From the Sector

The new customer portal “Textile Machinery Newsroom” is now online on the IndustryArena platform. It provides visitors with technical and marketing relevant information in English for textile and nonwovens manufacturers.

IndustryArena as the umbrella platform of Textile Machinery Newsroom is the leading specialist portal for the manufacturing industry with more than 500,000 registered members and 3,000 providers.

The most prominent sections of “Textile Machinery Newsroom” include supplier news, a sourcing service and the webtalks section. From now on, VDMA’s successful “Textile Machinery Webtalks” series that started in summer 2020 will be published and advertised via this portal.

Companies can now participate and book future-oriented technology webinars either alone, in pairs or in the tried and tested three-part format. All VDMA members (not only companies supported by the Textile Machinery Association), textile research institutes in the EU and EFTA as well as textile and nonwovens manufacturers (customers) with whom VDMA member companies realised a joint project, for example, are entitled to participate.

Flocus™ offers a range of kapok textile materials such as fibers, yarns, textiles and nonwovens, which provide the textile industry with a naturally sustainable and regenerative alternative which has not been available before.

Kapok is a natural fiber, traditionally used by local population for fillings but with no large scale applications until Flocus™ founding. Beside kapok several interesting properties, there were some limits that had been inhibiting the possibility to use it at a larger scale and build a supply chain on textile products based on it: kapok fibers are short stapled ones (2-4 cm length), very light and empty inside: for this reason they incorporate air and made the spinning attempts unsuccessful.

Flocus™ pioneers sustainable and regenerative textile solutions based on kapok fiber, and it is creating a responsible supply chain for kapok.

With one of the most advanced technologies in the market, FLOCUS™ can spin the highest kapok percentage, offer yarns in the thinnest counts with the possibility of low minimum order quantity per blend.

Flocus™ Kapok offers products which can reduce the presence of animal and synthetic products in the market, utilizing a completely natural alternative without abandoning functionality.

The Flocus™ team works in partnership with companies who want to investigate the use of the eco-responsible fibers and is testing the wide range of applications of Flocus™ kapok stuffing, yarns, fabrics, nonwovens for thermo and sound insulation, waddings, foam replacement, medical, automotive and technical uses and others.

• Neuentwicklung im Bereich hydrophobe Oberflächen

Die SAUERESSIG Group fertigt seit Jahrzehnten Druck- und Prägewalzen für die unterschiedlichsten Industrien. Neben seinem umfassenden Produkt- und Dienstleistungsangebot legt, das Unternehmen einen starken Fokus auf Innovationen. Die hauseigene F&E-Abteilung arbeitet spartenübergreifend an Neu- und Weiterentwicklungen für die Bereiche Produkt- und Prozessoptimierung. Die Experten von SAUERESSIG Surfaces schaffen mit ihrer jüngsten Innovation einen wegweisenden Fortschritt am internationalen Markt:

Mit Hilfe eines modifizierten Heißprägeprozesses gelang die Erzeugung hydrophober Oberflächen - einer speziell entwickelten Oberflächenstruktur zur Nachahmung natürlicher Effekte. „Hydrophob kommt aus dem Altgriechischen und bedeutet ‚wassermeidend‘. Ein Extrembeispiel für solch eine Oberfläche sind die Blätter und Blüten der Lotusblume“, erklärt Robert Staudte, Sales Director SAUERESSIG Surfaces. Diese ist rau und zusätzlich mit wasserabweisenden Substanzen bedeckt. Durch seine typische Noppenstruktur gibt es nur wenige Kontaktstellen, so dass Tropfen darauf fast rund erscheinen. „Diese geringe Benetzbarkeit ist die Grundlage der von uns entwickelten Mikrostruktur. Je nach Material können wir mit Wasser auf der Oberfläche einen Kontaktwinkel von bis zu 150° erzeugen.“ Damit perlt Flüssigkeit sehr gut ab und aufliegende Schmutzpartikel werden leicht weggespült. Diese Selbstreinigungsfähigkeit vermindert die feste Anhaftung von Verschmutzungen aller Art und vereinfacht die Reinigung erheblich. Besonders bei Bodenbelägen und Möbeloberflächen sind Eigenschaften wie wasserfest oder feuchtigkeitsresistent für viele Verbraucher zum Synonym für besonders unempfindliche und pflegeleichte Produkte geworden. „Wir sehen in den hydrophoben Oberflächen großes Potenzial für die unterschiedlichsten Bereiche. Mit mittels Pikosekundenlaser gravierten Prägewalzen, ist es uns bereits gelungen, diesen Effekt auch in Coatings und Folien zu übertragen“, so Staudte.

SAUERESSIG Surfaces bietet seinen Kunden dazu umfassende Service- und gemeinsame Entwicklungsoptionen. Neben technischer Beratung und der Abwägung von Umsetzbarkeiten, unterstützen die Experten auch mit individueller Strukturentwicklung. Im hauseigenen Technikum können zudem Testabprägungen mit Heißprägeverfahren auf Folien bis 200°C realisiert werden.

• Neues Tiefdruckzentrum am Standort Mönchengladbach

Der SAUERESSIG Surfaces Standort in Mönchengladbach vereint von der Rohkörperfertigung über die galvanischen Prozesse bis hin zu den Gravurverfahren Molettage, Laserdirektgravur und Ätzung, alle gängigen Technologien unter einem Dach. Bereits im vergangenen Jahr wurde mit dem Ausbau und der umfassenden Modernisierung des Tiefdruckzentrums begonnen. Neben der Investition in neue Gravurmaschinen und Galvanikanlagen, wurden die Fertigungsprozesse in einem Flussprinzip angeordnet, um so eine optimale Durchlaufzeit und Qualität zu garantieren. Um auch den stetig wachsenden Anforderungen im Bereich der Mikrostrukturierung von Oberflächen gerecht zu werden, wurde zudem das Laserzentrum am Standort ausgebaut. „Mit den jüngst getätigten Investitionen und Umbauten, sehen wir uns für die Zukunft sehr gut aufgestellt und bieten auch weiterhin hervorragende Möglichkeiten gemeinsam mit unseren Kunden innovative Prozesse und Produkte zu entwickeln“, sagt Staudte.

• Personalmitteilung

Robert Staudte ist seit Oktober 2020 als Sales Director bei SAUERESSIG Surfaces tätig. Nach fast zwanzigjähriger Betriebszugehörigkeit bei der Windmöller GmbH, sammelte er bei der SWISS KRONO TEX GmbH & Co. KG sowie LCC Fiberon, North Carolina, weitreichende, internationale Kenntnisse bei führenden Unternehmen der Fußbodenindustrie. Zuletzt war Robert Staudte mehrere Jahre bei der Westag & Getalit AG und verfügt somit über essenzielles Know-How im Bereich von Holzwerkstoff- und Kunststoffoberflächen. Als neuer Vertriebsleiter bei SAUERESSIG Surfaces übernimmt er zukünftig standortübergreifend die Verantwortung für die Bereiche Dekor und Fußboden.

Sateri, one of the world's largest producers of viscose fibre, is planning to expand its Lyocell production in China, with total planned annual capacity of up to 500,000 tonnes by 2025.

The first phase of this expansion kicked off recently with ground breaking works for a new 100,000 tonne facility in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. Another 100,000 tonne facility will be built in Nantong, Jiangsu province later this year. The Changzhou Lyocell facility is expected to commence production in the third quarter of 2022 and will create more than 800 jobs.

Sateri’s first foray into China’s Lyocell market was in May 2020 when its 20,000 tonne Lyocell production line in Rizhao, Shandong province commenced production. The same site houses a 5,000 tonne Lyocell pilot production line dedicated for the development of Lyocell application technology.

Allen Zhang, President of Sateri, said, “Sateri’s continued investment in Lyocell not only responds to the changing needs of the market and the textile industry but also supports China’s green development plans. It is also very much a part of Sateri’s 2030 Vision commitment to sustainable development where we actively seek to adopt a circular economy model through clean and closed-loop production technology and innovation.”

A natural and biodegradable fibre, Sateri’s Lyocell is made from wood pulp sourced from certified and sustainable plantations. It is manufactured using closed-loop technology, requiring minimal chemical input during the production process, and utilising an organic solvent that can be almost fully recovered and recycled.

In anticipation of strong demand for Lyocell in the coming years, Tom Liu, Sateri’s Vice President and General Manager of Lyocell and Nonwovens Business, said: "Customer-centricity is Sateri’s promise. The new expansion plans will enable us to extend our domestic and international market reach and provide our customers with high quality and comprehensive fibre products. At the same time, we will invest in technology improvement, application development, and brand collaboration to bolster the industry”.

Hexcel announces its latest HexPly® XF surface technology that reduces shell manufacturing time within the wind blade surface finishing process. HexPly XF increases overall blade manufacturing efficiency by reducing time in the mold by up to two hours and by banishing surface defects that require rework before painting.

Hexcel’s HexPly XF surface technology has been formulated to address the limitations of current blade shell surfacing techniques whereby pinholes and other surface defects have to be repaired by hand to achieve the perfectly smooth surface required for painting.

HexPly XF surface technology introduces a new material format as the surface finishing layer, eliminating the need for a traditional in-mold gel coating process. HexPly® XF for infused rotor blades, is a lightweight non-woven semi-preg construction, comprising an epoxy resin matrix, that co-cures with standard epoxy infusion systems. The product has a successful track record in prepreg blades and has now been adapted for infusion processes.

Easy to handle and supplied in a ready to use roll form, HexPly XF can be quickly applied by hand or with semi-automated layup equipment. It features one self-adhesive, surface finishing side - indicated by a removable protective foil. This side of the prepreg is placed against a release agent treated mold surface. Once the material has been positioned, the lay-up of the blade shell structure can start immediately, and the laminate can be infused. After curing, the blade is de-molded with the manufacturer benefitting from a pinhole-free surface that needs minimal preparation before painting.

HexPly XF material is less than half the weight of a typical gel coat per square meter, reducing the overall weight of the blade. Additionally, the consistent areal weight and thickness of the prepreg film provide a completely uniform surface coating, ensuring blade weight distribution and balance are maintained, which is critical as rotor diameters continue to increase. With no need to handle or mix liquid chemicals as in the gel coat process, HexPly® XF also improves the health and safety working conditions on the shop floor.

The material has a shelf life of six weeks at ambient temperature, which also minimizes cold storage requirements and helps to reduce scrap.

• World Congress on Textile Coating, to take place on 11-12 & 18-19 February 2021.

The conference organisers have developed a well-structured programme of five sessions over four days with live discussion forums following each session for maximum attendee participation.

“The programme aims to be inspiring and informative, and will showcase the best innovations and collaborative actions in the industry. Functionality can be added to textiles and nonwovens at the beginning or the end of the supply chain, with an increasing range of raw materials, offering many options when designing and realizing a high-performance fabric. At the other end, there are many ways, such as applying a coating, to add functionality to an otherwise finished product. For example, the current pandemic has prompted new commercial anti-viral processes and four such presentations will outline the impact on industry and its response to the global pandemic,” says Dr Nick Butler, head of the conference organising committee.

World Congress on Textile Coating will feature time dedicated to networking, encouraging attendees to interact with conference speakers and industry peers throughout the online programme, offering the opportunity to expand professional networks. All the presentations and discussion forums will be recorded for post-event viewing. Event sponsors imogo AB, Lamberti SpA, JX Nippon ANCI and Weitmann & Konrad GmbH & Co. KG will give individual presentations and host Q&A during the four days of the event.

For the full programme, speakers and abstracts please visit https://www.technical-textiles.online/WCTC.

In early December, the chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association, Peter D. Dornier presented awards to six successful young engineers. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the award ceremony took place as a web conference for the first time.

Philippa Böhnke, ITM Dresden, and Juan Carlos Arañó Romero, ITA Aachen, were honoured with creativity awards for the cleverest bachelor or project work. The prizes are endowed with 3,000 euros each. Ms. Böhnke’s project dealt with composite implants for the repair and regeneration of bone defects. In his bachelor thesis, Mr. Arañó Romero has developed a spinning machine able to produce yarn with material from the moon. By this, the transport effort in space travel can be minimised, because insulating material for example necessary for a moon base can be produced on the moon directly.

Harry Lucas, TU Chemnitz, and Maximilian Speiser, Reutlingen University, were awarded two promotion prizes in the category master thesis with prize money of 3,500 euros each. The master thesis of Mr. Lucas deals with the development of a new knitting head for jacquard knitted fabrics, enabling a large variety of colours e.g. in the production of fan scarfs. Mr. Speiser showed in his master thesis a solution for increasing energy efficiency in the nonwovens process.

This year, two promotion prizes of the German Textile Machinery Industry in the dissertation category were awarded to Dr. Frederik Cloppenburg, ITA Aachen, and Dr. Annett Schmieder, TU Chemnitz. In his dissertation Mr. Cloppenburg developed a model for the optimisation of roller cards in the nonwovens process. Ms. Schmieder introduced in her dissertation a damage analysis system for fibre ropes. The system detects when a rope must be replaced e.g. in transport applications.

The award ceremony 2021 shall take place with physical presence again. It is scheduled for early May at the fair Techtextil in Frankfurt.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the worldwide demand for protective masks and apparel has resulted in a record number of new orders in the high double-digit millions of euros at Oerlikon Nonwoven. The meltblown technology from Neumünster is recognized by the market as being one of the technically most efficient methods for producing highly-separating filter media made from plastic fibers.

Protective equipment demands high-end nonwoven products
The rising demand for protective masks and other medical protective equipment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated global ramping up of production capacities has also resulted in an increase in the demand for nonwovens for the production thereof. Initially, this resulted in bottlenecks in the provision of meltblown filter nonwovens. To this end, there had until this point be very few producers of medical filter nonwovens outside China. Meanwhile, the demand for spunbond systems is also rising. “Due to the structure of our group, we are in the fortunate position to swiftly reallocate and free up our production capacities. This means that we are able to relatively quickly deliver not only meltblown systems, but also spunbond equipment”, explains Dr. Ingo Mählmann, Head of Sales & Marketing at Oerlikon Nonwoven, talking about the positive situation at the company.

The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. “Our machines and systems for manufacturing manmade fiber and nonwovens solutions enjoy an outstanding reputation throughout the world. Ever more manufacturers in the most diverse countries are hoping to become independent of imports”, comments Dr. Mählmann. The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown systems are being delivered to Germany, China, Turkey, United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, France, North America and – for the very first time – to Australia until well into 2021.

Quality and efficiency in demand
Depending on the purpose of the application, medical PPE (personal protection equipment) should be breathable and comfortable to wear, protect medical staff against viruses, bacteria and other harmful substances and form a barrier against liquids. For these reasons, they are often made of either pure spunbond or of spunbond-meltblown combinations. Here, the meltblown nonwoven core assumes the barrier or filter task, while the spunbond has to retain its shape, while being tear-resistant, abrasion-proof, absorbent, particularly flame-resistant and nevertheless extremely soft on the skin.

All masks are not created equal – thanks to the ecuTEC+
Protection against infections such as coronavirus can only be guaranteed with the right quality.

The nonwovens can be electrostatically-charged in order to further improve the filter performance without additionally increasing breathing resistance. Here, Oerlikon Nonwovenʼs patented ecuTEC+ electro-charging unit excels in terms of its extreme flexibility. Nonwovens manufacturers can freely choose between numerous variation options and set the optimal charging method and intensity for their specific applications. In this way, even the smallest particles are still attracted and reliable separated by a relatively open-pored nonwoven. Nevertheless, mask wearers are still able to easily breathe in and out due to the comparatively loose formation of the fibers. To this end, it comes as no surprise that all meltblown systems currently destined for the production of mask nonwovens are equipped with the ecuTEC+ unit.

• On October, 20th, 2020, the State Prize for Innovation was awarded to the Lenzing Group for their LENZING™ Web Technology.
• Lenzing thus received the highest award for particularly innovative achievements in Austria.

Lenzing – On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Lenzing Group was awarded the coveted “State Prize for Innovation”. Lenzing emerged as the winner with its project LENZING™ Web Technology and thus received the highest recognition for particularly innovative achievements in Austria. The novel process combines fiber and nonwovens production in only one step, setting new standards in terms of efficiency, circularity and ecological sustainability. Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, presented the award to Gert Kroner, Vice President Global Research & Development.

“This award is a great recognition of our work. Our goal is to grow continuously with sustainable innovations and to look beyond our fibers, to the needs of our customers and partners and to the needs of consumers worldwide. With the LENZING™ Web Technology we have created an exciting and promising solution for eco-friendly products in line with our corporate strategy sCore TEN and support consumers in their daily needs in a sustainable way”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group.

Biodegradable nonwovens for a clean environment

The pollution of the environment by plastics is one of the most urgent problems of our time. Every day, millions of hygiene products and wipes around the globe end up in garbage and sewage. Most of them consist of up to 80 percent polyester or other fossil, non-biodegradable materials and therefore pollute the environment. With the LENZING™ Web Technology, Lenzing has developed a patented technology to counter this problem: Sustainable and eco-friendly nonwovens are produced from the renewable raw material wood. These are not only plastic-free, they also score points for their particularly high environmental friendliness. “Thanks to a unique self-bonding mechanism, in which the filaments bond with each other during the spinning process, binders, which are found in many nonwovens, are no longer needed. As a result, the nonwovens produced with LENZING™ Web Technology are 100 percent biodegradable and do not pollute either humans or the environment”, says Gert Kroner, Vice President Global Research & Development of the Lenzing Group.

The Austrian State Prize for Innovation is awarded annually by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs to the most innovative Austrian company. In 2020, the competition took place for the 40th time.

On Thursday, September 24, the Lenzing Group, a leading manufacturer of wood-based cellulose specialty fibers, and Hof University opened a new Nonwoven Development Center (VEZ). As a strategic partner, Lenzing has access to a state-of-the-art development line at the campus in Münchberg with immediate effect. This offers new opportunities for sustainable fiber and nonwoven innovations for a wide range of applications including hygiene, body care and medical.

In line with the sCore TEN corporate strategy, the Lenzing Group is focusing on sustainable innovations, which are agreed in an optimum manner to the needs of the value chain. „We offer our customers and partners a decisive competitive advantage: agility. The pilot plant in the VEZ allows the resource-efficient development of fiber and nonwoven innovations on a small scale”, Jürgen Eizinger, Vice President Business Unit Nonwovens at Lenzing, explains.

The VEZ was completed according to schedule in September 2020, after Lenzing and the University of Hof signed a cooperation agreement for its use in 2019. The timing is perfect. Developments at political level, such as the directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, increase demand for responsibly manufactured nonwovens. The so-called Single-Use Plastics Directive aims at building awareness and greater transparency with regard to wet wipes and feminine hygiene products.

With its VEOCEL™ branded wood-based cellulose fibers, Lenzing has been laying the foundation for many years for sustainable nonwoven applications and will test and develop innovative ideas using the new possibilities offered by the VEZ. „We are noticing increasing interest in sustainable concepts from biodegradable cellulose fibers“, Jürgen Eizinger sums up the market development of the last months and adds: „We are aware that the fibers used have an enormous influence on the final product. For this reason our commitment goes beyond fiber production.“

With the spunlace pilot plant at the VEZ, Lenzing will support customers and partners more intensively in the development of new nonwoven applications and at the same time promote cooperation in the field of marketing. In the previous year, the company already established new certification standards for the VEOCEL™ brand. Since then certified manufacturers can only use the VEOCEL™ logo with blends of biodegradable cellulose fibers. With this measure, the VEOCEL™ brand allows consumers to make a more conscious product selection.

With its #ItsInOurHands environmental initiative, the VEOCEL™ brand also actively contributes to creating awareness. More detailed information can be obtained on itsinourhands.com.