From the Sector

• Members of TMAS – the Swedish textile machinery association – have adopted a range of new strategies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, aimed at assisting manufacturers of textiles and apparel to adjust to a new normal, as Europe and other regions emerge cautiously from lockdown.

“Many European companies have been forced into testing new working methods and looking at what it’s possible to do remotely, and how to exploit automation to the full, in order to become more flexible,” says TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson. “Others have been taking risks where they see opportunies and there’s a new sense of solidarity among companies.

“It’s extremely encouraging, for example, that over five hundred European companies from across our supply chain are reported to have responded to the shortages of facemasks and PPE – protective personal equipment – by converting parts of their sites or investing in new equipment.”

New supply chains

Amongst them are TMAS members of the ACG Group, who quickly established a dedicated new nonwovens fabric converting and single-use garment making-up plant to supply to the Swedish health authorities. From a standing start in March, this is now producing 1.8 million square metres of converted fabric and turning it into 692,000 finished medical garments each month.

“In 2020 so far, we have seen new value chains being created and a certain amount of permanent reshoring is now inevitable,” says Premler-Andersson. “This is being backed by the new funding announced in the European Union’s Next Generation EU plan, with €750 billion marked for helping industry recover. As the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stressed, “green and digital” transitions hold the key to Europe’s future prosperity and resilience, and TMAS members have new solutions to assist in both areas.”

Remote working

Automated solutions have opened up many possibilities for remote working during the pandemic. Texo AB, for example, the specialist in wide-width weaving looms for the paper industry, was able to successfully complete the build and delivery of a major multi-container order between April and May.

“Our new Remote Guidance software now makes it possible for us to carry out some of the commissioning and troubleshooting of such new lines remotely, which has been helpful” says Texo AB President Anders Svensson.

Svegea of Sweden, which has spent the past few months developing its new CR-210 fabric relaxation machine for knitted fabrics, has also successfully set up and installed a number of machines remotely, which the company has never attempted before.

“The pandemic has definitely led to some inventive solutions for us and with international travel currently not possible, we are finding better methods of digital communication and collaboration all the time,” says Svegea managing director Hakan Steene.

Eric Norling, Vice President of the Precision Application business of Baldwin Technology, believes the pandemic may have a more permanent impact on global travel.

“We have now proven that e-meetings and virtual collaboration tools are effective,” he says. “Baldwin implemented a home office work regime from April with only production personnel and R&D researchers at the workplace. These past few months have shown that we can be just as effective and do not need to travel for physical meetings to the same extent that was previously thought to be necessary.”

Pär Hedman, Sales and Marketing Manager for IRO AB, however, believes such advances can only go so far at the moment.

“Video conferences have taken a big leap forward, especially in development projects, and this method of communication is here to stay, but it will never completely replace personal meetings,” he says. “And textile fabrics need to be touched, examined and accepted by the senses, which is impossible to do via digital media today. The coming haptic internet, however, may well even change that too.”

Social distancing

The many garment factories now equipped with Eton Systems UPS work stations – designed to save considerable costs through automation – have meanwhile benefited from the unintentional social distancing they automatically provide compared to factories with conventional banks of sewing machines.

“These companies have been able to continue operating throughout the pandemic due to the spaced nature of our automated plant configurations,” says Eton Systems Business Development Manager Roger Ryrlén. “The UPS system has been established for some time, but planned spacing has proved an accidental plus for our customers – with improved productivity.”

“Innovations from TMAS member companies have been coming thick and fast recently due to their advanced know-how in automation concepts,” Premler-Andersson concludes.  “If anything, the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have only accelerated these initiatives by obliging our members to take new approaches.”

Digitisation, Industry 4.0 and the expertise in this field should make fit for the working world of tomorrow. Nevertheless, these important topics are pushed into the back-ground in times of Corona. says ITA Academy ofefrs now online remote trainings for home-office: "Digital Transformation", the "Textile Summer School" and "Basics of Textile Technology"

The "Textile Summer School" will be held from 13 - 15 May and the training course "Basics of textile technology" from 28 - 30 July. They will impart expertise about the entire textile process chain. Starting with fibre science, through yarn and surface production to finishing and textile testing methods, all essential topics are cov-ered.
Both training courses are therefore suitable for interested employees and trainees from all areas of the company along the textile chain who wish to acquire or refresh specialist knowledge. This also gives lateral entrants and specialists with training from outside the indus-try the opportunity to enter the world of textiles more easily.

The "Textile Summer School" addresses both international and national customers. A good knowledge of English is required for participation. The course "Basics of Textile Technology" will be held in German.

DOMO Chemicals, a global leading player in engineering nylon materials towards sustainable solutions, today announced its transition plan for the function of Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors of DOMO has appointed Yves Bonte to succeed current CEO Alex Segers during February 2020. Mr. Segers has held the CEO position at DOMO since the Company started its chemical activities in 1994 and will continue to play an important role in the transformation of Solvay’s European Performance Polyamide and DOMO into one company. Closing of the acquisition of Solvay’s European performance Polyamide Business by DOMO is expected to take place on January 31st.

Alex Segers commented, “I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with the DOMO team over the past twenty-six years, which has really been an incredible journey. We are now entering the next level for the company by integrating very soon the European Performance Polyamides Business from Solvay. In Yves we have found the ideal person to pass the baton to. We look forward to a seamless transition.”

Gregory De Clerck, Managing Director of Domo Investment Group and Member of the Board of DOMO Chemicals commented, “I would personally like to thank Alex for his leadership in the successful growth and transformation of DOMO from an upstream nylon 6 specialist into a full integrated engineering materials company developing innovative and sustainable solutions in the Polyamide Industry. We are excited to welcome Yves Bonte to DOMO as the new CEO and Chairman of DOMO Chemicals. We believe he is the ideal person to lead the next chapter of the Company’s growth and transformation process. Alex will continue to significantly contribute to the success of new DOMO.”

Yves Bonte joins DOMO from Yara, the leading fertilizer company and a provider of environmental solutions where he held the role of Executive Vice President Industrial recently named New Business since January 2010, and was responsible for a business generating appr. 20% of Yara’s total revenue of 12.9 billion USD. Prior to Yara, he held a variety of business leadership, commercial and operations roles at Lyondell Basel and Exxon Chemicals. Since 2018 Yves is as Board Member of DOMO.

“I have a true passion for innovation and sustainability, and I am thrilled to join DOMO as its next CEO,” Yves Bonte commented. “The Company has established itself as a leader in sustainable polyamide based on its strong technology-driven product portfolio with a solid foundation to further build upon. I believe DOMO is uniquely positioned to support its customers’ manufacturing processes in a cost effective and sustainable manner. The recently announced long-term strategy and planned investment will position DOMO to reach new levels of growth and success.”

Sustainability is part of SEEK’s internal make-up and has always been part of the team and community experience. Over 80 sustainable brands make up the brand portfolio, including players like Veja, Dedicated and Kings of Indigo. Experts will be sharing their experiences on this market-defining topic as well, with a host of live podcasts, talks and panel discussions, and will be shaping SEEK’s programme of content.
 
BIG PLAYER: the new SEEK Culture
 
SEEK is Europe’s most successful trade show for pop, street and sneaker culture. This is where the key players meet, where the looks of tomorrow are showcased, modelled and retold, where classics are celebrated, authenticity rules the roost and where icons take their positions alongside shooting stars. SEEK is essential participation for anyone looking to curate a modern, youthful and relevant range.

The shift from a niche event to a large trade show is now complete with a new logo and campaign design. SEEK has emerged from its transformation to reveal that its content and visual look are as relevant as ever!  

Together with creative agencies Karl Anders and Haebmau, the SEEK team has been working for weeks on the brand’s new branding. The result: a visual concept with a strong message.

“The handshake is the right imagery and commitment to our stance and that of the SEEK community.”

“SEEK stands for strength and business just as much as for communality and good vibes! ‘Get Along’ articulates a feeling of agreement, of moving forward and getting to grips with things. We all want to shape a positive future for our industry – as partners and by joining forces.”, explains Fashion Director Maren Wiebus.

CREATIVE CONNECTION: Karl Anders and Haebmau
 
The Hamburg-based agency Karl Anders, which was established by Claudia Fischer-Appelt and Lars Kreyenhagen, was commissioned to come up with the creative concept and design language for the logo and campaign.

“With the new look we are entering a new era for SEEK as a brand. Lots of brands have chosen a design using Helvetica in recent years,” says Claudia Fischer-Appelt, Creative Director at Karl Anders. “We are now signalling a clear shift in another direction. Confident, bold and independent. With the logo we are inviting the viewer to play with the linear layout in their head; we are breaking viewing habits, making a statement and revving things up a gear. SEEK, there it is.”
 
The artwork is the result of a process of in-depth debate with the SEEK brand that took place over several weeks both within the team and also with the support of lifestyle agency Haebmau. Workshops, research and analyses ultimately led to a new, strong brand identity. SEEK is focussed on both established and new players and stands for the WE.

“I have known SEEK since it was in its infancy, so to me it was always like a little brother of the large, successful PREMIUM. Quirky and different, always interesting but somehow not quite so imposing,” says Markus Bublitz, Executive Creative Director at Haebmau. “SEEK today is more grown-up, confident and sharper. Thanks to its position in the market, which it has conquered over the years, it no longer needs to please everyone but can afford to be controversial. This can offer space for new, creative ideas.”

SEEK is edgy, clean-cut and unpolished.

We are all about statement design, new classics, denim and sportswear. SEEK is the trade show event for the fashion community. SEEK knows who calls the shots; it boosts sales and is the place for the next generation of decision-makers to get together. Unlike all the others, SEEK is unconventional and the antidote to boring.

There is currently frenzied activity and investment taking place to commercialise self-driving cars, involving both the established automotive manufacturers and the technology giants of Silicon Valley.

It is no exaggeration to say that this could completely reshape the landscape of the global automotive industry once again – even after the massive shifts that have occurred since the beginning of the 21st century, including the move towards electric vehicles.

Under this challenging scenario, a new publication from Textile Media Services – Automotive Textiles: Preparing for total transformation (5th edition) – provides the latest analysis of the fast-altering global automotive textiles industry.

Shanghai - ROICA™ lands in Shanghai to showcase its complete range of premium stretch fibers for the modern wardrobe and disclose its visionary approach and strategy for a cutting-edge and sustainable fashion.

On show, leading material innovator Asahi Kasei introduces a premium stretch fiber starting from the ultimate ROICA Eco-Smart™ Family. The certified and multi-awarded range has astonished the textile world for its hyper-performative features. “The new premium stretch is synonymous of transformation: from standard to speciality, from basic to special, from ordinary to clever and from standard to Smart.” Explains Shinichiro Haga, Senior Executive Manager - ROICA™ Division.

Sustainability and a responsible approach are the true core of research and development to create high-tech engineered yarns.Such visionary imprint imbues all ROICA™ innovations:

• ROICA Eco-Smart™ family: A true world-first with the most contemporary sustainable range of responsibly produced premium ingredients. ROICA Eco-Smart™ family offers 2 sustainably designed stretch yarns

- ROICA™ EF is GRS by Textile Exchange certified, thanks to the fact that more than 50% of yarn content comes from the recycling of pre-consumer waste.
- ROICA™ V550 yarn got the Cradle-to-Cradle® Innovation Institute’s GOLD LEVEL Material Health certificate for impacts on human and environmental health. This yarn is also Hohenstein Environment Compatibility Certificated, signifying at its end-of-life, ROICA ™ yarn smartly breaks down without releasing harmful materials.

• ROICA Feel Good™ family: A unique range of advanced stretch yarns that deliver personal performance and measurable wellness, freshness and comfort metrics for travel, sport, leisure and more.
   
• ROICA Colour Perfect™ family: A range of yarns that can give excellent, flawless and world unique colour dimensions in advanced fit solutions.
   
• ROICA Resistance™ family: A high performance range of stretch solutions with performance resistance designed for match particular applications.
   
• ROICA Contour™ family: A range of yarns that create new shaping, stretch and silhouette solutions for a calibrated fit, effortless control, softness, comfort and support.

ROICA™ already entered the most advanced collections of leading brands as: Wolford for exceptional European Skinwear including legwear, Sarah Borghi for hosiery, SITA Active for Smart pret-a-porter,  Daquini for athleisure, Livy for sensual lingerie, SCOTT Racing Team for cycling uniforms, Closed for denim, Un-Sanctioned for running suits, Vitamine A for beachwear and many others.

In Shanghai, ROICA™ is set to stand out as leader in Smart Innovation. As tangible proof of this, the company brings to Intertextile Shanghai some of its ultimate collaborations across China and the Far East.

With the announcement of the eligible vehicle models, the World Car Awards 2020 kickedoff today at the IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany. This year again, the majority of contenders is equipped with lightweight components for acoustic and thermal management from Autoneum. The world’s leading automobile industry awards will be presented at the New York Motor Show in the spring of 2020.

A total of 46 new vehicle models have passed the initial screening and are now contenders for trophies in the categories “World Car of the Year”, “World Luxury Car”, “World Performance Car”, “World Urban Car” and “World Car Design of the Year”, including five new fully-electric models alone. Whether it’s a lightweight underbody, a noise-absorbing carpet system or a heat-reducing engine encapsulation – most of the eligible vehicles benefit from Autoneum’s innovation leadership in thermal and acoustic management. Autoneum’s expertise extends to new forms of mobility such as electric vehicles: Also thanks to numerous Autoneum components, Jaguar’s fully-electric SUV “I-PACE” impressed the jurors for the World Car Awards 2019, which was the first model ever to be named “World Car of the Year”, “World Car Design of the Year” and “World Green Car” at the same time.

On the occasion of today’s eligibility announcement, Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said: “Once again, the contenders are testimony to our innovation leadership. The World Car Awards also confirm our forward-looking approach: Nominated e-models feature Autoneum components as well. Welcoming our industry’s transformation early on, we today supply environmentally sustainable, lightweight components for most electric models available worldwide.”

Gerry Malloy, President of the World Car Awards Association, added: “As a market leader, Autoneum is the ideal partner for us. Our shared commitment to innovation was a decisive factor in forming a partnership back in 2014. Nowadays, this is a crucial aspect for manufacturers and suppliers who wish to remain successful in times of industrial and technological change.”

The World Car Awards, which have been presented annually since 2004, are the world’s leading nd most widely recognized automotive industry awards. A jury comprising of more than 80 international automotive journalists selects winners in five categories. The winners of the 2020 World Car Awards will be announced in April next year at the New York Motor Show.

After an intense dialogue and a series of meetings during the past year between the ZDHC Board of Directors and the GCIRT, an alignment was gained on ZDHC organisational commitments and a mutual understanding of the role of chemical suppliers within the ZDHC Programme. This opens the doors for broader, more active distribution of chemistry expertise and implementation support of textile dye and leather chemical manufacturing industry in the ZDHC Programme.

The Global Chemical Industry Round Table (GCIRT), sent an open letter to ZDHC in May 2018 and is a group of the leading chemical solution providers in the textile and leather industry with the collective aim of driving the industry further to become more sustainable. GCIRT’s signatory’s engagement into the ZDHC Programme will support a faster transformation of the industry by taking complexity out of the supply chain and to find appropriate solutions for the industries’ requirements.

The GCIRT members are: ARCHROMA (Switzerland); CHT Germany GmbH (Germany); Colourtex Industries Private Limited (India); DyStar Singapore Pte Ltd (Singapore); Huntsman Textile Effects (Singapore); KISCO (Korea); Pulcra Chemicals Group (Germany); RUDOLF GmbH (Germany); TANATEX Chemicals B.V. (Netherlands).

Govier plans to scale the organization and take customer focus to the next level to drive growth
Kornit Digital, (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global market leader in digital textile printing technology, announced today that Chris Govier has been named Managing Director at Kornit Digital Europe GmbH.

Govier is a proven leader who brings broad experience of supporting customers with industrial digital transformation, a proven record of driving growth, and solid experience building and managing world class teams. In his new role, Govier will oversee Kornit Digital’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and will be instrumental in scaling up Kornit’s business.

Govier previously served in sales and general management roles at Xerox Corporation, and holds a BA from the University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Commenting on the appointment, Gilad Yron, Kornit Digital’s Executive Vice President of Global Business, said, “I welcome Chris on board as the new Managing Director of Kornit Digital Europe. He brings with him solid experience in the analog-digital transition in industrial print and deep regional understanding. Europe has traditionally been a strong performer for Kornit, and Chris’ expertise will help us grow the organization to the next level.”

“This is an incredibly exciting time to join Kornit Digital – their technology, coupled with a passion and drive will significantly disrupt the textile printing industry.” said Chris Govier. “EMEA represents a huge opportunity and I look forward to building on the fantastic success achieved so far.”

• Exclusive market insights, best practices and inspirational thoughts, alongside previews of Kornit’s new dedicated polyester printing technology

Kornit Digital, (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global market leader in digital textile printing technology, invites all textile printers, garment decorators, Kornit users, prospective customers and anyone who is curious about the latest trends and technology in digital textile printing, to its “Kornit Discover” events.

Taking place April 3-4 in the New York Metropolitan area, April 11-12 in Duesseldorf, Germany and April 15-17 in Hong Kong, each event will feature educational workshops with real-world insights delivered by high-level guest speakers. Highlighting the North American event will be a keynote by Breakaway Sports owner Scott Goldstone, multiple case study presentations, and a panel discussion with editors of key publications serving the imprinted apparel industry. The European event will feature a keynote called “The Future of Retail” by futurist Kai Gondlach, a digital transformation review of the textile industry by Tansy Fall, editor-in-chief of Digital Textile 4.0 and an insightful chat with Kornit user Shirtracer, Nuremburg. The Asian instance will feature Ron Gilboa as main speaker and Kornit’s customer Paintory.

Omer Kulka, Kornit Digital’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy, said: “There are still a lot of perceptions and opinions in the market about direct-to-garment printing and what its opportunities and limitations are. Printing on dark polyester is a prime example: there is an opinion in the market that digital printing and dark poly don’t go well together, and we just lifted this barrier. With Kornit Discover, we are creating an industry event that will challenge these established thinking patterns. In fact, we will transform the way visitors think and print!”