Kiian Digital Extends Its Certification Program

NOVEDRATE, Italy — September 25 2017 —JK Group a leading supplier of sublimation and pigment digital inks for textile printing, has chosen SGIA — to be held October 10-12, 2017, in New Orleans — to display integrated solutions for the digital textile market at booth 2369

Kiian Digital, JK Group’s flagship brand for innovation, announces ECO-PASSPORT certification for DIGISTAR HI PRO. This achievement highlights the excellence of the HI-PRO series attesting its use in sustainable textile production chains. “We are excited to have achieved this goal. Kiian Digital’s full certification program gives a competitive advantage to all our partners in serving their customers” comments Marco Girola, JK Group Marketing Specialist. At the booth, visitors can find out more about Kiian Digital’s product portfolio and our focus on sustainability.

“JK Group strives to develop products that help to make a positive difference to the environment while providing value to shareholders and customers. This is evidenced by Kiian Digital’s growing certification programme.” says Martin Swift, JK Group Marketing Director.

The booth will showcase the Impres™ Soft Signage System’s debut on the American market.

The new Impres Soft Signage System is an integrated digital printing system designed to meet soft signage digital printing market demands. The system combines the deep technical expertise of: MS Printing Solutions, Caldera® Graphics and JK Group digital inks; all part of the same Group.

Booth 2369, will be meeting place for Sawgrass industrial brand stakeholders as well.

Posted September 25 2017

Source JK Group

Mount Vernon FR Expands Global Reach Of Flame Resistant Fabric Business

TRION, Ga. – September 22, 2017 — Mount Vernon FR continues to innovate and grow, expanding the company’s global footprint for flame resistant fabrics. In addition to the United States and Canada – where Mount Vernon FR has had a steady presence for the last several years – Mount Vernon FR fabric will now be available in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Central and South America. The company’s expansion will open distribution channels for Mount Vernon FR fabrics in these regions, helping to fulfill increasing demand.

“This is a strategic move in growing the global supply chain for Mount Vernon FR fabrics,” said Mike Woods, vice president of flame resistant fabrics for Mount Vernon FR.

This announcement comes on the heels of Mount Vernon FR’s newest collaboration with Matrix World Group (MWG) Chile, who recently launched its first-ever collection of treated flame resistant clothing, all manufactured using fabric from Mount Vernon FR.

“Expanding our footprint to additional regions is a logical next step as our business continues to innovate and grow, and the expansion enables us to provide customers across the globe with access to durable, high-performing fabrics from Mount Vernon FR,” added Woods.

Mount Vernon FR fabrics meet the performance requirements of ASTM F1506, comply with NFPA 70E and are UL® certified to NFPA 2112.

To learn more about Mount Vernon FR’s newest initiatives and innovations, visit booth 6046 at the National Safety Council (NSC) Expo Sept. 25-27 in Indianapolis.

Posted September 22, 2017

Source: Mount Vernon FR

SPGPrints’ New Experience Center Provides Global Digital Textile Industry Innovation Hub

BOXMEER, The Netherlands — September 21, 2017 — SPGPrints has strengthened its commitment to the adoption and development of digital textile printing technology, with the formal opening of the Experience Center – the 700 square meter (m2) demonstration and training facility located at the company’s Boxmeer headquarters.

More than 160 people, including employees from across the organization, attended the ceremony, as the mayor of Boxmeer, Karel van Soest, cut the ribbon to officially declare the center open for business.

The facility contains SPGPrints’ two flagship digital textile printers in precisely maintained atmospheric conditions: an 1850-millimeter-wide single-pass PIKE® printer, designed for both large and short volumes with producti (mm) on speeds of up to 40 meters per minute; and a 3200-mm-wide multi-pass JAVELIN® printer, for home furnishing applications. The Center also features a meeting room and state-of-the art presentation equipment.

After the ceremony, attendees observed live demonstrations, showing the machines’ capabilities for delivering fine detail, while handling a variety of challenging geometric designs and achieving constant precise color targets with wide gamuts, in addition to immediate job changes.

The Experience Center gives suppliers and buyers of digitally printed textiles a showcase for learning how to reap the revolutionary benefits of digital printing, and understanding the end-to-end implications of digital production with SPGPrints’ technology. The innovation hub will also give textile printers the ability to trial new designs and fabrics under test conditions and expert guidance. Furthermore, the Center will allow SPGPrints’ own research and development staff to test and optimize proprietary Pike and Javelin inks as new fabrics are introduced, enabling color-matching and performance trials to be accelerated.

For customers, the Center will make it easier to implement digital workflows quickly and smoothly, and bring new ideas and products to market, faster, without needing to compromise output at their own facilities.

SPGPrints has been committed to textile printing innovation throughout the company’s 70-year history, firstly through rotary screen technology that made high-quality mass-production possible and, since 1986, through inkjet machine systems and proprietary inks developed under the same roof.

Dick Joustra, CEO, SPGPrints, commented: “Digital printing undoubtedly represents the future for textile printing. It is transforming the supply chain, making a wider variety of designs possible, shortening delivery times, delivering major cost savings and eliminating waste. At SPGPrints, we have been empowering the industry to exploit these benefits, through over three decades of digital inkjet innovation, culminating in the Archer® technology deployed on the Pike and Javelin printers.

“The opening of the Experience Center marks our commitment to driving the adoption of the digital workflow. Not only will this provide the opportunity for brand-owners and printers to gain a first-hand, real-time insight into this technology’s tremendous potential; it will provide a dedicated space for further innovation in quality, productivity and sustainability, complementing our resources for the continued development of traditional rotary screen technologies.”

The new Experience Center is part of an 8 million euro capital investment program by SPGPrints, covering an expansion area of 3000 m2. This also includes the building of the expanded Digital Inks Factory for production of its inkjet inks, enabling the company to boost capacity in response to the growth of the digital textile printing sector.

Posted September 21, 2017

Source: SPGPrints

Americhem Composes Its 2018–2019 Color Trends

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — September 21, 2017 — Americhem Inc. has released its 2018–19 Color Trends comprised of six color palettes united by a musical theme including: Motown, Techno, Festival, Bossa Nova, Lullaby and Concerto. The color families were announced on September 21, at Americhem’s annual color trends course as part of Americhem U, an ongoing educational series for professionals in the synthetic fibers and plastics industries. This is the company’s ninth annual color trends forecast.

The color families, developed by a committee of color trend specialists, are forecasted to be popular in the coming years based on global influences, pop culture, musical and design trends, technology, and fashion-forward color predictions. In conjunction with a well-known fashion design house in Milan, Italy, the groups of colors, in addition to textures, finishes and effects, are translated into seasonal design concepts, moods and lifestyles, each with a unique story to convey the emotions and context of the colors.

This year’s color families reveal the trending colors of tomorrow based on the sounds of the past and present:

  • Motown — deep tones of blue, with a green that is almost brown, are brightened with orange and rusty tones to provide a palette that is both edgy and mysterious.
  • Techno — bold shades of hi-tech blues and futuristic greens are highlighted by neon yellow and brought back to earth by a subtle, golden beige. Funky and daring, this palette speaks to our inner geek.
  • Festival — an airy taupe is contrasted by blazing shades of orange and red, and brightened by shadowy purples and violets in the vibrant palette, inspired by summer music festivals.
  • Bossa Nova — harmonies of calm, refined greens and fluid, soft beiges reflect on the beauty of nature and lend to a calm, tranquil mood. Like an enchanting bossa nova melody played on a nylon-string classical guitar, this collection of gorgeous hues reminds us to appreciate the magnificent world around us.
  • Lullaby — Reach-out-and-touch-me pastels are paired with cozy grays in this understated and comforting palette. Like a mother singing a lullaby to her precious child, this color assemblage wraps us in peacefulness and content.
  • Concerto — A sophisticated palette comprised of soft, pale pinks, romantic peach tones, subdued blues and extravagant greens.

“These color palettes offer a world of inspiration and harmony,” expressed Sydney Gardner, lead color trends specialist for Americhem. “By keeping up with the trends through Americhem’s forecast, designers and product development personnel alike can benefit from learning the colors and the palettes that are sure to drive consumer preference in the years to come.”

Posted September 21, 2017

Source: Americhem

Robert Young’s Face Of Canada EFI VUTEk-Printed Textile Artwork Installed At Royal Ontario Museum

FREMONT, Calif. — September 21, 2017 — The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Canada recently installed “FACE OF CANADA,” The Canada 150 Commemorative Edition, by Robert Young. This special textile artwork from his ”YOUNG WORLD FACES” collection was produced in Electronics For Imaging’s Meredith, N.H., inkjet technology facility using an EFI™ VUTEk® FabriVU® soft signage printer. The photograph, which features a Canadian citizen with the Nation’s flag painted on her face, was displayed last month in the ROM’s Hyacinth Gloria Chen Crystal Court as part of the museum’s Canada 150 festival programs.

The 14 foot by 10 foot wide portrait shows the vivid detail of Young’s photography, while featuring the striking color of Canada’s very recognizable flag. The artwork, which was produced using EFI aqueous dye sublimation inks, reflects many of the artistic themes and motivations that drive Young’s imagery.

“I’m a storyteller who uses literature, photography and film to create imagery that inspires and motivates people,” said Young. “I wanted to create a human experience with this print, especially on Canada’s 150th year as a nation.”

Previously produced on EFI soft signage printers for the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015, this new print is one of more than 40 large-scale images in the Young World Faces collection. The spirit of that exhibition continues with the ROM installation, according to Young.

“When the installation went in, I was working on a project in Anguilla, and I’m a Canadian American with Jamaican roots, working with EFI, an American company with Italian textile printing technology that has printed this beautiful work that was originally captured in Canada. And then the work went back to Canada for display in one of Canada’s greatest museums. It’s a great example of how Young World Faces brings the world together,” said Young.

EFI printed the one-off installation, a unique special edition that is the only Young World Faces print produced with a white background instead of black, direct-to-substrate on A. Berger Lighttex, a single-sided polyester textile for backlit applications.

The 3.4-meter wide VUTEk FabriVU 340 printer used for the installed art piece prints in four colors in resolutions up 2,400 dpi, delivering deep color saturation for exceptional fabric display graphics. The production-class printer features technology from EFI Reggiani, the Italian innovation leader with 70 years’ worth of experience in advanced textile imaging.

In 2015, Mississauga, Ontario, textile graphics specialist McRae Imaging used the first EFI Reggiani printer installed in North America to produce the original “YOUNG WORLD FACES” as a textile series, consisting of 41 faces, each painted with professional makeup featuring the flag of a country that participated in the 2015 Pan American Games. The colorful FACES images of those 7-foot tall prints pop against black backgrounds. Robert Young’s acclaimed collection, which has had several exhibitions, was named the soft signage project of the year by Sign Media Canada in 2016.

The EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 soft signage printer will be showcased next month in EFI’s exhibit at the 2017 SGIA Expo, Oct. 10-14 in New Orleans.

During and immediately after the ROM exhibition, Young was working on a photography project in British Caribbean territory of Anguilla, where he was caught in the devastation of Hurricane Irma. After safely evacuating to Miami, he is currently developing materials for an awareness campaign to help raise funds for relief and rebuilding efforts among the Caribbean islands affected by the storm.

Posted September 21, 2017

Source: EFI™

Engineered Floors Has Reached A Letter Of Intent To Acquire Beaulieu Group LLC

DALTON, Ga. — September 20, 2017 — Engineered Floors LLC. has reached a letter of intent agreement in principle to purchase substantially all of the operating assets of Beaulieu Group LLC. The transaction will be contingent upon approvals through the bankruptcy court and due diligence processes. Pending governmental approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Posted September 21, 2017

Source: Engineered Floors

U.S. Textiles Stays On Track

BornemanBy James M. Borneman, Editor In Chief

The good news continues in U.S. manufacturing, and the recent Institute for Supply Management (ISM®) Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®, provides some great data that supports the trend. Prepared by the Tempe, Arizona-based organization, the report states, “Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August, and the overall economy grew for the 99th consecutive month.”

Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee said: “The August PMI® registered 58.8 percent, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from the July reading of 56.3 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.”

That expansion is evident in the many news reports of plant openings in the United States. And it is good news for the economy in general.

Fiore said:“The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January through August (56.7 percent) corresponds to a 4.2 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis. In addition, if the PMI for August (58.8 percent) is annualized, it corresponds to a 4.9 percent increase in real GDP annually.”

Those are the headline numbers that represent total U.S. manufacturing and are a composite of the 18 manufacturing industries tracked by ISM.

Fourteen of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in August including Textile mills and General Machinery. Unfortunately, apparel contracted compared to the July report.

Looking at the elements of each industry, Textile mills and General Machinery fared well in the New Orders, Production, Employment and Increase in Backlog of Orders sections of the report.

There is also increasing interest in the U.S. textile industry — possibly spurred on by new plant and equipment trends.

The Germany-based Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) for Textile Machinery will be hosting a one-day technology B2B Forum & Conference title “German Technology meets U.S. Textile” in Charlotte, November 6, 2017. Please see the preview in this issue for details on the program. Registered attendees will be admitted free of charge. The VDMA also will host a similar event in Mexico City, November 7-8.

The flow of news to TW’s inbox has been on the increase and generally positive. Not an exact science, but in looking at textile activity on a daily basis through TW’s daily posting, it is fairly easy to sense an optimistic trend.

Business is difficult at times and keeping up with dramatic changes in technology is challenging. But it is great to see this sense supported by the ISM data.

It is very rewarding to see the level of technology driving the industry and allowing for competition on a global scale. Today, the U.S. textile industry is safer, with better paying jobs, increased productivity and better quality products than ever before, and automation plays a significant role in the industry’s technical revolution and continuing good news.

September/October 2017

Robert H. Chapman, III, Longtime Industry Leader

ChapmanRobert “Rob” H. Chapman, III, recently passed away unexpectedly. The Chairman, CEO and treasurer of Inman Mills, Inman, S.C., was 66 years old. He was the fourth generation family member to run Inman Mills joining the company in 1976.

During his lifetime, Chapman served in many leadership roles within the textile industry as well as within his community. Last year, he was recognized for his contributions and inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.

Chapman also was the immediate past chairman of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO).

“On behalf of the U.S. textile industry, NCTO extends its deepest sympathies to the Chapman family and everyone at Inman Mills,” said NCTO President and CEO Auggie Tantillo.

“Rob’s legacy is immense. In the last two decades, globalization, particularly the entry of China into the World Trade Organization, triggered the most disruptive change ever experienced by the U.S. textile industry. When other companies were going out of business, Inman Mills responded with a strategy of innovation, reinvestment and a willingness to adapt. Today, thanks to Rob’s dedication and foresight, Inman Mills is one of the shining lights in the renaissance of the U.S. textile industry,” Tantillo continued.

“Rob was also leader in crafting the U.S. textile industry’s Washington, D.C.-based policy response to globalization.  It speaks volumes that Rob’s peers chose him to lead NCTO in 2016-2017 when debate on the now failed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the biggest challenge to the U.S. textile industry since China’s 2001 entry into the WTO, was coming to a climax,” Tantillo added.

“Finally, on a personal note, Rob was a close friend. He was a true gentleman, unfailingly courteous, loyal and generous. Soft spoken and quick to deflect credit to others, Rob was a fierce competitor, driven by the desire to help his community and industry. Most of all, Rob loved his family and his many associates at Inman Mills. He dedicated his life to their well-being.

If there ever was any doubt that builders can build faster than destroyers can destroy, Rob was living proof. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will long endure,” Tantillo finished.

September/October 2017

Fibertex To Establish Plant In Asheboro

Denmark-based Fibertex Personal Care has announced plans to establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Asheboro, N.C. The company will invest $60 million by the end of 2021 and anticipates creating jobs for 145 people.

Fibertex focuses on materials for personal care items including diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence care products. Fibertex also offers printed nonwovens and the Innowo Print band. The new state-of-the-art U.S. facility will focus on printing on nonwovens.

“The coming factory in Asheboro will cover the markets of North and South America, which are very important for our expansion,” said Mikael Staal Axelsen, Group CEO, Fibertex Personal Care. “We expect fine growth rates within our niche, and therefore, the factory will need to be operational by the end of 2018. We are very pleased with the cooperation with North Carolina and Randolph County about this project, and look forward to being a part the community in Asheboro.”

September/October 2017

Glen Raven Inks Agreement To Acquire Sunbury Textile Mills

Glen Raven Inc., Glen Raven, N.C., recently signed a letter of intent to purchase Sunbury, Pa.-based Sunbury Textile Mills Inc. Sunbury, a designer and producer of decorative jacquard fabrics, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Glen Raven and will operate as a part of Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC.

“Sunbury has been a close strategic business partner for more than 20 years,” said Allen E. Gant, Jr., chairman and CEO of Glen Raven, Inc. “Sunbury’s leadership in serving the designer, decorative jobber and furniture manufacturers with premium jacquard fabrics is unparalleled. Every Sunbury customer is important to us and represents an opportunity to combine resources and be better suppliers and business partners.”

“We have long considered Sunbury to be part of the extended Glen Raven family, and we are excited about working with them to further service all of their markets and customers,” Gant added.

September/October 2017

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