From the Sector

A research report released today has revealed the innovative new ways retailers are using RFID technology in-store to improve profitability. Authored by Emeritus Professor Adrian Beck from the University of Leicester and the ECR Retail Loss Group and supported by Checkpoint Systems, Utilising RFID in Retailing: Insights on Innovationhighlights how companies are employing the technology for a broader range of purposes. It demonstrates the value the technology is bringing to their businesses and ultimately, the impact it is delivering to their bottom line. Crucially, it also shows thatmore retailers than ever are recognizing the benefits of RFID and driving uptake within their organisations. The report claims that as businesses are becoming more established in their use of RFID-generated data, they are gradually incorporating more usecases into their business-as-usual practices.

The report claims that as businesses are becoming more established in their use of RFID-generated data, they are gradually incorporating more usecases into their business-as-usual practices.

In particular, more and more retailers reported using RFID to streamline the audit process (as an alternative to infrequent organisational stock takes), which not only delivers considerable cost savings, but also provides more regular insights into the status of inventories. It also found that using RFID was having a significant impact on store processes. While RFID has always been key to inventory accuracy, some companies are now using this data to further improve business activities such as reducing phantom out of stocks, improving rapid stock search and find tasks and developing an efficient ship from store (SFS) capability.

Beyond the more traditional retail model, RFID was seen as a key facilitator in delivering omnichannel retailing by all those questioned. Without the inventory accuracy offered by RFID, few retailers believed they could reliably use their stores as fulfilment centres to output online orders. Indeed, one retailer admitted to only making RFID-enabled store stock available for this purpose. The use of RFID to improve online order accuracy is also becoming more commonplace, to reduce errors in the picking and packing process, therefore improving customer satisfaction. One retailer reported a 90% reduction in incorrect orders and customer complaints since introducing RFID into the process.

Looking to the future, one area where the benefits of RFID are starting to be tested is self-checkouts (SCO). While currently limited due to the need to have a 100% SKU tagging strategy in place, retailers are starting to recognize the benefits the technology could offer including increased speed of checkout, reduced likelihood of double scanning and thereby improved customer service. Another area where retailers also reported reaping the benefits of RFID was loss prevention. While none of those interviewed argued that reducing loss was the primary reason for investing in RFID, many acknowledged they were benefiting from it by using the technology to tackle refund frauds, enable dynamic loss product profiling, manage e-frauds and identify stolen products.

ISKO presents 2022 Collection Vol. 2, a forward-thinking collection with responsibility, creativity, authenticity and comfort engrained into every fiber of every fabric to provide solutions for all denim lovers’ dreams and needs across the world.

2022 Collection Vol. 2 has been created using the company’s principles of Responsible Innovation™ and is made entirely with ISKO’s revolutionary R-TWO™ technology. Certified to Textile Exchange credentials, the R-TWO™ fabrics in 2022 Collection Vol. 2 ensure complete traceability of raw materials from field to final product. Using a blend of reused and recycled materials, they help decrease the usage of raw materials and improve sourcing efficiency, while preserving all the properties and benefits of each product. R-TWO offers a simple way for companies to switch from virgin to reused and recycled materials for all products in ISKO’s collection.

The 2022 Collection Vol. 2 further explores the four lifestyles introduced in ISKO’s Vol. 1 collection -Denim Lovers, Simplify, ISKO™ Comfy and Euphoria – building on a collection to provide further inspiration for designers and brands to suit different vibes and moods.

Sappi offers Transjet Tacky Industrial, a coated dye sublimation paper for digital transfer printing, specially developed for high-speed inkjet printing on highly elastic textiles. Also new is the uncoated dye sublimation paper Basejet, which has been developed for light designs for high-speed digital printing of fashion and home textiles.

• Transjet Tacky Industrial: Immediate tack effect, high ink transfer, fast ink drying; no ghosting on elastic textiles thanks to reversible tack
• Basejet: Consistent print quality for light designs, fast ink-drying, very fast transfer process

Transjet Tacky Industrial enables highly elastic fabrics to be printed on industrial high-speed machines that work with a higher glycol content, such as printheads from Kyocera. The paper is first printed with the desired image or pattern which is then transferred to the elastic polyester fabric by means of heat and pressure.

Sublimation paper for the textile industry
The new dye sublimation paper offers many benefits for the textile industry, which frequently has to adapt to changing trends. As it is suitable for use on high-speed digital printers, significantly more designs can be printed in the same time than was previously possible on plotters. Thanks to a special heat-reactive coating, the paper adheres to highly stretchable content, while the reversible tack prevents ghosting and textile shrinkage. Transjet Tacky
Industrial has a high ink load capacity so the print can be better accentuated due to strong colour saturation. The design remains clearly visible when the fabric is stretched to its maximum, which is often the case with sportswear in particular.

Basejet specially for light designs
Sappi has also added the Basejet uncoated dye sublimation paper to its portfolio, an additional solution for the digital printing of fashion and home textiles in consistent print quality. The uncoated dye sublimation paper is intended in particular for light designs and cost-driven production processes.

Combining expertise for more sustainable fashion
Ever wonder how much water was used to make your favorite cotton T-shirt? About 2,700 liters, or roughly three years of drinking water. What first comes to mind is probably the water that was essential to growing the cotton crop. Surprisingly, cotton is a drought-tolerant plant, and often less recognized is the strain that can be put on water resources to dye cotton textiles.

Progress is being made across the industry to lessen the strain on our precious water resources. Over the past several years, Dow collaborated with Cotton Incorporated to research and validate their product, ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment, that can help drastically reduce water and chemical use during the dyeing process. Major fashion brands are integrating it into their supply chain to dye more sustainably, without sacrificing color or quality.

Problem
Cotton dyeing is very resource-intensive and puts strain on local waterways. A large amount of water is used in the dyeing process – up to 5 trillion liters a year, or nearly enough to supply all of humanity with drinking water. Significant amounts of chemicals and dye are needed to get the desired colors consumers expect too. This is part of the reason textile mills account for 20% of industrial water pollution globally. Wastewater from the dyeing process can be polluting and require costly treatment and these challenges are found in regions that already face water scarcity.

Solution
Reforming processes in an industry as established as textiles is no easy feat. Collaboration across the sector is needed to bring about sustainable change. With that in mind, Cotton Incorporated approached Dow. They wanted help scaling a cotton technology to support more sustainable textile dyeing.Leveraging Cotton Incorporated’s industry expertise and Dow’s material science knowledge, they worked together to understand and validate the benefits of our patented ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment.

How can colors be more responsible?  
ECOFAST™ Pure is a pretreatment applied before the dyeing process to produce cationic cotton. This means the charge of cotton is permanently changed from negative to positive, so it acts like a magnet to attract negatively charged dye to the material. How does that benefit the textile mill? It significantly decreases the amount of water, chemicals, dye and energy needed to color cotton. A third party reviewed and validated life cycle assessment, available by request, helped further prove the benefits.

• Checkpoint becomes the first RFID label manufacturer to achieve ARC certification with NXP’s UCODE 9 IC

Checkpoint  Systems,  a  vertically  integrated  supplier  of RFID  solutions  for  retail,  has again  demonstrated  its  commitment  to  innovation  by becoming the first manufacturer to have an RFID inlay featuring the new NXP UCODE 9 IC certified by Auburn University’s ARC Laboratory.

The  announcement  follows  news  that  Checkpoint  recently  became  the  first  company  to achieve ARC-certification for its Impinj M700-based inlays. By setting another new standard for the  industry,  Checkpoint  are  enabling  retailers  around the  world to  further  improve  their inventory visibility, reduce costs, improve performance and increase their overall profitability.

Delivering enhanced performance
Delivering the same ARC certifications as the Vortex U8 (Spec G, K and Q), the new Vortex U9 goes one step further by meeting the requirements of Spec N.

All aspects of the retail supply chain benefit from the increased read and write sensitivity of the  Vortex  U9.    The  11%  increase  in  read  distance,  decreases the time  for  inventory  cycle counts in both sparse or densely populated environments.  It also increases the compatibility of  smaller  RFID  labels with  RFID  Point  of  Exit  (PoE)  or  loss  prevention systems.  The  write sensitivity is significantly improved which is beneficial when encoding labels in densely packed cartons during source tagging and bulk encoding operations.

Finally,  the  new  Vortex  U9  will  provide  retailers  with  added  value  when  it  comes  to sustainability. NXP’s UCODE 9 RFID IC is 18% smaller than its predecessor, reducing the carbon footprint on an individual IC basis.

Scott Mitchell-Harris, Group Vice President Checkpoint Systems, commented:  “The investment Checkpoint has made over the past few years in our manufacturing facilities is evident. We have one of the most talented development teams who are continually seeking out the latest technology with new ideas to deliver market leading label designs.”

Checkpoint’s Vortex range delivers high read rate performance in semi-automated  physical inventory control and RFID as EAS. Vortex is ISO18000-6C compliant and can be encoded and printed tocarry EPC data in several formats -RFID EPC global protocol, printed bar code and human readable text.

Oerlikon signs agreement to acquire INglass, a global leader in high precision polymer flow control equipment, to accelerate expansion strategy in polymer processing market

• INglass and its HRSflow Division is a market leader spezialized in hot runner sytems
• Technology is highly complementary to Oerlikon’s existing capabilities in polymer flow control and will expand Oerlikon’s market access
• Acquisition accelerates Oerlikon’s strategy in diversifying its manmade fibers business to expand into the high-growth polymer processing solution market
• Oerlikon renames ‘Manmade Fibers’ Division to ‘Polymer Processing Solutions’
• Acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021

Oerlikon, a leading provider of surface engineering, polymer processing and additive manufacturing, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Italy-headquartered INglass S.p.A. and its innovative hot runner systems technology operating under its market-leading HRSflow business.

The strategic acquisition is a significant step in expanding Oerlikon’s current manmade fibers business into the larger polymer processing market. The acquisition accelerates and enhances existing organic initiatives to diversify and strengthen the company’s core high-precision polymer flow control capabilities, products and services. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected by the second quarter of 2021.

To reflect Oerlikon’s expansion into a larger high-growth market, the Manmade Fibers Division will be renamed as Polymer Processing Solutions Division. This division will have two business units: Flow Control Solutions and Manmade Fibers Solutions. The busines unit Flow Control Solutions will combine the expertise of Oerlikon Barmag’s existing gear metering pumps business line and INglass’ HRSflow operations. The business unit Manmade Fibers Solutions will continue to focus on growing the existing chemical fiber machinery and plant engineering business, offering plant solutions for the production of polyester, polypropylene and polyamide.

“Our new Polymer Processing Solutions Division and the acquisition of INglass S.p.A. and its HRSflow business are critical components of Oerlikon Group’s growth strategy. We are accelerating our efforts to drive sustainable organic and inorganic growth in all of our businesses. The acquisition enables new synergy opportunities between both Oerlikon divisions in specific end markets such as automotive. With INglass and its HRSflow operations, we acquire leading suppliers in their markets with proven success of their technologies and services,” said Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO Oerlikon Group.

“We firmly believe that within the Oerlikon Group we can further exploit the potential of our hot runner systems technology and, when combined with the capabilities of Oerlikon Barmag gear metering pumps and their melt distribution engineering competence, will position our business as one of the leading precision flow control specialists for multiple applications in a global growth market”, said Antonio Bortuzzo, CEO of INglass S.p.A.

New business unit offers great growth potential

The Oerlikon Barmag competence brand already offers high precision flow control related components, including a large selection of gear metering pumps for textile and non-textile markets. These highly efficient pumps are used in silicone casting, dynamic mixing and oil spraying for the chemical, paint, polymer processing and automotive industries. This double-digit million CHF business, which has grown in recent years, will be merged with INglass’ HRSflow hot runner technologies under the new business unit Flow Control Solutions. HRSflow’s excellent market access to many OEMs in and outside the automotive industry brings significant growth opportunities.

INglass is a leader in automotive and expanding in other sectors

INglass S.p.A. is an internationally operating successful company established in 1987. Its product portfolio includes hot runners as well as engineering and consultancy services for the advanced development of polymer processing products. INglass’ HRSflow hot runner systems are applied in multiple industries from automotive, consumer goods and household appliances to packaging, waste management, construction and transportation.

INglass is headquartered in San Polo di Piave, Italy, near Venice. 2020 revenues of INglass were approximately CHF 135 million and the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Oerlikon’s margins and cash flows. INglass has more than 1 000 employees and 55 sites worldwide, including production plants in Italy, China and the US. Among these sites are INglass’ newly renovated headquarters and production at its primary location in San Polo di Piave near Venice, Italy. The investment modernized the facilities with automated production, underlining the company’s commitment to sustainability and the environment. The other two modern production sites are in Zhejiang (Hangzhou Province) in China and Michigan (Grand Rapids) in the USA.

Following the integration with Oerlikon Barmag’s gear metering pumps business of about 200 employees in Remscheid, Germany, the new Flow Control Solutions business unit will have round about 1 200 employees.

"We see great potential for growth in our new Flow Control Solutions business unit,” said Georg Stausberg, Polymer Processing Solutions Division CEO and Member of the Executive Committee of the Oerlikon Group. “The businesses form the two core growth pillars and benefit from each other in global market development, in modern and digitized production, and in customer services. We also see potential synergies in R&D by combining existing know-how in the field of polymer processing. New technological solutions between hot runner systems and gear metering pumps are conceivable. We also anticipate collaborating more closely with the Oerlikon Surface Solutions Division, particularly in future mobility applications and functional polymer component solutions for the automotive industry. All in all, we will offer our customers innovative and attractive solutions in the field of polymer processing and high precision flow control components.”

Next steps for further diversification of the division product portfolio are already ongoing

Combining the divisions plant engineering and process know how with expertise on high precision flow control components technologies has a significant impact on product quality in nearly all applications, which opens up a platform for further organic and inorganic growth. "We are closely observing the megatrends in the markets and developing new business models to match. In the area of sustainability, covering topics such as circular economy, the recycling of materials using mechanical and chemical recycling solutions, as well as the handling of new, more environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials, we are on the verge of a breakthrough. We are ready to actively participate in these growth areas,” added Georg Stausberg.

“In realigning the Polymer Processing Solutions Division, Oerlikon will continue to apply our successful recipe of a lean organizational structure to efficiently manage the business. This means clear processes, short decision-making paths and competent teams in a diverse and multicultural organization in which everyone can contribute innovatively to create customer value,” said Georg Stausberg.

Sappi is expanding its product range for corrugated board applications with Fusion Nature Plus.

With Fusion Nature Plus, Sappi is launching an uncoated, fully bleached and completely recyclable virgin fibre liner. The company provides a unique variety of packaging and speciality papers. The specialist in paper-based solutions also offers a wide range of products in relation to labels. Fusion Nature Plus offers excellent printing results in flexographic, digital and offset printing processes.

• Ultra-bright, uncoated virgin fibre paper with excellent printing results
• Ideal for attractive corrugated board as well as premium shopping bags
• Can be used as topliner, liner or fluting
• Available in grammages of 80 to 130 g/m²

The virgin fibre liner is based on the concept of the successful Fusion Topliner. In contrast to the double-coated Fusion Topliner, Fusion Nature Plus has a natural, uncoated surface with a more tactile feel, in response to the growing market appetite for this type of product. The liner is also provided in very low grammages.

Fusion Nature Plus enhances brand appearance

Brand owners, corrugated board processors, manufacturers of display cartons and folding cartons as well as designers all benefit from the versatility of the new Fusion Nature Plus. In contrast to conventional uncoated liner papers, the material offers high brightness, brilliant colour reproduction and consistently high quality. These features make the product the perfect choice for corrugated board or solid board packaging, where a very bright appearance is needed for topliners, inner liners and corrugating applications. Whether used as an inlay in cosmetics or confectionery packaging, or as a liner in shipping packaging to ensure an exceptional unboxing experience, Fusion Nature Plus is called upon wherever an enhanced appearance is desired.

Another area of application is paper carrier bags, where uncoated paper qualities are often preferred.

Fusion Nature Plus is ideally suited to a range of printing processes: the product achieves outstanding results in flexographic and offset printing. The pre-treated surface and high brightness offer clear advantages with regard to primer requirements and print behaviour, especially for inkjet-based digital printing. Bernd Gelder, Head of Sales Containerboard at Sappi Europe: ‘With its exceptional print quality and impressive colour reproduction, Fusion Nature Plus particularly appeals to packaging customers who value a natural look and feel in paper. The response from the market, in which packaging based on corrugated board still needs to take on a bigger role, is enormous, of course, with the result that we have succeeded in completing a number of interesting end applications and customer projects with Fusion Nature Plus shortly after market launch.’

Virgin fibre vital for recycling

In continuous recycling use, fiber that has already been recycled is subject to a progressive weakening of quality, resulting in a weakness in the products that incorporate them, but also, crucially, over time they will ultimately degrade to a point where they become unrecoverable. As a result, a certain amount of virgin fibre needs to be introduced into the cycle on a regular basis. Without continuous virgin fibre contribution to the pulp cycle, recycled producers will in the end run out of raw material. The premium virgin fibre liner Fusion Nature Plus from Sappi plays an important role here in maintaining the quality of the recycling substrate.

Thanks to the central location of Sappi’s production site in Ehingen, Fusion Nature Plus can be supplied quickly throughout Europe. The shorter transportation distances reduce transport related fossil emissions and protect the environment. The shorter production cycles in turn ensure high availability and rapid supply.

Fusion Nature Plus is currently available in six grammages from 80 to 130 g/m² in both sheet and roll form. Sappi can also provide Fusion Nature Plus with FSC or PEFC certificates on request.

National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas sent a letter to Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Robert Fairweather, requesting the agency reconsider and approve a proposal to direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect Section 301 penalty duties on billions of dollars of Chinese goods currently shipped duty free under Section 321 de minimis waivers.

“There has been an exponential growth of shipments to the United States in recent years that qualify for Section 321 duty-free treatment,” Glas said in the letter. “U.S. manufacturers of textiles, apparel and other consumer goods that routinely sell for less than the $800 de minimis threshold increasingly find their markets and workforce threatened by this tariff avoidance scheme.”

The letter details how the current Section 321 provision is now being coupled with e-commerce to provide billions in duty avoidance on these imported products, including:

• Increased import price pressure on domestic manufacturers of various types of consumer items that routinely sell for less than $800 such as – apparel, footwear, home furnishings, toys, consumer electronics, flatware, auto parts, etc.
• An inability to properly identify and block the importation of adulterated products posing a health and safety risk to consumers.
• An inability to properly identify and block imports of counterfeit products that violate intellectual property laws.
• Enhanced ability of countries like China to access the U.S. market, despite their failure to provide reciprocal access to their markets and their persistent illegal and unfair trading practices.

“Imported merchandise from China that enters under a Section 321 waiver is exempt from all normal tariffs and any penalty duties assessed under the current 301 case. This unreasonable and unnecessary duty exemption severely undermines the purpose and value of the existing Section 301 determination against China as an effort to address its longstanding predatory trade practices,” Glas stated.

“The Biden administration should undertake an exhaustive review of this problem to develop the policy changes needed to mitigate the damaging impact of Section 321 waivers on U.S. workers and manufacturers,” Glas added. “In the interim, it is critical that the OMB and CBP take reasonable steps, such as denying Section 321 benefits to goods covered under the existing China 301 determination [tariffs]. Doing so would be a valuable first step toward limiting the dangerous and growing exploitation of this tariff waiver mechanism.”

• Several members of TMAS – the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – are actively advancing new coloration technologies as part of a wave of innovation that is currently sweeping out from Scandinavia.

New manufacturers of regenerated cellulosic fibers as alternatives to cotton and synthetics, for example, have been gaining a lot of attention recently, as they scale up to meet demands for a circular approach to the manufacturing of textiles and garments.

These companies have, in turn, been embraced by major Scandinavian brands such as the Danish clothing company Bestseller, Finnish fashion house Marimekko, Norwegian outdoor brand Bergans and Sweden’s own H&M Group.

Fiber journey
From the field or the forest to the retail shelves, however, the journey of every single textile fiber is currently a long one, in which it passes through many hands and moves around the world. The good news is that many of these individual stages are now being greatly simplified by digitalization.

“Digitalization will lead to a significant reduction in garments that for one reason or another are never sold and end up in landfill,” says Therese Premler-Andersson, Secretary General of TMAS. “There will of course, be a huge ecological benefit.”

At the very center of any fiber’s journey, once it has become part of a knitted or woven fabric, are the dyeing and finishing stages of textile production. Dyeing and finishing currently involves many washing and drying process steps which add a huge burden to the overall carbon footprint of finished garments and textile products.

Coloreel expansion
Here is where the latest fully digital technologies of TMAS member companies are making a dramatic difference, such as the instant thread coloration technology, of Coloreel, which has just raised SEK 100 in new financing to support its market expansion and growth.

Initially targeting the embroidery market, Coloreel technology enables the high-quality and instant coloring of a textile thread while it is actually being used in production and can be paired with any existing embroidery machine without modification, while also making it possible to produce gradients in an embroidery for the first time.

Based on a CMYK ink system, Coloreel’s advanced rapid color formulation software and high-speed drive technology allow a single needle to carry out what previously required many multiples of them to do – and with much more consistent stitch quality,

In addition, existing thread dyeing plants can add a single solid color to a thread, but by instantly coloring a white base thread during production, Coloreel enables complete freedom to create unique embroideries without any limitations in the use of colors. Color changes along the thread can either be made rapidly from one solid color to another, or gradually, to make smooth transitions or any coloring effect desired.

This provides big benefits when it comes to sustainability. There is a significant reduction in wasted inks, while water usage is minimized, and production speeds are increased. The technology allows set-up and lead times to be reduced as well as significant flexibility in production schedules, while eliminating the need for large thread inventories.

“Our system is allowing customers to achieve color effects that have never been seen before – and at a new level of efficiency,” says VP of Sales and Marketing at Coloreel, Mats Sjögren. “We are setting the new benchmark for the embroidery industry.”

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Coloreel, has recently successfully delivered units to companies in Europe, the United States and Asia, and has also partnered with the world’s largest distributor of embroidery machines, American Hirsch Solutions, which has already installed the technology at a number of customers in the USA.

imogo
Another TMAS member achieving rapid progress is imogo, which is currently installing its first industrial scale Dye-Max spray dyeing line at the plant close to Borås of Swedish commission dyeing company 7H Färgeri – the Nordic region’s most complete dyeing and processing plant.

The new line has a working width of 1.8 meters with an operating speed of up to 50 meters for the reactive dyeing of cellulosic fiber-based fabrics. In addition, it can carry out the application of a wide range of fabric pre-treatments and finishing processes, providing the company with unbeatable flexibility in production.

A proven Mini-Max laboratory unit for pre-determining application volumes and color matching has also been installed at the 7H plant.

With the potential to slash the use of fresh water, wastewater, energy, and chemicals by as much as 90% compared to conventional jet dyeing systems, the DyeMax has gained considerable attention since the concept was outlined and a prototype machine constructed in 2019.

The application unit of the Dye-Max consists of a closed chamber containing a series of spray cassettes with precision nozzles for accurate and consistent coverage, in combination with the patented imogo Pro Speed valve that controls the volume to be applied.

“We are achieving an extremely low liquor ratio of around 0.5-1 liters per kilo of fabric and we fully control the pickup, applying precisely what is required to the specific fabric,” says imogo founding partner Per Stenflo. “Compared to traditional padders there is no contamination of the dyebath or dilution of the dye liquor to worry about.”
Fast changeovers with virtually no waste, together with a high production speed, enable a high productivity and unmatched production flexibility.

“The Dye-Max will be implemented in 7H daily production and producers and brands are welcome to visit when the Covid-19 situation allows. They are also welcome to do test productions at 7H to verify the performance on their fabrics.”

Perfect bridge
“Such new digital technologies from TMAS members represent the perfect bridge for sustainable new fibers on their route to the finished garments of responsible brands on the retail shelves,” concludes Therese Premler-Andersson. “There is now a real momentum building industry-wide for new circular manufacturing, and TMAS companies intend to be very much a part of it.”

• BIONIC-FINISH®ECO Fluorine-Free, Water Repellent Finishes for Ultimate Performance

In recent years, many scientists have shifted from favoring a “primordial soup” in pools of water to hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean as the original source of life on Earth. Regardless what the real beginning really was, water was certainly involved in the process some 3,5bln years ago. And since then, Mother Nature designed many ways to benefit of water and to be sheltered from it. Many engineering challenges humans face can be solved by turning to those 3,5bln years of experience and by using natural design as springboard. That’s biologically inspired engineering or, in short, bionics. BIONIC-FINISH®ECO of RUDOLF GROUP is Mother Nature’s work reproduced on textiles and apparel to protect us from water. To perform.

Back in 2003, RUDOLF GROUP borrowed from Mother Nature the idea of dendrimers (from dendron, Greek word for ‘tree’), molecules made of multi-functional branches that interact among themselves, co-crystallize, and self-organize into highly ordered, multicomponent systems. These hyper-branched polymers attach to the textile and embed fluorine-free, durable water-repellent performance.
In 2021 BIONIC-FINISH®ECO comes as a reviewed and extended family of unique nonhalogenated, APEO-free, fluorine-free formulations suited for different materials and designed for different applications and needs. Still very much based on patented dendrimer technology, the new and strengthened BIONIC-FINISH®ECO’s product portfolio:

• Provides non-fluorinated and highly durable water repellent textile finishes for high-performance, professional applications (e.g. when brushing resistance is required);
• Delivers highly efficient and durable performance with low application amounts thus not affecting fabric feel and appearance (e.g. when remarkable softness is important);
• Fulfills a range of challenging technical requirements (e.g. minimal impact on flame retardant properties of technical fibers);
• Is suitable for both sportswear and outdoor applications, as well as for casual apparel and fashion clothing;
• Is bluesign® approved, ZDHC chemical gateway certified and compliant with most RSLs;

BIONIC-FINISH®ECO new portfolio includes universal and versatile solutions targeting the most standard requirements, as well as customized solutions that meet more demanding and specific expectations such as improved resistance to dry-cleaning. “None of us can entirely predict where our voyage will lead” says Dr. Gunther Duschek, RUDOLF GROUP Managing Director. “However, BIONIC-FINISH®ECO of RUDOLF GROUP will always be the fluorine-free, durable water repellent for ultimate  performance. As it is today”.