From the Sector

• Finnish fashion and textile technology company Infinited Fiber Company plans to build its first commercial-scale Infinna™ fiber factory at Stora Enso’s Veitsiluoto industrial site in the city of Kemi in Finland’s northernmost region of Lapland. Infinited Fiber Company plans to convert a building currently housing a discontinued paper production line.
• The size of Infinited Fiber Company’s planned investment is around EUR 400 million.
• The planned factory is expected to create around 270 jobs at the Veitsiluoto industrial site.
• The factory is expected to operate at full capacity in 2025.

Fashion and textile technology company Infinited Fiber Company plans to build a commercial-scale factory to produce regenerated textile fiber for the world’s leading apparel companies at the site of renewable materials company Stora Enso’s closed Veitsiluoto paper mill in Kemi, a Finnish city on the northern shore of the Baltic Sea. The size of the investment is estimated at EUR 400 million, and it is expected to create around 270 jobs in the area. The annual fiber production capacity of the planned factory is expected to be 30,000 metric tons, which is equivalent to the fiber needed for about 100 million T-shirts.  

Infinited Fiber Company’s technology enables cotton-rich textile waste to be transformed into a versatile, high-quality regenerated textile fiber called Infinna™, which looks and feels like cotton. Major international fashion and apparel companies – including Zara’s parent company Inditex, PVH Europe, which is known for the Tommy Hilfiger brand, Patagonia, PANGAIA, H&M Group and BESTSELLER – have already committed to Infinna™ purchases through multi-year agreements as they look for materials that enable the industry to shift towards circularity. Infinited Fiber Company expects to export most of the output of its planned factory. This makes Kemi an ideal location as the city’s port serves as an efficient link to the rest of the world.

Infinited Fiber Company will convert a building housing a discontinued paper production line into an Infinna™ fiber factory. Both the factory engineering and project implementation as well as the related financing negotiations were commenced at the beginning of the year and are progressing well. Infinited Fiber Company has also agreed on the provision of energy and water related services with utility infrastructure company Nevel.

Once up and running, the factory is expected to provide direct employment for around 220 people, and for a further 50 through on-site support functions such as services, maintenance, and logistics. The additional indirect employment impact is estimated to be around 800 jobs. The construction and installation phase is expected to create jobs equaling around 120 person-years. The factory is anticipated to operate at full capacity in 2025.

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has announced the installation of its TexCoat G4 finishing system at Graniteville Specialty Fabrics, a recognized leader in the production of specialty coatings and coated fabrics. With Baldwin’s cost-efficient and highly sustainable spray finishing technology, Graniteville Specialty Fabrics has been able to increase production efficiency, and minimize chemical and water waste.

Based in Graniteville, South Carolina, Graniteville Specialty Fabrics produces coatings and coated fabrics that are resistant to water, fire, UV and weather for the military, marine and tent markets, and others. The company excels in developing and sourcing custom coatings, and creating specialized technical solutions to meet specific, and often unique, end-user requirements. The installation of Baldwin’s TexCoat G4 is part of a major facility upgrade to maximize production efficiency and capacity in the durable water-repellent finishing and coating line to meet growing customer demand for advanced engineered products.

With extensive sustainability benefits, unprecedented tracking and process control, and Industry 4.0 integration, the TexCoat G4 provides consistently high-quality fabric finishing, with no chemistry waste, as well as minimal water and energy consumption. This system utilizes non-contact precision-spray technology, ensuring precise finishing coverage with the exact amount of chemistry for reaching the optimal performance of the fabric. Changeovers (pad bath emptying, cleaning and refilling) are significantly reduced, resulting in substantial chemical conservation and increased productivity.

• Sustainable infrastructure solutions, road safety and health protection

At this year’s Techtextil, Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions will be presenting the trade audience with new applications, special processes and sustainable solutions focusing on the production of industrial textiles. Among other things, the company will be showcasing new technology for charging nonwovens that sets new standards with regards to quality and efficiency. Between June 21 and 24, the discussions will be concentrating on airbags, seat belts, tire cord, geotextiles, filter nonwovens and their diverse applications.

More polyester for airbags
Airbags have become an integral part of our everyday automotive lives. The yarns used in them are made predominantly from polyamide. As a result of increasingly diverse airbag applications and also the increasing size of the systems used, polyester is today used as well, depending on the application requirements and cost-benefit considerations. Against this background, the Oerlikon Barmag technologies make an invaluable contribution. In addition to high productivity and low energy consumption, they particularly excel in terms of their stable production processes. Furthermore, they comply with every high quality standard for airbags, which – as in the case of virtually all other textile products used in vehicle construction – must provide the highest level of safety for vehicle occupants. And all this without any loss of function in any climate and anywhere in the world for the lifetime of the vehicle.

Buckle up!
Seat belts play a decisive role in protecting vehicle occupants. They have to withstand tensile forces in excess of three tons and simultaneously stretch in a controlled manner in emergencies in order to reduce the load in the event of impact. A seat belt comprises approximately 300 filament yarns, whose individual, high-tenacity yarn threads are spun from around 100 individual filaments.

Invisible, but essential – road reinforcement using geotextiles
But it not just inside vehicles, but also under them, that industrial yarns reveal their strengths. Low stretch, ultra-high tenacity, high rigidity – industrial yarns offer outstanding properties for the demanding tasks carried out by geotextiles; for instance, as geogrids in the base course system under asphalt. Normally, geotextiles have extremely high yarn titers of up to 24,000 denier. Oerlikon Barmag system concepts simultaneously manufacture three filament yarns of 6,000 denier each. Due to the high spinning titers, fewer yarns can be plied together to the required geo-yarn titer in a more cost- and energy-efficient manner.

hycuTEC – technological quantum leap for filter media
In the case of its hycuTEC hydro-charging solution, Oerlikon Neumag offers a new technology for charging nonwovens that increases filter efficiency to more than 99.99%. For meltblown producers, this means material savings of 30% with significantly superior filter performance. For end users, the consequence is noticeably improved comfort resulting from significantly reduced breathing resistance. With its considerably lower water and energy consumption, this new development is also a future-proof, sustainable technology.

New high-tech Staple Fiber Technology Center
Extending to around 2,100 m2, Oerlikon Neumag in Neumünster is home to one of the world’s largest staple fiber technology centers. As of now, these state-of-the-art staple fiber technologies are also available for customer-specific trials.

The focus during the planning and the design of the Technology Center was on optimizing components and processes. Here, special attention was paid to ensuring the process and production parameters in the Technology Center system could be simply and reliably transferred to production systems. Here, the fiber tape processing line is modular in design. All components can be combined with each other as required. And comprehensive set-up options supply detailed findings for the respective process for various fiber products.

The Technology Center is also equipped with two spinning positions for mono- and bi-component processes. The same round spin packs are used for both processes, characterized by excellent fiber quality and properties and meanwhile very successfully deployed in all Oerlikon Neumag production systems. Furthermore, the spinning plant is complemented by automation solutions such as spin pack scraper robots, for example.

• with a ready-to-use swatch book dedicated to its DEEP DIVE sustainable dyeing system for dark, popular color basics

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, launches its first ever ready-to-use swatch book, dedicated to creating sustainable black and dark color basics for faster time to market, to support its popular DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

In 2018, Archroma launched its system solutions, a holistic approach aimed at addressing the growing expectations of the public in terms of keeping consumers, and the environment, safe.
Under the umbrella of "The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: Safe, efficient, enhanced, it's our nature", the Archroma systems are designed to create innovation and performance, whilst reducing the impacts on water, energy and other natural resources. The savings generated by these 70+ system solutions are demonstrated by Archroma's proprietary ONE WAY Impact Calculator, a ground-breaking tool launched in 2012 and continuously upgraded to simulate and optimize the footprint of textile application processes.

One of these systems, DEEP DIVE 2.0, has attracted a lot of interest not just from textile manufacturers but also from major brands and retailers worldwide. This popular system combines Drimaren® Ultimate HD, high-performance reactive dyes, with Blue Magic, an all-in-one pretreatment, Optifix® RUB New liq and Siligen® SIH-S New liq, a finishing treatment improved rub fastness and elegant hand feel, and an effective hydrolyzed dye remover, Cyclanon® XC-W New liq. The result is a shorter dyeing process combining right-first-time productivity, an improved fabric quality for longer lasting end-articles, as well as dramatically reduced water and energy utilization for brands committed to drive more sustainable production. Savings can reach up to 31% water and 34% energy.

The system is ideally suited for medium and dark cottons that have high performing fastness to light, multiple home laundering, saliva – in other words: apparel used for fashion, sports and baby’s wear.
At the same time, interested manufacturers and brands were facing the constant challenge of the fashion industry: time to market.

Often design is separated from execution in the factory and as such often designers initially select color that cannot be met in reality on different fibers or production routes in terms of color flare, metamerism, brightness, depth and now sustainable metrics – leading to lengthy delays and compromises in function, performance and/or color.
Archroma decided to create a dedicated tool aimed at addressing these issues. The company developed a new, unique book with color swatches made with the system that is ready to implement immediately into production thanks to engineered color standards and specifications.

This new tool offers a path to bridge the gap between “art and science” by providing at inspiration phase fully executable deep colors for cotton with controlled color metamerism and at the same time demonstrate water, energy and chemical savings, enhanced color fastness using safe chemistry for the end consumer. As a wardrobe staple, medium to dark shades are very popular with consumers. As a result, most brands and retailers often have and sell up to 60% of medium to dark shades in their seasonal palettes. It’s also the dark shades that use the most water and energy in production, so prioritizing these colors would have the largest ecological positive impact. The 48 colors swatched in the DEEP DIVE 2.0 book have been selected based on market popularity to allow brands and manufacturers to match that very stable market demand. Customers may use these colors as presented, or as inspiration whereby Archroma can create and match new custom colors using the DEEP DIVE 2.0 system.

Christophe Maestripieri, Global Head of the Archroma Brand Studio, the company’s department dedicated to support brands’ projects and innovations, explains: “We wanted to make sure our partners have all the tools they need to convert to more sustainable colors. We had the ideal dyeing system to do that, DEEP DIVE 2.0, with its high performance and reduced impacts on resources. Now, with the new DEEP DIVE 2.0 swatch book, we also offer to brands and manufacturers a way to select sustainable color options that meet the market demand for high quality medium to dark shades which can be implemented into production right away.”

Sicomin has confirmed that eco-surfboard specialist NOTOX will use GreenPoxy 56 in its latest line of R-CARBON boards. The new NOTOX R-CARBON boards are the first to use 100% upcycled carbon fibre fabrics recovered from a production waste stream at Airbus.

NOTOX, founded in 2006 and based in Basque, France, has partnered with Sicomin to use GreenPoxy bio-resins in several earlier flax, cork, and bamboo reinforced boards. In a quest to now produce the most sustainable carbon fibre reinforced boards possible, NOTOX has signed a formal agreement with Airbus Nantes to purchase defective carbon fabrics that were destined for landfill.

The new NOTOX technology gives a second life to Airbus carbon fabrics that are declared unusable for aerospace applications due to short roll lengths, an inability to be pre-formed, or other defects. The upcycled materials are combined with Sicomin GreenPoxy 56 and Surf Clear hardener, producing an extremely clear, high gloss laminate with high mechanical properties. NOTOX use a precisely controlled wet lamination process with vacuum bag consolidation to wet out the upcycled woven carbon fabrics and minimise resin consumption in the manufacturing process.

In addition to selecting a high bio-content resin – GreenPoxy 56 derives 56% of its carbon content from plant sources – NOTOX has also sourced the most sustainable carbon fibre fabrics. Full life cycle analysis by NOTOX has shown that using waste carbon fabrics from Airbus is significantly more energy efficient than using other recycled short fibre carbon, confirming the importance of upcycling this key raw material.

A initiative designed to collectively accelerate carbon reduction in the paints and coatings industry has been launched by AkzoNobel.

The company has invited partners from across the value chain to take part in its Collaborative Sustainability Challenge – a new Paint the Future initiative which aims to develop a shared approach to tackling climate change.

Due to be staged in May, the 24-hour event will involve senior executives and next generation leaders from a select group of partners – including suppliers and customers – who will engage in open discussions in a non-confidential environment.

During the event, participants will deep-dive into the following areas:

• Energy transition – Inspire partners towards decarbonizing processes and transitioning to renewable energy sources
• Process efficiency – Increase the efficiency of material use and reduce the energy required for applying and curing paints and coatings
• Solvent emissions – Reduce the number of solvents emitted throughout our entire value chain
• Circular solutions – Increase the use of circular solutions in paints and coatings, both upstream and downstream

The forthcoming Collaborative Sustainability Challenge will build on the success of Paint the Future, which has already established a collaborative innovation ecosystem with startups, suppliers, academia and customers.

AkzoNobel’s Collaborative Sustainability Challenge is scheduled to take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between May 17 and 18, 2022.

• “The Atlas MAX technology provides a marked improvement in quality; it gives you that edge and something different."

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand, digital textile production technologies, announced today that Peterborough, United Kingdom-based print provider Snuggle has installed two Kornit Atlas MAX systems for superior versatility in their on-demand fulfilment production operations. A Kornit customer since 2017, the addition of Kornit’s most advanced direct-to-garment production systems reflects Snuggle’s sustained profitability and growth since that time.

Kornit Atlas MAX is the first digital direct-to-garment production system to feature XDi technology, which empowers users to simulate embroidery, dye sublimation, vinyl heat transfer, and 3D graphic effects with one single-step platform, using Kornit’s eco-friendly NeoPigment™ inks. Delivering superior graphic detail, consistent retail quality, and low and consistent cost per print to ensure profitability in any quantity, the system is engineered for adaptability to long-term automation needs, which helps businesses like Snuggle address the ongoing labour shortage.

With seven Kornit Digital systems in total, Snuggle is now able to produce up to 12,000 units daily, and has expanded its production space more than threefold since first investing in the technology. While the business does include an embroidery unit, Snuggle rejected screen printing due to its slow setup process, inefficient sampling for bulk orders, and the inability to generate profit from smaller custom orders. Furthermore, digitally-enabled production on demand was critical to their adapting when the pandemic economy caused many customers to cancel bulk orders suddenly.

• Unveil UK’s first-ever sustainable Fashtech Innovation Centre, displaying mass customization capabilities empowering designers, apparel brands, and other creatives

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashionx and textile production technologies and Fashion-Enter - a social enteprise, which strives to be a centre of excellence for sampling, grading, production, and for learning and development of skills within the fashion and textiles industry – today announced a first-of-its-kind Fashtech Innovation Centre in London. Aimed at bringing on-demand fashion and textile mass customization back to the UK, and unveiled on March 3rd and 4th, 2022 at Fashion-Enter's state-of-the-art training and manufacturing site, the Centre is fully supported by Kornit Digital's revolutionary, direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment digital production solutions.

According to Kornit Digital’s Impact and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, 30 percent of textile production is overproduction, while 95 percent of water waste is created as companies globally look towards more sustainable futures with customized, creative, and real-time offerings. Using proprietary streamlined, eco-friendly digital production technologies, Kornit Digital is transforming the fashion industry with more efficient and sustainable processes. According to the same report, by 2026, the Company’s systems will use up to 95 percent less water, 94 percent less energy and produce 83 percent less greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to highlighting production capabilities that minimize carbon footprint, the Fashtech Innovation Centre serves as a prototype for brands and fulfillers seeking to mitigate logistical complexities, time-to-market, and supply chain risks by bringing production nearer to the end consumer. Eliminating overproduction and producing on demand, this nearshoring model drives profitability even in highly regulated and high-cost markets while contributing to local economies and removing transport-related waste.

Serving as a fulfilment site and academy for training production, the Centre includes both Kornit Presto direct-to-fabric and Kornit Atlas MAX direct-to-garment systems, as well as numerous graphic design and workflow tools and systems to enable cut-and-sew operations for a comprehensive “pixel to parcel to doorstep” cycle. Consolidating the process into a single location helps maintain full visibility and control of operations and products. Taking this one step further for creators and brands, visitors can experience the KornitX Global Fulfilment Network, enabling customers to create both new sales channels and accessibility to enable production on demand. Attendees can see how Kornit’s single-step digital production technology empowers unlimited graphic expression using less floor space, resources, waste, and time—all at higher margins.

“This Innovation Centre makes it possible to capture the full, end-to-end production process in one, single location,” said Jenny Holloway, Chief Executive Officer, Fashion-Enter. “The beauty of having print on demand means there are no minimums, so we can make one garment, or we can make up to 30,000 garments a week from all locations at the same fixed cost. Here, we can also train future generations on the right way of producing garments for today, responsive to demand, with minimal waste—ethical and sustainable. This is the future of fashion and textiles.”

• IVL commits to being an industry leader in sustainability under ‘Vision 2030’

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical producer, today reported a record FY2021 performance as the economic recovery drove demand across the company’s global footprint. 

Mr Aloke Lohia, Indorama Ventures Group CEO, said: “In 2021 we proved the resilience of our global footprint and our integrated portfolio across the polyester value chain. The past two years were an unprecedented period of disruption in which our business model’s robustness and our teams’ agility were tested. Having reset our business plan for the ‘new normal’ era, I have never been more confident in our model, our strategy, and our teams."

2021 Summary

In 2021, IVL delivered Core EBITDA of US$1,743 million (up 55% YoY) on production volumes of 14.72 MMT (up 7% YoY). Consolidated Revenue increased 38% YoY to US$14,629 million as consumer confidence rebounded and the company’s resilient model benefited from rising inflation, energy price hikes and supply chain shocks.

Macroeconomic tailwinds supported IVL’s performance, including government stimulus packages. In premium western markets, higher freight rates improved the company’s local import parity pricing advantage. In the fourth quarter, the introduction of China’s dual control policy widened polyester margins. 

IVL’s largest Combined PET segment posted a 39% increase in Core EBITDA to US$1,103 million in the context of strong demand and low inventories. The resetting of PET contracts in 2022 is expected to capture higher freight rates and the consequent beneficial impact on import parity. The segment is expected to enjoy improved margins in 2022.

Integrated Oxides & Derivatives (IOD) recorded a Core EBITDA of US$377 million, up 228% from a year earlier. With higher oil prices expected to continue into 2022, the segment will continue to benefit from shale gas economics, improving MEG spreads, and upside from Lake Charles (IVOL) ethylene cracker, which resumed operations in late 2021. The Oxiteno acquisition, expected to close in H1 2022, will bring complementary products, green energy innovation, and geographical diversification to the IOD segment.

Fibers segment delivered a 37% increase in Core EBITDA of US$268 million as volumes rose 11%. Margins widened due to tighter markets and a favorable product mix, with setbacks coming from energy and commodity price increases, while the ongoing semiconductor shortage impacted the Mobility vertical.

Mr D K Agarwal, CEO and CFO at Indorama Ventures, said: “The performance was a result of a number of important macroeconomic factors, such as heightened crude oil prices, supply disruptions, and resurgent consumer confidence as vaccinations were rolled out in the pandemic’s second full year. These factors led to improved margins and benefited us as a preferred regional supplier that can react quickly to fulfill our customer needs. Our transformation programs that we started three years ago are also delivering efficiency gains faster than planned. As the world emerges from the pandemic, our increased confidence in IVL’s resilient model sets a strong foundation for further growth through 2024.”

IDEA, the North American nonwovens show, will take place in Miami from March 28th to 31st. Trützschler’s booth focuses on the needs of the American market. It's about local service, the efficient production of sustainable nonwovens and the digital support of production processes.

Tomorrow’s products are sustainable
In addition to the in-depth know-how, Trützschler Nonwovens has a broad portfolio of line concepts for the production of sustainable, biodegradable nonwovens. Cotton is an important raw material for American producers, which is why Trützschler is showing solutions for processing raw cotton, comber noils and blends of viscose and cotton. Another focus is on the Voith/Trützschler concepts for wet-laid, hydroentangled WLS and CP nonwovens. Nonwovens made from viscose fibers and NBSK pulp, the raw material for the paper industry, not only offer a good cost/performance ratio, but also a small CO2 footprint.

Digital solutions optimize the production floor
In order to ensure lasting quality, Trützschler Nonwovens presents a modular, digital work environment that systematizes, digitizes and simplifies typical work processes. With the help of Industry 4.0 technologies, line, process and quality data relevant to a production lot can be stored, aggregated, visualized and analyzed with regard to process improvements.

Trützschler USA
With its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and more than 100 employees, Trützschler USA is the first point of contact for all matters relating to American nonwovens producers. The company is able to equip and convert machines according to customer specifications (certified UL508A panel shop), carry out factory acceptance tests and a wide range of repairs in Charlotte.