The full range of water-based Genesta inks — acid, reactive, disperse, pigment and sublimation-disperse — manufactured by Japan-based Epson in collaboration with its owned company Italy-based FOR.TEX, have achieved Eco Passport certification from Oeko-Tex®. The certification demonstrates to the marketplace that the products can be used in sustainable textile production processes.
The inks had to pass a two-stage verification test to earn the certification and meet the chemical requirements of STANDARD 100 by Oeko-Tex.
“We are very proud to have received the Eco Passport certification for all our Genesta, our top textile inks,” says Tomoaki Kuwata, general manager, Epson’s P Strategic Planning Department. “It assures all Monna Lisa users around the world that Epson complies with
the necessary environmental legislations and is the next step to promoting a new, sustainable, printing methodology after the previous Eco Passport achieved by the UltraChrome inks.”
To support the production of digital inks, the Netherlands-based SPGPrints will open a 1,000-square-meter addition to its headquarters location during the final quarter
of 2017. The addition is part of an 8-million euro investment plan, and represents the second expansion at the facility in two years.
Part of SPGPrint’s investment plan also includes a new Experience Center, which will be dedicated to innovation in digital textile printing.
“The increase in the volume of our ink production means that we will continue to be able to serve the expanding digital textile printing market that we have helped to build over the last three decades,” said Jos Notermans, commercial manager, digital textiles, SPGPrints. “The global retail markets are now in a position to take advantage of the benefits of digital printing as it moves into the mainstream as a production method.”
Atlanta-based SoftWear Automation Inc. has received an additional $4.5 million in financing from existing investor CTW Venture Partners. The company will use the funding to keep growing its Sewbots™ technology for the apparel industry, as well as add 20 employees.
The company reports sales grew 1,000 percent from 2015 to 2016 when the company began shipping its technology to customers. It predicts a similar growth rate through 2017. SoftWear’s goal is to bring manufacturing back to the United States along with higher-wage jobs for Sewbots’ supervisors.
“Our innovative Sewbots are moving needles to the fabric instead of fabric to the needle,” said Palaniswamy “Raj” Rajan, chairman and CEO, SoftWear Automation. “Factories today chase cheap labor around the world and we have ended up with an unsustainable supply chain. SoftWear Automation’s Sewbots can move that manufacturing closer to the customer or the raw materials.”
Columbus, Ga.-based Denim North America (DNA), a division of DNA Textile Group, has introduced EcoSure® BioBlast™ Denim to its Sustainable R3 Denim collection.
The fabric was developed in cooperation with Poole Co., Greenville, S.C., producer of EcoSure BioBlast fiber made using 100-percent post-consumer recycled water bottles. According to Poole, the fiber has been demonstrated to biodegrade in landfill conditions 12-times faster during a one-year period than traditional polyester. DNA reports fabrics made using the fiber are soft, durable, strong and also offer performance properties.
“As wearable function and sustainability are both becoming mainstays in jeanswear, our mission was to combine these elements by bringing natural and performance fibers together into a sustainable fabric,” said Lisa Harris, creative director, DNA.
Switzerland-based Rieter reports it has acquired the precision winding machine SSM Textile Machinery (SSM) division — including SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG in Switzerland, as well as Italy- and China-based subsidiaries — from Schweiter Technologies AG, Switzerland.
The deal closed for 124.2 million Swiss francs ($113.5 million) and includes an enterprise value of 100 million Swiss francs ($91.3 million) and liquid funds. According to Rieter, it financed the purchase through existing funds, and the deal will have a positive effect on earnings per share. Rieter plans to attach SSM to its Business Group Components as an independent unit. Current SSM management will continue to operate the unit as it currently is structured.
During the 2016 fiscal year, SSM’s net sales totaled 85.9 million Swiss francs ($78.5 million) with an EBITDA margin of 14.8 percent.
India-based Meera Industries Pvt. Ltd., a producer of winding and two-for-one twisting and heat-setting machinery, recently celebrated the grand opening of its new sales and service support center Meera Industries USA LLC in High Point, N.C. Meera is a global, ISO 9001 certified company and is publicly traded on the BSE Bombay Stock Exchange. Meera Directors Dharmesh and Bijal Desai attended the grand opening along with Southern U.S. agent Steve Charron, CEO of S.A. Charron & Co.; and Northern U.S. agent Jim Pye, president of JTP Associates Inc.
The new U.S. facility features full-scale production equipment including: a 56-spindle two-for-one twister with one side configured with 28 spindles for twisting/ cabling and the other side set up for TPRS twisting — Meera’s patented single-step S/Z twisting technology; an 18-spindle assembly winder for plying before twisting and back winding; a 30-spindle cop winder to wind bobbins for TPRS; and a laboratory twister featuring three twisting spindles and one rewinding/assembling spindle. Customers may view the machinery in action and run samples, and Meera also will offer small lots of commission twisting.
American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA) President Paul T. O’Day recently passed away. Fiercely dedicated to the industry he loved, Paul led AFMA from 1984 to 2017 with a sophisticated wit and a powerful intellect. He was a true gentleman, always gracious and emphatically willing to help others; and his dedication and extraordinary contribution to the industry has been recognized by industry leaders from the United States and across the globe.
“Paul was not only a great man, but he was also a friend and confidant to so many of us in the industry,” said Mark J. Ruday, AFMA chairman, and senior vice president, Fibers, DAK Americas LLC.
“Paul was a pillar of the textile trade community and provided unfailingly wise counsel to U.S. policymakers for many years,” said Bill Jackson, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles, Office of the United States Trade Representative. “He was also an uncommonly kind man who brightened any gathering with his good humor and deep well of stories. He will be greatly missed.”
“Paul gave a lifetime of service to manufacturing and particularly the textile industry,” saidJay Timmons, president and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers. “Paul left a lasting footprint on the business community, his state and his country.”
“Famously courteous and humble, Paul won heated policy debates through the power of his extraordinary intellect, his expansive institutional knowledge and his total command of the subject matter at hand,” said Auggie Tantillo, president & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations. “Completely secure in his role and the critical contribution he made to every project, Paul was always quick to defer credit and to shower praise on his colleagues.”
“Paul was highly regarded by all for his knowledge, hard work and professionalism,” said Tom Dobbins, president, American Composites Manufacturers Association. “Personally, he brought joy to everyone who knew him. A great light has gone out of the world and I will always feel that loss.”
“When I was new to the textile industry, Paul welcomed me,” said Jenn Stowe, vice president, Government Relations, The Carpet and Rug Institute. “He was a great source of industry history and knowledge. He was a resource and a role model. He will be sorely missed.”
The AFMA staff would like to thank Paul for his guidance and wisdom, for his strength and tenacity and for the honor and privilege of his leadership and friendship. Paul inspired us all and will be fondly remembered always.
— The AFMA Staff
Japan-based Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd. has announced Mitsuhiro Shima as the new president and representative director and director of sales headquarters. His father, Masahiro Shima, company founder and president, now is chairman of the Board of Directors.
Patrik Frisk is the new president and COO of Baltimore, Md.-based Under Armour Inc. The company also recently named Paul Fipps chief technology officer; Colin Browne chief supply chain officer; and Kevin Eskridge chief product officer.
Fleissner
Gerold Fleissner (1924-2017)
Gerold Fleissner, a pioneer in the world of man-made fibers and nonwovens, recently passed away at the age of 92. The Fleissner company dates back as far back as 1848, but the company fully established itself in the textile drying market in 1929 when Gerold’s father, Hans Fleissner, developed and patented the first perforated drum dryer. In 1968, Hans handed management of the company to his two sons, Gerold and Heinz; and in 1984, Gerold became solely responsible for managing the business after his brother passed away. As the business grew, Fleissner became a leading manufacturer of processing lines for nonwovens. The AquaJet hydroentangling system introduced a new way to produce nonwovens. Over the years, Gerold also continued to refine and optimize his father’s perforated drum drying principle to meet the demands of modern production lines.
With no successive heir, Gerold sold the company to Germany-based Zimmer AG in 2003 — and in 2006, Trützschler GmbH acquired the Fleissner business from Zimmer — but he still worked in the industry with the Fleissner Nonwovens Ansbach company selling conveyor belt oven lines for drying and thermobonding of waddings. Gerold also continued to engineer advanced versions of the drum dryer featuring improved air flow and temperature uniformity. This company was closed in 2009 as he advanced in age.
Gerold’s dedication, vision and loyalty to the textile industry will be remembered by all who knew him.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — July 12, 2017 — The United States should not withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but seek to improve it, Randy Price, VF Corp.’s vice president, managing director Product Supply — Americas, testified recently before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
“I see every day how NAFTA has supported an integrated textile and apparel supply chain that has helped VF grow and thrive and benefited our U.S. suppliers,” said Price. “NAFTA supports tens of thousands of VF jobs in the United States as well as tens of thousands of jobs at our U.S. suppliers who grow the cotton and make the materials that go into our NAFTA-made products. NAFTA has been good for our industry.”
In his testimony, Price recommended the U.S. Administration use caution as they explore potential changes to aspects of the NAFTA textile and apparel rules and flexibilities. He also testified that while there is room for improvement in the agreement, any changes should increase competitiveness and flexibility.
“We recommend focusing on growing NAFTA trade, not contracting it,” Price said. “If you look at potential changes to NAFTA, any changes you make will impact existing business and trade built over decades and impact jobs in the United States.”
A pair of Wrangler® brand jeans assembled in one of VF’s Mexican factories, for example, uses cotton from Texas, fabrics and zippers from Georgia, and threads from North Carolina. This process supports thousands of jobs across the United States.
“Without NAFTA there would be significantly less demand for these U.S. exports, and our VF supply chain in the United States, Mexico and Canada would be much smaller,” Price said.
Price testified along with a host of business leaders, including leaders from the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, the National Council of Textile Organizations and the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
STONY BROOK, N.Y. — July 11, 2017 — Applied DNA Sciences Inc. has signed a multi-year license agreement with GHCL Lt.d, a global manufacturer of home textiles, to provide CertainT™ platform services in connection with source-verified, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and recycled PET (post consumer) in select home textile products. PET is the clear plastic best known for its use in water bottles, and is the most widely recycled plastic in the world. GHCL will use Applied DNA’s CertainT platform in connection with PET and/or recycled PET blended bed sheets, pillowcases, and shams products sold in-store or online in the United States. GHCL has also licensed Applied DNA’s CertainT trademark for use on its products, as well as for promotional, marketing and sales materials. The agreement provides for guaranteed minimum annual revenues as well as trademark licensing royalties to Applied DNA.
GHCL will use Applied DNA’s CertainT platform, a fully integrated supply chain platform for verifying PET and recycled PET authenticity from source to retail shelf. With this platform, GHCL assures that any of its textile products using PET and recycled PET will contain the original source raw materials. Applied DNA will provide its patented and proprietary tagging, testing and tracking services to GHCL as a CertainT licensee.
“As the need for sustainable and recyclable textiles continues to increase in demand from our customers, we want to offer products that provide true traceability that go beyond a paper document,” stated Neeraj Jalan, Business Head, Home Textiles, GHCL. “In these uncertain times, our customers deserve and expect certainty. The collaboration with Applied DNA provides a means to produce and supply our customers with source-verified, recycled products, as well as access to new authentication technologies in synthetic fibers that Applied DNA develops over the course of our relationship.”
As part of the platform, Applied DNA’s molecular tag is extruded into recycled components that create recycled PET fiber, with no impact to performance or quality of the fiber or filament yarns. Thereafter, any piece of CertainT-tagged textiles can be forensically authenticated by detecting the molecular tag in the recycled PET fiber, ensuring its authenticity and origin.
“We bring ‘CertainT’ in uncertain times especially as many brands and retailers need to fulfil their sustainability goals by the year 2020,” said Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO, Applied DNA. “The CertainT platform will help GHCL produce innovative products utilizing an efficient and trusted traceability system with a fair return. Differentiating their brand in the marketplace through use of our CertainT trademark will signify to consumers the products comply with our supply chain platform and are verifiably made from recycled fibers.”
CHICAGO —July 12, 2017 — Intertek, a Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, announces the expansion of its textile testing capabilities in the United States with the launch of new services for the fast-growing activewear sector. These services, which include evaluating evaporation/drying rates, water vapor transmission rates and antibacterial/antifungal properties, are new to the U.S. market and offer manufacturers of activewear, furniture and outdoor fabrics a more efficient, timely testing option.
The expanded U.S. capabilities are the result of investments in new equipment at Intertek’s textile testing laboratory in Arlington Heights, Ill. The new machines allow experts in the lab to evaluate performance properties of fabrics for water vapor permeability and drying rates, as well as how they respond to variations in temperature and humidity. This information can be used to verify claims of breathability, quick dry and antibacterial qualities in textiles used for various products. These new capabilities complement existing activewear testing services for wicking, windproofing and ultraviolet protection properties and, combined with Intertek’s antimicrobial center of excellence in Columbus, Ohio, allows the Company to offer a full spectrum of textile evaluation and technical support across multiple industries.
Gregg Tiemann, executive vice president, Intertek, commented: “At Intertek, our priority has always been providing our customers with innovative solutions to help support functional and performance claims of their products in order to improve their competitive position. Bringing these textile capabilities to the U.S. and building off our existing textile services will help customers in the region leverage our services and expertise in order to bring in-demand fabrics to the industry more quickly and easily.”
Consumer demand is shifting to high-performance fabrics for clothing, furniture and outdoor equipment. Intertek’s services evaluate performance qualities against promotional claims and industry benchmarking and standards, making it possible for customers to work with a third-party lab to assure products meet these demands. The new services complement the Intertek’s existing U.S. textile services analyzing fibers, restricted chemicals, dimensional stability, colorfastness and flammability.
