From the Sector

ITM 2022, the first major international textile machinery exhibition to be held in the world after a 3-year hiatus during the pandemic process, is getting ready to open its doors. Bringing the leading brands of textile technologies together in Istanbul, ITM 2022 will host world launches and numerous collaborations for 5 days.

ITM 2022- International Textile Machinery Exhibition, organized in partnership with Teknik Fairs Inc. and Tüyap Tüm Fuarcılık Yapım Inc, will open its doors at Tüyap Fair and Congress Center between 14-18 June. For ITM 2022, which will be held in 12 halls on an area of 120,000 m2; hums of 1280 participating companies from more than 40 countries continues. Tüyap Fairground, where thousands of people sweat for stand setups, is getting ready for the big meeting. ITM 2022, where all halls have reached 100% occupancy rate and 1280 exhibitor companies are located, will also attract attention with the stand areas and machine parks that the manufacturers have enlarged compared to the previous exhibitions.

Companies will showcase their state-of-the-art technologies for the first time at ITM 2022
Many companies that focus on product development and new productions under pandemic conditions will have the opportunity to introduce their products to their customers for the first time in 3 years at the ITM 2022 Exhibition. Company owners, managers, employees and sector representatives visiting the exhibition will have the opportunity to see the latest technological innovations for the first time and witness their world launches.

Sector representatives, who will open up new horizons in their minds about textile technologies, will sign new products by transforming the extraordinary and original ideas that they have obtained at the ITM 2022 Exhibition into design. Participating companies will also update their machines in line with the demands and needs from the sector representatives and lead the development of new technologies.

Significant Contribution to Exports Aimed with Machine Sales and New Investment Decisions
The textile industry, which is among the locomotive sectors in Turkey's exports, has made a significant contribution to the Turkish economy, especially with the performance increase it has achieved during the pandemic period. Having achieved an increase of up to 40 percent in its exports of textiles and raw materials, Turkey also managed to increase its exports of medical textiles, technical textiles and home textiles. The industry will further increase this success with the collaborations to be realized at ITM 2022. The textile machinery industry will gain great momentum with the machinery sales and new investment decisions to be made at the exhibition.

ITM 2022, which will be attended by many domestic and foreign companies and visited by thousands of people, will be an organization where both domestic and foreign companies will make sales amounting to millions of Euros and many business connections will be realized.

Intense Interest from Trade Delegations
Trade delegations from dozens of countries are requesting to attend the ITM 2022 Exhibition, which is included in the ‘Domestic Organizations Covered by State Incentives’ list by the Ministry of Commerce. Bangladesh, India, Iran, Serbia, Czech Republic, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt and Vietnam are among the countries that requested procurement delegations. The intense application of visitors to consulates and commercial attachés from all over the world clearly reveals that ITM 2020 will host a large number of visitors.

ITM 2022 Exhibition Prepares to Break Both Exhibitor and Visitor Records
Company owners, company representatives and visitors left the 2018 edition of the ITM Exhibition very satisfied. ITM 2018 Exhibition, attended by 1150 companies and company representatives from 64 countries and visited by approximately 60 thousand people from 94 countries made a significant contribution to the export records of the textile industry that year. At the ITM 2022; It is getting ready to break new records with the number of participants and visitors coming from Turkey and abroad.

Technical Textiles and Nonwovens Industry Will Meet at HIGHTEX 2022 Exhibition
On the other hand, HIGHTEX 2022 Exhibition, which will be held simultaneously with the ITM 2022 Exhibition, will be an exhibition where Nonwoven products, raw materials used in their production and the state-of-the-art technologies will be exhibited. HIGHTEX 2022 Exhibition, which is the first and only in its field in Turkey, will host a record number of participants and visitors in parallel with the increase in demand for technical textiles. At the HIGHTEX 2022 Exhibition, companies operating in many sectors, from medical textiles to hygienic textiles, from agricultural textiles to geotextiles, will exhibit their latest products and production technologies. Nonwoven manufacturers will come together with the global players of the sector and have the opportunity to both invest in technology and introduce their newest products.

The ITMC 2022 conference, which will take place at the BAnQ from September 19 to 21, 2022, is aimed at attendees from various sectors of the textile industry. Its interdisciplinary approach is the key to maximizing the potential and development of textile materials and tools for various applications. The objective of the conference is to explore new ideas, effective solutions and collaborative partnerships for business growth by creating synergy between designers, manufacturers, suppliers, students and end users from all sectors and fully exploiting this potential.

The main topics are: Composites and textile reinforcement - Sustainable Production & Ecotextiles - Smart and functional textiles - Nanotechnology & Advanced Technical Textiles - Comfort & Protective Textiles - Medical Textiles - Digital Tools & Mass Customization

Keynote speakers :

• Omar Cherkaoui, ESITH : how ESITH was able to support the operators of the Moroccan textile sector during the covid-19 crisis
• Tracy Toulouse, TT : the impact and legacy of our clothing is to identify us as a nation
• Prof. Raul Fangueiro, University of Minho: fiber-based materials: from nano to macro scale
• Pierre-Alexandre Fournier, Exoskin: the role of smart textiles in the future of health
• KyoungOk Kim, Shinshu University: Patternmaking for attractive clothing for mass customization
• Marie O’Mahony, Consultant, Royal College of Art (RCA): smart materials & systems: has embracing uncertainty become vital to commercialization?
• Xianyi Zeng, Ensait: intelligent garments for online monitoring of human health and well-being
• Corinne Farace, Techtera: The collaborative approach: a major stake in meeting the challenges of tomorrow

The German machinery producer BRÜCKNER used exactly these chances and repositioned itself during the pandemic period. For more than 70 years, the family-run company has been specialized in individual finishing concepts for textiles, technical textiles, nonwovens and floor coverings. The current challenges in the textile industry are serious. The clear increase of the energy costs and the general uncertainty of the energy supply as well as political requirements make a profitable textile production more and more demanding for many companies.

The company responds to this with a newly developed stenter concept with double heating system. Depending on availability, the lines can be operated with gas or oil, but also other combinations with steam or renewable energies are possible. This means that production delays and machine downtimes can be avoided as far as possible. In addition, developed intelligent assistance systems for its machines have been developed that support the machine operator in using the best possible process to operate the line as energy-efficiently as possible. Further energy savings are possible with new energy-efficient motors or heat-recovery and exhaust air cleaning systems. This also helps to avoid harmful emissions.

But many textile producers are also focusing on reducing chemicals. For this purpose, BRÜCKNER's further developed ECO-COAT minimum application unit can make a decisive contribution. Knitted and woven fabrics, but also nonwovens can be finished on one or both sides via different fabric paths. With the minimum application via an engraved roller, a single-sided application of up to 100 g/m² can be achieved. A double-sided and higher application quantity is achieved, for example, by impregnation in the nip. Irrespective of the selected fabric path, a very small liquor reservoir means that only minimal quantities of waste water are produced when changing batches or liquors, and the use of chemicals can also be significantly reduced. In addition, less water has to be evaporated in the subsequent drying process than, for example, in the case of impregnation in a water bath, so the energy requirement is significantly reduced.

On the two upcoming trade fairs ITM in Istanbul and TECHTEXTIL in Frankfurt in June, interested customers can personally get an idea of BRÜCKNER's new developments.

Adient, a leading global supplier of automotive seating systems, has won the "German Innovation Award 2022" in the category "Information Technologies and Functional Software". Adient's concept of "Mixed Reality as a key to efficient induction training", developed as a pilot project by employees at Adient’s Saarlouis production site, was able to convince the interdisciplinary jury of experts from science and technology.

Adient's concept aims to efficiently train new employees in production areas with the aid of mixed reality glasses. These glasses can be used to scan QR codes that are attached to each workstation. The QR codes call up corresponding videos in the field of view of the glasses which visually help the user to learn about the processes at the respective workstation, thus replacing the previous paper-based work instructions.

With this concept, Adient is using the technology to design and develop world-class seating solution for its global customers. New employees can thus be given a comprehensive understanding of the complex structures of a car seat much better, faster, and in a more realistic way. In addition to optimized communication, changes in the process such as product modifications can be implemented more easily than with printed work instructions.

International technology group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production and textile solutions at Techtextil in Frankfurt from June 21 to 24. The ANDRITZ product portfolio covers state-of-the-art nonwovens and textile production technologies, such as air-through bonding, airlay, needlepunch, spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid/WetlaceTM, converting, textile finishing, recycling, and natural fiber processing. For Techtextil, special focus lies on technologies for textile recycling, needlepunch, airlay, wetlaid glass fibers and textile calendering.

TEXTILE RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON TEARING
With the acquisition of ANDRITZ Laroche SAS, ANDRITZ has expanded its product portfolio to include airlay and recycling technology as well as bast fiber processing technologies. Complete recycling lines for post-consumer and industrial textile waste to produce fibers for re-spinning and/or nonwoven end-uses are one focus of this product range. Customer awareness and regulations are forcing clothing brands to recycle their textile waste in their own products. Recycled fibers can also be used in the nonwovens industry for various applications, for example in the automotive industry, for insulation, mattresses, and furniture felts.

ANDRITZ Laroche offers a complete process range of tearing lines from 50 up to 3,000 kg/h, which can be used for almost all types of pre/post-consumer textile waste. The aim is to preserve the character of the original fibers, for example cotton, by maximizing fiber length, strength and feel.

EURATEX has just released its Spring report, offering a detailed insight into trade figures for the European textile and apparel industry in 2021. The numbers are encouraging: comparing with the dramatic corona-year 2020, EU exports of textile and clothing articles increased by +10.6%, while imports dipped by -7.5%. As a result, the EU trade deficit improved, even it remains significant (- €48 billion).

Furthermore, import prices went slightly down in clothing and dropped in textiles, following a strong decrease of Chinese import prices of face masks and protective medical supplies.

The boost in exports was mainly due to strong performance on the Swiss, Chinese and US markets. On the other side, EU sales of textile & clothing to the United Kingdom fell sharply (-23%), due to Brexit new requirements, customs’ delays and shortage of truck drivers.  Imports from the EU top supplier, China, plunged by -28%, corresponding to €13 billion. Similarly, textile and clothing imports from the United Kingdom recorded a sharp decrease over the period (-48%, equal to €-3 billion).

Director General Dirk Vantyghem commented: “the 2021 export figures, presented in this Spring report, confirm that EURATEX members have gained momentum; even if energy prices are causing some serious short-term disruptions, our long-term ambition remains to be a world leader on sustainable textiles.”

The international trade dimension is indeed critical for the competitiveness of the European textile ecosystem, and needs to be fully embedded in the EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The Commission insists that “all textile products placed on the EU market, are durable, free of hazardous substances, produced respecting social standards…” This is an essential condition to create a level playing field between all textile and apparel companies, regardless of their production base. With €100 billion of imports, and over 20 billion of “foreign” textile items put on the Single Market, this requires a dramatic upscaling of market surveillance, without however disrupting fluid supply chains.

Looking at the impact of war in Ukraine, EURATEX has strongly condemned the Russian aggression, and offered support to the Ukrainian textile industry. Ukraine offers valuable sourcing opportunities for European textile and apparel brands, as part of a broader nearshoring trend, which seems to emerge from the trade figures.

The Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) will be presenting innovative highlights from research and development at Techtextil 2022, the international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. In addition to a warp-knitted textile façade greening in a modular system and textile lightweight construction elements for the building sector made from hemp as a renewable raw material, the STFI will also be showing innovations from nonwovens research. The project optiformTEX is an example of the nonwovens competence: in this project, the mass per unit area was specifically influenced for the production of semi-finished products in the automotive sector. Furthermore, the Chemnitz Institute exhibits an ecological foam coating for protective textiles. Central highlight of the STFI's presence at the fair is also a mobile robot system, which demonstrates the automated loading of a small-scale bobbin creel.

Highlights at Techtextil 2022
The greened façade tile is a system with which large building surfaces can be cost-effectively greened through a simple, modular segment structure. In addition to insulating the building, the system has been created to meet the design requirements of a modern city centre; low-maintenance greening is made possible through functional integration in the textile carrier layer and coordinated plant selection.

Moulded components made of natural fibre nonwovens are increasingly used in the automotive sector. Conventional nonwovens currently have uniform masses per unit area. Technical solutions for load-oriented component reinforcement and the resulting optimised use of materials represent an enormous economic potential. The basic idea of “optiformTEX” was therefore to specifically influence the mass per unit area distribution in the pile before the semi-finished product is consolidated. As a result, a textile-technological process and the corresponding plant component were successfully developed.

Future-oriented materials are offered by developments from the field of renewable raw materials in combination with bio-based resin systems: In the “Gro-Coce” project, an innovative ceiling system was developed by combining sustainable building products and methods. Currently, a high-performance hemp-based semi-finished product as well as the steps for its reproducible production by means of textile surface formation is developed by the research team. Initial application and load tests of the hemp-based semi-finished products on wooden beams confirmed the high performance potential of the natural fibre materials.

Special functional textiles are based on composite materials with coatings or membranes. The previous production of the coatings/membranes poses ecological and health risks. At STFI, solvent-free, purely aqueous coating systems and a technology for their application were therefore developed for the protective textile sector, resulting in a breathable, waterproof and wash-resistant textile coating.

The central highlight of the STFI's presence at the fair is a mobile robot system, which demonstrates the automated loading of a small-scale bobbin creel. At the STFI, the robot is part of the “textile factory of the future”, where a play mat is woven and processed step by step along the textile chain.

Organized by the partnership of Tüyap Fairs and Exhibitions Organization Inc. and Teknik Fairs Inc., the ITM 2022 International Textile Machinery Exhibition will be held at Istanbul Tüyap Fair and Congress Center on 14-18 June 2022. Hundreds of domestic and international exhibitors are looking forward to presenting their newest technologies for the first time at the ITM 2O22 Exhibition. Leading textile machinery manufacturers, global sector investors, and professional visitors are planning to come to the ITM 2022 Exhibition to examine the latest technologies closely.

Trade committees from dozens of countries are requesting to attend the ITM 2022 Exhibition, which is included in the ‘Domestic Organizations Covered by State Incentives’ list by the Ministry of Commerce. Bangladesh, India, Iran, Serbia, Czech Republic, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt and Vietnam are among the countries that requested procurement delegations.

The ITM 2022 Exhibition is of great importance for Turkish textile machinery and accessories manufacturers to increase their competitiveness in exports and to sign collaborations that will result in worldwide exports. Leading textile technology brands, which focus on product development and new productions during the pandemic conditions, are looking forward to the ITM 2022 Exhibition to present their products to the market and introduce them to their customers face to face. More than 300 manufacturers will make the world launches of their latest technological innovations at the ITM 2022 Exhibition.

Hexcel will present a wide range of high-performance composite innovations for the Automotive, Marine, Wind Energy and Recreation markets during JEC World 2022 in Paris on May 3 – 5.

G-Vent Technology for Marine Structures
Hexcel has developed a new technology for out-of-autoclave (OoA) processing that delivers a game-changing reduction in process time and cost for marine manufacturers without compromising mechanical performance. Hexcel has leveraged its experience in aerospace and wind energy to develop its new G-Vent technology for OoA processing of highly loaded, thick section marine structures such as masts, foils, and wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) components. A full range of Hexcel marine prepregs are now available with integrated G-Vent technology, reducing the requirement for debulking steps and ensuring extremely low porosity (<1%) regardless of the laminate thickness. Leading marine non-destructive testing specialists Q.I. Composites recently confirmed that the thick section G-Vent panels they had evaluated had void contents and laminate quality in line with state-of-the-art autoclaved prepreg components. Visitors to the Hexcel stand will see a unique 400mm carbon cube cured in a single stage using 695 layers of HexPly M79 carbon fiber UD600 prepreg with G-Vent technology.

New HexPly® Nature Range Sustainable Prepregs
HexPly® Nature Range prepregs feature proven resins such as HexPly M49, M78 and M79 with bio-derived epoxy resin content. Created for use in all industrial markets, HexPly Nature Range materials can be seamlessly integrated into existing production processes, maintaining consistent mechanical performance and processing properties. A dedicated sustainability corner of the Hexcel stand will detail Nature Range products optimized for automotive, marine, wind energy and winter sport applications. The display will include an alpine ski produced by leading manufacturer Tecnica Group Ski Excellence Center which produces skis for Blizzard and for Nordica using HexPly Nature M78.1 UD flax prepreg material. In addition to the reduced environmental impact of the sustainably grown reinforcement, the flax fiber laminates also improve impact resistance and vibration damping in the ski.

HexPly® XF Surface Technology for Improved Part Surface Finish Quality
HexPly XF is a lightweight, semi-preg material that replaces traditional in-mold gel coat. It eliminates time-consuming refinishing work typically required to obtain a paint-ready surface and produces lighter, more consistent parts with shorter cycle times and a cleaner working environment. Visitors to the stand will see a composite panel illustrating a high-quality painted surface enabled with XF technology in a diverse range of industrial applications such as super yacht roof parts, Class A surface automotive panels, and both prepreg and infused wind turbine blades.

HexPly® M49 Prepreg for Automotive Visual Carbon Parts
HexPly M49 is easy to process and is especially suitable for visual carbon fiber-look applications such as the Brabus hood scoop on display on the Hexcel stand at JEC.

HexPly® Prepregs and HiMax® Reinforcements for Performance Marine Structures
Using a scale model of a Gunboat 68 performance sailing catamaran, Hexcel will illustrate how its HexPly and HiMax materials provide manufacturers with a complete set of lightweight composite solutions for high-performance marine structures. HexPly prepreg was selected for critical structural parts of the Gunboat 68 and provides very high mechanical performance including high dry and wet Tg.

Heavyweight HiMax reinforcements offer high deposition rates and remain easy to handle after cutting, making them highly suitable for industrial applications. In combination with a lightweight PrimeTex® woven fabric, the package of carbon fiber HiMax materials developed for the Gunboat 68 enabled consistent resin flow during infusion with reduced surface print-through.

Hexcel Fibers and Reinforcements for Lightweight Sporting Equipment
Sporting equipment manufacturers rely on Hexcel composite materials to deliver the ultimate performance at the lowest possible weight. Hexcel will exhibit a number of the latest high-performance sporting equipment applications such as a Bauer hockey stick featuring PrimeTex 98 gsm AS4C 3K fabric and a Corima tri-spoke cycling wheel made with lightweight Hexcel carbon fiber UD tape. Hexcel will also demonstrate how its HexTow® carbon fibers are used in key leisure and marine applications by displaying an AEROrazr solid carbon rigging component manufactured by spar and rigging manufacturer Future Fibres for the 36th America’s Cup.

Cobra International, a leading manufacturer of advanced composite products for the watersports, automotive, marine, and industrial sectors, will highlight recent diversification into new composite markets at JEC World 2022, with exhibits ranging from VTOL drones to carbon fibre prosthetics.  Cobra will also demonstrate how it is working alongside automotive and water sports customers to further enhance the sustainability of products in these sectors.

High Volume Production Capacity for the UAV sector
Cobra will display a wing from the Swiftlet UAV. This compact tactical fixed wing UAV platform has a 5.5m wingspan and was developed by the Royal Thai Air Force and National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) for survey, monitoring and search and rescue operations. Cobra manufactured the 32kg Swiftlet composite airframe using a combination of CNC cut carbon sandwich internal structure and PVC foam sandwich skins using both high grade glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforcements.  

Sustainability Options for Automotive and Watersports
Sustainability has a been a key focus for the Cobra Waterports division and CAC, the Cobra automotive business unit. At JEC World 2022, Cobra will showcase the increasing material and process options it has developed with both bio-resin and natural fibre reinforcements variants presented alongside more traditional carbon fibre parts.

Visitors will be able to get up close to a new Bio SUP Wingfoil board featuring a basalt, flax, bamboo and GreenPoxy bio-epoxy construction created for partners NSP, as well as state-of-the-art compression moulded prepreg foils. Cobra’s first fully recyclable surfboard incorporating the Recyclamine® resin technology that Cobra was recognised for in the 2020 JEC Innovation Awards will also be on display alongside a new Audi e-tron foil by Aerofoils – the world’s safest electric hydrofoil board.

The CAC team (Automotive Business Unit of Cobra) will present a set of OEM mirror cap parts that showcase a range of carbon SMC, woven visual carbon, pure woven visual flax, hybrid flax-carbon and painted flax construction options for the same component.  Clear carbon aesthetic and structural parts including CAC made M-carbon components for the BMW S 1000 RR Motorcycle will furthermore underline the high quality and eye-for-detail for which CAC is renowned.

Carbon Prosthetics
An entirely new composite application for the company, Cobra will also show two composite prosthetic devices at JEC which were productionised by the in-house design and development team. Working alongside a leading Thai university and a medical device OEM, Cobra created a rapid and cost effective series production process for a lightweight carbon fibre prosthetic foot. In another example of lightweight composites creating major quality of life improvements, Cobra has also designed and manufactured a carbon and glass fibre prepreg foot support for Elysium Industries.