From the Sector

BB Engineering GmbH (Germany), a subsidiary of Oerlikon Textile, is pleased to announce that Thai Polyester Co., Ltd (Thailand) has placed a major order for four VacuFil systems for recycling bottle flakes with connected direct spinning. The polyester manufacturer, established in 2001 and with an overall annual capacity of 316,800 tons, is one of Thailand’s leading producers and exclusively uses German technology. To this end, the company already operates Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag systems. The BB Engineer-ing VacuFil systems will be deployed to convert existing spinning plant equipment from processing polyester to processing PET bottle flakes without loss of performance.

BB Engineering supplies the complete recycling process – from the drying stage and extrusion, all the way through to the spinning plant-appropriate fine filtration stage. Thanks to decades of experi-ence in spinning plant technology, the German machine construc-tor also provides comprehensive spinning plant know-how and is aware of how the recycling process must be designed to ensure that the product manufactured using the spinning plant ultimately has the right quality. The four new VacuFil systems will be integrated into the existing building infrastructure and process landscape at Thai Polyester, with a total output of approx. 4,000 kg/h. The Vacu-Fil systems will be complemented by BB Engineering 3DD mixers for directly feeding dyes into the recycled melt flow. Commissioning has been scheduled for 2023.

Thai Polyester will be using the new VacuFil systems to manufac-ture its ‘EcoTPC’ recycling-brand yarns. 100% of these polyester yarns are produced from bottle, fiber and yarn waste and are all GRS certified.

• Long-awaited metal-free* and halogen-free* NYLOSAN® S NAVY and BLACK COLORS for Sportwear
• Iconic black and navy polyamides of major sportswear brands can finally be perfectly matched with safer dyestuffs
• Significant resource savings when dyeing with Archroma new signature CONSCIOUSLY DEEP system

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced the addition of two new metal-free* and halogen-free* acid dyes in its Nylosan® S range.

Dark shades represent approximately 80% of the outdoor and sportswear textile market, which is also under pressure to offer more sustainable articles. In this context, the new Nylosan® Navy S-3R and Black S-3N, especially developed by Archroma for polyamides and blends, meet four long-standing market demands for blacks and navies.

• First, the Nylosan® S range offers metal-free* alternatives to dyestuff generally used to dye polyamide and nylon and which usually contain metals. The new Nylosan® Navy S-3R and Black S-3N are taking the industry standard one step further by offering a halogen-free* option to those manufacturers, brands and retailers who are looking to offer the safest grade available.
• Second, the Nylosan® S range now comprises a wide gamut of colors, with these new dyes targeting the color matching and fastness specifications of the iconic blacks and navies of major sportswear brands. In order to support this color matching process, Archroma makes available the colorimetric dye primaries for the mills in order to (re)match the color standards.
• Third, the new navy and black dyes display the same color constancy as the dyes used in many leading color standards, which means the navy and black colors created with Nylosan® S range will be non-metameric to the color standard under multiple light sources, whether artificial or natural, indoor or outdoor.
• And fourth, the introduction of the new Nylosan® Black S-3N makes dyeing a metal-free* black on polyamide finally possible – something that was not available before.

Both dyes display the other usual features allowed of the Nylosan® S range, i.e., high fastness and buildup, and a wide shading gamut for industry-leading metal-free* acid dyes. They are REACH registered and bluesign® approved.

In addition, with the new Nylosan® Navy S-3R and Black S-3N at the core of its new CONSCIOUSLY DEEP system, Archroma is offering another very welcome benefit in the production of polyamide articles: resource saving. As most sportswear manufacturers and brands know, creating durable dark colors on nylon is a complex process that uses massive amounts of water and energy. Archroma therefore designed the new CONSCIOUSLY DEEP system to allow a highly efficient scour dyeing process reduced from 6 to 2 baths. This results into reducing the process time by up to 36%, water consumption by up to 64%, energy by up to 46%, and CO2 emissions by up to 41% compared to conventional benchmark process.

ITM 2022, which will be held at Istanbul Tüyap Fair and Congress Center on 14-18 June 2022, will be the first and largest international textile machinery exhibition to be held after a 3-year break. The leading brands of world textile technologies will launch their latest machines at ITM 2022.
The latest ITM Exhibition hosted the world textile industry with 1200 exhibitors from 64 countries and 60,000 visitors from 94 countries. ITM 2022 Exhibition in cooperation with TEMSAD and in partnership with Tüyap Tüm Fuarcılık Inc. and Teknik Exhibitions Inc. plans to set new records as one of the most important global organizations to be organized after the pandemic outbreak period.

The textile industry, which is among the leading sectors in Turkey's exports, demonstrated its power to the whole world, especially during the pandemic outbreak period. Achieving an increase of up to 40 percent in exports of textiles and raw materials, Turkey also broke records after records in medical textile, technical textile, and indoor textile exports.

Ranking in the top three in the most important market for the European textile machinery manufacturers, Turkey also attracted attention with its production performance during the troublesome pandemic outbreak. Many European machinery manufacturers, who spoke highly of Turkey's performance, announced that their machinery sales to Turkey increased in 2020 and 2021. Turkish textile companies, which increase their production capacity because they were unable to keep up with the demands, continue their new investments and modernizations.

Leading brands of textile technologies such as Picanol, Itema, Toyota, Saurer, Rieter and Trützschler are among the companies that will exhibit their latest innovations at the ITM 2022.

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.

The Trevira CS brand was showcased on the German Pavilion at the BIG Show Oman, an international exhibition for building materials, construction equipment, and interior design, in Muscat, Oman. This year, BIG Show, which is part of Oman Design & Build Week, was held from March 14-16.

Trevira CS has been part of BIG Show for years, as it is an important meeting point for the exhibiting companies with interior designers, construction companies, and project managers. Important authorities from the Middle East as well as major hotel brands were present again this year. In the Middle East, important tenders for major projects are due this year. The main focus of the trade show will be on the hotel & catering and hospital & care sectors, for which Trevira CS fabrics are of great interest because they meet the safety requirements that are usually required by law.

Trevira CS presented its extended brand concept that offers customers even more flexibility and also addresses sustainability. Building on to the high brand quality and performance, the recently introduced brands Trevira CS flexand Trevira CS eco offer properties and functions tailored to specific requirements. Furthermore, the Trevira CS Bioactive brand compliments the range, combining flame retardancy with antimicrobial properties. Fabrics bearing this brand meet the requirements for preventive fire protection and increased cleanliness.This brand concept is very well received by Trevira's customers. Many new flame retardant fabric developments embracing one of the Trevira CS brands were on display at BIG Show.

Hexcel Corporation hosted customers and public officials at its manufacturing site in the Midparc Free Trade Zone in Casablanca as the company broke ground on an expansion that will double the size of its existing engineered core manufacturing operation in Morocco to meet increased demand from aerospace customers for lightweight advanced composites.

The expansion, announced in September 2021, is expected to be completed in early 2023. The plant size will double to 24,000 square meters and employment is expected to increase from 120 to 400 people when the expansion is completed.

The Casablanca facility was built as part of Hexcel’s ongoing worldwide investment to create a diversified and robust global supply chain to support aerospace customers’ growing demand for engineered core. At the plant, Hexcel transforms lightweight honeycomb materials into engineered core parts to reinforce structures in the aerospace industry, particularly for aircraft, engine nacelles, and helicopter blades.

At the event, Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President – Aerospace for Europe, MEA/AP & Industrial, said, “We are pleased to celebrate this milestone with our customers and with the local community. The increased demand for lightweight, aerodynamic, advanced composites is growing, and our customers including Safran, Airbus, Airbus Atlantic, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have shown confidence in our ability to meet that demand. We appreciate the support from them as well as from the Ministry and everyone in the local community who continue providing us with the opportunity to further our investment in Morocco. The very successful establishment of Hexcel, the qualification of the workforce, the support of the state and the proximity of our customers have been real assets to launch this extension of our site in Casablanca.”

Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating - specialists for cast film, sheet extrusion and extrusion coating lines - will showcase a new production process for cost-effective film/nonwoven composites with an exceptionally low grammage at ICE (International Converting Exhibition) Europe. The leading international trade show for paper, film, and foil conversion and processing will be held at Messe München (Munich trade fair center) from March 15-17, 2022.

The Covid-19 pandemic and current supply shortages have exposed the dependence of companies on global supply chains. This situation is both a warning signal and an opportunity to boost and reorganize the local production of semi-finished products from the ground up. Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating has now developed a trend-setting production process termed Ultrathin Coating, in particular for the sector of medical protective clothing. The process will permit customers to produce particularly lightweight film/nonwoven composites with greater cost efficiency and, as a result, more competitively. The patent-pending process has several advantages: It cuts film grammage by 66%; material consumption in the overall composite is reduced by 28%; and it slashes costs by up to 34% compared to conventional semi-finished products. Significant cost savings are achieved in various ways, for example, by replacing hotmelt adhesives, which reduces line maintenance to a great extent at the same time.

Mark Borutta, Sales & Marketing Specialist bei Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating, erklärt: „Wir erleben derzeit einen nachhaltig wachsenden Mehrbedarf für medizinische Schutzbekleidung verbunden mit einer Rückholstrategie für lokale Produktionskapazitäten. Vor diesem Hintergrund erzielen Produzenten mit ‚Ultrathin Coating‘ einen schnellen Return on Invest und hohe Profitabilität – auch bei einer Produktion innerhalb Europas.“ Die Vlies-erfahrene Schwesterfirma Reifenhäuser Reicofil –führender Hersteller von Vliesstoffanlagen – hat die Entwicklung unterstützt.

Mark Borutta, Sales & Marketing specialist at Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating, explains: "We are currently experiencing a sustained increase in demand for medical protective clothing combined with a return strategy for local production capacity. Against this backdrop, producers achieve a fast return on investment and high profitability with Ultrathin Coating - even when production is based in Europe." The sister company, Reifenhäuser Reicofil, an experienced and global leading manufacturer of nonwoven lines, provided their support to the development.

Even if manufacturers already produce medical protective clothing and prefer to handle the coating process internally in the future instead of importing the necessary composites, it is worthwhile to set up an in-house production facility. In either case, the investment in Ultrathin Coating usually pays for itself in less than 12 months. The lower material input also reduces the consumption of fossil raw materials and this in turn responds to the increased demand for more sustainable products.

• Stephan Sielaff replaces interim CEO Cord Prinzhorn

• CFO Thomas Obendrauf will not extend his contract

• Chairman of the Supervisory Board Peter Edelmann will no longer be available as Chairman at the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting

• Cord Prinzhorn returns to Supervisory Board and will take over as Chairman

The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG has appointed Stephan Sielaff, the former CTO/COO of Lenzing AG, as the new CEO effective April 01, 2022. He succeeds Cord Prinzhorn, who took over as interim CEO in the fourth quarter of 2021. Cord Prinzhorn will return to the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG. The Managing Board will thus be reduced again from five to four members.

Stephan Sielaff holds a degree in chemical engineering and held various management positions at Unilever and Symrise from 1993 to 2014. Between 2014 and 2020, he was responsible for the strategic development of the company as a Member of the Board of Directors (COO) at the Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma – an important supplier of the textile and paper industry. He was appointed Chief Technology Officer and COO of Lenzing AG as of March 01, 2020.

CFO Thomas Obendrauf has informed the Supervisory Board that he will not be available for a further extension of his contract, which expires in June 2022. The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG is already working on a timely replacement. Mr. Obendrauf will be available to the company in an advisory capacity until a successor is appointed.

Peter Edelmann will leave the Supervisory Board upon his own request, effective April 26, 2022. Cord Prinzhorn will return to the Supervisory Board and will take over as Chairman.

• Order intake of CHF 2 225.7 million at record level
• Sales of CHF 969.2 million despite bottlenecks in the supply chains
• EBIT margin of 4.9% and net profit of 3.3% of sales
• Milestones achieved in strategy implementation
• Dividend of CHF 4.00 per share proposed
• Outlook

The 2021 financial year was characterized by a rapid market recovery. As market and technology leader, Rieter succeeded in this environment in posting a record order intake, significantly increased sales compared with the previous year despite the bottlenecks in the supply chains, and generated an EBIT margin of 4.9%. This success is based on the investments in innovation and competitiveness of Rieter in recent years. Crisis management in the 2020 pandemic year, which aimed at benefiting from the expected market recovery after the pandemic, was also a contributing factor. With the acquisition of three businesses from the Saurer Group, a further milestone in the implementation of the strategy has been achieved. The acquisition strengthens Rieter’s market position by completing the ring and compact-spinning system. With the laying of the foundation stone for the Rieter CAMPUS in September 2021, an important prerequisite for the expansion of the company’s technology leadership has been created.

Order Intake and Sales
At the end of 2021, the company had an order backlog of around CHF 1 840 million (December 31, 2020: around CHF 560 million). Rieter closed the 2021 financial year with sales of CHF 969.2 million, which corresponds to an increase of 69% compared to the previous year (2020: CHF 573.0 million).

EBIT, Net Profit and Free Cash Flow
The profit at the EBIT level in the 2021 financial year was CHF 47.6 million, which represents 4.9% of sales. At the net profit level, a profit of CHF 31.7 million accrued, which corresponds to 3.3% in relation to sales. Free cash flow at CHF 128.1 million is a result of the positive developments in earnings and net working capital. The acquisition of three businesses from the Saurer Group for a purchase price of CHF 321.4 million resulted in net debt of CHF 161.9 million; as of December 31, 2020, net liquidity amounted to CHF 41.3 million. At December 31, 2021, liquid funds amounted to CHF 249.4 million (2020: CHF 283.2 million). The equity ratio as of December 31, 2021, was 27.6% (previous year’s reporting date: 36.4%).

Sales by Region
Sales increased in all regions, with the exception of Africa. The highest growth of CHF 126.0 million compared to CHF 50.8 million in the previous year was achieved in India, followed by North and South America with CHF 149.9 million in 2021 compared to CHF 66.4 million in the previous period, and the Asian countries excluding China, India and Turkey with CHF 318.7 million (2020: CHF 184.8 million). In Turkey, Rieter increased sales to CHF 182.3 million (2020: CHF 122.0 million), in China to CHF 135.3 million (2020: CHF 92.8 million) and in Europe to 43.3 million (2020: CHF 38.4 million). In Africa, sales were below the prior-year level at CHF 13.7 million (2020: CHF 17.8 million).

Business Groups
Despite the well-known challenges in the supply chain, the Business Group Machines & Systems posted an order intake of CHF 1 708.6 million (2020: CHF 363.9 million) and achieved sales of CHF 590.3 million, double the previous year’s figure (2020: CHF 295.8 million). Ring and compact-spinning systems, on whose customer benefits Rieter has worked intensively in recent years, were particularly in demand.
The order intake of the Business Group Components was CHF 296.0 million, 75% above the previous year’s level (2020: CHF 169.1 million). Against the backdrop of successful strategy implementation and good capacity utilization at spinning mills worldwide, sales increased to CHF 231.5 million (2020: CHF 174.3 million). The Business Group After Sales recorded an order intake of CHF 221.1 million, 106% higher than the previous year (2020: CHF 107.2 million). Sales reached a level of CHF 147.4 million (2020: CHF 102.9 million). The positive evolution of the Business Group After Sales was also significantly influenced by successful strategy implementation and good capacity utilization at spinning mills around the world.

Acquisition of three Saurer businesses
Effective from December 1, 2021, Rieter is consolidating the components businesses acquired from Saurer. With the acquisition of Accotex (elastomer components for spinning machines) and Temco (bearing solutions for filament machines), Rieter is strengthening its market position in the components business. The acquisition of the third business from Saurer (automatic winder) completes and thus considerably increases the attractiveness of Rieter’s ring and compact-spinning system. This acquisition marks an important milestone in the implementation of the company’s strategy as an innovative systems supplier. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2022.

Rieter CAMPUS
On September 8, 2021, at the Winterthur location, the foundation stone was laid for the Rieter CAMPUS, which includes a customer and technology center as well as an administration building. With the Rieter CAMPUS, the company is creating a state-of-the-art and creative working environment, ensuring access to cutting-edge European technology and enhancing its ability to attract young talent. Thus, the Rieter CAMPUS will make an important contribution to the implementation of the innovation strategy and to the enhancement of the company’s technology leadership position.

Dividend
In view of the profit of CHF 31.7 million at the net profit level in the 2021 financial year, the Board of Directors proposes to the shareholders for 2021 the distribution of a dividend of CHF 4.00 per share. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 57%.

Changes to the Group Executive Committee
With effect from March 1, 2021, the Board of Directors of Rieter Holding AG appointed Roger Albrecht as Head of the Business Group Machines & Systems and a member of the Group Executive Committee.

Board of Directors and Annual General Meeting
At the 130th Annual General Meeting held on April 15, 2021, the shareholders approved all motions proposed by the Board of Directors. The Chairman of the Board Bernhard Jucker and the Directors This E. Schneider, Hans-Peter Schwald, Peter Spuhler, Roger Baillod, Carl Illi and Luc Tack were confirmed for a further one-year term of office. Stefaan Haspeslagh was newly elected to the Board of Directors for a one-year term of office. This E. Schneider, Hans-Peter Schwald and Bernhard Jucker, the members of the Remuneration Committee who were standing for election, were also each re-elected for a one-year term of office.

Changes to the Board of Directors
The two members of the Board of Directors, Luc Tack and Stefaan Haspeslagh, resigned from Rieter’s Board of Directors with effect from August 30, 2021.

Outlook
Rieter anticipates a gradual normalization of the demand for new systems in the coming months. The company expects demand for wear and spare parts to remain at a good level due to high capacity utilization at spinning mills. For the full year 2022, due to the high order backlog and the consolidation of the businesses acquired from Saurer, Rieter anticipates sales of around CHF 1 500 million. Sales in the second half of 2022 are expected to be higher than in the first half of the year. The realization of sales from the order backlog continues to be associated with risks in relation to the well-known bottlenecks in the supply chains, the ongoing pandemic and the geopolitical uncertainties. Despite the price increases already implemented, the rise in global costs poses a risk to the development of profitability.

Groz-Beckert will be exhibiting its Felting and Carding product areas at IDEA in Miami, USA, from 28 to 31 March 2022. Groz-Beckert experts will be presenting the latest products and solutions for the production of nonwovens.

Whether hydroentanglement, traditional needling or service: The product group Felting gives visitors comprehensive insights into the portfolio for the nonwovens industry. For spunlace customers, Groz-Beckert presents its HyTec® P jet strips, with a high hardness excellent scratch resistance.

In the area of traditional needling, the patented GEBECON® felting needle is one of Groz-Beckert’s highlight products. Thanks to its geometry, it offers optimized bending resistance with high flexibility.

Visitors can take a virtual tour through the technology facility in the Groz-Beckert Technology and Development Center (TEZ) in Albstadt, Germany and experience the staple fiber needle punch line (SVL).

At IDEA, the Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series is the main focus of the product group Carding. Thanks to a new and patented production method, Groz-Beckert has developed a new range of metallic card clothing, which offers improved process reliability and increased up-time of the card for the nonwovens industry. At the same time, the new production method also reflects the corporate principles of environmentally-friendly and resource-saving production.

The card clothings are characterized by a controlled and very precise hardening of the teeth, a reduced rib height of 1.3 millimeters and  completely scale-free surfaces without burrs. An exhibit at the booth will highlight how this differs from conventional production methods. It shows an impressive comparison between the new Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing and the previous generation.

The SiroLock™ plus worker and doffer wire was developed as the first special geometry of the Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series. In addition to the advantages of the Groz-Beckert InLine card clothings, the SiroLock™ plus impresses with a more effective fiber take-up, control and transfer. The functionality and operating principle behind the SiroLock™ plus can be experienced by IDEA visitors via Augmented Reality.