Alto Yarn Innovative Yarn Maker

Alto
Yarn: Innovative Yarn Maker
Spinner specializes in slub yarns. Mount Vernons Alto, Ga., manufacturing complex
consists of two plants, the Alto fabric weaving plant and the Alto Yarn plant. The Alto plant was
built in 1967 as a supply-spinning mill for the La France Division. It was set up primarily for
ring-spun rayon yarns.Over the years it produced mostly rayon yarns. More recently cotton
processing was introduced. Today, the mill produces 100-percent cotton yarns, 100-percent rayon
yarns and plied combinations of cotton and rayon yarns.Mount Vernons involvement in slub yarn
manufacturing dates back nearly 40 years at plants in Maryland and Maine. The company was one of
the original producers of 19/1 rayon slub/nub yarn.This product remains an active style even in
todays market, but Mount Vernon no longer produces it. Mount Vernon maintained slub manufacturing
capacity as it moved south, adding slub equipment to ring spinning at the Columbia, S.C., operation
and ultimately at Tallassee, Ala.The Pamplins are very supportive owners, said Charles L. Little,
president of the Yarn Group (yarn sales division).Little became yarn merchandising manager in 1988
and took over yarn sales. In 1995, he was named president of the Yarn Division.We can feel the true
desire for growth and investment that the owners have in the business, he said.What counts for
Mount Vernon today is its commitment toward customers and the continuous investment in technology.
Investment in the Mount Vernon Mills family is often an expansion or modernization valued in the
tens of millions. 
Charlie Reed,
Quality Assurance, Alto Yarn, uses a digitalcamera to provide vendors with information on equipment
problems. The Alto OperationToday, the Mount Vernon Alto Yarn plant is a typical sales-yarn
plant, as a supplier to many more customers than just itself. Mount Vernon sells yarns out of the
Alto and Tallassee plants.The Tallassee plant historically made slub yarns. In the early 90s, ring
spinning was removed from Tallassee, with Alto adding new slub attachments to its ring spinning.One
of the major modernization programs was started in 1990 with all new Murata winding and
Saurer-Allma twisting.By 1993, the plant expanded again, nearly doubling its original output. This
included replacing all cards with Trutzschler DK series cards, electronically controlled Rieter RSB
851 drawframes and Schlafhorst SE9 rotor-spinning frames.The next, and most significant step, as
Little sees it, was to replace older ring-spinning frames with modern, automated ring-spinning
systems.This includes linking Marzoli roving frames, Suessen Fiomax 1000 ring-spinning frames, and
automated Murata Link Coner winding.The integration of the Amsler slubbing device gives the company
the extra edge to produce, at will, effect yarns for customers. Electro-Jet did the automation for
linking Marzolis roving frames with Suessens spinning frames, while Luwa-Bahnson provided a modern
air-handling system.In May 1999, the company purchased six Rieter D10 draw frames, and in January
2000 two Saurer 8-inch traverse twisters were added.Currently underway is a plan to change the
roving flyer from 16 by 6 inches to 16 by 7 inches. This is done to allow the plant to get a bigger
roving bobbin weight.Plant Manager Mike Godfrey had only praise for all of the companys suppliers,
though they admit that things were not always easy at start-up. Some of the installed technology
was new to the United States, and that is always a challenge for the mill and the supplier.
However, the result appears to be performing well.According to Charlie Reed, who is responsible for
the quality assurance in this plant, the effect-yarn capability on the ring-spinning frames has not
been developed to its full potential.  A Look At EquipmentAlto Yarn uses premium cotton for
open-end and ring-spun yarns. The Trutzschler equipment that we have in place contributes nicely to
the product we manufacture, Little said.One Marzoli roving frame is designated for rayon and four
frames are selected for cotton production. Electro-Jet provided the automated linking system, which
connects the five roving frames with the 14 Suessen spinning frames.Its a very versatile system,
Godfrey said of Electro-Jets installation. You insert the creel fully into the spinning frame, and
then the empty bobbin is processed through the bobbin stripper and then back to storage. Its also a
simple system and very dependable.The Alto facility was Electro-Jets first automated transport
system in the United States. The advantage of this system is the battery-operated Auto-Motor
monorail setup, which allows for high efficiency without the need for a complex infrastructure of
pneumatic lines and extensive wiring. All functions are controlled by a host computer, and the
battery-operated unit controls position constantly using on-line sensors. The system maintains full
control over handling two different raw materials rayon and cotton.From Marzolis roving frames, the
Electro-Jet system allows transport and direct insertion into the creel of the ring-spinning
frames. Suessens Fiomax 1000 ring-spinning frame is equipped with the CutCat Whorl Cleaner,
automated doffing and an interface for linking each of the 1,008 spindle frames to the Murata
winders.Amsler supplied the electro-mechanical device for slub formation, the central control unit
and the slub programming unit on the ring-spinning frame. The Amsler slubbing device allowed for
the development of new products and the innovation continues. Even rayon was moved into the slub
arena to expand the product line.We purchased the Amsler equipment because it was proven equipment
for very long link-spinning, Little said. We have had great success with the former Murata winders,
and we chose Murata winding once again.There are 32 position winders for clip-cone and conical
winding, plus dye-tubes are run on these winders as well. As one of the final stages in the plant,
Xorella Yarn Conditioners were added as the final refinement stage for cotton yarns. Conditioning
for cotton is automatic. Weaving customers have recognized the benefit conditioning imparts.Quality
is assured in several stages of the production process. Zellweger Uster has provided instruments
and equipment for quality control. In the textile lab, AFIS is used to analyze fiber materials;
Usters UT series evenness testers are used for sliver and yarn testing; and a Classimat and
single-end tester provide all necessary yarn quality data. According to the company, an investment
in the new Tensorapid will take place within the next few months.On the production floor,
Zellwegers Polyguard yarn clearers are installed on Schlafhorsts open-end spinning frames, while
P551 yarn clearers perform their tasks on the Murata winders. Zellwegers P830 serves as a
monitoring system.Little emphasized the effectiveness of the Luwa-Bahnson air conditioning system,
which was put in place while installing the new frames in the ring-spinning area. The challenge was
to keep the mill operational while the new spinning frames and return-duct system were
installed.Little and Godfrey compared this system to three other manufacturers systems throughout
the plant, and they say Luwa-Bahnsons system does an outstanding job. Luwa installed rotary
prefilters and rotating screens, based on the principle of a two-stage filtration system. It is
more efficient to separately capture coarse waste in the first stage, such as thread pieces, and
fine dust in the second stage.The prefilters function on a higher air velocity than the second
stage dust filter. All waste is automatically doffed by a waste collection system.Lint, in this
kind of operation, is a major factor to figure into the air filtration system. A deviation diffuser
permits distribution of the air at a very slow velocity. The plant also received new air washers,
and a high air exchange rate was selected because of coarse count yarns.  Specialty YarnsYarn
plant has a diversified product line, yet the philosophy is to keep the variety of products simple
enough to stay cost effective. Cotton and rayon yarns, open-end and ring-spun yarns, singles and
ply yarns, as well as straight and slub yarns are produced.Historically, Mount Vernon has always
been involved in the upholstery and home furnishing fabric trade, which is still very much a
concentration of Altos sales-yarn effort. Currently, all of the rayon production is sold to other
manufacturers. None is used within Mount Vernon.Many varieties of yarn packages are offered to
clients, exactly as the customer requires them. Alto itself has no yarn-dyeing operation, but
supplies a vast variety of different yarn package setups to its clients. Little mentioned that
there are numerous shapes and sizes of dye packages, and each dye package customer has its unique
setup and specifications. To date, the primary focus has been on coarse-count yarns, but product
developments point toward an expanded cotton count range, plus rayon slub yarns. To take full
advantage of the equipment, Mount Vernon has retained the services of Per Olsson of Sweden to
assist in developing its home furnishing product offerings.Little envisions that more and more of
the plants production will become value-added slub products. The Amsler system adds character to
yarns in a controllable manner with repeatable physical yarn characteristics. Denim, for example,
is a major segment for Altos slub yarns. Engineered slubs give denim the character of old,
traditional denim when woven into fabric.Some of our customers have 100-percent warp slub yarns and
100-percent filling slub yarns in the fabric, Little said. And you often will find customers that
will do one end of slub cotton and one end of smooth yarn alternating in the warp direction. In
filling, customers may use an end of slub yarn among several yarns selected or use 100-percent
slub.The companys philosophy is to work closely with customers and to reply to customer requests in
the shortest possible time. For example, Little mentioned that a customer called in an order for
12/2 yarns, which is not a standard item in Altos manufacturing program. By the next morning, the
yarn was in production.This is the response time our customers are looking for, and this is what we
deliver, he said.The plant is trying to offer value-added products as close as possible to
commodity yarn prices, according to Godfrey. Mount Vernon is committed to meeting large- or
small-quantity orders, and everything is treated with the same priority. Yarn-count changes are
commonplace, however, only a small percentage of equipment is subject to these changes.Our goal is
to have the best slub yarns on the market, Little said. He sees the success of Mount Vernons Alto
plant as the result of modern equipment and the training of plant personnel.
May 2000
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