From the Sector

• Composites in the construction industry - The lightweight construction material of the future

Building with fibre-reinforced materials opens up completely new possibilities. In terms of engineering, design, and organisation. This is due, on the one hand, to the excellent properties of fibre-reinforced materials (FRM) and, on the other hand, to the fact that the material – unlike wood or brick, for example – is not machined or processed for its use, but custom-produced.

Excellent properties – in terms of engineering, design, and organisation
Fibre-composite materials offer a whole range of technical properties for innovative and sustainable building:
•    High mechanical rigidity
•    Low weight
•    High corrosion resistance
•    Low material fatigue
•    Low heat transfer coefficient of the plastic matrix
•    Resistance to frost and de-icing salt
•    Good draping capability

In addition, fibre composites offer numerous design options for novel and exceptional new building and maintenance projects:
•    Unique variety of shapes
•    Different structures of the textiles
•    Large spectrum of colours and colour combinations
•    Translucency of the plastic matrix
Thanks to these properties, composites can be used to produce coloured, phosphorescent, thermochromic or – through the use of LEDs or light-conducting fibres permanently integrated into the matrix – luminescent components.

In addition, there are organisational benefits for planning, construction and maintenance work with fibre-reinforced materials:
•    Easier handling and assembly of the far lighter and more flexible components – compared with steel, concrete or wood
•    Faster installation
•    Shorter construction site times in road and bridge maintenance
•    Shorter delivery times
•    Ability to integrate electronic monitoring systems

Individual composite textiles – for every lightweight engineering project
The composites experts at vombaur develop and manufacture woven tapes and seamless round or shaped woven textiles from carbon, glass, flax or other high-performance fibres on special weaving lines for individually specified round and shaped woven textiles – and can therefore offer you the best possible fibre base for every lightweight construction project.

"Regardless of whether it's a new construction or a renovation project, a façade design, a bridge or a staircase – as your development partner for composite textiles, we have plenty of experience with composites for demanding tasks," emphasises Dr.-Ing. Sven Schöfer, Head of Development and Innovation at vombaur. "We develop, create samples and manufacture woven tapes and seamless round or shaped woven textiles – in collaboration with the customer enterprise development teams and individually for the respective projects." This is how novel and unique lightweight components made of high-performance textiles are created for visionary projects.

ISKO introduces ISKO RHEACT™ – a patented, cutting-edge garment manufacturing solution designed to improve everyday living and physical wellness for everyone, through the proven benefits of woven compression.

Building on the exponentially growing trend for wellbeing products in many consumer sectors, ISKO has leveraged its expertise in developing innovative technologies to create ISKO RHEACT, its own wellbeing product for the apparel industry. Available exclusively to ISKO’s trade partners, ISKO RHEACT is extremely versatile and suitable for use in a variety of consumer sectors, from lifestyle, to fitness and workwear.

ISKO RHEACT stands out for its woven, gradual compression technology that helps boost the energy of the wearer through improved blood flow. It also provides a micro massaging effect by varying pressure in different areas of a garment. ISKO RHEACT is superior to knit compression as it works for up to 12 hours (compared to 3 hours) for any type of lifestyle – whether it’s taking a long-haul flight, lounging at home or during or after a workout where it helps with warming up before exercise and improves post-workout recovery. From a consumer standpoint, this translates to a garment that wears like a second skin, is durable, works to focus the mind, sharpens the senses, and energizes the body.

ISKO RHEACT products are certified by the independent Hohenstein Institute (Bönnigheim, Germany) and have received the endorsement of many physicians for their health and wellbeing benefits. They are also acknowledged by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as general wellness products as per section 513(g) of the FD&C Act.

• FILO, 29th-30th September 2021, booth C5

Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei has been invited to showcase at Filo fair, the international exhibition of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles, in a new special area, a dedicated open space reserved to sustainable fibers that will allow visitors to discover all their production cycle and performances, in full relax and transparency.

Bemberg™, an exceptional fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, will brings to Filo its history, experience, know-how and market partnerships to prove its versatility and design-driven look and touch Last but not least we are talking about a true circular economy-oriented ingredient, with certified sustainable performance: Bemberg™ is biodegradable and compostable material as verified by the INNOVHUB 3rd party test and it has GRS (Global Reycled Standard) certification from Textile Exchange proving recycling authenticity.

Bemberg™ application history starts with high-quality suit lining, but today we can find it in many other applications such as fashion couture, outerwear, innerwear, bedding, and sportswear where its amazing unique touch and quality is offering a distinctive performance.

And to prove all of this, Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL - who have all chosen Bemberg™ fiber to create special collections. Three different ways to see and represent how sustainability and style – even if completely different ones – together can be highly successful, performing and interesting to the new consumer.

ZEROBARRACENTO, a gender-neutral emerging outerwear brand focusing on zero-waste product development, selects Bemberg™ for two fundamental reasons: firstly, from a stylistic point of view for its extreme versatility: in the various collections we have adopted it to create Kimonos, padded jackets, wrap dresses as well as for the interiors of our garments, which are intended to be soft embraces for total physical and mental comfort. The second but no less important reason is that this fibre has circular values in line with their zero-waste commitment.

The concept of the brand "Maurizio Miri" has a strong personality and a clear intent: to create a product that stimulates the wearer towards beauty. A garment should not simply be worn, but it has also to create a perfect symbiosis with the person wearing it and generate an exchange of positive energies. The purpose is to make the individual feel in perfect harmony with their own image. With this aim in mind, the designer selects extremely precious Bemberg™ linings for their sophisticated tailor jackets. 

Finally, WAXEWUL, a brand of sartorial clothing and artisan accessories with an urban-afro soul that has environmental and social sustainability as its basic ethics. WAXEWUL will bring to Filo its brand-new product, the J_Hood Bag: a doubleface jacket with a comfortably removable hood that can be transformed into a finely hidden doubleface bag. An exclusive, innovative and sustainable garment with minimal impact on the environment made of BemBAZIN™ - a new generation of bazin created, patented and produced by Brunello which is composed by the high-tech and responsible fibers of Bemberg™ - on one side and of wax on the other, traceable and certified, guaranteeing a reduction in waste (two jackets in one) and a long-life cycle.

The MS Ultrasonic Technology Group is a globally recognized technology and innovation leader in ultrasonic joining technology and develops and builds flexible special machines, pioneering series machines, modular systems and efficient components for high-performance complete solutions.

This enables optimal welding, punching, sealing, cut-off welding and riveting of thermoplastics, textiles and nonwovens as well as cutting of food and other products.

To ensure sustainable growth, MS is focusing on expanding its application portfolio and entering new market segments. MS Ultrasonic Technology Group is part of the listed MS Industrie AG with internationally active companies.

In addition to the company's previous activities, MS is now placing a new focus on the continuous welding of nonwovens and other materials.

More than 30 years of experience in the development and production of high-quality and innovative ultrasonic components, coupled with know-how in drive and control technology, will be incorporated into the new business segment. This means that customers receive ready-to-integrate systems with maximum precision from a single source. With the new MS Competence Center in Ettlingen (Germany), MS is fulfilling the wish of many customers to expand its application portfolio to include continuous joining, embossing and perforating of nonwovens and sealing of packaging.

MS is thus adding an innovative and specialized site, while maintaining a high level of vertical integration and support for all specialist areas through its main site in Spaichingen (Germany). In two application laboratories and a measurement and analysis laboratory, tests, evaluations and optimizations of various welding tasks are just as much a part of the service as the in-house production of engraving rollers through to complete systems.

• Application engineering consulting for your welding task
• Support in the design of the engraving roll
• Execution of feasibility studies
• Welding tests to determine the process parameters
• Individualized process optimization
• Finding solutions for problematic welding applications
• Testing of quality-describing characteristics (tightness, porosity, strength)
• Microscopic analysis of the welded joint in 3D
• Sample creation and pre-series production

• Testing and development achieve rigidity and safety milestone

Basaltex, pioneers in innovative uses of basalt fibres, has achieved a significant milestone in developing and testing a new composite material solution comprising fibres of basalt combined with EconCore’s patented honeycomb technology.

This new material development has greatly improved fire resistance and is highly rigid, as well as the usual honeycomb properties of light-weighting.

The company has tested the composite of basalt fibres, a bio resin and rPET honeycomb.

Filaments of only stone fibres are extruded at a temperature of 1450°C, similar to glass but with a number of advantages, not least the absence of boric acid in the process.

Combining this ecological fibre with EconCore’s sustainable technology using rPET, and the bioresin polyfurfuryl alcohol - 100% derived from a waste stream of sugar cane - make this a very sustainable and environmentally friendly product, unlike the majority of thermoset solutions in this type of application.

Railway applications require materials with enhanced fire resistance and the testing has shown that the EconCore-Basaltex solution fits these needs well, at the same time offering the perspective of drastic weight reduction against traditional monolithic GRPs used rather widely in train interiors.

Such sandwich panel could be deployed in applications such as cladding panels, partitions, tables and flooring. The thermoset skin layers give a fast cure at elevated temperature, meaning short cycle time and enabling automated production’.

As well as the railway interior application, this new material combination could be used in any application that requires fire performance combined with a low weight.

ISKO announces its participation in CSAIL’s Alliances programme, a collaboration with CSAIL researchers, students and industry partners. Through participation in the programme, ISKO will contribute its expertise in textile innovation and collaborate on the research and development of smart textiles and wearable technologies.

The company joins a network of 26 industries – from startups to big organizations – including AI and machine learning, aerospace, healthcare, life sciences and telecommunications, as well as retail, media and entertainment.

With the goal of overall advancement of the textile and denim industry through the development of smart and wearable solutions, ISKO is stepping up to lead the change through these technologies and their many possible end-uses. The work is done in compliance with ISKO’s Responsible Innovation™ approach.

ISKO brings its innovative and agile structure, impressive production capacity and textile knowledge to the CSAIL programme which has over 1200 people, 60 research groups, 120+ researchers, 600+ students and over 900+ active projects.

Hexcel, a global leader in advanced composites technologies, announces the successful maiden flight of a lightweight camera drone, developed using Hexcel HexPly® carbon fiber prepregs. The composite drone was developed by a team of students from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Wels with composite materials supplied by Hexcel Neumarkt in Austria.

A team of six students in the university’s lightweight construction and composite materials course was responsible for the complete design, engineering, and manufacture of the camera drone over a period of 18 months. Hexcel materials and optimization of the composite engineering enabled the team to reduce the composite structural mass by an impressive 42% compared to similar drones.

Hexcel Neumarkt was one of eight industrial partners supporting the university team throughout the project, providing all carbon fiber prepreg materials used for the drone’s landing gear as well as the fuselage. The ultra-lightweight 32g landing gear was laid up and cured in the press, whereas the fuselage was autoclave cured by the student team using Hexcel HexPly M901 and HexPly M78.1 prepreg resin systems with a combination of woven and unidirectional carbon fiber reinforcements.

With the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as a key emerging market and innovation space in the transportation sector, Hexcel’s collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria team not only creates an important link with the next generation of lightweight composite engineers but also highlights the weight saving and structural benefits of Hexcel composite material solutions.

"The massive weight saving achieved with their updated version of the camera drone is a fantastic achievement by the student team," said Michael Rabl, Dean of FH Wels of the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences. "The joint study not only illustrates the wide range of complex and innovative composite techniques present in the drone sector but also presents the opportunities that exist for further development in the wider Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and aerospace composites markets.”

Hexcel congratulates the project team which includes Lukas Weninger, Karl-Heinz Schneider, Jakob Schlosser, Matthias Thon, Marla Unter, and Simone Hartl on an exceptional piece of lightweight composite design and thanks them for showcasing the contribution of Hexcel materials with a presentation and drone flight. Johanna Arndt, research and technology group leader at Hexcel Neumarkt, said, “It was a great pleasure to work with the team who were very cooperative and self-motivated to succeed. Watching the drone just fly around the Neumarkt plant was just great.”

Hexcel manufactures a complete range of carbon fibers, dry carbon UD tapes, specialty reinforcements, prepregs, and honeycomb core materials, providing customized manufacturing options for new UAM applications that combine aerospace reliability with the high-rate production required. Hexcel composite materials are the ideal solution for the lightest and most efficient cost-competitive transportation vehicles of the future.

• The Techtextil and Texprocess trade fairs have a positive view of the future and invite the sector to take part at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre from 21 to 24 June 2022.
• Exhibitors who register well in advance benefit from an early-booking discount.

The dates for the next editions of Techtextil and Texprocess have been set and the leading international trade fairs for technical textiles and nonwovens and for the processing of textile and flexible materials are set to attract exhibitors and trade visitors from all over the world to Frankfurt am Main from 21 to 24 June 2022. Thus, the fairs are shifting the biennial cycle of events from odd to even years, which fits in perfectly with the sector’s international event calendar. Companies that book exhibition space at one of the two trade fairs no later than 31 August 2021 benefit from an early booking discount. “We see the future in a positive light and are confident that we will finally be able to give the sector the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and information in June 2022. The desire for personal encounters, direct communication and new impressions is growing from day to day”, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies.

Elgar Straub, Managing Director, VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies, emphasises that, “Texprocess and Techtextil are the world’s foremost trade fairs for our innovative sector by a large margin. Both events offer customers an unrivalled overview of state-of-the-art innovations and technological developments – and beyond. Particularly when it comes to the latest trends for sustainability and digitalisation, Texprocess and Techtextil in Frankfurt represent the most important, future-oriented market. This makes it all the more important for both the exhibitor and visitor sides of the sector that we have the opportunity to obtain an overview of the latest market developments, to exchange ideas and information and to initiate new business. We are very relieved about this and hope that, next year, we will once again have the chance to generate new momentum for our sector in the international market.”

For the first time, Techtextil and Texprocess will occupy the western sector of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre with a total of four exhibition halls and, with a hybrid format, offer the best of both the physical and immaterial worlds: personal communication, virtual networking opportunities and maximum digital coverage. With a comprehensive hygiene and safety concept, Messe Frankfurt will ensure that all visitors and exhibitors can take part safely and with a good feeling.

Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC), part of Barry-Wehmiller, has announced the installation of a new Fusion C printing press at flexible packaging supplier Yellowstone Plastics (affiliated with Volm Companies), located in South Idaho Falls, Idaho. The 42-inch, 10-color Fusion C began production in February.

Since the installation, Yellowstone Plastics has increased the quality and quantity of its product offerings, thanks to innovative Fusion C features including Flextreme drying, 100 percent web inspection, the Intelliprint auto-impression setting and SteadyPrint.

“We are very excited about the results we are getting out of this press,” said Lou Figueria, Director of Printing and Graphics Operations, Yellowstone Plastics. “We are running a mixture of short runs and long runs, at 1,000 to 1,200 feet per minute, and the press adjusts very nicely between the two. It is very easy to operate, and its features—such as SteadyPrint and the touchscreen HMI—have been beneficial to our printing and our operators.”

International technology Group ANDRITZ has always been at the forefront in providing innovative and sustainable solutions for the global nonwovens industry. Optimization of resource management, especially reducing the consumption of raw materials and other substances used and also keeping resources in use for as long as possible, are decisive factors in enabling nonwovens producers to offer competitive and sustainable products.

As a world market leader for nonwovens production equipment and services, ANDRITZ offers a full range of products to meet these challenging demands.

Maximizing the evenness of the product across the entire production line is one of the key success factors. The weight profiling product range of ANDRITZ – consisting of ProDynTM and ProWidTM – has been extended by ProWinTM. This new development is the combination of the two existing systems ProDynTM and ProWidTM. It allows nonwovens producers to achieve optimum weight profiling at the crosslapper delivery and increase their process speed by up to 15% at the same time. ProWin combines the long-term process experience and in-depth knowledge ANDRITZ has on needlepunch lines with innovative software to synchronize action across the line. Guillaume Julien, Head of Needlepunch Sales at ANDRITZ Nonwoven, explains,

“We have developed a self-regulating, advanced technology to reduce fiber deposits at the edges of the web and eliminate the “smile” effect across its width. ProWin enables producers to optimize the CV ratio autonomously and precisely while also generating significant fiber savings of up to 10% and increasing production speed. Thus, it also provides a faster ROI.“

When it comes to the spunlace process, a better product quality can be obtained by ensuring that the different equipment units in the production line are consistent with one another. The TT card, the Jetlace hydroentanglement unit, and the neXdry through-air dryer are the perfect combination to obtain premium visual quality and characteristics in the web. For an equivalent amount of fibers, this set-up is designed to produce an even web with significant bulkiness and an excellent MD:CD ratio without impacting the production capacity.

Maximizing performance by minimizing the raw material input and the amount of waste produced is a real driver of cost optimization. This is why ANDRITZ has created and integrated a solution that allows nonwovens producers to retrieve the wasted edges of their spunlace fabric and re-use it as recycled fibers. As a result, roll-good producers can even obtain the same web characteristics as when using virgin fibers, and most importantly, the exact same quality.

ANDRITZ also offers – under the brand Metris – ANDRITZ digital solutions – a variety of several service apps for optimum customer benefit. The Metris Cost Management app is used to track raw material consumption. It is an advanced system aimed at monitoring fiber consumption and allowing in-depth diagnoses to investigate raw material losses and savings grouped by different process areas. Thanks to this Metris application, ANDRITZ customers are able to optimize their system’s consumption of raw materials.

All these innovations are available in ANDRITZ’s technical centers, where ANDRITZ process experts will be glad to welcome customers in order to discuss and define their product expectations.