PDF - The Asian Textile Journal (ATJ)

Transcription

TechTex2016_Asia_Technical_Textiles 25.01.16 09:56 Seite 1
THINKING AHEAD FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
Competence
in Technical Textiles
Our Product Range
䡲 Stretching Ranges
䡲 Flow Through Dryers
䡲 Belt Dryers
䡲 High Temperature Stenters
䡲 Vertical Dryers
䡲 Finishing Ranges
䡲 Universal Dryers
䡲 TwinTherm Dryers
䡲 Thermobonding Ranges
䡲 Coating Lines
Suitable for
New 2016:
Monforts coating solutions
System Timatec
A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG
Germany | A Member of Fong’s Industries Group
www.monforts.com
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
䡲
Glas Fibre Fabrics
Light Protection
Tarpaulins
Billboards
Artificial Leather
Floor Coverings
Artificial Grass
Nonwovens
Spacers
Membranes
A.T.E. Enterprises Private Limited
A-19, C.T.S. No. 689 Veera Desai Marg.
Mumbai - 400 053
Tel.: 0091-22-66 76 61 00
Fax: 0091-22-2673 2446
e-Mail: [email protected]
corporatenews
Nonwovens growth
forecast
According to a new report published
by Markets and Markets, the market for
nonwovens fabrics is projected to grow
from US$ 32.7 billion in 2015 to US$
47.7 billion by 2020, with an estimated
CAGR of 7.86%.
The growing hygiene and medical
industry provides an opportunity for the
market to grow further, especially in
the Asia-Pacific and Latin American
regions. However, volatile raw material
prices and gaps in the management of
the supply chain may affect the price
of the end product and act as a
restraint to the growth of the market for
nonwoven fabrics.
Polypropylene, a key raw material
used in the manufacture of nonwoven
fabrics, is extremely versatile as a fiberforming material.
On the basis of key regions, the
market for nonwoven fabrics is
segmented into North America, Europe,
Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world
(RoW). The Asia-Pacific region held the
largest share among all the regions in
2014. This is mainly due to emerging
economies in China and India, coupled
with growing awareness among the
consumers about the benefits of using
nonwoven products.
Fibertex Personal
Care announces
Malaysian
expansion
Fibertex Personal Care will establish
another production line in Malaysia to
service the growing Asian hygiene
market. The investment of about US$ 58
million involves the establishment of a
new site facility and will expand the
company's capacity in Asia by more than
20% once the production line is up and
running in mid 2017.
Fibertex Personal Care already has
four production lines in Malaysia,
which are all in operation at the
existing site in Nilai
a little south-east of
Kuala Lumpur. The
site's latest
expansion in 2013
has left no room at
this site. Hence, at
the end of 2014
Fibertex Personal
Care decided to
acquire a new site
about 25 km south
of the existing site.
This new site will
house the fifth
Malaysian line as
ANDRITZ Asselin-Thibeau team
well as other future
with AUTOTECH Nonwovens’
M Shah and M Desai, during
expansions can be
trials at Elbeuf
made.
Currently, Fibertex
technology meets the most stringent
Personal Care's four Malaysian lines
quality demands.
make about 70,000 tons of spunmelt
Autotech Nonwovens, based in the
nonwovens, while its Denmark site can
automotive hub of Gujarat state, is one
make 50,000 tons of material. The
of the leading suppliers of high-quality
company's total output represents about
nonwovens to the automotive industry in
10% of global spunmelt capacity.
India. The line ordered from Andritz
will be the first integrated, singleAndritz sells
source needlepunch line investment
needlepunch line
purchased in Europe by an Indian
in India
company in over seven years,
according to Indian sources. Using the
Andritz Asselin-Thibeau has received
Andritz needlepunch technology will
an order from Autotech Nonwovens,
result in a huge leap forward in the
India, to supply a complete needlepunch
line for flexible production of
nonwovens for automotive, filtration,
and coating substrate applications. It
is the first complete needlepunch line
to be supplied by Andritz to India.
Start-up of the line and personnel
training are scheduled for mid-2016.
The Andritz neXline needlepunch
solution is designed for high
production capacities and integrates
fiber opening and blending, chute
feed, carding, crosslapping, drafting,
needle loom, and winding
technologies. The complete process is
controlled by the ProDyn closed loop
system and allows for extremely
demanding profile requirements. The
highly reliable Andritz needlepunch
Asian Technical Textiles z January-March 2016 z 3
corporatenews
range of nonwoven technical textiles
available in India, the company says.
Autefa Solutions’
fibre press used to
improve automatic
fibre logistics
productivity
China based Shandong Yingli, one of
the first companies in China to produce
Lyocell fibres, has acquired a fullyautomatic UNI-FORK fibre press from
Autefa to increase automatic fibre
fibre of two (or more) independently
working fibre lines go via a condenser to
two (or more) Autefa pre-presses and
are pre-compacted to a bale. These precompacted bales are taken out with the
central working UNI-FORK on a rotating
basis of the pre-presses and handed
over to a central main-press. The mainpress compresses the bale totally and
makes the strapping around the bale.
Afterwards the bales will be packed with
two overlapping, elastic stretch hoods of
polyethylene (AD-WRAP).
Glatfelter for
new airlaid
capacity in US
Airlaid maker Glatfelter will invest
approximately US$ 80 million in a new
airlaid facility in the US, marking the first
significant North American expansion of
the technology in more than a decade.
The new facility is expected to have
an annual capacity of about 22,000
short tons, increasing the company’s
total global airlaid materials capacity
to approximately 129,000 short tons.
According to Glatfelter, the investment
is supported by a customer’s
commitment to purchase a significant
amount of the annual capacity. In
addition, the new facility will establish
a specialty asset base in the US. and
logistics productivity and quality.
Autefa Solutions Germany, a market
leader in automatic fibre logistics and a
manufacturer of hydraulic fibre presses,
presented a new machine concept two
years ago with the UNI-FORK.
The UNI-FORK intelligent concept is
said to save costs with a very small
investment for a fully automatic process
while improving quality. The central idea
of the system is to use one transfer fork for
one or more prepresses and to operate
one or more main presses.
At Shandong Yingli, the cut Lyocell
create a center of excellence for other
lighter basis weight products.
Production is expected start in
approximately two years and the
project will be funded by a
combination of cash on hand and its
existing credit facility.
Glatfelter’s Advanced Airlaid
Materials Business Unit has leading
positions in the feminine hygiene, adult
incontinence, wipes and home care
markets, and its products are also used
in food packaging and industrial
applications. It currently operates airlaid
sites in Gatineau, Quebec and
Falkenhagen, Germany.
Celanese expansion
in US
US-based chemicals firm, Celanese,
is expanding capacity for its 'GUR'
ultra-high molecular weight
polyethylene (UHMWPE) product at its
Bishop, Texas facility. After expansion
capacity will increase to 38 kt per
annum, with final completion expected
in May this year.
'Increasing production capacity at
our Bishop facility will enable Celanese
to expand our reach, support a growing
and diverse customer base, and respond
to increasing consumer needs for
materials in high-value lithium-ion
battery, medical and
pharmaceutical, and
Asia Pacific to drive textile filtration applications,'
said Mr Scott Sutton,
chemicals demand
President, Materials
A recent market research report published by
Solutions for Celanese.
Transparency Market Research (TMR) has forecast a
moderate yet positive growth prospects for the global
First female
textile chemicals market over the period between
head of the
2014 and 2020.
The market, which had a valuation of US$ 19.66
Coverstro
bn in 2013, is projected to expand at a 3.7% CAGR
Polycarand rise to US$ 25.42 bn by 2020. The global
bonates
apparel industry will be the primary driver of the
Michelle Jou took over
market over the forecast period. The growth of the
as head of Covestro’s
global technical textiles industry is also expected to
Polycarbonates Segment
propel the market for textile chemicals.
effective January 1, 2016.
Asia Pacific accounted for over 50% of the global
She is the first woman to
textile chemicals market in 2013. The rising demand
hold this position and
for textile chemicals in industrial textiles and apparels
succeeds Dr Markus
in the region is expected to drive the global textile
Steilemann, who as of this
chemicals market over the forecast period.
same date, became head
Ms Michelle Jou
of the Polyurethanes Segment. Since
September 1, 2015, he is also member of
the Board of Management and
responsible for Innovation.
Michelle Jou has over 20 years of
professional experience in the chemical
industry in Asia, where she served in a
variety of positions in sales, marketing
andCovestro Michelle Jou supply chain
management. Before joining Bayer in
2003, she worked approximately ten
years for a leading French petrochemicals company in Hong Kong
and Shanghai.
At Bayer MaterialScience, she
performed a number of different
managerial duties in Shanghai, initially
with the company’s central departments.
Jou then joined the Polycarbonates
Business Unit, where in 2012 she was
named head of Commercial Operations
in the Asia region.
Barry-Wehmiller
acquires W+D
Barry-Wehmiller has made its fourth
acquisition of 2015 - the operations of
hygiene machinery manufacturer
Winkler+Dünnebier GmbH, including
POEM (W+D). Headquartered in
Neuwied and Löhne, Germany, W+D has
additional locations in the US and
Malaysia. In addition to its hygiene
systems, W+D is also a recognised
leader in highly efficient integrated
system solutions for the mail and postal
and tissue industries.
The W+D acquisition is BarryWehmiller’s 80th since 1987, when it
began an organic
and acquisition
strategy that has
propelled the
company from a
US$ 20 million USbased supplier to a
US$ 2 billionplus
global supplier of
diversified industrial
solutions. W+D will
operate as an
independent
business unit within
Barry-Wehmiller’s
Converting Solutions
platform alongside
Paper Converting
Machine Company
(PCMC), a supplier
of wipes machinery
systems.
K-C
breaks
ground in
China
In December,
Kimberly-Clark
China held a
groundbreaking
ceremony for a new
diaper
manufacturing
facility in Tianjin,
reinforcing its
commitment to longterm development in
China. The worldclass facility will
produce Huggies,
which has been a
leading diaper
brand in China’s
premium market
since it entered the
market in 1997. The
new plant will cover
an area of 300,000
square meters and
feature a fully
automated
production line to
ensure efficiency.
The new site,
located in the
corporatenews
Tianjin Airport Economic Area, will
meet the growing demand for quality
products in the Chinese market and
deliver world-class products to Chinese
infants and their parents. It marks KC’s fourth facility in China.
ISPO welcomes
more than 80,000
visitors
More than 80,000 industry professionals from 120 countries came to ISPO
Munich, the leading sports business exhibition, held from 24-27 January.
Visitor numbers increased from Italy,
Switzerland and Austria. There were also
a large number of visitors from Russia
and the Ukraine. The number of
exhibitors also increased from 2,585 in
the prior year to 2,645 exhibitors at this
year's event.
The high share of foreign visitors
(87%) emphasizes
the international
character of the
trade show. The entire 180,000 m2
of exhibition space, covering 16
exhibition halls, were fully booked,
organisers report.
'Following the challenging preChristmas sales conditions the mood
was definitely better than expected.
The plethora of innovations and new
products presented at ISPO Munich
further strengthened the confidence of
the industry to be able to weather the
latest challenges presented by climate
and market structure changes,'
commented Klaus Dittrich, CEO and
Chairman of Messe München.
There were new exhibitors in all
segments, particularly in Health & Fitness
and Outdoor. The new hall distribution
received positive feedback from both
exhibitors and visitors.
This year's overall winner of the
ISPO Brandnew Awards was
Icaros, the first virtual
reality fitness
equipment, which
impressively
demonstrated the
further digital
Engineering resins
from airbag waste
Solvay of Lyon, France, reports
that its Move4earth project for the on
recycling of technical textile waste
from post-industrial sources is
progressing well
The Move4earth project is one of
several Solvay initiatives supported
by the European Commission (EC) as
part of its LIFE+ programme. It is
focused on designing, implementing,
and validating a recycling process
for turning technical textile waste initially from airbags - into highquality polyamide 6.6 (PA 6.6)
grades to complement Solvay
Engineering Plastics' Technyl Force
portfolio of engineering polymers.
Validation of the technology has
been completed, and the construction
of an industrial-scale facility at the
project site in Gorzów, Poland, is
underway. This facility will be
operational in 2016.
development of fitness and new options
to exercise in virtual worlds.
Conwed launches
2016 IDEA Book
Conwed has launched its 2016
IDEA Book, a digital catalog that
outlines company's capabilities, core
products and technologies. This new
digital magazine includes a step-bystep description of how Conwed netting
is made, the netting characteristics that
can be customized and how netting
can be incorporated with other
materials and substrates in diverse
production processes.
Conwed is celebrating its 50th
anniversary in 2016 and counts with an
extensive record of success developing
netting solutions for hundreds of
industrial and consumer products in
diverse industries. From agriculture,
automotive, hygiene, medical and
disposable products to packaging,
filtration, landscape and erosion control
applications, netting is used to improve
performance under precise conditions.
'When someone asks what Conwed
FILTECH_AD_ATT_ATj_april.qxp_Layout 1 27.01.16 15:05 Seite 1
FILTECH
October 11 – 13, 2016
Cologne – Germany
FILTECH is the largest and most important
filtration event world-wide. FILTECH is the
international platform solution provider
for all industries covering every market
segment. This Exhibition is a must for all
those concerned with selling, purchasing,
designing or researching filtration and
separation equipment and services.
The Filtration Event
www.Filtech.de
Free Visitor Ticket
for Textile ATT/ATJ Readers
Invitation Code: ATTATJ
Pre-register at www.filtech.de/ticket.jsp
Join the
worlds largest
Filtration Show
corporatenews
Indorama makes Indian expansion
Indorama Ventures Public
Company Limited (IVL), a worldleading producer of intermediate
petrochemicals, has acquired Indian
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
manufacturer Micro Polypet Private
Ltd.(MicroPet) in Panipat district,
Haryana state, India, the plant is
located 90 kilometers north of Delhi
and has a capacity of 216,000 tons.
MicroPet is the sole PET manufacturer
in Northern India.
It uses melt-toresin technology that
does, it may not be simple to explain
because our netting works differently
depending on the final product
application. So sharing our IDEA Book
publicly is our way to provide a general
overview of our netting capabilities and
how we can help our customers improve
their products,' said Ivan Soltero, Sr.
Strategic Marketing Manager at Conwed.
'The 2016 IDEA books includes great
information and illustrations of how
manufacturers can incorporate Conwed
netting in their production processes to
improve their products. The more our
customers know about our netting
technology, the easier it is to collaborate
and identify the best netting alternative
for their project,' says Soltero.
Kleenex moves
into facial wipes
Kimberly-Clark has introduced a
wipesbased facial cleansing line under
its Kleenex Brand. The new line, which is
IVL has experience with at its
AlphaPet plant in Alabama, the US,
Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama
Ventures, says, “This is a unique
opportunity for us to establish a
foothold in one of the world’s fastestgrowing developing economies.
The acquisition strategically
extends our footprint and scale and
enhances our relationship with the
world’s fast moving consumer good
brands, all of whom have their eye on
this huge consumer market.’
available exclusively online at www.
kleenex.com/facialcleansing, combines
uniquely textured, multilayered fabrics
infused with a pro-vitamin complex for
noticeably healthier looking and feeling
skin. The line includes dual-side
exfoliating cushions that smooth and
polish the skin, moist facial cleaning
wipes, soft cotton pads, moist eye
makeup removers and shine away
sheets, which feature double-sided fabric
technology that lifts and traps oil without
smudging makeup.
Ontex to build new
Inco site in France
Belgian hygiene products
manufacturer Ontex will build a plant in
Dourges in northern France, replacing
two smaller plants in Wasquehal and
Arras, France. The company expects the
construction of the building to be
complete in summer 2016 and will start
moving the production lines soon after.
The Wasquehal and Arras sites
manufacture incontinence products. They
are located near the new plant and
employ around 350 people who will keep
their jobs at the new
site. In March, Ontex
said it would
consolidate the French
sites, which primarily
serve the adult
incontinence markets,
to improve its
production
capabilities and better serve its customers
in the region. This announcement came
only one month after Ontex purchased
Artsana, a leading producer of adult
incontinence products in Italy.
Fitesa for German
expansion
Nonwovens producer Fitesa has
confirmed that it will add a 20,000
metric ton spunmelt line to its Peine,
Germany site as part of a previously
announced capacity expansion plan. The
new site should begin commercial
operation in early 2017. Fitesa
purchased the Peine site as part of
Fiberweb Nonwovens in 2010.
In recent years, Fitesa’s commitment to
growing its spunmelt business has been
strong. Recent investments include a third
spunmelt line in Mexico, announced in
August 2015, and a 20,000 ton Brazilian
line, which came onstream in early 2014.
Fitesa’s most recent European investment
was a new spunmelt line in Sweden last
year. Executives have said the new line is
supporting the needs of customers in Eastern
and Western Europe. Elsewhere in Europe,
Fitesa has a spunmelt operation in Italy.
JNC to make
air-through
nonwovens
in Japan
JNC Corporation is establising
production facilities for air-through
nonwoven fabrics in the Moriyama
factory of its JNC Fibers Corporation.
The Moriyama site, described as the
core of JNC's fibers business, currently
makes and sells bicomponent fibers
that can be thermal bonded and used
in hygiene materials.
JNC already makes air-through
bonded nonwovens using the fibers at
two faciliities in China and one in
Thailand but decided to add production
in Japan to meet local demand. The ES
fiber is made from two kinds of resins
each with different melting points heated
by hot air. This causes the fibers to bond
to each other to form the air-through
nonwoven fabrics. These air-through
nonwoven fabrics have high bulkiness
and excellent flexibility and are friendly
to skin without using adhesives.
These characteristics make the
corporatenews
products ideal in disposable diapers
and sanitary goods.
SWM celebrates
milestone
SWM Intl, a leading global provider
of highly engineered solutions and
advanced materials for a variety of
industries, marked its 20 year
anniversary in November.
‘I am honored to celebrate this
milestone with SWM,’ says SWM’s
chairman and CEO Frédéric Villoutreix.
‘Over the last 20 years, not only have we
enlarged our global footprint, but we
leveraged our fibre-based expertise and
technologies to position the company as a
leader in highperformance engineered
solutions, offering a range of attractive
applications. On behalf of the entire
management team, I want to thank our
customers and investors for their trust and
support over the years. Additionally, our
appreciation goes to the thousands of
SWM employees who have made
the growth and success of the company
possible, through their commitment
to world-class service, quality and
performance.’
SAP study released
The global super absorbent polymers
market is expected to reach US$ 11.03
billion by 2022, according to a new
report by Grand View Research, Inc.
Growing demand for baby diaper and
female hygiene products in emerging
markets of Asia Pacific
and Latin America is
WOW 2016
expected to remain a key
driving factor for global
INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics
super absorbent
Industry, has announced that online registration and
polymers market over the
the full programme details for INDA's 10th edition
forecast period. The
of the World of Wipes (WOW) International
increasing geriatric
Conference 2016 are now available at the newly
population in Japan, US
launched event's website.
and Germany has
The international event devoted exclusively to the
prompted demand for
entire wipes value chain will take place from 7-10
adult incontinence
June at the at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. Prior to the
products.
conference, a separate immersive training
key findings include :
programme, INDA's WIPES Academy, will take place
z Global super
from 6-7 June at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore
absorbent polymers
Hotel in Northbrook, Illinois.
market demand was
2,071.7 kilo tons in 2014
and is expected to reach
3,170.4 kilo tons by
2022, growing at a
CAGR of 5.8% from 2015
to 2022.
z Baby diaper was the
leading application
segment and accounted
for over 70% of overall
consumption in 2014.
Increasing population
coupled with increasing
With the keynote address from Walmart and other
baby diaper
sessions focused on crisis preparedness and realmanufacturing facilities on
world lessons learned from a Shark Tank entrepreneur,
account of government
WOW is focused on the latest issues and topics in the
support particularly in
wipes marketplace. Among the other areas that will
Asia Pacific is expected to
be covered by expert speakers are new markets,
drive this segment over the
products and technologies, formulations, flushability,
forecast period.
industrial wipes, regulations, and packaging.
z Agricultural is
projected to witness the highest growth
rate of 5.9% from 2015 to 2022.
Increasing penetration of SAP in
agriculture industry on account of its
suitable characteristics is expected to fuel
this segment over the forecast period.
Ahlstrom sells its
glass fibre business
to Owens Corning
The Building & Wind business unit
produces glass fibre tissue used mainly
in flooring applications, as well as
reinforcements used in windmill blades.
Ahlstrom, a high performance fibre
based materials company, has signed an
agreement to divest its Building & Wind
business unit to Owens Corning, a US
based company.
‘This transaction will strengthen our
balance sheet and enables us to develop
other businesses more efficiently and
pursue growth in areas aligned to our
strategy,’ commented Marco Levi,
President & CEO of Ahlstrom.
‘We are happy to have identified
Owens Corning as the buyer as it is
vertically integrated and has ample
resources to develop the glass fibre
business further. We also believe this is a
good solution for the unit’s employees
transferring to the new owner.’
Covestro material
innovation
Covestro has been cooperating with
IAF International Apparel Federation
during 2015, an in a series of workshops
in which it featured as an excellent
example of the value of innovation in raw
materials for the apparel industry
Central in its presentation was the
new waterborne method for PU coatings
used mainly in artificial leather that it
had developed. In this method, the PUcoated fabrics are processed entirely
without solvents, which removes
hazardous substances from the material
manufacturing, eliminates environmental
pollution risks, and greatly reduces the
amount of water and energy needed.
The workshops organized by IAF and
Covestro not only involved showing what
the technology could do, but also
addressed the model used by Covestro to
overcome current supply chain constraints
to the implementation of new
technologies. Covestro has launched a
technology and services model under the
brand name INSQIN®in 2014. It
combines the technology itself with a high
level of co-creation of new materials
together with customers and downstream
player. As it is IAF's mission to be a
meltblown
nonwovens line,
which will begin
operation in Forfar,
Scotland, in June
2016. The 1.6-meterwide Oerlikon
Neumag line
represents a multi-
Covestro INSQIN ®, the environmentally
friendly waterborne coatings
for shoes and apparel
driving force in a sustainable and strong
development of the global apparel
industry we have highlighted good
examples of the implementation of
technology. IAF has done so in these
workshops, but also in numerous
publications and seminars.
The rapidly increasing use of carbon
fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) in
lightweight structures is leading to a
wide range of production waste. To
reprocess and recycle such kind of waste,
nonwovens made of recycled carbon
staple fibers and processed by carding
technology have been successfully
developed at STFI. First research results
included the formation of a web from 100
% carbon fiber or blends with other
staple fibers and a subsequent inline
bonding of the textile fabrics.
Don + Low adds
meltblown line
As part of an effort to develop new
products for its existing markets and
expand into new markets, UK-based Don
& Low Ltd. has invested in a new
million dollar
investment for the
nonwovens producer
and expands its
technological reach
in the nonwovens
industry.
Don & Low has
been involved in
nonwovens since
1989 when it started
a 3.2 meter Reicofil
line and has
expanded its
operation with two
additional Reicofil
lines since then. The
line has largely
targeted the home
construction market
both in the UK and
internationally, but
the company has
also made strides in
a number of medical
areas.
With the new
meltblown line, the
corporatenews
company hopes to expand into a number
of new markets including filtration,
automotives, incontinence, absorbents
and advanced composites. It will have an
initial capacity of more than 1000 tons.
Medical nonwovens
market report
Hexa Reports has released the
‘Medical Nonwoven Disposables Market’
research report, predicting that the
market will reach US$ 10.05 billion by
the year 2020. Increasing prevalence of
hospital acquired infections and other
infections such as hepatitis and AIDS,
and the introduction of favorable
initiatives and reforms promoting the use
of nonwovens in government hospitals
are some factors expected to drive the
medical nonwoven disposables market
growth during the forecast period.
The hygiene products segment in the
medical nonwoven disposables market is
expected to grow at a lucrative rate of
over 7% during the forecast period. The
growth of this segment can be attributed
to the growing prevalence of incontinence
and the presence of high unmet medical
needs pertaining to this segment.
key findings from the study
suggest:
z Disposable diapers are expected to
grow at a strong rate during the forecast
period. Rising patient awareness levels
pertaining to incontinence and the
advantages offered by related products
are some key factors attributing to the
growth of this segment.
z North America was the most mature
regional market in 2013, accounting
for over 35% of revenue. High prevalence
of incontinence is the most significant
growth driver of this market. Furthermore,
presence of sophisticated healthcare
infrastructure, high patient awareness
levels are some factors attributing
to the high demand for medical
nonwoven disposables in
the region.
Lubrizol begin
operations at
Gujarat plant
Global speciality chemicals
major Lubrizol Corporation's
Mogul to build new
site in Turkey
Mogul is expanding its
production in Turkey with a third
plant in Luleburgaz, Turkey, near
Istanbul. Mogul already operates
two plants at Gaziantep, Turkey,
which is a considerable distance
away from Luleburgaz.
Mr Serkan Gogus
The plant will use cutting edge
technology to add performancebased fabrics to its existing
nonwoven offerings to better serve
demand for specialised and
differentiated end uses such as
technical applications. The new
products will comprise complex
fibres, filaments and web formations
as well as chemical treatment and
printing applications.
The cross-lap spunlace
technology complements Mogul’s
existing spunlace fabric offerings
and targets demand in automotive,
artificial leather, dry wipes,
depilation pads, roofing, medical
and hygienic markets.
‘At Mogul we pursue our business
aggressively throughout all its facets
and associated technological advancements,’ says CEO Serkan Gogus.
‘This is how we remain competitive in
our markets, by utilising our knowledge
to evolve new products which respond
to market needs.’
chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
compounding plant at Dahej in Gujarat
began production.
Asian Technical Textiles z January-March 2015
2016 z 12
With a capacity to manufacture
nearly 55,000 metric tonnes of
compounds annually, the company has
invested over US$ 50 million (Rs 325
crore) in this facility, located in a
100,000 squaremetre area in the
chemical park complex of (GIDC) said
Eric Schnur, President, Lubrizol
Advanced Materials.
Rockline exceeded
sustainability
targets
Rockline Industries, one of the
world's largest manufacturers of coffee
filters and consumer, medical and
commercial wet wipes, has exceeded
its 2015 targets for sustainability.
The company announced the news
in its seventh annual Sustainability
Report, which showed that targets for
energy, greenhouse gas emissions,
solid waste and landfill rate reductions
had been surpassed.
Rockline also announced a new set of
sustainability goals for 2020, which
target further reductions in energy,
greenhouse gas, water, solid waste,
landfill and emissions from outbound
transportation.
Autefa develops
spunlace
technology
Autefa Solutions, a key supplier for
carded and crosslapped nonwovens
production lines, is expanding its
offerings to include spunlace lines.
Autefa Solutions Switzerland (formerly
Strahm) is also introducing the new
modular square drum dryer SQ-V for
spunlace with proven energy savings
up to 40%. The square drum dryer SQV concept combines the best of both
worlds - the low space requirement of
a drum dryer with best drying
efficiency and controllable airflow
sections of a nozzle system. Square
drum dryers have replaced already
existing spunlace drum dryers in
Europe because of their ability to offer
an energy savings advantage.
Energy savings of more than
30% compared with existing spunlace
systems could be achieved through
corporatenews
the new patented hydroentangeling
unit. Autefa will deliver a complete
spunlace line in Europe in the first
quarter of 2016.
Monforts new
brochure for
complete range of
coating solutions
Coating solutions for virtually every
application including technical textiles
are highlighted in a new 16 page
brochure from Monforts. The new
brochure from A. Monforts
Textilmaschinen introduces an innovative
one-stop complete coating range for
virtually all applications, including
solvent treatment, wider width fabrics
and technical textiles
The brochure highlights the new
complete product range including ‘knife
over air’, ‘magnetic rollers’, and
‘printing-head coating’ options.
These include single-sided
application of finishing agents, such as,
for example, outdoor clothing and
functionalisation of textiles in the home
textiles sector, through to sophisticated
lightweight construction using innovative,
textile-based coated materials in the
automotive and aerospace industries.
Further, the brochure illustrates EXproof ranges for solvent-based coatings
and for high-temperature processes up to
320oC, such as PTFE sintering.
The Montex Allround, an innovative
and interchangeable module for stenter
and coating operations, is also highlighted.
The new range of Monforts coating
solutions follows the recent takeover of
‘knowhow’ by Monforts of European
coating specialist Timatec.
www.monforts.com
Archroma
appoints head
of sustainability
James Carnahan, who joined from the
BASF textile chemicals business acquired
by Archroma in July 2014, has been
appointed as Global Sustainability
Manager, Textile Specialties, and will be
responsible to further intensify the
business focus on more sustainable
corporatenews
specialist and, when we met James
Carnahan, we realised he shared our
belief and had been acting upon it
during his past tenure.’
The future of
Dye-sublimation
printing to 2021
solutions. Carnahan has more than 30
years of experience in textile chemicals in
application development and marketing
& sales in South Africa, Italy, Germany,
China and Singapore. In his last role with
BASF, he was responsible for portfolio
strategy development and
implementation of developing
sustainable solutions.
Thomas Winkler, President Textile
Specialties at Archroma, said: ‘We have
been looking for the right sustainability
Smithers Pira publishes new report,
The Future of Dye-Sublimation Printing to
2021, which provides an in-depth, longterm assessment of the rapidly evolving
market for this print technology.
An estimated total of around 384
million square metres of fabric were
printed digitally via dye sublimation in
the year to Q1 2016, having grown by
just under 18.4% in the past year 201516. This is set to rise to 892 million
square metres in 2021.
The four major end-use segments
are garments; household (carpets, wall
coverings and upholstery), technical
and visual communications (displays
and signage); and technical textiles.
This last category includes automotive
Toray expand carbon prepreg
business in Europe
The Toray group decided to
acquire 55% of outstanding shares of
Italian prepreg, manufacturer Delta
Tech S.p.A, making Delta Tech and
So far, Toray has been enhancing a
cooperative relationship with the Delta
Group through supply of carbon fibre
Torayca, and this stock acquisition
its wholly owned subsidiary Delta
Preg S.p.A into its subsidiaries. Delta
Group is engaged in the
development and supply of highquality prepreg, primarily for
premium automobile applications.
reinforces its carbon fibre intermediate
business in Europe along with
Composite Materials (Italy) s.r.l it
established by acquiring the carbon
fibre textile and prepreg business from
Saati S.p.A. in January this year.
(seats, seat-belts, seat head lining,
panels, sound absorption), bags,
medical and scientific textiles, sails,
tents, parasols/umbrellas, accessories
and sports equipment.
The garments segment is the largest
end-use sector, with 75% of the market
share by value in 2016. The other
segments each take 5-10% of the market.
In terms of regional markets, Asia
(including Turkey) is having, and will
continue to have, the strongest growth.
Conversely, the highest per unit price will
continue to be seen in North America and
Western Europe.
The Future of Dye-Sublimation
Printing to 2021 provides data and an
exclusive analysis designed for
organisations at all phases in the value
chain looking to capitalise on
opportunities in this booming segment. It
examines global and key regional
markets for dye sublimation print, which
is contextualised with analysis of the
state of the art in dye sublimation
printing and expert analysis of the
technical and market drivers that are
fuelling growth.
Strengthening
Sweden's
nonwovens sector
A new product in Sweden will carry
out research to create sustainable
production of new textile fibre from
wood-based raw materials or recycled
bio-based textiles. The project is a
strategic initiative to develop the area
around nonwoven and textile materials in
Sweden, according to Swedish trade and
investment council Business Sweden.
Entitled 'Establishing locally
produced textiles in Sweden', the project
has received a budget of SEK 45.4
million (approximately US$5.23 million)
to carry out research over the next three
years. The grant is the first such amount
given for innovation project by
BioInnovation, the R&D initiative between
the chemical, textile and forest industries.
The growing middle-class and
urbanisation is expected to triple the
global demand for textile fibres by
2050. In such a scenario, the project
would investigate whether, and how,
sustainable bio-based textile production
corporatenews
Teijin develops fabrics for
protection from volcanic
fragments
Teijin Limited announced that it has developed two
new fabrics of Twaron® and Technora® para-aramid
fibers to protect facilities such as lodges and
evacuation shelters from airborne volcanic fragments
measuring as much as about 10 cm.
The new fabrics are designed and produced in
accordance with the Japanese Cabinet Office's new
regulations for strengthening evacuation facilities
located near volcanos. The Ministry of the Environment is
now using the fabrics to refurbish the roof of the Ebino
Eco Museum Center in Kirishima-Kinkowan National
Park on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan.
Teijin is the world's only company manufacturing
two types of lightweight, strong and heat-resistant
para-aramid fibers. Twaron® offers six times more
tensile strength than steel of the same weight, as well
as superior heat resistance and elastic modulus.
Technora® boasts even greater tensile strength and
resistance to impact, fatigue and chemicals.
Ebino Eco Museum
can be achieved through the production
of textile fibres from wood-based raw
materials or recycled bio-based textiles.
Hexcel to build
engineered core
plant in Casablanca
Hexcel Corporation announced that
it will expand its global engineered
core capacity by building a 117,000square-foot manufacturing plant in
Casablanca, Morocco. The new facility
is part of the ongoing worldwide
investment to create a diversified and
robust global supply chain to support
aerospace customers’ growing demand
for engineered core. Engineered core is
formed and machined honeycomb
materials used for light weighting in
structural applications such as aircraft
secondary structures, nacelles, and
helicopter blades.
In recent years,
Hexcel has increased its
capacity at existing
plants to support its
current engineered core
business and plans
further expansions to
capture additional
opportunities in a global
market with excellent
growth potential.
Celanese to
form jv with
Push Group
US-based Celanese
has entered into a
Memorandum of
Understanding with
China's Push Group to
form a new joint venture
focused on the production
of cellulose acetatebased speciality
Center Roof
products, including highquality plastics and films.
Push Group is a whollyowned subsidiary of
Sichuan Wuliangye
Group Co. Ltd., and is
based in Yibin.
'This is an exciting
opportunity for Celanese,
together with Push Group, to add a
speciality cellulose plastics focus to our
leading cellulose acetate capabilities
and our leading engineered
thermoplastics platform, and participate
in the development of the next generation
of products manufactured with cellulose
acetate flake,' said Mr. Scott Sutton,
President, Materials Solutions for
Celanese.
Evonik invests over
Euro 400 mn at
German sites
Evonik invested more than Euro 400
mn at its German production sites as it
set up new production plants, modernised infrastructure facilities, and
focussed on research and development
(R&D). The lion's share of the funds
(around two-thirds) was divided among
Evonik's five-largest sites in Germany Marl (hundreds of millions of euros),
Hanau, Essen, Darmstadt and Wesseling
(tens of millions of euros at each site), the
company revealed in a press statement.
Evonik is also building a new
production plant for speciality
copolyesters at its Witten site in
Germany. As binders for paints,
speciality copolyesters are used in coil
coatings and, increasingly, in food can
coatings. The company said it is investing
a ‘mid-double-digit million euro sum in
the plant, which will have annual
production capacity of several thousand
metric tonnes’. The plant is scheduled to
be completed in 2018.
Evonik is one of the world's leading
suppliers of polyesters for pre-coated
metals and reactive hot melts. The
company has production facilities at its
sites in Marl, Witten and Shanghai.
OrganoClick
presents PFC-free
water repellent
fabric treatment
at ISPO
OrganoClick AB, the leading
Swedish cleantech company, has
exhibited its latest innovations at the
ISPO Munich.
The company has reported a record
interest in the company's product
OrganoTex, which is said to offer a
biodegradable and fluorocarbon-free
alternative for the water repellent fabric
treatment of clothing and shoes.
OrganoTex is produced in Täby, north
of Stockholm, by OrganoClick AB. The
chemical component in OrganoTex
consists of hydrophobic hydrocarbon
chains that can be rapidly biodegraded
and are classed as entirely nonhazardous according to the European
REACH chemical regulations. OrganoTex
provides a very high and sustainable
water repellent function that maintains
the natural appearance and texture of
the fabric, according to the manufacturer.
'We offer the clothing brands that use
OrganoTex regular testing for
fluorocarbons so that the clothing brands
and their customers can be sure that the
product is fluorocarbon-free as
corporatenews
promised,' said Robin Grankvist,
OrganoClick AB Business Area Manager.
Solvay acquires
Epic Polymers'
thermoplastics
business
This acquisition will complement
Solvay's offering of high performance
lightweighting materials and gain
access to metal replacement of larger
automotive semi-structural parts.
Privately-owned, Epic Polymers based
in Kaiserslautern, Germany, has
developed an innovative technology to
reinforce high performance
thermoplastic polymers with long glass
fibres. Demand-led growth for these
sophisticated tailored materials offering
superior mechanical and thermal
properties, coupled with high impact
resistance, strength and stiffness at
elevated temperatures, is driven by the
need to reduce fuel consumption and
lower CO2 emissions.
Covestro to raise
polycarbonate film
production at
German facility
Covestro, formerly Bayer
MaterialScience, is expanding its
production capacity for polycarbonate
films at its Dormagen (Germany) site. The
company is investing about Euro 20-mn
in the construction of a new coextrusion
plant for multilayer flat films, including
the associated infrastructure and
logistics. The plant is scheduled to come
on stream in 2017. The products are
EDANA and CNITA
joint geotextiles
symposium
CNITA, the China Nonwovens and
Industrial Textiles Association, and
EDANA, the global nonwovens
industry association, have signed a
memorandum of understanding to
support the joint organisation of the
Eurasian Geotextiles Sympoisum
(EAGS) in June 2017 in Beijing, China.
Pierre Wiertz, general manager
of EDANA, said: 'We are proud to join
forces with CNITA to create a unique
new event. Together, we will gather all
key players in the field of geotextiles.
It is natural that this Symposium, the
first of its kind, will be held in China,
one of the most dynamic markets for
geotextiles. Our objective is to
support the growth of production and
deliveries in Eurasia.'
Featuring a conference and an
exhibition, the Eurasian Geotextiles
Symposium is designed to cover both
nonwoven and woven geotextiles
and to encompass the entire value
chain, from raw materials to buyers
and users of geotextiles, in Greater
Europe and Asia.
used in security cards, automotive
interiors, medical devices and displays.
'With the new plant, we are orienting
ourselves more than ever on market
trends and the rising demand for highquality flat films. For us it is a further
developmental step for multi-layer film
structures, such as those used for
counterfeit-proof identity cards,' added
Ms. Nina Schmarander, Global Head of
speciality films at Covestro.
Connecting the
adhesive market
Increasing demand from industries
such as construction, automotive, and
textiles is expected to drive the global
adhesive equipment market, which is
forecast to reach US$ 42.06 billion by
2022, according to a new report by
Grand View Research.
High industrialisation rates coupled
with government initiatives to promote the
packaging sector in the emerging
markets of Asia Pacific and Latin
America are also expected to drive
adhesive equipment demand. Bio-based
adhesives development is also expected
to strengthen industry growth as varying
product specifications and associated
technological developments constantly
drive competition among companies. The
global adhesive equipment market is
fragmented with a presence of both large
multinational corporations and domestic
producers, the report said.
Adhesives find use in a number of
construction applications, including
flooring underlays, roofing, drywell
lamination, pre-finished panels, and
heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.
Industrial hot melt equipment was the
largest product segment and accounted
for over 22% of total revenue in 2022.
Growing demand for hot melt adhesives
owing to their unique product
characteristics such as low costs, quick
drying time and versatility are expected
to foster high market growth for
intermittent application devices such as
adhesive controllers.
Over 8% growth
foreseen for battery
materials
The team of the Coatings, Adhesives,
Specialties Business Unit of Covestro is
pleased with the start of construction of
its new production plant
Global demand for battery materials
is forecast to rise 8.3% per year to US$
46.8 bn in 2019, according to a new
report from The Freedonia Group.
Rapidly expanding production of
advanced battery types - including
lithium-ion (Li-Ion) and nickel-metal
hydride (Ni-MH) batteries - will be an
important driver of demand in response
to growing output of portable
electronics, hybrid & electric vehicles
(H/EVs), and energy storage products,
the report stated.
China will remain the largest
national market for battery materials, as
domestic battery production will continue
to grow at a double-digit rate through
2019. Growth in demand will be
restrained by an economy-wide
slowdown in the country; however, China
will still post the fastest gains of all major
global markets, Freedonia said.
India is also forecast to post aboveaverage gains in battery materials
demand, as battery production ramps up
to meet growing domestic demand and
increasing motor vehicle production and
use in the country. Overall, the Asia/
Pacific region is forecast to post the
fastest gains of any region, driven in part
by its dominance in advanced secondary
battery production.
Ahlstrom adds
filtration capabilities
Ahlstrom will be making an
investment to increase the flexibility of its
Binzhou wallcoverings production line in
China. Following the modification, the
production line will be capable of
producing filtration products in addition
to wallcovering materials. The annual
capacity of the line will be about 20,000
metric tons of wallcovering or filtration
products. The reengineering work is
expected to be completed by April 2016.
‘This investment reinforces our
commitment to our customers in the
filtration and wallcovering materials
markets in China and elsewhere in the
region,’ says Fulvio Capussotti, executive
vice president, Building and Energy
business area. ‘It is also vital for us to
make the Binzhou line more versatile to
ensure business
agility.’
Vinda
approves
SCA integration
Vinda
shareholders have
approved the
integration of SCA’s
business in South
East Asia, Taiwan
and South Korea.
The transaction is
expected to close on
February 1, 2016.
After the deal is
complete, SCA will
become majority
shareholder in
Vinda, one of
China’s largest
hygiene companies.
‘Asia is an
important growth
market for SCA with
a large population
and low penetration
of hygiene products.
The approved
transaction
strengthens the
collaboration
between SCA and
Vinda and enables
us to further
leverage on our
strengths to build a
leading Asian
hygiene business,’
says Magnus Groth,
president and CEO
of SCA.
SCA’s hygiene
business in South
East Asia, Taiwan
and South Korea
had net sales of
approximately SEK
2.2 billion (US$
257 million) in
2014. The business
has approximately
1600 employees
and three personal
corporatenews
care production sites in Malaysia and
Taiwan. The purchase consideration
amounts to HKD 2.8 billion (approx. US$
360 million) on a debt-free basis.
Ester bags awards
for polymer innovations
Ester Industries Ltd., a leading
manufacturer of polyester films,
engineering plastics and specialty
polymers in India has received two
awards at the 6th National Awards
for Technology Innovation 2015-16 in
petrochemicals for two of its products.
The company was selected as joint
winner in the category of 'Innovation in
Polymeric Materials' for its 'modified
polyester for hotfill application by injection
stretch blow moulding (ISBM) process'. Ester
has developed a polymer with which
bottles/jars can be blown with normal ISBM
process without the need for heat set and
also permitting filling temperatures of up-to
90oC.
Ester Industries was also selected as
joint runner-up in the category of
'Innovation In Polymeric Materials' for its
'polyester masterbatch to impart stain
OutDoor 2017
Organised by Messe Friedrichshafen and its partner the European
Outdoor Group (EOG), Outdoor
resistance in nylon for carpet
application'. Ester's master batch
provides flexibility to producers of nylon
yarns for carpets to adjust the content of
the active ingredient for stain resistance
to their specific need.
Global
polypropylene
demand to rise 5%
2017, the leading international trade
show, will take place at Lake
Constance from 18-21 June.
During the trade fair visitors will
find everything related to the topic of
leisure, sports, travel and appropriate
clothing. In addition, the exhibition
serves as a unique trend and innovation
platform and an active and vibrant
community meeting place.
Global demand for polypropylene
(PP) is expected to increase at an
average annual growth rate of about
5% per year up to 2020, led mainly by
extrusion applications, according to a
report released for the GPCA Plasticon
2016 in Dubai. Extrusion applications
accounts for about 60% of global PP
consumption, followed by moulding applications (34%), out of which injection moulding grade was the single largest application. According to the report, PP production
capacities in the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) grew 11.7% last year and
accounted for around 7.4-mn mt or 10% of
global capacities. Capacity additions are
projected to be fastest in India, China and
Africa in the next five years, with almost
ATT
half in China, the report said.
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
W
ith more than 100 countries
represented, and an annual 6%
growth in visitors, JEC World has
become the largest international show of the
composite industry. The new location at Paris
Nord Villepinte (only 5 minutes fron Roissy
Charles de Gaulle) reinforce this strong
leadership, specially regarding the visitors
coming from the US and from Asia.
JEC World will be held from 8-10 March
in the newest and largest exhibition center in
Paris with 62,000 sq m of exhibition space in
have engaging live demonstrations and
innovation corners.
More than 1,300 companies are
expected to exhibit at JEC World 2016. It
will open horizon to a global composites
business perspective with over 35,000
professionals from 100 countries expected
to attend JEC World.
A.Monfor ts TTextilmaschinen
extilmaschinen (Hall
5A, Stand M70) will be demonstrating its
latest range of advanced coating machines
including magnetic roller coatings; following
Preview
More than 1,300
companies are
expected to exhibit
at JEC World 2016. It
will open horizon to
a global composites
business perspective
with over 35,000
professionals from
100 countries
expected to attend.
Halls 5A and 6. Exhibition halls are
connected on the ground level for convenient
circulation and comfort during setting-up,
event hours and dismantling.
The complete composites value chain is
represented : raw materials, processing,
distribution, manufacturing and end-users.
The exhibition provides opportunities to
discover the advances and innovations in
composites and learn about the latest
market trends, build one's network and
find new business partners, meet important
decisions makers. The exhibition will also
the recent acquisition of ‘know how’ from
coating specialist Timatec.
Responding to the demand by the coating
segment for composites and textile finishing,
Monforts will be demonstrating its coating
range as a single source for new and
innovative one-stop solutions. Single sourced
solutions including sophisticated lightweight
construction using innovative textile-based
coated materials in the automotive and
aerospace industries will be highlighted.
Technical textiles and coated textiles
make high demands on the manufacturer's
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
flexibility. The textile machine must also
be flexibly adaptable to precisely these
demands. Here Monforts offers tailormade solutions from a single source.
The various coating modules can be
employed with and without magnet
system. For working widths over 240 cm
use of a magnetic doctor blade is
recommended.
Monforts offers a wide range of
different doctor blade systems - also in
combination - to meet the individual
requirements:
z Air knife coating
z Roller knife coating
z Foam coating
z Screen printing
z Magnetic roller coating.
The coating systems are available in
four versions : basic, multi-functional,
universal and multi-functional.
The Basic version, for example, offers
manual adjustment in two positions for
air knife and roller knife coating and
printing without magnet for working
widths of up to 240 cm.
The Multi-functional version with two
position manual adjustment is designed
for magnetic knife coating with a working
width of up to 240 cm and screen printing.
The Universal version features
motorised adjustment with three positions
for foam coating, roller knife coating and
magnetic knife coating; for working
widths above 240 cm.
The fourth, Multi-functional version,
with three position motorised adjustment
has been designed for direct fabric feed
coating applications using printing
templates and operating modes with
magnetic roller knife and air knife as
well as roller knife coatings.
Monforts can also provide Ex-proof
ranges for solvent-based coatings and
for high temperature processes up to
320oC such as, for example, PTFE
sintering. All Monforts coating systems
feature simple and user friendly PLC
techniques with on-screen visualisation
for all operating modes. Recipe
management for different coating
processes are integrated into the
proven Qualitex control system of the
Montex stenter.
Monforts provide a worldwide
distribution network for service and sales
of all its coating systems offering proven
technology in the market place.
Alkar (Hall 6, Stand L 56)
Technology is a highly innovative
company with more than 25 years of
experience in composites. The company
produces a large cell composite
honeycomb core, Struxell (patented),
named after its aim of being a structural
cellular material, designed to meet the
growing needs for architectural and
other lightweight structures. Structural,
translucent, fire-resistant and UV
stabilized composite honeycomb core
panels are a major breakthrough for
building applications. Moreover, thanks
to all possible materials that can be
processed, Struxell can also be used in
many other structural applications :
road transport, railways, shipbuilding,
etc. Their composite honeycomb is also
available as Flexell, a strong cellular
core material that allows to produce
any sandwich double curved shapes.
Firexell is a fire resistant, high
temperature (up to 1,600oC) hexagonal
honeycomb for building and special
industrial applications.
Biteam (Hall 5A, Stand E 21)
develops and produces customized 3D
woven profiled carbon textile
reinforcements for manufacturing
primary load-bearing structural
members, jointing modules and stiffener
elements for advanced highperformance structural applications.
These 3D woven profiled reinforcements
are specially designed for customers'
specific application needs. Biteam's 3D
woven profiled materials are the most
advanced single-piece preforms
available presently with bias and
normal fibre orientations and high
structural integrity, which make them
highly delamination resistant and
reliable. They can be made functional
in certain ways for additional
advantages. These unique advanced
3D-woven profiled materials are
preferred in, among others,
aeronautical/aerospace, impact
absorption, automotive, marine, sports,
building and construction applications.
Bodo Möller Chemie (Hall 6,
Stand G 6) is a leading partner for
speciality chemicals and adhesives
systems in Europe, the Middle East,
Africa and Asia and has built up an
excellent reputation as a distributor of
major international chemical companies
like Dow Automotive and Huntsman.
Quality products, comprehensive
application services and reliable
distribution secure the good
international market position of Bodo
Möller Chemie. The company has many
years of experience in the application
of high quality adhesives for composite
applications in the automotive, marine
and aerospace industries. With new
products like fibres from Ahlstrom,
Hexcel and Sigmatex, Bodo Möller
Chemie is continuously expanding its
composite product line. Due to the
certification according to the EN 9120
international quality standards, the
company has strengthened its position
as a distributor for the aviation
industry. The head office is in Germany,
seventeen branches are located
throughout Europe, the Middle East,
Africa and Asia.
Exel Composites (Hall 5A, Stand
N 87) is a technology company which
designs, manufactures and markets
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
composite profiles, tubes, laminates and
ready systems for industrial applications.
Exel Composites concentrates on
demanding, customer-tailored composite
solutions that are always designed in
close co-operation with the customers to
meet their needs. Specific combinations of
fibres and resin systems give the product
unique properties such as electrical
insulation, fire and chemical resistance in
addition to high a strength-to-weight
ratio and high stiffness. The unrivalled
mechanical properties of composite
materials make them unbeatable in
terms of durability and functionality. Exel
Composites provides solutions e.g. for the
energy industry, electrical industry,
transportation and building, construction
and infrastructure, among many others.
Exel Composites has production units in
Finland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, the
UK, Australia and China.
Kordsa Global (Hall 6, Stand C 6)
develops innovative and unique
intermediate products and applications
in the field of composite reinforcement for
a variety of industries: aviation and
automotive, sports equipment, wind
turbines and the marine industry.
Producing thermoset prepregs for the
aviation, automotive, sports equipment
and medical industries, Kordsa Global
boasts a wider product range and more
flexible production capabilities thanks to
the strength gained from weaving its own
fabric. The product portfolio includes uniand bi-directional carbon, glass and
aramid fabrics in all weaving types and
an additional product group that consists
of hybrid wovens where two different
yarns are used simultaneously in the weft
and/or warp.
Within the Saurer Group, the Allma
Volkmann (Hall 6, Stand A56) Business
Unit is the specialist for advanced
twisting and cabling systems. Allma in
Kempten and Volkmann in Krefeld are
acknowledged leaders in the field of
twisting and direct cabling technologies
for staple fibre and filament yarns.
Allma's twisting and direct-cabling
systems offer leading technology for tyre
cord and technical filament yarns.
Volkmann stands for high-quality
twisting and direct-cabling machines for
apparel and BCF yarns. Their global
success in the market segments of staple
JEC Innovation Award
JEC Group will reward 28
champions of composite materials
within the frame of the JEC
Innovation Awards program. The
jury has selected the best
composite innovations among more
than 100 applications.
The JEC Innovation Awards
ceremony will highlight 28
innovators on stage and will take
place on Tuesday March 8 at 5 p.m.
at JEC WORLD (Paris Nord
Villepinte - France).
fibre, glass filaments and carpet yarns
has its roots in a customer-focused
approach, demonstrated by
technological cooperation, project
planning, technical support and aftersales service for all machine generations
in operation worldwide. Volkmann's
twisting systems for glass and similar
filament yarns offer optimum precision
and reliability. Their versatility is
enhanced by the new combined
assembling and twisting machine VGT-P
for multi-ply yarns.
Volkmann will present the innovations
in glass twisting machines VGT and
VGT11-P. At the joint SAURER Stand A56
in Hall 6 visitors will be informed about
all new developments in the glass fibre
production range.
The major order from Taishan
Fiberglass for 93 VGT twisting machines
in various specifications could be put into
operation in mid-December 2015. The
plant for textile glass filament yarns in
the Shandong Province with a maximum
capacity of 50,000 tons per year is the
worldwide largest production site for
textile twisted glass filament yarns.
Thanks to the Volkmann-typical sectional
design, all machines were started up to
the full satisfaction of the customer within
the shortest possible time.
The newly developed VGT11-P4
Combi glass ring twisting machine,
which was presented at the JEC 2015,
successfully started production at the
end of 2015. The multiply yarn
constructions for the filtration technology
produced on this machine type meet
the highest requirements of the glass
filament market. With its wide field of
applications and high machine
efficiency the VGT11-P series enjoys a
great demand.
The original parts and service
business taken over from the Verdol
Reyes Group in France in September
2015 strengthens and complements
the service and original parts activities
of Allma Volkmann in the areas of
glass, carpet, staple, tire cord and
technical yarns.
Accudyne Systems (Hall 6, Stand P
39) is an internationally recognised
provider of custom automation equipment
for producing intermediary materials,
preforms and finished parts. For twenty
years, Accudyne has specialised in
providing solutions to complex equipment
processing challenges. Much of their work
involves the design and manufacture of
part specific equipment to automate
difficult and/or labour-intensive
Production plant with high
performance twisting machines
Volkmann GlassTwister
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
cutters can be quickly and easily
solutions for the composites market. With
processes. They specialise in programmes
integrated in any type of production
the G3 M-1600 and collaborative UR
requiring development, prototype
environment.
robot, the Swiss cutter manufacturer
demonstration, and full scale manufacThere are thousands of Zünd G3
presents a modular digital cutting system
turing equipment. Their equipment
cutters installed all over the world,
designed for exceptional productivity
includes automated fibre placement
proving their mettle on a daily basis.
and performance.
machines, flat charge laminators, kitting
Zünd's customer reference list is
Maximum productivity and reliability,
machines, stringer formers, bladder
extensive, featuring many renowned
along with simple integration in
wrappers, robotic tool management,
brand owners in the automotive industry,
automated production workflows, are
cross-ply laminators, de-bulking systems,
aerospace, aviation, wind energy, and
critical competitive advantages in the
and pick-and-place laminators.
Bostik (Hall 5A, Stand T 43), an
many other industrial applications.
composites market. Perfectly coordinated
Concordia Fibers (Hall 6, Stand
system components working together in a
Arkema company, is a leading global
M32) pioneered the development of
fully integrated digital workflow are the
adhesive specialist in the industrial
commingling carbon fibre with
key to success. With the G3 M-1600
manufacturing, construction and
thermoplastic fibres to produce flexible
cutting system combined with a
consumer markets. For more than a
thermoplastic prepregs for use in
collaborative UR robot, Zünd offers a
century, they have been developing
advanced thermoplastic composites.
perfect automation solution for cutting
innovative adhesive solutions that are
Concordia's PEEK and PPS commingled
and off-loading prepreg materials. The
smarter and more adaptive to the forces
yarns have been used in a variety of
UR robot does not
that shape our daily lives. Bostik's smart
aerospace applications. Nylon, PET, and
require caging
adhesives can be found everywhere.
polypropylene commingled yarns have
or other
With 2014 annual sales of Euro 1.5
been used in a variety of consumer
protected
billion, the company employs 4,800
products including tennis racquets, bike
workspace and relieves
people and has a presence in more than
frames, and hockey sticks. Concordia has
the operator of the
50 countries. Bostik innovation strategy is
specialised in the development of
repetitive, non-value
based on four lead technologies :
engineered yarns for technical fabrics
z Elastic Bonding (EB)
since 1920. Other applications
z Hot Melt Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
include twisted carbon fibre for
(HMPSA)
3D woven preforms, conductive
z Polymer Modified Binders
fibres for anti-static fabrics, PFTE
(PMB)
fibres for greaseless bearings, and
z Structural Acrylic
a variety of other yarns for products
Adhesives (AEC Polymers).
Evonik Industries (Hall
such as industrial sewing threads,
filtration media, air bags, and
5A, Stand H 44),, the creative
parachute cords.
industrial group from
The new collaborative robot from Zünd does not require a safety
Cavitec (Hall 5A, Stand P
Germany, is one of the world
cage and relieves the operator of repetitive, non-value adding tasks
69) was established 1996 by
leaders in specialty chemicals.
combining the activities of two very
adding task of sorting and unloading.
Its activities focus on the key sectors like
reputable companies: Caratsch AG and
The cut parts are automatically stacked
health, nutrition, resource efficiency and
Villars AG. Cavitec is a brand of Santex
and can be removed any time without
globalization. It benefits specifically from
Rimar Group located at Tobel,
any interruptions to the production
its innovative power and integrated
Switzerland. They develop, design and
process.
technology platforms. Evonik
deliver machines and processing plants
Because of their modular design,
manufactures a range of products that
for the following sectors: - laminating,
Zünd high-performance cutting systems
can be found in almost all components of
impregnating, coating, and scattering of
can be easily tailored to the specific
fibre-reinforced composites. It supplies
area-measured materials (technical and
needs and dynamics of the composites
core materials for sandwich construction,
textile); - manufacturing of prepreg on
market. This not only guarantees
thermoplastic and thermosetting resin
the basis of glass fibre, carbon fibre,
exceptional productivity but also makes
matrices as well as thermoplastic tapes,
synthetic fibre, and their woven fabrics; the Zünd a very safe investment with both
and the components for matrices such as
thermofusion, heat setting, drying and
immediate and lasting returns. The G3
crosslinkers, catalysts, impact strength
finishing of nonwovens. The combination
cutter is CE and UL certified. It can be
modifiers or processing and process
of the various technologies and unit
used as a standalone solution in a semiadditives. Some of these products are
processes available in-house makes
automated configuration for custom or
used in sizing for glass or carbon fibres,
Cavitec the ideal partner for the supply of
shorter-run production or, just as easily,
and in adhesives for joining fibrecustom built solutions in the above areas.
integrated in a fully automated industrial
reinforced composites.
Zeus (Hall 5A, Stand N 15) is a
Zünd (Hall 5A, Booth R45) will be
production workflow. Powered by Zünd
global leader in material science
Cut Center with its open interface, G3
exhibiting innovative automation
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
innovation and the extrusion of highperformance polymers such as PTFE, FEP,
PEEK, and 300oC NeoTem. The
lightweight Zeus engineered polymers
provide a temperature, chemical and
abrasion resistant alternative to metals
often used in aerospace applications.
Their FEP Lay-Flat Heat Shrink is a
seamless manufacturing aid for forming
composites. This material is less labourintensive and offers an improved surface
finish when compared to traditional films
and tapes. Its lubricity allows for easy
removal after curing. Available in long,
continuous lengths and multiple colours,
Zeus will tailor the size and recovery
ratio of the heat shrink to fit precisely over
the mandrel or bladder, reducing lay-up
and installation time. They also offer
multiple extruded profiles such as spiral
wrap and convoluted tubing (wire
harnessing), performance fibres
(braiding) and more.
Fiberline Composites (Hall 6,
Stand H 12) is one of the world's leading
manufacturers of advanced pultruded
composite profiles. Fiberline's products
find application across a broad
spectrum, within for example the wind
energy sector, where they have been a
trusted supplier for more than 25 years.
Their pultruded carbon fibre and glass
fibre profiles are used for reinforcement
of wind turbine blades and blade roots
and for a number of other applications
where low weight, high strength and cost
effectiveness is in focus. From their stateof-the-art headquarters in Denmark, they
constantly push the boundaries of
composite materials to meet the
demands of the modern energy
efficient society.
Aliancys (Hall 5A, Stand
M 44) is a leading global
company active in the sales of
quality resins for composite
applications. Together with
its customers, Aliancys is
pushing the limits of both
composite part
manufacturing and performance. Taking
an integral approach to new product
development, Aliancys is using its full
expertise in resin chemistry, material
science, and component manufacturing to
shape new applications in composites.
The company's headquarters is based in
Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Aliancys is a
joint venture of CVC Capital Partners and
Royal DSM.
An innovator with a global presence
Covestro (Hall 5A, Stand E60) is a
world-leading manufacturer of high-tech
polymer materials for key industries.
Their products and application solutions
are nearly everywhere in modern life.
With their innovative strength, the
company is constantly coming up with
new developments that benefit society
and the environment. Covestro
composites are polyurethane and
polycarbonate-based systems that are
processed in combination with fillers
and/or short, long or continuous fibres
into moulded parts. The polyurethane is
applied to a substrate using either
spraying, casting, liquid resin press
moulding or conventional composite
manufacturing processes. Polycarbonatebased composites with short fibre
reinforcements can be used in a common
injection moulding process. Continuous
fibre reinforced composite sheets are
suitable for thermoforming processes that
could also be combined with a backmoulding injection moulding step.
Georg Sahm GmbH (Hall 5A,
Stand M65) is one of the leading
producer of automatic and manual takeup winders, parallel winders and
rewinders for various applications. The
headquarters is in Eschwege, Germany.
SAHM is represented in all important
markets with own offices in Fountain Inn,
SC, USA and Guangzhou, China. At JEC
World 2016, SAHM introduces,
Automatic and manual winders for
carbon fibres and prepreg tapes/
towpreg, Jumbo winders for Pan
Precursor yarns, and Automatic handling
and transport systems for heavy spools.
PPG Industries (Hall 5A, Stand
H 32) was established in 1883 as the
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Today,
PPG Industries is a global supplier of
coatings, glass, fibre glass and
chemicals - a leader in its markets,
streamlined and efficient, and on the
leading edge of new technologies to
provide a growth-focused future
worldwide. The company has more than
100 facilities - including subsidiaries,
joint ventures and equity affiliates located in more than 20 countries, and
it employs more than 30,000 people
Continuous fibre-reinforced composites
have promising opportunities in the IT,
automotive and transportation industries,
as well as in consumer goods. Covestro
has developed a new technology for an
efficient production of sandwich
components that also meet consumer
demands for smooth, high quality surfaces.
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
their already proven low NOx exhaust
air treatment technology for carbon fibre
processing lines, achieving NOx emissions levels close to zero. Having installed
more than 60 air treatment systems for
carbon fibre processing lines globally,
Clean Technology Systems is focused on
developments to improve energy
efficiency and exhaust air purification.
Gurit (Hall 5A, Stand K18)
specialises in the development and
manufacture of advanced composite
materials, related technologies and
select finished parts and components. The
comprehensive product range comprises
fibre reinforced prepregs, structural core
products (man-made materials and
balsa wood), gel coats, adhesives, resins
and consumables. The company supplies
global growth markets with composite
materials on the one hand and composite
tooling equipment, structural engineering
and select finished parts on the other.
With offices, manufacturing sites,
sales representatives and a
network of distributors across
Europe, North and South America,
the Middle East, China, Australia,
New Zealand and India, Gurit
offers a truly global presence.
Henkel (Hall 6, Stand J31) is
a leading solution provider for
adhesives, sealants and functional
coatings worldwide. They offer a
wide product portfolio of tailormade solutions for their composite
customers in the automotive,
Lantor Soric
aerospace and adjacent
industries. These unique product portfolio
such as the original Coremat and Soric
targets to serve their customers
materials are developed by Lantor and
throughout the entire composite value
have been recognised for their easy
chain. Their global team of experts and
processing, the wide range of different
partners make sure that customers can
grades and their mechanical
overcome the challenges connected to
performance and surface quality. Lantor
high series production with composite
is constantly developing new solutions for
materials. Henkel stands for best in class
the composites industry. Recently, the
support and services with their topSoric product range was enlarged with
brands Loctite and Teroson which creates
an adhesive version. The adhesive layer
sustainable value for customers.
improves the placement and processing
The Ziegler (Hall 6, Stand P 38)
of the core material.
nonwoven products play an essential role
The Clean Technology Systems
in the following markets : automobile,
Division of Dürr Systems GmbH (Hall 6,
plastics, furniture, medical and other
Stand Q32) is the global leader for
applications. Using the competence
exhaust air purification in the chemical,
gained from more than 100 years of
petrochemical, pharmaceutical and
experience, they develop new ideas
automotive industries. Additionally, Dürr
jointly with their customers. Their range of
has continued to further innovate upon
worldwide. PPG's fibre glass operations
produce chopped strands, continuous
strand rovings, woven rovings, mats and
electronics and special yarns to serve
four distinct fibre glass end-use
segments : thermoplastics, general
industrial (including thermosets and
speciality products), electronics
and roofing.
Dietze + Schell (Hall 6, Stand B54)
is the worldwide leading company in the
area of high quality winders and yarn
refining machines for the textile, glass
fibre and composite industry, including
converting machineries for prepreg and
nonwovens. They have been delivering
high-tech machineries to more than 80
countries for more than 60 years.
Lantor (Hall 6, Stand J 68) is known
for their high quality flexible core
materials. For decades, Lantor products
have been used in composite parts to
save weight and production costs. Brands
products, which consists of needlepunched nonwovens, laminated
nonwovens, wadding and foam/
nonwoven composites, covers both wellknown as well as novel and unusual
applications. This range is supplemented
by cut pieces they produce with their
CAD-controlled cutter or punching
machine according to customer
specifications. At their locations in
Achern, Lambrecht (both Germany),
Bábolna (Hungary) and China, they
provide a comprehensive service from
conception to delivery.
Herbert Meyer (Hall 6, Stand B
67) was founded in 1949. The range of
their program starts from small fusing
machines for garments and shirts, over
laminating and coating machines for
technical textiles, foams and nonwoven,
to thermoforming and moulding lines for
the automotive industry. Their specialty is
to bond, laminate and mould different
materials with heat and pressure. As an
adhesive, normally thermoplastic
materials are used in form of foils,
nonwoven, powder or fibres. Their
solutions are continuous as well as
discontinuous processes. Material is
processed from roll to roll or as sheets.
Trans-T
extil GmbH (Hall 5A, Stand
rans-Textil
M 6) of Freilassing, Germany, is licensed
by EADS as the exclusive manufacturer to
produce semi-permeable membrane
systems for the use in its patented VAP
vacuum assisted process. In this process,
Trans-Textil's membrane systems act as
air-permeable resin barriers, thus
enabling the evacuation of potentially
hazardous gas and air inclusions from the
liquid resin used in the production of fibre
reinforced plastic parts. The heat-resistant
and drapable membrane laminates
help make production processes involving
VAP technology more reliable and
cost-effective.
Diab's (Hall 5A, Stand M 43)
innovative sandwich composite materials
take products to a higher level of
competitiveness by making them
stronger, lighter and smarter. Discover
how construction dreams can be realized
in a cost-efficient and environmentally
sustainable way. With more than 60
years experience, Diab is the world
leader in sandwich composite
technology. Their range of Divinycell
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
TenCate Cetex® RTL
cores
and other
advanced core
materials can be
found in applications
from 10,000 meters
below sea level to more
than 10,000 meters above the
surface. Each and every one of their
customers has unique products and
processes, and they know how to meet
their specific needs. Their product range
is complemented with services ranging
from kit manufacturing and finishing
options to engineering, process
optimization and training. With six
manufacturing sites around the world
and representation in 16 countries, they
are able to secure fast supply, costefficiency, flexibility and local support.
Carbon Nexus (Hall 5A, Stand B
72) is a globally unique carbon fibre
and composites research facility
operated by Deakin University. Carbon
Nexus leads world-class innovation in
fibre and composites solutions, offering
research, development and training in all
aspects of precursor and carbon fibre
production and characterisation, applied
analysis and innovative manufacturing
concepts. Practical training covers skills
for operators, technicians, process and
maintenance engineers for oxidation and
carbonisation equipment and full line
operations. Carbon Nexus works closely
with industry to achieve innovative,
product-focussed high-value outcomes.
Situated at Deakin University's Waurn
Ponds Campus, close to Melbourne,
Carbon Nexus operates a state-of-the-art
multi-tow carbon fibre pilot line of 50100 tonnes per annum capacity which is
complemented by a single-tow carbon
fibre research line to enhance research
efficiency. Carbon Nexus offers
unparalleled access for private industry
and academic researchers.
TenCate Advanced Composites
(Hall 5A, Stand T 44) are a market
leader in the development and
production of advanced thermoset and
TenCate Cetex thermoplastic composite
materials. With
production facilities
and operations in Europe,
North America and Asia, TenCate
supply a portfolio of prepregs in fabric,
unidirectional tape, bulk moulded
compounds and reinforced thermoplastic
laminate (RTL) formats. The market
leading TenCate AmberTool portfolio of
tooling prepregs have over 25 years
heritage in providing composite tooling
solutions for global aerospace and
industrial markets. TenCate's diverse
portfolio is incorporated into a variety of
market segments including :
aerostructures, aircraft interiors, UAVs,
space and satellite, radomes,
automotive, motorsport and F1 consumer
electronics, sporting goods and medical
composite tooling. Additionally, TenCate
supply RTM resins, honeycomb core,
resin films, syntactic films and paste
adhesives. Through their CCS Composites
group, they provide compression
moulded part fabrication.
To develop the next generation of
lightweight and efficient materials and
structures, researchers worldwide turn to
MTS (Hall 5A, Stand M 81) for
composite material testing solutions. MTS
solutions help researchers and
manufacturers characterise these
innovative composite materials and
design concepts with extreme precision
and repeatability. MTS understands the
complexities of these types of tests, which
typically require analysis of material
behaviour under exacting mechanical
loads and displacements, and
incorporate multiple methods of
measuring and collecting data. During
the next decade of research, tests on
composite materials will require greater
fidelity, more detailed measurement
techniques, and tighter integration with
computer models. MTS provides durable
and versatile load frames, highly
scalable digital controls, and
continuously
upgraded software to
meet your testing needs today
and tomorrow.
Z-Laser Optoelektronik (Hall 6,
Stand Q 43) : Since its inception in
1985, Z-Laser has been known as a
manufacturer of industrial laser systems
for the manufacturing industry, machine
vision, measurement and medical
applications as well as appliances in
analysis and science. The lasers serve
as illumination for high-quality 2D/3D
camera based applications as well as
a visual positioning aid in various
industries. Besides high performance
and industry proven (IP67) lasers, the
company also offers computer based
laser projector systems. The laser
projection systems are able to project
the whole contour of a work piece or an
entire component drawing on a scale of
1:1. In the composite industry, laser
projectors are used to position exactly
the manual lay-up of glass or carbon
fibre mats. Other positioning tasks and
laser light guided work with composite
materials are found in the aviation,
automotive, rotor blade and yacht
industries.
Mozart AG (Hall 5A, Stand E 62)
produces technical blades for different
applications. Blades for cutting foils and
films, composites, filaments and chemical
fibres belong to their product range as
well as handles, blades and equipment
for deburring applications. For special
requirements, they offer a wide range of
special blades to solve cutting challenges.
Wacker Chemie (Hall 5A, Stand
F 31) provides solutions for processing
and optimising high-quality composites.
The range comprises not only additives
for modifying resins but also system
components that greatly enhance both
the work process and the end-product.
z Vinnapas solid resins are low-profile
additives to prevent processing
shrinkage; they guarantee the production
of Class A surfaces and so optimize the
appearance.
z Genioperl organosilicone copolymers
serve as impact modifiers for enhancing
the impact strength of epoxy resins.
They also reduce susceptibility to
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
cracking in applications such as wind
energy/rotor blades.
z HDK (pyrogenic silica) offer major
advantages for regulating the rheology
of adhesive systems used in wind
turbines. Their thixotropic action ensures
that such systems can be processed
efficiently.
z Elastosil C silicone rubber grades are
used in the manufacture of reusable,
precision-fit silicone vacuum bags by the
flex-moulding process.
TeXtreme Spread (Hall 6, Stand E
21) Tow reinforcements is the ultimate
choice for making ultra-light composites.
TeXtreme Technology is flexible and towTeXtreme® Spread Tow reinforcements
consists of 0/90 fabrics, +45/-45 fabrics
and UD tapes that can be supplied
dry or as prepreg.
size independent which enables
development of optimized reinforcement
solutions tailor-made for specific
application needs. Utilisation of TeXtreme
Spread Tow carbon fabrics and carbon
UD tapes by manufacturers of advanced
aerospace, industrial and sports
products confirms that 20-30% lighter
composite parts can be produced with
improved mechanical properties and
superior surface smoothness. TeXtreme is
a registered trademark owned by Oxeon
AB. Founded in 2003, Oxeon has quickly
established itself as the market leader in
spread tow reinforcements with its
products marketed under the brand
name TeXtreme.
Zwick (Hall 6, Stand Q 43) is the
world's leading supplier of materials test
machines. Their machines are used for
R&D and quality assurance in more than
twenty industries. In addition to standard
tensile, compression and flexural tests,
Zwick materials testing machines can be
used for multiaxial tests such as biaxial
tensile tests and torsion tests.
Johns Manville (Hall 6, Stand F
32) is a leading manufacturer and
marketer of premium-quality products for
building insulation, mechanical
insulation, commercial roofing and roof
insulation, as well as fibres and
nonwovens for commercial, industrial and
residential applications. JM serves
markets that include aerospace,
automotive, transportation, air handling,
appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment,
filtration, waterproofing, building,
flooring, interiors and wind energy. JM
products contribute to creating
environments that are energy efficient,
safe and healthy.
Fibertex Nonwovens (Hall 5A,
Stand L 10) is a market-leading
manufacturer of a wide range of products
for use within many different applications
including composites, civil engineering
and the building industry. The core
products for the composites and wind
industry are : Compoflex (3 in 1: peelply,
breather and release film), standard and
customised breathers and kits as well as
UV resistant blade covers. Incorporating
several nonwoven technologies in the
same company, Fibertex Nonwovens is
the ideal partner for developments within
the nonwovens industry. More than 45
years of experience and indepth knowledge achieved
by participating in global
projects and committees
enable them to offer
customers unique technical
service and assistance.
Norafin (Hall 5A,
Stand C 77), an innovative
producer of technical
nonwovens, targets various
market segments such as
filtration, performance
apparel or industrial
applications. Focusing
efforts on tailor-made solutions, Norafin
offers a wide range of engineered fabrics
for the development of composite
structures.
Performing product options :
increased safety and material strength,
excellent optical appearance and
surface finish, intermediate volume
fraction reinforcement, high-performance
aramid and natural fibres.
Excellent material characteristics :
light-weight, homogeneous texture,
flexible, conformable, rapid wet-out,
easy-to-impregnate, 3-dimensional
fibre orientation.
Product novelty : heatable textiles.
Setex-T
extil-GmbH (Hall 5A,
Setex-Textil-GmbH
Stand E 60 produces a wide range of
technical textiles made of basalt, glass,
aramid and hybrids which are used for
composites, thermoplastic composites,
base cloths for various coatings, filtration,
backing fabrics for artificial sport
surfaces and geotextiles.
The Isomatex (Hall 6, Stand H80)
company is the leading European
producer of enhanced volcanic rock
filaments. Isomatex's products are
distributed under the trademark Filava™
and are composed of filaments with a
diameter of less than 11.0 µm. The
production of Filava is unique thanks to a
genuine and innovative treatment of the
raw material, basalt, which is enriched
with various mineral additives to increase
and guarantee its original mechanical
and chemical properties. The components
used and the fabrication process are
Isomatex's specific and exclusive
expertise. Isomatex is keen to find the
best solutions for each specific
application and develops both tailorIsomatex Filava
JEC WORLD : PREVIEW
made fibres and sizing compounds for
the most prestigious companies at the
forefront of composite materials and
technical textiles.
Scott & Fyfe (Hall 5A, Stand E 16)
provide the global composite industry
with a wide portfolio of reinforcement
materials. They offer commodity products
such as multi-end and direct ECR rovings,
CSM, WR and CFM. They also
manufacture a range of specialised
products such as their market leading
Polymat for RTM/VI, Polymat FR which is
a 100% glass reinforcement for closed
moulding of fire resistant parts, a wide
range of glass multi-axial (NCFs) as well
as carbon and aramid textiles.
Stoll (Hall 5A, Stand Q 83) provides
fast, flexible and economical production of
complex shapes even for single pieces;
combination of knitted constructions,
materials and two or three-dimensional
structures in one piece of fabric,
considerable material savings, almost no
material limitations. It is involved in :
composite textiles, sports industry,
medical technology, transport & logistics,
conductive textiles & wire processing,
furniture industry.
Brückner (Hall 6, Stand P 32) group
is a mechanical engineering company
with decades of tradition and experience.
They plan, construct and install machinery
and lines for finishing and coating of
textiles, technical textiles, nonwovens and
floor coverings. Their scope of delivery
comprises systems for the finishing of
woven and knitted fabric, nonwovens,
carpets and all kinds of technical textiles
and other planiform materials. Some
typical processes are: drying, heat-setting, condensing, continuous dyeing, sanforizing, compacting, relaxing, coating,
laminating, consolidating. Innovative
energy saving concepts such as heat
recovery and exhaust air cleaning systems
complete their profile.
Coatema Coating Machinery
GmbH (Hall 5A, Stand E60) offers
production equipment and R&D for
coating, printing and laminating plants for
roll to roll and sheet to sheet applications.
Focused on high-tech markets, they offer
everything from high precision register
controlled printing systems like screen,
engraving, flexo and inkjet to nanolayer
coating systems like slot die and over 30
different application
systems. They offer
machinery for : printing,
coating, laminating, surface
treatment, photolithography,
nanoimprinting, laser
patterning, encapsulation.
Their target markets are: printed
electronics, prepreg, renewables,
film and paper, textile and
membranes and glass.
Lindauer Dornier GmbH (Hall
6, Stand B 47) produces and
distributes textile and speciality
machines. The textile machinery segment
includes rapier and air-jet weaving
machines with which technical textiles,
clothing and home textiles are produced.
Furthermore, Dornier manufactures film
stretching lines for products for the
electrotechnical and packaging industries
in the area of speciality machines. The
company is considered a technology leader
in weaving machines and film stretching
lines and a competent niche supplier. For 40
years, Dornier has also been supplying
rapier weaving machines for the carbon
fibre industry and is heavily involved in
mechanical engineering for the production
of fibre composites. Energy efficiency has
a high priority in new developments.
For the first time, Karl Mayer
Mayer, the
leading textile machinery manufacturer,
will be present (Hall 5A, Stand P 59) at
the JEC World international exhibition,
together with its new affiliated company,
Karl Mayer Technische Textilien.
The company belongs to the longstanding exhibitors at the JEC Composite
Show in Paris. It is already well
established in the composite industry, in
particular due to its innovative biaxial and
multiaxial warp knitting machines and
thanks to its fibre-spreading technology.
Last year, Karl Mayer Technische
Textilien, the young limited company,
resulted from the merger of Karl Mayer
Liba in Naila and Karl Mayer Malimo
based in Chemnitz.
At its premiere in Paris the newcomer
is expected to benefit from the high
degree of reputation of the two fusion
partners, the manufacturer reports.
Jochen Schmidt, member of the
Management Board of Karl Mayer
Technische Textilien GmbH, expects to
welcome a lot of visitors.
To highlight the
company’ high level of
expertise in a wide
variety of applications, Karl
Mayer’s presentation will
focus on an innovative product made from
a composite material – a kite board with
a reinforcement produced from a multiaxial layer fabric, manufactured on one
of its machines.
The ultra-light but still stable sports
equipment consists of two hybrid
laminates, which cover a poplar wood
core on their upper and lower sides. The
composites in the top and bottom
structures combine a carbon multiaxial
layer fabric +/- 45o produced on a MAX 5
machine with a UD glass fibre material in
0o direction as reinforced tension/
compression chord. Epoxy resin was used
as matrix. By means of a transparent
functional covering layer it is possible to
provide the smart board with a stylish
design by using the thermal sublimation
printing method, the company reports.
ZSK Stickmaschinen (Hall 5A,
Stand E 60) is a German manufacturer of
embroidery machines with more than 60
years of experience. For 18 years, it is
also present in the field of technical
embroidery machines for placing
reinforcement fibres for preforms and
wires for heating and other systems.
Advantages of fibre placement with
embroidery machines : the rovings are
placed according to the distribution of
forces within a structural component;
variable ply stacks where local
reinforcement is needed; laying of
various materials like carbon fibres,
ATT
glass fibres, aramid fibres, etc.
GEOTEXTILES
Materials and applications
GEOTEXTILES
W
Future developments of geotextiles
will be wide and
varied, driven not
only by the demand
for improvements in
performance, but
also by the desire of
added multifunctionalities
for solutions.
ith an average annual growth
rate of 10.59% until 2019, the
future of the nonwovens industry
is looking promising. India and Asia are said
to be the most important markets, since
government policy and environmental
regulations in these countries support the
commercial use of geotextiles. And the market
is growing rapidly: In 2019, geotextiles will
reach a market value of almost 8.7 million US
dollars. Requirements for geotextiles and
building textiles have long exceeded the
usual applications of filtration and drainage.
The industry needs composite structures with
several properties.
The most important raw material for
geotextiles is polypropylene staple fibre.
Starting with nonwovens for different
applications in civil engineering, roadways
and landscaping for separating soil layers,
protecting pipes from mechanical stress or for
filtration. In horticulture and landscaping, the
use of natural fibres is also increasing. Erosion
protection mats made from coconut flax or jute
are an economical solution for preventing
undesirable soil erosion and promoting
permanent vegetation on embankments.
These materials are usually needlepunch
nonwovens of various basic weights as well
as composites of different materials and
geogrids made from multifilament yarns and
used for soil reinforcements and area
stabilisation. In most cases, the grid structures
are coated to repel various media.
Geo-composites
The requirements of geotextiles must go
beyond the use of a single material.
Companies are constantly developing new
composites that combine the properties of
several materials. Different materials can be
bonded with mechanical or chemical methods.
A typical production process for such
composites involves mechanical
needlepunching of the different layers or
bonding with eco-friendly adhesives. Typical
special application for these materials is use in
traffic systems. Apart from car parks, streets
and train tracks, they stabilise the foundations
of airport runways or support structures in
hydraulic engineering like building and
landfill construction. These applications use
geosynthetic clay liners (GCL) consisting of
three components: A top layer of geotextiles,
bentonite granulates and a geotextile carrier is
fully needlepunched into a homogenous
product. These GCL are a natural barrier
against liquids and gasses. Mineral clay seals
need layers of up to 100 cm. The GCL achieve a
similar seal with thicknesses of about 1cm. Less
thickness means material reduction and less
excavated soil.
Classics go modern
Civil and structural engineering offer a
wide variety of textile applications.
Nonwovens, for instance, are used as
mechanical protection for film seals, to
separate soil layers underneath building
foundations and as a drainage layer to prevent
the ground from softening. Textile concrete is
being introduced into the building industry as
well. Plastic-set 2D and 3D textile webs made
from glass or carbon fibres replace steel as
reinforcement. Textile concrete is highly
corrosion-resistant, which makes it more
GEOTEXTILES
durable, while reduced material offers
flexible geometric solutions. But textiles
are also used to improve energy consumptions in existing buildings, e.g. as insulation mats or composite sheet insulation.
Many roofing underlayers and seals
are composite materials with a textile
core. Based on PP nonwovens, these
products are coated with thermoplastic
polymers. Nonwovens used as inliners for
ducts are coated before hand. The new
facade
membranes
open up a new
area of
application. With the
development of the facade membrane
CaWrap Color, CaPlast managed to
combine many physical requirements in
one product. The new polyurethanebased facade membrane is durable,
diffusion permeable, permanently UV
stable, light and colourfast, scratchresistant and premium quality, breaking
new ground in facade design.
Current developments include
solutions for lightweight design with selfcleaning building surfaces and bionicstyle lightweight structures - experts are
even pointing towards the huge future
potential of textile-based sensor
technology. Building segments could be
equipped with additional functions such
as lighting, heating, measuring humidity
or sending alerts in case of fire,
earthquake or water damage.
The challenges
Needlepunch technology and
thermobonding are the core technologies
for producing geotextiles or materials for
geo-composites. Composites are also
produced with the help of adhesives.
Sustainable, resource-efficient and ecofriendly materials must be used in order
to meet the customers' requirements.
Coating and treatment lines need to
accommodate product-specific
requirements, including a range of
widths for the products. Processing
natural fibres needs a lot of experience
and robust machines.
Integrating sensor
technology adds
further challenges
in order to
equip
products
with these
functionalities.
Feed
systems,
processing and
bonding technology for
electronics and delicate
materials are problems for the
production of multifunctional
geotextiles, which will have to be
resolved in the future.
Future trends
With the continuing growth of the
world's population, there will be
continuing demand on land space for
infrastructure development and the built
environment. This will conflict with the
need to safeguard the natural
environment and its resources, while
accomodating changing weather
patterns through flood defences and
erosion control. Geotextiles, along with
other geosynthetics, will play a major
part in the future application of
geotechnical engineering to meet these
anticipated challenges ahead. Future
developments of geosythetic materials
need to have enhanced functionality but
yet a reduced carbon foot-print, enabling
them to be used in even wider range of
applications.
The current trends can be seen in the
development of material structures to give
better performance in certain specific
funtionalities. For example, new
challenges for nonwoven geotextiles in
application areas such as filtration
require media designed to meet
particular small pore-size specifications
in the 3-20 micron range. To achieve
small pore diameter fibres of the order of
1-10 microns, which are difficult to
control during conversion into bulk
structures. Studies have shown that
bicomponent melt-spinning fibre
technology can be adapted to enhance
the geotextile filtration function. The
particular biocomponent fibre spinning
method known as 'island-in-the-sea'
produces relatively coarse fibres (1-5
denier), each made up of two polymers.
Within each coarse fibre, one of the
polymers forms a matrix binding them
together to produce the coarse fibre. A
cross-sectional view of the coarse fibre
diameter (90o to the fibre axis) shows the
multiple of small diameter fibres, as
'islands' and the matrix as the 'sea'. The
coarse fibres can be processed as
continuous filaments to make
spunbonded nonwoven geotextiles or
chopped into staple fibres for carded
and needle-punched products. In either
case, the sea polymer is eventually
removed by dissolving it with a solvent or
other means, leaving behind the small
diameter fibres, enabling the resultant
fabric to achieve targeted pore diameters
and porosity.
Coarse and fine fibres have also
been used in a two-layer media to be
used as high performance filters in
rock rip-rap structures for coastal
protection. The fine diameter fibres
provide the pore size which retains soil
particles, while the coarser fibres act
as a protective/ reinforcing layer
against mechanical stresses form rock
movements. Such multifunctional filter
systems can be a two-layer nonwoven
combination or the coarser fibre layer
could be a monofilament woven
geotextiles. Melt blowing technology
enables the production of a fine fibre
layer on a coarse fibre ground fabric.
However, the on-going developments in
nanofibre technology may facilitate two
or three layer geotextile filter media
with further improvements in
performance.
The approach of multilayering of
coarse and fine fibres has also been
applied for enhanced drainage
functionality. One development is a
three layer nonwoven geotextile which
is claimed to give a better performance
than drainage geocomposites with a
geonet core. The three layer nonwoven
structure is a sandwich of thick nonwoven core made from coarse fibres
with top and bottom nonwoven layers
made of finer fibres. The improvement
in performance results from the higher
in-plane permeability obtained under
increased normal load and the greater
resistance to soil intrusion into the
drainage channels. Again, variations
on this three-layer structure could lead
to other novel geotextile composites
where coarse woven monofilaments in
a pile-type structure is heat welded
and sandwiched between woven finer
filament layers or nonwoven layers.
Important to filtration and drainage
application is the minimising of clogging,
in particular biological clogging.
Although the above multilayered
structures may be designed to
accommodate this problem, there is
interest in the possibilities of modifying
the surface chemistry of fibres to retard
the onset of biofilm formation which may
extend the operating life of filters and
drainage systems.
Environmental applications of
geotextiles are likely to grow in
importance, not only in areas of erosion
control but also in geotechnical
reclamation, pollution control, and
prevention. Developments are on going
for better ECB and TRMs involving natural
fibres and 3D structures of woven, warp
knitted or nonwoven synthetic scaffolds.
Plantable reinforcement geonets have
also been developed, combining jute or
coir nonwoven geotextiles with high
tenacity PET geotextile grids to offer not
only reinforcement for wall construction
but also for the construction of walls with
plantable facings to initiate rapid
vegetation cover. Geotextile structures are
also being designed to assist plant
growth in arid climates where intense
evaporation draws saline water to the
top soil from the water table by capillary
action; the subsequent evaporation
increases salt concentration and
precipitation leaving salt in the soil. The
geotextile is made to disrupt the rapid
capillary flow and reduce the rate of
evaporation.
The potential
development of
electrokinetic
geotextiles offers an
opportunity to
increase the
redevelopment of
derelict land as a
means of reducing
the pressure for
construction within
the natural
environment. This
electrically
conductive material
enhances the
filtration and
drainage
functionalities by
electro-osmosis and
ion migration.
Various types of
conductive
component can be
incorporated in the
geotextile structure
to achieve this effect,
but the possible use
of activated carbon
fibre or similar
additives with
pollution sorptive
surface properties
can aid land
recovery of polluted
areas.
Geotextile with
activated carbon in
combination with
titanium dioxide
(TiO2) are also
being developed.
These materials are
aimed at pollution
control, and are
claimed to be
effective for the
degradation of
organic pollutants
in gases and
liquid effluents. The
activated carbon
absorbs the
pollution while the
(TiO2) oxidises the
organics by
photocatalysis, their
GEOTEXTILES
full oxidation resulting in CO2 and
H2O. Photocatalysis degrades the
majority of organic pollutants in
gaseous or liquid effluents such that
geotextile materials can be used in
numerous applications for protecting
local environments, e.g. covering of
lagoon ponds, compositing stations,
water cleaning stations, agricultural or
food industry effluents.
Geotextile installations involve very
large surface areas and the possibility
of incorporating sensory devices into
these textile structures has attracted
much attention.
Sensory geotextiles are being
designed, which can be used
simultaneously for separation, filtration,
protection, drainage and after their
installation, permit the pinpointing of
failure places in their structures. For
example, in reinforcement applications
these materials can monitor movements
and stresses via the sensors incorporated
within their structures. Any registered
significant changes will also give the
location of the faults. The types of sensors
used are polymeric optical fibres, based
on the principle of optical time domain
reflectometry (OTDR). Short light pulses
are emitted into one end of the fibres and
the intensity of the light reflected back by
a fault is detected and measured, along
with the time of reception. The precise
location of the fault can then be
determined from the time interval
between the transmission and the
reception of the reflected light signal, and
the speed of light in the fibre. Typical
structures that are so far considered
suitable for such sensory devices are
geogrids, in particular geocomposite
nonwoven-warp-knit-grid structures.
Future developments of geotextiles
will be wide and varied, driven not
only by the demand for improvements
in performance, but also by the desire
of added multi-functionalities for
solutions to new geotechnical problems,
particularly with the on-going changes
ATT
to global climate.
Sandler reports successful year 2015
German nonwovens producer Sandler AG from
Schwarzenbach an der Saale, Bavaria, reports a
successful year 2015, having generated sales of 288
million Euros. The Sandler team grew to 710 staff
members. With the expansion of the Schwarzenbach
location and the contract conclusion for a new
nonwovens production site in the USA, 2015 marked the
start of a new chapter in Sandler’s company history.
For Sandler, 2015 was shaped by further
development and the turning over of a new leaf. With
its wide product range the nonwovens manufacturer
was able to achieve high levels of capacity utilisation.
Nonwoven innovations, the expansion of the
Schwarzenbach plant and the establishment of a
manufacturing location in the US will be the engine of
further growth in the years to come.
Nonwovens are increasingly applied in building and
technical insulation as well as noise reduction in
industrial buildings, in the automotive industry and for
office design. Their open-pore structure makes them
excellent sound insulators, providing a sense of quiet,
both at home and amidst the bustle of activity in the
office. In 2015, Sandler developed its range of
nonwovens for these applications further in
cooperation with its partners.
The filtration industry is a vital market for Sandler
and is set to continue gaining importance further
down the road. Filter media are becoming increasingly
essential for our quality of life, particularly in
congested urban areas where air pollution is rapidly
becoming a problem. Sandler supplies durable,
efficient filtration nonwovens for these applications.
In 2015, Sandler introduced composite materials
made of nonwovens and fibre reinforced plastic for the
automotive industry. The composites insulate engine
and driving noise as well as heat, they are robust, but
lightweight at the same time. Applied in the underbody,
the headliner or even body parts, they support
lightweight construction and thus help reduce fuel.
The company’s ongoing development is also
apparent at the Schwarzenbach location: A new 17
million Euro production building is taking shape and
will house a new production line as of mid-year 2016
to expand the production capacity for hygiene
nonwovens and wipes substrates. In total, Sandler will
invest 43 million Euro in this new production side.
Some members of the Sandler team will also
relocate in 2016, but on an entirely different scale,
taking up a challenge unparalleled in the company’s
history: In summer, they will put the Sandler
Nonwoven Corporation in Perry, Georgia, USA, into
operation together with new US colleagues. Quite
literally, this step represents a departure for new
horizons, which allows Sandler to make its
nonwovens available ‘Made in USA’ - closer to
American customers.
THROUGH-AIR STRUCTURING
THROUGH-AIR
STRUCTURING
PART ONE
Jutta Stehr
Senior Marketing Manager
Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH
[email protected] www.truetzschler.de
T
Now webs can be
directly structured
in the thermobond
oven. The exchangeable structuring
drum, produces
voluminous nonwovens with permanent, distinct 3D
pattern effects. Airthrough structuring
maintains the
soft web surface
and bulkiness.
hermobonding is a web bonding
technology dating back to the 1940s.
The web is formed by thermoplastic
fibres which melt when heat is applied. The
invention and further development of
bicomponent fibres such as PP/PE or PET/CoPET finally lead to the success of
thermobonding processes. The typical fibre for
this purpose is a core/sheath bico fibre with
the sheath having a lower melting point than
the core – bonding takes place when the
sheath melts and glues together the
surrounding fibres.
This article consists of 2 parts: the
first one discusses the patterning of nonwovens
in general, the second part introduces the
development of the new through-air structuring
technology by Trützschler Nonwovens.
Patterning of nonwovens
Untreated nonwoven fabrics are plain
materials with an even surface. Fig 2 shows
detailed views of a 250 gsm needled
material of 100% PP (left), a thermobonded
nonwoven of 40% PP and 60% bico fibre with
30 gsm (middle) and a spunlaced product
(210 gsm, 100% cotton; right).
Often the feel and functionality of a
mechanically needled, hydroentangled,
Fig 1 : Shell for through-air structuring and resulting nonwoven
as volume, softness and stiffness. To
preserve the textile grip of the web, the
ratio of bonded area should not be
higher 20-30%. Nevertheless, pointbonding usually reduces the web’s
bulkiness and softness - which often is an
issue because consumers prefer the feel
of soft textures.
Fig 2 : Needled, thermobonded and spunlaced nonwovens
thermal or chemical bonded web differs
more than the look suggests. Here
marketing enters the field asking for
visual attractiveness, recognisability and
branding. A pattern is the first visual
differentiation especially in the fields of
single-use hygiene/medical products
and wipes.
pattern. Then the web was dried and
finally chemically bonded.
Today, a vast range of embossed
and structured nonwovens for each
and every purpose exist. Fig 3 shows
a spunbonded, calendered hygiene
product (left), a spunlaced, heavy
weight filter medium (middle) and a
Fig 3 : Various structured nonwovens
Early attempts of altering the
nonwovens’ surface appearance in the
1950s targeted at creating the
impression of high-quality woven
fabrics. At that time patterning was an
elaborate process: the drylaid web
was carried over a patterned screen or
drum. Sprayed-on low-pressure water
moved the fibres according to the
Fig 4 : Calendered PP spunbond with
clearly visible bonding points
spunlaced personal care wipe (right).
A major reason for the market success
of these products is the development
of one-step, cost-effective ways to
create textures.
Structuring by spunlacing
Hydroentangling uses a different
method for forming patterns which
resembles the early process described
above. Spunlacing units, such as the
Fleissner AquaJet for instance, generate
high-pressure water jets to entangle the
fibres. One of the system’s main
components is a thin-walled, yet bentproof spunlace drum. This perforated and
mesh-covered plate shell serves as the
support medium for the web.
A number of jet heads are arranged
around the spunlace drums - they form
the high-pressure water jets needed for
bonding, structuring and perforation.
When the web of loosely arranged fibres
passes the jet head, the water jets move
and entangle the fibres or filaments.
The water jets themselves form
slightly visible lines in the web when
hitting the web. This implicit structuring
shows the potential of the spunlacing
process for structuring nonwovens.
If explicit structures are required,
this is done when the web passes the
Point-bonded
calendaring
Calendering with
engraved hot rolls is a
standard thermobonding
and structuring method for
light- and medium-weight
nonwovens. Suited for
Fig 5 : Water jets and spunlacing lines
spunbonds as well as for
dry-laid nonwovens, structuring in this
second spunlace drum. Special
case means a kind of embossing. The
structuring shells with apertures (small
elevated parts of the engraving roll’s
dots and lines) allow for a multitude of
pattern stamp into the web and melt the
patterns (Fig 3). The momentum of the
fibres at the contact points. A pattern of
water jets pushes the web into these
flattened bonding points, lines and areas
gaps without damaging the fibres (Fig
within the unbonded web emerges.
6) and an elevated pattern arises (Fig
The process settings of point-bonding
7). For a high flexibility, the structuring
determine nonwoven characteristics such
plain fabric. The increased filter capacity
leads to a longer service life.
A last example: it is well known in
spunlacing that structuring increases the
web’s thickness and volume. The resulting
nonwoven is softer and shows a higher
absorbency without loss of web strength
which is an essential requirements for
high-quality wipes.
Structured thermobonded
webs
Fig 6 : Inline structuring in the spunlacing process
and perforating shells are easily
exchangeable.
Structure is more than meets the eye.
Patterns play a vital role in brand
recognition - the visual aspects being in
the foreground. It becomes interesting
when structures are not only decorative
elements but used to fine-tune web
characteristics.
For instance, the elevated and
depressed parts of a structure increase
the web’s surface area. Especially in
thicker materials above 100 gsm the
effect is not negligible. Structured cotton
pads for example have a slightly
better cleaning effect than plain ones.
Firstly the edges add a little bit to the
product’s abrasive capacity, secondly
more dirt and particles are collected in
the depressed areas. That’s why
consumers unconsciously and most
producers deliberately prefer structured
pads and wipes.
Bulkiness, softness and a large
surface area play a major role in many
single-use and durable end-products
such as hygiene products,
filter media, interlinings
and insulation materials.
These applications are
key fields for
thermobonded products.
In the next part of the
article, we will take a
closer look to Trützschler
Nonwovens’ new concept
of through-air structuring.
Fig 7 : AquaJet structuring shell and resulting nonwoven
The story began with
AquaJet trials in the
Even in exclusively functional
Egelsbach technical center more than
products, structures often are sought after.
10 years ago and only in the last 3 years
Take filter media: a structured fabric with
developed into a promising, pure
ATT
edges has a larger surface area than a
thermobonding technology.
Synthomer introduces new Litex SX grade for EIFS reinforcement fabrics
Synthomer, the leading producer of emulsion polymers,
introduces its LITEX SX 591 water based binder for the
manufacture of glass fibre fabrics used for EIFS/ETICS
applications. It is said to offer excellent properties for both
fast and cost efficient production and the on-site application
of the final product.
Saving energy for the heating and
cooling of buildings will continue to be a
key focus in achieving climate change
objectives, the company reports.
Therefore, better insulated buildings
using more environmentally friendly and
cost effective products and technologies
will be essential.
Synthomer continues to support the
industry providing smarter polymers for
many products in use in the construction sector.
LITEX SX 591 is a coater ready binder for glass fibre fabrics
finishing. It complements Synthomer’s broad range of waterbased XSBR latex binders for the manufacture of glass mesh
reinforcement products used for building insulations systems
known as EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing system) or ETICS
(external thermal insulation composite systems).
It is said to have excellent adhesion to mineral substrates
and outstanding wetting performance, according to the
manufacturer. After drying and curing the
polymer forms a tack-free, strong and
reliable film with excellent water and
alkali resistance.
Application testing has proven
excellent runability, especially for the
commonly used off-line coating which
supports cost effective production cycles.
With the option to blend the new
grade with softer or harder latex
grades, Synthomer offers a
comprehensive and very flexible system designed to ensure
cost efficient and reliable product development and
manufacturing to the fibre bonding industry.
www.synthomer.com
DIGITAL TEXTILES
Market expands for
H
There have been
huge advancements
in digital textile
printing area in the
last four years and
the global market
for digital textile
printing is estimated
to expand by 15-20%.
igh growth of digital textile printing
also fits with the sustainable theme
with digital printing saving energy
and materials when compared to traditional
screen printing. Digital textile printing still
has some catching up to do in terms of its
ability to mass produce printed fabric on the
scale and at the price point that traditional
textile printing methods provide. There have
been huge advancements in this area in the
last four years though and the global market
for digital textile printing is estimated to
expand by 15-20% in 2015.
Looking back at the last full year, 2014,
one trend showed an increase in the number
of industrial-speed machines that operate at
production quality
speeds over 650
metres/hour. These
machines, which have
been around for a
number of years, are
producing a little
over 44% of global
supply of digitally
printed fabric.
In terms of the
number of digital
printing machines in
operation, small scale
dye-sublimation
printers dominate the
market and dye-sub ink
sales account for well over 50% of the market.
However, as the market has developed, since
2012, large scale digital production printing
has started to take over from the smaller, more
domestic-facing operations. Countries such as
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Thailand have
started to see increased investment around this
technology.
Turkey remains one of the largest digital
textile markets thanks in part to its
geographical proximity to Europe and
relatively lower labour rates in comparison to
neighbouring countries. This, along with its
extensive traditional textiles market, has
helped it to produce 71 million sqm of
digitally printed fabric annually.
DIGITAL TEXTILES
The recent growth in digital textile
printing in Turkey has been
estimated to be upwards of
35% year on year up until
2015 and it has a wide
range of manufacturers,
competing to sell the newest
machines into a market that
has some of the fastest
production machines already
in operation. Currently Turkey
sits as the third largest market
behind China and Italy and,
while other markets are forecast
to grow at a faster rate, Turkey is
expected to remain an important
player going forward with fashion
giant Inditex looking to move large
amounts of its production to the
country, away from East Asia, in the
next few years.
Despite this, China is set to
remain a huge player in the digital
textile printing market, printing 154
million sqm annually and with the
capacity to produce far more if
demand goes up. The Chinese market
is forecast to grow by 17% in 2015,
thanks to increasing numbers of
industrial speed machines and greater
activity in the reactive ink market. Long
term, the market is predicted to grow by
20% or more in 2016, as rising labour
costs and changing economic demands
force traditional printers in China to
adopt this new technology more quickly
or face losing business to foreign
competitors.
China's most prominent competitor in
the area of machinery production is Italy.
Beginning from an already strong
position, the Italian digital textile printing
market grew by 5% in the first half of
2015, producing just under 63 million
sqm of fabric in this time period. Italian
manufacturers are also likely to see a
spike in demand for digital printing
equipment following ITMA.
Super fast printing
machines
Digital printing is currently that star
performer of the textile industry, rates
that would be the envy even of the
'coolest' corner of consumer electronics.
Most analysts put the expansion in
r,
o rt s w e a
n fo r s p p ro d u c t
o
ti
lu
o
s
eal
ha
x ti le w it
e d th e id
ustrial
s d e s ig n e ll a s h o m e te complete ind orm
a
h
i
n
ia
w
tf
d
s
n
la
a
a
p
e
Regg
s
g
s
IR
a
e
, s ig n
busin
e ReNO th e s e c to r.
th
f
o
fa s h io n ble for small
ls
a rk o f
g mode
uita
range s ts. The printin re th e b e n c h m
a
plan
volume of digitally printed fabric at
around 25% a year.
It is a technology that is getting faster
and more economical. Its workhorses are
the industrial scanning type printers such
as the MS-JPK, Robusteli Monna Lisa,
Reggani ReNOIR, Zimmer Colaris and
Durst Kappa, which each offer productivity
of several hundred metres an hour.
Since 2011, there has also been the
MS-LaRio - a 'single pass' machine with
a large number of print heads in a fixed
array. Alone in the market, this printer
measures its hourly output in thousands
of metres and a single machine installed
in a particular territory can massively
boost that territory's annual production,
potentially accounting for millions of
metres a year.
No fewer than three companies are
mounting challenges to the MS-LaRio in
the super fast realm by launching their
own single pass printers. These are the
PIKE, from SPGPrints the Nassenger SP-1,
from Konica Minolta and the VEGAone,
from china's Honghua, better known under
its brand name, Atexco. Among the new
quartet, only the LaRio and the PIKE are
facing off the Konica Minolta machine
which must take the short trip to
the company's new Como
showroom, while Atexco is, for
the time being, concentrating
its marketing efforts on the
domestic Chinese market.
All these machines are
competing for space in the
traditionally occupied by
rotary screen-printing and
their success or failure
depends on the
willingness of major
printing businesses to
invest the significant
sums demanded which
are in the millions of
euros either as a
substitute for their
existing plant or as an
additional capability.
The lesson to date of
the digital textile
experience is that
both of these are
persuasive options, given the advantages
of the technology in lower inputs (energy,
water, space) and expanded design
possibilities, as well as the
'sustainability' message they convey to
retail and brand customers.
The unique advantages proposed by
the new set of manufacturers can be
stated briefly as:
z PIKE : a new print head, developed
specifically for textile applications and
based on the Fujifilm Samba model a
uniquely wide gap between print head
and substrate, allowing for coarser /
hairier fabrics, the reassurance of free
print-head replacement, based on a
modest ink price premium,
z Nassenger SP-1 : Robust industrial
performance, based on a new Konica
Minolta print head, reduced downtime
resulting from unplanned maintenance,
ease of print-head replacement and
automatic alignment/blocked nozzle
compensation, based on a beam
mounted camera that scans the
printed design,
z VEGAone : Two rotary screen units,
mounted after the Fujifilm Samba print
head array, permit the application of
special colours or effects such as glitter
that are beyond the capabilities of inkjet.
Single pass printers achieve their
DIGITAL TEXTILES
speed by having enough fixed print
heads lined up in an array to decorate
the full width of the fabric as it passes
beneath. In most cases there is an array
for each colour (usually six or eight) and
the precise number depends on the width
of the individual print head and the
printing width of the machine. Some
models of the MS-LaRio Have more than
200 print heads.
Manufacturers will generally offer a
variety of widths, dependent on the
customer's application, and for that reason
they tend to quote the production speed in
running metres rather than square metres. Two
to three thousand metres an hour in acceptable
quality is typical.
The LaRio has a head start on its
competitors, so far with at least 12
machines installed in Europe, South
America and Asia. But if the ambitions of
the newcomers are achieved, this number
will expand almost exponentially over
the next few years.
Digital printing
innovations
DyStar and Zimmer Austria are
fuelling the recent innovations in the
digital printing market. Innovations in the
digital printer and print-head technology
drove the transformation into an upscale
industrial digital printing production.
New inks must meet these new
requirements. They need tighter drop
forming performance, longer open time,
improved stress resistance, higher color
strength, improved robustness and, of
course, reliable eco performance and
high fastness properties.
In response to the new industry
standards, DyStar launched Jettex® 4.0 –
the highest performing digital textile
printing inks. The Jettex 4.0 ink ranges
are available for all state-of-the-art and
newly introduced printheads.
DyStar´s new ranges of market
leading, ultra-intense inks show
improved longer life time and user
friendly open time for the printheads,
with excellent robustness in processing.
They also meet the most stringent
ecological and fastness requirements.
All newly launched Jettex Black inks
exceed current limits and are setting new industry benchmarks towards deepest blacks.
Thus far none of the digital printing
systems could fulfill the very high fastness
requirements on inks in the home textile
segment e.g. the very high fastness to light
(especially in pale shades), high fastness to
multiple washing and fastness to rubbing.
Based on their Indanthren® Vat dyes,
DyStar developed Jettex Vat inks, the first
industrialized vat inks on the market. Their
high performance characteristics include:
z High fastness to light, even in pale
shades
z High fastness to multiple washing
z No crease markings like pigment
prints
z Good fastness to rubbing
z Real, dark blacks compared to
pigment prints
z Vivid, brilliant shades
z Excellent handle and drape of fabrics
Digital textile market
Swiss company Luescher-Tschudi,
new to the digital textile printing in
2015, debuted its large format roll to roll
printer, the T REX 320. Initially conceived
for soft signage, the machine is said to
offer mechanical durability as well as
low service and maintenance costs.
A specially constructed fabric
guiding system gives consistent tension
over the entire length and width of the
roll, while the custom built integrated
fabric dryer is said to guarantee best
results on all fabrics before rolling.
Fabric feeding and roll change are
automatic, which the company said is
especially advantageous in the handling
of large fabric rolls. T-REX 320 contains
the latest generation Konica Minolta KM
1024i MAE print heads and is suitable
for water based inks. The print speed is
up to 230 sqm / hour in 2 pass mode,
with 360/720 dpi resolution.
The company behind the machine is
led by a four man management team
comprising Hans Lüscher, Europeon
sales, Werner Tschudi, R&D, engineering
and training, Lars Janneryd, Europeon
and Scandinavian sales and Thomas
Schweizer, marketing.
Werner Tschudi is the owner Tschudi
Technology, which has a long track record
in digital printing technology and
collaborated in the development. Hans
Lüscher is the former of Lüscher AG and
has more than 25 years' experience in
building mechanical and digital step and
repeat systems, including computer to
screen machines. In 1995 he produced the
first textile software for engraving and
colour printing, called Image Box, with
plugins for Photoshop.
The company also offers a
complementary thermofixation unit. The
Quickfix Neo is suitable for fabric roll
widths of 2.6 m and 3.2 m, and is
described as extremely stable and of
simple metal construction, with no moving
parts inside the machine and delivering
a constant and uniform temperature over
the whole printed textile area.
The system is tension controlled and
offers free selection of thermofixation
speeds, independent of textile materials
and fabric thickness. It has a productivity
that matches that of the T-Rex 320, at up
to 230 sqm/hour.
Smart textiles from
3D printing
250 years after Manchester created
the first industrial revolution in textiles it
is happening again, but this time instead
of coal and steam,
3D Printing is
driving this
new mass
production
industry
Manchester
based Tamicare
has spent the past
decade
developing and
patenting a
unique system
to mass
produce 3D
printed textiles,
and their first
production line
Tamicare
capable of
producing up
to three million
items a year
has just gone
into
3-D printed
garment
DIGITAL TEXTILES
operation. The system virtually eliminates
waste, and uses environmentally friendly
recyclable materials.
Company founder and CEO Tamar
Giloh explained: ‘Our Cosyflex production system allows 3D printing to be used
for mass production for the first time ever.
Instead of creating items one at a time,
Cosyflex enables high volume high
density production from a small footprint
at costs far below traditional
manufacturing processes.’ The company
is already attracting attention from major
brands who like the idea of being able to
print an entire garment or shoe upper in
a single process. CTO and co-inventor of
the technology Ehud Giloh explained that
‘sports shoes can require over a hundred
individual operations during
manufacturing, but Cosyflex reduces this
to three. The same is true for many other
complex designs. This allows companies
to produce in one location what
previously required a complex global
supply chain’.
After signing a multi million dollar
agreement with a major sportswear
brand the company is now setting its
sights on the wearables market. Many
current smart textile applications require
conductive fibres to be woven into the
material or applied to the surface of a
finished garment. Cosyflex allows
sensors and wiring to be printed along
with the the rest of the garment in a
single process. This helps realise a long
held dream in the world of smart textiles,
where the garment is the device. To assist
with this effort Tamicare is working with
technology entrepreneur Tim Harper
whose background in graphene, smart
textiles and medical devices is helping
Tamicare open up new markets. Initial
work on printing graphene has shown
that it is a highly promising material
for applications ranging from medical
and fitness monitoring through to
smart bandages. Tim Harper commented
that ‘the Cosyflex system builds a
garment layer by layer. Any one of
those layers can be textile, polymer, latex
or printed electronics allowing us
complete freedom in the way we design
smart textiles.’
The addition of graphene inks to
the manufacturing process enables the
creation of smart textiles and wearable
electronics allowing the company to
address new and emerging markets in
fashion and health. The incorporation of
graphene into polymers also allows the
creation of high strength lightweight
materials by strengthening the entire
product or certain sections, with
applications in footwear and personal
ATT
protection equipment.
FESPA Textile gives insight into fast growing print market
FESPA Textile is compiling a rich programme of content
reflecting the diversity of digital textile for any printer
interested in expanding their textile offering.
At FESPA Textile 2016 (8-11 March), FESPA is supporting
printers with a daily programme of unmissable seminars from
industry professionals, and alongside these is also hosting a oneday Digital Textile Conference, with the objective of providing a
comprehensive learning platform for anyone
looking to develop in this area.
Duncan MacOwan, FESPA’s Head of Events
and New Media comments, ‘Our one-day Digital
Textile Conference (DTC) taking place on
Tuesday 8 March provides printers with
information and first-hand experience from some
of the leading industry experts in this sector, and
for any printer seriously interested in expanding
their textile offering, will provide valuable
insight to help their businesses diversify.’
The conference runs from 10.45 to 18.00
on Tuesday 8 March and is covering topics
such as :
Insights into the growth and creative development of digital
textile markets by Ron Gilboa of Infotrends.
Growing your business with fabric printing by Daniel Arzt of
Sun Ski Sport s.r.o.
Smart textiles by David Schmelzeisen, Academic, Institut für
Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen.
Digital print in fast fashion by Mike Horsten, General
Manager Marketing EMEA, Mimaki Europe B.V.
The evolution of digital textile print for fashion, a keynote Q&A
with Bruno Basso & Christopher Brooke, Basso & Brooke, who are
pioneering the digital print process in fashion, making history with
their ground breaking 100% digitally printed collection.
The day will also include panel discussions and key networking opportunities during the inclusive lunch and drinks reception.
‘We have aimed to get a complete spectrum of speakers
involved in the DTC who can discuss different aspects of the
textile industry. The objective is to provide
useful insight for those printers who may be
already producing printed textile or looking to
branch out into a slightly different area,’
continues Duncan.
As well as the one-day conference, the
free textile sessions included within the
Digital Seminars area on the show floor
throughout the four days include topics
such as ‘3D printed clothing’, ‘Direct to
garment printing: should we or shouldn’t
we?’, and ‘Screen printing and direct to
garment’. Visitors are welcome to drop in
and listen to sessions during the course of their visit to
the exhibition.
‘With textile highlighted as a key growth area in our recent
FESPA Print Census, we are committed to ensuring that we
provide as much useful information as possible to our community
so that we can help printers diversify and thrive in this sector,’
comments Roz McGuinness, FESPA Divisional Director.
For more information on FESPA Textile 2016 including a
full exhibitor list, visitor information and event registration, go
to www.fespatextile.com.
ITMA MILAN : REVIEW
ITMA MILAN
I
New technologies,
equipment and
trends unveiled
during ITMA Milan
have the potential to
dictate changes
to production
processes for
the future.
A review
TMA 2015 in Milan from 12-19
November, where almost 123,000 visitors
from 147 countries saw the very latest
technologies from over 1600 exhibitors.
Exhibitors included all of the world’s foremost
textile machinery makers - and many of them
are delighted with both the quantity and
quality of visitors who attended the show.
According to organisers CEMATEX, visitors
from Italy formed the biggest contingent,
accounting for 18 % of visitors at ITMA. The
other top visiting countries were India (9%),
Turkey (8%) and Germany (7%). Other
countries which made it to the top 10 list were
France, United States, Iran, Brazil, Pakistan
and Spain. The lifting of sanctions on Iran in
the near future is also said to have buoyed the
country’s textile and garment sector, resulting
in more visitors, the
organisation said.
ITMA 2019 will be held
from 20 to 26 June at Fira de
Barcelona Gran Via
fairground.
The nonwovens business
unit of Truetzschler focuses
on the variety of manufacturing
processes, especially
concerning web bonding, in
addition to total system concepts. Individual
components and models demonstrated
innovation in spunlacing, needling as well as
thermal and chemical bonding. The range of
topics includes the modular AquaJet, an
efficient dryer, the new, patented structuring
process for the Thermobonder, quality increase
in needling, and the high-speed foulard for
ADL
systems. The
significant
speed
advantages
of the newly
developed
liquid
foulard are
based on
ITMA MILAN : PREVIEW
equipment
manufacturer
includes staple fibre
spinning, the focus in addition to
machine manufacturing - is increasingly also on
product development. Truetzschler
Man Made Fibres'
'Hollow Conjugate
Fibres' are a new
type of self-crimping
fibres, distinguished
by an extremely
environmentally
friendly spinning
process.
Modular components - The filament
sector highlights the diversity of its product
range for the economic production of highquality carpet yarns. The focus is on
the new 3-end spinning system
M30 with reliable components such
as the polymer-independent spin
beam and the HPTex texturing
system. The portfolio thus covers 2end, 3-end and 4-end concepts for
various polymers, including recycled
material. Now it is possible to
respond to all process requirements
as well as spatial or economic
conditions even more effectively.
Georg Sahm of Eschwege,
Germany, describes itself as a
specialist in winding machinery for
technical yarns. At ITMA 2015, the
company, a part of the Vienna,
Austria-based Starlinger Group
introduced two new automatic winders.
The design of the high-speed winder
(Twinstar II 380XE) is intended as a
replacement for winders used in direct
spinning processes for high-tenacity
polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
and polyamide (PA) yarns, as used for such
as tyre cords, ropes, nettings, webbings,
and sewing and embroidery yarns.
The second innovation was a new
winder for tapes, artificial grass yarns,
monofilaments, and dipped and coated
yarns. Sahm has designed this automatic
precision cross winder (Lin Star 330XE) for
packages up to 320 mm in diameter and up
to 300 mm traverse length, on cores with an
inside diameter of 82.55, 90 or 94 mm.
Truetzschler Nonwovens
High-speed foulard
special geometries and roll surfaces. The
result is an increased economic efficiency
in the production of light-weight,
chemically bonded nonwovens. A new
product is a thermobonded nonwoven with
3D effect and large volume that can be
produced in-line in the Omega oven with
special equipment.
The Man-Made Fibres business unit
introduced a new generation of staple fiber
machines to the market. The advancements
stand under the heading of modularity - all
components are designed as stand-alone
units. The new modular components
demonstrate their advantages not only in
complete Truetzschler installations; they are
also ideal plug-and-play units when
modernising existing installations. Ever since
the product range of the Egelsbach
TNMF Thermobonded shell
for 3D effects
Located in Stuttgart, Germany, RSG
Automation offers tailor-made solutions
and provides customer support from
basic concept preparation to assembly
and start-up of the machine.
RSG added that it does not deliver
standard facilities, but rather
adaptations of all machines to customer
processes and products, which can be
both fully or semi-automated.
Concept extend from solutions for
narrow fabrics e.g. belts and straps, to
technical textiles, such as filter, felts and
fleeces, as well as home textiles, said
Maik Eisenhardt, director of sales and
marketing, RSG.
The company also offers patented
monitoring techniques for different
sewing processes. All upstream and
downstream processes : sewing,
welding, ultrasound, laser applications,
printing, winding, packaging, etc that
are available on the market can be
integrated into the overall process, Maik
further added. With RSG, textile
enterprises can safeguard their
production location even in intensive
labour cost countries in the long run and
can still position themselves successfully
in the market.
Starlinger Recycling Technology
offers two systems for the recycling of
nonwoven production scrap. While the
recoSTAR Basic recycling line is
especially suitable for wet and
hygroscopic materials and pre-shredded
scrap, the recoSTAR Universal recycling
line can process a wide variety of
polymers and is suited for hard-to-grind
materials, as well as material mixtures.
‘By recycling production waste and
producing high quality regranulate to
replace virgin input material, we have
contributed to commercial advantages for
our customers. Before, many producers
had to pay to get rid of their own
production waste. Now they can achieve
savings by using their own scrap again,’
said Ms Elfriede Hell, general manager
of Starlinger Recycling Technology.
Picanol of leper, Belgium, uneviled
its latest airjet and raiper looms,
including the global launch of its latest
raiper machine (OptiMax-i 4-R-190)
weaving filter fabrics.
The company says that with
production speeds of up to 750
revolutions per minute (rpm), its
OptiMax-i is the fastest industrially
produced raiper in the world. Its design
puts emphasis on energy-saving
measures, good ergonomics, userfriendly controls and a rigid construction.
Reed widths range from 190 to 540 cm.
Picanol has also developed a guided
positive gripper (GPG) system for
weaving technical fabrics and a freeflight positive gripper (FPG) system for
use with difficult yarns. Visitors were also
shown special features such as the
electronic filling tensioner (EFT), the filling
detector (SmartEye) and the filling cutter
(SmartCut). In addition, one of the
company's airjet looms (OMNlplus
Summum 4-R-190) was shown weaving
fabrics for automotive seats.
Zschimmer & Schwarz is known as
a strong business partner when properties
of nonwovens and staple fibres have to be
adjusted with precision. The product
portfolio contains well-established
products like Lertisan HD 20/3 ('durable
hydrophilic'), Lertisan HE 44/1
(hydrophobic'), as well as Lertisan NF
1220 and Lertisan NF 21 (needlepunched
nonwovens), but also new products like
Lertisan HE 1805 ('superhydrophilic'
treatment, i.e. very fast wetting), Lertisan
HE 1800 (FDA-compliant spin finish for
e.g. staple fibres used for ADL
nonwovens). Additionally, developments
of new products for 'durable hydrophilic',
'hydrophobic' and spunlaced nonwovens
are almost finished and are set to be
launched in 2016.
A specialist in printing and coating
machinery, J.Zimmer Maschinenbau of
Kufstein, Austria launched three models
during the exhibition: two new members
for its Colaris range of digital textile
printers and a rotary-screen printer.
Kornit Digital from Rosh-Ha'ayin,
Israel, launched a printer (Vulcan)
designed for high productivity and lowcast-per-print during the Milan
exhibition. The company intends for the
model's high speed and its efficiency of
use of ink to combine to make it a rival to
screen printers in the market for mediumto-long production runs. Compared with
its own currently available systems,
Kornit says Vulcan will save
customers up to 40% on the cost of
each printed item. Vulcan is based on
the company's patented printing
process (NeoPigment) and uses the
company's own water-based inks,
which can print on natural and manmade fibres, and blends. The system
allows for inline pre-treatment and
post-printing garments are
cured with a standard hot-air dryer.
For the Vulcan, inks will be shipped
in 4-1 bottles.
DiloGroup was the only nonwoven
machine manufacturer to show on its
booth, two complete lines which were
operated with fibres.
The high capacity production line
with a needleloom working width of 7 m
included highly productive machines for
fibre opening and blending as well as a
newly developed card feeder, a highcapacity card with variable intermediate
section and a horizontal crosslapper
which ran with a web infeed speed of
more than 200 m/min. In addition,
DiloGroup showed a universal compact
line which will be used for needling
recycled carbon fibre in future.
Reliant is a leading manufacturer of
innovative flatbed laminating equipment.
Established in 1969, Reliant brings
almost 50 years of experience to its current
state of the art range of machinery.
Reliant machines can be used in conjunction with a wide range of thermoplastic polymers and some thermosetting
adhesive systems. Adhesives in film, web,
Wilson Oricchio, International
Sales Manager, Reliant Machinery
powder, pressure sensitive, and some
liquid formats can be processed.
In addition Reliant offers devices can
heat set, compress, and, or calibrate as
well as laminate many substrates using
the company's latest HPC technology.
Reliant offers a completely unique
modular design of equipment. From
standard 1 m - 1.5 m lengths of heating,
cooling and pressure sections, machines
can be assembled to any length required
for particular applications.
The Powerbond SPL features tried and
tested modular construction system.
Starting with a 2800 mm heating section,
additional 1000 mm sections of heating,
cooling and pressure systems, can be
assembled together to provide a machine
of any capacity required.
The Powerbond range is used in
many different industries for materials
starting with films of a few microns thick,
through to products of up to 150 mm
thick. Automotive, technical textiles,
defence, furniture, composites, medical,
filtration, are all industries where the
Powerbond technology is used.
The Coolstream TAL provides high
volume laminating capacity with the
flexibility to bond thicker products, using
its height adjustable lamination tunnel.
This gives high end lamination
performance and adaptability at great
value, as the Coolstream TAL allows both
thin and thicker materials to be processed
through the machine without adding
significant cost to the equipment. Products
up to 50 mm thick can be laminated on the
Coolstream TAL system, making it highly
adaptable and suitable for processing a
wide range of materials including foams,
composites, nonwoven's, breathable
membranes and similar substrates.
The company V-LAP demonstrated a
2.5 metre-wide production machine, with
a redesigned and patented drive system
that comes with independent forming
comb and pusher bars, controlled with
servo technology. The new frame design
has added more bulk to provide dynamic
stability at high speeds.
The V-lap Vertical Lapping System has
been designed to make the introduction of
V-Lap stand
this technology as simple and effective as
possible. This innovated technology is
patented worldwide and is available in a
variety of machine configurations.
V-LAP is also able to utilise waste
fabrics from clothing and carpet waste,
such as regenerated synthetics like PET/
PP. 'We now have several companies looking at methods for using recycled materials
in a process and transforming them into
value-added finished goods,' commented
Jason Cooper, managing director.
The V-Lap Vertical Lapping
System can process an
enormous range of fibres virtually any man-made or
natural fibre which can be
opened into a web and
thermally bonded.
Automotive : The benefits of
vertically lapped products are
being utilised in the automotive
industry worldwide.
Filtration : In a typical 'V'
form air filter is made with
vertically lapped product has a
higher efficiency with superior
dust holding capability than
standard filters made from cross lapped
materials.
Furniture & Bedding : Vertically
lapped products can be used in many
areas of the furniture and bedding industries; they provide special characteristics
not available with other products.
Laroche of Cours La Ville, France, is a
specialist in recycling and re-using textile
waste. One of the company's exhibits was
an airlaid machine (Airfelt/Resin Felt
2400) based on a traditional vertical
configuration. The Airfelt 2400 can produce
fabrics that have basis
weights in the range 3003000 gms/sq metres and
with the Resin Felt option it
is possible to add phenolic
or epoxy resin to the
airlaid felt, prior to it
being semi-cured in a
steam oven.
This year’s ITMA in
Milan was for the
German textile machinery
producer Brückner in
every respect a complete
success. There was a
great interest on the fair
for sustainable and energy-saving
products. Brückner offered beside the
new and efficient stenter concept
POWER-FRAME ECOLINE mainly
innovations in the field of coating
technology. They presented the new
application unit ECO-COAT which has
been developed particularly for these
applications. This unit allows
impregnations as well as applications on
one, and on both sides of the fabric. The
minimum application quantities require
in the following drying processes clearly
less water evaporation which has a
positive effect on the energy requirement
at the respective dryer.
Narrow fabric technology specialist
Jakob Müller
Müller, launched the MüPRINT
MDP3 E ink jet machine for the direct
printing of narrow fabrics and belts.
This printing system is said to employ
a technically perfect, high precision
printing head, which has been designed
for use of sublimation inks. Coordinated
development of the printing head and
sublimation inks has resulted in a
significant improvement in printer reliability, according to the company.
Cavitec
Cavitec, a brand name of Santex AG
Switzerland, introduced their new
Cavimelt P+P. It is a streamlined machine
developed with the goals of precision,
production and cost effectiveness in
hotmelt coating and laminating using the
rotogravure system. The compact design
integrates the unwinder and rewinder in
one machine frame, accepting rolls up to
600 mm in diameter and working width of
1600-2400 mm. Operating speed can be
up to 40 m/min and allows coating
weights from 3-80 g/m. All current
thermoplastic or reactive adhesives are
applicable. The machine can be used to
produce fabrics for breathable active
wear, automotive interiors, home textiles,
technical composites, etc. the machine is
delivered pre-wired, assembled and
tested. The Cavimelt P+P stands for
Plug+Play, thanks to short installation and
commissioning time.
Mobi-Air's next generation hybrid
air handling platform has the
advantages of both dust collector and
drum filter technology with a safe air
handling of 5 - 250 KCMH in a
standardized equipment platform range
with no assembly required.
Mobi-Air's modular plug & play
central vacuum system is a newly designed
high performance work station designed
solely to keep your factory clean.
Starting in 1981 they have built an
outstanding reputation in industrial
HVAC systems for both for quality and
service. Having the skills and resources
necessary to handle the most complex
and demanding industrial projects, they
support partners from feasibility analysis
and engineering, design, construction,
James Barton,
President-Europe of Mobi-Air
commissioning and maintenance of
HVAC system. No matter what size your
HVAC, Refrigeration or Mechanical
Services project, they provide to their
suppliers with focused turn-key solutions.
Delivering a world-class HVAC
system which is matched to your
building, external environment, specific
GMP requirements, and actual
production process. Their specialized
focus in industrial air handling avoids the
The Archroma stand at ITMA
problems incurred when multiple
resources work on individual segments of
your total air handling solution.
With EarthColours technology, fashion
label customers and textile
manufacturers are able to trace the
source of the dyes in their textiles. Access
with near Field Communications (NFC)
makes it possible to get consumerfriendly information on a
smartphone. Consumers learn
how the textile dyes were made
and which raw materials were
used. In cooperation with a
Swiss company, Archroma
introduced a system in Milan
that will change digital printing
technology. According to
company information, Inkpresso
offers advantages that used to
be unattainable in ink jet
printing: great product flexibility,
large colour range, no ink
spoilage and the option of an
individual fingerprint. The
partnership of Archroma and
Schoeller, Sanitized and Cotton
Incorporated offers the latest and best
technologies available to textile
producers, brands and retailers.
With the motto 'Zero Addon',
Archroma introduced formaldehyde-free
solutions for dressing and printing systems
as well as the new series 'SmartRepel
Hydro', a durable waterproofing solution
for protecting cotton, polyester and
fluoride-free polyamides.
The treatment supports the increasing
use of eco-friendly and sustainable
materials and production processes used
by textile manufacturers.
Technoweb with the new highspeed machine Arvell, Teknoweb
Materials, based in Palazzo Pignano
(Cremona, Italy), showed competence as
a system supplier of processing and
packaging machines for the nonwovens
industry. The new, eco-friendly technology
is a particularly competitive alternative to
existing processing machines for
producing wipes, e.g. from
hydroentangled spunlace or airlaid
nonwovens. Teknoweb Materials is
focusing more and more on developing
innovative technologies with a
sustainable aspect.
Andritz Group of Graz, Austria,
showed several developments within its
range of turnkey lines for
hydroentangled, needlepunched,
wetlaid/wetlace nonwovens, and the
finishing of fabrics.
It has designed its latest dryer
(neXecodry), for instance, to reduce the
energy consumption of nonwoven
manufactures, and to be used with the
high-quality, high-bulk fabrics, as well
as for drying without degrading any
pattern. The dryer will be available as
part of the Group's through-air dryer
lines (neXecodry and Perfodry).
In addition, Andritz has developed a
new process to apply detailed artwork to
Wetlace fabrics, allowing producers of
Swen Schwenker (Left) and
Laurent Jallat of Andritz Group
wipes the chance to differentiate their
products. The machine require, a
patterning unit and injector from group
member Andritz Perfojet of Montbonnot,
France, formed part of the exhibit. For
needlepunch manufacturers, Andritz
unveiled its high-speed dynamic
crosslapper (D630) developed by
Andritz Asselin-Thibeau of Elbeuf,
France, to boost the capacity of
production lines. The new crosslapper
can reach infeed speeds of 200 m/min.
Graute Nonwoven Machinery of
Senden, Germany, is a specialist
engineering company, Norbert Höltker,
managing director of Graute said, ‘we
work with its customers to develop and
install nonwovens production lines
covering all processes (opening,
blending, web-forming and complete
lines) across all types of material (fibre,
felt, cotton and composite fabrics). As
such, our lines are used to make
nonwovens for a variety of technical
markets, including automotive, filtration,
medical, construction, civil engineering
and packaging.’
In July 2015, the company moved into
a new facility in Senden, Germany, which
boasts a 2300 m2 production and
assembly hall and 1000 m2 of
office space, shared with the
newly formed Winder Works
Maschinenbau GmbH, which
makes and assembles products
from a sister company,
Luxembourg based Winder
Works GmbH. Winder Works is
itself a relatively new company,
having only delivered its first
products in July 2014. It makes a
full range of automatic winders
and cutting machinery for
nonwovens, as well as for the
film, paper, laminate, composite,
printing and coating industries.
Nomaco GmbH & Co. KG
supplies machinery and
equipment for the production of
nonwovens. During the Techtextil
2015 show in Frankfurt they
presented as a machine building
company as well. Consequently
they established a daughter
company, called 'TecTex Germany
GmbH'. This was made possible
by a long-term well maintained
cooperation. Through this cooperation,
they are able to access essential expertise
in the development and production of
needle looms and cross lappers. The
cooperation also gives them the opportunity for steadily improvements on these
machines. Thereby they can offer and
supply state-of-the-art technology to
customers in the nonwovens industry - of
course with the appropriate service!
Nomaco has created the necessary conditions at Rehau,Germany to start the full
production of all required needle looms,
cross lappers and other equipments which
will be fully functional by Mid-2016. It is
Nomaco/TecTex stand
building a workshop for the manufacturing as well as an office building for
administration, design department, etc.
and investing in perfectly trained experts
for machine construction and assembling.
Crealet the Swiss company, founded
in Eschenbach SG in 2003, specialises in
the development of efficient electronic and
mechanical systems for electronic warp
feed on weaving machines and warp
knitting machines. The products are
employed in warp let-off and cloth takeup systems, as well as in specialised
weaving machine manufacture. According
to the manufacturer, the products allow
customers worldwide to secure a decisive
edge in tough competition: from perfectly
tailored upgrade packages for weaving
and warp knitting machines to
comprehensive conversions of weaving
machines for specific market requirements.
Absortech products Absorgel Max
and Absorgel Compact are based on the
proven ability of calcium chloride to
aggressively remove moisture from the
air. The absorbed water is bound into a
gel so no liquid water is formed, which
prevents leakage.
Absorpole is based on the proven
ability of calcium chloride to aggressively
remove moisture from the air. It is easy to
use and designed to occupy minimal
container space with full functionality. It
comes with a strong impact resistant
protective plastic casing.
Absorgel Blanket is based on the
proven ability of calcium chloride to
aggressively remove moisture from the
air. The absorbed water is bound into a
gel so no liquid water is formed, which
prevents leakage.
Compared to conventional twocomponent
adhesives, SXL
1390 from
Schaetti
significantly
simplifies
processing and
increases
productivity. The
product,
developed in a
two year project
in collaboration
with a Swiss
research institute,
is deal for bonding sensitive substrates
such as leather, textiles and forms as it
can be processed at low temperatures
Schaetti SXL 1390 combines the
advantages of a thermoplastic adhesive
powder with those of a reactive system.
Whereas processing conventional
reactive adhesives is subject to tight time
constraints, the pre-applicable system
allows processing and curing to be
carried out at different times. The powder
is solid at room temperature and is
only cured when exposed to
secondary heat.
Two US companies, Morrison
Textile Machiner y of Fort Lawn,
South Carolina, and APJet Inc of
Morrisville, North Carolina, shared a
stand at ITMA 2015. Morrison is an
investor in APJet, which is developing a
patented technology for applying
plasma finishes at atmospheric
pressures. In addition, Morrison is
APJet's exclusive licensee to build
machinery based on the technology.
With its technology APJet can
continuously apply highly functional
apply highly functional finishes to textiles
without the need for expensive vacuum
equipment. In addition, plasma finishes
require considerably less chemicals,
water and heat, compared with
conventional wet processing, to achieve
the same effect. The company will also
claim that there are no harmful emissions
or wastewear as a result of the process.
APjet can apply a range of different
treatments to fabrics (such as durable
water-repellent, FR, odour-repellent, and
hydrauphilic), without changing the
textile properties.
Aircraft with textile fuselage, bridges
of textile-reinforced concrete and an
innovative medical filter and membrane
technology - these are the fields in which
A. Monfor
ts Textilmaschinen developed
Monforts
innovative machine solutions for textile
treatment. Next to their modular coating
units, the company presented new
developments with sustainability and
energy-efficiency features at ITMA.
'Our innovation for modular coating
systems will significantly shorten set-up
times in the production process, while
also increasing flexibility due to the
change system,' said Klaus Heinrichs,
Vice President, Monforts.
Mr Klaus Heinrichs, Vice-President
of Monforts
The demand for technical textiles
remains strong. This is why the company
is focusing more on technical applications, e.g. filtration and composites.
Monforts offers special machine
technology for fibre impregnation. The
fibres can be glass, basalt or carbon,
held in a plastic matrix, e.g. resin. The
variable Montex 8000 stenter works well
even at high temperatures up to 320oC
and with heavy materials.
'The aviation and automotive
industries will use these materials more
and more in order to reduce weight. That
is why the growth rates are so huge,'
said Jürgen Hanel, Business Director
Technical Textiles, Monforts.
The Montex Allround was
Visitors at Oerlikon stand
developed for
technical textiles in
their efforts to
deliver more
flexibility in the
production process,
the company
developed the
modular,
interchangeable
treatment system.
The system's
modular treatment
heads can be easily
sideloaded into the
treatment unit, using
a specifically
designed
undercarriage. This
system is easy to clean, too, because it
can be done outside of the machine.
This module offer different construction
features: coating blades, slot dies or
pressure systems are available.
Powder coating and spray systems can
be realised as well. It is possible to
add housing for operation with
solvents. The reduced lead between
treatment module and dryer feed
ensures low contamination.
A new spinning concept from
Oerlikon Manmade Fibres makes it
possible to transform sensitive polymers
into bicomponent filament yarns. The new
technology is based on a temperature
separation of the two polymers that feed
into the bicomponent yarn.
The new SP8xB dual temperature spin
beam concept ensures strict temperature
separation between polymer type A and
polymer type B. This allows the polymers’
quality and viscosity to be adjusted to
match exact process requirements. The
strict separation of the HTM-heating of
both polymer supplies as well as the
spinning pump ensures least possible
damage to each type of polymer up to
just before the point where both
components are combined in the
spin pack.
Oerlikon aims to ‘set new trends’ with
its latest innovations in manmade fibre
spinning systems. It is paying particularly close attention to the efficient production of spunbond nonwovens for technical applications, such as the building,
filtration and geotextiles sectors, as sustainability continues to play an increasingly important role in these areas.
Oerlikon Barmag showcased its
automatic doffing, the machine is said to
require fewer operators. As a result,
WinTape. Due to its fully automatic
doffing, the machine is said to require
fewer operators. As a result, WinTape
can run for up to 24 hours without an
operator and can achieve a winding
speed of up to 800 metres per minute.
Richard Hough of UK launched
Simtex - a new type of calender roll
which it said promises exceptional
performance in heat resistance and
durability. It is made using a combination
of high-tech synthetic fibres. Richard
Hough did not release full details of these
materials, but the company is confident
that Simtex could have a ‘revolutionary
impact’ across fabric finishing
applications.
‘The newly developed Simtex bowl
will take calendering to a new level,
with a maximum temperature up to
three times that of a cotton bowl, but
with many of the positive calendering
attributes associated with cotton bowls.
Until now, the only alternative for high
temperature calendering was an epoxy
resin covered roll that exhibits zero
friction in the nip and is little more
than a substitute to steel roll’, said
Anthony Ashton, managing director of
Richard Hough Ltd.
SPGPrints launched its latest
single-pass digital textile printer (Pike).
During a preview given to key customers
at its headquarters in Boxmeer, The
Netherlands, the company revealed a
prototype based on a full-width array of
printheads (Fujifilm Samba), which it
said are specially modified versions
developed in cooperation with Fujifilm of
Tokyo, Japan. The printheads are
incorporated in a highly accurate, but
user-friendly, printbar (Archer).
SPGPrints claims Archer technology
can jet accurately across a distance much
greater than other heads commonly used
for digital-textile applications.
To counter the problem of misting,
which might otherwise have arisen given
the greater than-usual firing distance,
SPGPrints also developed specific inks
(Pike Reactive).
Richard Hough’s SIMTEX - a new type of
calender roll with high heat resistance
Dollfus & Muller of Mullhouse,
France, is a manufacturer of endless
felts and dryer belts that are used for
finishing textiles and nonwovens. The
first innovation is a compact felt for
finishing knits. Dollfus & Muller says it
can create a smooth surface for the
felt in order to treat the fabric gently.
The company also introduced a
durable dryer belt for printers (Tamip
HT 500 NR).
Konica Minolta of Tokyo, Japan,
has opened visitors that it has opened a
textile innovation centre at Bregano, close
to Milan, Italy, an area it describes as
'the heart of Europe's textile printing
operations' it has the training, education
and demonstration centre cost Euro 5
million and was built to allow the
company's inkjet customers to gain firsthand experience of the company's digital
printing systems for textiles.
The Nassenger SP-I is a highproductivity, high-resolution inkjet textile
printer employing a single-pass system.
It operates at high speeds, and its design
is based on Konica Minolta's experience
with print heads, printing mechanisms
and links. The other two models are scantype inkjet textile printers: the high-speed
Nassenger I0; the medium-speed
Nassenger 8.
Marabu of Tamm, Germany is a
specialist in developing liquid coatings,
and screen, digital and pad inks. The
first-time ITMA exhibitor displayed its
existing sublimation inks (TexaJet), and
pad inks for labeless direct printing
(Tampa Tex TPX), as well as introducing
a concept for water-based so-called
'cold-peel' transfer printing onto T-shirts.
Cold-peel transfer printing can be
realized by digital and screen printing
techniques, and has the significant
advantage, in comparison with
sublimation printing, that it is applicable
to a wider variety of fabrics.
CHT from Tübingen, Germany, is
another company that stressed it can
supply treatments that are effective, but
free from the sorts of chemicals causing
concern and/or instance, is free from
fluorine compounds, while its
formaldehyde-free finishes (Reaknitt ZF)
still provide treated fabrics with a
smooth appearance and enhanced
ATT
dimensional stability.
AACHEN-DRESDEN CONFERENCE
Aachen-Dresden Conference
TRANSPORT
TEXTILES
A
t the Aachen-Dresden International
Textile Conference held in Aachen,
Germany, in November 2015, Jean
Francois Geneste of Airbus Group, Toulose,
France, described opportunities for
researchers to develop new textiles suitable
for stratospheric platform end-uses. He said
Airbus is considering building a stratospheric
platform at 20-40 km altitude that could be
used for aircraft as well as a launch pad for
sending satellites into orbit; such platforms
will need 'stratonauts' and dwellings.
Because of the very low temperatures
(around - 56oC), low atmospheric pressure
and winds, special suits will be needed for
protection; for dwellings the problem will be
bringing light within the structure.
Lightweight systems
Professor Hubert Jäger of the Institute for
Lightweight Structures and Polymer
Technology, Technical University Dresden,
highlighted the effect of an increase in global
population from the present 7 bn to the
predicted 9 bn within 35 years, which will
significantly increase global energy demand.
A key issue will be the efficient use of
energy, especially in the field of
transportation. One objective will be the
application of new lightweight systems, such
as carbon fibre composites, to mass
transportation vehicles.
Carbon fibres have low density (weight)
and high strength compared with steel and
aluminium. This is the main reason that
carbon fibre structures are increasingly
used in aviation: the new Airbus A350 XWB
uses 53% carbon fibre composites in
its construction.
The major potential for carbon fibre
composites is in the automotive sector because
of the increase in vehicle numbers globally
and the proven crash performance at
low heights.
Polyethylene
precursor
However, there is one
important obstacle - the
precursor for carbon fibres
is polyacrylonitrile (PAN).
The production of carbon
fibres involves an expensive
and complicated process,
resulting in high product
costs of Euro 15-25 per kg,
Aachen-Dresden
Conference
enumerated
opportunities for
researchers to
develop new textiles
suitable for
stratospheric
platform end-uses.
AACHEN-DRESDEN CONFERENCE
of which 50-60% is for the production of
the PAN precursor.
Gisa Wortberg of the Institute for
Textile Technique, Aachen University,
presented an alternative approach using
polyethylene (PE), which is relatively
inexpensive (Euro 1-1.5 per kg) and uses
a melt spinning process to produce the PE
precursor instead of the expensive solvent
spinning process to produce PAN precursor. Further, melt spinning is faster (up to
2,500 m/min), more energy efficient and
more environmentally friendly, she said.
This research project is being pursued.
FR coating alternative
Coated surface textile materials used
in transportation, such as in aircraft,
trains and ships, particularly in public
areas, have a high requirement for
preventing flame ignition and flame
spread in an emergency associated with
a fire, to give passengers as much time
as possible for escape.
At present, textile materials in these
end-uses are treated with flame
retardants that are often hazardous
materials not chemically bound to the
polymer matrix and can diffuse out of the
material, according to Dr Bernd Morgenstein
of the Research Institute for Leather and
Synthetics, Freiberg, Germany.
To avoid these deficiencies, a
treatment based on silicones has been
developed that offers high flame
resistance and a pleasant handle as an
alternative to the polyvinyl chloride and
polyurethane synthetic leathers currently
available on the market.
Antimicrobial surfaces
Commercial antimicrobial finishes are
mostly based on a leaching mechanism
that releases a biocide or a metal, such
as silver or zinc, from the treated textile.
However, there is growing concern about
the possible ecological impact on the
environment.
Marcus Oberthür of the German
North West Textile Research Centre
(DTNW), Krefeld, presented an
alternative approach for the
antimicrobial treatment of textiles.
The application of antimicrobial
polymers, betains or polyethyleneglycol
can provide antiadhesive properties
similar to antifouling coatings, thus
preventing the attachment of pathogens
to the textile and rendering antimicrobial
surfaces more effective.
Conductive textiles
Dr Oliver Zech of Ras Materials,
Regensburg, Germany, presented a new
concept that addresses the discolouration
issue using silver nanowires for textile
coating formulations.
A light colour (light grey) is obtained
with this new application technique,
which is related to the minor amount of
silver in nanowires necessary for
conductive functionalisation.
Depending on the amount of silver
nanowire it is possible to regulate the
conductivity required.
Improvement in abrasion
Dr Torsten Textor of DTNW examined
possible finishing routes to enhance the
abrasion resistance of textiles, which is an
important property, particularly for
workwear, upholstery and technical
textiles that are subjected to high abrasive
loads. The aim of a recent project was the
development of new finishing agents using
sol-gel techniques based on alumina
nanoparticles and silica derivatives.
The Martindale abrasion resistance
test showed a 100% improvement in abrasion on a cotton fabric after finishing with
an inorganic /organic hybrid polymer.
Dyeing in ionic liquids
The dyeing of textiles has several
economic and ecological disadvantages,
such as the high consumption of water,
energy and chemicals.
In particular, the dyeing of
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) requires
temperatures of more than 130oC to
enable disperse dye penetration into the
fibre matrix above the glass transition
temperature of PET, which results in the
necessary but costly use of pressure
vessels to avoid evaporation of aqueous
dyeing solutions.
Ionic Liquids (IL) - salts with a melting
point below 100oC and often
thermostable far beyond 200oC - can
play an important role in the dyeing of
PET. IL excel by their low vapour
pressure, which makes them easy to
handle compared with organic solvents.
They also exhibit outstanding solvent
power for different textile-related
substances, such as cellulose, keratin
and silicones.
Preliminary work by Dr Klaus Opwis
of DTNW has shown that IL are suitable
as solvents for disperse, cationic, reactive
and metal-complex dyes. DTNW has
developed an innovative technique to dye
synthetic and natural fibres in IL.
This has been systematically
investigated, not only for PET, cotton and
their blends, but also for polyamide
and acrylics.
The new dyeing technique allows
pressure-free dyeing at high
temperatures with minimal air pollution
and avoids high consumption of energy,
water and chemicals.
Hydrophobic agent
Cellulosic fibres exhibit a large
capacity for water absorption, which is
responsible for good physiological and
wear comfort. However, in technical applications, such as automotive fabrics, high
water uptake can be unfavourable, resulting in bacterial and fungal colonies on the
fibres, and leading to unpleasant odour
and, more importantly, loss of strength.
Several hydrophobic treatments are
available, but these are not based on a
completely bio-based principle.
A natural plant oil with unsaturated
fatty acids has been developed as a
basic ingredient to create a hydrophobic
agent by Dr Thomas Grethe, Hochschule
Niederrhein University of Applied
Sciences, Mönchengladbach, Germany.
The finishing agent can be applied
by padding and curing at 90o C, and the
finished fabrics show a high level of
hydrophobicity, even after washing.
The concentration of the plant oil in
the finishing agent formulation can
adjust the degree of hydrophobicity,
said Grethe.
z The next Aachen-Dresden
International Textile Conference will take
place in Dresden, Germany, from 24-25
November 2016.
www.aachen-dresden-itc.de
ATT
AIR BAGS
Offerings in base model cars
AIR BAGS
G
one are the days when only premium
sedans and luxury cars used to have
air bags. Automobile companies are
installing it in almost all models, including the
entry-level vehicles.
The trend seems to be picking up even
before the Indian government’s norm, which
makes air bags mandatory in all
passenger vehicles from October 2017,
kicks in. The norm says any car that gets
launched from October next year needs to
have an air bag to meet the new crash test
standards. For existing models, a two-year
transitory provision has been made. In
effect, the price of a vehicle might go up
by up to Rs 20,000 depending on the
segment for a single air bag.
Most of the new launches of last year Creta (Hyundai), S Cross and Baleno
(Maruti), Jazz (Honda), Kwid (Renault),
Figo and Figo Aspire (Ford) and TUV300
(Mahindra & Mahindra) - had the option
of air bags, except for GenX Nano from
Tata Motors.
Over the past couple of months, the
country’s largest player, Maruti Suzuki,
introduced air bags for entry-level cars like
the Alto and WagonR. It has offered an
option of an air bag in almost every launch
that it had in the past one year; some of
them even have it as a standard in their
base variants.
The company now offers air bag option in
11 of its 15 models in all variants, including
base ones. The latest addition to the list was
the Alto where the company introduced
driver-side air bag. Alto is its entry-level
model, beginning at Rs 2.62 lakh (ex
showroom, Delhi). The introduction of air bag
has led to an increase of Rs 6,000.
C V Raman, executive director of
engineering at Maruti Suzuki, said it was too
early to comment on the response. ‘They are
fairly new initiatives. In many models,
customers opt for middle or higher trims that
have safety features’, he said. Some of
Maruti’s models without an air bag option are
Eeco, Gypsy and Omni.
Hyundai, too, has introduced safety
features across its products in most of its
Airbags in Hyundai Creta
The new norm
says any car that
gets launched from
October next year
in India needs to
have an air bag to
meet the new crash
test standards.
AIR BAGS
variants. ‘Customers are aggressively
seeking safety features. The government,
too, has mandated safety features for
new products from October 2017. Due
to this, new launches are being done
with additional safety features. Many
manufacturers are providing safety
features in many variants as optional
while keeping in mind the price
sensitivity of buyers. Hyundai is
providing safety features across its
products in most of the variants and has
a road map to enhance safety features
across products including the Eon,’
said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vicepresident (sales and marketing) at
Hyundai Motor India.
The rising awareness of buyers has
driven companies to introduce air bags.
Last year, Japanese car maker Toyota
had introduced air bag as a standard
option across all its models.
The drive towards air bags in a
country where 2.7 million passenger
vehicles are sold every year implies big
business for air bag manufacturers. Bulk
of the air bags used is imported. Some of
the leading air bag manufacturers are
Stockholm based Autoliv and Japanese
ATT
company Ashimori.
Karl Mayer organizes in-house exhibition in USA
New machines, new applications and new fabrics, all
preparation and composite fabrics. ‘We have developed
are a continuous part of the company’s innovation
an exhibition program intended to provide our guests
process, leading to radical changes in the production of
with fresh ideas and valuable support for their future
functional sportswear up to the use of carbon fiber in cars
development activities’, explains Tony Hooimeijer,
intended to revolutionize mobility.
President of Karl Mayer North America in Greensboro.
When developing
During in-house
During in-house exhibition, visitors
new machines Karl
exhibition
in
will have the opportunity to see
high
performance
warp
knitting
Mayer always
Greensboro visitors
machines in operation, producing new
maintains a strong
will have the
and sophisticated fabrics for automotive
focus on the interests
opportunity to see
applications, and for sportswear,
including seamless garments
of its customers all
high performance
over the world with
warp knitting
their specific needs.
machines in operation,
For their industry
producing new and
partners in North and
sophisticated fabrics
Central America, the
for automotive
company will organize
applications, and for
a special event in the
sportswear, including
spring of this year.
seamless garments.
Goal is to provide the
For the weaving
market an opportunity
industry, Karl Mayer
to learn about many recent innovations in detail and to
will be displaying its latest automatic sectional warper
generate ideas for new product development. The event
for the flexible production of high-precision warp beams.
will be set up as in-house exhibition at subsidiary in
For sizing, the company will be showing its VSB size
Greensboro, North Carolina from April 26 to 28.
box, a revolutionary new development that will generate
This exhibition will bring experts together, will be a
significant savings. The third highlighted key area will
know-how exchange, and will show the newest machines
be for the composites industry, and an innovative carbon
and applications for warp knitting, weaving warp
fiber spreading unit will be demonstrated.
COMPOSITES : INDIA & CHINA
Composites market
INDIA & CHINA
T
he two countries India and China are
the most populous in the world. China
accounts for 18.9% of the world
population and India for 17.6%. China is the
country that produces the most composites in
volume - they are the 'workshop of the world'
after all. Indian production is more than 13
times less. Here is a short overview of these
two countries.
The Indian market
India started producing composites in
1962, and reached 314,000 metric tons in
2014. This market is very far from having
reached a plateau, but remains exposed to
economic uncertainties. Fig 1 shows how this
market has developed since fiscal year 2007.
The Indian composites market has more than
doubled in seven years. Fiscal year 2013
was difficult with a slowdown in production
due to a drop in the gross domestic product
(GDP), a reduction in spending on
infrastructures and an increase in the price of
raw materials. The market bounced back in
FY 2014 (+3% compared to FY 2013) and
the country might reach +8% growth in FY
2015. The quality of raw materials, processes
and finished goods is increasing along with
the use of more mechanised processes.
Indian production of
raw materials
Regarding raw materials in 2014, the
country's production of fibreglass for use in
composites amounted to 87,000 metric tons.
After having imported 43,000 metric tons and
exported 11,000 metric tons, its consumption
reached 1,19,000 metric tons. 2,25,00 metric
tons of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR)
were produced, of which 1,43,00 metric tons
were for the composites market. UPR
production is very fragmented with 69
producers, but the market is consolidating the number of producers has decreased from
100 in 2009 to 69 in 2014.
Indian production of composites
India has more than 1200 companies
involved in composites. They are principally
Wind energy is one of the largest
sector that use composites in India
The Indian composites market has
more than doubled
in seven years. The
quality of raw
materials, processes
and finished goods is
increasing along
with the use of
more mechanised
processes.
12% (Fig 3).
Thermoplastic
compounds only
represent 11% of
the composites
market in India.
Despite being
ranked fifth in the
world, the Indian
wind energy
sector has
suffered from a
lack of state
investment. While
there is the
Fig 1 : The output of FRP in India from 2007 to 2014
potential to
in million tons
produce 102 GW,
located in the states of Gujarat,
only a total capacity of 21,141 MW was
Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu as well
operational in 2014. A recent policy shift
as Haryana, Telangana and Andhra
may improve the scenario.
Pradesh - which is essentially the
southern part of the country. The main
The future of the Indian market
production process is hand lay-up, with
this technique representing 42% in
Even if it is still not clearly visible, the
2014 (Fig 2), but other processes
potential for growth in composites in
continued to be used such as filament
India is huge, reflected by the country's
winding or pultrusion. The number of
needs in infrastructure, water treatment
filament winding machines has
systems (drainage, treatment and
increased five-fold in five years to
desalination) and energy production. The
reach just over 100 machines. The
agricultural and marine sectors are also
number of pultrusion machines has
on the upswing. Finally, the Indian
quadrupled over the same period to
government would like that all aerospace
reach approximately 160 machines.
and defence equipment have 30% of its
The six largest sectors that use
components produced locally.
composites in India are transportation,
building & construction, electrical and
The Chinese market
electronic equipment, infrastructure,
chemicals/corrosion and wind energy
With China, it is a completely of
with respectively: 19, 15, 14, 13, 13 and
different scale - according to the China
Fig 2 : Indian companies manufacturing processes
Fiberglass Industry Association (CFIA)
and the China Composites Industry
Association (CCIA), the Chinese
production of composites reached 4.33
million metric tons in 2014 - that is to
say, an increase of 5.6% in relation to
2013 (Fig 4).
In a growing market, the growth rate
for thermoplastic composites is greater
than that of thermosets. Here, China
follows the global trend. Thermoplastics
represented 27.7% of the market in 2010
and reached 37.2% in 2014. The growth
rate of thermoplastics reached 17.9% in
2014 compared to 2013, while it was
only 0.4% for thermosets.
Chinese fibre production
China is the world's largest
producer of fibreglass for use in
composites. Its production reached 3.08
million metric tons in 2014, an
increase of 8.07% over 2013. Again in
2014, Chinese exports of fibreglass for
use in composites reached 1.29 million
metric tons (up 8.35%) and imports
0.245 million metric tons (up 5.11%),
resulting in a consumption of 2.03
million metric tons (+7.40%) for 2014.
As consumption is growing slower than
production, exports are increasing.
Concerning the country's demand for
carbon fibre, the situation is quite
different. Local producers, except for the
4 to 5 prominent companies that the
Chinese government has or will favour,
are mostly unable to produce sufficient
quantities with consistent quality.
Fig 3 : Indian companies distribution by application
Fig 4 : Chinese FRP output (Source : CFIA & CCIA)
According to the China Fiberglass
Industry Association (CFIA) and the
China Composites Industry Association
(CCIA), the Chinese production of
carbon fibres reached 3200 metric tons
in 2014 (Fig 5). China's Five year Plan
that forecasted a production capacity of
20,000 metric tons operational in 2015
Fig 5 : Carbon fibre output in China from 2007 to 2014 (metric tons)
has little chance of being achieved. It is
not easy to produce carbon fibres. The
Chinese consumption of carbon fibres in
2014 was estimated at 15,000 metric
tons according to the same source.
China is currently experiencing a
growth crisis and it is very difficult to
foresee what will happen by the end of
2015 and afterwards. Wind energy has
recently won back its health after a
serious setback by the country's
authorities in 2012. The country's needs
for energy production and transportation
remain colossal. The automotive,
infrastructure and naval sectors have
ATT
been thriving so far.
Vectorply introduces VectorUltra carbon quadraxial fabric
Vectorply Corporation introduced the latest product
addition to the VectorUltra line of advanced composite
reinforcements.
The 94 oz/yd² carbon
quadraxial fabric, named
C-4QX 9400, is an allstandard
modulus
carbon
fibre
quasiisotropic reinforcement
fabric that is excellent fit
for tooling, panel, and
thick section advanced
composite applications,
according
to
the
manufacturer.
Vectorply’s C-4QX
9400 is constructed
utilizing a balanced and
symmetric construction
(mirror image), [90°/0°/
45°/-45°]S
stacking
sequence of approximately 400gsm carbon plies.
The architecture of the fabric is said to provide
a very low and consistent coefficient of thermal
expansion (CTE) and an un-coupled (non-potatochipping) laminate, an ideal combination for high-
performance composite tooling which experience
large temperature changes.
The symmetric construction allows panel
manufacturers to fabricate
ultra-flat panels, and the
3200 gsm areal weight
allows for minimal labour
requirements for building
thick cross sections, the
company reports.
In addition, the quasiisotropic nature is also
said to provide high
bearing strength, which
combined with its high
areal weight, is a perfect
material for inserts and
hard points requiring
mechanical fasteners.
The C-4QX 9400 fabric
is a versatile option for manufacturers since it can be used in
both prepreg and resin infusion applications. It is also
available in a tapered option along the fabric width, allowing
for scarf joining and consistent thickness across joints.
www.vectorply.com
productnews
TECHNOLOGY
AND PRODUCTS
Diaper tech cuts
size but improves
absorption
A new technology that aims to
improve diaper absorption while making
them thinner has been licensed by Evonik
the company, which is one of the world's
leading suppliers of superabsorbent
polymers, also said that the technology
cuts the cost of raw materials,
transportation and processing. The
technology offers an absorbent core,
where particles are found in small
pockets that are formed by laminated
nonwovens. These particles allow the
diaper core to absorb fluid even faster
and distribute it. By eliminating fluff pulp,
the diapers are also ultrathin.
Evonik said the system gives the
diaper core a particularly high level of
stability, ensuring that the superabsorbent
particles always remain at the place
where they are needed. This special
design, combined with an enhanced
superabsorbent polymer, enables the
diaper to be used more efficiently:
rewetting is significantly reduced, while
wearing comfort is improved.
Superabsorbent polymers, the key
raw material of modern hygiene articles,
are water-insoluble, cross-linked
polymers. They are capable of absorbing
and storing up to 500 times their own
weight in aqueous liquids, while also
providing other performance
characteristics such as skin dryness.
Teijin's nanofront high-strength, ultrafine nanofiber, which boasts a diameter of
just 700 nm, enables highly efficient dust
collection without disturbing air flow, which
helps to prolog filter life. It is also finding
application in substance collecting filters.
Heat and flame-retardant Tejinconex
meta-aramid fine fibers can be used at
temperatures of up to 200oC continuously,
for applications in high-temperature
plants, such as factories producing iron,
steel and cement.
China's filter market is rapidly
growing, Teijin's reports, as a result of
tighter regulations in respect of emissions
and air pollution.
www.teijin.co.jp
ISOTEX to develop
coating machinery
A range of coating machinery for
applying waterborne polyurethane (PU)
to materials is under development.
Isotex Engineering of Trissino, Italy,
a specialist in machinery for technical
textiles and composites, has signed an
agreement with Leverkusen, Germany
based Covestro, the company behind a
waterborne PU chemistry called
Insquin coatings to technical textiles,
films and foams.
Covestro, then called Bayer
MaterialScience, launched the
waterborne chemistry in May 2014,
claiming that the substitution of the new
materials for solvent-borne Pus allows
customers to dispense with the wet
processing stages previously needed,
resulting in significant savings in the
consumption of water and energy
required for manufacture.
www.isotexengineering.com
TAL water-retaining
nonwoven baskets
Technical Absorbents Ltd (TAL) has
developed Basket Booster, an innovative
water-retaining nonwoven fabric liner
that reportedly helps make nurturing and
caring for hanging basket plants a lot
less time consuming, while reducing
overall water usage.
Each liner is 34 cm in diameter and
contains TAL's Super Absorbent Fiber
(SAF) technology. They are designed to
be positioned on top of a regular full
basket liner to aid moisture
management, said the company.
'SAF creates new possibilities for
the development of fabrics that can be
used as both temporary and long-term
plant root watering systems, even in
areas of low water availability,’
said Dr Mark Paterson.
Basket boosters work by absorbing
and holding the necessary quantity of
Basket boosters work by absorbing and holding the
necessary quantity of water, which then provides an
optimum moisture environment for plant growth
www.evonik.com
Nanofibres for
filtration
At the bag filter technology and
equipment trade fair which took place in
Shanghai, China, Teijin showed its range
of highly efficient dust-collection and
energy-saving bag filters.
productnews
Flexible film for wearables
Panasonic Corp of Osaka, Japan,
has developed a soft, flexible and
stretchable polymer film that will allow
the construction of soft and stretchable
electronic devices suitable for
incorporation in clothing.
The film can be used in a broad
range of applications, from wearable
devices to sensors, displays and
robots.
Devices incorporated in clothing or
worn on the body should be made of
materials that withstand repeated use
and demonstrate consistent mechanical
properties even after repeated
stretching tend to degrade in
mechanical strength and recovery
performance.
Going beyond simple softening,
Panasonic has employed a unique
design that makes good use of the
characteristic three-dimensional (3D)
cross-linked structure of thermosetting
resin. By reducing internal stresses
arising from stretch, the material
returns to its original shape and
withstands repeated use.
Using a stretchable resin as a base
material, Panasonic has also
developed a transparent electrode
material and a conductive paste that
remain conductive even after repeated
cycles of stretching and relaxing. The
transparent electrode material
comprises a thin conductive layer of
carbon nanotubes (CNTs) formed on
the base material of stretchable resin.
The conductive paste is produced by
combining the stretchable resin, used
as a binder, with silver filler.
www.panasonic.com
will create additional value for their
business, and 50% of machinery providers
surveyed have customers asking for
digital printing solutions today.
www.covestro.com
Zero waste solution
for baby diapers
GDM, an Italian provider of converting
and packaging solutions for the
disposable hygiene industry, has
launched a new rear wing zero waste
solution for baby diaper lines. Using
advanced process and cutting-edge
solutions, the new rear wing zero waste
solution is said to reduce the size change
over time, eliminate the downtime on the
machine, and increase productivity. It has
been developed for high-speed diaper
baby lines, or can be sold as an upgrade
kit for existing baby diaper machines.
According to GDM, the new zero
waste solution is based on linear motion.
It is a process sequence of rear-shaped
panels (without scraps) that helps to
achieve high-speed performances with
baby diaper lines at 1,200 ppm.
www.gdm-spa.com
Panasonic stretchable film
for wearable electronics
water, which then provides an optimum
moisture environment for plant growth.
Using this technology can decrease
overall water usage by up to 50% over
the growing season and significantly
reduced re-watering frequency, said TAL.
www.techabsorbents.com
Breakthrough in
digital printing
coatings
Covestro and TTP report the
successful digital printing of
polyurethane (PU) adhesives, claiming
a new opportunity for the technology in
next-generation manufacturing.
'We recently successfully tested
adhesives formulated with Covestro
raw materials,' said Dr Andrew BakerCampbell, Project Leader at TTP,
'demonstrating a capability to print
materials far more challenging than
typical jettable inks.'
To exploit the development, Covestro
has established its own laboratory for
digital printing.
'This variant of inkjet printing could
become an entirely new production
method within the context of Industry 4.0,'
said Dr. Jörg Tillack, who heads twodimensional (2D) printing development at
Covestro's Coatings, Adhesives, Specialities
Business Unit. 'The positive test result takes
us to an important step forward.'
The Euro 5 billion industrial inkjet
industry now has the opportunity to
penetrate the industrial coatings and
adhesives market valued at over Euro 100
billion. To understand the opportunity for
digital technology, Covestro carried out a
survey - 93% - believe that digital printing
Thermoplastic
composite solutions
Arkema presented a full range of
thermoplastic composite solutions at the
Composites Europe fair, with several new
products: Polystrand® uni-directional
tapes and multi-axial prepregs are
continuous- fiber reinforced material
based on a wide range of polymers, such
as PP, HDPE, Polyamides 6, 10 and 11,
PET or PVDF. They can be used in many
applications such as automotive parts,
ballistic protection and much more.
The Elium®resin, for room
temperature molding of thermoplastic
composites by RTM and Infusion. This
innovative technology allows to
manufacture continuous-fiber reinforced
thermoplastic composite with low cost
tooling and low pressure machines, and
giving similar properties than epoxies. A
way to get the performance of
Thermoplastics without the complexity of
high temperature processes.
Kepstan® PEKK, for use in structural
aircraft parts, combines very high
productnews
need to take
potentially damaging
doses of the drug
orally. Although there
are a number of
popular ibuprofen
gels available, it is
difficult to control
dosage and they are
inconvenient to apply.
www.warwick.ac.uk
stiffness, high temperature rating with a
continuous use of temperatures up to
260oC, exceptional chemical and fire
resistance, as well as processing benefits
in composites consolidation.
www.arkema.com
Ibuprofen
smart patch
Researchers at the University of
Warwick have worked with Coventrybased Medherant - a Warwick spin-out
company - to produce and patent the
world's first ibuprofen patch capable of
delivering the drug directly through
skin to where it is needed at a
consistent dose rate.
The transparent adhesive patch
contains significant amounts of the drug up to 30% by weight - incorporated into its
polymer matrix, which sticks the patch to
the patient's skin. The drug is then delivered
at a steady rate over up to 12 hours.
Graphene
unit for oil
spills
The patch could enable the
development of a range of novel
longacting, over the counter pain relief
products that could be used to treat
common conditions such as chronic back
pain, neuralgia and arthritis-without the
Directa Plus, a
manufacturer of
graphene for use in consumer and
industrial products based in Omazzo,
Italy, launched the Grafysorber
Decontamination Unit for tackling
environmental emergencies such as oil
spills. The launch follows successful
productnews
industrial remediation activities
conducted in Italy and Romania.
Biocart, an Italian company based in
Tito and engaged in the research,
development and industrialization of
next-generation materials, has
purchased the first three mobile units.
Chief Executive officer (CEO) of
Directa, Giulio Cesareo, says, 'The
Grafysorber unit enables a prompt and
effective response to a potential
catastrophe such as an oil spill. 'Due to
its mobile nature, it can be stored
nearer to an area where an event may
occur, reducing the time and costs
ordinarily associated with the
transportation of such equipment.'
The unit contains a proprietary and
patented plasma machine that is able to
produce on site all the Grafysorber
graphene needed to clean-up water
contaminated with the harmful
hydrocarbons contained in oil spills.
Grafysorber is a sustainable product
as it enables the recovery and recycling
of the absorbed oils. It is recyclable and
does not contain any toxic substances.
Innovative products
from Airtech
Airdraw 2 is a new vacuum bagging
film embossed with a 'cracked ice'
pattern which allows for rapid air
removal when placed under vacuum. The
film has been formulated to provide
increased stiffness to assist in
maintaining a breathable pattern.
Airdraw 2 is not affected by
environmental conditions and will not
soften in high humidity, allowing superior
breathability. It is designed primarily for
ply compaction with the added benefits
of not requiring a breather. It is
embossed from one side of the film, under
close examination the film has a flat side
and a raised side.
Embossed pattern provides network
of air passageways, eliminating need
for separate layer of breather.
Improved stiffer formula keeps air path
open resulting in better vacuum level.
Wide width (up to 140') makes
compacting large part even faster with
no seams required.
Airtech's BBH 1080 is a durable high
temperature and high pressure autoclave
hose. The hose construction consists of an
inner flexible stainless steel conduit
overwrapped with a stainless steel
braid. A stainless steel armour jacket
covers the hose and protects it from the
harsh autoclave and production
environment. The unique design provides
durability, flexibility, and reliability.
Benefits: safer vacuum for part curing
with heavy duty metal hose construction.
More temperature resistance and longer
in service life. Outer steel armour jacket
provides durability and hose protection.
www.airtech.lu
Cool suit for
chemical
protection
Radiation Shield
Technologies (RST) of Miami,
Florida, USA, is introducing a
full-body suit that protects
against viral, biological
and chemical threatsDemron ICE.
The suit
employs a
patented selfcooling fabric
that is ASTM
F1671
blood and
viral
penetration
resistancecertified in order
to enable extended
use with a low
degree of heat stress
for the wearer.
RST President Ronald
DeMeo says: 'We
developed Demron ICE in
response to a growing
global demand from
healthcare workers,
members of the military
and other first responders
for a comfortable fullbody suit. It provides
protection against viral,
biological and chemical
threats, and may be
comfortably worn for
Demron ICE suit
prolonged periods of time with
significantly less heat stress than other
gear on the market.'
Since chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence
suits are designed to keep chemical
agents from exiting, which can be
incapacitating for the wearer.
Demron ICE is differentiated by its
unique thermally conductive properties
that enable heat to leave the suit through
thermal radiation, and also enable the
suit to be cooled externally without
compromising their protection.
The Demcron ICE material is
characterised by flexibility, ruggedness,
durability and the ability to
withstand tearing, extensive use,
decontamination procedures and
corrosive agents.
www.radshield.com
Secondgeneration
polylactic
acid
Corbion
Purac, based
in Gorinchem, Netherlands,
has successfully
made
polylactic
acid (PLA)
bioplastic resins
from secondgeneration feedstocks
The selected feedstocks
are those not suitable for
human consumption and
include plant-based
materials such as begasse,
corn stover, wheat straw
and wood chips.
Today, first-generation
feedstocks such as industrial cane sugar, sugar
beet, corn and cassava are
used for producing lactic
acid. They are grown
following principles of
sustainable agriculture and
have a high yield per
hectare of land used.
productnews
These highly efficient feedstocks are - and
will most likely remain - a good choice for
lactic acid. They are grown following
principle of sustainable agriculture and have a high yield per
hectare of land used. These highly
efficient feedstocks are - and will
most likely remain - a good choice
for lactic acid and PLA production.
Corbion Purac, however, has
now optimized the lactic acid fermentation
process to fit the special characteristics of
the biomass and believes that in the future,
these alternative feedstocks could have a
high impact on the biochemical and
bioplastics industries.
www.corbion.com
Lenzing TST 510/
250
Change of length and shrinkage force
at specified temperatures are two
dominant quality parameters for
technical and industrial as well as for
textile filament yarns.
TST 510/250 Thermal Shrinkage
Tester determines the thermal shrinkage
Mogul PET product tests
successfully to FR standards
Mogul MOPET® TCS, a spunbond
fabric made from mono-component
trilobal filament, has
proven itself flame
resistant in
accordance with
BS5852-2 without
fire retardant
impregnation of the
fabric. The fabric was
produced from a PET
polymer chip
containing a special
fire retard component.
The raw material
additive enabled the
resultant fabric to self
extinguish a flame
and also self
extinguish any subsequent smouldering.
The additive to the polymer chip does not
contain any toxic fire retardants from the
halogen group elements nor heavy metal
flame retardant additives.
Home furnishings covered by a fire
resistant fabric may allow for reduction
in the overall amount of fire retardant
materials injected into the furnishing's
padding and components since the fire
source is generally
external to the
furnishing. The aim
is to reduce cost and
the toxic gas
generation
associated with fire
retardants in the
event of fire.
Mogul, CEO
Serkan Gogus
stated ‘the
successful testing of
this flame resistant
fabric is one of the
many steps we are
taking to better
serve customer demand for upgraded
and special purpose nonwoven rolled
goods. The critical requirement to
ensure our communities benefit from
safer clothing, furniture, automotive
parts and construction components
makes this a very satisfying result.’
www.mogulsb.com
and/or the shrinkage force, which is built
up in yarns or tapes being heated to a
preset defined temperature for a
specified period of time. TST 510/250
also offers the possibility of dynamic
tests, during which the behavior of the
yarn is observed being exposed to a
temperature ramp. After cooling the
samples down to ambient temperature, a
measurement of the residual shrinkage or
shrinkage force is also possible.
With TST 510/250 upto 10
samples can be tested for thermal
shrinkage and/or shrinkage force
simultaneously in one test run.
The specially designed oventype
heater avoids ambient influence, together
with the high resolution length measuring
sensors and load cells, it guarantees for
stable testing conditions and highest
accuracy and reproducibility of results.
After sample loading, the test is
performed fully automatically, controlled
by the computer without any operator
influence. During the test, the shrinkage
behavior of the yarn is graphically
displayed on the connected PC. User
friendly software allows for various
standard settings as well as for
individual configuration of the testing
procedure. The software offers numerous
possibilities for thorough results analysis.
www.lenzing-instruments.com
Invista introduces
Thermolite infrared
technology
Invista, a leading supplier of
premium fibres to the textile industry, has
announced the launch of Thermolite
Infrared technology, a new product
offering for the Thermolite Pro brand.
Thermolite Infrared technology is
solar-activated by the sun or artificial
light sources using unique Near Infrared
(NIR) yarns.
The yarns absorb the NIR rays to
raise the temperature of the garment. The
hollow fibre technology provides
insulation and is said to minimise the
heat loss to help optimise performance,
even in freezing temperatures. NIR
performance is permanent and lasts the
expected lifespan of the garment,
according to the manufacturer.
In addition to its warming properties,
productnews
Thermolite Infrared technology is also
engineered to dry garments faster than
conventional technologies.
'We have developed a
robust innovation pipeline to
reinvigorate the Thermolite
brand, and we are excited that
Thermolite Infrared technology
is our first release,' said Huw
Williams, Invista's global segment
leader for activewear and
outdoor.
Thermolite Infrared
technology is being launched to
support the outdoor market first,
specifically insulation for jackets, gloves,
caps and sleeping bags. Additional
Thermolite Infrared technology
applications in other end uses will be
announced later in 2016.
www.invista.com
FlashCut Twins
The Atom FlashCut Twins system has
been designed to fully meet the needs of
highly complex market
sectors including the
high tech composite
materials field. The
rigid structure and
the latest generation of
electronics have allowed Atom to develop
a FlashCut Twins customized cutting
system for those companies involved in the
converting of composites and carbon
materials. The new tables are available in
a wide variety of sizes with a fixed cutting
plane or a conveyor table that can cut
materials up to 50 mm in thickness.
The new Twins system
is available with a variety
of new cutting and milling
stations. An example
being the new ultrasonic cutting chuck
which allows for fast and noiseless
cutting of composite materials in both
single and multiple layers. Other
available options include
the inkjet printer head,
and camera head to
capture automatically
reference points for fast
and easy cutting of
printed materials.
www.mfgsup.com
Atmos mattress
features temperature technology
Gentherm, a manufacturer of thermal
management technologies - based in
Northville, Michigan, USA - has launched
its Atmos mattress in select US markets.
productnews
The mattress features Gentherm's
Climate Control Sleep System,
developed to enable its localized
heating and cooling.
Wireless controls are employed to
manage the heating and cooling of each
side of the bed
independently.
Heating is controlled
by a hand-held
wireless remote
control unit. The
system is based on
the same
thermoplastic
technology that has
proven successful in
the automotive
market.
The Atmos
mattress includes a custom-designed
7.5-inch SensaCore support system that
features foam springs for contouring,
spinal alignment and body placement.
The mattress is topped with Dri-Temp
Foam, a highly responsive material
Handheld FTIR spectroscopy
Over the past decade, Agilent
Technologies (formerly A2
Technologies) has been involved in the
development of portable and handheld
Fourier transform infrared
spectrometers for a wide range of
commercial applications. The original
impetus for the development of
handheld FTIR was a request from an
aircraft manufacturer for a portable
analyzer that could rapidly measure
thermal damage in CFRP composites
used in military and civilian aircraft. In
2014, a second generation system was
introduced and the advancement of
handheld FTIR for the analysis of
composites and polymers continued.
It has been shown that handheld
FTIR equipped with a diffuse reflectance
sample interface can determine the
condition of the surface of CFRP in
support of the optimization of plasma
treatment for removal of peel layer
release agent. Composite surfaces with
PDMS and WAX based release agents
present were treated with a plasma
torch. Spectral changes associated with
removal of the agent, as well as bond
information related to surface activation
were observed. A multivariate partial
least squares (PLS) model was
developed that correlated spectral
changes with height of nozzle position
on the CFRP surface. This model related
the instantaneous temperature
experienced by the surface with the
chemical changes that resulted. By
correlating the PLS model predicted
position of the plasma nozzle (i.e. heat
flux) with the results of mechanical G1c
peel pry measurements, regions of surface
overtreatment and undertreatment were
revealed by the infrared spectra.
www.agilent.co.in
made to hug and cool the body's curves,
maintain continuous airflow and keep the
mattress surface dry.
'Our thermal products are known
worldwide for their sustainable, solidstate, environmentally friendly
technology,' adds Gentherm President
and CEO Daniel R Coker. 'Atmos has
been engineered to demonstrate the
range of individual control and comfort
levels that we can achieve in our
products. We believe our technology has
broad potential with applications in a
variety of industries, and the Atmos
mattress is a prime example of this.'
www.gentherm.com
Gas-detecting
e-textiles based on
graphene
Graphene-coated fabrics that can
detect dangerous gases present in the air
and alert their wearer by turning on a
light-emitting diode (LED) have been
developed by scientists in South Korea.
The researchers, from the Electronics
and Telecommunications Research
Institute and Konkuk University, coat
cotton and polyester (PES) yarns with a
nanogule called bovine serum albumin
(BSA). The yarns are then wrapped in
graphene oxide sheets.
The graphene sheets adhere well to
the nanogule. Testing has shown that the
fabrics retain their electrical conducting
properties after 1000 consecutive cycles
of bending and straightening, and ten
washing tests with various chemical
detergents.
Finally, the graphene oxide yarns are
exposed to a chemical reduction process,
which involves the gaining of electrons.
The reduced graphene oxide-coated
materials have been found to be
particularly sensitive to detecting
nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant gas
commonly found in vehicle exhaust that
results from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Prolonged exposure to nitrogen dioxide
can be dangerous to human health,
causing respiratory illnesses.
The new technology, according to the
researchers, can be adopted
immediately by industry as the coating
process is simple making it suitable for
mass production. It would allow outdoor
productnews
based on titanium oxide or other
metal-based compounds.
The effects of the new
method are permanent
and cannot be washed out.
The trials
showed
that the
new fibre
delivers a
level of [email protected]
activity that
could be
Kelheim IR-reflectproven in
ing viscose speciameasurelity fibres
ments of
the Total
Kelheim Fibers, a leading
Solar Reflectance
manufacturer of viscose specialty fibres,
Value (TSR). Visible light is
has completed the next step in the
reflected by 90 to 95 %, while in the near
development of IR-reflecting fibres.
infrared range, a reflectance of up to
During the last months, the
90% is reached, depending on the
incorporation of mineral IR-reflecting
wavelength spectrum. This proves a clear
particles has been tested in several
benefit in the reflectance of direct
spinning trials. Different levels of these
sunlight, where the fibre is capable of
particles were integrated into the fibre's
providing a cooling effect, for example
core, thereby preserving the fibre's
by protecting the human body from
inherent properties, rather than being
outside radiation.
added as a topical finish using additives
At the same
STATEMENT ABOUT THE MAGAZINE
time, the fibre may
ASIAN TECHNICAL TEXTILES
also be used in
warming
Statement about ownership and other particulars about
magazine the ASIAN TECHNICAL TEXTILES to be published,
applications, where
in accordance with Form IV, Rule 8 (Registrar of Newspapers,
the thermal
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting).
radiation emitted
1. Place of publication
: 201/Bldg 2, New Sonal Link Ind
from the body is
Estate, Link Road, Malad (West),
reflected by these
Mumbai 400 064
particles back to the
2. Periodicity of
: Quarterly
body, reducing the
Publication
cooling effect and
3. Printer
: GPS Kwatra
keeping the person
Nationality
: Indian
Address
: 201/Bldg 2 New Sonal Link Ind
warm. In the mid IREstate, Link Road, Malad (West),
range an increase of
Mumbai 400 064
reflectance of about
4. Publisher
: GPS Kwatra
20 % of m-IR
Nationality
: Indian
radiation was
Address
: As above
achieved in tests
5. Editor
: GPS Kwatra
compared to normal
Nationality
: Indian
viscose.
Address
: As Above
The fibre can be
6. Name and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and
partner or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the
used for both textile
total capital : GPS Kwatra, Indian, address as above.
and nonwoven
I, GPS Kwatra, hereby declare that the particulars given above are
processes, where
true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
the fabric can either
protect against
GPS Kwatra
outside influences or
Date : 08 February 2016
Signature of Publisher
reflect the IRwearers to receive relevant information
about air quality. The materials could
also be incorporated into air-purifying
filters that can both detect and filter
harmful gas from air.
'This sensor can bring a significant
change to our daily life since it was
developed with flexible and widely used
fibres, unlike the gas Dr Hyung-Kun Lee,
who led the research initiative.
Lectra FocusQuantum
radiation back to the inside source.
'Comfortable feel-good clothes and
functional special clothing are just
two obvious applications for our new IR
fiber,' says Dr Daniela Bauer of Kelheim
Fibres' R&D team.
www.kelheim-fibres.com
Specialist cutters
for airbag fabrics
backed by software
and support
Lectra of Paris, France, says its
FocusQuantum range includes cutters for
fabrics for one-piece-woven (OPW) and
flat airbags, which it has designed to
offer high precision, reliability and good
productivity, by making both loading of
the material and the gathering of cut
pieces quick and simple.
The software imports design data
and analyses it to verify dimensions and
scale-factors, before cutting commences.
Data analysis also helps to eliminate
potential defects. In addition, the
software allows manufacturers to keep a
full record of all manufacturing
operations, and prevents unauthorized
changes being made to approved
commands and processes.
As well as the cutters and software,
Lectra offers customers a range of
services to help them install the
machines and manage changes to their
production processes, as well as
providing ongoing support.
www.lectra.com
ATT
bookreview
The future of nonwovens for
industrial applications to 2020
eventscalendar
2016
March
02-03
08-10
Smithers Apex Publications
www.smithersapex.com, [email protected]
Digital + hard copy Euro 5,410
16-17
ndustrial nonwovens are defined as nonwovens used in various
industrial applications, including, automotive, construction, insulation,
protective clothing and more. The global sales of nonwovens for industrial
applications in 2015 was US$ 19.6 billion, consuming 61.3 billion square
metres or 4 million tons. The annual growth rates are 7.7% (sales dollars),
8.5% (m2) or 8% (tons). Nonwovens used for industrial applications
accounted about 52.5% of the total sales for all nonwovens in 2015. The
‘Future of Nonwovens for Industrial Applications to 2020’ predicts that the
value of industrial nonwovens consumed will total US$ 27.4 billion, for a
projected growth rate of 6.9% by the year 2020. Additionally, industrial
nonwovens will use 88.6
billion square metres, for a
projected growth of 7.6% by
2020 and tonnage consumed
will increase to 5.7 million
tons, for a projected growth of
7.2% by 2020.
According to the report,
there are some global, or
overall, drivers for technology
development within industrial
nonwovens. One common
driver is basis weight
reduction, and another is
sustainability.
In spunlaid, it is reduced
basis weight, raw material
use and waste, coupled with
initiatives in replacing
petrolem-based
polypropylene with cornbased polylactic acid (PLA). In spunlace, virgin cotton is being replaced with
recycled cotton, and some polyester is being replaced with recycled
polyester.
Airlaid, needlepunch and carded, nonwovens have all increased
throughputs. Within the last five years, large producers have increased
commerical running speed and are working towards even higher speeds.
Spunlaid and spunlace have both seen significant reductions in waste. For
industrial nonwovens to maintain high growth rates, the cost to the ultimate
consumer must decrease, or stay constant atleast through 2017.
The report explores nonwoven manufacturing processes and technology
developments, key market forces shaping the future of the industrial
nonwoven market, and how efficiency of nonwoven production challenges
traditional industrial textiles uses in many markets.
27-30
I
April
25-28
May
02-05
03-05
31-2/6
June
01-02
01-04
07-10
11-15
Outlook Asia, Singapore, www.edana.org
JEC World 2016, Paris, France
www.jeccomposites.com
TCL2016 Prague, Czech Republic
www.intnews.com/TCL
90th Textile Institute World Conference,
Poznan, Poland. www.tiworldconference.org
Indo Intertex 2016, Jakarta, Indonesia
www.indointertex.com
IDEA2016, Boston. www.inda.org
Techtextil NA/JEC Americas, Atlanta, USA
www.techtextilna.com/www.jeccomposites.com
mtex 2016, Chemnitz, Germany
www.mtex-chemnitz.de
International Nonwovens Symposium
Warsaw, Poland. www.edana.org
ITM 2016/Hightex, Turkey
www.itm2016.com.tr
World of Wipes Intl Conference 2016 Chicago
USA. www.inda.org
Texcare International 2016, Messe Frankfurt
www.messefrankfurt.com
September
21-23
20-22
October
05-06
11-13
12-14
24-27
21-25
November
09-10
10-12
24-25
December
03-08
Outlook, Madrid, Spain. www.edana.org
Dornbirn MFC Congress, Dornbirn, Austria
www.dornbirn-mfc.com
SALTEX 2016, Dornbirn, Austria
www.saltex.messedornbirn.at/aussteller
FILTECH 2016, Cologne, Germany, www.filtech.de
CINTE Techtextil China, Shanghai, China
www.techtextilchina.com
Hygienix 2016, Orlando, USA www.inda.org
ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016, Hongqiao, Shanghai
www.itmaasia.com
31th Hofer Vliesstofftage, Hof, Germany
info-at-ho.bfz.de, [email protected]
www.hofer-vliesstoftage.de
ICTN 2016, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
India. [email protected]
www.textileconferenceiitd.com
Aachen-Dresden International Textile
Conference, Dresden, Germany
www.aachen-dresden-itc.de
India ITME 2016, NSE Complex, Mumbai
www.india-itme.com
2017
April
04-07
INDEX17, Geneva. www.edana.org
09-12
Techtextil/Texprocess, Frankfurt, Germany
www.techtextil.messefrankfurt.com
May

PDF - The Asian Textile Journal (ATJ)

Transcription

Similar documents

Technical Textiles International (June 2016)

I`m helping to end MS by participating in the 2016 Jayman BUILT MS

g) Experiences in developing organic cotton in west

The Board of Directors of Qatar Fuel (WOQOD) is pleased to invite

lauren . bowker

Annonce S1

automotive nonwovens

December 2015 — Textiles Monitor

waiver guidelines jakarta incident

2016 Winter Newsletter