Atlanta-based SoftWear Automation has announced SEWBOTs® As A Service, a business model change to a rental lease service. The company hopes the service will encourage faster adoption of its automated sewing technologies and accelerate the growth of U.S.-based textile manufacturing, creating jobs in the process. According to the company “the focus of the program is to offer United States textile manufacturing more control, greater margin, faster turn times and less inventory.”
Instead of making high initial capital investments, a company can now lease a Sewbot for a monthly fee starting at $5,000 for an immediate return on investment. The cost breaks down to approximately $55 per shift — based on 7 days a week, 3 shifts per day. Depending on the product, a company can add annual production capacity of up to 1 million units.
Los Angeles-based Tukatech and Lefty Production Co. recently celebrated the opening of the Lefty Production Co. Los Angeles TUKAcenter in downtown Los Angeles. Tukatech Founder Ram Sareen and Lefty Production Founder Marta Miller officially opened the center by cutting the ribbon on a new laser cutter. Lefty will continue to offer its full-package services using the most advanced Tukatech technologies including TUKAcad and SMARTmark for pattern-making, grading and marker-making; TUKA3D for virtual sampling; a TUKAcut laser cutter for sample cutting; and TUKAcloud for asset management and cloud collaboration.
“[Lefty Production Co.] work[s] with designers, fashion brands, and retailers of all varieties and sizes, and Tukatech’s software and hardware solutions benefits all of them,” Miller said. “Our highest priority is ensuring our clients get the best possible products and the best possible service, on time. Tukatech helps us achieve our goals and delight our clients. We couldn’t ask for a better technology partner.”
“The purpose of our TUKAcenters is to allow smaller manufacturers, independent fashion designers, freelance pattern-makers, graders, marker-makers or anyone else who wants to design clothes to walk in and allow fashion industry experts to assist and guide the way,” said Sareen.
Finland-based Spinnova reports it has completed construction on a pilot factory line after just three-and-a-half months. The line, which is a big step on the way to large-scale commercial production, can produce from 100 to 400 tons per year. The pilot line works with Spinnova’s wood-based fiber production, but also may be used with other biobased raw materials the company is considering. Spinnova now seeks commercial partners to run product development trials over the next year.
“This is a greenfield factory in every way imaginable, and yet with a genius idea, careful planning and meticulous implementation, everything has gone as planned,” said Janne Poranen, CEO.
DAK Americas LLC, an Alpek polyester company, has signed an asset purchase agreement with Perpetual Recycling Solutions LLC for its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling facility in Richmond, Ind.
The operation has an approximate capacity of 100 million pounds per year of high-quality, recycled PET (rPET) flake. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Perpetual acquisition will fit in well with Alpek Polyester’s Argentina-based food-grade PET recycling facility as well as its Fayetteville, N.C.-based fiber-grade recycling joint venture, according to the company.
“The addition of this facility will allow us to expand our sustainability initiatives,” said Jon McNaull, vice president, PET Resins, DAK Americas.
Ascend Performance Materials has announced plans to invest $35.2 million to expand its Greenwood County, S.C., operations. Upgrades to several lines will increase the nylon polymer capacity. This is in addition to 24 million pounds of staple fiber production capacity that was added at the plant last year. The current polymer capacity expansion is expected to create 30 jobs at the facility.
“Thanks to the hard work of our employees and the support of leaders in Greenwood County and South Carolina, this expansion will allow us to increase our polymer production by 50 percent, creating more jobs for local residents,” said Ascend Performance Materials Senior Site Director Hal McCord.
Registration is now open for the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry’s (INDA’s) show IDEA®2019 to be held in Miami Beach, Fla., March 25-28, 2019. Visit idea2019.com to sign up.
Tarkett’s Velvet Fringe carpet is available in 12-foot widths.
Tarkett, Solon, Ohio, has launched the Woven Fringe Collection featuring two woven velvet cut-and-loop solution-dyed nylon carpet styles — Velvet Lines and Velvet Fringe — that have lines of long, uncut face fiber, or fringe, across the weft.
Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw Industries reports it was named one of “The Best Employers for Diversity,” by Forbes Magazine.
Champion®, Winston-Salem, N.C., is celebrating its 100th anniversary. A campaign created to mark the milestone, titled “100 Years for the Team,” explores what it means
to be a team in 2019.
The Lubrizol Corp., Cleveland, has named Osterman and Co. Inc., Cheshire, Conn., a distributor of its thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) portfolio including Estane® TPU polymers, Pearlthane™ TPU, and Pearlthane ECO* TPU. Osterman joins Entec as a U.S.-based representative of Lubrizol’s Estane products.
Cincinnati-based Cintas Corp. has partnered with JW Marriott, part of Marriott International Inc., to launch an apparel collection available at 51 of the brand’s hotels worldwide. In addition, Cintas will manage a garment recycling program to responsibly reuse retired JW Marriott uniforms from U.S.-based properties.
Mara Hoffman was awarded the REPREVE® Champions of Sustainability Leading the Change Award at an exclusive reception during New York Fashion week. The award, presented by Greensboro, N.C.-based Unifi Inc., recognizes the brand’s longtime commitment to reducing environmental impact through conscious fashion.
Germany-based Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH recently held an open house at its Changzhou, China, subsidiary to mark the launch of its new TM WEFT warp knitting machine with weft insertion. The company reports guests traveled from all over China to learn about the new machine. Two versions of a 247” E 24 model — one version featuring one guide bar, and a second with two guide bars — were demonstrated producing a traditional interlining fabric at a speed of 1,500 meters per minute. The machine was designed as a basic model machine to complement Karl Mayer’s WEFTTRONIC® II HKS, a machine targeted at the high-end market.
“Our customers were impressed by our focus on the functions, easy operation and reliability of the TM WEFT,” said Hagen Lotzmann, sales director, Karl Mayer Technische Textilien.
Switzerland-based Rieter Group reports it has acquired a 25-percent stake in Electro-Jet S.L., Spain, a producer of overhead traveling cleaners, roving frames, automatic transport system, packing and palletizing equipment, fabric batchers and inspection machines, and auxiliary equipment. The acquisition strengthens Rieter’s ring-spinning systems, and the two companies plan to jointly develop new products for the market. In 2017, Electro-Jet reported sales of approximately 25 million euros.
Germany-based Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment has joined ADAMOS, an alliance of machine and systems construction companies established in 2019. The alliance was created to advance the Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts through the ADAMOS IIoT platform and new business models, as well as establish standards for the textile industry. According to the company, the move helps the segment ramp up its digital strategy and implement its Industry 4.0 solutions. “We are working on a whole range of digital solutions that will offer our customers very concrete added value,” said CEO Georg Stausberg.
Germany-based Oerlikon Neumag introduced the BCF S8 at the recent DOMOTEX 2019 carpet and floor coverings exhibition. The company reports the bulk continuous filament spinning technology can simultaneously spin up to 700 filaments per yarn end and produce fine titers of up to 2.5 denier per filament at speeds of up to 3,700 meters per minute based on winding speed. This results in throughputs of up to 15 percent more than previous technologies. The company also reports energy savings of up to 5 percent per kilogram of yarn are achievable. Oerlikon Neumag’s previous-generation technology, the S+ BCF system produced up to 400 filaments per yarn end. The BCF S8 also features a new human-machine interface-based control system for intelligent control and monitoring.
“We have succeeded in achieving a new level of greater productivity and even broader product diversity,” said Martin Rademacher, vice president, sales. “These allow our clientèle to better cater to changing market requirements and achieve a competitive edge in tough market conditions.”
