From the Sector

 PHP Fibers will open a state of the art airbag fabric weaving and finishing plant in its German production site Obernburg, near Aschaffenburg. The new facility will be embedded into the Nylon high-tenacity spinning plant and is based on technology provided by Toyobo Co., Ltd. Toyobo has airbag fabric weaving operations in Asia and the technology is currently used in the USA at PHP Fibers Inc. with great success.
The German weaving operation will have 47 water jet weaving machines and will use Polyamide 6.6 yarn from its own spinning facility. “This strategic investment will drive PHP Fibers closer to the automotive producers in Germany and Europe,” said Jochen Boos, Managing Director of PHP Fibers. “This investment is a clear commitment on the part of our owners to the site in Germany.”

The Business Director Volker Siejak added, “PHP Fibers was the pioneer in the development and production of airbag yarns. With this investment, PHP will be able to complete its portfolio and can offer yarns and fabrics for airbag application which our customers need. By this we will continue to be successful and we can strengthen the position of PHP Fibers as a market leader in the Airbag segment.”

Earlier this year, the Pensacola-based operation achieved Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification in its Quitman, Ga. and Columbia, Miss. facilities.
In addition, the Crown Health Care Laundry facilities passed three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare linens and garments and zero presence of harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing including yeast and mold detection to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in linen and uniform service operations. The Hygienically Clean standard provides for two inspections every three years. OSHA compliance is closely examined, particularly toxic and hazardous substance handling rules governing textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with TRSA launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles. With 100+ years as the textile services industry's leading business association, TRSA's expertise in laundry BMP development is unmatched.