From the Sector

Lenzing will be at the 56th edition of FILO, taking place on September 29 and 30, in Milan, with its TENCEL™ fiber. Sustainability and ethical values will be the main focus of the event.

Furthermore, to delve deeper in the sustainable approach that drives Lenzing's production processes, on September 30, at 3.00 PM, a presentation with the title "Lenzing's biorefinery concept" will be held by Carlo Covini, Lenzing – Business Development Manager Italy & Switzerland. This will be part of the Dialoghi di Confronto segment set near the Networking Area.

Milliken & Company and American & Efird (A&E) hosted United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai in two separate visits to the companies’ state-of-the-art textile manufacturing facilities, marking an unprecedented visit to the heart of the U.S. textile industry in the Carolinas by the nation’s top trade chief.

Ambassador Tai’s visit comes at a pivotal time for the U.S. textile supply chain, which produced $64 billion in output in 2020 and employed nearly 530,000 workers. The industry has been at the forefront of a domestic production chain manufacturing over a billion personal protective equipment (PPE) items during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ambassador’s visit to Milliken included a tour of the company’s Magnolia plant in Blacksburg, S.C., and a roundtable discussion highlighting the important role women contribute to textiles, the critical need for policies supporting a domestic supply chain, and the significant impact of the sector to the U.S. economy. Milliken is one of the largest textile companies in the U.S., employing more than 6,000 associates domestically and an additional 1,350 associates globally. Milliken’s Textile Business alone employs 2,500 people across eight counties in South Carolina and is the fourth largest manufacturing employer in the Upstate.

On the second leg of her trip, Ambassador Tai visited American & Efird’s manufacturing facility in Mount Holly, N.C. American & Efird operates as part of Elevate Textiles and its global portfolio of advanced products and distinguished textile brands, including A&E, Burlington, Cone Denim, Gütermann and Safety Components, and representing more than 500 years of textile manufacturing knowledge.

During the visit, U.S. textile executives spanning the fiber, yarn, fabric, and finished product textile and apparel industry participated in a roundtable with the Ambassador at which they discussed the competitiveness of the domestic industry, outlined priority issues in Washington, such as the importance of the Western Hemisphere co-production chain and ways to jointly support domestic supply chains through Buy American and Berry Amendment policies that help onshore production, spur investment, maintain the safety and security of our armed forces and generate new jobs.

Indian Tufropes is partnering with Truetzschler Nonwovens and Voith to install its unique pentamerous technology. The company’s first nonwovens production line will be capable to produce 5 different eco-friendly, hydroentangled products.

Truetzschler Nonwovens and Voith are thrilled to be the technology partner for Tufropes’ (patent pending) unique nonwoven line based on pentamerous technology. The new installation relies heavily on Truetzschler/Voith core components for wet-laying, carding and hydroentangling. Proprietary refinements will allow Tufropes to produce any possible hydroentangled nonwoven material, including bio-degradable, natural fibre, eco-friendly high-performance nonwovens. Globally this would be a first industrial-scale pentamerous technology-based nonwoven project. Based in Gujarat, India, the line is expected to be commissioned next year.

Notus Composites (UAE), the award-winning producer of epoxy prepreg materials, announces the latest addition to its high-performance epoxy range with the launch of its new NE7 low temperature curing prepreg system. The Notus NE7 formulation allows composite manufacturers to cure components at temperatures as low as 70˚C, reducing energy consumption and enabling more cost-effective tooling options.

Notus Composites has developed the new NE7 prepreg systems for applications across the Marine, Architecture, Industrial and Wind Energy sectors, with the novel low temperature curing chemistry delivery significant cost benefits. Existing prepreg manufacturers can now use more cost-effective composite tooling, with new prepreg users able to switch easily from existing infusion or wet laminating processes without creating expensive new high temperature tooling.

NE7 prepregs can be cured at temperatures as low as 70˚C, with the standard cure cycle being 12 hours at 70˚C, matching the typical cycle time for an infused part with a component Tg of 85˚C. NE7 materials have a good outlife of 30 days at 20˚C and are available in all prepreg and Notus single sided N1-Preg formats with unidirectional, multiaxial, and woven reinforcements. NE7 can also be supplied as a resin film.

Notus has recently supplied NE7 low temperature prepregs to Dubai based Aeolos Composites for the production of their new Aeolos P30 racing yacht. The P30 is a futuristic new craft created by top German sailor and designer, Hans Genthe, with a super light carbon fibre construction and large sail area that promises spectacular on the water performance for a thirty foot yacht. Notus delivered a range NE7 prepregs for the build, including woven, multiaxial, and unidirectional carbon fibre reinforcements as well as adhesive films for core bonding.

• New brand Trevira CS eco

After a challenging 2020 for Trevira CS®, a year in which the coronavirus crisis put pressure on the contract market, in particular on the hotel and event sector, and also on the cruise shipping industry, the market is starting to show some signs of improvement. Numerous new developments are seizing upon the trends that have emerged since the crisis began.

Although the coronavirus pandemic had a negative effect on individual business sectors, it also has the potential to open up new market opportunities for flame retardant Trevira CS fabrics in the long run. The increase in people working from home and the longer and more frequent stay within one’s own home have led to a change in perspective in terms of the relevance of interior design. The design of the living space has undergone a revaluation. Sustainability, durability, high quality, and the desire for safe products that contain little to no harmful substances are defining criteria for selecting a new textile interior. The colour range of the new Trevira CS developments is directed specifically towards this trend and often comes across as discreet and close to nature. After Trevira CS products have found their way more and more into private homes, the new Trevira CS collections include numerous attractive textiles not only for the contract sector but also for the residential sector.

In the contract sector, notably in the hotel industry, the trends towards sustainability and quality are likely to continue to grow. Moreover, there is an increase in awareness as far as hygiene requirements are concerned. Textiles that are easy to clean without losing their appearance or their functionality can excel here. Accordingly, products ordinarily used in the healthcare sector might start to be of interest to the hotel and catering industry, public spaces, the transport industry, and to offices. This will apply in particular to areas where there is a regular flow of visitors and where people come into direct contact with fabrics. Antimicrobial textiles provide additional protection in these situations. Besides their flame retardancy, many new Trevira CS products integrate additional functions such as noise or sun protection.

Trevira has launched the Trevira CS eco brand for flame retardant textiles that consist of recycled Trevira products.
The new Trevira CS eco brand unites sustainability and flame retardancy. Trevira offers products for this which have been manufactured through different recycling processes. The flame retardant filament yarns are based on the use of recycled PET bottles (post-consumer recycling). Textiles bearing the Trevira CS eco trademark consist of at least 50% recycled materials.

Trevira uses an agglomeration facility to recycle reusable waste materials from production to manufacture recycled fibres that, after further processing, retain the same quality and performance characteristics as the original products (pre-consumer recycling).

Zünd Connect compiles production data from integrated Zünd cutting systems into meaningful key performance indicators, such as cutter capacity, availability, and overall equipment effectiveness. Zünd Connect creates transparency and identifies areas in the digital cutting workflow with potential for optimization.

There are many ways to optimize digital cutting and ensure maximum productivity, which is the reason why Zünd now offers Zünd Connect, a monitoring tool that helps the user recognize this potential and increase productivity. Using Zünd Connect, the user can see at a glance when and, more importantly, why machine interruptions occur, how much time is spent in setup, and what the availability of each machine is.

The web-based monitoring tool gives the user access to cutter- performance data at a glance, any time of day. Reliable key performance indicators are available at all times to help users maximize productivity. The system records productivity levels over a freely definable period using Zünd Cut Center – ZCC (Version 3.4 or later) as data source. Data monitoring provides information users need in order to make informed decisions. This comprehensive overview of production data reveals connections that are often overlooked. Zünd Connect supplies valuable key performance indicators for assessing how efficiently cutting systems are working. To be able to improve cutter efficiency, potential areas of improvement must be uncovered and recognized. This potential lies primarily in the technology but also in the way it is being used.

Zünd Connect is available in a "Monitor" or an "Analyzer" version.

Swiss dairy company Emmi is partnering with Borealis and Greiner Packaging to produce iced coffed drinking cups using chemically recycled polypropylene.

The cups are produced by Greiner Packaging and the chemically recycled material comes from Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions based in Vienna, Austria.

Emmi, Switzerland’s largest milk processor is committed to climate protection and the circular economy. The dairy company has the stated goal to make all of its packaging 100% recyclable and is committed to various measures to promote circularity such as packaging that contains at least 30% recyclate by 2027.

From September 2021 Emmi will use at least 100 tonnes of plastic based on the recycled material each year. Chemical recycling renews plastic back to plastic creating recycled materials with a level of purity equivalent to fossil-fuel based PP and hence, fit for protective, food-safe and other demanding applications. In this way, Emmi is utilizing difficult to recycle feedstock preventing plastic waste that would be likely landfilled or incinerated. In the future, depending on the availability of suitable material, the amount of recycled plastic in packaging is to be further increased.

The new technology to recover the polypropylene is currently still in its infancy, where Greiner Packaging and Borealis are leading the way. Only limited quantities of chemically recycled polypropylene are currently available, and Emmi is one of only a few food manufacturers to have secured a share of the chemically recycled polypropylene plastic through its early commitment and long-standing collaboration with the development companies.

The chemically recycled material used for the cups consists entirely and solely of ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) material, on a mass balance basis. Mass balance is a methodology that makes it possible to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or bio-based content in the value chain and through each step of the process. This provides transparency ultimately also to the consumers, enabling them to know that the product they are buying is based on this renewable material.

Originally conceived as a low-cost, high-volume alternative to knitting and weaving, nonwovens was already expanding its market boundaries by the 1970s with new applications in ‘disposables’ such as diapers, hygiene and teabags.

In the past five decades, the nonwovens business has exploded in all directions, reaching a global market worth USD 40.5 billion in 2020, projected to grow to USD 53.5 billion by 2025. This annual growth rate of 5.7% (MarketsandMarkets, Nonwoven Fabric Market Report) is based on countless new applications and expansion into durable, as well as additional disposable, products.

Major growth drivers include the hygiene sector, and filtration media for power plants and air conditioning systems. Especially during the peak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, demand in the hygiene sector multiplied. Worldwide capacities for both meltblown and spunlace production rocketed compared to a normal business year. Swiss Autefa Solutions, for example, significantly benefited from this trend, notably with the launch of a fully-automatic machine for producing face masks.

The automotive industry is the second big growth area, with many new applications being pioneered. The trend to electric and hybrid vehicles has helped this, as nonwovens reinforced with carbon fibres are widely used as battery housings.

Swiss nonwovens competence
Innovative applications across all sectors have driven the rapid evolution of sophisticated nonwovens machinery. Today’s trends demand higher productivity, sustainability and Industry 4.0 compatibility – demonstrated by the full equipment portfolio of Swiss Textile Machinery member Autefa Solutions. With V-Jet Futura, the company recently sealed the link in its product range between web forming and drying technology. This latest Hydroentanglement Machine, together with the SQ-V Square Drum Dryer, embodies advanced technology combined with significant reductions in energy consumption compared to other process solutions.

A vital contribution to nonwovens production is offered by Rieter subsidiary Graf, a leading supplier of clothing and combs for carding and combing processes in spinning and nonwovens. Graf's Hipro card clothings – suitable for any man-made fibres in the nonwovens sector – are focussing on higher productivity. Their superior performance delivers up to 10% higher throughput and greater carding efficiency compared to conventional clothings. These reliable card clothing elements also ensure a consistently reproducible high web quality, as well as 20% fewer failures in the web, thanks to the precise fibre transfer to and from the cylinder.

Another constant trend in nonwovens today is the drive for better quality. Manufacturers want to take charge of contamination levels in their processes, as well as eradicating defects which may arise during production. Uster Technologies, a leading provider of quality management solutions from fibre to fabric, offers a combined solution to achieve both these required quality standards. At the fibre preparation stage, Uster Jossi Vision Shield N ensures the best possible initial inspection and removal of contamination. Then, at the end of the production sequence, Uster EVS Fabriq Vision N handles automated detection and marking of all the main defects caused during production. This combined solution avoids material waste and takes full advantage of the potential for process optimization.

To ensure product protection and prevent brand piracy, GRAFE has developed a simple and elegant solution that also offers a high level of security. The basis is special markers. "The highly complex pigments with special physical properties designed for this purpose are used in minute quantities within the plastic matrix. With an appropriately calibrated detector, products equipped with them can thus be read and authenticated," explains Business Development Manager Florian Ludwig. At the same time no changes in properties can usually be observed. The detectors can use an LED display to check within seconds whether the unique marker is contained in the product and whether this item is the original product.

In general, there are two options: x ray and light fluorescence, i.e. fluorescent X-rays or light. With the first option, the base color has no influence (not even black) and the customer benefits from low addition dosage and batch price, but this method requires higher investment. "With light fluorescence, on the other hand, detection is done by a measuring device, which is preconfigured by our partner or by us directly. Different types are available, from handy hand-held measuring devices to stationary office solutions to inline spectrometers, in order to have a control take place directly during production," Ludwig explains. With this method, the masterbatch dosage is based on the base color, among otherv things. The method of operation is fast and simple, and the necessary investment is also manageable.

From injection molding and extrusion to transparent and fiber applications, almost all areas of plastics processing come into question.

• Transformation program and improving order situation show first successes
• Sales up 8.8% to €496.7 million compared with first half of previous year
• Adjusted EBITDA improves by 70.7% to €71.7 million
• Positive business development led to forecast increase on July 13, 2021

While the past fiscal year 2020 was still characterized by a Corona-related slump in orders in many business areas of SGL Carbon, demand picked up again in the first six months of 2021. Accordingly, Group sales increased by 8.8% to €496.7 million in H1 2021 (H1 2020: €456.5 million).

The Carbon Fibers and Composite Solutions Business Units particularly contributed to the €40.2 million increase in sales. Carbon Fibers contributed €166.4 million to Group sales, especially benefiting from increased demand from the automotive market segment. In the Composite Solutions Business Unit, the increase in sales of 52.4% to €60.2 million was also primarily based on the recovering demand from the automotive industry.

With sales of €221.2 million, the Graphite Solutions business area contributed around 44.5% of SGL Group sales. The 3.8% increase in the division's sales was particularly due to the positive development in the important markets of the LED, semiconductor and automotive industries.

Transformation program:
The restructuring and transformation process initiated at SGL Carbon made a significant contribution to the Company's positive sales and earnings performance. In addition to leaner and more efficient structures as well as a reorganization of the business units with responsibility for results, a large number of improvements and cost initiatives in all business units and sites have contributed to the success of the ongoing transformation program.

Forecast increase:
Due to pleasing business development in the first half of the year as well as transformation successes, SGL Carbon raised its forecast for fiscal year 2021 on July 13, 2021. For the financial year 2021, the company now expects consolidated sales of around €1.0 billion (previously: €920 - 970 million). In line with developments in the first half of 2021 and the results from the transformation, adjusted EBITDA for 2021 is expected to be between €130 - 140 million (previously: €100 - 120 million). Accordingly, a slightly positive net profit is now forecasted for fiscal year 2021 (previously: €-20 million to €0).