From the Sector

• Hypetex® to Showcase Coloured Carbon and Flax Fibre Solutions
• Hypetex, London, April 20 2022, Booth R52, Hall 6

Hypetex, the market leaders in colouring carbon and natural fibre materials, will demonstrate both the processing and sustainability benefits of its patented colourisation technology when it exhibits for the first time at JEC World 2022.

Exhibiting as part of the Composites UK stand (Booth R52), Hypetex will display its portfolio of uniquely coloured carbon fibre materials including 3K woven styles, ultra-lightweight spread tow fabrics, UD, and 3D materials. Hypetex will also present details of its latest eco-friendly coloured flax materials  which combine sustainably grown natural flax with sustainable colouring technologies. Hypetex patented colouring technology, available in an extensive palette of standard and bespoke colours and shades, can be applied to traditional woven fabric constructions, non-woven UDs, spread tow and bespoke fabric designs. The technology replaces a traditional coloured painted finish, providing an exceptional depth of colour to any composite part, improving thermal conductivity and reducing heat absorption ,whilst reducing the overall weight and processing time with no compromise to the mechanical performance of the composite structure.

By removing the need for painting, and the associated preparation steps, Hypetex technology provides manufacturers with a repeatable straight out of the mould coloured finish, that is not only easy to integrate into all composite processes, but also takes additional materials, consumables, and process time out of the component cost. As part of its continued commitment to leading the drive for more sustainable composite solutions, and its focus on improvements based on the ESG framework. Hypetex will also display its new range of coloured flax fibre textiles. The advanced colouring technology used protects the natural flax fibres throughout the high temperature processes required for composite production, avoiding burning or any discolouration issues common to natural fibres. In addition, Hypetex colouring solution is an ecofriendly sustainable alternative to traditional dyeing processes which are a significant cause of global water pollution.

The Hypetex team will be on hand throughout the show to provide additional details on Hypetex materials and their integration into the manufacturing process. Visitors to the Hypetex stand will be able see Hypetex carbon and flax products in raw fabric, and how its unique colour palette translates into the most distinctive finished moulded components. Hypetex partners SHD Composites, Textreme, Sigmatex and Angeloni will also have materials and components on display at JEC World 2022, including sporting equipment such as racquets, sticks, and skateboards, which highlight the massive range of processing options and potential applications for this novel technology. One such application, the adidas Kromaskin field hockey stick, with a unique Hypetex coloured Textreme spread tow carbon finish, will also be part of the JEC Innovation Planets feature.

Sitip confirms for the third year its partnership with SCOTT Racing Team in the production of the team uniform created in collaboration with ROICA™ EF of Asahi Kasei and Rosti.

The partnership was born in 2019 and celebrated during Ispo 2020, which returns for the third consecutive year to re-propose an exclusive and special uniform, designed to be extremely performing but also, and entirely, eco-sustainable.

Starting from the performance requirements of athletes, who need highly technical fabrics extremely breathable, comfortable on the skin, resistant and with perfect shape retention able to support them in competitions, Sitip has chosen the fabrics of its Native Sustainable Textiles line - technology which applies to fabrics produced with recycled yarns and chemicals with low environmental impact, implementing the GRS (Global Recycle Standard) standard, with Asahi Kasei’s premium ROICA™ EF stretch yarn.

This line includes NATIVE-BICIMANIA and NATIVE-PIRATA, two GRS-certified recycled polyester fabrics chosen for the production of the uniform shirt, enriched by Microsense Soft Performance technology - able to guarantee the product a delicate softness and maximum comfort on the skin.

This year the absolute novelty is represented by the shorts, for a complete uniform: made with the NATIVE-THUNDERBIKE POWER fabric, designed for high performance sports, in recycled polyamide and always with the ROICA™ EF yarn by Asahi Kasei.

• International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from Romatex (Pty) Ltd., South Africa, to supply a new batt forming line.

The line will be dedicated to the production of Maliwatt products used in a wide range of applications, including home textiles. Start-up of the line is planned for the fourth quarter of 2022.

ANDRITZ will deliver dedicated batt forming equipment, mixing an aXcess card and an eXcelle crosslapper to achieve the technical characteristics Romatex requires in terms of product quality and line performance. This new stitchbonding line will enable Romatex to better serve the growing customer requirements in terms of availability of high-quality products.

This will be the third line supplied by ANDRITZ to Romatex in four years. Helmut Höck, General Manager Operations at Romatex, says: “We bought our first line from ANDRITZ in 2017, then another one in 2019. We have been very satisfied with the close collaboration between our companies, the flexibility and reliability of the machines, as well as the excellent service from ANDRITZ over all these years. The experience has been uncomplicated. This has given us the confidence to consider ANDRITZ for a further investment.”

ANDRITZ is one of the global market leaders for supply of nonwoven production technologies, including batt forming equipment for the stitchbonding processes used to make Maliwatt, Malivlies and Multiknit. This segment addresses a variety of applications, including automotive, household, bedding, footwear, wipes, and many others.

Romatex is the leader in Maliwatt stitchbonding in Africa. Its facility is located in Cape Town. One of the company’s key strengths is its product diversification. Today, the company offers a complete range of bed linen, duvets, pillows, and stitchbonded products.

• High performing face stock paper delivers convincing results for multiple applications
• Sappi product portfolio of face stock papers ist being expanded with Parade Label SG from its Gratkorn site

Sappi, manufacturer of numerous packaging and speciality papers for a wide range of markets, is launching the Parade Label SG, a one-side coated face stock label paper that excels in terms of properties such as printability, opacity and stiffness, as well as with its many options for further processing.

• Semi-gloss face stock paper with high-quality performance characteristics
• Suitable for a wide range of applications, e.g. labels for food, non-food, HABA and VIP
• Available in 77, 78 and 80 gsm
• Manufactured in Gratkorn, one of the largest and ultra-modern paper mills in Europe

Sappi offers an extensive range of base papers for wet-glue and self-adhesive labels. With its new Parade Label SG, the company is now introducing a one-side coated, semi-gloss face stock label paper that is approved for direct contact with food and that complies with DIN EN 71 for toy safety. The range of applications includes labels for food, non-food, beverages and health and beauty aids (HABA), as well as for logistics and variable information printing (VIP) due to its excellent thermal transfer printability.

The fibre-based face stock solution guarantees high-quality results in printing and finishing, through the entire production and converting chain. It features high stiffness and resilience, so the label will not be damaged and will fit accurately even after labelling.

Sappi invests in customer proximity
To ensure 100 percent availability and fast delivery of its label papers, Sappi has proactively positioned itself for the future and set the course for reliable production and seamless supply chains – with its plants in Alfeld, Carmignano and Condino. The plant in Gratkorn, where Sappi has invested in new technical equipment, has now been added to the list. With modern production facilities, from paper machines to finishing technology, as well as extensive expertise in the production of coated papers, the site has everything in place to ensure top-class products. Available capacity is being expanded gradually to include the production of Parade Label papers alongside existing graphical grades.

Because of the central location of Sappi’s production site in Gratkorn, Parade Label SG can be supplied quickly throughout Europe and beyond. The short transportation distances save greenhouse emissions and protect the environment; shorter production cycles then enable good availability and fast supply. Parade Label SG is certified for direct food contact and available in grammages of 77, 78 and 80 g/m². Sappi can provide Parade Label SG with FSC or PEFC certificates on request.

Sappi will be presenting its new developments in the field of label papers, among others, at the upcoming LabelExpo Europe in Brussels in April 2022.

Freudenberg Performance Materials announces a general upward adjustment of their prices for nonwoven performance materials for flooring and filtration applications in EMEA. This revision, effective January 1, 2022, has become necessary because of sustained and unprecedented surge in cost for raw materials, packaging, freight, consumables and energy combined with disruptions in their inbound supply chain.

Prices across all categories have by far outpaced their expectations and are forecasted to remain on high levels throughout 2022. This historic price trend has placed significant pressure on Freudenberg Performance Materials, and they understand in a similar way on their customers.

At this stage their business can no longer absorb the effects of such high price levels. Freudenberg Performance Materials will therefore adjust our prices for all their Colback® and Lutradur branded nonwoven products for flooring and filtration application by double-digit increases depending on product types.

Freudenberg Performance Materials will continue to work on improving productivity to offset inflationary pressure to keep attractive price levels and to avoid further price adjustments. They will continue to monitor the market development and in case of sustained and unexpected downward trends they will adjust our prices accordingly.

After three-days of product sourcing and business networking, Techtextil India 2021 in Mumbai concluded in a strong and positive note. The trade fair emerged as a crucial meeting place for the technical textile players to rebuild their supplier links, promote industry integration and engage in lucrative knowledge exchange.

The eighth edition of Techtextil India stood out to be a ground-breaking business platform for the technical textile sector to build a new and strong foundation in the new normal. The aim of the new edition was to promote industry unification and business recovery across the value chain of technical textiles.

The event held at Bombay Exhibition Centre was inaugurated by major dignitaries, including Shri Ajit Chavan, Secretary – Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Over the course of its three buzzing days, the show garnered an attendance of 4,087 visitors drawn by live demonstration of latest products, technologies and innovations exhibited by over 150 technical textile brands on the show floor.

The event received an overwhelming response, reflecting industry’s keen interest to explore new developments and opportunities in technical textiles. In regards to the same, Mr Abhijit Kulkarni, President – Textile Engineering Group, A.T.E. India, stated: “It was the first and best physical show also on hybrid mode filled with enthusiastic buyers and customers who visited our booth and had very fruitful discussions with us. Several leading textile manufacturers visited our stalls, including: Strata Geosystems India, SKAPS Industries, Reliance Composites, Paramount Textiles, and Welspun, to name a few.”

Alok Masterbatches Pvt Ltd, Khosla Profile Pvt Ltd, ATE Group, Lucky International, Meera Industries Limited, Park Non-Woven Pvt Ltd, Sarex Chemicals, SICAM, Suntech Geotextile Pvt Ltd and Weavetech Engineers, were among the leading Indian companies exhibiting at the show.

The significance of the three-day fair was further elevated by the German pavilion. Technical textile manufacturers from Germany, such as Autefa Solution Germany GmbH, DILO Systems GmbH, Emtec Electronic GmbH, Georg Sahm GmbH & Co, Karl Mayer Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Merz Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Oerlikon Barmag Zweigniederlassung der Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co, displayed their latest technologies on the show floor, which garnered significant attention from the Indian buyers.

The first Digital Symposium was another highlight of Techtextil India 2021. The forum delved into a series of crucial topics in technical textiles discussing PLI schemes, FDI opportunities and policies, investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu, & New Investment Opportunities, Sustainable Technical Textiles and Global sustainable approach for Textiles with Antimicrobial Performance.

Concluding on a successful note, Techtextil India 2021 emerged as a platform of new beginnings for the technical textiles sector and for businesses trying to retain their shape and seeking momentum after the tough pandemic phase.

Avgol, an Indorama Ventures company and manufacturer of high-performance nonwoven fabric solutions, will be showcasing its latest work in biotransformation technology for polyolefin fibers and nonwoven fabrics at this year’s Hygienix™ event.

Nick Carter, Vice President, Nonwovens Marketing at Avgol, will be a guest speaker at the event, giving a presentation alongside Dr. DeeAnn Nelson, R&D and Innovation Manager with Avgol in North America, on ‘Biotransformation Technology in Polyolefin Fibers and Nonwoven Fabrics, Focus on Fugitive Used Articles’. “Today, the word “sustainability” does not have a unified meaning in the industries we serve,” said Nick. “Perform a regional analysis on any given customer or consumer, delve into a legislative body or advocacy group’s positioning and you will find each are likely to use the word ‘sustainable’ with varying interpretations, implementations, and implications.

The Avgol presentation, part of the Product & Process Innovation in AHPs series, will take place at 2pm on Tuesday, November 16.

From their base at the tabletop event, Nick and the Avgol team will be discussing the global challenge of eliminating incineration, chemical treatment, landfill, dumping and, in particular, fugitive material pollution from non-woven products.

“Following our recent success at Index 20, we will be sharing insight to our research and development strategy with Hygienix attendees, addressing the degradation performance of our products and the path forward for the industry in terms of the use of new bio-colorants, biosurfactants and new technologies. Of course, we will also be demonstrating our latest Forward Innovative Thinking (FITTM) range of hygiene materials too, including natureFITTM”, says Nick Carter.

natureFIT™ is the newest innovation in the Avgol™ technology platform, designed to imbue nonwoven fabrics with additional qualities and benefits that anticipate the shifting demands of the consumer-led retail space. The suite of fabric solutions is focused on replacing elements of spun melt fabric design, where possible, with natural alternatives. The advanced technology affords product designers a significant reduction in polymer consumption to reduce environmental impact while simultaneously enhancing softness and conformability.

Hygienix™ runs from 15 – 18 November 2021 at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.

DiloGroup would like to thank all customers and interested parties for visiting the Dilo booth in Geneva. Despite the existing worldwide Covid, we were able to welcome a great number of well-known faces as well as meet new contacts, among them the most important nonwovens producers from across the world in all application areas: hygiene and lightweight nonwovens, technical textiles and needled nonwovens including geotextiles, filter media and automotive. The interest in using resource saving plant engineering, energy saving and the processing of natural fibres remains.

Dilo presented its latest developments in industry 4.0. Systematic plant monitoring and analysis of machine data allows simplified operation and more effective production. This smart system was illustrated with the aid of live analysis of the performance, quality and availability parameters of the production lines in our Textile Research Centre. The new production systems Hyperpunch Alpha, HyperTex and 3D-Lofter were explained with the aid of videos which led to a very positive responsive from the many different producers which are interested in running trials at the Dilo Textile Research Centre to further explore these subjects. These highlights and further new developments were the basis for fruitful technical discussions.

Penn Textile Solutions GmbH is one of the world's leading manufacturers of elastic fabrics for under-wear, corsetry, sportswear and swimwear, as well as highly functional textiles for technical applications. The fully integrated company with its own warping, circular knitting, warp knitting, dyeing and finishing facilities currently employs around 150 people.

Penn has long relied on Mahlo
Penn has relied on the cooperation with Mahlo for years. The manufacturer of measuring, control and automation systems for web-shaped goods has decades of experience in the field of process control. Until the summer of 2020, the textile manufacturer had been using a basis weight measurement system in the stenter frame outlet with beta radiation and manual control. "When the krypton preparations had passed their half-life, we had to make a decision: Exchange or replace the system right away", says operations manager Franz Schütte. They sat down with Mahlo representatives and looked for the best solution. Since the systems had already reached a high operating age and the measurement was limited to the basis weight, a new concept was decided upon. "Mahlo made us the best price-performance offer." The new system should be even more efficient and easier to operate for the special makes..

The compression zones of the functional fabric create corresponding distortions within the textile surface in its raw state, which have to be smoothed out in the fixing process. This work is now taken over by a process control system. The Mahlo Famacont PMC-15 with two measuring points automatically controls the leading of the stenter frame by continuously and contactlessly determining the mesh density. In addition, the Patcontrol PCS-20 process control system ensures that the dimensions of the different zones are recorded and also automatically controlled. "The previous beta-radiation facility was not able to collect this kind of data," explains the Penn operations manager. Another important aspect for the textile manufacturer: the complete and costly radiation protection is no longer necessary with the new systems.

Despite very good experience with Mahlo in the past, every change naturally involves a risk. Penn did not have to rely on theoretical considerations, however, but carried out tests in advance with appropriate sample material in the Mahlo test laboratory. The results convinced the decision-makers.