yout 1 - Monforts
Transcription
yout 1 - Monforts
November 2012 Long standing partners join forces HONG Kong-listed Fong’s Industries Co. Ltd. has acquired a 100% stake in A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG from L. Possehl Co. & mbH. The acquisition includes the Austrian subsidiary Montex-Maschinenfabrik Ges.m.b.H. with its machine production site in St. Stefan plus the 50% stake in the Monforts Fong’s Textile Machinery Co. Ltd. The jointly controlled entity between Fong’s and the Monforts Group, is also part of the transaction. In addition, Possehl has agreed to subscribe a 9.9% stake in a Fong’s subsidiary, which directly holds Monforts and Monfongs. Both companies, through their joint venture Monfongs, which was established in 1998, have built up a strong and successful partnership. A further milestone in their cooperation is the ‘textile machine factory of the future’ planned in the Chinese city of Zhongshan. The closing of the deal is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and the customary closing conditions; Fong’s and Possehl agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction – expected to be completed in December 2012. “Monforts and Fong’s fit together perfectly,” said Mr. Alex Wan, Chief Executive Officer of Fong’s. “Monforts is the leader in innovation in textile finishing machinery. It will considerably strengthen our international competitiveness, which has set course for worldwide leadership and excellence in the textile machinery business.” Continued..P2 Groundbreaking Zhang Jie, Chairman of the China Hi-Tech Group, visits Monforts ZHANG Jie, Chairman of the China Hi –Tech Group recently visited Mönchengladbach to see for himself the latest addition to his group of companies with its worldwide activities. Together with Monforts Managing Director, Continued..P2 Roland Hampel, they performed 1 Long standing partners join forces, continued Mr. Roland Hampel, Managing Director of Monforts, underlined: “The announcement intensifies our long-standing cooperation with Fong’s and opens up new opportunities for Monforts. Innovation stands at the core of our daily work and we look forward to strategically developing new business areas for our customers with our trusted and successful partners in China.” One of the main areas of future business that the heads of both companies emphasised is that of technical textiles, a new and innovative technology which offers even more specialised and tailor-made machinery solutions for its customers. 2 Groundbreaking, continued the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) that is to be built on an approximately 1,500 square metres site. In the future, the ATC will also serve as a training centre to attract young people to textile machine engineering. The China Hi-Tech Group, as the only state-owned textile machine manufacturer in China and the world's second-largest textile machine supplier, is the owner of the Chinese Fong's Group. Zhang Jie, accompanied by Fong's CEO, Alex Wan, both emphasised during their visit that Germany is an ideal centre for research and development. The new Monforts technology centre on the Blumenberger Straße is to go into operation at the beginning of 2013. It is almost twice as large as the old technical laboratory at the former site on the Schwalmstraße. "On show will be the Montex 8000, a new coating range that can be flexibly employed for technical textiles," explained Klaus A. Heinrichs. “Monforts aims to further expand this business area, as the market for technical textiles is booming and promises further growth. We will be able to show our customers what Monforts machines are capable of under real production conditions." Seminars and training courses will also be held in the new centre. "We want to attract young people to textile machine engineering and show them that textile finishing is high-tech," added Klaus. The company already has a long-serving employee in its ranks, Peter Tolksdorf, who is responsible for the promotion of young talent at the Association of German Textile Finishers and can therefore approach young researchers directly. dimensional structure which in a sense has a degree of shape memory and even if wrinkled will return to its original form,” Peter explained. “It’s also possible to achieve exactly the opposite of this, and provide products with The MXL (moist crosslinking) permanent creases, in trousers, for example.” process is now being widely “The Monforts MXL process,” adopted by manufacturers he added, “differs significantly of bed linen – having initially from both conventional dry established itself on the crosslinking methods and other market for the production technologies for moist MXL helps bed sheets remember of crease-free shirts. “WRINKLE-resistant bed sheets which require limited ironing – if at all – are allowing manufacturers to differentiate with easy care products in a very competitive market,” says Peter Tolksdorf, Head of Product Management for Dyeing and Application. “As a consequence we’ve had notable success in selling our MXL range recently, and particularly in India.” Crosslinking involves the resin finishing of cellulose material, usually cotton, to significantly reduce a fabric’s propensity to wrinkling. Upon application, the reactive resins penetrate into the fabric and catalyse the fibres during heating and curing. “This creates a dry crosslinking, bringing a number of benefits – not least a vast reduction in processing times, in addition to greater flexibility and increased safety compared to other systems.” With dry crosslinking, the fabric is opened in the stenter and all chemicals are applied by padder, the fabric is then dried in the stenter and cured. “This can be appropriate for 90% of cotton products, but the resulting fabrics are not entirely wrinkle free and the results vary significantly depending on the cotton quality,” said Peter. Conventional moist crosslinking is somewhat different, in employing chemicals which canot be applied at high temperature. As a consequence, the process is carried out at around 80°C to protect and support the reaction at low temperature and then dried down to defined residual moisture. Afterwards the fabrics have to go through a 24-hour batch curing process. “The disadvantage is that it is a lengthy process time and offers only limited opportunity for variation in the treatment of fabric,” Peter said. “In addition, there’s a very narrow temperature band for optimising parameters which adds an element of risk, and the fabric must be thoroughly washed off afterwards.” continued on page 16 3 Three examples of ‘Blue Competence’ ‘Blue Competence’ is an initiative launched by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) to demonstrate the ‘know-how’ and it’s experience for sustainable solutions. Key ‘points’ of the campaign are technologies and products that conserve raw materials, reduce emissions and sustainably to improve the living conditions of people. Klaus Heinrichs gives three examples to show how innovative solutions for the future can look. WE HAD no hesitation in participating in the VDMA’s ‘Blue Competence’ initiative. Energy management has been one of our primary goals for many years, driving us to develop energy-efficient and resource-conserving solutions. For many years textile finishing has operated with chemical and thermal processes which, by presentday standards, can have a very 4 severe impact on the environment. The energy costs are high, and the use of chemicals absolutely essential. But with innovative ranges and intelligent ancillaries, Monforts has succeeded in optimising these processes. The savings benefits that we have achieved in recent years are in some cases, quite considerable. Econtrol During textile dyeing, chemicals are used to fix the dyestuffs on the textiles. Classic processes for the dyeing of cotton textiles, for example, includes 250 grams of salt per litre of treatment fluid. When calculated for three-shift operation, up to 500 t of salt is required annually. For the dyeing and cleaning process with subsequent washing, a total of around 1545 kg of chemicals are required for dyeing processes. An immense amount of energy is also required for the subsequent drying process. Together with Dystar, one of the leading producers of dyestuffs, Monforts has developed the Econtrol process for pure cotton textiles. In the process the dyestuff is fixed during and not after drying using a controlled chamber climate with 25% v/v steam; eliminating a complete steaming process. Now, only 20 gm of salt are required per litre. Furthermore, the dyeing result is available after just two minutes and not only after 12 to 24 hours. For fibre blends (polyester/ cotton), Monforts has developed the Econtrol TCA process together with Dystar. It enables polyester and cotton to be dyed simultaneously and not in two process steps as to date. This is made possible by an innovative dispersion dyestuff that is alkaline-resistant and can be applied at the same time as reactive dyestuffs. When dyeing mixed fabrics, the use of chemicals can be reduced by around 86%, the use of water by 63% and the energy consumption by roughly 50%. The ECO Applicator The ECO Applicator is a unit which significantly reduces the initial moisture content before the drying process. As a rule, the fabric is transported through a trough containing the finishing and dyeing liquor. The term ‘liquor’ is generally used to refer to an aqueous liquid in which textiles are washed, bleached, dyed and impregnated. The ‘wet’ fabric is then dried by means of a stenter. The drying energy Continued..P6 5 Blue competence, continued is a major cost factor. In the ECO Applicator, the liquor is applied very thinly by steel rollers. As a result the new unit achieves a maximum energy yield - because moisture that is not applied to the textile fabric does not later have to be dried. Savings in heating and electrical energy of up to 65% are possible if the initial moisture content in the textile is reduced from 70% to 40%. Energy Tower and ECO Booster The ‘Energy Tower’ is a standalone air/air heat exchanger for heat recovery. Thanks to its design it is a versatile and flexible retrofit module that enables even older ranges to benefit from the principle of heat recovery. The module draws in the exhaust air from the drying process and returns it via heat exchangers to the range so that the air is preheated to around 90°C and only has to be heated to 150°C. The high drying temperature is therefore reached more quickly and energy costs are reduced. The Eco Booster HRC can also help to minimise the 6 At your service... energy costs when using stenters. By contrast with purely static heat exchanger modules, the new module actually cleans the stenter during operation; eliminating standstill times for maintenance. Only 100 litres of water are used for cleaning. The Eco Booster permits a computercontrolled adaptation of the heat exchanger performance to the prevailing waste air stream. This optimised efficiency further reduces the process costs. The Eco Booster runs fully automatically so that the operator has no additional duties to carry out. Energy efficiency remains a challenge The trendsetting Monforts technology continues to prove itself and recently left a long lasting impression at ITMA Asia. Asian producers have also recognised the ‘sign of the times’ and the importance of energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is an important global topic with textile producers faced with the challenge of coming to terms with volatile energy and raw material prices and the ecological demands of retailers and ultimate users. More efficient technology may cost more, but the procurement costs account for less than 20% of the life-cycle costs if you take the total costs for energy into consideration. The payback period for the Monforts technology generally lies in the order of 18 months to two years. quality and efficient fabric production for the customer with the lowest possible energy Wolfgang Stenzel, recently appointed Head of the highly consumption.” successful A. Monforts Textilmaschinen’s Service Team outlines Online support is provided his vision to further improve the company’s service back up for its free of charge during the customers. warranty period of a machine and for a further month after it WOLFGANG Stenzel recently number of key guarantees to joined A.Monforts purchasers of new machines in expires. The internet has greatly accelerated what the service Textilmaschinen as Head respect of service, initially team can quickly achieve. of Service - heading a 30involving high quality “Over the past five years, we strong team - 25 of have signed whom are based in approaching a Germany, with three hundred Teleservice at the Monforts contracts in addition operation in Austria to those that are and one each in guaranteed for Turkey and Thailand. machines under This team is warranty.” supplemented “This is an aspect of by a further 25 the service we provide service personnel that is greatly employed with local appreciated by our representatives in customers. In 2007 Italy, Turkey, India, Monforts introduced Pakistan, Indonesia, broad-band ISDN web China and Colombia. access connection to He has a solid our machines background in the worldwide. This textile finishing provides rapid and machinery industry easy access to PC, spanning just short PLC, converters and of 40 years; starting all software regulators his career in 1973 online. with Moenus AG in mechanical installation on site, “It allows us to remotely Mönchengladbach, where he the commissioning by diagnose, and in most cases worked until 2000, before going experienced electronic solve all software-related on to prominent positions with engineers and the on-site problems without requiring a Küsters Textile and Benninger. training of the customer’s technician on site. In the past Outlining his plans to further operator and service this would have resulted in improve the service back-up for personnel.” delays and machine downtime.” Monforts customers he explained, “Our support is squarely In addition, Teleservice “Monforts provide a significant aimed at establishing high 7 customers are able to quickly and easily secure spare parts and consult with experienced Service team members on issues associated with several generations of Monforts machines. “Our aim is to meet the expectations of customers in the shortest possible timeframe and at the lowest possible cost to companies who often may have limited resources in terms of qualified and experienced personnel. The availability of a range of upgrades and modernization packages has been another highly successful aspect of the 8 Service business in recent years. “Upgrades, conversions and modernizations are of very high importance nowadays because the core mechanical parts of a machine will be operational for up to 25 years of production and these components can normally easily be repaired.” “By contrast, certain components relating to automation such as bus connectors may only last between five and eight years, and the drive systems themselves are good for between eight and fifteen years. The ability to replace these rather than invest in a completely new machine is highly appreciated.” Energy saving measures have been another important aspect of machine adaptations in recent years. “Meeting customer expectations is what our business is all about, from the preparation of the next new machine to be delivered and through upgrades and services for the thousands of machines already in day-to-day operation worldwide,” Concluding he added, “It is highly rewarding to be responsible for a really profitable business unit of the company.” New technical textiles specialist appointed Monforts strengthens its commitment to technical textiles with the appointment of a new Business Development Manager to expand its product portfolio for this growth market. JÜRGEN Hanel has been appointed the new Business Development Manager, strengthening the commitment to technical textile applications. A specialist in textile coating, Jürgen was formerly Senior Sales Manager at Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH. He had previously been responsible for developing the textile coating department at DyStar Textilfarben in Frankfurt. This together with his work in the research and development of emulsion polymers for the textile industry at Rotta GmbH will ensure his experience can be used to the benefit of Monforts. “I’m a textile person through and through and looking forward to the challenge,” explains the 55 year old. “Technical textiles have a specific demand profile during the finishing process. For example, they react strongly to moisture or differences in temperature. We are developing new techniques tailored specifically to technical textiles,” he added. “The market for technical textiles is steadily growing. We see further potential here because of its high demand,” explains Monforts’ Klaus A. Heinrichs. Technical textiles and fabrics are being used more widely in a large number of areas. Fields of application include fire protection (for example, glassfibre fabrics with intumescent coatings), protective work clothing such as foundry protective clothing or protection against chemicals and special textiles for the automotive industry. For this purpose Monforts already offers a modified stenter which is proven in the coating of airbags. “I am convinced that with Jürgen Hanel as an industry insider, Monforts can also set trends in the field of technical textiles,” says Heinrichs. 9 installation and start-up; replacement parts are also more readily available. Back to the future with retrofitting Upgrades have become a significant part of business for Monforts over the past few years, both in respect of mechanical parts and electronics. AS PART of ongoing efforts to reduce energy consumption for our customers we have been developing a comprehensive range of machine retrofit upgrades. The conversion of fan drives to stepless speed control on older Thermex dyeing ranges, Montex stenters and Dynair relaxation dryers has, for example, proved an extremely popular upgrade, according to Sales Manager Wolfgang Poos. “Modern frequency converter technology now makes it possible to operate the fan drives of heat systems at variable stepless speed,” he explains. “This saves electricity by controlling the required fan output and brings a number of other advantages.” Individual and flexible setting of the fan output allows simple adaptation to the different requirements of fabrics and makes fault diagnosis and remedy by remote service possible on many machines. High operational reliability is guaranteed by this retrofit, with a two-year warranty on components. The conversion of DC equipment to three-phase systems is another popular service and can be carried out on the machines in one of three ways. Modern frequency converter technology now makes it possible to operate the fan drives of heat systems at variable stepless speed. 10 “The most economic method is to gradually replace individual drives over time, and once the last of the existing drives has been replaced, the digital control system can be converted to a modern CAN bus,” says Wolfgang, “but while the related costs of this approach are modest, a lot of work is involved in such a long-term proposal.” For rapid installation and start-up, it is better to replace all of the drives and the control system together, by simply removing the old control cabinet and replacing it.” By far the most effective approach, however, is to completely replace the entire electrical system of the machine with not only a new control cabinet, but with new controls, consoles and motors. This provides a ready-toconnect control cabinet with new operator controls and consoles and ensures rapid Energy savings The latest Hercules-Long term lubricated (LT) stenter frame chain with a fully sealed bearing is another simple addition customers can make to their existing lines; significantly reducing lubricant consumption. Service intervals of over 12,000 operating hours can also be achieved. The problem of oil or grease stains on fabrics is also completely eliminated. Upgrades for improving efficiency in terms of energy consumption, meanwhile, are also frequently requested. A highly efficient integrated heat recovery system is now fitted as standard on all new Montex stenters and over the past year, the company has been working on developing a way for this to be added to the existing stenters in the field. “The system on our new machines comprises a compact, air-to-air heat exchanger, which is installed within the roof structure of the stenter,” Wolfgang explains. “It uses energy from the exhaust gas to preheat up to 60% of the incoming fresh air entering the stenter. “Depending on production conditions, this provides energy savings of 10-30% and a typical payback period of around just 12 months; depending on energy prices.” Featuring large diameter vertical tubes, the heat exchanger requires very little maintenance, with extended service, Continued..P12 11 depending on production cycles and fabrics being processed. The company believes it will be able to supply this technology as an upgrade to already installed stenters within the next six month. The company has already enjoyed considerable success with its ‘stand alone’ Energy Tower, particularly in Europe. It was introduced for adding to existing stenters or hotflues with restricted access above the units. What’s being called the new Eco Booster, however, is likely to be able to be much more widely applied to existing mills worldwide, once 12 the technology is commercially launched. Another recent retrofit success story is the EcoApplicator – an improved soft coating solution which also provides a significant energy savings and reduces drying times, while eliminating the need for a conventional wet-onwet padder. The Eco-Applicator employs trough and roller techniques to apply precisely the required amount of liquid/coating to the fabric via contact with the roller. It can apply the liquid or coating to either side of the fabric individually, or both, or even separate formulas to either side. Wolfgang reports that a further key area for the retrofitting team is in upgrading pre-dryers. The company has worked with supplier Maxon to develop systems where only essential components of the unit need to be replaced, rather than the entire unit. “We have been experiencing very good business with this retrofit, particularly in India, where the price of gas is changing daily – and always going upwards,” he says. “The price for this service is very competitive in terms of payback time and it involves very little machine downtime. “I think retrofitting will become a bigger and bigger part of our business as we continue to innovate and work out new methods of adding advances to existing machines in the field.” Future glimpse of a new Frank dynasty - at Girls Day’s TAKING part in the nationwide ‘Girls Day’ -aimed at attracting young students into industry - 13 year old student, Julia Frank, recently spent a day touring Monforts. During her brief visit she toured Marketing, Sales, Accounts, Procurement and Service. She was also able to see first-hand activities involved in manufacturing textile machinery. In the production hall, for example, she witnessed the manufacture of enclosures. “I was very surprised that so many components go into each cabinet,” she said. Julia was also surprised by the versatility of the different tasks involved in the manufacturing process. “I did not realise that it took so much to build a machine,” she confided. The Girls Day was seen as an opportunity to attract attention to the company by Klaus Heinrichs. “We need to actively reach out to the younger generation and show them that industry offers attractive and challenging positions,” he added. “It was a great day for me and I could see the possibility of working in the company,”said Julia, adding that she was not sure if it would be an office job – “probably not,” she thought. But sales could be an option - for those recognising the Frank name, Julia is the daughter of Sales Manager, Henning Frank. Fluent in English, French and Italian, Henning has passed on his linguistic skills to Julia ‘virtually from the cradle’ and she seems to enjoy learning languages. “The world is moving closer together and for those who like to travel and are able to speak languages, it offers excellent career opportunities,” he said. “We need people who are flexible, want to learn about the world and are eloquent,” added Heinrichs. Perhaps we have witnessed the first glimpse of a possible new Frank dynasty in Sales. 13 New young generation activities CUSTOMERS for the MXL cross linking range are encouraged to submit a sample of their fabric and offered suggested settings and chemical mixes to achieve a perfect product. These include the Moist cross-linking index mixes such as Knittex FA Conc, Dicrylan Wk new; Turpex Acn New and Ultravon CN plus pre-softening and top-finish. Customers are also offered MXL treated fabric samples. OPEN to all company employees below 35 years of age, the new ‘Young Generation’ Club is intended to promote Monforts products in action for staff members who never have the opportunity to witness operating equipment. With staff from, for example, the Accounts, R&D, Forwarding and Administration departments, they rarely, if ever, witness the company’s products in action. Formed earlier this year and with two planned meetings a Presentation ITMA Asia proves to be a success A GOLD plated chain element from a Montex stenter was presented to Alex Wan, CEO, Fong’s Industries and Director Monfongs, during his visit to Germany late last year by JV board member Ralf Bischof. 14 Advanced Technology Centre on ‘schedule’ Customer MXL sample sheets A COMPLETE new range for technical textiles was on display at the recent ITMA Asia exhibition in Shanghai; year, a group of almost 20 club members visited the production facility of MG-based Willy Schmitz. The company has a number of Montex stenters and produces attracting considerable attention from visitors representing virtually every region across the world. automotive upholstery including BMW’s - and fabrics for trouser wear. It is hoped that the newly formed ‘club’ will hold two meetings a year. The latest Thermex Hotflue chamber made its international debut in the MxL® mode of operation and was manufactured in stainless steel to withstand the process’s acidity. The MXL process is proving particularly successful throughout the region offering non-iron and laundry-fresh properties on cotton materials, with the shortest treatment times. It also offers greater flexibility and high process safety than conventional systems. Thomas Päffgen (left) and Fred Vohsdahl (Manager of the new ATC – Advanced Technology Center Monforts) THE NEW Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) is on target to open in the first quarter of 2013 offering field trials under ‘real’ conditions. Approximately twice the size of the old showroom, the new facility will include a Montex 8000 stenter for treating technical textiles, a Montex 6500 stenter for treating knitted fabrics, and a Thermex dyeing range together with Econtrol Dyeing and Moist Cross Linking MXL techniques. A compressive unit will also be included. Customers will be able to submit fabrics and participate in complete trials under full working conditions. 15 China’s Lufeng adds Thermex to new production line MXL helps bed sheets remember, continued from P3 With the MXL process the complete process and drying are carried out simultaneously at a higher temperature of 100°C and relative humidity of 30%. Lufeng Co has expanded its dyeing and finishing “Because of the very special production line by adding a newly launched Monforts climate that’s created, the Thermex 6500 continuous dyeing range; offering process is much less risky, since substantial reductions in dyeing times, chemicals, energy the residual moisture is and water consumption. consistent from start to finish, that the continuous dyeing Lufeng Co Ltd - part of Luthai and very good control can be process offers reduced chemicals, Textile Co Ltd, one of China’s achieved with the unit’s energy and water consumption biggest textiles and garments measurement system. The when compared with producers - has invested in the process is extremely precise and recently launched Thermex 6500 conventional pad-dry thermosol reproducibility is guaranteed and pad-steam processes, together continuous dyeing range for it can also be with aromatic and with lower investment costs and expansion of its dyeing and wellness treatments to provide excellent fabric fastness. finishing production line. further product differentiation.” A more detailed article will The Thermex was delivered “For the mills, it also leads to shortly be available on the and commissioned by K & E process simplification and Monforts News and Events Company Ltd. improved logistics.” webpage. Roney Kung of K & E says A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG Postfach 10 17 01 Blumenberger Strasse 143-145 Telefon: +49 - (0) - 21 61-401-409 Telefax: +49 - (0) - 21 61-401-498 Internet: www.monforts.de eMail: [email protected] 16 D-41017 Mönchengladbach D-41061 Mönchengladbach PUBLISHED BY MONFORTS MARKETING GROUP