From the Sector

Am 17.10.2022 fand in Berlin die Jahrestagung des Gesamtverbands textil+mode statt. In diesem Rahmen wurden die besten drei Podcasts der neuen Serie HÖR MAL ZU(KUNFT)! ausgezeichnet. Zu den Gewinnern zählt auch Nina Litsios vom Sächsischen Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI), die in ihrem Podcast der Frage nachging, was Nachhaltigkeit für ein Textilforschungsinstitut bedeutet.

• Stéphane Ferreira joined Carbios as Director of Operations and Executive Committee Member, on October 10, 2022.
• Frédéric Alarcon appointed Licensing Manager
• Arnaud Tillon appointed Group Marketing Director
• New areas of expertise complete the seniority of Carbios’ leadership team, following June appointments of Mathieu Berthoud as Sourcing and Public Affairs Director, Lionel Arras as Industrial Director, and Pascal Bricout as Strategy and Finance Director.
• Departure of Martin Stephan, Deputy CEO

Carbios strengthens its organization with the appointment of Stéphane Ferreira as Director of Operations. He will be in charge of the business’ global development and will steer the relationship with Carbios’ industrial and commercial partners.

Stéphane Ferreira's team will be reinforced by two new members, including:

• Frédéric Alarcon, Licensing Manager, who joined Carbios on September 5. His role is to build and deploy the process licensing model that is at the heart of Carbios’ business model;
• Arnaud Tillon, Group Marketing Director, who joined the firm on September 12. He will support the company’s development by defining and deploying the marketing strategy. He is also in charge of reinforcing the customer culture within the organization.

Martin Stephan will leave his position as Deputy CEO on October 15, 2022, after nearly six years at Carbios.

Emmanuel Ladent, Carbios’ Chief Executive Officer: "The appointment of Stéphane Ferreira as Director of Operations is excellent news for Carbios. His extensive experience in global markets will help Carbios reach a new level, by deploying the company’s proprietary technologies on a large scale. I am also very pleased with the recent arrivals of Frédéric Alarcon and Arnaud Tillon, whose respective expertise in licenses and mass-market offers will be invaluable. Lastly, on behalf of all Carbios’ teams, I want to salute and thank Martin Stephan for his continued commitment to the company’s development. His experience, expertise and skills have been key to developing partnerships which have enabled Carbios to be so close to industrial deployment and recognized as the future worldwide leader of plastics and fibers in the circular economy."

Exhibition: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
May 5 – July 16, 2023

The Costume Institute’s spring 2023 exhibition will examine the work of Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019). Focusing on the designer’s stylistic vocabulary as expressed in aesthetic themes that appear time and again in his fashions from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019, the show will spotlight the German-born designer’s unique working methodology.

Most of the approximately 150 pieces on display will be accompanied by Lagerfeld’s sketches, which underscore his complex creative process and the collaborative relationships with his premières, or head seamstresses. Lagerfeld’s fluid lines united his designs for Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous label, Karl Lagerfeld, creating a diverse and prolific body of work unparalleled in the history of fashion.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has named government relations and external affairs strategist and advocate Wes Fisher as its new Director of Government Affairs to raise the association’s profile in Washington, D.C. He brings strong liaising skills advancing industries’ interest to regulatory agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and state-level departments.

Most recently, he was senior director of government affairs at the Pet Advocacy Network where he led government relations and legislative strategy for the pet care industry’s national trade association.  Fisher’s background includes providing testimony on hundreds of bills and regulations for associations and creating policy positions, notably on single-use plastics and sustainability.
He has held positions working at the American Legislative Exchange Council and then the National Automatic Merchandising Association where he led state government relations and external affairs for the 1,000-members representing the vending and retail industry.   

At INDA, he will serve as the liaison between the industry and government legislative and regulatory bodies by preparing formal submissions to the federal government articulating industry positions, and representing INDA on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Textiles and Apparel (ITAC 12) among other responsibilities in this key position.

Fisher holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. He also sits on the board of directors of the Washington Area State Relations Group, and was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve on the State Rare Disease Council.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group, was awarded the prestigious Georg Menges Prize 2022 at the 31st International Colloquium on Plastics Technology in Aachen from September 7-8, 2022. The prize recognizes individuals or groups who have rendered outstanding services to the transfer of research results into industrial practice. The sponsors of the award are the Plastics and Rubber section of Germany's Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), together with PlasticsEurope Deutschland and the Association of Sponsors of the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Craft at RWTH University. The award is traditionally presented every two years during the colloquium organized by the IKV. Ulrich Reifenhäuser is the first businessman to receive the Georg Menges Award.

The award was presented by Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, Director of the IKV and Dr.-Ing. Herbert Müller, Chairman of the Board of the IKV Sponsors' Association. In his laudatory speech, Professor Hopmann highlighted Ulrich Reifenhäuser's great and successful commitment to the industry and his tireless search for optimal solutions that are sustainable in the best sense of the word, and praised him as a personality of integrity and integration. "The Georg Menges Prize is awarded for the consistent implementation of research and innovation in industry. The previously described achievements of our prizewinner would certainly have been enough to receive the award but, for the sponsors of the Prize, what was especially important and the key argument for their decision was Ulrich Reifenhäuser’s honorary dedication to the K tradefair," explained Professor Hopmann.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser has been a member of the Reifenhäuser Group management since 1992 and is responsible for international line sales. Together with his brother Bernd Reifenhäuser, he manages the company in the third generation. Ulrich Reifenhäuser has been a board member of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association for more than 25 years and has been its chairman since 2010. In 2020, he was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame, as was the award's namesake, and in 2022 he will be co-chairing the world's leading plastics trade fair in Düsseldorf for the seventh time in a row as "President of K show."

Zu den Ergebnissen des Koalitionsausschusses äußerte sich BDI-Präsident Siegfried Russwurm. Der Koalitionsausschuss habe ein großvolumiges Entlastungspaket beschlossen, das überwiegend auf private Haushalte abziele. Die Wirtschaft erkenne das Bestreben der Bundesregierung an, den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern rasch und zielorientiert zu helfen, sehe aber erhebliche Mängel und Lücken im Entlastungspaket der Koalition. Aus Sicht der Wirtschaft seien die vorgestellten Maßnahmen enttäuschend und unkonkret: "Immer mehr Betriebe und Unternehmen sind angesichts explodierender Gas- und Strompreise existentiell bedroht."

Die Industrie erwarte von der Bundesregierung, die Belange und praktischen Erfordernisse der Unternehmen stärker in ihr laufendes Krisenmanagement einzubeziehen und den Industriestandort mit aller Kraft zu schützen. Die Brisanz der Situation erfordere für die am stärksten betroffenen Unternehmen sehr schnell wirkende Maßnahmen und unkomplizierten Zugang zu angemessenen Hilfsleistungen über die jetzt angekündigte Verlängerung des Spitzenausgleichs für energieintensive Unternehmen hinaus. Eine staatliche Ko-Finanzierung der Strom-Übertragungsnetzentgelte wäre dafür ein zielgerichteter Ansatzpunkt.

Die Dramatik beim Strompreis verlange, dass vorübergehend alles, was geht, schnell wieder Strom produziert. Das komme privaten und gewerblichen Verbrauchern gleichermaßen zugute. Essenziell seien sofortige Entscheidungen und praktische Schritte für eine möglichst große Verbreiterung des Stromangebots durch den schnellen Hochlauf von Stein- und Braunkohlekraftwerken, die Laufzeitverlängerung der Kernkraftwerke und die maximale Nutzung der Potenziale erneuerbarer Energien. Die tatsächliche Umsetzung längst getroffener Entscheidungen und die Lösung konkreter Probleme wie bei der Kohlelogistik dürften sich nicht noch weiter verzögern, damit eine stabile Versorgung über Herbst und Winter gewährleistet ist.

Die Industrie begrüßt die Ankündigungen der Bundesregierung, bevorzugt auf EU-Ebene Initiativen zur Dämpfung des drastischen Strompreisanstiegs zu ergreifen und dabei möglichst bald zu wirksamen Entscheidungen zu kommen. Die Industrie bietet ausdrücklich an, im Vorfeld ihre Expertise für Lösungen einzubringen. Wichtig sind eine Eingrenzung des Strompreisanstiegs und zugleich effektive Marktsignale für den beschleunigten Ausbau der Erneuerbaren sowie die Versorgungssicherheit.

Unverständlich viel Zeit sei bisher durch fehlende Rechtssicherheit für den sogenannten Fuel-Switch, den befristeten Wechsel von Gas auf Öl in Betrieben, verloren gegangen. Gerade viele Mittelständler wollten und könnten ihre Produktion vorübergehend ohne Gas aufrechterhalten, ihren Gasbedarf senken und zugleich mehr Versorgungssicherheit für sich selbst und für ihre Kunden gewinnen.

"Es braucht eine deutliche Beschleunigung bei allen relevanten Genehmigungen und viel schnellere Entscheidungen der Behörden vor Ort. Die Bundesregierung muss verbindlich klarstellen, dass jetzige Einsparungen von Gas in den Unternehmen im Falle einer Gasmangellage auf Belieferungsreduzierungen angerechnet werden. Für rasche Einspareffekte wäre es kontraproduktiv, wenn diejenigen, die ihren Gasverbrauch jetzt bereits reduzieren, im Falle einer Gasmangellage dafür faktisch bestraft würden,“ so der BDI-Präsident.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has named experienced operations and development officer Ryan Ragan as its new Director of Membership and Industry Relations to retain and grow memberships and enhance member values. He brings 20 years of experience from various bio-medical and healthcare organizations.

For the past four years he worked in domestic and international business development at the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, (ACHC).
He began his career the U. S. Marines before transitioning to business after being discharged. Ragan also helped the Central Jersey Blood Center achieve record-setting growth in his first two years as its Chief Operating Officer. In another role, he trained management candidates at Grifols to take over and run both existing and start up biomedical facilities.

As Business Development Manager for ACHC, he helped develop and launch pharmaceutical and home health programs in Italy and Saudi Arabia.  Ragan’s team also oversaw relationships with state and national associations.

At INDA, he will work with members to help identify opportunities and work internally to determine how INDA can be a resource for solutions.  He will strive to add additional value to INDA members through education and new service lines.

Ragan holds a bachelor’s degree in Business, from the University of Phoenix.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) named the winners of ‘RECO Young Designer Competition’, Thailand's largest upcycling fashion design event, parading haute couture garments containing at least 60% recycled materials.

Eleven finalists showcased 33 handmade sustainable outfits at the 9th edition of the fashion show at IVL’s headquarters in Bangkok, using recycled PET and polyester items to craft creative fashions. Under the concept of ‘REVIVE: Start from the Street,’ RECO supports young Thai designers while raising awareness of recycling. The designs use a range of recycled materials including recycled PET yarns, discarded fabric from factories, and even repurposed safety belts.

RECO awarded finalists and winners with 500,000 baht in prizes to support their careers. First prize of 125,000 baht was awarded to 23-year-old emerging furniture designer Prem Buachum for his ‘The Origin of Rebirth’ collection, using fabric recycled from post-consumer PET bottles. The first runner-up, Sathitkhun Boonmee, was awarded 75,000 baht for his ‘Remembering Your Favorite Teddy Bear’ collection, using old dolls made of polyester fibers. Second runners-up, Worameth Monthanom and Tanakorn Sritong, received 50,000 baht for their ‘Regeneration of Nature (into Spring)’ collection, using unused fabrics and discarded PET film. Napat Tansuwan, a finalist with his’ Don’t Judge’ collection, will go on to create designer merchandise for sponsor Buriram United Football Club using local weaving techniques from communities in Buriram province.

Mrs. Aradhana Lohia Sharma, Vice President at Indorama Ventures and RECO Young Designer Competition Chairperson, said, “Since 2011, RECO's ambition has been to uplift recycling and inspire people to realize the value of recyclable materials to produce great new products for daily life. We have witnessed many thoughtful initiatives on upcycling through the collections created by our talented young Thai designers. The designs this year showcase stunning wearability and innovation while using a large percentage of recycle materials. Public interest in recycling has been growing immensely, and we are grateful to strengthen the relationship with partners like Buriram United Football Club.”

“Indorama Ventures hopes this competition will be a driving force in nurturing sustainable fashion concepts and increasing the acceptance of recycled materials, especially post-consumer PET. We are proud to be a stepping-stone for our youth's design journey and our community’s sustainable future.”

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) announced that construction of an integrated PTA-PET plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, will resume in August this year. Corpus Christi Polymers LLC (CCP), a partnership between three companies, is expected to begin production in 2025 and ensure continued cost-competitive production to support the growth of IVL’s global PET operations into the next decade.

CCP was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between Indorama Ventures Corpus Christi Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Indorama Ventures; DAK Americas LLC, a subsidiary of Alpek S.A.B. de C.V.; and APG Polytech USA Holdings, Inc, a subsidiary of Far Eastern New Century, following the purchase of a partially constructed facility of M&G Resins in Corpus Christi. Each partner will procure its own raw materials and receive one third of the PTA and PET produced at the facility to sell and distribute independently.

Construction of the plant is resuming following a period of pandemic-related disruptions. Through the pandemic, the partners firmly resolved to continue planning amid continued robust demand for PET packaging and the need for shorter supply chains. As the impact of the pandemic eased in 2022, the management team was strengthened in preparation for the resumption in activities.

CCP is expected to be the largest vertically integrated PTA-PET production plant in the Americas, and IVL’s biggest greenfields project in the U.S. since the development of the AlphaPet production facility at Decatur, Alabama in 2009. The new Texas facility is a significant addition to IVL’s leading global footprint, and will expand its coverage to customers across the U.S. The plant’s vertical integration optimizes PTA-PET production and, together with the availability of raw materials Paraxylene and Mono Ethylene Glycol in the U.S., ensures long-term competitive-cost supply for IVL’s locally integrated polyester value chain.

The facility will have nominal annual capacities of 1.1 million metric tons of PET and 1.3 million metric tons of PTA, shared between the partners. It will employ three state-of-the-art technologies: PTA: IntegRex®, PET melt: Invista, and PET solid state: Easy Up (HCIRR – Horizontal Continuous slightly Inclined Rotary Reactor).

CCP is adding to its leadership team to prepare for the new growth opportunities. Mr Russell Wilson will leave his role with IVL as Head of Manufacturing Americas, Combined PET, to take up a new role as Chief Executive Officer of CCP from 18 July. He brings 30 years of Aromatics and PET leadership experience including prior roles with Amoco and BP before joining IVL. Mr Todd Hogue, IVL’s Global Head of EH&S, replaces Mr Wilson as IVL’s representative on CCP’s Board. Mr Michael Day joined CCP as Project Director in June and brings 34 years of construction leadership experience including senior roles with Bilfinger, KBR, and CB&I.  Mr Jeff Shea will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer on 18 July.  Mr Shea has been in the PET industry for the last 22 years and has managed PET sites for the last 17. 

Die AVK - Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e. V. trauert um Dr.-Ing. Rudolf Kleinholz, der im Alter von 82 Jahren am 4. Juli 2022 nach längerer Krankheit verstorben ist.
 
Seine Beziehung zu den „Verstärkten Kunststoffen“ begann 1968 beim Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) in Aachen, wo er als Abteilungsleiter „Verstärken“ arbeitete. Dort promovierte er 1971 über Verstärkte Kunststoffe unter Prof. Georg Menges und wechselte dann in die Industrie. Anfang der 1990er Jahre bis zu seinem Ruhestand arbeitete er bei Fibrit, Grefrath, später Johnson Controls und war dort als Director Materials and Process Engineering Europe europaweit für Innenraumteile zuständig.

Der AVK war er bereits von Beginn seines Berufslebens an, seit 1968, eng verbunden in verschiedenen Positionen und Gremien bei AVK-Arbeitskreisen und -Ausschüssen. Er war über viele Jahre organisatorisch für die AVK-Tagung mitverantwortlich und hat mit seinem außerordentlichen Know-how auch den AVK-Vorstand für viele Jahre bereichert und geprägt. Er gehörte auch nach dem Eintritt der Verrentung immer wieder kooptiert dem Vorstand an, trug für Jahrzehnte die Verantwortung für den AVK-Innovationspreis und war Vorsitzender der Jury.

Großer Beliebtheit erfreute sich das regelmäßig von der AVK durchgeführte „Einführungsseminar“, bei dem Dr. Kleinholz mit seinem tiefen Fachwissen, Neu- und Wiedereinsteigern eine immer auch humorvolle Einführung in die komplexe Welt der Verstärkten Kunststoffe gab. Bereits 2008 wurde Dr. Kleinholz der AVK-Ehrenpreis „Lesender Knabe“ für seine langjährigen Verdienste um die Verstärkten Kunststoffe / Composites verliehen.