From the Sector

• Bangladeshi supplier offers production capacity to produce face masks and PPE on a non-profit basis
• Reaching out to global agencies to build partnerships to help tackle COVID-19 crisis
• “Now is the time for our whole industry to stand together”

A leading Bangladeshi garment manufacturer is offering the manufacturing capacity of his world-class facility for the production of protective face masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on a non-profit basis to help tackle the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Denim Expert Limited Managing Director, Mostafiz Uddin, has reached out to the global community including brands & retailers, governments, embassies, donors, development agencies, global apparel associations and bodies in these unprecedented times.

Mr. Uddin is offering the capacity, skills and production expertise of his factory and wants to develop partnerships to meet much-needed short-term demand for masks and PPE in the battle against COVID-19.

Those willing to partner with him and wishing to utilize his production capacity would only be asked to provide fabrics and raw materials as well as meeting workers’ wages.

Textile innovator and specialty chemical producer Devan answers questions regarding anti-viral textile finish solutions following the growing spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Over the past few weeks, Devan has received a lot of questions regarding an antiviral solution for textiles against Sars-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. “Not a big surprise since we put BI-OME AV forward 3 years ago. Testing has been done in cooperation with Institut Pasteur de Lille”, says Devan CEO Sven Ghyselinck. Devan studied enveloped viruses (e.g. H1N1, Corona-types, etc.) as well as naked viruses (e.g. Rotavirus). For both virus families, BI-OME AV showed strong to excellent activity in wet state.

In the first instance, the company wants to focus on professionals who need to stay working such as policemen, logistics workers, shop employees, day-care workers, … A common complication of respiratory viral disease can be a secondary bacterial infection. Professionals could be helped with either an anti-bacterial on their facemask to reduce the chance for these secondary bacterial infections, for better hygiene and less odor build-up. On workwear, a combination of a virus spread reducing and antibacterial solution could help as these garments are typically used during long hours, are non-disposable and most likely will be washed at home.

Devan has solutions which withstand washing while keeping its performance. BI-OME as a liquid product is EU BPR, Turkish BPR and US EPA registered. Depending on the rash region, commercialising treated articles be subject to additional local registration procedures.

Beverly Knits Inc. is proud to be involved in the effort led by Hanes and Parkdale to help support the fight against COVID-19. Working with a coalition of textile companies, we are ramping up production in the USA to provide face masks for health care workers on the frontlines. With the combined efforts of many small and medium-size companies, we are retooling our production lines to begin manufacturing immediately.

Beverly Knits is coordinating the production of up to 1.5 million masks produced domestically per week. Ron Sytz, CEO of Beverly Knits, said “It is an honor to be working with great American companies, united to supply critical resources to healthcare workers and first responders”.

Companies on the Beverly Knits team

• Clover Knits
• Contempora Knits
• Carolina Cotton Works
• Southfork Finishing
• National Safety Apparel
• A Lava & Sons
• Wells Hosiery
• Jomel Industries
• LA Corp
• Greenwood Mills

Coalition of Iconic American Apparel Brands & Textile Companies Heeds Call of Nation to Produce Medical Face Masks

A coalition of iconic American apparel brands and textile companies, responding to the urgent call of the White House for medical supplies, have come together to build a supply chain virtually overnight and fast-track the manufacturing of medical face masks to help hospitals, health care workers and citizens battling the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Parkdale Inc.-- the largest yarn spinner in the U.S. headquartered in North Carolina—helped lead the effort to build the coalition with Hanesbrands, Fruit of the Loom and six other companies to set up a manufacturing supply chain and begin ramping up production of the masks.

The coalition consists of iconic American brands such as Hanesbrands and Fruit of the Loom, often competitors in the marketplace, who are banding together for the greater good of a nation facing one if its most monumental challenges.

American Giant, Los Angeles Apparel, AST Sportswear, Sanmar, America Knits, Beverly Knits and Riegel Linen are also part of the coalition working tirelessly to respond to a national emergency in the nation’s time of need.

Dr. Peter Navarro, assistant to the President and director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, worked with the coalition and helped expedite the production of these masks. The first face masks have been approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The companies expect to begin production on Monday and will make the first deliveries by mid-week.

They are dedicating their assets, resources and manufacturing capacities to create a high output of facemasks. Once fully ramped up in four to five weeks, the companies expect to produce up to 10 million facemasks per week in the United States and in Central America.

If companies are interested in dedicating resources to help the cause, please reach out to the National Council of Textile Organizations at kellis@ncto.org

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.
 

• U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.  
• The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.  
• U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.  
• Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.

• „Virtuelles Druckfestival“ als Ersatz für verschobene FESPA 2020
• Veranstaltung mit Unternehmensneuheiten, Informationen zu neuen Produkten, Webinaren und Live-Fragerunden

Mimaki Europe plant eine interaktive Onlineveranstaltung unter dem Titel „The Mimaki Virtual Print Festival“ mit Informationen, Produktvorführungen, Wettbewerben und Networking-Möglichkeiten für Kunden und Interessenten. Auf dem Programm stehen Gruppen-Webinare und virtuelle Einzel-Meetings rund um die Chancen, Produkte und neue Features. Die Sitzungen beginnen am 24. März 2020, dem ursprünglichen Startdatum der FESPA 2020⁽¹⁾, und gehen bis Ende April.

Mimaki möchte bei der virtuellen Veranstaltung sein ursprüngliches Programm für die FESPA 2020 replizieren. Das Unternehmen bietet Kunden, Partnern und Interessenten die Möglichkeit zur Teilnahme an Produktvorführungen, Touren seines virtuellen FESPA 2020-Standes, Einzel-Meetings zu spezifischen Geschäftsanforderungen und Technologien und Live-Sitzungen für den Wissensaustausch mit FESPA-Führungskräften. Zur Sprache kommen Werbetechnik, industrieller Druck, Textildruck, Direct-to-Shape- und 3D-Druck und vieles mehr, wobei Mimaki einen offenen Dialog mit Branchenkollegen aus allen Sektoren fördern möchte.

Mit den Worten von Danna Drion, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA, Mimaki Europe: „Mimaki hat volles Verständnis für die Entscheidung der FESPA, die Messe zu verschieben, und freut sich schon jetzt auf die Teilnahme zu einem späteren Termin. Wir können zwar kein authentisches Messeerlebnis bieten, möchten aber Kunden und Interessenten den Zugang zu möglichst vielen der Informationen und Ressourcen über neue Produkte ermöglichen, die wir für die FESPA 2020 zusammengestellt hatten. Auf unserem virtuellen Druckfestival können sich Kunden und Interessenten interaktiv über die Anwendungen und Chancen mit unseren neuen Lösungen informieren und sich inspirieren lassen.“
Highlights:

• Branchentrends mit Mimaki und FESPA: Mimaki und FESPA veranstalten gemeinsam Webinare zu aktuellen Trends und Herausforderungen und stellen die neuesten Geschäftsmöglichkeiten in der Druckbranche vor.
• Produktvorführungen: Kurze Videos zeigen während der gesamten Veranstaltung die Vorteile und Möglichkeiten der neuesten Technologien von Mimaki. Im Mittelpunkt steht der vielseitige Tx300P-1800 MkII, der sowohl als Textildirektdrucker als auch als Transferdrucker eingesetzt werden kann.
• Virtuelle Kaffeepause und Einzelbesprechungen: Bestehende und potenzielle Vertriebspartner und Kunden können Einzelgespräche mit Mimaki-Repräsentanten vereinbaren, um sich gezielt eingehender über Technologien von Mimaki zu informieren oder individuelle Geschäftsanforderungen zu besprechen.
• Live-Chat mit Experten: Wer nur eine Frage hat oder keine Einzelbesprechung buchen möchte, kann während der ersten Veranstaltungswoche (24. bis 27. März) per Live-Chat mit Mimaki-Experten aus allen Sparten sprechen.

⁽¹⁾ FESPA 2020: Aufgrund der rasanten Ausbreitung von COVID-19 in Europa hat die FESPA die Verschiebung der FESPA Global Print Expo 2020, der European Sign Expo 2020 und der Sportswear Pro 2020 beschlossen. Weitere Informationen auf https://www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com/