Turkey-based Kordsa recently acquired commercial aviation industry composite suppliers Fabric Development Inc. (FDI), Quakertown, Pa., and Textile Products Inc. (TPI), Anaheim, Calif., as part of a $100 million investment. The company wishes to strengthen its composite market position in the United States.
“Over the years, we leveraged our expertise in tire reinforcement technologies into construction reinforcement and composite technologies and expanded our lines of business,” said Kordsa CEO Ali Çalıçkan. “Our business journey today is brought to a new level with this brand-new investment which will lead us to become a global player in the field of commercial aviation having an important presence in the commercial aviation value chain. This new step will ensure us to be a strategic supplier of key players in aerospace and civil aviation, particularly Boeing and Toray Composites Materials America Inc. With this acquisition, we also aim to strengthen our strong global leadership in reinforcement technologies.”
Horsham, Pa.-based composite materials producer Material Sciences Corp. (MSC) will invest $2.7 million to build a second facility in Greenville, S.C., to complement its existing Greenville facility, which is located at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center. The new facility will expand MSC’s research and development efforts, as well as increase manufacturing and commercialization of advanced composites.
The 32,000-square-foot expansion is expected to create 23 jobs over the next five years, and initial hiring will begin in the fall of 2018.
“Our mission is to continuously develop, test, improve and manufacture advanced materials that can be transferred into applications of high value,” said Tom Cassin, president and CEO, MSC. “We have been very pleased with our operations in Greenville County and South Carolina and look forward to continuing to grow and contribute to the success of the Palmetto State.”
Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei has announced it will acquire Sage Automotive Interiors Inc., Greenville, S.C., from Sage’s 100-percent owner Clearlake Sage Holdings LLC. The cash transaction is valued at approximately $700 million, with the total acquisition price including Sage’s interest-bearing debt totally approximately $1.06 billion. Sage will become a consolidated subsidiary of Asahi Kasei once the transaction closes, pending approvals from relevant authorities.
Asahi Kasei reports the purchase is in line with its Cs for Tomorrow 2018 medium-term strategic initiative to expand automotive-related business in the material sector, and that Sage will strengthen and contribute to the overall expansion of its automotive-related business, in addition to other expectations.
A 0.84-inch-thick 3D woven E-glass billet. Photograph courtesy of Tex Tech Industries.
As advanced technologies continue to evolve from ancient textile methodologies, a broader assortment of opportunities unfolds.
By Jim Kaufmann, Technical Editor
Anyone making a cursory inquiry into the intriguing world of 3D textiles will find that the sector embraces a rather nebulous term leading to an untold number of different routes and a wide array of opportunities. A quick Google search of 3D fabrics, for example, results in somewhere around 325 million hits, which include 3D versions of everything from traditional wovens and knits to nonwovens and non-traditional prints, not to mention an exponentially diverse list of applications, some obvious and others not so much so. An immediate thought surrounding this growing interest is that engineers are finally becoming significantly more comfortable with and accepting of 3D textiles in dynamic performance-based applications. At the same time, product designers continue to become even more adept at creating fabrics or maybe more appropriately fibrous materials, which exhibit these specific technical, visual and/or tactile requirements.
Versatility and clearly defined performance attributes continue to be the prime drivers for interest in 3D textiles. Given that virtually all textile manufacturing technologies can be adapted or modified in some way to create 3D textiles, the breadth of applications is truly almost endless.
3D Weaving, 3D Braiding
3D weaving and 3D braiding continue to see interest and find applications mostly in the composites field, where the emphasis remains on replacing steel in order to achieve weight reduction. According to Dr. Keith Sharp, new product development manager for 3D Weaving at Portland, Maine-based Tex Tech Industries: “3D wovens in composites are perfect for replacing steel. You can weave billets or near net-shape preforms that can be molded into exacting shapes with intricate designs, which saves not only weight, but labor in manufacturing and potentially increases long term reliability as well. There are many applications now, but the LEAP jet engine fan blades that Albany International is 3D weaving are probably the biggest example of this.”
The ability to control fiber placement and tailor yarn paths in order to achieve specific performance profiles is also reflected in the LEAP engine module. According to Albany International’s website, LEAP offers the following benefits:
“Composite fan module (comprised of blades, platforms, spacers and fan case) is 300 pounds lighter compared to equivalent metallic components per engine;
Can achieve composite blade geometries that are challenging to produce with titanium;
Higher impact resistance and lower weight than laminated composite alternatives.”
Interest in 3D woven composites is driving new equipment innovations as machinery manufacturers are becoming more active in the 3D sector. Historically, 3D weaving machines either were highly modified versions of traditional 2D weaving machines, or were custom purpose-built one-offs with specific product concepts in mind. Over the past few years, Switzerland-based Stäubli Group, known for its jacquard warp shed control systems, introduced its technical fabric weaving system — a heavy-duty weaving machine derived with a modular design that when mated to its jacquards or Unival warp shedding control systems, provides incredible flexibility of product design along with the manufacturing capability to produce it.
Not to be outdone, Germany-based Lindauer Dornier — widely known for producing weaving machines for technical, industrial and performance fabrics — recently introduced a collection of products targeted directly at the composites industry. Its Composites Systems now include a machine explicitly designed for weaving 3D preforms. The suite also includes a spread tow unidirectional tape line and machines specifically for weaving rovings and spread tow tapes.
Dornier’s weaving machine for thick fabrics with integrated guide and horizontal take-up is targeted at the composites industry.
3D Knitting
Recent articles found on websites Gizmodo.com and ZDnet.com make for excellent examples of just how impactful 3D textiles have become. The first article on Gizmodo by Julian Goldman proclaims, “The Future is Knit: Why the Ancient Art of Knitting is High-Tech Again.” The second article on ZDnet by Greg Nichols touts, “The High Tech Science Behind 3D Knitting (yes knitting!).” Both articles focus on the advent of 3D or shaped weft knitting and the control of dimensionality found in knit structures, but not inherent to wovens, along with improvements made in the user interface leading to more effective and efficient knit product designs. 3D knitting offers not only product design aspects — you program the machine, load the yarn and out comes a full garment — it also creates the potential for incorporating wearable electronics into fully fashioned knit products, some of which have already made it to market. Cambridge, Mass.-based Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a non-profit institute headquartered near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was established through federal funding to advance the use of textile technologies into integrated and networked devices and systems. As part of this effort, AFFOA is focusing on the effectiveness of 3D knitting to create complex shapes. Yoel Fink, AFFOA’s CEO and a professor of material sciences and electrical engineering at MIT, was quoted in Goldman’s article stating: “You’re no longer going to pay for the shirt. You’re going to pay for what that shirt does for you. You pay for the service and you get the fabric.” Certainly a different way of looking at textiles of the future.
Not to be outdone by its weft knitting cousin, 3D warp knit spacer fabric manufacturers including Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Gehring Textiles Corp. and Apex Mills, Inwood, N.Y., continue to advance the technology’s versatility in new and exciting ways for applications ranging from fashion to seating and bedding, along with other areas where conformability, filling voids, increasing air flow and additional engineering parameters remain desirable.
3D Nonwovens And Additive Manufacturing — 3D Printing
In the grand scheme of things, at least from a textile perspective, it can be argued that 3D printing — which continues to gain interest and attention across many areas — is essentially a more precise version of spunbond nonwovens where polymer is extruded onto a collecting belt or platform where it bonds together, creating a defined structure. The only real difference is that spunbonds typically have a random orientation and bonding pattern, while 3D prints are extruded in precise layers at specific locations. But regardless of whether you believe 3D printing is an extension of textile manufacturing methodologies or not, it has certainly become the it technology and a media darling of recent years.
Originally viewed by many as a way of creating incredibly intricate shapes and novel gizmos, 3D printing now is prophesied as a solution for just about every manufacturing opportunity or shortcoming. The perception, or maybe significance, circling around 3D printing is that it literally seems to imply that if you can conceive it, 3D printing can make it. 3D printing initially found acceptance in rapid prototyping where detailed and exacting one off pieces could be produced, concepts could be explored and theories could be evaluated. As the technology has progressed and generated more interest, new and advanced polymer systems have been developed that include variations for printing “metals,” adding fibrous media as reinforcements and improving the layer to layer integrity of the 3D-printed structure. In conjunction with advancements in the media or inputs used, the size, scope, complexity and consistency of 3D printers also have improved greatly. Over the last several years, 3D printers have grown from primarily being desktop models able to produce at most a cubic foot sized piece — still a core competency — to metal 3D printers as big as a bus with the potential for even larger versions not very far off.
3D printing now is seen as a valid manufacturing technology, particularly where mass customization is preferred or for products that are overly complex, limiting or restricting their process ability via traditional manufacturing methodologies. The advantages continue to be product design possibilities aligned with simplifying the overall manufacturing of complex parts, reducing production time and reducing labor content. This combined with the relatively small footprint needed and increasing reliability of the inputs and resultant products produced present vast opportunities for generating replacement parts in-house instead of dealing with OEM’s and parts suppliers, especially on difficult to reach areas, even for overnight delivery services, like ocean-going ships or even future space travelers.
As the technology continues to advance and scale into more cost-effective, larger-scale productions, potential applications will only continue to grow exponentially. Unfortunately, there’s not enough room here to discuss those applications because there’s an even more intriguing new category on the horizon.
Resulting transformation of an activated 4D fabric. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Chris Pastore
4D Textiles?
While researching for this article, a longtime friend Dr. Chris Pastore, professor of Transdisciplinary Studies at Jefferson University and Fulbright Specialist, asked, “Why aren’t you including 4D textiles in this update?” Researchers at places like MIT, Harvard, Aachen University and Jefferson University, among others, are exploring the possibility of combining textiles and other programmable materials with 3D printing in astounding ways. The term 4D printing is said to be coined several years ago by Skyler Tibbits, director of the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT and a Jefferson University alumni, by incorporating the dimension of time to that of length, width and depth for these structures.
As Dr. Pastore explained: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to combine the flexibility and elasticity of textile materials with the rigid polymer structures of 3D printing to create systems that when you add heat or some other actuator to transform them, they change from two-dimensional structures into complex three-dimensional structures? Or maybe if you were to incorporate shape memory polymers in the 3D print structure, then it’s possible that with activation the object can result in a totally different configuration. Think of the possibility of taking flat textile material then 3D printing a grid over it which can then be activated later. At a later time, you apply an actuator to the flat configuration and it self deploys into a tent. If you think about it, the potential for 4D textiles is tremendous!”
Yes, this concept might cause one to think a bit too much, but several interesting video examples can be found on YouTube that show flat 3D printed structures changing into a different shape. The most famous of these videos shows a seemingly straight line of polymer magically transforming into the initials MIT.
While 4D textiles are still in their relative infancy, they offer yet further evidence that 3D textiles indeed represent a vast opportunity to those with a bit of imagination and some knowledge of the ancient, yet continually advancing technology known as textiles.
The filtration market is diverse with seemingly endless categories including food and beverage, health and medical, and automotive among other categories.
INDA offers a look at the nonwoven filter media market.
TW Special Report
Filtration — a separation process using a filter medium — has become so important that you can find it almost everywhere in your life. The Cary, N.C.-based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), in its triennial North American Nonwovens Industry Outlook report, attempts to quantify the nonwoven filter media used in the many, many filtration processes.
The filtration market is a diverse one with seemingly endless categories. Filters allow us to cleanse the air we breathe and purify the water we drink. Filtration in the food and beverage industry removes impurities and extends the shelf life of the products we consume. Medical filters can safeguard sterile environments like operating rooms by keeping out harmful pathogens and bacteria. Filters in vehicles make them more efficient. These needs, along with government regulations and environmental concerns, have put the filtration market on a path of continued growth.
The Materials
Filters are constructed with filter media that can be either paper, woven including woven metal, nonwoven including glass fibers, microporous membranes, or a combination/hybrid of media. Nonwoven fabrics typically add backup support and/or mechanical strength to the comparatively thin and fragile polymer-based membranes that are produced by directly coating onto the carrier material’s surface.
Nonwovens are well suited to the filtration market because the fabric can specifically be engineered to provide the precise porosity and flow rate needed for the particular filtering application. Nonwoven media are different sizes and shapes; may be perforated, folded, pleated or fluted; and may be used in pleated tubes for tube filters and in cartridge filters. Filter media are manufactured from all of the nonwovens processes — airlaid, drylaid, spunmelt including spunbond and meltblown, and wetlaid — from a variety of materials.
In addition to filtering, nonwovens can be engineered to offer benefits for many applications, including the removal of a wide range of contaminants, a uniform structure, tear and puncture resistance, chemical resistance, high retention capacities, high air permeability, excellent abrasion resistance, flame retardancy, the absorption of fats and oils, a high level of flow capacity, and high tensile strength.
The Market
The filtration market is the most diversified of all the nonwoven end-use categories, with more than 30 major market segments. Nonwoven filter needs vary in size from four story filter houses with up to 1,800 filters down to tiny blood filters.
There are numerous drivers affecting nonwoven filter media demand. The over-arching megatrends are demands for purer air and cleaner water, which are both the subjects of ever-more stringent legislation.
Over the past few years, there has been a steadily increasing demand for improved air quality, particularly indoors, whether in private, public or industrial areas. Emissions may come from a variety of sources, such as gases from interior materials, particles which enter a room via the external air supply or processes running within the room. Further complicating factors may be the small size of a room, too many people in the room and the restricted availability of fresh air.
Consumers are increasingly aware of the potential health and aesthetic benefits of water and air treatment systems, and are becoming more willing to invest in these products to improve the environment inside their homes. Media reports about water and air contamination affect consumer perception about local water or air quality and thereby drive sales.
Increasing Demand
Economic and population growth will increase demand, which will require increased production and increases in manufacturing efficiency for industrial products, foods and beverages, and transportation. All of which means an increase in the need for filtration media. As the housing recovery strengthens and consumer spending activity continues to improve, so will consumer spending on water and air treatment systems. Rising home sales will also drive sales, since many consumers purchase or upgrade water and air treatment systems once they move into a new home. As the economy strengthens, consumers should return to replacing their existing filter products closer to the recommended replacement periods. Continued trends toward the incorporation of smart features and complementary monitoring devices indicating filter replacement time and toward specialized, industry-specific filtration media will support unit growth.
The further strength of the manufacturing and industrial sectors, specifically the power generation and hydrocarbon processing segments, will boost filtration demand as well. As manufacturers look to streamline their manufacturing processes, filtration of resources is increasingly being viewed as a way to boost efficiency and reduce carbon footprints.
Nonwoven filter media is used for the filtration of engine air, cabin air, oil and fuel. The increasing demand for vehicles is projected to continue through the forecast period, which in turn, will create the requirement for nonwoven filter media. Better economic situation and shift in lifestyle along with the rising consumer confidence have resulted in the increasing demand for new, fuel-efficient, and technologically advanced cars. Additionally, the easy availability of financing options is also driving people to invest in cars. This will fuel the growth of the automotive industry which is identified to be one of the primary factors driving the growth of this market.
Jeffersonville, Ind.-based Clarcor Air Filtration Products manufactures HVAC filtration products for commercial, industrial and institutional applications. Photograph courtesy of Clarcor.
Increased Regulation
Another driver of the industry is new legislation and regulatory controls increasing at local, state and national levels. Enforcement of these regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies has increased the demand for products that limit emissions and has increased demand for products that protect people from the effect of emissions. Relatively comprehensive environmental regulations in the United States and Canada continue to drive filter use designed to promote air and water quality.
The market for nonwovens in filtration media is also growing — because of more economical and better performing nonwoven media — by taking share from woven and paper-based filter media.
Nonwoven Material Developments
These drivers and developments have resulted in the North American filtration market consuming an ever greater amount of nonwoven material — 3.1 million square meters, weighing 371,000 metric tons, in 2016. This is an increase of 3 percent annually in square meters and 3.8 percent in metric tons from 2011. The filtration market is forecast to consume 3.6 million square meters, weighing 445,000 metric tons, in 2021 — an annual increase of 3.1 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.
There have been technological advancements in developing new and innovative filter media over the past few years to meet all these demands, some of which were driven by government regulations. Nonwoven producers continually work to improve the efficiency — the ratio of particles trapped by media over total particles upstream of media — of filter media which enhances the removal capability of both particulate and chemical contaminant. This has resulted in filter manufacturers increasing the range of spunmelt nonwoven materials, incorporating nanofiber layers or coatings, using fibers with integrated functional additives in nonwoven filter constructions, and developing hybrid fiber/material composite materials — all while optimizing the media structure and element configuration by computational modeling.
This is in addition to the ever-present demand of sustainability, both in terms of lower energy consumption and renewable raw materials and in the development of economically and ecologically effective disposal/recycling solutions for filters and filtration residue.
Editor’s note: This article was published courtesy of INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. The Cary, N.C.-based organization serves hundreds of member companies in the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industry in global commerce. Since 1968, INDA events have helped members connect, learn, innovate, and develop their businesses. INDA educational courses, market data, test methods, consultancy, and issue advocacy help members succeed by providing them the information they need to better plan and execute their business strategies. For more information on the filtration sector and analysis of the supply and demand balance in the nonwovens industry, contact Brad Kalil, director of market research and statistics, bkalil@inda.org. For more information on INDA, visit www.inda.org, or download the INDA mobile app for immediate updates.
Lenzing’s existing facility in Axis, Alabama, soon will be joined by a second plant as part of a $293 million investment to expand TENCEL™ capacity in the United States.
TW Special Report
From economic booms to its most painful periods of restructuring, U.S. textile manufacturing has always been a magnet for investment. Since 2006, the United States has attracted $20 billion in capital spending in new textile supply chain plants and equipment, with $2.4 billion coming in 2016, the latest year for which investment information is available.
Moreover, it is not just Americans making the expenditures. Foreign entities have also made substantial investments. In recent years, Japan-based companies have announced $2 billion in carbon fiber investments; two large China-based companies are investing $628 million in yarn spinning; and multiple Europe-based companies have invested in nonwovens capacity in the United States.
Many reasons exist for this capital infusion in capacity, as well as in services. For some, it is speed-to-market and the presence of a qualified labor pool. For others, it is the availability of a highly efficient, eco-friendly supply chain and the proximity of NAFTA and CAFTA customers. But, perception also plays a part in location decisions. “People around the world associate Made in USA with quality and performance,” said National Council of Textile Organizations President and CEO Auggie Tantillo. “That has market value and it is one reason why the United States has been a focal point for textile investment.”
Dorner
Lenzing Commits To U.S. Production
One company putting substantial new investment into the United States is the Lenzing Group, one of the leading fiber manufacturers in the world. Headquartered in Austria, with production sites in all major markets as well as a worldwide network of sales and marketing offices, Lenzing supplies the global textile and nonwovens industry with a variety of high-quality cellulose fibers.
As part of the company’s sCore TEN strategic growth plan, Lenzing is investing $293 million to open a second U.S. plant near its existing facility in Axis, Ala., close to Mobile. Scheduled for completion in 2019, the new operation is expected to create 163 new jobs to significantly increase production of one of the Lenzing’s flagship products — TENCEL™-branded lyocell fibers.
We see the growth in the Made in USA movement, and we want to be a part of that. There is a lot of perceived value in that program.
— Andreas Dorner, Commercial Director, Lenzing
TENCEL™ is Lenzing’s brand name for a series of lyocell fibers it makes from reconstituted cellulose, in this case, wood. More absorbent than cotton, softer than silk and cooler than linen, TENCEL™ fibers are used to make everything from mattresses and bed linen to sportswear and denim. Hygiene products like wipes and diapers are another important market for the product.
The unique process Lenzing employs to make TENCEL™ fiber is extremely environmentally responsible because of its closed loop system, meaning almost 100 percent of the solvents used to make the product are captured and recycled. In fact, it is so sustainable Lenzing received the “European Award for the Environment” from the European Union.
“The expansion will more than double current TENCEL™ production in Axis, making it the largest lyocell production site in the world, with a total capacity of 140,000 tons annually,” said Kevin Allen, site manager of the Mobile facility. The new plant will account for about 90,000 tons of that production. “We are very proud to have in Axis the first-generation production site and now the most advanced, state-of-the-art facility in the same location,” he said.
Lenzing employees at the Axis, Alabama, site inspect TENCEL™ fiber bales prior to shipment.
Andreas Dorner, commercial director, Lenzing, said the new facility is a strategic move for the company that allows better, faster service to customers throughout the western hemisphere. “We see significant advantages to having facilities located in the United States. It allows us to respond quickly to customer needs and eliminate some costs and much time in shipping. It is much better to be able to ship to fabricators in Central America from Alabama than from Austria or China.”
But there are other reasons, too. “We see the growth in the Made in USA movement, and we want to be a part of that,” Dorner said. “There is a lot of perceived value in that program. Again, it goes back to making the value chain better for our customers. The expansion just made a lot of sense to us. In Alabama, we had the land, the equipment and the resources to make a major expansion. It puts us closer to some of our significant markets and allows us to be part something we think is important.”
Dorner said Lenzing is committed to maintaining a strong U.S. presence. “This is a very important market to us, and we are going to continuously think outside of the box for ways to continue growing the business.”
McKinnon
Central Textiles: Investing To Satisfy Market Demand
Investment in the U.S. textile sector, however, is not limited to capacity expansions. Investments in supporting services also contribute to a highly efficient and competitive industry — one that can offer value through the best combination of quality, price and delivery.
Founded in 1984 and currently in its third generation of family management, Central Textiles Inc. in Central, S.C., manufactures apparel fabrics and technical textiles. Its sister company, Cotswold Industries Inc., founded in 1954, is a leader in the development and distribution of technical textiles and apparel fabrics. Like Central, Cotswold is a vertically integrated manufacturer, converter and distributor.
You cannot be afraid to fail. You make, you test, you reengineer. And who knows? What looks like a failure today may become your leading product two seasons from now.
— James McKinnon, CEO, Central Textiles
Always racing to bring new textiles to market, Central and Cotswold often were slowed by a shortage of reliable, cost-effective textile testing services. Seeing unmet demand, Central filled the void by making a considerable investment in TexTest LLC in Columbus, Ga. — a modern testing facility that allows producers to ensure their products meet the exacting standards required by their customers.
“We have to continuously look at how an old-line, private textile company can be of value to our global customers,” said James McKinnon, Central’s CEO. “And the answer is that we have to provide products and services that make sense from a sourcing perspective in the various areas we serve.”
“We have a diverse, complex business,” he said. “And we have to constantly reinvent ourselves — as often as every few months. We have to be complicated to survive.”
Central Textiles looks at the countries or regions covered by U.S. trade agreements and customizes offerings for those specific areas. For the United States, one of Central’s offerings is the recently acquired TexTest lab.
Central Textiles invested in the TexTest lab to offer testing services — including Hi-Vis A2LA — to the industry to help drive innovation across the board.
“We focus on speed-to-market and innovation. And we innovate in two ways, product offerings and intellectually. Reengineering both commodity and specialty products is accomplished by driving cost out of the product and driving performance into the product. The focus is on how we test and retest those materials. So, we provide testing services for the finished goods from our clients. A lot of what we experience is learning by failure. Sometimes you can only figure out the way something is going to work when it doesn’t perform. So, you learn, and you reengineer a fiber, a yarn, a fabric, a sheeting or a finished garment so that it will do something it didn’t used to do.”
Innovation is a key aspect for both Central and Cotswold. “We use testing to drive innovation across the board,” McKinnon said. “We don’t just offer testing services to our customers or use them for our own products. We offer these services to our competitors as well. The U.S. textile industry is a family, and we see our customers and our competitors as our cousins. We want to see multi-generational companies that have been around a while be around for a lot longer.”
McKinnon said the biggest differentiator for TexTest is speed-to-market and quick-turn testing. “TexTest does not do any testing other than textiles and apparel. We believe we are the deepest company for the types of testing that we do.
“From 1954 until 2003, Cotswold and Central were totally focused on wovens,” McKinnon continued. “But we started scouring the market and realized that we needed to be a textile engineering business — a business that doesn’t specialize in this or that, but, instead, a business that specializes in bringing its customers what they want.
“To be successful in our industry today, you have to take chances,” McKinnon said. “You cannot be afraid to fail. You make, you test, you reengineer. And who knows? What looks like a failure today may become your leading product two seasons from now.”
Disclaimer: TENCEL™ and Lenzing™ are trademarks of Lenzing AG
Editor’s Note: This article appears in Textile World courtesy of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) as part of the “American Textiles: We Make Amazing™” campaign. NCTO is a trade association representing U.S. textile manufacturing. Please visit ncto.org to learn more about NCTO, the industry and the campaign.
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) represents the breadth and depth of the U.S. textile industry through a council-based structure that provides a voice to the diverse interests of the industry.
There are four separate councils that comprise the NCTO leadership structure. Each council represents a major component of the U.S. textile supply chain and elects its own officers who make up NCTO’s Board of Directors.
Bockoven
Council Leadership
The Fiber Council represents domestic textile fiber producers and is currently chaired by Don Bockoven, president, Wellford, S.C.-based Leigh Fibers Inc. Every year, Leigh Fibers purchases approximately 300 million pounds of textile waste from a wide range of suppliers. Once sorted, the fiber is used to create both branded and customer-specific fiber blends.
The United States will continue to be advantaged in the cost of natural gas, a primary feedstock for many synthetic fibers.
— Don Bockoven, NCTO Fiber Council Chairman; President, Leigh Fibers Inc.
The Yarn Council represents domestic yarn manufacturers with Frontier Spinning Mills Inc.’s CEO Robin Perkins currently serving as chairman.
Founded in 1996 and based in Sanford, N.C, Frontier is one of the largest producers of 100-percent cotton and cotton-blend yarns in the world. The company operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in multiple states and employs more than 1,100 people.
The Fabric & Home Furnishings Council represents domestic manufacturers of fabric, including woven, knitted, nonwoven, tufted, braided or other, and home furnishings. The council is chaired by Greenwood Mills Inc.’s President Jay Self. Headquartered in its namesake city of Greenwood, S.C., the company manufactures textiles from fiber through finished fabrics, and its subsidiary SingleSource Apparel (SSA) is one of the largest non-branded apparel manufacturers in the Americas.
The fourth council is the Industry Support Council, which includes textile distributors; converters, dyers, printers and finishers of textiles; and suppliers of products and services to such fiber and textile entities. Greenville, S.C.-based Picanol of America Inc.’s President Cyril Guerin currently serves as chairman. Picanol develops, produces and markets high-tech air-jet and rapier weaving machines. Today, approximately 2,600 weaving mills around the world use Picanol machinery, totaling more than 175,000 weaving machines.
Self
Industry Challenges, Advantages
An upswing in investment by domestic and foreign firms in U.S. textile manufacturing has led many to posit that the industry is making a comeback after surviving exceedingly difficult times.
Beyond fundamental market factors, future investment is also dependent on sound government policy. Competitive tax and regulatory structures are vital.
— Jay Self, NCTO Fabric & Home Furnishings Council Chairman; President, Greenwood Mills Inc.
“I believe we will continue to see this investment trend in the near future as a result of continuing pressure on reducing supply chain cycle times and global competitiveness,” said Fiber Council Chairman Bockoven. The United States will continue to be advantaged in the cost of natural gas, a primary feedstock for many synthetic fibers.”
Fabric & Home Furnishings Chair Self stated: “I think the majority of the investments have been predominately in open-end spinning. The low labor content and competitive electrical rates have made this a good investment. We are starting to see some investment in weaving with some of the new speeds out there. This is primarily replacement and not new capacity.
Self continued, “Beyond fundamental market factors, future investment is also dependent on sound government policy. Competitive tax and regulatory structures are vital. In addition, we need to have logical trade policies, such as the yarn forward origin rules that are included in most of our international trade agreements. Policies like these are imperative to meet challenges from low-cost suppliers like Vietnam, who continue to grow market share with double-digit increases without any beneficial duty treatment thanks to generous state-sponsored subsidies.”
From a spinning perspective, “We will continue to invest responsibly in our plants to stay on top of technology,” Yarn Chair Perkins said. “Operating in a free marketplace is a privilege, but we continue to face labor challenges. One of the benefits the United States has had over foreign manufacturing is the lower cost of dependable and uninterruptible power.”
Speaking on behalf of his sector, Industry Support Chair Guerin said, “Those businesses who want to be prepared for the future now need to invest into new equipment.”
Guerin added that one of the strengths in the United States is a closeness to the market. “Proximity,” Guerin said. “We are a Belgium-based company with more than 50 years of presence in the United States. We established our company in Greenville in 1970 to serve our customers. What was true then is still valid today, even more so with the rapid pace at which the end users change their needs.”
Technology, Labor Challenges
As technology, including automation, continues to become more advanced, U.S. textile companies are faced with opportunities as well as challenges.
“Innovation, technology and automation are critical to driving global competitiveness,” Fiber Chair Bockoven said. “In addition, automation has been used to improve operator safety in areas like ergonomics where repetitive motion typically done by humans is now being done through automation.”
Finding skilled employees for the industry is a challenge according to Bockoven. “At the end of 2017, there were almost 6 million jobs in the United States unfilled. The textile industry is no different than the rest of the country in the challenges with attracting and retaining employees. We have been working to develop a strong succession plan and have promoted several millennials into critical positions because of what they’ve accomplished and the potential they’ve shown.”
“The most effective innovations increase flexibility and speed to market,” Fabric Chair Self said. “Also they allow us to take advantage of new fibers and their properties. We have become more proactive in training our workforce and have started apprenticeship programs with the school districts to promote workforce training.”
Perkins
“Innovation offers less dependency on labor resulting in the need for fewer employees; however, a good company will have to pay those employees more,” Yarn Chair Perkins said. “Managing a 24/7 operation in today’s workforce environment is very challenging. Finding quality candidates who want to work shift work and weekends has become extremely difficult. At Frontier, we try to focus on automating when possible and providing a good, clean, safe workplace for our employees with competitive benefits and wages.”
We will continue to invest responsibly in our plants to stay on top of technology.
— Robin Perkins, NCTO Yarn Council Chairman; CEO, Frontier Spinning Mills Inc.
“We offer innovation to one of the oldest industries in the world,” Industry Support Chair Guerin said. “Weaving is a process that has not changed much in 5,000 years! But with highly-advanced looms, we take weaving to an all new level of performance. And there is definitely more to come. Our machines are already Industry 4.0 enabled — as in are capable of capturing and processing huge amounts of sensoric data — and these data will be used ever more to further optimize the weaving process.”
Drivers Affecting Change In The U.S. Textile Industry
“Our customers continue to ask us for quicker turnarounds from point of sale to delivery,” Yarn Chair Perkins said. “We have to specialize in quick response for customer satisfaction. E-commerce is having a material impact on shopping today. The retail industry needs to adjust to the millennial purchasing habits as baby boomers age and purchase less.
“The CAFTA region needs to broaden its offerings to become more of a one-stop shop for retail buyers. U.S. textile suppliers are logistically positioned to better serve the U.S. retail sector than anyone else. We need to expand our product offerings to match products that are currently supplied from Asia,” Perkins added.
Guerin
Those businesses who want to be prepared for the future now need to invest into new equipment.
— Cyril Guerin, NCTO Industry Support Council Chairman; President, Picanol of America Inc.
“As the world grows smaller every day, it is critical to bring a significant level of differentiation to the table,” Industry Support Chair Guerin said as he discussed changes and drivers in the industry. “Picanol’s U.S. customers are very well equipped to develop new products, new solutions and new services. The performance, versatility and frugality of modern looms helps them to be more competitive, not only at home, but also on the world market.”
According to Fiber Chair Bockoven: “Continued efforts in automation, focus on circular economy and continued efforts in mass customization will all have some impact that will shape the industry of the future. I would foresee continued investments in automation particularly as the workforce challenges continue. The jury is still out as to how the circular economy thinking will play out in the industry where there have been considerable efforts in recycling for the past 20 or so years. Things like UNIFI®’s REPREVE®, regenerated polyester, for example — there has been considerable effort with yet a lot more to come.”
The Council System Benefits NCTO’s Message
“NCTO membership brings industry connectivity, camaraderie and leverage,” Bockoven said. “The relationship with industry is critical as evidenced by NCTO providing a unified voice in regulatory affairs and trade negotiations. While the Trans-Pacific Partnership is no longer on the table, the industry partnership during the negotiations was second to none. The relationship with the community is critical in demonstrating to employees the commitment to the area where we all live and work.
“Not only does NCTO give us a united front to present to our legislators, but they research the problems facing our industry and provide us with solutions and/or recommendations that are beneficial to us individually and to the industry as a whole,” added Yarn Chair Perkins. Regarding the relationship between industry, company and community, Perkins said: “It’s the reason we exist. We need local government to support us as corporate citizens so we can maintain a successful workforce that in turn supports our community and local businesses. Supporting our local schools and community colleges is key to growing a strong community that produces hard working citizens and leaders.”
The Council System Works To Support NCTO Members
It is clear in speaking with the NCTO council chairmen, although their views vary slightly due to their industry sector challenges, in the end the message comes down to one achievement by NCTO — a shared voice where the U.S. textile industry can speak in unison and affect positive change.
Editor’s Note: This article appears in Textile World courtesy of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) as part of the “American Textiles: We Make Amazing™” campaign. NCTO is a trade association representing U.S. textile manufacturing. Please visit ncto.org to learn more about NCTO, the industry and the campaign.
The recent report from the Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) presents good news on textiles, U.S. manufacturing and a growing economy.
“Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August, and the overall economy grew for the 112th consecutive month,” said the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
The report stated: “The August Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI®, registered 61.3 percent, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from July.”
“This indicates strong growth in manufacturing for the 24th consecutive month, led by continued expansion in all subindexes that make up the PMI,” said Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the ISM.
“The PMI reached its highest level since May 2004, when it registered 61.4 percent.” A reading above 50 percent points to an expanding manufacturing economy.
In addition, 16 out of 18 manufacturing industries surveyed showed positive growth, and of the 16, two categories — apparel, leather & allied industries; and textile mills — led the charge behind only computer and electronic products. The only laggards were wood products and primary metals.
On the downside, apparel, leather & allied industries, and textile mills also led the way in reporting increased prices for raw materials in August.
It’s reassuring there is data to backup the gut feeling many textile executives have been expressing. However, there is some looming uncertainty in regard to international trade. Notably, with the North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA), the trilateral trade agreement that links Canada, the United States and Mexico into a unified trading block, as well as the confrontation with China over trade policies.
There is no lack of opinion on these matters. The president’s blunt approach to taking issue with NAFTA and China trade policy is serious, but will it be effective?
As of TW’s press time, a framework agreement between the United States and Mexico has been made, and with Canada stepping back from the table, it would appear to some that Mexico achieved an advantage that makes a Canadian agreement challenging.
NAFTA has, since prior to its inception, enjoyed a divisive range of opinion regarding fairness and effectiveness. And the president’s approach of imposing tariffs to achieve reductions or outright elimination of tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers is a difficult process of negotiation for many to swallow.
Is a trilateral agreement necessary, or should the United States have bilateral agreements? — a view asserted by the president. Bilateral agreements — one between the United States and Mexico, as well as one between the United States and Canada, definitely has pro and cons and can address problem areas directly.
However, opinions vary. Recent headlines said the following: “[Consumer Technology Association] Says New NAFTA Agreement Must Include Three Countries And Focus On Key Issues;” “Hoffa: U.S.-Mexico Agreement Is First Step Towards Better North American Trade;” “U.S. And Canadian Manufacturers: We Must Have A Trilateral Agreement;” and “VF Testifies In Support Of NAFTA.”
So the drama continues. Will U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his team achieve the the desired free trade result? Only time will tell.
Business remained strong across the board for many spinners heading into the final week of August. Ring-spun yarn, as has been the case for the past few years, is in very high demand.
The industry has undergone a radical and welcome change over the past few years. Except for a few down months in 2017, business has been steady in the industry for quite some time — a tremendous relief from the roller coaster rides from the 1980s to the early 2000s when hundreds of plants were closing their doors, leaving thousands of people unemployed.
Those were the years when a number of experts around the world were predicting the complete collapse of the U.S. textile/ fiber/apparel complex.
But, thankfully, not all predictions come true. Over time, the industry’s production capacity began to align with customer demand, ushering in a new age of stability. And then, against all odds, and contrary to all of those doomsday projections, the U.S. textile industry began once again to grow. As it became more technologically advanced, more productive and efficient, the U.S. industry began once again to acquire the ability to go toe-to-toe against the competition — regardless of where that competition might be. In fact, companies from other nations began investing in U.S. yarn and fiber operations.
Among those companies is Lenzing, an Austrian company that supplies the global textile and nonwovens industry with high-quality, botanic cellulose fibers. Lenzing has one plant in Alabama and is building a new facility in the Mobile area. The facility will bring 163 new jobs to the area and will significantly increase production of one of the company’s flagship products, TENCEL™ fiber, when it comes on line in 2019.
And just recently, Lenzing announced that Tencel Luxe branded lyocell filament yarns will be included in designer Mara Hoffman’s 2018 ready-to-wear collection as well as in designs for Fall 2018. Hoffman has been consciously and progressively increasing the sustainability profile of her apparel designs for the past several years, especially with her selections of more sustainable fibers and fabrics, according to Lenzing.
Incorporating more recycled raw materials is another way Hoffman reduces her carbon footprint and the impact her products have on the environment, Lenzing notes in a release. She also will feature fabrics made with Tencel Lyocell with Refibra™ technology in the Fall 2018 collection. Tencel x Refibra is the only commercially available fiber made from a combination of cotton scraps and renewable wood, and produced using the environmentally friendly closed-loop production process, Lenzing reports.
“Clothing places an intense burden on the environment,” Hoffman said. “Through intentional fabric selection and design choices, we create collections that look and feel good and that have a significantly lower impact on our planet. Our customers are starting to understand our sustainability efforts, to learn about them, and to look for them in other brands too.”
NAFTA Nearing Completion?
At the time of this writing, NAFTA negotiations were coming down to the wire. During the last week in August, the United States and Mexico hammered out a tentative agreement, with Canada on the sidelines. From the The Hill website: “For the past month, Canadian officials stood back, stating repeatedly that they would return to Washington only after the U.S. and Mexico had wrapped up purely bilateral issues. But it turned out that the U.S. and Mexico actually negotiated a completely updated NAFTA and presented this tentative pact to Canada as a virtual fait accompli.” The Canadian trade representative then rushed to Washington to provide Canada’s input on the treaty talks the United States and Mexico had agreed to conclude by August 31. At the end of August, specific details of the agreement were not available.
Spot quotations for the base quality of cotton (color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength 27.0-28.9, and uniformity 81.0-81.9) in the seven designated markets measured by the USDA averaged 78.73 cents per pound for the week ending Thursday, August 23, 2018. The weekly average was down from 79.34 the previous week, but up from 67.01 cents reported for the same period a year ago.
