From the Sector

• A springboard for entrepreneurs in the composites industry

In a few years, JEC Composites Startup Booster has became a reference for entrepreneurship in the composites industry worldwide. Each year before JEC World, among the startups that submitted their application, 20 of them are selected. 20 finalists from all over the world who will join the leading composites trade show to pitch their project on stage before a panel of expert judges.

This competition is a unique opportunity to network and shine a light on what will be the future of the composites industry so save the date: the two pitches sessions will happen on May 3rd, and the winners will be named on May, 4th at 2.45 pm at JEC World 2022 in Paris as well as online on JEC World Connect platform. This year’s competition is sponsored by Airbus & Mercedes-Benz (Main Innovation Partners) as well as Magna Exteriors (Innovation Partner).

Launched in 2017, Startup Booster has been organized in three different regions (Europe, USA and Asia) and has already fostered the emergence of 500+ innovative projects from 50+ countries, 80 finalists and 30 winners, including Arevo, Continuous Composites, ComPair, Fortify and Vartega…
This challenge not only represents an opportunity to the winners of the trophy but to all the parts involved: participants, jury, official partners and the worldwide audience of JEC World. It brings the entire composites value chain together, creating future business opportunities.

The 20 finalists are divided into two categories:
• Process, Manufacturing & Equipment
• Materials & Products

The jury includes representatives from major manufacturers and investors:
Jelle BLOEMHOF, Head of Manufacturing Technologies of Composite, Airbus
Karl-Heinz FULLER, Head of Future Outside & Materials Mercedes-Benz AG
Florent ILLAT, Head of Safran Corporate Ventures, Safran
Brian KRULL, Global Director of Innovation, Magna Exteriors
Tim VORAGE, Founder and Manager Growth Garage Accelerator , Mitsubishi Chemicals Advanced Materials

Two pitch sessions of 10 presentations each will be held in the Agora stage (Hall 5), on Tuesday, May 3, from 10am to 11.25am (Category: Products & Materials) and from 4.30pm to 5.55pm (Category: Process, Manufacturing & Equipment). Three winners will be chosen by the jury and one winner for the sustainable aspects of the project. The awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May, 4th at 2.45 pm.

Category “Products & Materials”
o Blackleaf (France)
o Dongnam Realize (South Korea)
o FibreCoat (Germany)
o FVMat (Israel)
o Ora Graphene Audio (Canada)
o Pangolin Defense (France)
o Phononic Vibes (Italy)
o Revolve (Germany)
o Smart Resilin (Israel)
o Space Walker (Japan)

Category “Process, Manufacturing & Equipment”
o Antefil Composite Tech (Switzerland)
o ANYBRID (Germany)
o Atomic-6 (USA)
o Carbon-Drive (Germany)
o Continuum (Denmark)
o Fibraworks (Germany)
o Herone (Germany)
o RVmagnetics (Slovakia)
o Touch Sensity (France)
o XARION Laser Acoustics (Austria)

Since 11 February 2022, the Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser e. V. (IVC) has been listed in the German Lobby Register under registration number R000411. German Parliament decided in March 2021 to introduce the register.

Following various cases of suspected corruption and the rather poor marks by Transparency International for the German federal states in a lobby ranking, calls for greater transparency had grown louder. The Lobby Register Act came into force on 1 January 2022 after it had been agreed by the political parties of CDU/CSU and SPD in long negotiations. Now the act obliges professional lobbyists to make an entry in the publicly accessible register, providing details about their clients and financial expenditure.

Since the IVC has already been registered in the European Transparency Register for several years on a voluntary basis, the Frankfurt-based industry association of major man-made fibre manufacturers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is in favour of all initiatives that lead to more transparency in lobbying.

According to IVC's 1^st Chairman Klaus Holz (managing director of Trevira GmbH), the IVC sees the existing act as a first step towards strengthening the acceptance of organisations which seek and maintain political contacts. Holz deplores that many gaps and exemptions remain at the time being. He emphasizes: "It is up to the German legislator to bring about equal treatment of every stakeholder in the political arena in Berlin as quickly as possible, so that all those involved can meet on an equal footing."

Dr. Wilhelm Rauch, managing director of the IVC, adds: "We are also active on behalf of our industry throughout Europe for all issues relating to environmental protection and REACH. Therefore, it is essential for our work to know which organisations and persons we encounter in these efforts."

• Assessment of current business situation positive
• Future expectations subdued
• Investment climate friendly
• Varied expectations for application industries
• GRP is still a growth driver
• Composites Index is now positive

This is the 18th time that Composites Germany has identified the latest performance indicators for the fibre-reinforced plastics market. The survey covered all the member companies of the three major umbrella organisations of Composites Germany: AVK, Leichtbau Baden-Württemberg and the VDMA Working Group on Hybrid Lightweight Construction Technologies.
As before, to ensure a smooth comparison with the previous surveys, the questions in this half-yearly survey have been left unchanged. Once again, the data obtained in the survey is largely qualitative and relates to current and future market developments.

You can read more about it in the attached document.

• Sustainability at Milano Unica:  Ecodesign for an environmentally friendly fashion industry.

A ski suit made of yarn obtained from recycled materials and fully recyclable at end-of-life, without giving up on style, design and technical performance: this is RadiciGroup’s business card at the 34th Milano Unica, the international high-end textiles trade show taking place at the Milan Rho Fairground on 1-2 February.

In the Innovation Area of TexCubTec, Sistema Moda Italia’s technical and functional textile section, visitors can see and touch the new uniform of the RadiciGroup Ski Club designed by RadiciGroup in collaboration with the DKB sportswear brand.

“The ski suit, consisting of jacket and trousers, is fashioned with fabric made of RENYCLE®, a RadiciGroup yarn obtained from mechanically recycled nylon,” pointed out Marco De Silvestri, sales & marketing manager – Apparel and Technical of RadiciGroup Advanced Textile Solutions business area. “In addition, the suit’s padding and numerous accessories, such as zippers, Velcro, buttons and thread, are also made of polyamide. It was an ambitious project and we reached a definitive goal: circularity in sportswear without compromising on performance. A goal achieved through continuous close collaboration with other companies in the chain to develop chemically compatible materials that guarantee the high technical performance required by this kind of application.”

At Milano Unica, besides RENYCLE®, RadiciGroup is showcasing garments made of   REPETABLE®, a polyester yarn obtained from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, and articles made of BIOFEEL®, a brand identifying both nylon and polyester yarn made from renewable source materials.

At Pitti Uomo, Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei celebrates the new year exploring the company’s 90 years anniversary and journey. In Florence, Bemberg™ past and present are linked by style: on display are key historic garments worn by icons such as J.F. Kennedy belonging to historic Roman Sartoria Litrico together with Bemberg ™ new visionary claim “Crafted Elegance“.

On January 11^th, Bemberg™ will be at Pitti Uomo 101 featuring an exclusive collaboration with Luca Litrico, head of the Roman historic Sartoria Litrico, founded by his uncle Angelo Litrico in 1951. He became famous for crafting the highest-quality suits for all the most important men of Dolce Vita era, from Richard Burton to Marcello Mastroianni. Its historic relevance has even been recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, thanks to its archive composed of hundreds of photos and sketches signed by Angelo Litrico himself. For this occasion, Bemberg™ will showcase four historic suits wore by true style arbiters a such as: former US president John F. Kennedy, dolce vita poster-boy Rossano Brazzi, American astronaut James B. Irwin and iconic fashion designer Angelo Litrico. All garments feature stylish linings woven with Bemberg™ fiber disclosing its ductility always in vogue through time. Over the decades, Bemberg™ established heritage in formal lining has expanded into new territories and able to represent also contemporary outerwear styles.
 
“We are so excited to be back in Florence. Pitti Uomo and Italy are the perfect starting point of our journey through style.” says Mr. Koji Hamada, CEO of Asahikasei Fibers Italia, “At our booth visitors can glimpse the link between past and present, our values and chromosomes for the fashion to come.”

Bemberg™ vision is centred around contemporary beauty, and uniqueness – the fibre manufacturing is exclusively taking place in Nobeoka, where its closed-loop circular economy production approach together its transparent and traceable processes are able to guarantee the responsible certified values.
 
Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei will unveil the second chapter of its journey at Première Vision in Paris with an exhibition where visitors will be able to explore the fashion world, from India to Japan, through fabrics and style of today and tomorrow.

Finland-based circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company has selected AFRY as the main engineering partner for its new flagship factory for producing regenerated textile fibers for leading fashion and apparel brands.

More than 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally every year, with much of it ending up in landfills or incinerators. At the same time, textile fiber demand is increasing rapidly. Infinited Fiber Company’s technology turns cellulose-based raw materials, like cotton-rich textile waste, into a premium regenerated textile fiber that goes by the name Infinna™. The technology, which can be licensed for both new factories and to retrofit existing pulp or viscose production units, offers a solution for eliminating waste and reducing the textile industry’s burden on limited virgin resources.

Infinited Fiber Company currently operates pilot plants in Finland and has announced plans to build a flagship factory there to meet the strong demand from international clothing brands. The flagship factory will be the first of its kind in the world and will use post-consumer textile waste as feedstock. Production is scheduled to begin in 2024. In Finland, the national-level collection of textile waste will begin in 2023, and in the EU, the collection of textile waste will become mandatory in 2025, which will facilitate raw material supply.

The annual production capacity of the plant is planned at 30,000 tonnes of Infinna fiber, which corresponds to the amount of fiber needed for about 100 million t-shirts. Infinited Fiber Company has already sold a significant portion of future production through multi-year sales deals with global fashion brands, who see its regenerated Infinna fiber as an important part of their own circular economy strategies.

AFRY’s assignment includes the basic engineering of the new factory to support the final investment decision. In this basic engineering phase, AFRY will design the combination of several technology and equipment deliveries into one viable plant. AFRY will also provide its AFRY Smart Site services for the digitalization of the factory, utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies to optimize and digitally connect all the factory's processes and operations.

• Marchi & Fildi Group presents the selection of metalloplastic yarns with GRS certification of its Gleaming line, coming from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester

With the goal to expand the offer of yarns coming from recycled raw materials for a textile more attentive to the consumption of resources, the MFT division of the Marchi & Fildi Group completes the range of metalloplastic yarns of its Gleaming collection with the insertion of 100% recycled polyester yarns coming from post-consumer material and with the GRS (Global Recycle Standard) certification.
Starting from recycled polyester with traceable origin, in compliance with environmental and social criteria extended to all the phases of the supply chain, metalloplastic yarns are obtained with the same esthetic features and performance, compared to similar products based on virgin raw materials.

“Thanks to our commitment in the research of materials, we are able to propose metalloplastic yarns produced with 100% recycled material; the film used for the production of flat yarns, too, is in recycled polyester, with a quality level that is suitable for cutting – the Company explains -. Till now it was possible to find in the market only metalloplastic yarns with not recycled polyester flat yarn, twisted with certified fibers. This represents an important step forward to implement a circular economy possibility for this kind of products too”.

The Gleaming yarns GRS certified can be supplied in gold and silver, colors and transparent, in various counts, widths and types; they are suitable for use in flat and circular knitting, weaving, hosiery and as a component in fancy yarns.

The Gleaming line, with a wide selection of yarns in stock service, represents a completion of the offer of the Marchi & Fildi Group. The Gleaming yarns are offered in different thicknesses, widths and types with both metallized and transparent, iridescent, refracting and phosphorescent effects. The collection also includes items with special features of resistance to chemical and dyeing treatments. The Gleaming metalloplastic yarns find application in the world of fashion and furniture, for creative and fancy yarns and fabrics, accessories and decorations. Products with refractive features are also used in technical items like uniforms and workwear, sport garments and accessories, external ribbons and labels.

• Results of experiments conducted by the University of California’s prestigious Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego provide further scientific proof that LENZING™ fibers offer an effective substitute to synthetic fibers that are part of the pressing problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Lenzing/San Diego – The Lenzing Group, a world-leading provider of wood-based specialty fibers, has received further scientific proof of the biodegradability of its fibers. In a study published in October 2021 , scientists from the prestigious academic research institute Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California, San Diego confirmed that wood-based cellulosic fibers biodegrade in the ocean within a short period of time at the end of their life cycle, making them a better alternative to fossil-based fibers. The research was the result of an independent project trying to understand the “end-of-life” scenarios for textiles and nonwovens discarded in the environment.

SIO has a global reputation for being one of the oldest, largest and most important marine research centers worldwide. In this study, SIO compared the degradation processes of nonwovens made from fossil-based synthetic materials such as polyester with those of cellulosic materials such as Lenzing’s wood-based lyocell, modal and viscose fibers in specific scenarios – under various real oceanic conditions and controlled aquaria conditions. The results of these experiments are striking: while wood-based cellulosic fibers fully biodegraded within 30 days, the fossil-based fibers tested were practically unchanged after more than 200 days.

The biodegradability of LENZING™ fibers was also tested in the laboratory of Organic Waste Systems (OWS) in Belgium – one of the world's leading companies in biodegradability and compostability testing – which showed data confirmed by those found with the real-life measurements at Scripps. The OWS assessment was conducted in accordance with applicable international standards and reflects relevant natural and artificial conditions in which biodegradation can occur. Certificates from the certification organization TÜV Austria show that LENZING™ fibers rapidly biodegrade in all test environments (soil, industrial composting, home composting, fresh water and marine water) within the time frames set by the applicable standards.

Lenzing also welcomes the EU’s targeted measures to combat plastic waste in general, such as those relating to the single-use plastic directive (EU) 2019/9043. In its recently adopted guidelines for implementing the directive, the EU Commission stipulates the specific products that fall under this category, which is a well-needed effort to provide clarity to the EU member states for their joint campaign against environmental pollution from plastic waste. Lenzing’s wood-based, biodegradable cellulosic fibers can be part of a sustainable and innovative solution to this man-made problem that will continue to grow. As of July 2021, the single-use plastic directive sets out standardized labelling requirements for certain products, either on packaging or on the products themselves, which include plastic-based feminine hygiene products and wet wipes for body care or household use. This is a start to tackle the problem: educate the consumer and offer alternative materials with better circularity.

• Order intake of CHF 698.6 million in third quarter 2021
• Order intake of CHF 1 673.9 million after nine months
• Acquisition of the three Saurer businesses on schedule
• Credit lines renewed early
• Outlook 2021

The positive market dynamics, which Rieter has already reported on several occasions, continued in the third quarter of the current year. Rieter recorded an order intake of CHF 698.6 million in the third quarter of 2021 (2020: CHF 174.4 million).

The order intake of CHF 1 673.9 million after nine months corresponds to an increase of 294% compared to the prior year period (2020: CHF 425.1 million).
 
The market development is broadly supported at the global level and is based on a catch-up effect from 2019 and 2020 in combination with a regional shift in demand. Rieter believes that a major reason for this regional shift in demand is the development of costs in China. This is leading to increased investments outside the Chinese market. The orders came primarily from Turkey, Latin America, India, Pakistan and China. Overall, Rieter is benefitting from its innovative product range and the global positioning of the company.

The Business Group Machines & Systems achieved an order intake totaling CHF 1 281.6 million in the first nine months of 2021 (+447%).*

In the first nine months of 2021, the Business Group Components recorded an increase of 95% to CHF 227.0 million, while the Business Group After Sales posted an order intake of CHF 165.3 million, an increase of 123% compared to the prior year period.*

Acquisition of the three Saurer businesses on schedule
The acquisition of the three businesses from Saurer, which Rieter announced on August 16, 2021, is proceeding according to plan. The incoming orders for these businesses are not taken into account in this trading update.
 
Credit lines renewed early
The Rieter Group arranged the early renewal of the existing committed credit lines (five-year term, totaling CHF 250 million).
 
Outlook 2021*
The first nine months of 2021 were characterized by a rapid market recovery combined with a regional shift in demand. Rieter expects the demand for new systems to gradually return to normal in the coming months.  
 
For the full year 2021, Rieter anticipates sales of around CHF 900 million.

* See attached document for more information.

Beaulieu Fibres International is attending INDEX™20 in Geneva and is excited to accelerate its work helping customers to exceed in product performance and sustainability.

For nonwoven converters serving the hygiene segment, a feature at INDEX™20 will be the company’s optimized Meralux specialty fibre, with fit for use performance and sustainability properties. It offers opacity improvements (reduction of TiO2 for the same opacity levels), higher coverage, higher bulkiness, and improved liquid management.

In addition, Meralux fibres deliver substantial sustainability benefits including about 55% savings in raw materials, with equivalent carbon emission savings, thanks to weight reduction in nonwovens for the same coverage, and higher recyclability of PP/PE.

The latest additions to the hygiene fibres portfolio are Meraspring BICO PET fibres. Meraspring enables nonwovens to combine a softness and loftiness that provides a cushioned, even “well-being”, experience for end-users of applications such as diapers and fem-pads. The fibres are available in a range from 1.7-8.9 dtex with hydrophilic, hydrophobic and wellbeing finishes depending on the properties required in the final product.

In the industrial fibres segment, UltraBond thermal bonding fibre will finally be presented with its INDEX™20 Nonwovens Award in the category "sustainable raw material".

In addition, Beaulieu Fibres International’s new range of MONO low count and BICO fibres are setting new performance standards for the fast-growing air and liquid filtration markets.

At INDEX™20, Beaulieu Fibres International also presenets its Pilot Line to test the waters of co-development opportunities without risk. The Pilot Line offers the utmost flexibility to produce samples, without the typical constraints imposed by industrial production lines, replicating any type of staple fibre spinning technology using different types of polymers and additives and different types of cross sections.