From the Sector

The H160 was designed by Airbus Helicopters to create added value for customers in terms of performance, economic competitiveness, safety and comfort. The use of Hexcel’s composite materials throughout the structure (fuselage, tail boom, tail rotor and main rotor blades) contributes to the lightweight fuel-saving design and performance optimization.
“Hexcel’s composite materials have been used in Airbus Helicopters’ programs for many years and we are honored to be continuing our long term relationship, based on innovation and continuous improvement” commented Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President Aerospace EMEA-AP. “We thank Airbus Helicopters for their selection and look forward to our ongoing supply of high performance, weight saving composites materials for this innovative rotorcraft”.
H160 configurations in development include offshore transportation, business and private aviation, emergency medical services, public services, and commercial passenger transport. The helicopter is planned to enter into service in 2019.

Die Chancen für die Anbieter sind groß, zeigt der neue „Bran-chen-REPORT Gardinen, Sicht- und Sonnenschutz 2017“ von Marketmedia24, Köln. Eine tiefgreifende Branchenanalyse des deutschen Gesamtmarktes, die in ihren Sze-narien bis zum Jahr 2025 im optimistischen Fall sogar ein Marktwachstum auf fast 3,7 Milliarden Euro ausweist. Allerdings muss die Branche dafür einige Hausaufgaben lösen. Das unterstreicht eine für die Studie durchgeführte repräsentative Verbrau-cherbefragung. Danach könnten sowohl Markenmehrwerte als auch technische und funktionale Innovationen der Branche wesentlich zu Wachstum verhelfen.
Tatsächlich ist es um den modischen respektive emotionalen Faktor von Gardinen, Sicht- und Sonnenschutzprodukten gar nicht so schlecht bestellt. Denn die Befragung von Konsu-menten im Alter von 18 bis 75 Jahren, die im Februar 2017 durchgeführt wurde, ergab, dass bei fast 46 Prozent vor allem die Lust auf eine neue Dekoration oder die Entdeckung einer tollen Idee einen Einkauf auslösen. Das passiert bei vielen in etwa alle fünf Jahre. Eine Art rote Karte erteilen die Verbraucher allerdings den Marketingstrategien der Branche. Denn Marken haben nur eine sehr geringe Bedeutung und der technologische Mehrwert moderner Produkte fällt ebenfalls kaum ins Gesicht. Damit manifestiert sich der Preis in den Fokus der Kaufentscheidung.

As the product development process in the apparel industry continues to speed up, producers are looking for new fabric and accessory options outside of the traditional sourcing seasons. As such, with its added advantage of being located in the core area of China’s fashion industry and nearby Hong Kong, the popularity and importance of July’s Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen has been growing within the apparel market in recent years. A number of renowned international and domestic brands, such as DKNY, Embry, FILA, Initial, Nine West Group, Peacebird, s.Oliver and many more, have already signed-up to attend this year’s fair, where they will source from around nearly 700 exhibitors.

“Once again this edition we are putting significant effort into inviting VIP buyers and matching them with our exhibitors, so we know that many key brand buyers will source at the fair again,” said Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “Last year the feedback from these buyers, such as Diesel, DKNY, KINJI and Marc O’Polo, was that they are consistently seeking new materials to develop new products throughout the entire year, therefore, they find Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen increasingly beneficial to them, particularly because of its timing and high quality of products.”
One buyer already confirmed to attend, DKNY, sent its Fabric Manager Mr Patrick Chan to visit the fair last year, who praised the experience after his trip. “I’m satisfied with the quality of the suppliers and their products. I’ve found some potential suppliers in the Fine Japan Zone and received some samples. They provide high-quality fabrics with good design,” he said.

Compared to the past years we are a little late in advertising the upcoming 13th China International Recycled Polyester Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai at September 05 – 06, but as during the past twelve years we are expecting again an succesful international event with a large number of Mainland Chinese and Oversees delegates, speakers, exhibitiors and sponsors. The Conferece venue is the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao this year, which is located near the Hongqiao Airport and so about 30 min by car from the city and 15 min walking distance to the subway No. 6. With a production of about 8 Mio t/a the Chinese polyester recyclers are producing all kind of textile intermediates like staple fiber, POY, DTY, FDY, BCF, technical yarn and spunbond products based on mainly PET bottle flakes. Meanwhile also bottle-to-bottle and bottle-to-film or strapping technology is on the way. Therefore conference and exhibition are an ideal meeting place for those who are involved in the whole production chain including engineering and equipment manufacturer. Very interesting will be discussion and latest information about the impact of new governmental action to improve environmental standards. This new development might be of importance especially for those who are involved in raw material sourcing.

An exhibit at the recent Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) annual meeting in Washington promoted the value of doing business with a Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified launderer. More than 120 attendees learned how the certification verifies laundries’ best management practices (BMPs) and quantifies laundered product cleanliness. The display marked the first such promotion of Hygienically Clean Healthcare to an outpatient medical market. Previous exhibits touted the certification to hospital audiences: the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Like members of those groups, most ASCA participants interviewed were industry customers, but represented a wider variety of professions, including M.D. owners and these job titles:

• Administrator • Business Manager
• CEO, President, CFO, COO
• Chief Medical Officer
• Clinical Coordinator, Director
• Nursing Director
• Regional Director, VP

Roughly 10 percent of the visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit on May 3-5 expressed concern about the product and service quality of their linen, uniform and facility services providers. Using a Hygienically Clean certified launderer addresses quality concerns, they were told, as inspectors focus on a facility’s quality assurance manual as the hub of control measures (BMPs) that minimize potential for error. In addition, unlike Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) certification, Hygienically Clean microbial testing measures finished product quality, enforcing a total microbial content ceiling, including yeasts, molds and bacteria.

 Patagonia’s Clean Color Collection is a new capsule collection that Patagonia has just released in the last days of April. The products in the collection have been colored with dyes made from natural sources, including, along with other supply sources, EarthColors by Archroma, a range of dyes synthesized from agricultural waste.
Many of Patagonia’s synthetic dyes use less water, energy and CO2 when compared with conventional processes, however Patagonia is always looking for ways to do less environmental harm. The company, who already collaborates with Archroma for the Patagonia Denim collection based on Archroma’s Advanced Denim, therefore contacted Archroma to have a closer look at Archroma’s EarthColors dyes. The selected EarthColors dyes are the gorgeous Palmetto Green and Citrus Brown colors made respectively from non-edible palmetto green parts and bitter orange peels left over from agriculture industry or pharmaceutical extraction.

EarthColors is a line of plant-based dyes, sourced from up to 100 percent renewable resources. The colors change and fade over time, which is part of what makes these dyes unique.
“We are so proud that, once again, Patagonia has chosen Archroma’s eco-advanced dyeing technologies for their newest sustainable clothing endeavor,” comments Paul Cowell, Head of Brand Marketing in Archroma’s Brand & Performance Textile Specialties business. “We at Archroma are committed to challenge the status quo in the deep belief that we can make our industry sustainable. Because it’s our nature! Trail blazers like Patagonia bring us invaluable support in accelerating sustainable concepts in the textile value chain. Together we are showing the apparel industry the way to go, one collection at a time.”

Das Sächsische Textilforschungsinstitut (STFI), Chemnitz, stellt im 25. Jahr seines Bestehens erneut die Weichen in Richtung Zukunft. In Anwesenheit von Sachsens Ministerpräsident Stanislaw Tillich wurde am 3. Mai 2017 das neue „Zentrum für Textilen Leichtbau“ feierlich eröffnet. Der unlängst fertiggestellte 1.500-Quadrameter-Hallenneubau ist mit modernster Anlagentechnik ausgestattet.
„In unserem neuen Leichtbau-Zentrum laufen bereits erste wissenschaftliche Projektarbeiten sowie Versuche, die wir im Auftrag von Industriekunden ausführen. Bestimmende Themen sind die Aufbereitung von Carbonfaserabfällen, die Herstellung textiler Halbzeuge und die Erzeugung von Faserkunststoffverbunden. Damit sind wir für die wachsenden Anforderungen in diesen Marktsegmenten bestens gerüstet“, berichtete STFI-Direktor Andreas Berthel. Die aus eigener Kraft getätigte Investition von über 4 Mio. EUR sei der vorläufige Höhepunkt des vom STFI konsequent beschrittenen Weges auf dem Feld des textilen Leichtbaus, der vor rund zwölf Jahren mit dem Aufbau von Technika für Carbonfaservliesstoffe und Faserverbundstoffe sowie eines Prüflabors für Leichtbaustrukturen begann. Das neue Technikum ermögliche Arbeiten im semi-industriellen Maßstab.

LINGERIE becomes SMART with ROICA Cosabella premium lingerie brand with almost 2,000 styles of lingerie, daywear, loungewear, sleepwear and activewear sold in more than 100 countries. Cosabella chose Eco-Lace by Tessitura Colombo Antonio, a unique sustainable lace collection whose main premium stretch ingredient is ROICA™ Eco Smart by Asahi Kasei – the first and exclusive premium elastomer, sustainable and GRS certified (Global Recycle Standard by Textile Exchange) at international level.

DIESEL choose CUPRO Diesel presents its SS 2017 preview collection of 5 pure CUPRO pearl, washed finish silhouettes. CUPRO, by Asahi Kasei, is a refined, matchless material with an exquisite silk like touch. CUPRO is a matchless and original, new generation material made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linter bio-utility waste, converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process. Innovhub 3rd party lab test proves CUPRO can claim full biodegradability end of life option.

Earlier this year, the Pensacola-based operation achieved Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification in its Quitman, Ga. and Columbia, Miss. facilities.
In addition, the Crown Health Care Laundry facilities passed three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare linens and garments and zero presence of harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing including yeast and mold detection to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in linen and uniform service operations. The Hygienically Clean standard provides for two inspections every three years. OSHA compliance is closely examined, particularly toxic and hazardous substance handling rules governing textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with TRSA launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles. With 100+ years as the textile services industry's leading business association, TRSA's expertise in laundry BMP development is unmatched.