From the Sector

Smart textiles have the potential to revolutionise healthcare. In his doctoral thesis in textile technology at the University of Borås, Emanuel Gunnarsson presents unique solutions to the bottleneck that has long inhibited the market.

With an ageing population, increasing demands are being placed on healthcare and smart textiles can offer a solution where only imagination sets limits. “The long-term goal of most smart textiles is for them to be so easy to use that the user doesn't think of them as anything more than regular garments. No special procedure should be needed to use them. If we succeed in that, we won't burden healthcare by having healthcare personnel administer vital parameter monitoring such as blood pressure and pulse, as the user can handle it themselves,” said Emanuel Gunnarsson.

In his work, he has investigated how a t-shirt for measuring heart rhythm and movement patterns, and garments for electrostimulation, can be produced in a single step. This involves the connection between the contact surfaces (electrodes), the insulated conductive paths between the electrode and the contact point, and the electrical measuring equipment required.

“This, as far as we know, has never been described before. We are completely convinced that this is the solution to a significant bottleneck when it comes to getting the smart textile market going in earnest,” said Emanuel Gunnarsson.

His work has resulted in two different simple ways to produce smart textiles. He demonstrates that sensors can be integrated using standard textile manufacturing methods. The research also includes criticism of some of the methods used to measure the functionality of smart textiles, and advice on how to do it better instead.

“The next natural step will be to see how these garments cope with one of the toughest challenges a garment faces, namely washing. Especially as these garments must be worn closest to the skin, they will need to be washed relatively often,” said Emanuel Gunnarsson.

Studies from other universities indicate that the yarns used to measure signals from the body do not withstand many washes, but after a small pilot study, Emanuel Gunnarsson is hopeful of the opposite.

Toros Greenhalgh becomes General Manager of the new KARL MAYER subsidiary in Türkiye

In October 2023, the KARL MAYER GROUP established its own site in Bursa, Türkiye, thus increasing its presence in one of its most important markets. KARL MAYER TURKEY will meet increasing customer demands for after-sales service, spare parts (Care Solutions), and academy, in the sectors of warp knitting and warp preparation, while KARL MAYER’s long-standing regional representative ERKO focuses on machine sales.

Toros Greenhalgh was appointed General Manager of KARL MAYER TURKEY on February 1st of this year. Holding a degree in mechanical engineering and materials science from the University of Birmingham, he comes with experience in the fields of industrial plant construction management, renewable energy technologies, and the distribution of medical devices. For the past seven years he has been active in the sector of textile machinery through ERKO with particular focus on KARL MAYER machine sales, service, and spare parts.

Solvay announced the future Board of Directors of SYENSQO, effective upon completion of the planned separation of Solvay into two companies – SOLVAY and SYENSQO – which is on track to be completed in December 2023.

SYENSQO’s Board will be composed of 10 members, including 6 independent members, 3 members representing the reference shareholder, Solvac, and the company CEO. They have deep expertise in specialty industries, international business operations, risk management, corporate governance, finance and clean technology.

The following individuals will serve on the SYENSQO Board of Directors:
Rosemary Thorne will serve as independent Director and Chair of the SYENSQO Board, as well as Chair of the Board’s Finance Committee. She is currently an Independent Director on the Solvay Board of Directors, appointed in 2014, and Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. She is also an Independent Director on the Board of Merrill Lynch International (UK), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America, serving as Chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Thorne has decades of financial leadership experience across a wide range of industries. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer at J. Sainsbury, the UK’s largest supermarket chain at the time; Bradford & Bingley; and Ladbrokes. Ms. Thorne previously sat as an Independent Director on the Boards of Royal Mail Group, Cadbury Schweppes, Santander UK, First Global Trust Bank and Smurfit Kappa Group.

Dr. Ilham Kadri will serve as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of SYENSQO. She is currently CEO and President of the Executive Committee at Solvay. Ms. Kadri has successfully led the turnaround of Solvay, delivering double-digit EBITDA growth and 18 consecutive quarters of positive free cash flow, deleveraging the balance sheet and promoting superior people engagement. She is an independent Board member at A.O. Smith and L’Oréal. She is active in non-profit organizations, as Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), member of the steering committee of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) as well as a permanent member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (WEF). Ms. Kadri has extensive leadership experience across a variety of industries in four continents and with leading industrial multinationals, including Shell, UCB, Huntsman, Dow, Sealed Air. Prior to Solvay, she was CEO and President of Diversey in the USA, led the company’s return to profitability and resulting spin off and divestiture to Bain Capital. She founded two non-Profit foundations: the Solvay Solidarity Fund in Belgium in 2020 which supported more than 7000 families affected by Covid-19 and natural disasters; and founded the ISSA Hygieia Network in 2015 in the USA, to help women in the cleaning industry. She received two Doctor Honoris Clausa from EWHA University in Korea and Université de Namur in Belgium.

Julian Waldron will serve as independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee. He currently serves as Deputy Executive Chairman of privately-held Albea Group, a global beauty and personal care packaging company which operates 35 facilities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Mr. Waldron has held senior leadership roles at several leading listed companies in the industrial, technology and services sectors and brings a wealth of expertise in finance and business operations. Prior to joining Albea in 2022, he was Chief Financial Officer of Suez for three years after serving as Chief Financial Officer and subsequently Chief Operating Officer of Technip. He started his career at UBS Warburg where he spent 14 years. Mr. Waldron also served as an independent Board member and Chairman of finance, risk and investments at Carbon Clean, a privately-owned carbon capture company dedicated to achieving net zero.

Heike Van de Kerkhof will serve as independent Director and Chair of the Nomination Committee. She currently sits on the Board of OCI N.V.. Ms. Van de Kerkhof brings more than 30 years of experience in the chemicals, oil & gas and materials industries, having served in numerous leadership roles around the globe. From 2020 to 2023, she was Chief Executive Officer of Archroma Management, a global specialty chemicals company. During her tenure, she successfully completed the transformational acquisition of Huntsman’s Textile Effects business. Prior to her role at Archroma, Ms. Van de Kerkhof served as Vice President of Lubricants, Western Hemisphere at BP, and held positions at Castrol, The Chemours Company, and Neste Corporation. She also held many leading roles within DuPont over 18 years.

Matti Lievonen will serve as independent Director and Chair of the Compensation Committee. He is currently an independent director on the Solvay Board, appointed in 2017. Mr. Lievonen is a proven executive in the energy, forestry, power and automation industries with an extensive track record of leading businesses through climate transition. For over ten years until 2018, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neste Corporation, a global leader in next-generation renewable fuels and chemicals. During his time at Neste, Mr. Lievonen successfully promoted the development of clean fuels as well as Finland’s bioeconomy strategy in advancing renewable transportation fuels. He has also been involved with organizations such as Fortum Board, SSAB, Nynäs AB, Ilmarinen, and the HE Finnish Fair Foundation. Until 2021, Mr. Lievonen was also Chairman of the Board of Directors at Fortum. He has been recognized for his admirable leadership and expertise, and in 2016 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by the Aalto University Schools of Technology.

Dr. Françoise de Viron will serve as non-independent Director, Chair of the ESG Committee and Vice-Chair of the Board. She is currently a director of the Solvay Board, appointed in 2013. Ms. de Viron is a regarded academic leader and has extensive experience in innovation, R&D and qualitative research. She is a Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and Louvain School of Management at UCLouvain in Belgium where she has been an Academic Member of various groups at UCLouvain. Ms. de Viron previously served as the president of AISBL EUCEN – the European Universities Continuing Education Network. Prior to her university position, from 1985 to 2000, she was in charge of developing Artificial Intelligence applications at Tractebel S.A. (now Tractebel-Engie).

Roeland Baan will serve as independent Director. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Topsoe, a privately-held leading provider of clean energy and petrochemical technologies. He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SBM Offshore NV. Roeland Baan has extensive experience in supply chain management, M&A, business development and operations management. Prior to joining Topsoe in 2020, he was President and CEO of Outokumpu and has held several executive roles at global organizations such as Aleris International, ArcelorMittal and SHV NV. He spent over 16 years in various roles across the globe at Shell, living in South America, in Africa and in the United Kingdom.

Edouard Janssen will serve as non-independent Director. He is currently a Director on the Solvay Board, appointed in 2021. Earlier this year, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of D’Ieteren Group, a European leader in automotive distribution services. Mr. Janssen is also a Board member of privately-held Financière de Tubize and Union Financière Boël, as well as Co-Founder and Chair of Trusted Family. Mr. Janssen is active in academics, as Vice-Chair of the International Advisory Board of the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and on the advisory board of the INSEAD HGIBS. He brings expertise in finance, strategy, entrepreneurship, business management, planning and marketing. He has served as Solvay’s Vice President in strategy and M&A between 2019 and 2021, and prior to that, he was the US-based General Manager for North- and Latin America at Solvay’s Aroma Performance Global Business Unit.
 
Dr. Mary Meaney will serve as non-independent Director. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and of the Audit Committee of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA. She also sits on the Board of Directors and the Remuneration Committee of Beamery, the privately-held talent management company. She is a member of the Board of Directors and of the Finance Committee of Imperial College, London.Dr. Meaney will bring expertise in Strategy, M&A, and change management, which she acquired over a 24-year career at McKinsey. She was a Senior Partner, served on the McKinsey Shareholders Council and led McKinsey’s global Organization practice.

Nadine Leslie will serve as independent Director and is based in the United States of America. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Provident Financial Services , as well as a Non-Executive Director of Seven Seas Water Corporation, a water and wastewater treatment multinational company. She also sits on the Board of Trustees of Hackensack Meridian Health Network and is active as strategic consultant for civil engineering firm T&M Associates. Over a 22-year career at Suez, Ms. Leslie held several leadership positions, the last one being Chief Executive Officer of Suez North America, until 2022. Previously she served as Executive Vice President Health & Safety.

The new chairman of the Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser e. V. is Stefan Braun, managing director of Indorama Ventures Mobility Obernburg GmbH.

Braun, who had already held the chair twice between 2014 and 2020, was elected in June 2023 at the IVC annual members' meeting in Lenzing, Austria. Klaus Holz, Managing Director of Indorama Ventures Fibers Germany GmbH, was not available for re-election after one term as IVC Chair and two previous terms as Vice-Chair.

The IVC General Assembly appointed Dieter Feldmann, Managing Director of CERDIA Produktions GmbH, as Deputy Chairman. He succeeds Werner Häller, COO of Monosuisse AG, who did not stand for this position. The previous Treasurer of the IVC, Dr. Till Boldt, Managing Director of ENKA International Lux SE & Co. KG, was confirmed in office for the fifth consecutive term.

All elections took place according to rotation. Deviating from the usual mandate of 3 years, the Board of Directors had itself elected for a shortened term until June 2024.

IVC Managing Director Dr Wilhelm Rauch will leave IVC after almost 22 years when his contract expires on 31 January 2024 and will take on new tasks. The chemist with a doctorate and REACH expert is looking forward to making his expertise available to companies across sectors in the future.

“Grow Your Couture” by Piero D'angelo, the winning project of the IMAGINING SUSTAINABLE FASHION (ISFA) competition was announced during a webinar broadcast on 18 May attended by Giusy Bettoni CEO of C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub, Anna Detheridge President of Connecting Cultures and ISFA ambassadors Valentina Suarez, co-founder and CEO of Universo Mola and Vishal Tolambia winner of the 2022 edition.
 
Piero D'angelo's project was the best among the 110 proposals received after the international call for proposals launched on 27 October 2022.
 
Piero D'Angelo, 36, a graduate in Fashion Womenswear from the Royal College of Art in London and in Textile Design from Central Saint Martins, is a Fashion and Textile Designer with a research focus on biotechnology in the fashion industry. In 2022 he founded his Fashion & Textile Design studio experimenting with a multidisciplinary approach on the importance of natural materials and Biodesign. From 2018 to 2022 Piero D'Angelo was a resident and then Product Researcher & Developer at Open Cell (Biotech Research Park), a biotech start-up community in London. He was awarded the Dorothy Waxman Textile Design Prize in 2015 and semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize in 2020.
 
In his communication project, 'Grow Your Own Couture' D'Angelo imagines a future scenario where it will be possible to grow one's own clothes through living organisms such as lichens that are able to absorb pollution. But the project also wants to communicate a return to nature and above all care and protection towards it. In fact, the user is not simply a user of fashion, but through a kit is part of the process of growth, care and creation of the garment, thus abandoning the traditional paradigms of fashion. The project wants to completely re-imagine the way fashion could be designed, produced and used, proposing not only a product, but also a system that wants to collaborate with nature instead of polluting or exploiting it.

Dr. Harald Weber will become the new managing director of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association on 1 January 2023. The 44-year-old industrial engineer succeeds Thomas Waldmann, who has held the position since 1991 and will retire at the end of the year.

After completing his doctorate at the Technical University of Darmstadt and working as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen (THM), Dr. Weber joined the VDMA in 2011. Since then, he has been responsible for the topics of technology and innovation in the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.

Dr. Janpeter Horn, Chairman of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association and Managing Director of August Herzog Maschinenfabrik, commented on the change of personnel: "From his previous work in the plastics industry, Dr. Weber has profound knowledge and experience in topics that are also gaining in importance in textile machinery manufacturing. Examples include recycling and the circular economy, as well as digitalisation and especially the communication standard OPC UA."

Dr. Horn added: "We combine our warm welcome to Dr. Weber with a big thank you to Thomas Waldmann. 30 years as managing director at the Textile Machinery Association also stand for constantly changing framework conditions. Mr. Waldmann has always had his finger on the pulse of the industry and, together with his team, has represented the special interests of the member companies: From technology policy to challenges of market access to the leading trade fair ITMA and the European association CEMATEX. ITMA 2007 in Munich was certainly a highlight. The executive board of the association wishes Mr. Waldmann all the best for the new phase of his life that is now beginning."

• 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."

Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch will take joint leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT from August 2022. As renowned scientists, they have most recently shaped the direction of the institute as heads of the Products division and Energy division respectively, and will now follow in the footsteps of Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has entered retirement.

This is the first time in its history that Fraunhofer UMSICHT is led by two directors. Both institute directors began their professional careers at the institute and from August they will have a joint hand in its future.

Prof. Manfred Renner holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in process engineering and business development. Since 2006, he has held various roles at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, most recently heading up the Products division and overseeing its 126 employees and its budget of 14.8 million euros. He has set international standards through his award-winning research into a free of water tanning leather tanning process that uses compressed carbon dioxide. With the development of innovative aerogel-based insulation materials for building facades, he has made a significant contribution to environmentally friendly, circular applications in the construction industry and initiated a number of industrial projects. One of the notable technological breakthroughs made by his team was the development of a new type of fire-resistant glass, which can withstand even the most extreme heat. This won his development team the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in October 2020.

Alongside becoming institute director, Prof. Renner will also take over the leadership of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE in August 2022. In this role, he will represent the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on a national and international level with regard to the transformation of industry and society to a circular economy. In addition, he will start his professorship in Responsible Process Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Over the course of his professorship, he will shape the systemic development of the circular economy at a corporate, regional and European level.

Prof. Christian Doetsch has worked in energy research for more than 25 years, spending most of this time at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. As head of the Energy division, he managed a team of around 145 employees and was responsible for a budget of approximately 10.4 million euros. His technological focal points are energy storage, Power-to-X technologies including hydrogen electrolysis and chemical conversion, catalysts, and energy system modeling and optimization. His overarching aim is the integration of renewable energies into a cross-sectoral, resilient energy system.

In 2015, Doetsch co-founded the award-winning start-up Volterion GmbH & Co. KG, which develops redox flow batteries. He attained high visibility on a global scale by redesigning stacks, one of the main components of redox flow batteries, an achievement for which he, his team and Volterion representatives were awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in May 2021. The energy expert also acts as deputy spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and task manager for the energy storage group at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He also co-founded the “Open District Hub e. V.,” an association that promotes the energy transition in the sector by means of energy systems integration.

Since January 2020, he has been Professor of Cross Energy Systems at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. In this role, he conducts research into ecological evaluation and resilience of cross-sectoral energy systems.

• Ms Dana Rastocna-Illova (Cert. Eng., PhD) took on the role of OETI Country Manager in the Czech Republic in April 2022.

Her main tasks include customer service and the expansion of the customer structure in the Czech Republic. In addition, she will be responsible for conducting the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® on-site visits.

Dana Rastocna-Illova holds a doctorate from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and has been working in the textile industry for almost 25 years – about 20 of them in management positions. She also has many years of in-depth experience in the field of OEKO-TEX® certifications.

Travis Wells, JD, MBA, has been appointed as GOTS Protection Officer North America. In this newly created position, he will be identifying and advising companies that are making unsubstantiated claims regarding GOTS signage.

An increasing number of companies are eager to use GOTS certified materials and want to make claims regarding GOTS content on their finished products. However, the correct use of the trademarked logo is strictly regulated in CUGS 3.1. – The conditions for the use of GOTS signs. A GOTS claim on finished products guarantees the consumer that every single step in the textile processing supply chain was certified. As soon as one stage in the supply chain is not certified, a company may not label or mention GOTS on their final product.

As a Sustainable Supply Chain Director, Travis has more than 20 years of experience advising fashion and apparel-related businesses on sustainable sourcing, product development and manufacturing in domestic and global markets. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Studies from Vassar College, his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) in Corporate Law from George Washington University Law School and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Global Sustainability and Finance from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University.