INDA Honors Dr. Bryan Haynes With Lifetime Technical Achievement Award

CARY, N.C. — June 15, 2018 — INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, recognized Dr. Bryan Haynes, senior technical director in Global Nonwovens, Kimberly-Clark Corp., with its prestigious 2017 Lifetime Technical Achievement Award.

INDA President Dave Rousse presented the award at the association’s annual World of Wipes International Conference June 5-8, in Chicago. INDA’s Lifetime Technical Achievement Award honors those individuals with long established technical careers in the nonwovens industry and a history of technical innovation.

Haynes was recognized for his career involvement and commitment to bringing innovative science-based polymer process approaches and process issues to the nonwovens industry. Haynes serves on the Industrial Advisory Board and Strategic Scientific Advisory Board for The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina University; the External Advisory Board for the School of Materials Science & Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and on the Board of Directors as Secretary for Georgia FIRST, a non-profit organization supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs in Georgia.

During his three decades career, Haynes has specialized in the aerodynamics and polymer processing of the meltblowing process, and served in various positions as an engineering and research scientist at Kimberly-Clark Corp. During his career, he has published several papers, and authored 43 U.S. Patents and 13 Trade Secrets. He is an adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at The University of Tennessee, and continues to significantly advance the nonwovens industry.

Posted June 15, 2018

Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry

When High Tech Meets Family Values: 
Ulster Carpets And Mahlo GmbH Strive For Perfection

SAAL/DONAU, Germany — June 15, 2018 — By entering the production facilities of Ulster Carpets the visitor will be part of the future in dyeing and finishing. Established in 1938, the family business has long held a reputation for the highest quality and most luxurious carpets in the market place. Whilst quality and tradition haven’t changed since, the technology marks the future of textile finishing: Fully automatic Lab, fabric preparation and dyeing offer unequalled opportunities. Reducing human mistakes to a minimum, results in a superior quality, which still marks the baseline of the entire company until today.

Mahlo is proud to support the high-end setup of Ulster Carpet with the latest generation of automatic weft straighteners. The Orthopac CRVMC Carpet Straightener is the specialist for carpets and technical textiles. It is ideal for high mechanical load coming in wide working widths. The unique positioning drive makes sure that irrespective of the web construction the contact between rollers and web is ensured at any time. During the straightening process the force applied to the fabric will be always distributed over the entire width and not – like with common technologies – centralised. On top of that, all the collected relevant data can be used for internal and external statistics, resulting in a higher transparency and a better total quality control.

The benefit for Ulster Carpets: The high standards in quality that they have established over the complete production process will find its climax at the very last point- the weft straightening. By doing so, the carpets delivered to hotels, cruise ships and living rooms will look exactly as professional as promised by the entire spirit at Ulster Carpets.

Posted June 15, 2018

Source: Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG

Safety First: Exchange Of Experiences At Radici Chimica

NOVARA, Italy — June 14, 2018 — An exchange of experiences on safety between major Italian and international industrial enterprises headquartered in Italy. Today, Radici Chimica S.p.A. in Novara, Italy, hosted a meeting of top managers from some of the best known companies with operations in Italy, members of the Large Organization Prevention Club [Club della Prevenzione nelle Grandi Organizzazioni (CPGO)], founded as part of the Italian Professional Association for Environment and Safety [Associazione Professionale Italiana Ambiente e Sicurezza – AIAS].

It was a full day of presentations and speeches from, among others, representatives of public institutions, such as the Council Member for Urban Planning of the City of Novara, Federico Perugini, and the president of the Novara Industrial Association, Fabio Ravanelli. Moreover, the participants had the opportunity to visit the Radici Chimica plant and experience management safety procedures “in the field” at this RadiciGroup company, which operates according a Safety Management System in compliance with Law Decree [D.Lgs.]105/2015.

The meeting was opened by Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup , who, during the 1980s, experienced first hand, together with his father, Gianni, the start-up of the plant, formerly a Montedison production site: “We have always put special emphasis on products, processes and people. For us, safety has always come first: full safety for people, the environment and the surrounding community is an essential condition for working as well as possible and for ensuring business prosperity. For this reason, we have set up an organization-wide safety programme called RadiciGroup for Safety, with the objective of developing a true corporate culture of accident prevention.”

Speaking for the Club della Prevenzione nelle Grandi Organizzazioni (CPGO) was President Simone Cencetti (who is also the head of EHS EMEA Manufacturing of FCA Italy): ”Through our Club we try to team up and integrate people and companies that have a lot of objectives in common and manage complex systems. I am convinced that by sharing experiences it is possible to make our work more effective and improve the environment in which we work. This day is going to strengthen our knowledge of safety matters, and all of us will go back to our companies and institutions enriched and more aware.”

CPGO is a network that brings together the EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) managers of large Italian and international public and private organizations with their headquarters in Italy. Today’s meeting at Radici Chimica saw the participation of numerous companies engaged in a variety of different  businesses: Akzo, Granarolo, Salini-Impregilo, Galbusera, Ariston Thermo Group, Siad, Bracco and many others.

Posted June 15, 2018

Source: Radici Chimica

CrossFit Takes Reebok Licensing and Marketing Dispute to Federal Court

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — JUNE 14, 2018 — CrossFit Inc. announced today it was forced to bring suit against its exclusive licensing partner Reebok. The dispute stems from a unilateral change Reebok made in how it calculates royalties, efforts to hide underpayments from CrossFit and Reebok’s failure to comply with its marketing obligations under the licensing agreement.

The ten-year deal was signed in 2010 and gave Reebok the exclusive license to sell fitness apparel and footwear products bearing the CrossFit trademark. No-one other than Reebok — including CrossFit itself — could produce clothes or shoes bearing the CrossFit trademark. In exchange, Reebok agreed to pay CrossFit royalties for the CrossFit-branded products and made a marketing commitment to help sell those products.

The agreement is widely seen as a significant part of Reebok’s revival; as CrossFit and the CrossFit Games have continued to see explosive growth, sales of athletic footwear and apparel affiliated with the CrossFit name have surged.

The complaint filed by CrossFit alleges that in 2013, Reebok began altering the way it calculated royalty payments. Reebok’s calculation method, which Reebok did not disclose to CrossFit — and which was contrary to the terms of the agreement — has resulted in millions of dollars in underpaid royalties to CrossFit.  According to the complaint, from 2013 until 2016, Reebok continued this scheme, knowing that CrossFit was unlikely to detect the underpayments due to meteoric sales gains as popularity of CrossFit continued to grow and because Reebok was excluding relevant information from their royalty reports to CrossFit.  Then, after CrossFit raised questions about Reebok’s royalty payments, Reebok’s efforts to camouflage its underpayments were revealed. This is not the first lawsuit against Reebok for failure to pay royalties.

The complaint alleges that CrossFit’s suspicions were confirmed in February 2017 when Reebok admitted that it had been making royalty payments “resulting in a payment shortfall.” For the first three quarters of 2017 — and for the first time since 2012 — Reebok paid royalties in accordance with the Agreement. Yet by the end of 2017, Reebok reverted to its previous royalty calculation scheme and to date, Reebok has never paid CrossFit for any portion of its admitted “payment shortfall.”

During this same period of time, between 2011 and 2017, Reebok was also required to spend $51.75 million on marketing. However, Reebok has failed and refused to produce any credible evidence of its marketing efforts and has instead provided only multiple, conflicting sets of royalty data and has not kept accurate, complete, and up-to-date financial records.

“Reebok signed a sweetheart deal before CrossFit was a household name and our growth helped make their brand relevant again,” said CrossFit, Inc. CEO Jeff Cain.  “But it’s past time for them to meet the terms of our agreement and that’s all we are asking for today.”

CrossFit filed the lawsuit in United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: CrossFit, Inc.

Eastman Completes Tritan Copolyester Expansion And Announces Additional Increase In Copolyester Capacity

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — JUNE 14, 2018 — Global specialty plastics provider Eastman has completed the previously announced Eastman Tritan™ copolyester expansion at its Kingsport, Tenn., manufacturing site. The plant is now fully operational and is supplying product to customers.

“We are excited to announce the completion of our Tritan expansion and are pleased with the performance we’re seeing from this new investment,” said Burt Capel, vice president and general manager of Eastman’s Specialty Plastics business. “The Tritan platform of products continues to see strong global adoption, with a growing footprint of applications that leverage the robust performance of our polymer.”

Eastman is marking the 10th anniversary of Tritan, a clear, tough, chemical-resistant polymer found in products made by companies such as Newell, Nalgene, CamelBak and NuGlass. Tritan offers high performance properties such as clarity, colorability, durability, ease of processing, and heat and chemical resistance.

Eastman recently announced an additional planned expansion of copolyester production at its Kingsport site. The newly announced expansion is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2018 and will increase PETG and PCTG capacities by approximately 25 percent of the Kingsport specialty copolyester total capacity. This investment supports the continued growth of Eastman’s specialty copolyester products globally and provides flexibility across the company’s polymer asset base.

“This additional copolyester expansion positions Eastman to meet the increasing demand we’re seeing for our copolyester materials around the world,” Capel added. “It highlights our continued commitment to providing our global customers with the highest quality materials in the market.”

Eastman’s Specialty Plastics family of brands includes Tritan copolyesters, Eastalite™ copolyesters, Ecdel™ elastomers and Eastman 168™ non-phthalate plasticizer. Specialty Plastics is a part of Eastman’s Advanced Materials business segment.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: Eastman

Braskem Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Spheripol Process Technology at Neal, W.Va., Production Facility

KENOVA, W.Va. and PHILADELPHIA — June 14, 2018 — Braskem, a producer of thermoplastic polyolefins and biopolymers, celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Spheripol process technology at its Neal production plant, located in the city of Kenova, W.Va.

Braskem’s Neal production facility sits on a 100-acre site along the Big Sandy River and produces more than 500 million pounds of polypropylene (PP) homopolymers per year and directly employing over 100 people. The plant is the first licensed deployment of the Spheripol process technology in the United States, a technology that is now one of the most widely used PP production processes worldwide.

Jeff Blatt, plant manager at Braskem’s Neal facility, stated: “On behalf of the entire Braskem team, we are proud to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Neal production facility taking a leadership role by bringing leading edge innovation to the market with the first U.S. Spheripol process technology deployment ever. Our track record for success in producing polypropylene in Neal has been a key part of Braskem’s leadership position as the largest producer of polypropylene in the Americas.”

“Since the initial launch of the Spheripol production process at Neal, the annual production capacity of the plant has almost doubled, and our future is as bright as ever. Over the past 8 years, Braskem has invested more than $20 million in Neal, West Virginia production facility infrastructure enhancements, helping extend our successful track record for plant safety, reliability, efficiency and environmental protection,” concluded Mr. Blatt.

Braskem is honored to be an integral part of the Kenova, W.Va., community and is a dedicated supporter of the Kenova Volunteer Fire Department and local Wayne County public schools. The company’s support of the program, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) at Spring Valley High School, helps the next generation of student leaders explore future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Braskem also supports the Wayne county public middle and elementary schools, helping excite young people about the vast opportunities open to them through fields of study in science.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: Braskem

Help With Clean Linen From Hygienically Clean Laundries Welcomed At APIC

MINNEAPOLIS — JUNE 14, 2018 — Attendees of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) expo confirmed Thursday the value of effective guidelines for properly handling clean linen, substantiating Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified operators’ efforts to help them ensure linen remains safe and clean when it reaches patients.

Visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit at APIC’s Annual Conference were supported in this respect by receiving Handling Clean Linen in a Healthcare Environment, a guide produced by these certified linen, uniform and facility services operators. APIC attendees shared anecdotes of mishandling clean linen in their workplaces including:

  • Employees holding and carrying stacks of bed linen and towels touching their chests
  • Commingling clean and soiled linen
  • Storing linen in closets in guest rooms instead of a secure linen room

Certified operators’ certification fees provided funding for creating and distributing the guide (and other resources for healthcare facilities), manifesting the Hygienically Clean program’s philosophy of addressing healthcare providers’ operational needs outside the scope of outsourced laundries’ traditional functions.

Angela Freeman, Hygienically Clean program manager, explained the importance of such laundries partnering with healthcare providers to create and implement plans to ensure clean textiles are delivered to patients. “When healthcare textiles (HCTs) reach a facility’s doors, an outsourced laundry’s role in maintaining their hygiene depends greatly on how the service agreement addresses linen distribution. Hygienically Clean’s resources for healthcare providers reflect the willingness of our certified operators to partner with their customers.”

A video version of the clean linen guide is in the works. TRSA, the global association for the linen and uniform services industry and Hygienically Clean administrator, continues to build the industry’s appreciation for partnering with healthcare customers.

In May, TRSA introduced Producing Hygienically Clean Textiles, an e-learning class to help laundry employees understand their roles in the processes, procedures and policies necessary to produce clean linens and uniforms. TRSA’s annual Healthcare Conference has guided industry managers in progressive linen distribution techniques to aid their training of their customers in these.

The clean linen handling guide identifies best practices for transportation, storage, distribution, cross-contamination prevention and more. Linen room and bed-changing practices are scrutinized.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: TRSA

ADEC Innovations And MAS Holdings Make A Cleanchain Connection In Journey Toward Elimination Of Hazardous Materials

IRVINE, Calif./COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — June 13, 2018 — ADEC Innovations announces today that MAS Holdings (MAS) — a manufacturer of intimate apparel, sports, swim and performance wear — has invested in software solution CleanChain, an ADEC Innovation, in its quest to be a zero toxic manufacturer. CleanChain will be used by the group to manage chemical use throughout MAS’ global manufacturing operations and supply chain.

As part of its zero toxic commitments, MAS needed a process and reporting system that provided inventory registration and management, usage tracking and dashboard views for each of their facilities spread around the globe. After reviewing a number of different solutions, MAS selected CleanChain because it offered a number of unique features not offered by other software companies and allowed them to create the solutions its manual approach had not delivered.

Working together, MAS and ADEC Innovations implemented CleanChain to fulfill its specific reporting needs. MAS has since facilitated the adoption of CleanChain at 20 chemical intensive manufacturing facilities in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

“We needed to more proactively and systematically manage the vast amounts of chemical information across our global operations,” said Sharika Senanayake, director environmental sustainability, MAS Holdings. “Since implementing CleanChain and collaborating with the ADEC Innovations team, we have transformed our inefficient and labor-intensive processes into a comprehensive system that helps us better understand and reduce risks, and reduced our manual burden and the associated costs of aggregating supply chain data.”

MAS attributes significant improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of chemical management across their supply chain to CleanChain. An early adopter of the platform, MAS joined in 2016 and has since played an important collaborative role in improving ADEC Innovations’ pioneering chemical information management solution.

“ADEC Innovations is thrilled to partner with MAS Holdings in the deployment of CleanChain within their organization and across the supply chain,” said Robert A. Francisco, president, ADEC Innovations. “Our collaboration supports MAS Holdings’ continued commitment to being a proactive and forward-thinking organization with products, plans and strategies that focus on sustainability. Their core ideals are in direct alignment with ADEC Innovations’ mission of developing solutions like CleanChain, which accelerate positive, global impact, resulting in a more sustainable future.”

CleanChain is a secure online chemical information management system, built for manufacturers and supported by many of the major brands they supply. It provides partner businesses with a library of over 32,000 chemicals, the results of analyses conducted on those chemical products by approved labs, custom tools to compare how different products comply across multiple Manufacturing Restricted Substance Lists (MRSLs), detailed questionnaires to help users share data on the products they use and an intuitive connections system to facilitate simple sharing of this data. More than 500 users have joined the platform.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: ADEC Innovations

Interface Agrees To Acquire Nora Systems

ATLANTA — JUNE 14, 2018 — Interface Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire nora systems in a stock purchase transaction valued at approximately $420 million. Nora, a producer of performance flooring and worldwide share leader in the rubber flooring category, is a privately held company that is majority owned by investment firm Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). Nora’s annual revenues are approximately $280 million. Interface expects to close the transaction during the third quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

This acquisition will expand Interface’s rapidly growing resilient flooring portfolio and increase its penetration into high growth segments including healthcare, life sciences, education and transportation. Nora is the leader in the nearly $1 billion rubber flooring category of the $34 billion global commercial flooring industry. Rubber flooring is ideal for applications that require hygienic, safe flooring with strong chemical resistance, and it is extremely durable compared to other flooring alternatives. Nora is considered the leading premium brand and has built a specified selling organization that provides reach into approximately 80 countries around the world.

“We believe our value creation strategy is working in the marketplace as we better serve our customers with an expanded product portfolio and an enhanced selling system. Customers want a single flooring solution provider that can deliver a range of options that meet their requirements in different commercial applications. The nora acquisition is expected to accelerate our growth strategy by expanding our product portfolio and extending our reach in the performance flooring category of resilient flooring,” said Jay Gould, CEO of Interface. “More importantly, we believe the nora team has put the right focus on design, sustainability, and performance of their products, which aligns with Interface’s brand, purpose, and values. We are excited to combine the nora team with the Interface family so that together we can continue to create value for our key stakeholders including our customers, employees, investors, and the environment.”

The nora acquisition, when completed, is expected to be accretive to Interface’s margins and adjusted earnings per share. Nora is anticipated to increase the company’s adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP measure, $0.03 to $0.06 in 2018, and $0.15 to $0.20 in 2019.

Bank of America has committed to finance the transaction through a term loan facility. “We will expand our net debt leverage ratio to approximately 3x EBITDA at closing, and our goal is to decrease that ratio to 2x EBITDA by mid-2020,” said Bruce Hausmann, CFO of Interface.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: Interface Inc.

Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical To Produce On-Purpose Propylene With Honeywell Technology

DES PLAINES, Ill. — JUNE 14, 2018 — Honeywell announced today that Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Co. Ltd. will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex™ propane dehydrogenation technology to produce 250,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene at its facility in the Huantai Economic Development Zone in China’s Shandong Province.

Honeywell will provide licensing, the process design package, proprietary and non-proprietary equipment, on-site operator training, technical services for startup and continuing operation, and catalysts and adsorbents for the project. This is the 34th award in China for Honeywell’s Oleflex technology.

“The tremendous growth in propylene production in China is being driven by surging demand for polypropylene and other propylene derivatives that are used to make resins, fibers and plastics,” said John Gugel, president of Honeywell UOP. “The Oleflex process converts propane into high-quality propylene that meets the strict purity requirements for these products.”

Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology uses catalytic dehydrogenation to convert propane to propylene and is designed to have a lower cash cost of production and higher return on investment among competing technologies. Its low energy consumption, low emissions and fully recyclable, platinum-alumina-based catalyst system minimizes its impact on the environment. The independent reaction and regeneration sections enable steady-state operations, improved operating flexibility, and a high on-stream factor and reliability.

Honeywell UOP also licenses C4 Oleflex technology, which converts butanes to butylenes, the primary ingredient for making high-octane fuel additives and synthetic rubber. Including this project, Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology has been selected for 52 out of 64 propane and isobutane dehydrogenation projects globally since 2011.

Since the technology was first commercialized in 1990, Honeywell UOP has commissioned 29 Oleflex units for on-purpose propylene and isobutylene production. Global production capacity of propylene from Oleflex technology now stands at approximately 6.8 million metric tons per year.

Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group manufactures and distributes gasoline, diesel, liquefied gas, petroleum coke, sulfur, propylene, and other petrochemicals. Located in Guoli Town, Zibo City, Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group also conducts heating, logistics, international trade, and retail terminal businesses.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: Honeywell

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