From the Sector

For Oerlikon Nonwoven, the IDEA, taking place between March 25 and 28 in Miami Beach, Florida USA, kicked off with the signing of a contract. The customer, a renowned European meltblown specialist, invested in a two-beam, stand-alone meltblown system from the Neumünster-based plant manufacturer in order to meet its strongly increasing demand. In the future, the system will be deployed to manufacture meltblown nonwovens for various application, especially from the filtration and wipes sector. The commercial production launch is scheduled for the first half of 2020. The market for meltblown nonwovens is expanding by an average of 6% per annum.

Albstadt-based circular knitting machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. (MCT) is exhibiting at this year’s leading textile and garment technology trade fair ITMA with the slogan “Stay a winner. With Mayer & Cie.” The focus of the company’s presentation will be on sport. Sportswear, active leisurewear and sports shoes are increasingly made of circular knitted fabrics and the long-established German firm has the right machines to cater for this trend. Mayer & Cie. is also going for the improved customer experiences that consistent digitization makes possible.

For years global demand for circular knitted goods has increased continuously. An important growth driver is the sportswear and sports fashion sector, including sports shoes. According to Euromonitor the market segment grew by about seven per cent per year between 2013 and 2017. By 2017 Euromonitor estimated its total market value to be around USD 78 billion. Lightweight synthetic fibres, new patterns and attractive functionalities are the key requirements in this area.

Mayer & Cie. can already fulfil many requirements with a portfolio of machines considered to be the largest in the industry. Lightweight mesh structures, often requested for running shirts, are a speciality of the IG 3.2 QCe interlock machine, for example. Jacquard machines from the OVJA family, in contrast, are suitable for the manufacture of shoe uppers. Compared with the conventional methods flat knitting and warp knitting, circular knitting scores points for productivity and significantly shorter set-up times.

Series production of the Spinit 3.0 E spinning and knitting machine has been under way since the end of 2018. It combines two previously separate processes – spinning and knitting – in one machine. That saves time, space and energy compared with conventional manufacturing processes. Mayer & Cie. has already won several awards for this approach, the latest being the Innovation Prize for the Climate and the Environment (IKU) that the Federal Environment Ministry and the Confederation of German Industry (BDI) award every other year. The company is presenting at ITMA its further developments of this machine.

Along with machine development Mayer & Cie. has set itself another target for ITMA and thereafter: to improve the customer experience, a task of which Sebastian Mayer is in charge. His responsibilities at Mayer & Cie. are for corporate development and digitization. Digitization of the company’s extensive customer and machinery know-how is currently under way. Customers will be able to see and test the initial results at ITMA. Available for testing will be the new Web shop, linked with an analogue model of the high-bay warehouse in Albstadt-Tailfingen, and machine maintenance by means of HoloLens.

• Hexcel’s Composite Innovations For Aerospace, Automotive, Energy And Marine Applications At JEC World 2019 Hall 5 - Stand J41

STAMFORD, Conn. – At this year’s JEC World taking place in Paris on March 12-14, Hexcel will promote a wide range of composite innovations for customer applications in aerospace, automotive, energy and marine markets.

Aerospace Innovations

Hexcel’s HiTape® and HiMax™ dry carbon reinforcements were developed to complement a new generation of HiFlow™ resin systems, producing high quality aerospace structures using the resin infusion process. HiTape® was developed for the automated lay-up of preforms and HiMax™ is a range of optimized non-crimp fabrics (NCF). Both products incorporate a toughening veil to enhance mechanical properties, meeting the structural requirements for aerospace parts.

Visitors to JEC will see an Integrated Wing Panel demonstrator and an I-beam, both made with HiTape® reinforcements, and an Opticoms rib made with HiMax™ NCF. The Opticoms rib and I Beam were both manufactured using C-RTM (Compression Resin Transfer Molding). They were injected with Hexcel’s RTM6 resin in a process taking less than 5 minutes. The total manufacturing cycle for both parts was just 4.5 hours.

Also among the Aerospace exhibits, Hexcel will display a composite petal for a satellite antenna, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space Italia. The petal is part of a set of 24 deployable structural elements that form the large area reflector assembly used on board Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observation satellites. Thales Alenia Space Italia selected Hexcel’s HexPly® M18 prepreg for this application, acknowledging the superior mechanical and outgassing properties provided.

Another Hexcel prepreg application on show is a “zero” frame, manufactured by Aerofonctions for the engine area of Daher’s TBM 910/930 single-engine turboprop aircraft. Hexcel’s HexPly® M56 prepreg was selected by Daher for the “zero” frame – a product developed for Out of Autoclave applications that provides the same high quality and performance as autoclave-cured prepregs, from a simple vacuum bag cure in an oven.

With 50 years of experience behind its comprehensive range of high-strength, high-strain PAN-based carbon fibers, Hexcel continues to innovate, and is introducing two new fibers to its portfolio. HexTow® HM50 combines high modulus and high tensile strength, making it ideal for commercial and defense aircraft and engines. HexTow® 85 was developed specifically to replace rayon-based carbon fiber for ablative applications.

HexTow® carbon fiber holds the most qualified carbon fiber positions on aerospace programs in the industry and is the best unsized fiber available on the market. It provides excellent bonding interfacial properties with thermoplastic matrices and is the best-performing fiber for 3D printing applications.

Additive manufacturing is another area of expertise for Hexcel, using PEKK ultra-high performance polymers and HexAM™ technology to manufacture carbon-reinforced 3D printed parts. This
innovative process provides a weight-saving solution for intricate parts in highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications. HexPEKK™ structures offer significant weight, cost and time-to-market reductions, replacing traditional cast or machined metallic parts with a new technology.

Hexcel is well known for its range of weight-saving, stiffness-enhancing honeycombs and the company adds value by providing a range of engineered core solutions to customers from facilities in the USA, Belgium and the newly opened Casablanca plant in Morocco. Hexcel’s engineered core capabilities enable highly contoured parts with precision profiling to be produced to exacting customer specifications. An example of such a part will be on display at JEC. Made from Aluminum FlexCore®, the part is CNC machined on both sides, and formed and stabilized with both peel ply and flyaway layers of stabilization. Aircraft engines benefit from a number of Hexcel core technologies including HexShield™ honeycomb that provides high temperature resistance in aircraft engine nacelles. By inserting a thermally resistant material into honeycomb cells, Hexcel provides a core product with unique heat-shielding capabilities that allows for the potential re-use of material after a fire event.

Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® broadband noise-reducing honeycomb significantly improves acoustic absorption in aircraft engine nacelles. The acoustic treatment may be positioned at a consistent depth and resistance within the core, or can be placed in a pattern of varying depths and/or resistances (Multi-Degrees of Freedom and 3 Degrees Of Freedom), offering an acoustic liner that is precisely tuned to the engine operating conditions. These technologies have been tested at NASA on a full engine test rig and meet all 16 design conditions without trade-offs.

HexBond™ – the new name in Adhesives

Hexcel’s range of high performance adhesives has expanded considerably following the company’s acquisition of Structil. The company has now decided to unite the range by marketing all of its adhesive products using HexBond™ branding. The comprehensive range of HexBond™ structural film adhesives, foaming adhesive films, paste adhesives, liquid shims, epoxy fillets and Chromium free liquid primers is suitable for a wide range of applications in combination with Hexcel’s prepreg and honeycomb products.

Automotive Innovations

Hexcel’s carbon prepreg patch technology provides an innovative way of locally stiffening and reinforcing metal parts, providing noise and vibration management functionality. HexPly® prepreg patches consist of unidirectional carbon fiber impregnated with a fast curing epoxy matrix that has self-adhesive properties, enabling it to bond to metal in a highly efficient one-step process. These key technology properties are demonstrated in an 18.5kg aluminum subframe (that is 50% lighter than steel equivalents), which was reinforced with 500 grams of HexPly® prepreg and tested by Saint Jean Industries. The part demonstrates a significant reduction in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Other benefits include lower production costs, energy savings, increased driver comfort, production flexibility and part count reduction. With this technology Hexcel is a finalist in the JEC Innovation Awards 2019 in the Automotive Applications category.

HexPly® prepreg patch technology was also applied to a hybrid side sill demonstrator developed with Volkswagen and Dresden University to address future crash test requirements, specifically for electric cars. Combining fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) with metal, the hybrid construction allows for optimum performance including weight savings, enhanced safety, increased energy absorption, battery protection in a crash situation and production flexibility.

Hexcel will also display a lightweight CFRP transmission crossmember produced from Hexcel’s high performance HexMC®-i 2000 molding compound. The transmission crossmember was developed in partnership with the Institute of Polymer Product Engineering (at Linz University), Engel and Alpex. As the part connects the chassis together and supports transmission it has to be stiff and strong, resisting fatigue and corrosion. Hexcel’s HexMC®-i 2000 was selected as the best-performing molding compound on the market, curing in as little as two minutes to produce lightweight, strong and stiff parts.
To produce the transmission crossmember HexMC®-i 2000 preforms are laid up in Alpex molds and compression-molded in a v-duo press that was tailored for the application by Engel. Ribs, aluminum inserts and other functions can be molded into the part using the single-stage process, reducing component-count. Any offcuts from the preforms can be interleaved between the plies of material to provide additional reinforcement in key areas - meaning that the process generates no waste.

Other Automotive promotions on Hexcel’s stand at JEC World include a composite leaf spring manufactured by ZF using HexPly® M901 prepreg. In contrast to steel leaf springs, composite versions offer many advantages including weight savings of up to 70%, high corrosion resistance, optimized system integration and superior performance. HexPly® M901 prepreg reduces the cure cycle to below 15 minutes and provides 15% higher mechanical performance, with enhanced fatigue properties. It also operates at high temperatures, providing a Tg of up to 200°C following a post cure.

Marine Innovations

Hexcel has a comprehensive range of products aimed at racing yacht and luxury boat builders that include America’s Cup, IMOCA class and DNV GL-approved prepregs, woven reinforcements and multiaxial fabrics for hull and deck structures, masts and appendages.

At JEC World Hexcel will display an IMOCA yacht mast manufactured by Lorima using HexPly® high modulus and high strength carbon fiber prepreg from Hexcel Vert-Le-Petit. Lorima is the exclusive official supplier of masts for IMOCA 60 class racing boats.

Hexcel’s HexTow® IM8 carbon fiber has been selected as the highest performing industrial carbon fiber on the market and will be used by spar and rigging manufacturer Future Fibres to manufacture their AEROrazr solid carbon rigging for all the teams in the 36th America’s Cup.

Hexcel’s HiMax™ DPA (Dot Pattern Adhesive) reinforcements are non-crimp fabrics supplied pre-tacked, allowing multiple fabrics to be laid-up more easily in preparation for resin infusion. Providing an optimal, consistent level of adhesion, they allow a faster and more consistent resin flow, as well as eliminating the use of spray adhesive for a healthier working environment and lower risk of contamination. Simply unrolled and applied to the mold or core layer before the introduction of resin, HiMax™ DPA fabrics are widely used in boat building, where lay-up times can be reduced by up to 50%.

Wind Energy Innovations

Hexcel has developed a range of HexPly® surface finishing prepregs and semi-pregs for wind turbine blades and marine applications. Providing a tough, durable and ready-to-paint surface without using in-mold coats, these products shorten the manufacturing cycle and reduce material costs. HexPly® XF2(P) prepreg is optimized for wind blades and has a ready-to-paint surface, straight from the mold, saving at least 2 hours of takt time.

Polyspeed® pultruded carbon laminates were developed for load-carrying elements in a blade structure and are manufactured with a polyurethane matrix that provides outstanding mechanical performance in terms of stiffness and durability. The blade manufacturing process is optimized, with increased throughput. The pultruded laminates are supplied in coils as continuous cross section profiles.
HiMax™ non-crimp fabrics using E-glass, high modulus glass and carbon fibers are also available in a wide range of unidirectional, biaxial and triaxial constructions. HiMax™ fabrics have applications throughout the turbine, from the stitched carbon fiber UDs used in the main structural elements, to glass fabrics and hybrids for blade shells and nacelles. There are also specialist applications such as lightweight fabrics for heated leading edge de-icing zones.

• Oerlikon presents its expanded nonwovens product portfolio at the IDEA 2019 in Miami

Neumünster – Oerlikon presents its complete nonwoven plant portfolio for the production of airlaid, meltblown, spunbonded and hybrid materials at this year’s IDEA in Miami from 25–28 March. The focus of its presentation will be on solutions for hygiene, medical and other disposable nonwovens. Visitors to this year’s IDEA can inform themselves on the wide range of products at Oerlikon’s exhibition stand (no. 1724).

Two strong partnerships for disposable nonwovens

While two years ago the Nonwoven business unit of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment focused almost exclusively on solutions for technical applications, the company has now expanded its product portfolio to include solutions for disposable nonwovens by establishing strong partnerships.

Oerlikon & Teknoweb Materials – two strong partners for the nonwoven industry

As early as spring 2017, Oerlikon Manmade Fibers' Nonwoven business unit had entered into a strategic partnership with the Italian company Teknoweb Materials. Teknoweb Materials is an established technology supplier in the field of wipes and other disposable nonwovens. With its LEVRA technology, the company has its own patented, particularly efficient manufacturing process for wipes. It also has extensive process know-how on the making and further processing of these nonwoven materials. The Nonwoven business unit of Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers segment completes this partnership with its well-established machine and plant solutions. Teknoweb Materials will also be represented at IDEA at the Oerlikon exhibition stand (no. 1724).

Cooperation with Shaoyang Textile Machinery

For spunmelt systems solutions for hygiene and medical applications, Oerlikon has been in cooperation with the Chinese machine and plant manufacturer Shaoyang Textile Machinery since Autumn of last year. The goal of these cooperation partners is to advance the international marketing of spunmelt plants outside of China. Oerlikon Manmade Fibers’ Nonwoven business unit contributes its plant engineering know-how and is responsible for product and process guarantees. Oerlikon also assumes the overall project responsibility as well as world-wide customer service outside of China. In return, Shaoyang, with its headquarters in the city of the same name in the Hunan province, supplies the plant technologies.The advantage for the customer: competitive solutions at an attractive price level with comparatively low investments.

• 8^th edition to be held as the “Fair & Convention for Hightech Textiles” at the Carlowitz Congresscenter Chemnitz for the first time on 9 – 10 June 2020 – Textile themes from the LiMA exhibition for lightweight design are being integrated in the new format

 
The “mtex+” is raising its profile and is moving to an attractive setting. The 8^th edition of the international exhibition entitled “Fair & Convention for Hightech Textiles” will be held in the new Carlowitz Congresscenter at the heart of Chemnitz for the first time on 9 and 10 June 2020.
 
“The “mtex+” is a trade event that experts from various sectors greatly appreciate on account of its emphasis on dialogue and in-depth contacts – and because everything is on the spot. The modern, exciting ambiance at the new venue facilitates our desire to create the best possible atmosphere for cooperation in a trusting environment,” Dr Ralf Schulze, Managing Director of C3 GmbH, the organising company, explains. “In its future form, the “mtex+” will act as a source of ideas and inspiration for developers and manufacturers as well as for users of all kinds of high-tech textiles, specifically including composites, to a greater degree than in the past. Textile composite materials are becoming increasingly important for many processors. That’s the reason why we’re transferring the textile themes of the LiMA lightweight design exhibition, which has been held alongside the “mtex+” in the past, into our new trade fair format. Lightweight textile design in all its facets will be one of the major emphases at the “mtex+”.”    
 
The major topics covered by the 8th “mtex+” will include process development, textile engineering, digitalised value-added chains, services with potential for use across different sectors as well as recycling. The highlights of the programme will include workshops on effective and sustainable production, smart textiles, acoustic textiles, a special exhibition on health and protective textiles as well as an entertaining network evening entitled “Excellent connections”.

The North-Eastern German Textile and Clothing Industry Association (vti) believes that this concept exactly matches the needs of its target audience. “Chemnitz is located at the heart of the Central German industrial and research region, which is developing with great dynamism,” says vti Managing Director, Dr.-Ing. Jenz Otto. “Any firm that presents its products and services here will find itself in a very interesting market. Located not far from the border with the Czech Republic and Poland, the “mtex+” will also act as a dialogue forum for potential cooperation partners across sector and international boundaries, both for these and other Eastern European countries.”
 
The “mtex+” will continue to be held in Central Germany’s industrial city of Chemnitz every two years in future too. 159 exhibitors from seven different countries (in conjunction with the LiMA lightweight design exhibition) attended the 7th edition in the spring of 2018. 22 percent of the approx. 1,000 trade visitors came from abroad.

At this year’s Heimtextil from 8-11 January 2019 in Frankfurt, Trevira GmbH presented a new Trevira CS joint stand on an impressively huge scale under the motto “Textile Values”. Its fair stand concept, scaled up for 2019, attracted a large number of visitors. Together with 26 top Trevira CS customers, Trevira told the story of the entire textiles value chain across a 2,200+ msq site. Visitors were taken on a journey that started with the basics – fibre production and yarn manufacture – before moving on to the dyeing, weaving and warp and weft knitting stages and ultimately to the end of the journey, the textile editing.

Trevira GmbH’s CEO Klaus Holz said, “I think we have once again “upgraded” our presence at Heimtextil. If I say this I’m not only talking about size and number of participants in our stand, but rather about value. Including all kinds of Trevira CS partners from yarn producers to fabric manufacturers and textile editors, our stand was reflecting the entire textile value chain.”

The highlight of the stand was Trevira’s new trend show for the contract market, “Trends in Contract by Trevira CS”. The show gave visitors, especially (interior) designers and decorators, an opportunity to find out more about innovative textiles and colour trends on the home and contract market.

Head of Marketing Anke Vollenbröker said, “We are extremely pleased that our trend show met with such great interest, and it was fantastic to see so many interior designers participating in our trend gallery tours. The trend area proved to be a source of inspiration for numerous visitors and demonstrated the expertise of our Trevira CS partners when it comes to outstanding design.”

• Innovative BCF S8 platform technology opens up new carpet yarn industry markets for Oerlikon Neumag customers

World premiere at the DOMOTEX World Trade Fair for Carpets and Floor Coverings in Hanover: between January 11 bis 14, 2019‎, Oerlikon Neumag will be showcasing its innovative new development, the BCF S8, to a wide audience for the very first time in Hall 11, Stand B36. Whether commodities or niche products – the new BCF S8 platform technology offers manufacturers of BCF carpet yarns decisive arguments for responding to constantly rising cost pressures and the trend for greater efficiency and quality in fiercely-competitive markets. World record: the system achieves never-seen-before spinning speeds and is able to simultaneously spin up to 700 filaments and produce fine titers of up to 2.5 dpf. This superlative performance is guaranteed by numerous individual innovations in the new platform and, for the first time, also in a new human-machine interface (HMI)-based control system, which opens the door to the digital age of smart carpet yarn manufacturing wide. At the ITMA ASIA 2018, the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment had already announced that it would be presenting revolutionary solutions in 2019 – both in hardware and software. And the DOMOTEX marks only the start.

According to manufacturer information, the new BCF S8 is the most efficient Oerlikon Neumag BCF system of all times. “We have succeeded in achieving a new level of greater productivity and even broader product diversity. These allow our clientèle to better cater to changing market requirements and achieve a competitive edge in tough market conditions”, explains Martin Rademacher, Vice President Sales Oerlikon Neumag. As a pre-taste, the machine specialists from Neumünster are serving up performance figures and results from comprehensive trials conducted at their own BCF technology center as well as from two pilot systems which have been tried and tested within the market for months now.

BCF S8 performance in numbers
With up to 700 potential filaments per yarn end, the BCF S8 is raising the benchmark considerably compared to the Oerlikon Neumag S+ BCF system (400 filaments) that has dominated the global market to date. Oerlikon Neumag guarantees fine titers of up to 2.5 dpf. Furthermore, the process speed is higher than ever before – 3,700 m/min (winder speed). This permits throughputs of up to 15 percent greater compared to predecessor technologies. Overall, system efficiency is 99 percent – almost unbeatable. True to the Oerlikon Segments Manmade Fibers segment e-save philosophy, energy savings of up to 5 percent per kilogram of yarn are achievable.

BCF S8 innovations – from straight yarn paths to large cooling drums

This comprehensive progress has been achieved with numerous smart innovations. To this end, one key element above all has been optimized. The yarn path from the spinning system to the new, large cooling drum has now been almost completely straightened. This yarn path, unique to the BCF market to date, ensures that the individual filaments are subjected to minimum friction, hence once again considerably reducing yarn breaks and optimizing the overall production process. Especially noteworthy here are the, for the first time, straight yarn inlet in the texturing head – guaranteeing superior yarn quality.

And the considerably reduced distance between the heating godet duo and the texturing head also has a positive impact on the texturing process. It ensures a more even twist to the yarn and reduces the compressed air consumption. Furthermore, the texturing chambers can be removed individually, which additionally shortens servicing times. The now closed units also provide the best possible protection for the texturing jets and lamellar chambers.

The 800-mm diameter cooling drum optimally and gently cools the filaments. And this has a positive influence on the yarn quality. The new cooling drum is now equipped with a V groove for all polymers (PET, PA6 and PP) as standard.

The RoTac3 tangling unit, already established within the market, once again reduces the compressed air consumption by around 50%, while the newly-developed Witras III-37 winder achieves production process speeds of 3,700 m/min.

First intuitively-operable human-machine interface (HMI)
The new BCF S8 is the first Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment system equipped with the innovative human-machine interface (HMI) for intelligent controlling and monitoring. In this case, the interface between man and machine has been oriented on the daily requirements of users in BCF production. With its new ‘look and feel’, it supports intuitive operation and offers direct access to important information as well as actual and target values at each take-up position by means of a touch screen. A completely new ‘alarm philosophy’ also simplifies troubleshooting and malfunction analysis. “This smart HMI system is a logical step in the digitalization of our products”, explains Dr. Friedrich Lennemann, Vice President R&D Oerlikon Neumag.

To receive an award at PERFORMANCE DAYS is the ultimate industry recognition. In selecting the winners of the (ECO) PERFORMANCE AWARDS, the jury handles with total integrity with no outside influence and is absolutely free in making its decisions. This season there are so many outstanding innovations at the exhibition that two awards are announced!

WATER – OUR RESPONSIBILITY, the current FOCUS TOPIC for the next trade fair on November 28-29th, seems to have spurred the PERFORMANCE DAYS exhibitors to peak performances. The trade fair has highlighted innovations every season for the past ten years, but seldom have there been so many outstanding new developments. So many in fact, that two awards are to be presented: the ECO PERFORMANCE AWARD for best sustainable development, and the PERFORMANCE AWARD for a new functional highlight.  

And the winner of the ECO PERFORMANCE AWARD is:
The jury is highly enthusiastic about the nomination of the ECO PERFORMANCE AWARD winner and described the award-winning fabric as the best ecological solution currently available on the market. This extraordinary laminate from Jou Jou Fish combines various sustainable technologies. Article "JYRNP0002 307" consists of 100% recycled nylon and is designed with a micro-porous membrane (functional performance 15K/10K) that is produced without solvents. This saves a lot of water, plus the fabric is made from pre-dyed fibres (solution-dyeing) and the DWR coating is applied using a dry-finish treatment. The only thing that could improve it: as the polyamide is currently produced from postindustrial waste products, it would be nice to have option of using post-consumer polyamides in the future.

And the winner of the PERFORMANCE AWARD is:
The PERFORMANCE AWARD recognizes another pioneering development. Never before has there been such a fine, yet still tear resistant, highly functional fabric. The winner is article "DPQ 1092 DWR" from Green Threads and with only 17g/m² an absolute lightweight. Particularly fine nylon yarns are used (7d and 4d); a 4d yarn has never before been used in functional fabrics. This plus the extremely good tear resistance clinched it for the jury. Another plus for the winner: this lightweight fabric can achieve with just 17 g comparable performance values to a 50g fabric; thereby, not only is the weight significantly reduced, but also the amount of raw materials and energy consumed in production. This is also a factor that protects the environment when the garment is disposed at the end of its useful life.

At the Composites Europe in Stuttgart /06 - 08 November 2018), the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University, short ITA, will be showing products, components and machines along the fibre composite process chain. The ITA will present itself at the booth of the Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Construction (AZL) in hall 9, booth E70. Various demonstrators will be used to present selected innovative processes and products over the individual steps. The exhibits come from different fields of application: From mobility applications to the construction sector. Here is an example from the field of "construction composites":

With the concrete bar stool with hybrid carbon reinforcement, the ITA demonstrates that textiles as reinforcement structures for concrete elements allow a enormous geometrical freedom of Design. So far, manual positioning of the textile reinforcement used to be time-consuming and complex, as permitted tolerances are in the millimetre range. Thus the production mainly contributed to the high costs of textile concrete.

At the ITA, the two industrial partners Albani Group GmbH & Co. KG and DuraPact 2.0 Kompetenzzentrum Faserbeton GmbH developed a new hybrid reinforcement with integrated spacer. This hybrid reinforcement reduces the time required to position the reinforcement by up to 60 percent and thus makes the material significantly more

The new, cost-effective hybrid reinforcement contains an integrated spacer and thus faciliates the positioning of dry and coated reinforcements. The integrated spacer allows several layers of reinforcement to be stacked quickly, allowing the desired degree of reinforcement to be set. The hybrid reinforcement consists of a carbon or glass fibre grid joined with a permeable polyamide mat and will be available in roll form from industrial partners in the near future.

• Textile Exchange’s Sustainability Conference - Milan, October 22-24, 2018
• The theme of the 2018 conference is United by Action: Accelerating Sustainability in Textiles and Fashion.

The conference offers an opportunity to connect with industry pioneers and learn about cutting edge solutions and innovations in textile and apparel sustainability. As a result, C.L.A.S.S., headquartered in Milan, the global resource for smart material innovation, education, marketing and communication, will be on hand to support this year’s theme.

Many of the materials the C.L.A.S.S. team will showcase speak to circular economy such as Re.VerSo™, Bemberg™ and ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei, Iluna Group and TINTEX Textiles and many others that use technological breakthroughs to offer fashion materials that provide significant reductions in water during the manufacturing process, an important step toward responsible future fashion systems.

During Textile Exchange’s Sustainability Conference, Giusy Bettoni, C.L.A.S.S. CEO and Founder and her team will have a dedicated space to engage attendees in an open discussion regarding the importance of fashion business strategies. The experience in the space, that will reflect an New York event created for C.L.A.S.S. by Ginger Design, will start with the vision of a film by Cristina Picchi that represents harmony between the various phases of the textile process and the cycles of natural elements. Visitors will walk through a three-dimensional installation designed by Cécile Feilchenfeldt to inspire creativity and explore the limitless possibilities using innovative smart materials.

“We are always proud to have a presence at international events including this year’s Textile Exchange’s Sustainability Conference. It is a great way for us to share our expertise regarding responsible innovation and new business model strategies. As C.L.A.S.S. is headquartered in Milan, we are proud that they selected our city for this year’s conference. Being held in Milan provides a chance for us to support Textile Exchange regarding smart material innovation, many of them produced in Italy.” said Bettoni.

Just off their return from Première Vision in Paris, Bettoni who is also the Sustainability Consultant for Smart Creation, recognizes the importance for her company to have a strong international presence to spread C.L.A.S.S.’ message to a global audience regarding responsible creation. 

As C.L.A.S.S. enters their second decade of business, they have expanded their business activities to include e-commerce that provides an opportunity for fashion start-up to purchase up to a maximum of 50, an initiative launched to support fashion start-ups. And a new division, C.L.A.S.S. Education, an initiative Bettoni co-founded with James Mendolia, also a Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology. Mendolia has been visiting universities to speak to fashion design, business, textiles and production students in Europe, Asia and North America to encourage attendees to infuse a new way of design thinking and move from a linear to a circular business model.