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03.11.2025

Heraeus Precious Metals & RUDOLF: Strategic Partnership Bringing AGXX Technology to the Textile Industry

Heraeus Precious Metals, a leading company in the precious metals industry, and RUDOLF, an international specialist in textile chemistry, have signed an agreement for the exclusive marketing of products for textile finishing and textile care. The cooperation focuses on Heraeus Precious Metals‘ AGXX technology, a groundbreaking antimicrobial innovation that has the potential to transform the textile industry in the long term.

AGXX works in a fundamentally different way to conventional biocides, especially silver technologies. The technology is based on a catalytic reaction triggered by the interaction of two precious metals. In the presence of air humidity, oxygen is converted into reactive oxygen species. These kill odour-causing and other microorganisms and also have an oxidative effect on odour-causing residues. As the mechanism is based on a circular redox system, AGXX technology is not consumed but continuously regenerated. The versatile technology can be integrated into textile finishing processes as well as directly into fibres and yarns.

Heraeus Precious Metals, a leading company in the precious metals industry, and RUDOLF, an international specialist in textile chemistry, have signed an agreement for the exclusive marketing of products for textile finishing and textile care. The cooperation focuses on Heraeus Precious Metals‘ AGXX technology, a groundbreaking antimicrobial innovation that has the potential to transform the textile industry in the long term.

AGXX works in a fundamentally different way to conventional biocides, especially silver technologies. The technology is based on a catalytic reaction triggered by the interaction of two precious metals. In the presence of air humidity, oxygen is converted into reactive oxygen species. These kill odour-causing and other microorganisms and also have an oxidative effect on odour-causing residues. As the mechanism is based on a circular redox system, AGXX technology is not consumed but continuously regenerated. The versatile technology can be integrated into textile finishing processes as well as directly into fibres and yarns.

By integrating the AGXX technology developed by Heraeus Precious Metals, RUDOLF is specifically expanding its portfolio with a technologically advanced solution for the functionalisation of textiles.

The strategic expansion of its product portfolio will enable the company to position itself even more clearly as an innovation leader in a dynamic market environment. Based on AGXX technology, it offers its customers optimised, market-ready products that provide them with differentiated added value in the areas of textile (initial) finishing, care and aftercare applications for industrial, commercial, professional and end-user purposes.

Martin Danz, Global Head of Antimicrobial Technologies at Heraeus Precious Metals, comments: „Our strategic collaboration with RUDOLF is a significant step towards the further development of the textile market. Together, we will continue to develop the application possibilities of AGXX particles in textile finishing and explore new areas of application and effectiveness for the technology.“

Marcos Furrer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RUDOLF, explains: „This partnership sends a clear message: we are combining two strong innovative forces to give the textile industry new impulses. AGXX technology complements our portfolio perfectly – it is powerful, performance-oriented and offers real added value for our customers. Together with Heraeus Precious Metals, we are creating solutions that are functionally impressive and at the same time meet the growing demands of the market.“

More information:
Heraeus Precious Metals Rudolf textile finishing Textile Care AGXX technology textile chemistry
Source:

Heraeus Precious Metals 

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Alexandra Bayer/Cornell University
03.11.2025

New York wool goes to fashion school

Happy sheep trotting toward a fresh pasture inspired fiber science major Miriam Lourie’s wool sock design: a creamy white stripe across a textured green knit that puckered like a gently rolling field.

Lourie is one of 9 budding fashion designers in Knitwear Design and Other Applications, a College of Human Ecology class where students are working with New York sheep farmers and wool processors to explore ways to grow the local industry.

New York weather makes sheep farming hard. Feeding hay through the winter means bits of vegetative matter get stuck in the wool. Fine-wool breeds like Merino and Rambouillet do better in drier climates. New York fiber farms tend to be small, producing enough wool for a boutique industry aimed at crafters, and meat-focused sheep farms raise breeds that produce wool that is too coarse for industrial knitting machines. But through a series of visits to regional farms and experimentation with local wool, students in the class are discovering its idiosyncrasies and charms.

Happy sheep trotting toward a fresh pasture inspired fiber science major Miriam Lourie’s wool sock design: a creamy white stripe across a textured green knit that puckered like a gently rolling field.

Lourie is one of 9 budding fashion designers in Knitwear Design and Other Applications, a College of Human Ecology class where students are working with New York sheep farmers and wool processors to explore ways to grow the local industry.

New York weather makes sheep farming hard. Feeding hay through the winter means bits of vegetative matter get stuck in the wool. Fine-wool breeds like Merino and Rambouillet do better in drier climates. New York fiber farms tend to be small, producing enough wool for a boutique industry aimed at crafters, and meat-focused sheep farms raise breeds that produce wool that is too coarse for industrial knitting machines. But through a series of visits to regional farms and experimentation with local wool, students in the class are discovering its idiosyncrasies and charms.

“Understanding the whole process of how that material got to a finished product adds a level of intimacy with the yarn that I think helps in the design process,” said Melissa Conroy, senior lecturer of human centered design in CHE and the instructor of Knitwear Design.

Melissa Conroy, senior lecturer of human centered design in CHE, reviews work with teaching assistant Madison Feely ’26, a fiber science and apparel design major, during the Knitwear Design and Other Applications class.

Conroy and doctoral student Paige Tomfohrde received a $10,000 grant from the New York Fashion Innovation Center to work with fiber producers to develop yarn suitable for industrial knitting machines. The students are helping test the yarn and providing feedback. 

“Problem solving is a big part of knitwear design,” Conroy said. “Normally, we start with a design direction that leads us in choosing yarn. This semester, we start with the yarn and see where it takes us.”

The artisanal quality of New York wool can make garments feel less mass produced, even as it presents logistical challenges. 

“Yarn doing weird things is fun for us, as fashion designers,” Conroy said. “It opens a path to discovery.”

Through visits to farmers, processors and fiber artists around the state, including Crooked Creek Sheep and Wool in Brooktondale, New York, and Battenkill Fibers, a spinning mill in Greenwich, New York, Conroy’s students studied every part of the local wool supply chain, from farming to shearing, cleaning and spinning. A grant from the Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation funded their travel. 

Back in the classroom, the students turned yarn specifically made for them at Battenkill Fibers into socks, featuring designs drawn from what they saw and learned during their visits. 

The yarn had a personality of its own.

The class visited sheep farms and wool processors and spinners around New York. Fashion design major Liriana Nezaj ’27 drew inspiration from raw wood she saw there to design lacy socks reminiscent of wood grain.

Fashion design major Lucy Jones ’26 said fine-tuning the tension of the yarn to get her socks just right took patience. “Working with the wool, as opposed to the acrylic we worked with last semester, it feels like a much more human process,” she said. “We met the sheep this wool came from.”

The natural color and texture variation in the yarn reminded fashion design major Liriana Nezaj ’27 of raw wood she saw at the farms. She chose to make mauve socks in a lacy pattern reminiscent of wood grain.

“It’s fun to keep in mind where your materials actually come from,” she said. “There are a lot of steps to get a wool garment to market.”

Those steps start at the farm, where farmers work to keep their flocks healthy. Stress and disease can cause weak spots in a sheep’s wool that can break when spun into yarn.

“The quality of sheep’s wool is intertwined with how well farmers take care of their sheep,” said Lourie ’26. 

Wool is one of the most thermally efficient fibers, and it’s biodegradable, renewable and fire resistant. It can be used for fabric and rugs but also fertilizer, insulation and weed barriers.

“All of us growers, we love wool,” said Crooked Creek Sheep and Wool owner Dr. Amy Glaser, DVM ’87, Ph.D. ’94. “We think it belongs in every household, in every aspect of your life, from what’s on your floors to what’s on your walls to what’s on your beds to what’s on your body.”

The students’ socks and process sketches will be on display, alongside pieces from the processors and designers they met during their field trips, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 in the Jill Stuart Gallery in the Human Ecology Building. 

More information:
New York wool sheep farmers Cornell University
Source:

Holly Hartigan, Cornell Chronicle 

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Photo Kraig Biocraft Laboratories
03.11.2025

Kraig Labs Spider Silk Production Operations Unaffected by Southeast Asia Typhoons

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., a world leader in spider silk technology*, announced that its production operations in Vietnam remain fully secure and uninterrupted following the recent series of typhoons that have impacted parts of Southeast Asia.

Kraig Labs confirmed that its spider silk production facilities and infrastructure sustained no damage or disruption, including its mulberry feedstock supplies, from the severe weather events that caused widespread flooding in lowland regions. The Company’s strategic decision made in 2024 to relocate its operations into the protected highlands has proven to be a highly valuable investment in operational resilience and long-term stability.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., a world leader in spider silk technology*, announced that its production operations in Vietnam remain fully secure and uninterrupted following the recent series of typhoons that have impacted parts of Southeast Asia.

Kraig Labs confirmed that its spider silk production facilities and infrastructure sustained no damage or disruption, including its mulberry feedstock supplies, from the severe weather events that caused widespread flooding in lowland regions. The Company’s strategic decision made in 2024 to relocate its operations into the protected highlands has proven to be a highly valuable investment in operational resilience and long-term stability.

Kraig Labs also confirmed that its former facility in Quang Nam province, which has since been closed, was among the areas affected by flooding. However, all Company equipment, staff, and production assets had been permanently and successfully relocated from that site in September, well ahead of the storms.
 
In addition to moving its infrastructure and production to the highlands, Kraig Labs has implemented a strategy of maintaining multiple, parallel production facilities. This approach not only supports scalability but also serves as an additional safeguard against potential disruptions from natural disasters or other unforeseen events. By building redundancy and flexibility into its production network, the Company continues to strengthen the foundation for long-term growth and reliability.
 
"Our hearts go out to the many people and businesses across the region who have suffered loss and devastation from these storms. Kraig Labs will be contributing to the relief and recovery efforts, helping those who have been devastated by these disasters," said Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO of Kraig Labs. "We are deeply grateful that our facilities and personnel are safe, and we remain fully operational. Our highland infrastructure investments have demonstrated their strength and strategic importance."

More information:
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories typhoons Southeast Asia
Source:

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories

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03.11.2025

U.S. Textile Industry Urges Stronger USMCA Rules


The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber, yarn, and fabrics to finished sewn products, welcomes the review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and calls on the administration to strengthen and to extend the trade deal to preserve a crucial Western Hemisphere co-production chain, enhance customs enforcement, and confront predatory trade practices that threaten domestic jobs and supply chains.

NCTO expressed strong support for preservation of the current exemption of USMCA-qualifying trade from International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs imposed to curb the flow of illicit fentanyl and illegal migration, while also calling for a similar exemption for qualifying trade under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) currently subject to IEEPA reciprocal tariffs, in public comments submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office today.


The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber, yarn, and fabrics to finished sewn products, welcomes the review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and calls on the administration to strengthen and to extend the trade deal to preserve a crucial Western Hemisphere co-production chain, enhance customs enforcement, and confront predatory trade practices that threaten domestic jobs and supply chains.

NCTO expressed strong support for preservation of the current exemption of USMCA-qualifying trade from International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs imposed to curb the flow of illicit fentanyl and illegal migration, while also calling for a similar exemption for qualifying trade under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) currently subject to IEEPA reciprocal tariffs, in public comments submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office today.

The U.S. textile industry ships $12.3 billion, or 53 percent, of its total global textile exports to Mexico and Canada--by far the largest export markets for American textile producers. Those component materials often come back as finished products to the United States under the USMCA. The $20 billion in two-way trade between the United States and these countries spurs enormous textile investment and employment at home.

NCTO’s public comments were submitted as part of a USTR public consultation on the operation of the USCMA in advance of a joint review of the USMCA with Mexico and Canada to take place next year.

“We welcome the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the highly aggressive predatory trade practices facing our industry to offset decades-long inequities and to establish a more balanced trade environment for U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers,” NCTO stated. “We ask the administration not to lose sight of the valuable trade partnerships we have with countries in the Western Hemisphere, on which the U.S. textile industry depends. We also hope the administration will…address issues of consequence to our industry, including harmful exceptions to yarn forward and increased customs cooperation among the USMCA parties to confront unfair trade practices.”

Key areas outlined for improvement of the USMCA include the following:

  • Preserving and strengthening the agreement’s yarn-forward rule of origin, by limiting harmful exceptions to the rule, such as tariff preference levels and single transformation rules that weaken regional supply chains and disadvantage U.S. manufacturers.
  • Strengthening USMCA Customs Enforcement Cooperation including trade data reviews and public reporting of data, creation of a public blacklist of repeat offenders of trade laws, and intensifying punishment of customs offenders in all three countries.
More information:
National Council of Textile Organizations Donald Trump United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement USMCA Tariffs exemption
Source:

National Council of Textile Organizations

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Testimonial Toyota Motor Europe © Toyota Motor Europe
03.11.2025

Toyota Motor Europe: Participation in the AZL Joint Partner Project on thermoplastic pressure vessels

As the global shift toward sustainable hydrogen storage accelerates, thermoplastic composites are emerging as a transformative enabler. Building on its longstanding partnerships with leading companies across the composites value chain, AZL Aachen GmbH has launched its new Joint Partner Project “Thermoplastic Pressure Vessels – Benchmarking of Design -for-Manufacturing Strategies to Optimise Material Efficiency and Cost”. Among the first participants, Toyota Motor Europe underscores the strategic importance o f a comparative evaluation of design and manufacturing concepts for thermoplastic composite pressure vessels.

Driving Innovation in Thermoplastic Composites
Thermoplastic composites offer unique advantages for high-pressure vessel applications: automation, energy efficiency, recyclability, and reprocess ability. However, when thermoset -derived design principles are applied unchanged, the unique processing and performance capabilities of thermoplastics remain largely untapped.

As the global shift toward sustainable hydrogen storage accelerates, thermoplastic composites are emerging as a transformative enabler. Building on its longstanding partnerships with leading companies across the composites value chain, AZL Aachen GmbH has launched its new Joint Partner Project “Thermoplastic Pressure Vessels – Benchmarking of Design -for-Manufacturing Strategies to Optimise Material Efficiency and Cost”. Among the first participants, Toyota Motor Europe underscores the strategic importance o f a comparative evaluation of design and manufacturing concepts for thermoplastic composite pressure vessels.

Driving Innovation in Thermoplastic Composites
Thermoplastic composites offer unique advantages for high-pressure vessel applications: automation, energy efficiency, recyclability, and reprocess ability. However, when thermoset -derived design principles are applied unchanged, the unique processing and performance capabilities of thermoplastics remain largely untapped.

AZL’s new project therefore takes a holistic approach — thermoplastic -driven vessel designs, manufacturing processes, and material configurations to maximise both economic and technical performance.

Dr. Martin Kerschbaum, Manager ME22 at Toyota Motor Europe, highlights the motivation behind Toyota’s participation :
“The usage of thermoplastic resins for manufacturing of high -pressure hydrogen storage vessels is of high interest for Toyota. This is due to potential advantages in terms of design, processing, performance, and circularity. It is essential to compare and evaluate the diverse options of design and manufacturing strategies for high -pressure vessels based on thermoplastic composite materials. Gaining additional insights into the key influencing factors on material efficiency, production scalability and realistic cost - structure scenarios is a crucial part of this process. AZL’s structured approach – a combination of know-how in applications, composite materials and production systems with expertise across the entire value chain – provides Toyota with valuable input for the further development of innovative storage systems.”

A Structured, Comparative Development Framework
The nine-month project brings together international industry partners to explore new thermoplastic vessel concepts. It is structured into three work packages:
WP1: Market & Technology Landscape – mapping state -of -the -art technologies, certification protocols, and relevant IP.
WP2: Conceptual Design & Manufacturing Strategies – developing vessel architectures optimised for thermoplastics, evaluating design variants, and defining production system concepts.
WP3: Performance, Cost & Production Benchmarking – quantifying material usage, recyclability, cycle times, cost per unit, and carbon impact to guide industrial decision -making.

From Knowledge to Competitive Advantage
By actively involving engineers and decision-makers from participating companies, AZL’s Joint Partner Projects combine technical depth with strategic relevance. Participants not only gain access to engineering results and benchmarking data, but also develo p in -house expertise — enabling them to communicate more effectively with customers, suppliers, and investors in the hydrogen and CNG markets.

“AZL’s Joint Partner Projects create trusted spaces for knowledge exchange.” says Philipp Fröhlig, Head of Industrial Services at AZL Aachen GmbH. “Our goal is to enable every participant to make well-founded technical and business decisions for their own product roadmap. Companies, independent of newcomers or established players benefit from collective benchmarking, faster learning by first–hand information, and a shared understanding of what drives efficiency and competitiveness in thermoplastic pressure vessel technologies.”

AZL’s Proven Expertise in Pressure Vessel Technologies
AZL has long been recognised as a leading industrial hub for composite pressure vessels. Previous Joint Partner Projects and R&D programmes have addressed hydrogen and CNG vessel design, filament and towpreg winding, and thermoplastic processing technologies. Within RWTH Aachen University’s ecosystem, AZL combines cutting -edge design, simulation, production and testing infrastructure — covering the full range of technologies for component development, prototyping and developing production systems. This expertise is further amplified through the AZL Partnership Workgroup “Composite Pipes & Vessels”, a dedicated platform for continuous collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking across the global composites industry. The new project builds on this foundation, offering participants both short- term insights and long -term strategic connections.

Join the Consortium and Shape the Future
The next report meeting on 5 November 2025 will provide an update on concept benchmarking and early design results. Companies interested in hydrogen and CNG storage technologies are invited to join the consortium, gain access to the project findings, and collaborate directly on defining the next generation of thermoplastic vessel concepts. In addition to this Joint Partner Project, AZL offers individual R&D support, benchmarking studies, and strategic guidance for companies developing lightweight composite pressure vessels and related components.

More information:
Composites AZL Aachen GmbH project Toyota Motor Europe pressure vessels energy storage system thermoplastic composites
Source:

AZL Aachen GmbH

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