From the Sector

With their recently installed high-temperature unidirectional tape line, Japan-based composites manufacturer MaruHachi enables new opportunities for high-end applications in demanding market segments like aerospace, automotive or others outperforming traditional materials based on PP and PA which are already widely available.

In the first phase, MaruHachi will produce up to 40 tons/year and focuses now specifically on high-temperature thermoplastic uni-directional (UD) tapes and multi-layer sheet laminates. The material is based on high-performance fibers like carbon, aramid, glass or natural fibers and the matrix can be high-performance polymers like PPS, PEEK or other higher temperature polymers, which are much tougher than epoxies and easy to recycle. With a width of 500 mm, a specific weight from 60 to 350 g/m2, depending on the chosen material, the lines can operate under temperatures up to 420 degrees Celsius. Working under these extremely high temperatures allows for better material properties of the final application, higher performance, increased resistance and integrated high-performance functionalities e.g. by overmoulding.

Since 2017, MaruHachi Group is active in the European market in cooperation with Dr. Michael Effing,the CEO of AMAC GmbH, who advises and supports the company strategically. The established, family-owned MaruHachi Group has a strong history in automotive and medical textiles and has been active in the innovative composites market for more than 15 years.

Toshi Sugahara, CEO of MaruHachi: “For many years, we have already been cooperating with domestic and international partners on high-demand applications and therefore, MaruHachi decided now to invest over 1 million EUR in this new line in phase 1, including a funding participation from the Japanese government NEDO. New developments in phase 2 will be be undertaken by end of 2021 on the downstream technologies like the automated preforming and consolidation. With our new products, we want to contribute to significant weight reductions of the final products, thus improve energy efficiency while offering a cost-efficient and high-quality solution.”

Dr. Effing, CEO of AMAC GmbH confirms: „The focus on the niche of high-temperature products based on PPS and PEEK allows MaruHachi on very demanding high-end applications such as structural frames on space and aircrafts, aircraft seats or engine components etc. The tapes are fully recyclable and can be processed e.g. with high-speed with laser-based tape placement machines and robots.”

Dow introduces DOWSIL™ IE-8749 Emulsion, a new generation of durable water repellent finishes for fabrics based on silicone chemistry.

Studies conducted on a variety of textiles substrates based on DOWSIL™ IE-8749 Emulsion treatment demonstrate improved fabric retention compared to standard silicone finishes – thereby providing continued water repellency after multiple washes. Unlike many conventional finishes, DOWSIL™ IE-8749 Emulsion finish does not need to be regularly heat treated to restore the water repellency performance, which is a key advantage for the durability of the final product.

By incorporating a DOWSIL™ IE-8749 Emulsion treatment into their finishing processes, textile finishers receive greater control over the hand feel of the fabric - an important parameter driving consumer choices today. Depending on specific need, this can range, from a very soft hand feel that is characteristic of silicone when used alone, to a firmer hand with the addition of cross linkers.

The technology powering DOWSIL™ IE-8749 Emulsion was developed through a collaboration between Dow and Nicca Chemical.

Die Epson Deutschland GmbH und Spigraph Deutschland GmbH gehen eine strategische Partnerschaft für die Region DACH ein. Das Unternehmen ist ein Experte für Lösungen zur Erfassung (Digitalisierung) und Verarbeitung von Dokumenten sowie ein Value-Added-Distributor für diesen Bereich. Spigraph besitzt als „Document Capture“-Spezialist auch dank der Unterstützung seines Partnernetzwerkes eine hohe Kompetenz, Unternehmen der unterschiedlichsten Branchen wie Industrie, Verwaltung, Banken, Finanzen, Versicherung, Gesundheit und anderen bei der digitalen Transformation von Geschäftsprozessen zu fördern. Besonders mittelständische Firmen profitieren von der Kombination aus zuverlässigen, schnellen Epson Dokumentenscannern und dem Know-how Spigraphs, um digitale Dokumentenprozesse umzusetzen und so die Effizienz zu erhöhen. Die Partnerschaft Epsons mit Spigraph tritt ab sofort in Kraft.

Spigraph übernimmt dabei fast die gesamte Produktpalette der Epson Business-Scanner, um seinen Kunden für jeden Einsatzbereich das passende Produkt anzubieten, gleich, ob mobile Scanner, Einzugsscanner oder Flachbettscanner der Formate A4 und A3 benötigt werden.

"Mit der Aufnahme von Epson Scannern in das Portfolio bieten wir allen Fachhändlern der Region DACH einen hohen Mehrwert an", erklärt Peter de Boer, Chief Executive Officer. „Epson ist ein wichtiger Anbieter hochwertiger Scan- und Drucklösungen, die hervorragend zu unserem eigenen hohen Anspruch passen. Als Value-Added-Distributor bieten wir damit allen Unternehmenskunden ein umfassendes Lösungspaket, bestehend aus Hardware, Software und Service an.“

Michael Rabbe, Head of Business Sales der Epson Deutschland GmbH, ergänzt: „Wir gewinnen mit der Spigraph Deutschland GmbH einen sehr starken Partner für unsere Produkte rund um das Thema Dokumentendigitalisierung. Wir sind zuversichtlich, dass unsere Kooperation dazu beitragen wird, die Vorteile der digitalen Dokumentenverarbeitung erfolgreich in den Markt zu tragen.“

Kornit Digital is named among 29 winners of the 2020 EDP Awards, presented by the European Digital Press Association (EDP). The company’s NeoPigment™ Robusto Softener solution, which ensures superior hand feel for substrates imprinted using the Kornit Presto system for roll-to-roll, direct-to-fabric digital production, was selected “Best Coating and Varnish” in the Consumables category.

Kornit’s Softener solution is applied seamlessly during the printing process. No additional time, labor, or equipment is needed, and most importantly, it is a sustainable solution carrying Eco Passport certification and GOTS verification.
“Kornit Presto with Softener is changing the game for on-demand production, making pigment-based digital print a serious contender for even the most demanding fashion houses,” says Chris Govier, KDEU Managing Director. “Kornit is proud to be recognized for its innovations, and we strive to continue exceeding the market’s demands for efficient, eco-friendly, profitable solutions regardless of the new trends and challenges facing the textile industry.”

Der Aufsichtsrat der Dr. Zwissler Holding AG hat zum 01.02.2021 Herrn Günter Eizenhöfer als weiteres Vorstandsmitglied bestellt.

Herr Eizenhöfer wird die Vorsitzende des Vorstands, Frau Dr. Ulrike Neu-bauer, als Vorstandsmitglied bei der strategischen Weiterentwicklung des Vorstands unterstützen. Er übernimmt Verantwortung für das Ressort Vertrieb, Entwicklung und Operations.

Herr Eizenhöfer bringt einen breiten Erfahrungsschatz aus Managementpositionen in diversen Industrien mit, u.a. auch von Unternehmen der Automobilzulieferindustrie. Er hat verschiedene Managementpositionen im In- und Ausland wahrgenommen und sich zuletzt als geschäftsführender Gesellschafter einer Unternehmensberatung mit strategischen Themen im Fokus der Automobilindustrie befasst. Dank dieser beruflichen Stationen und diversen Aufsichtsratsmandaten verfügt er über ein solides Wissen aus den Bereichen Prozessoptimierung sowie Neu- bzw. Umstrukturierung.

Reinach, Switzerland, and Westlake, Ohio, 2 February 2021 - Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with technology innovator CleanKore, aiming to advance sustainable dyeing processes throughout the denim supply chain.

The agreement will allow Archroma and CleanKore to promote the benefits of each other’s technologies. This includes Archroma’s robust catalog of dyes and specialty chemicals along with CleanKore’s patented process of dyeing yarns at the denim mill that completely eliminates the need for potassium permanganate (PP) spray and laser booster to achieve the bright white abrasion effect in the garment finishing process. The result is a large and circular bright white core with a small ring of indigo dye. The technology does not just eliminate the chemicals associated in the PP spray and laser process, which is much safer for denim workers, it also allows to save significant amounts of water and energy throughout the manufacturing process from fabric to garmenting.

CleanKore initially looked at eliminating potassium permanganate due to its being classified as hazardous if inhaled or ingested, or in case of contact with the skin or the eye. It is also considered very toxic to aquatic life. No new equipment or capital expenses are needed to implement the CleanKore technology, which works on all denim fabric, including dark indigo, sulfur top/bottom and sulfur black.

This is where Archroma comes into the picture. Its global technical team of denim coloration specialists will provide support to denim mills seeking to implement the CleanKore technology and develop the desired looks and effects - with the right colors and chemical systems for their production set-up.

CleanKore estimates that the technology allows to save up to 15 liters of water per garment, or the equivalent to the drinking needs of 5 people per day, and up to 0.51 kWh of energy per garment, or the equivalent of five 100-watt light bulbs on for 1 hour. The CleanKore technology also leads to a 10% to 20% increase in production throughput, as a result of a faster garment wash-down and the elimination of PP spray.

For CleanKore CEO Darryl Costin Jr., the announcement comes at an ideal time for CleanKore: "We have successfully proven the technology with mill partners such as Arvind and other denim mills in Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Thailand and the United States. The response from the industry has been overwhelmingly positive. Having a partner in Archroma, one that is highly respected for their innovation and emphasis on sustainability throughout the industry, will allow us to take CleanKore to the next level.”

Umberto Devita, Global Indigo Manager at the Archroma Global Competence Center for Denim & Casualwear, adds: "CleanKore is perfectly aligned with the 3 pillars of 'The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: Safe, efficient, enhanced'. 'Safe' through the elimination of a potentially harmful substance and the protection of the denim workers, 'Efficient' through the reduction of resource consumption, improved productivity and cost-effective profile. And 'Enhanced' through the gorgeous colors and effects allowed with Archroma's innovations and systems, in particular our aniline-free* Denisol® Pure Indigo and Diresul® sulfur dyes. We look forward to help promoting an innovation that will help with many of the challenges facing our denim customers throughout the world. Because it’s our nature."

Die Distec GmbH erweitert sein Embedded Portfolio mit dem industriellen Embedded BoxPC EC-3200 von iBASE für Anwendungen mit künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) mit höchsten Leistungsansprüchen. Der EC-3200 basiert auf dem hochmodernen, stromsparenden und leistungsstarken NVIDIA® Jetson™ TX2. Der Prozessor verbindet außergewöhnliche Geschwindigkeit und Energieeffizienz mit einem Dual Core Denver 2 und einem Quad Core ARM® Cortex®-A57 Prozessor. „Gegenüber dem Jetson™ TX1 hat sich die Energieeffizienz bzw. die Leistung damit mehr als verdoppelt“, erläutert Thomas Schrefel, Produkt Manager Embedded bei Distec. „Dies ermöglicht die hochmoderne NVIDIA Pascal-Architektur mit 256 Recheneinheiten und bis zu 1,33 TFLOPS. Der EC-3200 bietet dadurch echte KI-Rechenleistung für Edge-Anwendungen mit 8 GB Speicher und 59,7 GB/s Speicherbandbreite.“ Durch sein robustes Design eignet sich der EC-3200 ideal für den Einsatz in Industrierobotern, medizinischen Geräten, Smart Cities und für Geräte, die die Zusammenarbeit in Unternehmen unterstützen.  

BoxPC für echte Deep-Learning-Anwendungen
Heutige Edge- und Cloud-basierte KI-Produkte erfordern bessere Rechen- und Videoanalyse-Fähigkeiten, um eine anspruchsvolle Echtzeit-Datenverarbeitung durchzuführen und Latenzprobleme zu überwinden. Der EC-3200 ist eine langlebige Lösung mit lüfterlosem Design für einen unterbrechungsfreien Betrieb. Er nutzt die Vorteile der GPU-beschleunigten Parallelverarbeitung des Jetson™ TX2, um datenintensive und unternehmenskritische Arbeitslasten mit hoher Energieeffizienz und unübertroffener Zuverlässigkeit zu bewältigen. Damit ist er ideal für echte Deep-Learning-Anwendungen

Energieeffizient und zuverlässig auch in rauer Industrieumgebung
Der EC-3200 ist für einen erweiterten Temperaturbereich von -20°C bis +60°C ausgelegt. Mit seinem geringen Stromverbrauch liefert der NVIDIA® Jetson™ TX2 eine 25-mal höhere Energieeffizienz als andere hochmoderne Desktop-Grafikprozessoren. Diese hervorragende Leistung erlaubt eine Echtzeitverarbeitung, die die Bandbreite wenig belastet.

Order Intake Continued to Recover in the Fourth Quarter of 2020:

• Order intake increased to CHF 215.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and reached a total of CHF 640.2 million in the 2020 financial year
• As expected, sales of CHF 573.0 million in the 2020 financial year were significantly down on the previous year
• EBIT margin of around -15% and net profit of around -16% of sales expected
• First half of 2021 still heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Change to the Group Executive Committee

Rieter posted a globally and broadly supported order intake of CHF 215.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Thus, the recovery that began in the third quarter of 2020 after the slump in demand in the second quarter continued (order intake second quarter: CHF 45.7 million, third quarter: CHF 174.4 million). Overall, Rieter’s annual order intake for the 2020 financial year totaled CHF 640.2 million, which corresponds to a decrease of 31% compared to the previous year.

At the end of 2020, the company had an order backlog of about CHF 560 million (December 31, 2019: about CHF 500 million).

As expected, as a consequence of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rieter Group closed the 2020 financial year with considerably lower sales than in the previous year. According to the first, as yet unaudited figures, total sales of CHF 573.0 million were achieved, which corresponds to a decrease of 25% compared to the previous year (2019: CHF 760.0 million).

Order Intake by Business Group
All three business groups were affected by the slump in demand in the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the recovery in order intake in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, the weak second quarter was only partially offset.

The Business Group Machines & Systems was particularly hard hit by the effects of the pandemic, with a year-on-year decline of 35%. The Business Groups Components and After Sales each recorded a 24% reduction in order intake.*

Sales by Business Group
The exceptional market situation in 2020 gave rise to a significant decline in sales in all three business groups. Accordingly, reluctance to invest and deferred deliveries by customers caused sales in the Business Group Machines & Systems to decline by 24% compared to the previous year.

Due to COVID-19, a large number of spinning mills stopped production worldwide. This led to low demand for spare parts and wear parts, especially in the second and third quarters of 2020. Accordingly, compared to the previous year, sales in the Business Groups Components and After Sales fell by 24% and 27% respectively in the 2020 financial year.*

Sales by Region
With the exception of Turkey, all regions were affected by the low demand as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.*

EBIT Margin and Net Profit
In the 2020 financial year, Rieter anticipates an EBIT margin of around -15% (2019: 11.2%) and net profit of around -16% of sales (2019: 6.9%). As of December 31, 2020, Rieter had liquid funds of exceeding CHF 280 million and unused credit lines in the mid three-digit million range.

First Half of 2021 Still Heavily Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Thanks to the improved capacity utilization, Rieter is planning short-time working in only a few areas in the first half of 2021. Nevertheless, Rieter expects sales in the first half of 2021 to be below the break-even point.*

Change to the Group Executive Committee
With effect from March 1, 2021, the Board of Directors of Rieter Holding Ltd. has appointed Roger Albrecht as Head of the Business Group Machines & Systems and a member of the Group Executive Committee.*

Annual General Meeting April 15, 2021
The 2021 Annual General Meeting of Rieter Holding Ltd. will take place in Winterthur on April 15, 2021.*

*See attached document for more information.

Hexcel is pleased to announce Type Approval Certification of its HexPly® M9 prepreg materials by DNV GL. The addition of the HexPly M9 prepreg range to Hexcel’s already comprehensive DNV GL certified portfolio provides ship and boat builders with optimal prepreg processing options.

HexPly M9 prepregs enable short cure cycles at 100˚C and above and provide a balance between ease of processing and mechanical performance. Available in high tack and medium tack variants, HexPly M9 prepregs are available with a wide range of unidirectional, woven, and multiaxial reinforcements. Partnered with Hexcel’s own HexTow® IMC2 and HexTow® HM54 / HM63 fibers, designers and engineers can optimize highly loaded composite structures such as masts, wing sails, and foils with increased glass transition temperatures (Tg) and excellent long-term fatigue performance.
 
Hexcel has completed the DNV GL certification for HexPly M9 in response to the rapidly increasing demand for type-approved high-performance prepreg materials for large composite structures in the commercial marine craft.  

Hexcel’s collaboration with Chantiers de l’Atlantique on its new Silenseas cruise ship concept – a concept that uses composite Solid Sail® propulsion as well as dual-fuel engines to reduce emissions and operating costs – is one such application. In this case, DNV GL type approval provides third-party assurance of the product’s quality, performance and consistency, and also helps to streamline the approval of composite parts that replace traditionally metallic structures.

Hexcel has supplied advanced composite materials to the marine industry for more than 40 years and manufactures a comprehensive range of DNV GL certified products including woven reinforcements, multiaxial fabrics, prepregs, and adhesive films. Hexcel is committed to developing new composite technologies for the marine sector, helping builders evolve their designs to produce lighter, more fuel-efficient, and a sustainable craft for the future.

“Our latest Type Approval Certification is an important part of our strategy to provide the most complete package of DNV GL certified composite materials for the marine sector,” said Andreas Sageder, Product Manager at Hexcel. “With the addition of our M9 prepreg resin systems, mast, ship, and boat builders have an expanded range of processing and cure options available for parts requiring higher Tg and improved fatigue performance.”

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order to supply a neXline spunlace eXcelle line to Minet S.A, based in Ramnicu Valcéa, Romania, for processing various fibers from 25 to 70 gsm to produce a wide range of hygiene products. Start-up is expected during the second quarter of 2022.

ANDRITZ will deliver a complete line, from web forming to drying. The line will integrate one high-speed TT card, the robust Jetlace Essentiel hydroentanglement unit equipped with a neXecodry S1 system for energy saving, and a neXdry double-drum through-air dryer.

The close collaboration between ANDRITZ and Minet in needlepunch was an important consideration in the choice of supplier for the spunlace line as well as the fact that ANDRITZ is recognized as the benchmark for production of premium spunlace roll goods.

Just recently, ANDRITZ successfully completed the commissioning of a neXline needlepunch eXcelle line for Minet. This line is dedicated to the production of automotive products made from a large variety of fibers. For this contract, ANDRITZ delivered a complete line from fiber preparation to end-of-line, also integrating card, crosslapper, batt drafter, two needlelooms and a Zeta felt drafter with a working width of more than 6 m. The line is also equipped with the unique ProDyn web profiling system, operating as a closed-loop control system in order to ensure perfect evenness of the products.