From the Sector

The Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment will be presenting itself at the Egy Stitch & Tex 2020 between March 5 and 8, 2020 in Cairo – with a clear focus on the needs of the African market. In Hall 1, Stand B2 The Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag experts will also be showcasing the comprehensive product and service portfolio of the world market leader for manmade fiber systems at the stand of Oerlikon’s representative ATAG Export & Import.

The spotlight of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment’s trade fair attendance will be on two core technologies: the new generation of Oerlikon Barmag eAFK Evo texturing machines is to be unveiled within the African market for the very first time. It promises higher speeds and productivity with consistently high product quality, along with lower energy consumption and simpler operation vis-à-vis comparable market solutions. In particular, the numerous value-added features include two that convince with cutting-edge technology: the optimized, innovative EvoHeater and the EvoCooler, a completely newly-developed active cooling unit.

The second technology focus offers new opportunities for the Egyptian market and the Middle Eastern markets in particular: with Oerlikon Neumag’s BCF S8 monocolor and tricolor system, the segment will be unveiling its new carpet yarn production flagship. Superlative spinning speeds, up to 700 individual filaments, finer titers of up to 2.5 dpf – the performance data and technological finesse of the new system have already made a huge impression at numerous trade fairs and roadshows over the past year. The tricolor’s core component is the new, patent-pending Color Pop Compacting unit (CPC-T) for even more flexible and more even color separation. With the CPC-T, individually-controllable air pressures for each color provide pre-tangling, which accentuates the colors and hence makes more than 200,000 different shades possible. Whereas it has been very difficult to manufacture strongly color-separated or color-accentuated BCF yarns from polyamide 6 to date, this will in future be possible thanks to the CPC-T system. As a result of the new design, the CPC-T is now also suitable for processes with low yarn tensions.
 
Expanded product offering for manufacturing carpet yarns
Know-how covering all relevant technologies deployed in manmade fiber spinning plants enables Oerlikon – as the world’s only manufacturer – to expand its range of products and services for making carpet yarns. The POY- and texturing-based system concept is designed for a carpet and home textiles segment that demands particularly soft and bulky polyester yarns with BCF-like properties. Here, the aim is to produce yarns with titers of max. 1300dtex and typically more than 1,000 filaments, with typical products including, for example, 1300dtex f1152, 660dtex f1152 and 990dtex f768. The machine concept comprises the well-known WINGS HD POY winder, along with the eAFK Big-V texturing machine.

The integrated sustainable network making fashion circular, Made in Italy and 100% traceable

World leading textile manufacturer Manteco presents its sustainable path for a better future: The Manteco System. A strategy and a vision shaping the company’s sustainable imprint since 1943. The system consists in the development and engineering of a production network involving 100 partner-companies from the whole supply chain “We all team up responsibly to create premium collection based on transparent , traceable  circular economy practices,” comments Matteo Mantellassi, co-CEO of Manteco.
 
To achieve meeting the demand for fair and sustainable fashion that consumers believe in, and is expected  from our clients, the company and its partners have created and accomplished to a Protocol of Sustainable Values and Commitments in line with the highest standards of the global market.

“On a hand, the protocol preserves the unique ‘genius loci’ of our territory – it respects the heritage of all our partners, from the smaller businesses to the more structured ones - on the other hand, it works like a shared compass of sustainable values, allowing the whole supply chain behind Manteco products to stand out and be competitive on the global stage” adds Mantellassi.
 
The protocol and its monitored and traceable system cover virtuous management of resources – e.g. Water, energy and chemical products - waste management and low production impact on the environment but also responsible standards in terms of employment, quality of the working environment, equal rights and anti-discrimination policies.

One of the key  results of such commitment and sustainable development is the creation of an upgraded version of the recycled wool  MWool™: a top ingredient made from premium recycled wool process guaranteed by the Manteco System.The System works like a symphony where management, measurement and controls  are not there just to test  the quality of each single phase of processes or  products , but to make sure and offer the complete traceability of Manteco production.  From raw material, to yarn, spinning, finishing, testing and final fabric.

Some productions tips about Manteco:

•  5.3 million kg of raw materials processed annually.
•  6.860 tests on raw material per year.
•  34.400 tests on finished products.
•  100% made in Italy system completely based in the Prato district since 1943.
•  Total transparency and traceability thanks to a highly skilled management system.

With a turnover of over 91m Euro in 2019 and an annual growth of 17,80% since 2012, Manteco SpA is the 4th textile company in Italy, listed in the TOP30 companies of the Italian fashion system. “The unique Manteco system adds value to our products while highlighting the sustainable path we share with all our partners both upstream and downstream”.

• Flexographic printing press includes award-winning SteadyPrint anti-bounce technology

Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC), part of Barry-Wehmiller, has announced the sale of a second Fusion C printing press to Legacy Flexo Corp. in Green Bay. “We are excited to be purchasing a second Fusion C flexographic press,” said Dan Aberly, Operations and Sales, Legacy Flexo. “We’ve experienced a lot of success with our first Fusion C, which has allowed us to offer our customers more efficient runs. The fact that PCMC has been a true partner with us, providing exceptional quality and service, and is local to us were also deciding factors.”

The Fusion C has a smaller footprint with fewer parts, but incorporates many fast make-ready and waste-saving features, including the innovative SteadyPrint technology. Winner of the 2019 FTA Technical Innovation Award, SteadyPrint significantly reduces the effects of bounce when printing graphics with hard edges due to its bearing arrangement, which is coupled with an algorithm utilizing noise-canceling technology. With patents pending on all features, SteadyPrint is currently the only product on the market using this kind of technology to eliminate disturbances and provide real-time monitoring.

All the glamour of fur meets the technology of responsible ISKO™ denim, for a first-of-its-kind concept that provides fashionable and conscious alternatives to furs and other synthetic imitations.

Over the years, ISKO has set out on a journey of innovative firsts consistently providing what the market had been missing. ISKO Wild™, the latest achievement of this long-lasting enterprise and the first-in-the-world denim fur program, is set to impress the industry and revolutionize fashion.

Resulting from ISKO’s Responsible Innovation™ approach based on creativity, competence, and citizenship, ISKO Wild™ reflects the company’s commitment to making both the world and the industry better. This technology does not harm animals nor does it destroy their home. Unlike other imitation furs, it does not release micro plastics into the environment.

With the claim to inspire and delight the fashion world, stakes are high but the concept is a real hit for it represents the perfect combination of glamorous fashion and conscious responsibility.
Despite attempts of imitations ISKO Wild™ is a one-of-a-kind concept in the industry. Available in both Indigo and RFD, featuring cotton and cotton wool blends, this product stands out from a quality, look and performance standpoint.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven experts will be presenting efficient solutions and comprehensive technology know-how for challenging filtration tasks to an international trade audience at the FiltXPO 2020 in Chicago, USA (Stand # 420), taking place between February 26 and 28.

Meltblown technology is one of the most efficient methods for producing very fine and highly-separating filter media made from manmade fibers. New, unique and highly-sophisticated filter media are easy to manufacture thanks to Oerlikon Nonwoven’s optimized meltblown technology. This process is characterized by its constant melt pressure distribution and consistent dwell time across the entire width of the spinning beam, Furthermore, the novel guidance and distribution of the process air outside the coathanger distributor offered by the Oerlikon Nonwoven technology prevents so-called hotspots, which overall ensures particularly homogeneous nonwoven properties and basis weights even in the case of delicate raw materials.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit stands out against other concepts currently available on the market. Users can freely choose from a large number of variation possibilities and set the optimum charging method depending on the filter application, allowing the Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit to also be used for the manufacture of EPA- and HEPA-class filter media.

The new forming section ensures improved nonwoven formation evenness across the entire width, even in the case of high spinning speeds, special polymers and polymer combinations. In addition to this, the newly-designed system also ensures that nonwovens only require minimal edge trimming at the end of the production process. The newly-developed mixedfiber technology enables the combining of various filament cross-sections and polymers, in order to set ideal filtering and pleating performances, for example.

• Series order for a total of 500 units
• First SGL Carbon component project for manned autonomous aviation

SGL Carbon will begin serial production of landing gear made from braided carbon fiber material early this year. The landing skids will be installed in around 500 air taxis worldwide over the next two years.

The air taxis will be powered by several electric motors. To optimize the range of the taxis, every single gram counts. Measuring about two meters in length and 1.5 meters in width, the ultra-light landing skid will weigh less than three kilograms, making it about 15 percent lighter than a similar component made from aluminum. This increases the potential flight time capacity of the air taxi which is a key differentiator for the air taxi operator.

“With with our landing gear we help to shape this very new, promising application of manned, autonomous civil aviation. This involvement also demonstrates our wide range of services. From engineering, to prototype manufacture, to serial production with our own materials – all of our competences along the entire value chain made a contribution to the project ,” emphasizes Dr. Andreas Erber, Head of the Aerospace segment of the Composites – Fibers & Materials business unit at SGL Carbon.

The landing gear was developed in close collaboration between customer experts and specialists from SGL Carbon. The carbon fibers for the component are produced at the SGL Carbon plant in Muir of Ord, Scotland. The final part is being manufactured at the SGL Carbon site in Innkreis, Austria.

Innovative cleaning cloth material and solvent formulas reduce environmental impact for offset printers
Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has announced innovations within its PREPAC® Advanced product line of original cleaning consumables. Designed for newspaper, commercial web and sheet-fed presses, the new technologies optimize production time by shortening the cleaning cycle and minimizing waste.

All Baldwin original PREPAC consumables offer pre-impregnated wet cloth rolls with high ink and lint absorption capacity, so printers can achieve cleaning results that are 100 percent accurate with every run. The next generation of PREPAC Advanced consumables features unique and regionalized solvent formulas, as well as a new sophisticated cloth material. Compared to other products on the market, Baldwin’s solutions decrease waste up to 50 percent and can cut cleaning cycles in half, enabling up to 100 extra production hours annually.

“Since its introduction in 1995, PREPAC has remained the top choice for pre-impregnated wet cloth rolls. If it’s not Baldwin, it’s not PREPAC,” explained Tomas Anderbjer, President, Precision Applications, at Baldwin. “With the new PREPAC Advanced consumables, Baldwin once again innovates blanket and impression cylinder cleaning for the print industry, providing technologies that optimize productivity and decrease the impact on the environment.”

• New composite e-mobility application gains momentum
• Strengthening regional footprint in North America
• Potential for further extensions

Following the production of first prototypes of battery enclosures for a Chinese automotive manufacturer in 2018, SGL Carbon has now received a contract from a North-American automaker for high-volume serial production of carbon and glass fiber-based composite top and bottom layers for battery enclosures. The serial production of the components will start end of 2020. The carbon fibers and fabrics as well as the assembled components come from SGL Carbon’s fully integrated value chain. On top of this order, there is the potential for more extensions with further substantial volumes for the shared platform business of the manufacturer.

In addition, SGL Carbon has won a smaller volume contract from a European sports car manufacturer to serially produce bottom layers made of composite as of mid-2020. The company is additionally in talks with further automakers to develop and manufacture battery enclosure solutions for their e-car platforms.

“Driven by the increasing need for e-cars worldwide and thus for new flexible chassis platforms, our composite battery enclosures are a very promising new application in our product portfolio. The recent contract wins show that our approach of developing custom-made solutions based on our integrated value chain offers an excellent value proposition”, says Sebastian Grasser, Head of Automotive Segment.

• First glass fiber based leaf spring project in series by Ford worldwide
• From development to serial production

Since midyear, SGL Carbon has produced longitudinal leaf springs made of glass fiber-based composite for Ford Transit rear axles in series. The springs are used in combination with the Transit Skeleton chassis. Thus, they are applied where high payloads play an important role, for example in caravanning models or specific commercial vehicle variants of the Transit. In comparison to conventional leaf springs, the innovative composite leaf spring weighs about 50 percent less while offering increased security standards. The serial application is supported by a one-to-one compatibility with standard steel springs.

Improved pivot arm is available as an aftermarket modification
Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC), part of Barry-Wehmiller, has announced that the redesigned pivot arm on the Omnia embosser-laminator significantly decreases changeover time and reduces the risks inherent to overhead roll removal. The new design will be standard on all Omnias sold, effective immediately. This pivot arm also is available as an aftermarket modification for existing machines in the field.

Because the shape of the pivot arm has changed, operators can move the lower rubber embossing roll out on rails to an assembly extraction position, from which the embossing roll can be lifted vertically during removal, without the need for rigging and slinging. This improved design reduces the risk of injury or damage during roll removal, and also decreases the amount of time required during a changeover.

“It will save hours in the roll-change process,” said Jason Hilsberg, PCMC Tissue Sales Director. “PCMC is always working to improve the capabilities and features of our machines for our customers, and more specifically, to enhance the experience of the operators. The decreased changeover time this new design offers will bring about a more efficient process to keep tissue operations running quickly and smoothly. It’s a win for our customers, and ultimately, their customers.”