From the Sector

Double the production rate, with lower energy consumption per kilogram of fiber material – that might sound like a contradiction, but the new Trützschler pre-cleaner CL-X makes it possible. It gently and reliably removes coarse contaminants like leaf debris, stalks or seeds from cotton with minimum loss of good fibers. The pre-cleaner CL-X provides more efficiency and lays the foundation for a high-quality end-product before the cotton is further processed in mixers and fine cleaners.

CL-X features at one glance

• Continuous production of 1,600 kilograms per hour for present blow room configuration.
• 30% energy saving compared to the current benchmark.
• Integrated WASTECONTROL for automatic adjustment recommendation of waste excretion to avoid unnecessary fiber loss.
• 2.60 m long cleaning section.
• New and improved grid geometry for better separation and gentle tuft treatment.
• Material draft due to 10 % higher speed of second opening roller for reliable and consistent fiber transport.
• Optimal cleaning level and minimal fiber loss due to individual and stepless grid adjustment for each opening roller by motor.
• Gentle tuft treatment with adjustable opening roller speed.
• Synchronized lot management (automatic lot change for up to three lots).
• Connection possibility for a waste box (for waste analysis).
• Lower cost of ownership.

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. will showcase its key innovative technologies for optimized corrugated high-graphics package printing at the ConneXion virtual expo, taking place from June 1 to 8. In Baldwin’s virtual exhibit, visitors will experience fully automated flexo plate-cleaning systems, an energy-efficient IR (infrared) drying solution and LED-UV curing systems, all of which increase print quality and productivity, with operator safety and sustainability in mind.

Key innovative technologies:

• The FlexoCleanerBrush™, a solution to enhance print quality and improve worker safety in corrugated printing.
• The FlexoCleanPick™, a system designed to automatically remove hickeys—typically caused by paper fibers, dust and ink contamination, and other causes of printing defects—from the plate during the print run without stopping the press or requiring operator skin contact with wash agents.
• The FlexoDry2™, a fully integrated IR drying system, specifically developed for corrugated flexo printing presses, that reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent over standard IR dryers via the use of patented Diamond IR™ lamps.
• A new generation of LED-UV technology—designed by AMS Spectral UV, a Baldwin Technology company, for wide-format flexo corrugated box printing—represents the latest in solid-state LED curing innovations and offers more than a 50 percent reduction in power consumption, compared to traditional UV systems, in an ultra-compact lamphead that fits at the end of the press or between printing units.

You can register here.

• Full-width automated cleaning system will be installed on high-graphics corrugated presses

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has successfully landed three new FlexoCleanerBrush orders, with a total of 16 cleaning heads, from customers in the US and Germany. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baldwin has delivered a total of 30 FlexoCleanerBrush cleaning heads, thanks to close collaboration between onsite team members, local agents, the company’s global sales organization, and support from its product and technology center in Germany. With the FlexoCleanerBrush system, an inline cleaning station installed within each print unit uses a brush that runs the full width of each printing plate. Paired with a precision spray application system, the FlexoCleanerBrush evenly distributes a mixture of detergent and water across the plate as it spins, gently cleaning its surface. The plates are then dried by the integrated air knife.

“With two of the recent orders, the customers had already installed the FlexoCleanerBrush in other locations. One of them reported as much as a 30 percent production capacity increase, thanks to the  installation,” said Lee Simmonds, Regional Sales Manager at Baldwin. “Both customers have experienced insufficient results with their original traversing cloth cleaning systems, which will now be removed and replaced with the full-width, stand-alone, automated FlexoCleanerBrush technology from Baldwin.”

Improving sustainability is one of the key drivers for investments in the corrugated printing industry. The FlexoCleanerBrush dramatically cuts water waste by cleaning plates more efficiently. In a recent independent study that was conducted to validate the capacity of the automated system, the FlexoCleanerBrush could fully clean and dry all printing plates in less than four minutes and pick hickeys in seconds.

Besides offering efficient cleaning during runs and fast end-of-job cleaning, the FlexoCleanerBrush system also enables operators to remove dry plates from the machine without the potential risk of plates sticking together once they are placed back in the plateracking system. This helps to ensure increased board throughput, less downtime and a safer working environment by eliminating operators’ contact with nip points, moving parts and chemicals.

Flexibility, product uniformity and automation are the keys to success for coating businesses in today’s rapidly-changing technical textiles industry, explained Jürgen Hanel, Monforts Head of Technical Textiles, at the recent 1st World Congress on Textile Coating.

Introducing the latest Montex®Coat magnetic roller coating option to virtual delegates from around the world at the conference organised by International Newsletters, Hanel explained why this technology makes perfect sense now

“The magnetic roller system allows a wide range of coatings and finishes to be carried out, while being easy to handle for operators and much easier to clean at the end of the process,” he said. “It provides textile finishers with an expanded range of options due to the fully-adjustable positioning of the magnet within the roller and with four different magnet positions possible, can be set to operate both as a direct coating system and as an indirect coater.”

With traditional dip coating systems, he added, as well as with many standard knife coating technologies, there is always a difference in the tension between the centre and the edges of the wide width fabrics being treated – and hence the amount of pressure with which the coating is applied. With the use of a magnetic roller, equal pressure is applied across the full width of the fabric, with consistent results even at wide widths of over 2.4 metres. In addition, adjusting the roller surface, rather than changing the coating formulation to match the required add-on and viscosity for each coating effect required, leads to much higher output from the line.

Cleaner and less wasteful
The contribution of such flexible and resource-saving new technologies to a cleaner and less wasteful textile industry was a key theme at the congress – held virtually across the four afternoons of February 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th – as was digitalization and the many advantages it is providing.

“A typical integrated Monforts coating line is automated from the inlet feed to the winder,” Hanel told delegates. “Adjustments can also be made simply and easily from the touchscreen and with the new hand-held remote controller which has recently been introduced for the Montex®Coat unit.”

Manual adjustment, he added, is time consuming and needs the attention of an experienced operator or the reproducibility will not be accurate between coating operations. The adjustment by motors allows each coating to be stored and downloaded again for 100% reproducibility.

The motors can be fully controlled from the touchscreen and all necessary adjustments carried out remotely, making switching from one process to another extremely quick and easy.
The accuracy that is now being demanded by today’s most exacting customers is met with an optional carbon fibre roller – especially in dealing with the winding tension required in the processing of materials such as prepregs for composites and other heavyweight fabrics. Typical applications for the Montex®Coat include the finishing of tents and awnings, black-out roller blinds and sail cloth, automotive interior fabrics and medical disposables. Full PVC coatings, pigment dyeing or minimal application surface and low penetration treatments can all be accommodated.

“The World Congress on Textile Coating was characterised by some very stimulating presentations and forums between the speakers and a global audience of textile specialists,” Jürgen Hanel concluded. “It truly reflected the high level of positive changes now taking place in not just textile coating, but the entire textile industry. I look forward to the next edition, which hopefully will be a face-to-face event for even deeper level discussions and debate.”

Shanghai, China - DyStar, a leading specialty chemical company with a heritage of more than a century in product development and innovation will exhibit in the 20th China International Dyestuff Industry, Pigments and Textile Chemicals Exhibition - China Interdye 2020. DyStar will showcase the latest product innovations at Hall 1 booth #A330.

The three-day annual event will be taking place at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center (SWEECC) and opens doors on 8th November. DyStar’s managers will be onsite to support visitors from production houses, manufacturers, and Brands and Retailers with essential information, helping them to make meaningful and notable decisions based on tangible benefits such as reduction of water, waste and energy consumption, thereby improving their end-products and quality.

DyStar’s sustainable solutions can further optimize productions, processes, and reduce costs. Some of these products and concepts are highlighted at the event as follows:
•    Recent launch of Cadira® Polyamide and Cadira Polyester/Cellulosic Exhaust
•    Total collection of eleven Cadira® modules
•    High Fast Dianix® XF2 Range
•    Sera® Wash M-VFN
•    Levafix® CA and Remazol® SAM offer

Despite a year full of global economic challenges, with the supply chain and stakeholders heavily strained by the global pandemic, DyStar is determined to support the industry and its customers. They can benefit from our legacy of innovations and product offerings, so that they can continue to drive sustainability and growth in their respective domains, contributing in a responsible and yet sustainable manner for a cleaner future.

• New system automatically cleans corrugated printing plates in less than four minutes

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has announced that corrugated packaging market leader VPK Group has recently installed a FlexoCleanerBrush. This new system—which automatically cleans and dries corrugated printing plates in less than four minutes—has been added to VPK’s advanced 2.1-meter-wide six-color Göpfert Ovation High Board Line flexographic printer at the company’s new high-bay factory in Halden, Norway.

With the FlexoCleanerBrush system, an inline cleaning station installed within each print unit uses a brush that runs the full width of each printing plate. Paired with a precision spray application system, the FlexoCleanerBrush evenly distributes a mixture of approximately five percent detergent and water across the plate as it spins, gently cleaning its surface. The plates are then dried by the integrated air knife. Cleaning cycles can be controlled through the FlexoCleanerBrush’s operator panel or the integrated Göpfert human-machine interface. Besides offering efficient cleaning during runs and fast end-of-job cleaning, the FlexoCleanerBrush system also enables operators to remove dry plates from the machine without the potential risk of plates sticking together once they are placed back in the plate-racking system. This helps to ensure increased board throughput, less downtime and a safer working environment by eliminating operators’ contact with nip points, moving parts and chemicals.

In the latest short film released on the Monforts YouTube Channel – captured at the recent Denim Première Vision show in London – some of the leading global manufacturers discuss their initiatives for more sustainable denim production.

Cone Denim, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, for example, can lay claim to having put in place its first environmental control measures back in the 1940s when the company first started recycling its water.

“It was a method of efficiency even back then, eighty years ago,” says Gabriel Magopat, of the company’s UK customer service centre, “but  producing high quality products is another method of being sustainable and of being efficient, and I think that’s what Cone stands for. We have an amazing history.”

Cone Denim is known for its signature S Gene® stretch denims which have traditionally incorporated polyester components to provide the stretch. It has now partnered with Intrinsic Advanced Materials of Gastonia, also in North Carolina, to introduce patent-pending CiCLO stretch polyester fibres into its denim collections. 

While still being synthetic based, CiCLO polyester is able to biodegrade in marine environments, wastewater treatment plants and landfill conditions, at rates similar to natural fibres like wool. 

This more sustainable solution for stretch is also being introduced to China for the first time by another leading denim supplier, Advance Denim.

“Advance Denim is spending its resources on being the most technologically advanced company in China, and also the most sustainable,” says Mark Ix, the company’s Director of Marketing. “We are investing heavily in our manufacturing to save both water and chemicals to create cleaner products.”

Monforts denim customer Berto is a family-owned company with its main denim mill in Bovolenta, a small rural town near to Padua in the north east of Italy, where respect for the environment has always been a must.

“The family has always been focused on respect for the environment,” says Berto’s Marketing Manager Francesca Palento. “In particular, we have a river next to the company from which we take our water for production and we then return it cleaner than it was before. We are also now producing GOTS and Global Recycling Standard jean produced with yarns made from our own internal waste production.”

Pakistan’s Soorty has recently received Cradle to Cradle Gold certification – the most stringent and exacting sustainable standard currently in existence – for its Pure D range of denims. These are produced using the company’s proprietary Zero Waste Water dyeing technology, in combination with the most advanced Monforts finishing machines. 

“Our very latest collection is called Climate Jeans, because every single product we now produce draws attention to the climate emergency we are living through right now,” says Eda Dikman, Soorty’s Marketing Communications Manager. “Sustainability is very important to us because we produce at scale and all of the actions we take reflect on the planet.”

Fortum, together with the sustainable fibre technology company Spinnova have today introduced the first prototype product born out of their joint development of using wheat straw in the production of highly sustainable textile fibre.

Fortum and Spinnova are showcasing the world’s first clothing made from agricultural waste, namely wheat straw, at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver, during 15-17 October. The showpieces include a knitted t-shirt, as well as a jacket and skirt made of a woven fabric on organic cotton warp.

The prototype material is unique also due to its extremely low environmental impact from raw material extraction, processing and manufacture, verified by life-cycle analysis (LCA).

“We are very excited to present this revolutionary textile. Today, wheat straw is mostly discarded or even burned in the fields. As it can now be used in numerous textile applications, this opens up huge possibilities globally. This cooperation is a tangible step towards Fortum’s strategy to build options for significant new businesses that improve resource efficiency and provide smart solutions for a cleaner world. We would like to invite more key industry players to join us in this journey,” says Heli Antila, VP, Biobased solutions at Fortum.

“We are all very proud of this amazing collaborative accomplishment! This was a very fast journey from the first trials to real, appealing fabric materials. This shows that wheat straw-based fibre is well on its way to being a drop-in product of the most sustainable kind,” says Spinnova’s CEO Janne Poranen.

Singapore - Huntsman Textile Effects today confirmed that it has joined the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Programme as a Contributor. This adds a new dimension to Huntsman’s long-standing efforts to promote sustainable chemistry and best practice in the textile and footwear industries and help lead the sector’s shift to a cleaner and more transparent global supply chain.

Huntsman Textile Effects is proud to be joining over 25 leading brands working together to drive industry-wide change in responsible chemicals management and commits to working on this task in a collaborative and open manner.

As a ZDHC Contributor, Huntsman Textile Effects has uploaded detailed safety and sustainability information of its key products onto the ZDHC Gateway Chemical Module. This will support brands and mills in selecting products and practices to make their supply chains more sustainable. Huntsman Textile Effects will also continue to work to help brands improve their competitiveness while protecting consumers, workers and the environment.

The addition of industry-leader Huntsman Textile Effects to the ZDHC Contributor base represents a significant strengthening of ZDHC as a robust, broad-based solution with the potential to harmonize the industry’s approach to sustainable chemistry and the elimination of hazardous chemicals.

“Huntsman Textile Effects firmly believes that collective action is the best way forward for our industry and that working with ZDHC will help us further accelerate the shift to a cleaner and more transparent supply chain,” said Rohit Aggarwal, President, Huntsman Textile Effects. “As one of the world’s leading suppliers of sustainable textile dyes, inks and chemicals, we have seen time and time again that brands and mills that embrace sustainability can also boost their productivity and competitiveness and reduce costs. Our approach has always been to marry environmental and economic sustainability for a stronger, cleaner and more viable textile sector.”

Huntsman Textile Effects has been a leader in promoting sustainability through continuous innovation and industry collaboration for many years. It champions an inclusive and holistic approach that ensures compliance to industry regulation and standards and considers the impact of the textile value chain on the ecosystem, economy and society at large.

Reinach, Switzerland - Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced that the production of its new aniline-free* Denisol® Pure Indigo has been accelerated due to the high demand encountered on the market.

Aniline-free Denisol® Pure Indigo 30 liquid was first announced in May 2018 at the Planet Textile Conference held in Canada, and allows a cleaner way to produce the traditional, iconic indigo blue color that consumers associated with denim and jeans.

Archroma makes the Denisol® Pure Indigo 30 dye in the most sustainable way as currently possible. The new dye is produced in Archroma’s facility in Pakistan, a plant that made the headlines in 2012 for being what Archroma believed to be the industry’s first zero liquid discharge plant.

“True to our commitment towards continuous innovation, Archroma challenges the status quo in the deep belief that we can make our industry sustainable. Denisol® Pure Indigo is result of our efforts to challenge accepted technologies in order to find a better way to advance sustainability, and it is therefore extremely exciting to see that brands, retailers and manufacturers are eager to offer a more sustainable denim to consumers. We owe the successful launch of Denisol® Pure Indigo to the shared vision of the textile value chain to preserve our planet and its people, after all – it’s our nature”, comments Alexander Wessels, CEO of Archroma.

* Below levels of detection
Denisol® is a trademark of Archroma registered in many countries.