the data: “The orders index for October – December 2023, as elaborated by our Economics Department, confirms an intake of orders that is still weak, with a negative trend in demand for machinery that is ongoing for the domestic market.” Nonetheless, the orders index abroad shows a slight increase. “We estimate that the global geopolitical context is still a source of concern,” continued Salvadè, specifying that, “For the first nine months of 2023, Italian exports on major global markets (i.e. China, Turkey, India and the United States of America), confirm a widespread decline. However, some positive signs emerged in the fourth quarter of last year, as reflected by the latest orders index. For 2024 we expect a consolidation of this trend reversal.”

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), spanning the entire spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber to finished sewn products, commended Congress for passing the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that will help preserve the Berry Amendment supply chain and direct the Department of Defense to expand its procurement of domestically-made textile goods for military use.

“We applaud the House and Senate for getting NDAA across the finish line and are pleased the legislation will now go to President Biden for his signature,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas. “NCTO sincerely thanks Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) for sponsoring language expressing concern about offshoring textile manufacturing and highlighting the need for the DOD and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to procure more domestically-produced textile goods for military use. The language also requires the DOD to report on the feasibility of requiring American-made home textile goods to be used on military installations.”

“We also want to thank Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) who sponsored language expressing concern about economic factors impacting the capacity of the U.S. textile industry to meet DOD requirements and calling on the agency to assess labor shortages, contract forecasting and lack of investment in manufacturing capabilities and report back to Congress.”

Finally, this NDAA report language calls for DOD to report to Congress its assessment of the textile industry as it relates to labor shortages, contract forecasting and lack of investment in manufacturing capabilities.

“The domestic textile industry and supply chain are vital to the warm industrial base for the production of critical items that contribute to our nation’s health and safety. It is imperative that Congress and the administration continue to support this industry—a key contributor to our national defense that supplies over 8,000 products a year to our men and women in uniform—through expanded government procurement of American-made items. The NDAA is critical to supporting this manufacturing base,” Glas said.

The textile machinery orders index, as processed by the Economics Department of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, dropped fully 20% during the third quarter of 2023, compared to the same period for July to September 2022. In absolute terms, the index stood at 84.2 points (basis: 2015=100).

This result is due to a reduction in new orders recorded by manufacturers both on the domestic market and abroad. The decrease in orders in Italy came in at 45%, whereas the drop was just 13% on foreign markets. The absolutevalue of the index abroad stood at 80.5 points, and 119.4 points in Italy. During the year’s third quarter, new orders reached 3.7 months of assured production.

ACIMIT President Marco Salvadè commented on the data, stating that, “The order index for the period from July to September 2023 confirms a contraction in collected orders that was already evident in previous quarters. What worries us above all is the situation with our domestic market, where the declining trend has persisted for seven consecutive terms. Due to this situation, which does not only concern the textile machinery industry, urgent measures are needed from Italian Government to strengthen the competitiveness of Italian manufacturers.”

As far as foreign markets are concerned, the orders index confirms an overall weakened global demand for textile machinery. Indeed, for the first half of 2023, Italian exports slowed in a variety of essential benchmark markets, such as Turkey, China and the United States.

“The global economic scenario remains negative, as consumers are facing a reduced purchasing power, with investments in the textile sector consequently also slowing down,” concludes Salvadè. “In less than a month, ITMA ASIA + CITME will be held from 19 to 23 November in Shanghai, primed as one of the world’s major trade fairs for the textile machinery industry, with the participation of roughly 60 Italian textile machinery manufacturers. We can expect some significant indications on the industry’s state from this event, which will be staged in one of the strategic markets for textile machinery demand.”

The Textile & Fashion Forum Helsinki 2023, organized by Finnish Textile & Fashion and EURATEX, highlights the discourse on sustainable practices within the textile and fashion industry. This two-day event, scheduled for 26-27 October at the Little Finlandia event center in Helsinki, will include a day of curated company visits.

Finland’s leading textile and fashion forum will showcase the industry's pioneering companies and their pursuit of a sustainable and resilient future. With insightful discussions, inspiring speakers, and thrilling business cases, the event drives transformation and sets new benchmarks for the textile and fashion sector.

The Textile & Fashion Forum Helsinki 2023 will focus on critical industry themes. The transformation of the textile and fashion industry relies on three key pillars: the creation of different circular business models matching growth with sustainability, a green and digital transition where information technology is necessary to deliver sustainability, and scaling the business, as how start-ups can make a leap and big companies can evolve their growth strategies. These three themes will be discussed in depth during the event.

The speaker lineup, drawn from Finland, Europe and beyond, demonstrates the expertise connecting on this platform. Noteworthy figures include Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, President & CEO of Marimekko; Kai Mykkänen, Minister of Climate and the Environment of Finland; Marcus Hartmann, Head of Public Affairs & Sustainability at H&M; Liljana K. Forssten, Range Strategist at IKEA; and Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner (on video).

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, is partnering with the Waterloo Filtration Institute to deliver the FiltXPO™ technical program on October 10-11, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. The Waterloo Filtration Institute was instrumental in recommending program topics and world-class presenters.

Engineers, scientists, and industry professionals will gain the latest insights into the filtration and separation topics affecting the industry today and into the future. The program features presentations include: filter media technologies, advancements and opportunities in filtration machinery and equipment, innovations in clean air for homes and urban areas, standards and testing, industry trends and new developments, and filtration challenges and opportunities.

The keynote for this year’s event is “IAQ Is the New Black” presented by Suzanne Shelton, President & CEO, Shelton Group. Shelton will share the latest data around consumer views on health, safety, people, and the planet. Participants will gain an understanding of the filtration opportunities and the challenges manufacturers face in communicating the value of their products.

A preview of the subject matter experts includes:

• AAF Flanders – “Air Filter Standards Activity and What It Means for Innovation”
• Ahlstrom – “Expanding Wetlaid Filtration Media Performance Through Innovation”
• Air Techniques International – “Application of Automated Filter Tester in Quality Control Testing: Importance of Consistent Aerosol Particle Size Distribution”
• American Truetzschler, Inc. – “How Really Good Filter Media Is Made”
• CEREX Advanced Fabrics – “The Antimicrobial Nylon Advantage”
• Elsner Engineering Works, Inc. – “When Does Automation Make Sense”
• Hollingsworth & Vose – “Accelerating Membrane Adoption with ROI”
• INDA – “Beyond Porter’s Five Forces – When Regulation Reshapes Markets”
• MANN+HUMMEL GmbH – “Filtration for Cleaner Urban Mobility – Introducing Horizon Europe Innovation Action Aersolfd”
• NatureWorks – “Optimizing Biopolymers to Improve Filter Performance – A Spectrum of Approaches and Opportunities”
• Palas GmbH – “Influence of Temperature and Humidity to Filter Efficiency and Dust Holding Capacity”
• Ptak Consulting – “Residential Filtration – Performance Against Infectious Aerosols”
• The University of Georgia – “Recent Advances in Melt Blown Nonwovens and Filter Media Research”

New this year to FiltXPO are Lightning Talks. Lightning Talks are an opportunity to connect with new trends, products, innovations, and ideas with speakers rotating every eight minutes. Presenting companies include Ahlstrom, Elsner Engineering Works, Inc., Gottlieb Binder GmbH, TSI, and the Waterloo Filtration Institute.

The FiltXPO exhibition takes place October 10-12 and will run concurrently with the technical program.

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.”

Dr. Laurie-Ann Agama, Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for Textiles, wrapped up a three-day visit of state-of-the art U.S. textile manufacturing facilities in North and South Carolina, highlighting the importance of trade policies that bolster the competitiveness of the vibrant domestic supply chain that contributes significantly to the U.S. economy and workforce.

Dr. Agama, who advises the nation’s top trade chief on textile and apparel trade policy matters and conducts and oversees negotiations affecting textiles and apparel products, was joined by USTR textile trade officials in touring seven textile manufacturers including: Glen Raven, Barnet, Standard Textile, Parkdale Mills, Beverly Knits, Gildan, and Unifi.

Her three-day tour culminated in an industry roundtable discussion with key textile executives hosted by Unifi, in Greensboro, N.C.

U.S. textile executives spanning the fiber, yarn, fabric, and finished product textile and apparel industries participated in the roundtable and outlined critical policies, such as: the importance of maintaining the yarn forward rule of origin in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and other trade agreements; advancing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and its importance to domestic manufacturers; closing the de minimis loophole in U.S. trade law; addressing larger systemic trade issues, particularly the use of forced labor, with China; and upholding buy American and Berry Amendment government procurement policies.

“We deeply appreciate Assistant USTR Agama’s visit to the heart of the U.S. textile industry in North and South Carolina this week to meet with U.S. textile executives and experience first-hand the breadth of the industry’s innovation, advanced sustainability practices, capital investments and critical contributions to local economies and the U.S. economy as a whole,” said Kim Glas, president and CEO of NCTO. “The three-day visit by Dr. Agama and the USTR textile team included facility tours of several NCTO member companies, all of which have made major investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that are part of a broader domestic industry supply chain that produced $65.8 billion in output in 2022 and employed 538,000 workers.”

Glas continued: “We are also grateful for Dr. Agama’s participation in the industry roundtable hosted by Unifi and substantive discussions around policy opportunities and challenges. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Agama, the USTR textile team and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai to advance policies that provide incentives for onshoring and nearshoring production and bolstering the industry’s competitiveness, while enforcing policies that address illegal trade practices that undermine this industry.”

“The U.S. textile industry has always been resilient, innovative, and a driving force of our nation’s competitiveness,” said Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles Dr. Laurie-Ann Agama. “For USTR, this local engagement and conversations underscore our need to create trade policies that put workers first and promote inclusive economic growth. The spinning, knitting, and weaving operations of the textile industry are at the center of many communities across the Carolinas. This was another opportunity to hear first-hand how we trade can create jobs that allow workers, businesses, and communities to thrive.”

INDA, the Association of the Nonwovens Fabrics Industry, announces the publication of a new study, North American Nonwoven Materials Annual Study 2022.

Based on actual surveys and interviews with producers, enhancing the accuracy and relevance, this study tracks machine additions, closures, and productivity improvements. This study is the industry benchmark for capacity and production information for North America and the only publication that provides an estimate of operating rates, based on nameplate machine capacity, through the year 2022. The 72-page study contains 43 figures and 11 tables.

“An element of INDA’s mission is to provide credible statistics to the nonwovens and engineered materials industry,” said Tony Fragnito, INDA President. “Our objective is to continually improve the quality of data and industry information. We feel the industry will greatly benefit from this in-depth resource for strategic planning and investment purposes,” Fragnito added.

The complete study is provided to producers who supplied key metrics. The Executive Summary, an overview of the findings and implications, will be offered to current INDA members on a complimentary basis.

The detailed study is available for purchase, with members receiving a discount.

Findings from this year’s study include:

• North American capacity continues to increase with investments being made across all the processes and for a variety of end-uses. The industry’s nameplate capacity utilization has increased year-over-year, for the fifth consecutive year.
• In 2022, capacity of nonwovens in North America reached 5.565 million tonnes, an increase from the previous year of 2.4% (net growth of 128,700 tonnes) and an improvement over the previous year’s growth rate of 1.8%.
• North American imports, in tonnage, decreased 24.3% in 2022 and exports decreased 16.3% due to market stabilization after COVID. Nonwoven production tends to stay within the region, so the net trade balance (imports less exports) accounted for less than 5.5% of the region’s capacity.

“2022 was a period of economic adjustment and stabilization,” said Mark Snider, Chief Market & Industry Analyst. “We’re seeing a controlled and consistent transition back to pre-pandemic levels of nonwoven growth.”