JCPenney Takes Big & Tall To New Heights With Shaquille O’Neal XLG

PLANO, Texas — August 20, 2018 — Building on the Company’s partnership with NBA legend and television personality Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal, JCPenney is unveiling an all-new, exclusive big & tall brand, Shaquille O’Neal XLG. Available in 350 stores and online at JCPenney.com on September 13, the brand will feature a curated selection of men’s clothing and furnishings designed specifically with the big & tall customer in mind.

“With the launch of Shaquille O’Neal XLG, we continue to strengthen our special size business by delivering the stylish, high quality apparel and accessories our customers want at the value they seek,” said James Starke, senior vice president and head of merchandising, JCPenney. “Shaquille is a trusted and charismatic brand advocate who resonates with our core male customer, and we cannot wait to share his collection with big & tall men, giving them another compelling reason to visit JCPenney.”

Shaquille O’Neal XLG will offer over 60 unique styles of men’s suited separates, dress shirts, ties and belts in a range of sizes, all at affordable price points. Sale prices include a suit for $199.99, sport coat for $114.99 and dress shirt for $32.50. Big & tall men will discover suited separates and sport coats in sizes up to 64, belts up to 4XL, and extra-long ties.

Each piece features a modern, understated design combined with a classic fit, allowing for an effortless style that easily transitions from day to night. Plus, each garment is infused with performance features including cooling technology, stretch fabrics and flex collars to ensure ultimate comfort. As always, an expanded assortment of styles, sizes and colors will be available online at JCPenney.com.

“I’ve always partnered with trusted, quality brands that have personal meaning to me, and I’m beyond excited to expand my relationship with JCPenney,” said O’Neal. “Every big guy should have the opportunity to bring the sexy like I do, and I can’t wait to help men just like me look their best with a men’s clothing collection that not only fits their frames, but fits their wallets, too.”

O’Neal began his partnership with JCPenney as the exclusive big & tall style ambassador in March of this year, showcasing his unique style and fun-loving personality throughout the company’s big & tall marketing initiatives. JCPenney has featured O’Neal in a variety of broadcast, print, digital and social campaigns, including a broadcast spot highlighting the retailer’s big & tall assortment, an NBA draft social campaign and Father’s Day print and digital pieces, as well as other various big & tall marketing promotions.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: J. C. Penney Co.

University Of Virginia Multidisciplinary Engineering Team Designs New Technology For Smart Materials

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — August 20, 2018 — University of Virginia mechanical engineers and materials scientists, in collaboration with materials scientists at Penn State, the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, have invented a “switching effect” for thermal conductivity and mechanical properties that can be incorporated into the fabrication of materials including textiles and garments.

Using heat transport principles combined with a biopolymer inspired by squid ring teeth, the team studied a material that can dynamically regulate its thermal properties — switching back and forth between insulating and cooling — based on the amount of water that is present.

The invention holds great promise for all sorts of new devices and materials with the ability to regulate temperature and heat flow on demand, including the “smart” fabrics.

“The switching effect of thermal conductivity would be ideal for many applications, including athletics,” said John Tomko, a Ph.D. candidate in UVA’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering and lead author of an article about the invention published this week in Nature Nanotechnology. “This material has the potential to revolutionize active wear, unleashing the possibility of clothing that can dynamically respond to body heat and regulate temperature. For example, the biopolymer has a low thermal conductivity while dry, essentially storing body heat and keeping the athlete (and his or her muscles!) warm while not active. As soon as the wearer begins to sweat, the material could become hydrated and instantly increase its thermal conductivity, allowing this body heat to escape through the material and cool the athlete down. When the person is done training and the sweat has evaporated, the material could go back to an insulative state and keep the wearer warm again.

“And while it may sound highly specialized and only for professional athletes, it would be equally useful from an apparel company perspective,” said Tomko, whose research is being conducted as part of the ExSite Group led by Professor Patrick Hopkins of UVA’s departments of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering and Physics.

The garments made using this technology would be a step above what is available on the market today because of the materials’ extremely wide range of technical capabilities. For example, polar fleece generally requires different weights to accommodate different combinations of temperatures and activity levels. The new material could accommodate the whole gamut of athletic scenarios within one garment. Fleece is considered breathable, a passive state, but the biopolymer material would actively conduct heat out of the garment.

“While realizing thermally and mechanically smart fabrics is one major advance of this work, the ability to provide such large and reversible modification in the thermal conductivity of a material `on-demand’ has potential game-changing applications,” said Hopkins, Tomko’s Ph.D. advisor and co-lead on this research effort with Professor Melik Demirel at Penn State. “The thermal conductivity of materials is typically assumed to be a static, intrinsic property of a material. What we have shown is that you can ’switch‘ the thermal conductivity of a material in a similar way that you would turn on and off a light bulb via a switch on the wall, only instead of using electricity, we can use water to create this switch.  This will allow for dynamic and controllable ways to regulate the temperature and/or heat flow of materials and devices.

“The magnitude of this on/off thermal conductivity ratio is large enough where we can now envision applications including not only smart fabrics, but also more efficient recycling of wasted heat to create electricity, making self-thermally regulating electrical devices, or creating new avenues for wind- and hydropower production.”

The process of creating “programmable” materials could be good news for manufacturers and the environment. Usually textile companies have to rely on different types of fibers and different manufacturing processes to create clothing with varying attributes, but the tunable aspect of these materials means that insulating and cooling attributes can be created from the same process. This could lead to lower manufacturing costs and reduced carbon emissions.

Squid ring teeth, which make programmable materials possible, are an inspiring new avenue of scientific research first discovered at Penn State. These biomaterials contain unique properties such as strength, self-healing and biocompatibility, making them exceptionally suitable for programming at the molecular level, in this case for thermal regulation. This is more good news for the environment, since they can be extracted from the suction cups of squids or can be synthetically produced via industrial fermentation, both sustainable resources.

Tomko’s and Hopkins’ collaborators on the research are Abdon Pena-Francesch, former Ph.D. student at Penn State and now a von Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany; Huihun Jung, a doctoral candidate in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State; Madhusudan Tyagi a researcher with the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Benjamin D. Allen, assistant research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State; and Demirel, professor of engineering science and mechanics and director, Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies at Penn State.

“The beauty and unique power of neutron scattering helped us solve the puzzle of how tandem repeat units really influence the observed thermal conductivity in hydrated samples, as heavy water simply becomes ‘invisible’ to neutrons! We found that the increased and ‘altered’ dynamics of amorphous strands were, actually, responsible for this increased thermal conductivity in hydrated samples,” said the University of Maryland’s Tyagi. “I believe this research is going to change how we study thermal properties of soft matter, particularly proteins and polymers, using neutrons as typically hard condensed matter is where most of the work is done in this regard.”

Tomko and fellow UVA Engineering researchers, along with graduate students from UVA’s Darden School of Business, won first place in a Patagonia outdoor apparel company competition this spring to determine the best ideas for attaining carbon neutrality. Raw materials production is responsible for about 80 percent of Patagonia’s total carbon emissions, largely attributed to the production of polyester fabrics derived from fossil fuels. The UVA team proposed that the company transition to biopolymer textiles, which can be engineered solely from renewable resources. The new materials would look and function better than polyester and wool alternatives without relying on fossil fuel.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: University of Virginia School of Engineering

NCTO Renews Call For Tariffs On Textile And Apparel End Items At USTR China 301 Hearing

WASHINGTON — August 20, 2018 — National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) Senior Vice President Sara Beatty is testifying this afternoon on Panel 6 at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s hearing on the Trump administration’s proposed Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China.

Beatty’s statement as prepared for delivery is included at the bottom of this release and it reiterates NCTO’s 24-page public comments and testimony from earlier this year that the following products be prioritized on the China 301 retaliation list:

  • finished apparel that tracks with product being sourced from U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners;
  • textile-based home furnishings and other end items; and
  • advanced technical textile products.

NCTO is a Washington-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.

  • U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 550,500 in 2017.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $77.9 billion in 2017.
  • U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $28.6 billion in 2017.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.4 billion in 2016, the last year for which data is available.

Sara Beatty, Senior Vice President, National Council of Textile Organizations
China 301 IPR Hearing
Panel 6, August 20, 2018
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

My name is Sara Beatty, and I am the Senior Vice President of the National Council of Textile Organizations. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.

NCTO represents the full spectrum of the U.S. textile sector, from fiber through finished sewn products. As we have consistently voiced throughout this process, NCTO steadfastly supports the President’s pursuit of a Section 301 case to address China’s rampant intellectual property (IP) abuses.

Importance of Covering End Items

In NCTO’s previous testimony and public comments, we documented the severely damaging effects of China’s IP theft and related abuses on U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers and our views on how best to address the problem in our sector. To summarize, it remains our recommendation that priority should be placed on covering the following products on the retaliation list:

  • finished apparel that tracks with product being sourced from U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners;
  • textile-based home furnishings and other end items; and
  • advanced technical textile products.

While products in Chapters 50-60 covering textile fibers, yarns and fabrics are on the subject $200 billion list, finished apparel and other sewn products in Chapters 61-63 are again absent. The U.S. textile industry is disappointed by this repeated omission and asks that USTR consider the following:

First, finished apparel, home furnishings and other made-up textile goods equate to 93.5 percent of U.S. imports from China in our sector, while fiber, yarn and fabric imports from China represent only 6.5 percent. Given that apparel and other sewn products made in China almost always contain Chinese inputs, a significantly greater value of fibers, yarns and fabrics made in China enter the U.S. market in the form of Chinese-made downstream finished products than at the input stage.

Noting textiles have been identified as a key industry under the Made in China 2025 plan and Chinese-made textiles gain significant competitive advantages in the U.S. market through intellectual property theft, NCTO agrees that textiles should be part of the administration’s 301 strategy. It is also why, however, NCTO continues to stress that the most logical and effective way to target China’s predatory trade practices in our sector is to address their primary means of disrupting our market, exports of end items to the United States.

Most of China’s 10 million direct textile and apparel jobs are concentrated at the final steps of the supply chain, the highly labor-intensive cutting and sewing operations.  As such, imposing tariffs on end items would maximize U.S. leverage in bringing China to make meaningful reforms.

Further, the importance of targeting finished products on the retaliation list is not only derived from the fact that China predominantly ships end items versus intermediate inputs, but also because end item imports most directly and negatively impact U.S. textile and apparel production, investment and jobs. China’s apparel and other textile-based end items compete head to head with like Western Hemisphere products that typically are made from U.S. fibers, yarns and fabrics.

By the time a pair of Chinese blue jeans arrives in the U.S. market, they have benefited from China’s illegal trade practices at every stage in the production chain, allowing them to displace other products in the market. The pre-duty unit cost of a pair of jeans is $7.50 imported from China compared to $8.29 from our Western Hemisphere free trade partners.  A 25% additional tariff adds $1.88 to China’s price, providing a considerable incentive to shift sourcing from China to duty-free sources in the Western Hemisphere.

NCTO is convinced that the Trump administration’s Section 301 tariffs would be far more effective if Chinese apparel and related end products were included on the 301 list because that would benefit the entire U.S. textile and apparel supply chain and address the root issue.

Textile and Related Products on the $200 Billion List

With the inclusion of virtually all fiber, yarn and fabric tariff lines on the $200 billion list, NCTO is finalizing feedback on a line-by-line basis that identifies products where the U.S. textile industry would be negatively impacted by additional tariffs of 10%, or up to 25%, on product from China. A number of our member companies are also filing comments speaking to their unique circumstances. Given that these are largely intermediate-stage manufacturing inputs, additional duties on products imported from China for further processing can be counterproductive in instances where there is no U.S. production and China is one of a limited number of import sources.

As this type of detailed information cannot be adequately conveyed in testimony form, NCTO will be submitting supplementary public comments. However, acrylic and rayon staple fibers serve as good examples of products that NCTO recommends be removed from the 301 list to avoid undue harm to U.S. manufacturers. These fibers are not produced in the United States and their unavailability is reflected in the rules of origin of our more recent free trade agreements as well as in the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) pending in Congress.

Raising the production costs for these inputs will only undercut U.S. competitiveness for manufacturers that utilize them without bolstering U.S. producers, of which none exist.  Further, yarn and fabric producers in China and other countries will not face these added costs, thus simultaneously placing U.S. producers at a significant disadvantage while providing a loophole for Chinese fibers to enter the U.S. market in the form of a downstream product.

Beyond the traditional textile chapters, NCTO recommends removal of certain chemicals, dyes and finishes that are integral to the textile manufacturing process and create value add in U.S. products. Our members report that many of these products are largely unavailable from U.S. sources, particularly in the quantities consumed, and thus the increased raw material costs will damage downstream domestic manufacturing competitiveness. Again, a list of specific tariff lines will be provided.

Last, we are concerned that while textile machinery was largely removed from the initial $50 billion list, additional lines have been proposed on this list. NCTO continues to strongly recommend the removal of all machinery-related items as U.S. textile companies are almost entirely dependent on imports to equip their factories.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear today. NCTO looks forward to working with the Trump administration on ways to maximize the benefit of Section 301 tariffs to American industry and workers, and I would be pleased to answer any questions.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

ITMA Asia + CITME 2018 Exhibitor Preview: SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG

HORGEN, Switzerland — August 20, 2018 — SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG will show the latest applications at ITMA Asia. The exhibition is held in Shanghai at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre from October 15-19, 2018. SSM welcomes the interested visitors in hall 1, booth D01.

The Swiss based SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG is the inventor of the electronic yarn traverse system. Based on the experience accumulated, SSM is able to provide a proper solution for the most economical and flexible yarn production.

World premiere of the new drum winder

After the successful introduction of the XENO-platform in 2016 and the X-Series in 2017, SSM has extended the range of applications on these platforms. With the brand new drum winder the power consumption per spindle is lower than ever (down to 35 watt, depending on parameter settings). The small pitch and integrated control cabinet maximize the space utilization. Thanks to the new developed and single controlled motor, it is the ideal machine for an energy efficient rewinding of cones used in the weaving, warp knitting and circular knitting process. The new drum winder, named CWX-W, is also available for assembly winding as CWX-D.

In the top quality segment, SSM customer can now benefit from a wider range of applications, such as fancyflex™ options for the production of slubs and thick & thin effects, controlled overfeed variations, creation of “neps” and intermittent intermingling of drawn textured yarn (DTY). Another benefit is the maximized productivity and profit, when using the DIGICONE® 2 for the XENO-platform to increase the dye package density with unchanged dyeing recipes.

Last but not least SSM is exhibiting the winding machine for the preparation of low-density muffs made of high-elastic yarns, which enables to preserve the highest possible residual elasticity of the yarn throughout the dyeing process.

Besides the displayed applications in winding (including assembly and sewing thread winding) and air texturing, SSM provides a wide range of renowned textile machines.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG

Starlinger: Recycling Specialist In Research Project For The Separation And Reprocessing Of Mixed Textile Waste

VIENNA, Austria — August 20, 2018 — Within the textile network PlasTexTron©, Starlinger recycling technology is searching for an ecologically and economically sound solution for the recycling of mixed textile waste of multi-material composition. Three universities and eight Austrian companies are involved in the COIN-project TEX2MAT, which is led by the Plastics Cluster of ecoplus, the business agency of Lower Austria, and funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW).

Every year, tons of old textiles that cannot be reused or sold end up in incineration plants or even go to landfill. The textile industry is growing, and the proportion of multi-material textiles, i.e., mixtures of various natural and artificial fibers, is steadily increasing. Society and lawmakers rightly demand rapid technological solutions for the recycling of this kind of waste in order to protect the environment and save material resources. Besides closing the loop from raw material to raw material, the project aims at efficient recycling that yields an end product with virgin-like characteristics.

The project TEX2MAT addresses the recycling of different kinds of old textiles that consist of a mixture of polyester and cotton. The first step is the enzymatic separation of polyester and cotton in a procedure developed by the Viennese University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences; after appropriate reprocessing, the materials are reused in new products. The input material is supplied by the companies Herka Frottier, Salesianer Miettex and Huyck.Wangner Austria (Xerium Group), which are all located in Lower Austria. Starlinger recycling technology — a business unit of Starlinger which manufactures recycling lines and has already developed solutions for closed loop production in the field of polyester textiles — provides recycling services and expertise for the project. To achieve an optimal result, regular controls of the material properties are performed by the University of Leoben.

The project partners are working on specific case studies:

  • Mixtures of polyester and cotton from the production of towels as well as old textiles in the form of bed linens and working clothes are shredded by Starlinger recycling technology in Weissenbach and then undergo enzymatic treatment at the Technical University of Vienna. The goal is to develop a sample process for closed loop production.
  • Technical nonwovens made of polyamides are shredded and turned into regranulate by Starlinger recycling technology; Thermoplastkreislauf GmbH then adds substances such as glass fibers, additives and/or colors as needed (a process commonly known as compounding). The companies Multiplast Kunststoffverarbeitung and Fildan use this customized material in the production of highly technical plastic parts such as components for fire extinguishers or bra fasteners.

The project TEX2MAT started in November 2017 and will be running over the course of two years. The project partners meet in regular intervals to align the individual steps and discuss the overall progress. In September 2018, TEX2MAT will be presented at the international fiber congress GFC in Dornbirn; initial results are expected to become available until K show 2019 in Düsseldorf.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: Starlinger

Motion Industries Announces The Death Of President & CEO Tim Breen

BIRMINGHAM, Ala/ — August 20, 2018 — Motion Industries Inc., a leading distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts and a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (GPC), is saddened to announce the sudden passing of its President and CEO Tim Breen.

“Motion Industries has lost a great leader and the world has lost an amazing human being,” said Motion Industries Leadership. “Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Tim have lost a dear friend and an inspiration. Tim leaves behind a great company, a great culture and a great team that he affectionately referred to as ‘The Motion Family.’ His spirit will forever live on at Motion.”

Breen began his career with Berry Bearing Company in 1982 and served there as a Sales Representative, Branch Manager, Regional Manager, and Corporate Accounts Manager. His responsibilities continued to grow after Berry Bearing and Motion Industries joined forces in 1993.

His leadership as both a Division Officer and Group Officer distinguished his record and he assumed responsibility of all the U.S. locations in 2011 as executive vice president and COO. Breen was promoted to Motion Industries president and COO in 2013, before his promotion in November 2014 to president and CEO. With Breen at the helm, Motion Industries attained its record $5 billion sales goal at the end of 2017.

Motion Industries Leadership added, “We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved, growing the company he led and appreciating the team he loved so much. Tim’s guidance and vision have left us in a strong position to continue building the company’s success.”

The company will share updates as they are available.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: Motion Industries

The Felix Schoeller Group Announces Its Reconfigured Management Board

OSNABRÜCK, Germany — August 20, 2018 — The following changes in the management board of the holding company of the Felix Schoeller Group came into effect on July 1 2018:

Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp was appointed to succeed Dr Bernhard Klofat as the company’s CEO.

Peter Cornelissen has stepped down from his long-standing position as CFO of the Osnabrück-based specialty paper manufacturer and taken on a new role. He will be concentrating on expanding Winbon Schoeller New Materials (WSNM), the joint venture that was founded last year in China. As such he will play a key role in the Felix Schoeller Group’s overseas strategy. He has been based in Longyou, China, since March 2018. Guido Hofmeyer, who to date was responsible for the Felix Schoeller Division, succeeds him as the Felix Schoeller Group’s CFO. His position as executive vice-president of the Felix Schoeller Division will be filled at the beginning of next year.

Gerhard Hochstein has been newly elected as executive vice-president of the holding company. He has been with the company since April 2016 as executive vice-president of Schoeller Technocell. As CTO, Gerhard Hochstein is now responsible for engineering, research & development, technical purchasing, energy management, patents and business development.

Stephan Igel, as CSO responsible for sales in the Technocell Division, now also takes on responsibility for raw materials purchasing.

There have been no changes in responsibility for production, with Georg Haggenmüller remaining in post as CMO.

This means that the Felix Schoeller Group, which has a functional organisational structure, has the following management team: Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp (CEO), Georg Haggenmüller (CMO), Gerhard Hochstein (CTO), Guido Hofmeyer (CFO) and Stephan Igel (CSO Technocell).

Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp (CEO)

Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp has been with the company since 1997. Born in 1969, after leaving school he did a degree in paper engineering at TU Darmstadt and an international Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Canada, which he gained under the University of Toronto’s programme for working professionals.

Milestones in his career with the Felix Schoeller Group include his job on paper machine 1 (PM1) at the Osnabrück mill and later his position as head of raw materials management in the extrusion process at the Osnabrück mill. Between 1999 and 2001, Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp was in charge of specialty base paper production at the Schoeller Group’s American mill in Pulaski/NY. From 2002 onwards, he was chief operating officer of the Technocell Division. This position included responsibility for marketing, sales and technology. As chief technical officer (CTO) Gallenkamp has been on the management board of Felix Schoeller Holding since October 2012. He took up the post of deputy CEO of the Osnabrück-based Felix Schoeller Group on 1 January 2015. He then became chief operating officer (COO) on 1 January 2017. He was appointed CEO of the company with effect from 1 July 2018.

Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp is a fifth-generation shareholder in the Felix Schoeller Group.

Guido Hofmeyer (CFO)

Guido Hofmeyer has been with the company since 1997.

Born in 1972, he began his career by training as a business management assistant with the company. He followed this up with a degree in business studies. After graduating, he started in marketing controlling and then took up a post as finance director with an English company in the Felix Schoeller Group.

He became a member of the management of the Imaging Business Unit in 2003, taking over as managing director in 2007. He was appointed as executive vice-president of Felix Schoeller Holding on 1 January 2014 with responsibility for sales in the Felix Schoeller Division.

He took up his post as CFO on 1 July 2018.

Gerhard Hochstein (CTO)

Gerhard Hochstein has been with the Felix Schoeller Group since April 2016. He has a degree in printing engineering. His previous positions include plant manager with decor printers Interprint GmbH in Arnsberg, after which he became a management consultant specialising in innovation management.

He was appointed to the position of chief technology officer (CTO) on the management board of Felix Schoeller Holding on 1 July 2018. He is now responsible for engineering, research & development, technical purchasing, energy management, patents and business development. He will also continue in his post as executive vice-president of Schoeller Technocell GmbH & Co. KG.

Posted August 20, 2018

Source: Felix Schoeller Group 

Medico Professional Linen Service Of Los Angeles Earns Hygienically Clean Healthcare Certification

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — August 17, 2018 — Medico Professional Linen Service, a division of family-owned and managed American textile maintenance company in Los Angeles, has earned certification for Hygienically Clean Healthcare, reflecting its commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and its capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

This certification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:

  • Employees are properly trained and protected;
  • Managers understand regulatory requirements;
  • OSHA-compliant; and
  • Physical plant operates effectively.

To achieve certification initially, laundries pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. They also must pass a facility inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations by verifying quality control procedures in linen, uniform and facility services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.

“Congratulations to Medico Professional Linen Service on their certification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted August 17, 2018

Source: TRSA

Celanese Announces Price Increase For Acetate Flake

DALLAS & AMSTERDAM — August 14, 2018 — Celanese Corp., a global specialty materials company, will increase the price of acetate flake grades by $0.50 per kilogram for all orders shipped effective September 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow.

This price increase is based on current industry condition assessments and applies to flake grades for all end-use applications including but not limited to plastics, textile filament, film, coatings, non-wovens, and medical.

Customers should contact their account manager for additional information.

Posted August 17, 2018

Source: Celanese Corp.

Wealth Building Investors, Inventors, Stakeholders & Startups to Meet at Graphene Conference & Expo in Austin, October 15-17, 2018

OXFORD, Miss. — August 16, 2018 — The National Graphene Association (NGA), the main organization and body in the U.S. advocating and promoting the commercialization of graphene, announces prime investment opportunities to be featured at the Global Graphene Expo & Conference, October 15-17, 2018, at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas.

“We are delighted to engage graphene companies & startups with well-known investors and investment funds all under one roof,” stated Dr. Zina Jarrahi Cinker, executive director of NGA. “There will be a special track for those interested in learning how graphene can add value to existing businesses,” Jarrahi Cinker continued.

“Graphene will soon impact every industry from automotive, advanced manufacturing, medical devices, oil & gas, energy storage and even apparel. Texas has the perfect technology infrastructure, academic prowess and end user industries that can greatly benefit from graphene,” added Jarrahi Cinker.

About Graphene

Graphene is the world’s first 2D material. It is one atomic layer of carbon, the thinnest and strongest material in the world, yet flexible, transparent and impermeable to any known molecules. It is extremely electronically and thermally conductive. Forecasted by McKinsey to be a $70 billion market by 2030 for the semiconductor sector alone.

Other world stakeholders have invested billions of dollars in fostering the commercialization of graphene, most notably China and the European Union. The successes in this industry are gaining traction through massive investments. “This conference is the turning point for similar successes in the United States,” stated Jarrahi Cinker.

The Global Graphene Expo & Conference is focused on the commercialization and future applications of graphene, which also has an exploratory track for those interested in learning how graphene can improve their current product offerings and provide a competitive advantage. “This is the largest gathering of graphene stakeholders in the U.S., targeted on commercial applications of graphene, driving innovation, and promoting and showcasing graphene products and technologies,” added Dr. Jarrahi Cinker.

For Investors

The Exclusive Investor Pitch session at the conference will include presentations from pre-vetted qualified graphene companies to a special audience of accredited investors ready to take action in this promising space.

“We’ve assembled an evaluation committee consisting of Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists to select the top 8 companies ripest for commercial achievements,” said Dr. Harvey Ring, Austin based technology investor and leader of the evaluation/selection committee. “We expect many investors from all regions of the country to attend,” adds Dr. Ring.

In addition to the Exclusive Investor Pitch session, attendees have the opportunity to learn the basics and more about graphene during the “Graphene 101: A Crash Course In Graphene” session. The conference activities are designed to provide attendees with the opportunity to explore the commercial landscape of graphene through tracks such as the 5-minute graphene product or idea showcase as well as pitches and industry roundtables. Attendees will get a well-rounded view of the opportunities through ample networking options such as the speed networking session.

Learn more information about the Global Graphene Expo & Conference here:

For Graphene Startups & Companies

Existing graphene companies raising funds for their businesses are invited to submit their pitch on the conference page. The pitches will be reviewed by an evaluation committee, led by Dr. Harvey Ring. The 8 selected companies will be notified to present at the Exclusive Investor Pitch session to be held on October 15th.

Whether selected for the special investor session or not, all graphene companies and application developers are invited to present in the “5-Minute Product or Idea Showcase and Pitch” session and is open and presented to the entire audience at the conference.

For Industries Evaluating the Potential of Graphene

Global Graphene Expo provides the perfect platform to identify graphene’s powerful potential in different industry segments. The Expo will include “Graphene 101” a crash course on graphene, exhibits by graphene companies, product and idea showcases, and networking with the most influential graphene producers and application developers in the world. Attendees will be able to explore new ways to integrate graphene into their own industry and connect with the stakeholders that will help accelerate their company’s graphene application development and commercialization.

Posted August 17, 2018

Source: National Graphene Association

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