From the Sector

As part of an ongoing investment programme ensuring it remains at the forefront of advanced technology for carpet production, West Yorkshire, UK-headquartered Phoenox Textiles has recently installed a new two-metre-wide shearing line supplied by BTMA member Sellers Textiles Engineers.

Phoenox, which has been family owned since its foundation in 1954, develops original creative flooring design concepts for retail brands. Its products are sold through high street outlets, department stores and volume retailers across Europe and North America, in addition to substantial online and catalogue-driven business. All told, the company’s 24-hour parcel service dispatches some 3.2 million orders every year.

Operating from two manufacturing sites, Phoenox manufactures an annual 1.7 million metres of flooring in the UK. Over a combined area of 1,700,000 square metres, the two plants are equipped for tufting, backcoating, cloth printing and finishing along with automated cutting, sewing and packing.

In addition to the Sellers shearing line, other recent investments for the UK operations have included three new advanced tufting machines and a high-speed Sellers backcoating line equipped to handle widths of up to two metres and coat at six metres per minute. Washable and dyeable foams and eco-friendly applications in different weights are applied for many product areas.

The company’s state-of-the-art Chromo jet printing process line is meanwhile the only one of its kind in the UK, with its 256 jets making possible designs in up eight colours per pattern. With sustainability very much at the forefront of the company’s approach, Phoenox recycles most of its paste and inks and uses organic options wherever possible, as well as recycled water.

“We operate a piece dye colour cloth programme and can dye nylon and cotton with weights of up to 500kg per load, working with direct, organic, vat and reactive dyes,” says Mosley. “We also offer computerised and weighed commission dyeing. Computerised automated cutting machines and photocell pattern recognition enable us to cut at high speed in most cloth densities. With finishing and sewing though, it’s all about the detail, and our team have years of experience and hand-finish our products on traditional high-speed machines.”

The new Sellers Hybrid Shearing Cylinder can provide a competitive edge for manufacturers which is currently being proven in the field, including at Phoenox. It’s one of a number of new innovations BTMA members are planning to showcase at next year’s ITMA exhibition in Milan.

• Presenting Sustainable Apparel Solutions

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg) will be part of the Performance Days from November 03 to 04, 2022 in Munich, Germany. The specialist in woven, knitted, weft and nonwoven interlinings will showcase the latest sustainable products for sportswear, workwear, sportive fashion and athleisure collections.

Freudenberg will showcase its full range of European and global products being part of its House of Sustainability, Active Range and the comfortemp® brand offering high-performance thermal insulation for outdoor and active wear.

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel’s House of Sustainability strives to minimize the company’s footprint by reducing the environmental impact of the company’s manufacturing processes to a minimum. At the same time, Freudenberg maximizes its handprint by developing products enabling customers to manufacture more efficiently and sustainably or to consume fewer valuable resources. This initiative is based on seven product pillars with more than 500 sustainable products, among them recycled general interlinings, recyclable, energy-saving or biodegradable materials, sustainable cotton, nature-based solutions and recycled thermal insulations and linings.

Being part of the House of Sustainability, Freudenberg’s Active Range stands for high-performance solutions for stretch active and outdoor active wear including interlinings, tapes, linings, bonding solutions and measuring tools. Most materials of this portfolio are made of at least 70% recycled materials and thus cater to customers’ sustainability goals.

Tonello will be unveiling the release of their new, more efficient and more responsible Laundry (R)Evolution, including three tools, at Kingpins Show in Amsterdam, from October 19-20.

Configurator
The new Configurator allows clients to choose the technologies, software, and accessories for their next laundry, combining diverse solutions and thus obtaining a real projection of energy and resource consumption, as well as savings and sustainability benefits.

B.O.P. (Be On Point)
The seamless integration with THE Laser, B.O.P. is based on the most recent developments in Computer Vision It makes positioning laser designs on garments automatic and rapid It allows a choice of different production modes and detects up to 8 garments at the same time.

Metro
Metro is a software that automatically and transparently measures the actual consumption of a laundry, summarizing these figures in each garment’s “environmental passport”.

At the show, Tonello will also demonstrate their technologies by washing the MSP Collection, in collaboration with PVH Europe, Kingpins, and designed by Piero Turk.

Mimaki announce their third Global Innovation Days (19th – 21st October 2022). This collaborative virtual experience unites Mimaki’s regional offices to discuss trends across the different markets and the American, Asian, and European regions operated in by Mimaki, through a series of live and pre-recorded demonstrations, webinars, and round-table discussions. The programme of events will be led by experts from Mimaki Europe, Japan, USA and Australia.

With a focus on addressing the queries and requirements across the many facets of the print industry, the event will see collaborations with the likes of FESPA, from whom spokespeople will be attending to discuss the latest trends and innovations identified at FESPA this year, as well as a look ahead to next year’s event and what people can expect to see.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to further explore the latest additions to Mimaki’s product portfolio, with demonstrations of the technologies and the applications that they are able to create coming live from the Mimaki showroom in Amsterdam. The 330 series, including the JV330-160, CJV330-160 and TS330-1600, will be showcased, as well as the full-colour capabilities of the 3DUJ-2207 3D printer, and Mimaki’s latest flatbed printer, the JFX600-2513, which boasts speeds thrice superior to that of its predecessor. Another highlight of the event will be a discussion held with leading print media and software vendors, to examine the current market trends from outside of the manufacturing perspective.

SHIMA SEIKI announces a sales promotion package for the apparel industry together with KDDI, Linking 3D fashion design with cross-reality― realizing digital catalogs, VR showrooms and new customer experience allowing 360-degree viewing without actual samples

Leading fashion technologist SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan together with telecommunications company KDDI Corporation of Tokyo, Japan launched "XR Mannequin for APEXFiz," a sales promotion package that links SHIMA SEIKI's APEXFiz design software for the apparel industry with KDDI's XR (cross-reality) technology.

XR Mannequin for APEXFiz will be offered to the apparel industry. Using an XR Mannequin that enables viewers to check product images from any angle in 360 degrees on various devices, XR Mannequin for APEXFiz enables digital catalogues with 3D virtual sample image data of garments designed on APEXFiz design software, 360-degree VR showrooms, as well as digitally extended stores. It also realizes virtual proposals at exhibitions, showroom-style stores with no inventory, and user-friendly purchase experience on e-commerce sites, and more. It also allows users to reduce excess stock at stores and create new sales opportunities.

Eventually, by adding movement to models wearing Virtual Samples and rendering them on a cloud server, customers will be able to view high-resolution virtual fashion shows on their smartphones and other devices.

 Until now, the apparel industry has been making actual product samples in each of the planning and design stages of production. This process not only takes an enormous amount of time and cost, but generates waste of raw materials including fabric that require disposal. At the retail stage, stores also needed to have various sizes and colors in stock to address a wide range of customer preferences, resulting in excess inventory.

With SHIMA SEIKI's APEXFiz, designs can be evaluated without making actual samples, minimizing resources spent on sample production as well as lead time, enabling environmentally-friendly manufacturing.

In May 2022, KDDI developed a high-resolution XR mannequin for apparel sales, with support from Google Cloud. It enables various devices such as store signages and smartphones to check products from any angle in 360 degrees, enabling stores to sell products without maintaining inventory.

SHIMA SEIKI and KDDI combines APEXFiz and XR Mannequin to start providing XR Mannequin for APEXFiz. This brings DX solutions to all stages in the supply chain for the apparel industry, from planning and design to sample making, production, distribution, and retail sales. SHIMA SEIKI and KDDI will continue to create services together that link each other's products, to bring about a sustainable society by reducing excess stock, and providing a customer experience that gives peace of mind when purchasing products.

• New fibre with a circular economy footprint obtained from cotton linters through a closed-loop process
• September 22-25, 2022, WSM-White Sustainable Milano, Visconti pavilion

For the second time in a row Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei takes part to White Sustainable Milano, the first fashion trade show entirely dedicated to the research and focus on new materials and technologies able to lead to a real ecological transition, developed in collaboration with Giusy Bettoni, CEO and founder C.L.A.S.S., and Marco Poli, Founder of The Style Lift.

After becoming a leader in formalwear lining, in the latest decade this fiber by Asahi Kasei has been able to evolve towards new consumer needs and desires, moving itself towards many different applications such as intimate, fashion, formalwear and activewear. Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei arrives at WSM with a new step into its journey and evolution in contemporary style with a new Staple-fibre that unlocks creative paths towards mew aesthetics, touch and sustainability.

A new yarn range that expands the company’s realm of applications for the fashion and luxury industry, including also knitwear, jersey and casualwear. Indeed, the fibre comes with a circular economy footprint obtained from cotton linters through a closed-loop process. Bemberg™ also ensures certified sustainability credentials through its transparent and traceable approach.

At WSM fair, the company proves it by unveiling a collection of t-shirts developed in collaboration with the MagnoLab smart network of Italian companies. Circular economy and environmental responsibility meet aesthetic research with a collaborative imprint.

The new t-shirt collection created in synergy with MagnoLab, a network of Biella-based companies bringing forward initiative and collabs related to sustainability and circular economy. Staple-fibre is the top ingredient of the collection. The cut t-shirts are presented both in sheer and blends with other certified fibers, including GOTS cottons and RWS wools, capable of enhancing both the hand of the final garment and the performance of the brand-new yarn.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group, was awarded the prestigious Georg Menges Prize 2022 at the 31st International Colloquium on Plastics Technology in Aachen from September 7-8, 2022. The prize recognizes individuals or groups who have rendered outstanding services to the transfer of research results into industrial practice. The sponsors of the award are the Plastics and Rubber section of Germany's Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), together with PlasticsEurope Deutschland and the Association of Sponsors of the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Craft at RWTH University. The award is traditionally presented every two years during the colloquium organized by the IKV. Ulrich Reifenhäuser is the first businessman to receive the Georg Menges Award.

The award was presented by Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, Director of the IKV and Dr.-Ing. Herbert Müller, Chairman of the Board of the IKV Sponsors' Association. In his laudatory speech, Professor Hopmann highlighted Ulrich Reifenhäuser's great and successful commitment to the industry and his tireless search for optimal solutions that are sustainable in the best sense of the word, and praised him as a personality of integrity and integration. "The Georg Menges Prize is awarded for the consistent implementation of research and innovation in industry. The previously described achievements of our prizewinner would certainly have been enough to receive the award but, for the sponsors of the Prize, what was especially important and the key argument for their decision was Ulrich Reifenhäuser’s honorary dedication to the K tradefair," explained Professor Hopmann.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser has been a member of the Reifenhäuser Group management since 1992 and is responsible for international line sales. Together with his brother Bernd Reifenhäuser, he manages the company in the third generation. Ulrich Reifenhäuser has been a board member of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association for more than 25 years and has been its chairman since 2010. In 2020, he was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame, as was the award's namesake, and in 2022 he will be co-chairing the world's leading plastics trade fair in Düsseldorf for the seventh time in a row as "President of K show."

Turkish company, Makroser Tekstil specialises in manufacturing digitally printed carpets and over the years has become one of the leading suppliers in the sector. Utilising Mimaki’s high-performance TS300P-1800 sublimation transfer printer since 2020, the company has optimised their production potential to meet increasing customer expectations in this growing digital textile carpet market.

Alongside carpets, the company also offers other solutions to the carpet industry by producing backing and other materials

Acting as both a seller and a supplier, Makroser Tekstil has an approximate monthly output of 150,000 square meters of final product and sells about 70-80,000 square meters of intermediate goods per month. “Our market has four main pillars, including chain market groups, export, e-commerce and our own retail network. We have gained serious momentum in the sales of our final products in recent years, and we attach great importance to our sales and marketing processes, in addition to production, so to increase our profitability. We are currently exporting 35-40% of our production, and our branding and e-commerce activities show that we are making significant improvements”, says Makroser Tekstil’s co-founder, Talha Güldest.

Makroser Tekstil decided to invest in a Mimaki TS300P-1800 sublimation transfer printer back in August 2020, with the aim to strengthen their position in the digitally printed carpet market. “The investment in the TS300P-1800 has enabled us to have the capacity to respond quickly to e-commerce orders,” Güldeste commented. “Product quality is the main criterion in the supplies we provide to both online and retail outlets. We made this investment because we saw that we would increase our quality and customer satisfaction in the carpets we print. The Mimaki printer met our expectations, providing the results we wanted from the very first print after installation.” Considering the increased demand, Güldeste aims to further boost their printing capacity with investment in several more Mimaki printers.

For 2023, imm cologne is adapting its concept. The trade fair has been given a new schedule, which will see the international Interior Business Event host a new, one-off spring edition in 2023. The dates have been chosen in close consultation with its market partners.

“Today the imm cologne advisory board gave the concept proposed by Koelnmesse for the imm spring edition in June 2023 the green light unanimously. Our thanks go to the advisory board and in particular to the German industry, the retail sector and the purchasing associations for their support. This concept will ensure that imm cologne can take place again after a two-year break. The industry has given its backing to a strong interior design trade fair in Germany, the biggest market in Europe,” says Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “I firmly believe in face-to-face exchanges. In my view, they are immensely important for the industry’s development, especially in challenging times. The sector needs an in-person platform in Germany, an event with international appeal and a strong communication reach like imm cologne,” he adds.

imm cologne’s new story will take shape in two steps
The imm cologne team presented its vision for a new concept at the start of June 2022. The new story for imm cologne will unfold in two steps. The first step will be the imm spring edition from 4 to 7 June 2023. “The spring edition is synonymous with a new beginning. imm cologne wants to use it to motivate and to show how it is experimenting with new ideas and leaving well-trodden paths behind,” explains Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “What’s more, the event in June gives our partners planning certainty.”

Four-day with a trade audience focus
The cornerstones of the new concept are clear: The imm spring edition will take place over four days, running from Sunday to Wednesday, and will be geared towards trade visitors. End consumers will be able to visit the trade fair by invitation, giving the spring event a clear business focus. “It’s also our goal to create new participation formats in the market,” says Matthias Pollmann, Vice President Trade Fair Management at Koelnmesse. The kitchen segment will also be included in the imm 2023 spring edition. At the same time, the plan is to incorporate the city more closely into the spring edition as an event location.

Vision 2024+: imm cologne as the forum for future issues facing the industry
The second step will then follow in the summer of 2023. In close consultation with the industry and the associations involved in the event, the future dates for imm cologne and LivingKitchen will be set. The future vision for imm cologne conceives the interior event as more than just a key business platform. As a catalyst for the sector’s development, it addresses both industry and external issues of relevance to the imm cologne community.

The second annual Ryan Young Climate+ Awards will take place this November 2022 at the annual Textile Exchange conference. Nominations are open until August 31, 2022.

The late Ryan Young, Textile Exchange COO from 2017-2020, is the inspiration behind Textile Exchange’s Climate+ Strategy, which is for the organization to serve as “a driving force for urgent climate action,” with a goal of 45% reduced CO2 emissions from textile fiber and material production by 2030. Ryan’s bold and courageous spirit defined what Textile Exchange and its members must do to tackle the climate crisis.

In honor of Ryan and his vision, TE will again be awarding Ryan Young Climate+ Awards to outstanding individuals and teams who show a clear commitment to the Climate+ vision along with other leadership traits.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Textile Exchange Conference which will take place virtually and in person in Colorado Springs, U.S. from November 14-18, 2022.

The 2022 award categories and criteriaare listed below:
Nominees may be brands, retailers, farmers and/or ranchers, and raw material suppliers.
Winners will receive one free full-access pass to attend the Conference (travel not included).

Three Ryan Young Climate+ Award Categories:

1. Overall leadership – individual
2. Overall leadership – team
3. Rising star – individual with less than 5 years of industry experience

Award recipients will meet the following criteria:

• Commitment to Climate+ – involved in accelerating Climate+ action in the apparel, textile, and footwear industry.
• Collaboration – reflective of Ryan’s vision and determination to collaboratively move the industry forward.
• Impact – driving innovative, scalable, transparent programs with measurable impact reduction and/or beneficial impacts on climate, water, soil health, and/or biodiversity at the raw materials level. Achievements/solutions are backed by trusted data and/or reporting.
• Leadership and Inspiration – clearly demonstrating leadership and vision for industry climate solutions over the past year and beyond