From the Sector

The KARL MAYER GROUP and the Südwolle Group have joined forces in a project to explore the possibilities of merino wool for warp knitting technology. The project was triggered by the increasing demand for textiles made from sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. The cooperation was to develop innovative fabrics from renewable raw materials for use in underwear and functional sportswear. The focus of the work was on the use of wool as a material with excellent comfort properties and the look and feel of lightweight single jersey goods. The natural fiber fabric qualities are not typical for warp knitting processing, so the challenges during the project work were diverse.

Merino wool yarns with good running properties
Regarding the choice of material, the product development team of Südwolle Group recommended the Hidalgo yarn from their product portfolio. The yarn was created using the in-house developed Betaspun technology, in which a filament was twisted around a merino core. When natural fibres such as wool, cotton or silk are combined with sustainable fibres such as biodegradable polyamide as the filament, the spinning process can create durable, lightweight yarns that disintegrate completely without residue after use. The yarns made from the two components also have good running properties for use in warp knitting. "The polyamide content of the yarn increases its tenacity, reduces hairiness and makes it an excellent choice for warp knitting technology," confirmed Gabriela Schellner from KARL MAYER's Textile Product Development Department.

Shape stability paired with single jersey "look and feel"
The Hidalgo yarn, which is made from merino wool, was processed on a warp knitting machine using a carefully thought-out lapping selection to produce a light, soft fabric which, above all, retains its shape. The textile specialists at KARL MAYER had experimented with two different single bar fabric qualities beforehand and had thus adopted a new approach for jersey machines.

The first results are promising. Now more trials are needed to perfect the technique. Development partners are needed, including fabric producers, brands, and garment manufacturers, with whom the fabric qualities, machine equipment and orientation to the end applications can be refined. The KARL MAYER GROUP and the Südwolle Group are also unanimous in their desire to push the boundaries of what is possible with merino wool and knitting technology and to develop new solutions for the textile industry through further project work.

Nach drei Tagen voller Programm, Networking, Inspiration und Fashionbusiness ist die 52. Ausgabe der internationalen Trade Show MUNICH FABRIC START zu Ende gegangen. Die Jubiläumsausgabe der Denim Trade Show BLUEZONE, die diesen Sommer ihren 20. Geburtstag feierte, die One-Stop-Sourcing-Plattform THE SOURCE und der Innovationshub KEYHOUSE haben wie geplant bereits am Mittwochabend ihre Türen für diese Saison geschlossen.

Trends: Das kommt Autumn.Winter 24/25
Aufgrund ihres in diesem Jahr erstmalig wesentlich früheren Sommertermins vergrößerte die MUNICH FABRIC START ihre Relevanz als Ort für frühen Trendresearch noch einmal. Die fünf entwickelten, zentralen ästhetischen Trends für die Herbst-/Wintersaison 2024/2025 unter dem Leitthema „each other“ waren in den Foyers des MOC flächig inszeniert: Highland Hybrids: ein Patchwork aus Natur, Tradition und Performance; Mystic Beings: die Fantasiewelt der Elfen, Helden, Monster und Roboter; System Cringe: eine Bewegung, die zum Handeln aufruft; Kinky Classics: provokativ extrovertiert mit Style und Past forward, ein retrofuturistischer Blickwinkel.

Edutainment – zukunftsweisende und nachhaltige Anwendungsszenarien
Neben den umfangreichen Trendinformationen für Autumn.Winter 2024/25 bot die Messe ein vielfältiges Vortragsprogramm mit Paneldiskussionen, inspirierenden Keynotes und Lectures. Rund 35 Programmpunkte und über 50 Speaker:innen sorgten für ein umfangreiches Edutainment-Erlebnis.

One-Stop-Innovation & One-Stop-Sourcing
Im KEYHOUSE – dem Innovations- und Nachhaltigkeitshub der MUNICH FABRIC START – drehte sich einmal mehr alles um technologischen und ökologischen Fortschritt. Die Sustainable Innovations als Sonderpräsentationsfläche für herausragende Neuentwicklungen an der Grenze zwischen Start-up und Skalierbarkeit waren dabei erneut einer der absoluten Besucher:innenmagneten der Messe. Ebenfalls drehte sich in der Halle 2 des MOC in der Re:Source Area alles um Nachhaltigkeit. Die Metaplattform für zertifiziert ökologisch und sozial produzierte Stoffe und Accessoires zeigt die grünen Lösungen der Messeaussteller seit über zehn Jahren gebündelt an einem Ort und ermöglicht Besucher:innen so ein gezieltes nachhaltiges Sourcing.

Zum zweiten Mal fand am 18. und 19. Juli die Show in Show THE SOURCE als integrierte Area der MUNICH FABRIC START statt und rundete das MFS-Ecosystem in Richtung des Apparel Manufacturings ab. Rund 60 ausgewählte Bekleidungshersteller zeigten in der Halle 8 des Dampfdoms in der Motorworld und damit unmittelbar angrenzend an das MOC und die Zenith-Area ihre Produkt- und Serviceleistungen.

Ausblick
In die nähere Zukunft blickend richtet die MUNICH FABRIC START ihren Fokus nun auf drei wichtige, bereits festgelegte Termine: Zunächst findet die reVIEW Autumn.Winter 24/25 am 13. und 14. September 2023 – und bespielt damit den bisherigen Zeitraum von MFS und BLUEZONE – erstmals in der Motorworld statt und bietet der Branche damit wie gewohnt einen späten Ordertermin in München. Nur zehn Wochen später wird am 28. und 29. November 2023 bereits die preVIEW stattfinden und damit eine erste Ordermöglichkeit für die Spring/Summer Kollektionen für 2025 anbieten. Anschließend versammelt sich die Branche erneut für die MUNICH FABRIC START und BLUEZONE vom 23. bis 25. Januar 2024.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the successful conclusion of the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, July 17-20, Atlanta, Georgia. More than 495 senior-level leaders convened for new intelligence, connections, and business, which was a record turnout for the WOW event.

The 17^th edition of WOW featured almost 60 tabletop exhibits, 26 presentations, and two pre-conference webinars. The program introduced Lightning Talks, “supersized elevator speeches” covering new trends, products, and ideas, and a 1.5-day revised WIPES Academy training course. WOW also featured a mentorship program for participants new to the wipes industry.

The WOW speakers shared their expert insights in these key topics:

• Inflation, Supply Chain Issues, Capacity/Demand Balance
• Plastic Policy: Closing the Intention-Action Gap
• Sustainability and Manufacturing Practices
• Consumer Market Data and Trends
• Wipes Advancements
• Transparency in the Supply Chain
• Regulation, Innovation, Standards & Education in Flushability

World of Wipes Innovation Award^®
The winner of the World of Wipes Innovation Award was the Nonwoven Wipe Using Biotransformation Technology developed by Indorama Ventures and Polymateria. This innovative 100% polypropylene spunlace wipe utilizes advanced biotransformation technology, meeting the BSI PAS 9017 specification. The wipe is compatible with mechanical recycling however, in the event it becomes fugitive, and exposed to heat, sunlight, air and moisture, will transform into a harmless, bioavailable wax at its end-of-life, returning safely to nature without leaving behind microplastics or toxins. This polypropylene wipe represents a significant leap towards eco-friendly, sustainable nonwoven hygiene products.

INDA announced that WOW 2024 will be held June 17-20, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) will be presenting new applications for its European environmentally-friendly Evolon® microfiber technology for Fall/Winter 24/25 fashion and leather goods collections at Lineapelle, from September 19-21. These include solutions for artificial leather applications suitable for the shoe, furniture and automotive industries.

Evolon® sustainable microfiber coating substrates
Evolon® microfiber fabrics are ideal coating substrates for artificial leather applications in the shoe, furniture and car industries. They are particularly suitable as a carrier material for PU and PVC coatings. Evolon® microfiber materials have non-fraying edges, which makes converting easier and quicker. They contain 80% recycled PET from Freudenberg’s in-house bottle recycling plant. Furthermore, they are manufactured with no solvent and no chemical binder in the company’s Evolon® plant located in Colmar, France. The plant is accredited according to OEKO-TEX STeP sustainability manufacturing certification and the DETOX TO ZERO criteria. European manufacturing offers logistic benefits to European customers through shorter supply chain and transport routes.

Reinforcement material for leather goods
Manufacturers of leather goods also benefit from Evolon® microfiber when they use it as a reinforcement material for original leather. It is drapable and soft and provides optimal shaping support for leather. In addition, Evolon® materials offer important sustainability advantages for the manufacturing of luxury leather bags, such as being 100% made in Europe, eco-friendly and socially-responsible production, and the use of recycled raw materials.

Finishing machinery specialist Monforts has secured a number of major orders from textile manufacturers in Central and South America recently, and was pleased to welcome a high number of visitors from the region to its stand at ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14.

Among new orders are those for three Montex stenters delivered to the AustralTex Group in Argentina and a further Montex range to denim manufacturer CIT in Brazil. Guatemala’s Global Textiles placed an order for its second Montex stenter, while Mexico’s Zentrix ordered its third and Avante, also in Mexico, has opted for its sixth.

Elsewhere, orders have also been placed for the delivery of three new Montex stenters to one of Pakistan’s major corporations, as well as a new Thermex dyeing range to nonwovens manaufacturer Orsa in Italy. Further orders – both for new machines and retrofit modules – are now anticipated following ITMA 2023, which attracted over 111,000 visitors to Milan.

“Visitor footfall at ITMA 2023 was well beyond the company’s expectations, and we were especially pleased at the constant number of visitors from South American companies, as well as from Asia and Europe,” said Monforts Marketing Manager Nicole Croonenbroek. “We were able to provide them with detailed information about our portfolio of machines and technologies digitally and fielded an unprecedented number of serious enquiries, many of which promise to turn into new business.”

Monforts Montex stenters for processes such as drying, stretching, heat-setting and coating, she added, are already the industry standard for the fabric finishing industry, providing a number of advantages in terms of production throughput and especially in energy efficiency and resource savings. Other key technologies in the Monforts portfolio include relaxation dryers, Thermex dyeing ranges and Monfortex compressive shrinking ranges.

Montex®Coat
“We were also very pleased with the interest in the Montex®Coat, the latest addition to our range of technologies, which we displayed in Milan,” Croonenbroek said.

The Montex®Coat can serve a very diverse number of markets and enables full PVC coatings, pigment dyeing or minimal application surface and low penetration treatments, as well as solvent coatings. Knife coating, roller coating or screen printing can also all be accommodated with this system. It provides the ultimate in flexibility and the ability to switch quickly from one fabric run to the next, without compromising on the economical use of energy or raw materials.

Many refinements have been made to the Montex®Coat in the past few years, resulting in higher coating accuracy and the resulting quality of the treated fabrics. A number of advanced new improvements were introduced in Milan, including automatic edge limiters for immediately adapting to new coating widths and a new and simplified hand-held control device. These save considerable time in setting up the machine and ensuring consistent production.

The Montex®Coat unit displayed in Milan was sold to Vietnamese company Thai Tuan during the show.

Kornit Digital LTD. announced Amaze Software, Inc. – parent company of the Amaze, Spring, and Outfts platforms – has selected KornitX Workflow Solutions and Kornit MAX digital on- demand fabric and textile decoration technologies as the platform to deliver their vision. Combined with the Amaze Creator Commerce Platform, the companies will jointly bring the power of on- demand production and fulfillment to new and existing social media creators, enabling them to better monetize branded products.

Kornit’s Global Fulfillment Network helps companies like Amaze Software connect creators with high-quality garment and textile production fulfillers across the globe. The platform is backed by the KornitX workflow engine, seamlessly integrating across industry-proven Kornit MAX technology- based fabric and textile decoration systems for end-to-end production, visibility, and control.

The  Spring platform offers an opportunity for fans to make purchases directly from where they consume the creator’s content (social platforms including Instagram, TikTok Shops, Twitch, and more). This allows creators to significantly enhance engagement and cultivate a more profound brand presence.

Increasing energy and resource efficiency in the construction sector will be key to the EU’s ambition of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. By enabling the manufacture of strong, durable and lightweight products, composite materials can help the construction sector improve its environmental sustainability, as well as reduce total lifecycle costs. The latest EPTA industry briefing, Pultruded composites contribute to a more sustainable future for construction, discusses how pultruded composites answer the need for materials offering high performance, faster installation, corrosion resistance and low maintenance.

The report is available to download from the EPTA website.

The future of construction
As one of the largest global users of energy and raw materials, the construction industry is under immense pressure to improve its sustainability. At the same time, it must respond to demands for improved performance and reduced total cost of ownership. New materials will be needed to minimise the use of natural resources, enable a reduction of carbon footprint and facilitate circular economy practices. Choosing the optimum materials required for durability throughout the lifecycle will be increasingly important. A shift to off-site production is also forecast, where factory-controlled environments and automated processes can improve quality control, lower waste, and reduce work on site.

Lightweight pultruded parts can be pre-assembled into modules or complete structures in the factory for faster installation on site. Lightweight profiles lower energy use during transportation and installation, and a longer service life combined with minimal maintenance can deliver a reduced through-life carbon footprint. Pultruded parts such as profiles, gratings, beams, tubes and planks are increasingly found in a range of building, construction and infrastructure applications. Examples include bridge decks, fencing, stairs and handrails, train platforms, cladding, utility poles, modular building concepts, and window frames.

One application offering large growth potential for composites is bridges. Composite bridges are being designed to provide a service life of 100 years and unlike steel bridges do not require regular repainting to protect them from corrosion. Over recent years, pultruded glass fibre composite has become a highly popular choice for pedestrian and cycle bridges. Pre-fabricated ‘easy fit’ bridge decking planks, pre-assembled bridge modules and complete bridge ‘kits’ are now available. Corrosion-resistant composite bridges are ideal for use near water or on the coast, and in remote locations where regular maintenance operations would be difficult. A composite bridge can deliver the same performance as a steel structure with a weight saving of up to 50% or more. This enables more streamlined bridge designs which require less substantial supporting structures and foundations, greatly reducing consumption of materials and energy. Lightweight also results in easier logistics and simplified installation. Pultruded are more easily transported to the construction site, with lower fuel consumption, and easier to move on site, often reducing labour requirements and the capacity of lifting equipment.

A lifecycle approach
As the construction industry looks to the future, the environmental and economic benefits of composite materials linked to easier logistics and installation, durability and low maintenance are becoming increasingly valued. More projects are demonstrating the benefits of composite materials and standards covering the design, fabrication and installation of pultruded profiles are making it easier for the construction industry to use them. With ongoing development and collaboration, pultrusion has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable future for construction and many other industries. EPTA will continue to promote the advancement of pultrusion technology and its applications and foster sustainable practices within the industry.

The theme for the 13th edition of RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics) is “A New Era in Manufacturing for Sustainability.” Technology scouts, product managers, senior scientists, development engineers, and business developers will convene September 26-27 at North Carolina State University and The Nonwovens Institute in Raleigh, NC to discover the latest nonwoven innovations.

The RISE conference program features industry leaders from these companies: American Truetzschler, Berry Global, Dilo Incorporated, Evonik Corporation, Indorama Ventures USA, MANN+HUMMEL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NatureWorks, The Nonwovens Institute, Owens Corning, PCI Wood Mackenzie, PolyQuest, Reifenhäuser REICOFIL GmbH, and Simplifyber. These industry experts will discuss the future of nonwoven manufacturing, advances in filter media, rPolymer developments, and sustainable applications.

Innovations that advance the nonwovens industry will be recognized with the 2023 RISE® Innovation Award. Three finalists will present their innovative products or technologies to RISE participants, Tuesday, September 26th. The 2022 award winner was DiaperRecycle, cat litter made from recycled diapers.

RISE participants have the option of touring The Nonwovens Institute’s $65 million-plus, 60,000 square-foot facilities featuring state-of-the-art equipment, pilot lines, and analytical laboratories, as well as attending an evening reception at the Lonnie Pool Golf Course Clubhouse. During the evening reception, graduate students and faculty from North Carolina State University will feature their research and technical advances with poster presentations. The tour and reception will take place Tuesday, September 26th and the tour is limited to 40 attendees.

Just in time for ITMA 2023 in Milan, the flat knitting machine manufacturer STOLL has launched its new collection COLOR IN KNITTING. It holds a range of knitting techniques that were ideated for novel super fine machine gauges such as the E20.

In addition, STOLL reveals its internal design workflow, showcasing how digital software tools can speed up the design process. The core of this is k.innovation CREATE DESIGN. Through the utilization of STOLL’s jointly developed design software solution, k.innovation CREATE DESIGN, in collaboration with @KM.ON, the shape and structures of a garment, can be digitally created, allowing for its simulation before it is even knitted. The interfaces to various external 3D software tools, allow for a realistic representation of the garment facilitating faster design decisions. Once the virtual knits, made in the CREATE DESIGN software are ready for manufacturing, it will be send to a knitting technician for further processing in k.innovation CREATE PLUS, This significantly speeds up product development while reducing communication issues between designers and technicians.

Sustainability and responsible handling of precious natural resources were key factors driving the development of the latest trend collection, COLOR IN KNITTING. STOLL-knit and wear®, a technique that stands for seamless knitted garments, can play a significant role in reducing waste. In addition, fewer process steps are required in the production chain - with advantages for production efficiency.
For another highlight of COLOR IN KNITTING, the STOLL creatives have worked on imitating different yarn effects with knitting technology such as slub yarn optics or the simulation of fabrics like crepe de chine/crepe georgette

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of STOLL, COLOR IN KNITTING features a selection of vintage pattern replicates. These patterns can be found in STOLL’s extensive sample archives in Reutlingen. It is impressive to learn that all these former fabric constructions can still be replicated today and also reinvented with todays machine features. This approach showcases the steep progression of technical advancements over the past 150 years.

STOLL´s latest trend collection culminates in the creation of an invaluable resource: the book “Color in Knitting: By Designers, for Designers”. This publication aims to cater to a diverse audience by presenting a comprehensive guide to designing with colors using various flat knitting technologies and will be presented in the chapter "Book release".

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg) announces the 37xx PES Series – a range of interlinings that offer the classic feel of cotton combined with the modern features of enhanced durability, increased yields, and low-temperature fusing. With a 100% PES base and special finish, these OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Class I certified products open new possibilities for the business and smart casual segments.

Crafted from a 100% PES base with a special finish, these new interlinings boast enhanced durability and better resilience and recovery over traditional cotton interlinings. The 37xx PES Series interlinings offer the added advantages of no visible impurities or foreign fibers, along with low temperature fusing, reducing the risk of yellowing in the finished product. Compared with cotton interlinings, the 37xx PES Series also offers increased yields of up to 150 cm in width and are more cost effective than traditional cotton interlinings, allowing for easier and more efficient manufacturing.

Apart from the material qualities, the 37xx PES Series offers unmatched consumer safety. Produced at its Nantong, China factory, Freudenberg ensures optimal quality control of the 37xx Series. Furthermore, the interlinings are OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Class I certified, making them safe for even the most sensitive skin types, including for babies.

The 37xx PES Series currently includes the 3738 and 3755 products, offered in 115 g/m2 and 165 g/m2 weights, respectively. These can be fused with other fabrics and interlinings to create the precise hand feel for garments.