From the Sector

• Participants Embrace Renewed Face-to-Face Business with Global Leaders in Nonwovens & Engineered Materials at IDEA® 2022 and FiltXPO™

Approximately 5,000 participants embraced the opportunity to again engage in face-to-face business meetings with global leaders in nonwovens and engineered materials at IDEA® 2022 in Miami Beach, Fla., co-located with the second FiltXPO™,  North American’s only exhibition and conference dedicated exclusively to filtration and separation.

Industry participants at IDEA® 2022,  the 21 st edition of the world’s preeminent event for nonwovens and engineered fabric professionals, expressed their business confidence through the floor exhibits and the return to face-to-face business interaction. Scott Beir, Executive Officer, CFM Global, called IDEA® 2022 “an exceptional show.”

Bob Usher, Technical Director, US Fibers, added that his company made valuable business connections. According to Rolk Kammermann, Head of Sales and Marketing, Innovative Swiss Made Nonwovens, “the size and scope of IDEA and FiltXPO have been excellent for us as both exhibitors and as visitors.”

Organized by INDA, IDEA® also featured five essential nonwovens training classes; market presentations from China, Asia, Europe, North America and South America; industry recognitions with the IDEA® Achievement Awards and the IDEA® Lifetime Achievement Awards; and a welcome reception celebration.

Also, organized by INDA, FiltXPO™ featured five panels of global leaders in filtration and separation for the first-ever “Summit for Global Change,” discussing societal challenges such as indoor air quality, environmental sustainability, pandemic readiness, clean water, and filtration standards.  The event also featured a 1.5-day filter media training course, and sessions highlighting filter media market trends and filtration industry statistics.  

Exhibitors and attendees noted the welcome return to meeting face-to-face among industry senior leaders participating in the three-day event.

A highlight of IDEA® was the announcement of the IDEA® Achievement Awards by INDA, in partnership with Nonwovens Industry magazine. Moderated by Rousse and Karen McIntyre, Editor, Nonwovens Industry the awards recognize the leading introductions in equipment, raw materials, short-life, long-life and nonwovens products, and sustainability, since the previous IDEA® Exposition in 2019.

In addition, INDA presented the IDEA® 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award to Val Hollingsworth, board chair and CEO of Hollingsworth & Vose, and Nonwovens Industry presented the IDEA® Entrepreneur Achievement Award to Doug Brown, president of Biax-Fiberfilm/5K Fibres at the event.

IDEA® 2022 Achievement Awards winners:

• IDEA®  Equipment Achievement Award – Elastic Thread Anchoring (ETA) Sonotrode – Herrmann Ultrasonics, Inc.
• IDEA®  Raw Material Achievement Award – ODOGard – Rem Brands, Inc.
• IDEA® Short-Life Product Achievement Award – LifeSavers Wipes – LifeSavers LLC
• IDEA® Long-Life Product Achievement Award – Nanofiber Cabin Air Filter – MANN + HUMMEL GmbH
• IDEA®  Sustainability Advancement Award – Fiber-based Screw Caps – Glatfelter Corp. and Blue Ocean Closures
• IDEA®  Nonwoven Product Achievement Award – HYDRASPUN® Aquaflo – Sustainable Nonwoven Substrates – Suominen Corporation
• IDEA®, the Preeminent Event for the Nonwovens & Engineered Fabrics Industry, will next be held on its new 24-month schedule on April 23-25, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Names of the IDEA® Achievement Award honorees pictured:

Row 1, Left to right:
IDEA® Long-Life Product Achievement Award winner, Jon Nichols, MANN + HUMMEL, GmbH and Dave Rousse – Nanofiber Cabin Air Filter – MANN + HUMMEL, GmbH
IDEA®  Nonwoven Product Achievement Award winners, Pramod Shanbhag, Suominen Corporation, Karen McIntyre, Nonwovens Industry Magazine, and Avinav Nandgaonkar, HYDRASPUN® Aquaflo – Sustainable Nonwoven Substrates – Suominen Corporation
Row 2, left to right:
IDEA® Short-Life Product Achievement Award winner, Georgia Crawford, LifeSavers Wipes – LifeSavers LLC, and Karen McIntyre, Nonwovens Industry Magazine
IDEA® 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Val Hollingsworth, Hollingsworth & Vose, and Dave Rousse, President, INDA
IDEA®  Equipment Achievement Award winners, Uwe Peregi, Dave Rousse, and Thomas Herrmann – Elastic Thread Anchoring (ETA) Sonotrode – Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc.
Row 3, left to right:
IDEA®  Raw Material Achievement Award winner, David Schneider, ODOGard – Rem Brands, Inc. and Dave Rousse, INDA
IDEA®  Sustainability Advancement Award winner, Chris Astley, and Karen McIntyre Fiber-based Screw Caps – Glatfelter Corp. and Blue Ocean Closures
IDEA® Entrepreneur Achievement Award winner, Doug Brown, Biax-Fiberfilm / 5K Fibres

Looking back, 2021 was a positive year for the Albstadt-based circular knitting machine and braiding machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. After two tough years, sales exceeded Euro 100 million again last year, and the outlook for this year is promising, with production working at long-term full capacity in the circular knitting machine sector.

In order to maintain its market edge Mayer & Cie. continues to rely on digitisation of both its processes and its products. Substantial investment at its headquarters location, especially in machinery, is on the Mayer & Cie. agenda for 2022. In the years ahead a range of production machinery – lathes, gear cutting and grinding machines – is to be replaced at a scheduled cost running into low double-digit millions. Last year saw an investment in a robot-controlled laser hardening system for heat-treating machine components. The company passes an energy upgrade milestone these days with launching its new CHP cogeneration units.  
 
“Compared with 2020, our Group sales were up by about 40 per cent in 2021,” said Mayer & Cie. Managing Director Benjamin Mayer. After two difficult years in 2019 and 2020 the circular knitting machine manufacturer was able last year to restore sales to a stable level of about 103 million Euro. And it could have achieved an even better result. “Supply chain problems hampered production perceptibly,” the company’s managing director said. “In view of the order situation up to five per cent more might have been possible.” The Albstadt textile machinery manufacturer’s order position has stayed at a sound, high level since the fourth quarter of 2020, and orders in hand will already keep the circular knitting machine division busy until the end of the year, with orders coming in from all over the world, but especially, and with no change, from the company’s core markets Turkey, China and India.

The Management views with concern, however, the conflict in the Ukraine, which at first glance may not affect the sales market directly but might lead to general purchasing restraint in the capital goods sector that like the trade war between the United States and China, which began in 2018, would also affect Mayer & Cie. In addition, effects of the conflict such as high energy prices and interruptions in material supplies and logistics pose a genuine challenge in the further course of the year.

In the braiding machine division, the order position recovered in 2021. Sales of new machines and, especially, spare parts exceeded the 2020 figures significantly. Mayer & Cie. has once more won an award for its in-house and external digitisation measures as one of the most innovative German SMEs. The textile machinery manufacturer won a 2022 Top 100 award for its innovative processes in particular.

Sicomin supported the build of Dubai’s Museum of the Future and supplied its bio-based intumescent gelcoat as well as fire-retardant laminating resins for the production of over 200 double curved panels making up the interior of the Museum’s entrance lobby.

The Museum of the Future, a new addition to Dubai’s skyline by architects Killa Design, engineers Buro Happold and contractor BAM International, opened last week on 22nd February 2022 and features a large percentage of composite materials in the interior construction.

Advanced Fiberglass Industries (AFI) manufactured 230 double curved interior panels, a double-helix DNA structure staircase that scales the full seven levels of the museum and 228 GRP oval shaped light structures for the museums car parking area.

Adaptable mould technology from Danish company Adapa, was introduced by Advanced Fiberglass Industries, Dubai (AFI) to ensure that the interior panels could be delivered in line with the project schedule. As well as allowing each panel shape to be rapidly configured without the machining of traditional moulds, the adaptive mould technology massively reduced waste generated in the moulding process, contributing to the building’s low carbon LEED platinum credentials.

With a challenging structural and fire safety specification defined, Sicomin’s bio-based SGi128 intumescent gelcoat and SR1122 fire retardant laminating epoxy were chosen for the panels, an additional advantage being that in addition to high fire properties, SGi 128 is also formulated with over 30% carbon from renewable sources, reducing the final carbon footprint significantly.  

Sicomin worked alongside the panel manufacturer, providing technical support for the fire test panels and the initial Adapa moulding trials.

• Order Intake of CHF 2 225.7 Million in Financial Year 2021
• Sales of CHF 969.2 million in financial year 2021
• Implementation of the acquisition of the three Saurer businesses on schedule
• EBIT margin of 4.5% to 5% of sales expected in financial year 2021

Due to the continuing high demand for new installations, components and services, Rieter posted an order intake of CHF 551.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. As a result, Rieter achieved a total order intake of CHF 2 225.7 million in the 2021 financial year (2020: CHF 640.2 million).

The exceptionally high order intake is broadly supported at the global level. As reported previously, this is based on a catch-up effect from the two prior years and a regional shift in demand. Rieter believes that a major reason for this shift in demand is the development of costs in China. The orders came primarily from Turkey, India, Latin America, Uzbekistan, China and Pakistan. At the end of 2021, the company had an order backlog of around CHF 1 840 million (December 31, 2020: around CHF 560 million). Despite bottlenecks in material supplies and freight capacities, sales performance up to the end of the year was better than expected. The Rieter Group closed the 2021 financial year with sales of CHF 969.2 million (2020: CHF 573.0 million).

Implementation of the Acquisition of the Three Saurer Businesses
Effective from December 1, 2021, Rieter is consolidating the components businesses Accotex and Temco acquired from Saurer. With the acquisition of Accotex (elastomer components for spinning machines) and Temco (bearing solutions for filament machines), Rieter is strengthening the market position in the components business. The figures from the two businesses have been incorporated into the results for the 2021 financial year as follows: the 2021 order intake includes CHF 2.1 million and the 2021 sales includes CHF 3.3 million. The two businesses contributed a total of around CHF 27 million to the order backlog at the end of 2021. The acquisition of Saurer’s third business (automatic winder) leads to a significant increase in the attractiveness of Rieter’s ring and compact-spinning systems and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022. Accordingly, order intake and sales are not included in the figures for the 2021 financial year.

EBIT Margin
Rieter anticipates an EBIT margin of 4.5% to 5% of sales in the 2021 financial year (2020: -14.7%).
Rieter will publish the full annual financial statements and the 2021 Annual Report on March 9, 2022.

Order Intake by Business Group
Thanks to the company’s innovative product portfolio and global positioning, all three Business Groups benefited from the high level of demand.
The Business Group Machines & Systems posted an order intake of CHF 1 708.6 million (2020: CHF 363.9 million). The main focus of demand was on ring and compact-spinning systems.
The order intake of the Business Group Components was CHF 296.0 million, an increase of 75% compared to the previous year (2020: CHF 169.1 million). The Business Group After Sales recorded an order intake of CHF 221.1 million, 106% higher than the previous year (2020: CHF 107.2 million). The main reason for the positive order intake in both Business Groups is the continuing increased demand for spare and wear parts in spinning mills, which are operating at high capacity.

Sales by Business Group
Despite the challenges in the supply chain announced earlier, the Business Group Machines & Systems achieved sales of CHF 590.3 million, double the previous year’s figure (2020: CHF 295.8 million). Sales of the Business Group Components increased to CHF 231.5 million (2020: CHF 174.3 million). The Business Group After Sales achieved sales of CHF 147.4 million (2020: CHF 102.9 million).

Sales by Region
Sales increased in all regions, with the exception of the region Africa. The highest year-on-year growth of 148% was achieved in India, followed by North and South America (+126%) and the Asian countries (+72%), excluding China, India and Turkey.

Rieter will issue an outlook for the 2022 financial year at the Results Press Conference on March 9, 2022.

Hohenstein, a leading specialist in fit and pattern engineering, has joined forces with digital size pioneer, Presize. The partnership now offers a variety of business services, including reliable size tables and digital scaling, that empower online retailers to automatically recommend appropriate garment sizes.

Merging traditional size tables, reliable garment fits and digital body measurements with smartphone technology reduces the number of returned online purchases. Proper fit also reduces waste, lowers footprint and bolsters customer loyalty.

“The better a brand understands sizes, fits and target groups, the more accurately they can automate size recommendations. We help brands meet the different requirements of various sizes, so the fit is comfortable across customer ranges, collections and suppliers,” states Simone Morlock, Head of Hohenstein’s Digital Fitting Lab.

This size and grading advice is now underpinned by digital measurement services and technology based on artificial intelligence. “All it takes to work out the right size, based on a user’s individual body measurements, are some quick questions regarding their age, height and weight, plus an optional video to take measurements. We use an algorithm that learns as it goes along, and this improves the advice given on sizes with each order or return,” states Presize co-founder and CEO, Leon Szeli.

Join the free webinar on “Hohenstein Meets Presize - How sizing fundamentals and reliable fit can increase the effectiveness of smartphone body measurements and reduce eCommerce returns” on March 24, 2022.*

*Click here for more information.

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from the leading Ukrainian manufacturer of household and hygiene products, Biosphere Corporation, to deliver its first complete neXline spunlace line. The ANDRITZ spunlace line will enable Biosphere to produce fabrics from 30 to 70 gsm, with an hourly output of up to 3,000 kg/hr after the second commissioning phase. Start-up is scheduled in two stages – the first one in the first quarter of 2022 and the second in early 2023, reaching full production capacity.

The high-capacity spunlace line will double the company’s current production capacity and is designed to process various types of fibers, such as polyester/viscose blends and natural fibers. It is dedicated to the production of household, medical and hygiene fabrics, such as cosmetic, disinfecting and baby wipes.

Andriy Zdesenko, founder and CEO of Biosphere Corporation, says: “Our goal is to carry on creating innovative and premium-quality products. When ANDRITZ came up with a tailor-made offer combining its cutting-edge spunlace technology with full flexibility for our future installation, we knew they were the ideal partner to support us in our business development.”

In 2019, ANDRITZ Diatec delivered a baby diaper converting line to Biosphere. With this additional order, ANDRITZ is demonstrating its strong global position as a supplier of state-of-the-art and tailor-made sustainable nonwoven solutions.

Founded in 1997, Biosphere Corporation has become the market leader in the production and distribution of household and hygiene products in the Ukraine and the CIS and a key converter player in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The company is expanding rapidly on the international market, including Africa.

Finland-based circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company has selected AFRY as the main engineering partner for its new flagship factory for producing regenerated textile fibers for leading fashion and apparel brands.

More than 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally every year, with much of it ending up in landfills or incinerators. At the same time, textile fiber demand is increasing rapidly. Infinited Fiber Company’s technology turns cellulose-based raw materials, like cotton-rich textile waste, into a premium regenerated textile fiber that goes by the name Infinna™. The technology, which can be licensed for both new factories and to retrofit existing pulp or viscose production units, offers a solution for eliminating waste and reducing the textile industry’s burden on limited virgin resources.

Infinited Fiber Company currently operates pilot plants in Finland and has announced plans to build a flagship factory there to meet the strong demand from international clothing brands. The flagship factory will be the first of its kind in the world and will use post-consumer textile waste as feedstock. Production is scheduled to begin in 2024. In Finland, the national-level collection of textile waste will begin in 2023, and in the EU, the collection of textile waste will become mandatory in 2025, which will facilitate raw material supply.

The annual production capacity of the plant is planned at 30,000 tonnes of Infinna fiber, which corresponds to the amount of fiber needed for about 100 million t-shirts. Infinited Fiber Company has already sold a significant portion of future production through multi-year sales deals with global fashion brands, who see its regenerated Infinna fiber as an important part of their own circular economy strategies.

AFRY’s assignment includes the basic engineering of the new factory to support the final investment decision. In this basic engineering phase, AFRY will design the combination of several technology and equipment deliveries into one viable plant. AFRY will also provide its AFRY Smart Site services for the digitalization of the factory, utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies to optimize and digitally connect all the factory's processes and operations.

The Managing Board of Lenzing AG, a leading manufacturer of specialty fibers made from the renewable raw material wood, has resolved to propose to the Annual General Meeting a dividend of EUR 4.35 for the 2021 financial year. This dividend proposal reflects the suspended dividends from 2019 and 2020.

The total dividend payout to shareholders will amount to about EUR 115,492,500, subject to the acceptance of the proposal by the Supervisory Board at its meeting scheduled for March 09, 2022 for the purpose of approving the consolidated financial statements as well as the approval granted by Lenzing AG shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on April 26, 2022.

The Annual Report of the Lenzing AG for the 2021 financial year will be published on March 10, 2022.

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from Welspun Advanced Materials, India, to deliver a complete neXline spunlace line for the production of nonwoven roll goods and wipes for their new plant in Hyderabad, Telangana. The line has a capacity of up to three tons per hour. Start-up of the line is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021.

The ANDRITZ high-capacity spunlace line will process various types of synthetic or natural fibers, such as polyester, viscose and cotton. The final products will have fabric weights ranging from 25 to 120 gsm, thus covering many applications. This neXline spunlace line also offers the option to integrate a third component from a selection of smart layers, enabling Welspun to also manufacture products for the health care and hygiene sectors.

Welspun is the largest global exporter of home textiles. Innovation and quality lie at the heart of the company’s success, which already has nonwoven production lines in operation, including needlepunch and spunlace equipment. With its new plant in Telangana, Welspun will significantly increase its existing spunlace capacity and also maintain a broad range of applications as the final products are used in hygiene, home care and industrial cleaning. The new, advanced facility is a 100,000 sqm greenfield development that is part of a larger 1,500,000 sqm industrial complex also accommodating the Welspun floorings facility.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles concluded its 27th autumn edition in early October. Held alongside four other concurrent textile shows, the fair was the only major event for this sector able to take place in China during this season, providing a much-needed business platform for 735 exhibitors and 20,106 trade buyers. The fair was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd expressed: “Due to the valuable cooperation of many parties and the continued support of our exhibitors and other partners, we were able to hold the fair as scheduled despite a number of challenges. Since the pandemic situation was brought under control in China last year, we have expended considerable resources to ensure our textile fairs still take place to provide trading platforms that connect the global industry. This edition was especially important as it was the only major fair to take place in the country at this time.”

While a number of international exhibitors participated this year with individual booths, the Belgium Pavilion presented home and contract products and five Chinese regional pavilions from Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Haining, and Tongxiang also featured. Two trend forums also provided inspiration for 2022, while the IKASAS Japanese Home Design Gallery, New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers City Roving Exhibition and China International Fiber Art Exhibition gave further insights into various aspects of the industry.

Fair’s fringe programme highlights sustainability, design and more
As with all of Messe Frankfurt’s textile fairs around the world, sustainability is a big focus. A number of events under this focus took place in the fair’s fringe programme, including a half day forum titled How Sustainable Fashion is Reshaping Lifestyles, with a range of innovative companies and prestigious universities participating as speakers.

The Design Talk session featured a series of presentations from leading international designers, including from China, Japan and Europe, to share their design insights. And a new concept this year, titled New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers – Intertextile Upholstery Design and City Roving Exhibition, showcased the work of six groups of young local designers from across China who presented the interior design ideas of their generation through displays and a forum. And reflecting the changes that continue to accelerate in the industry, a number of e-commerce and cross-border trade events took place, including sessions from the likes of JD Home, AliExpress and Tmall.

The 2022 Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition will take place from 9 – 11 March, while the Autumn Edition is scheduled for 23 – 25 August 2022.