CARY, N.C. — March 22, 2016 — Hygienix 2016 promises to continue the industry excitement from the inaugural event for the Absorbent Hygiene and Personal Care Markets with its second edition, Oct. 24-27, at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Registration for the conference and hotel reservations are now open at the website at www.inda.org/events/hygienix16/index.html.
“Building on the tremendous response we had to the debut of Hygienix with more than 600 industry professionals attending, INDA is anticipating this year’s event to be just as vibrant and valuable,” said Dave Rousse, INDA President. “Hygienix is the must-attend conference for anyone in the absorbent hygiene and personal care industry, providing the latest market intelligence, product insights and important connections. And this year, it’s in one of the world’s most thrilling locations at Universal Orlando next to Orlando’s Universal Studios.”
Among the relevant topics that attendees will learn about from world-renowned industry experts are:
Product End-of-Life Options for Disposables
How Haptics Can Be a Competitive Advantage
Trends and Market Data
Materials and Technical Advancements
Step-out Softness
Moving Beyond Incontinence in Absorbent Products
Sensors and Diagnostics in Smart Materials
High Speed Printing Options for Nonwovens
Reservations also are available for tabletop displays on a first-come, first-served basis by contacting Joe Tessari, jtessari@inda.org; (919) 459-3729. Speakers and other event details will be updated on the website.
Posted March 22, 2016
Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — March 21, 2016 — Thrace LINQ has announced that Matt Buck has joined its sales and marketing team. Brian Sparks, the company’s vice president of Sales and Business Development, said: “Matt is an exceptional sales professional with a proven track record of developing key collaborative partnerships in the construction industry. Matt’s position will add considerable strength to our sales team and help accelerate our strategy to expand the Thrace Group brands and expansive product offering across new markets in the Americas.”
Buck comes to Thrace LINQ with over 10 years of technical sales and sales leadership experience, including three years as National Account Manager for the Industrial OEM division of Owens Corning. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University.
Thrace LINQ, along with the manufacturing and technical expertise of the Thrace Nonwovens and Geosynthetics Group, will look to expand its spunbond nonwovens business in the Americas and to promote BICO spunbond (PET/PP, PET/PE, PP/PE) from the new spunbond line of Thrace Group. With focus on both the industrial and construction markets, Buck will play a major role in identifying customer needs, market trends and new product opportunities across the growing nonwoven technical fabric sector.
HEBRON, Ky. — March 2016 — Fives Group received the Excellence in Composites Manufacturing Award at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ (SME) annual Composites Manufacturing event, held last month in Long Beach, Calif. Fives won in the Large Company category for its lines of composites machine tool technology, including the Cincinnati VIPER fiber placement system, the Cincinnati CHARGER taper layer system and the Cincinnati GEMINI ATL/AFB system. These systems use advanced composites technology to produce complex parts or near-net shape, and are specifically designed to produce the fastest lay-up rates in the industry while maintaining superior reliability.
The Composites Manufacturing Tech Group — part of SME’s Plastics, Composites & Coatings Community — was created to recognize valuable contributions within the composites manufacturing industry, and acknowledge the valuable roles that both large and small manufacturers play within the industry.
The awards ceremony wraps up the three-day AeroDef Manufacturing with Composites Manufacturing 2016 conference and exhibit. There to accept the award was Robert Harper, Technical Sales Director at Fives. “To be singled out among the stateside and international companies that were nominated for this award is an honor and a testament to Fives’ commitment to transform the design and development of the technology used in manufacturing of advanced composites.” Previous winners include Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Callaway Golf.
SME has a rich and evolving heritage spanning more than 80 years and serves the manufacturing industry as a nonprofit by promoting advanced manufacturing technology and developing a skilled workforce. AeroDef Manufacturing is the leading exposition and technical conference of the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry, showcasing the field’s most advanced technologies.
HORGEN, Switzerland — March 21, 2016 — SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG, Horgen is the one brand and trend-setter that drives the global market in winding technologies. It is the leading manufacturer of winding and texturing machines as well as sewing thread finish winders. SSM is the inventor of todays’ commonly used electronic yarn guide system. Apart from its Headquarter in Switzerland, SSM operates two subsidiaries, one in Northern Italy and one Southern China.
On April 1, 2016, the top management of SSM will experience some changes. The actual CEO, Ernesto Maurer, is stepping down from his operative business functions and takes on the duties of the Chairman of SSM. His successor as CEO will be the actual Head of R+D and MD of SSM GIUDICI, Dr. Davide Maccabruni.
Maccabruni has been with SSM for the last 10 years and has strongly contributed to the development of the company over the last years. With his move to the top of SSM, we ensure continuity in the successful management of this leading manufacturer of textile machinery in Switzerland.
SSM congratulates Ernesto Maurer and Davide Maccabruni for their new challenges and wish them success.
NEUMÜNSTER, Germany — March 18, 2016 — Oerlikon Neumag will present itself at this year’s IDEA in Boston with its extensive technology portfolio for the production of nonwovens: from spunbond and meltblown to airlaid through to staple fibers for the production of carded nonwovens. Areas of application include technical, such as filtration, roofing, geotextiles and automotive, in addition to medical and hygiene applications.
Cost reductions of up to 30 percent for spunbond production
The proportion of nonwovens manufactured directly from polymer granulate now amounts to almost 50% of the total market, and its share is continuing to grow. The trend is towards lighter surface weights that despite everything still meet the high quality standards. Benchmark comparisons with current prod- ucts in Europe show that with the spunbond technology of Oerlikon Neumag, the required qualities are achieved with reduced surface weights. This results in raw material savings of over 5%.
Furthermore, the machine builder from Neumünster has optimized the energy consumption of its sys- tems. The new generation of systems saves almost 20% of the energy requirement in spinning alone. Together with the raw material savings and further technology optimizations, the conversion costs are up to 30% below those of the spunbond systems producing today.
Meltblown technology for even higher qualities
The optimized meltblown technology defines new requirements for the production of filter nonwovens. Whether as stand-alone mono and bicomponent systems, or as Plug & Produce components in existing systems, the Oerlikon Neumag meltblown process today enables cost-efficient manufacture of melt- blown nonwovens with the quality standards of tomorrow.
Airlaid technology for extremely thin nonwovens
Production of high-quality, light airlaid nonwovens with economically attractive production speeds and system throughputs is nowadays in demand. In this area, the forming head of the Oerlikon Neumag airlaid technology with a high uniformity and homogenous fiber placement, even with extremely thin nonwovens, is setting standards.
Fiber production for carded nonwovens
For manufacturers of carded nonwovens, who in future would like to produce their fibers in-house, Oer- likon Neumag offers a comprehensive technology portfolio. The economically viable system capacities for special mono and bico fibers made of PP, PET and other polymers start at 5 t per day.
Cary, N.C. — March 17, 2016 — INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has recognized three high-achieving nonwoven industry leaders at its annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, where the association also charted its future.
INDA President Dave Rousse presented the awards at the conference March 7-9 at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, N.C., to: Dr. Edward “Ed” A. Vaughn, posthumously, INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award; Robert “Bob” Dale, INDA Lifetime Service Award; and Gideon “Gidi” Krasny, INDA President’s Award.
The event combines INDA’s annual business meeting; a leadership conference with speakers presenting on areas to enhance economic, political and business performance understandings, and opportunities to network with fellow INDA members, INDA senior staff, and the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
“This exclusive INDA Member event, designed to conduct INDA governance matters, also provided robust conference content related to the management of our members’ businesses, and a political perspective early in this highly charged political year,” said Rousse.
Members heard presentations from Dr. Gerald D. Bell, Founder and CEO of Bell Leadership Institute and Professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School on “Great Leaders, Great Results,” and Tim Boyum, Capital Tonight Anchor for Time Warner Cable News on “State of the 2016 Race.”
INDA also announced the appointment of new members of its board of directors and executive committee for 2016. Joining the board of directors are: Henry Johnson of AstenJohnson Advanced Fabrics, John Mulcahy of Georgia-Pacific LLC, James Vogt of Hollingsworth & Vose Company, John McNabb of Freudenberg Performance Materials, Uwe Peregi of Herrmann Ultrasonics, and John Poccia of Johnson & Johnson Worldwide. New appointments to INDA’s executive committee include Karen Castle of Suominen, Todd Bassett of Fi-Tech Inc., and Albert Dietz of Berry Plastics.
Award Presentations
Posthumously, INDA recognized Ed Vaughn, known as “Mr. Nonwovens of the U.S.” with the INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award for his long-established technical career in the nonwovens industry combined with his history of technical innovations. Professor Vaughn was a valued educator and consultant for INDA for many years. In 2007, Professor Vaughn received the IDEA Lifetime Achievement Award for his many outstanding contributions to INDA and the nonwovens industry.
One of his distinguished achievements was serving as the Managing Editor for INDA’s Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics (JEFF), where he reviewed the technical work of new and seasoned researchers giving them the opportunity to expand their work. Vaughn joined Clemson University serving as Department Head and then Director of the school from 1977 through 1989 before retiring as Professor Emeritus. He was the Instructor of INDA’s popular Intermediate Nonwovens Training Course from 2001 until his untimely death in August 2015.
Bob Dale’s service to the nonwovens industry over 25 years was recognized with the INDA Lifetime Service Award, which is given to professionals who have two decades of active service to and partnership with INDA specifically, and the nonwoven industry as a whole. Dale’s service includes leadership as an INDA Board Member, The Nonwovens Institute Board Director, contributions to the INDA Technical Advisory Board, RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics) and its technical predecessor committees.
His progressive industrial talent and patented technologies have significantly advanced the nonwovens industry. Among his technical achievements are thermoplastic constructs for improved softness in nonwovens; acoustic underlayment for floor systems; advances in medical devices, roll goods, medical fabrics, baby and personal care wipes, floor and hard surface wipes, chemical finishing, as well as nanofiber filtration media.
He is currently the Vice President Capital Engineering for Berry Plastics, formerly known as PGI. His previous leadership experience includes Johnson & Johnson – Chicopee, Kendall Healthcare (Covidien) and Milliken.
INDA awarded its President’s Award, presented periodically to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to the nonwovens industry, to Gidi Krasny for his 35 years of experience that has enabled him to advance products, processes and capabilities that have significantly impacted the nonwovens industry. He joined Spuntech in 2003 as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and directed the expansion of that organization to North America. Over the past 12 years, Krasny has invested over $130 million, hired 160 employees, and more than tripled the company revenues in the greenfield facility in Roxboro, NC.
Prior to joining Spuntech, Krasny held several leadership positions with the Strauss Elite Group, a leading Israeli food group, including General Manager of Elite Coffee and General Manager of Elite Confectionary. He began his career with Delta Industries, a large textile/apparel company.
Posted March 17, 2016
Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
NEW YORK CITY — March 17, 2016 — Global textile service company Lindström, which operates in 24 countries in Europe and Asia, has implemented Gerber Technology’s YuniquePLM™ web-based product lifecycle management software to accelerate the production of customer solutions throughout its operations. Gerber and their Finnish distributor ACG Nyström provide product support to Lindström.
“Our volumes of product development and customer specified projects have increased greatly over the past few years. The existing administrative systems were not sufficient to satisfy our growing needs,” said Taru Jokinen, product concept manager at Lindström.
“Previously, the systems were not compatible with one another, as information had to be transmitted manually between systems. This was extremely time consuming, and the possibility for errors was substantial,” said Jokinen.
At Lindström, delivering great customer service is a priority. “As we operate in many countries, we must diligently react and respond quickly to our customers’ needs. YuniquePLM has supported this objective, helping Lindström to unify and streamline their processes,” Jokinen said.
“We have been able to create a standardized process enabling daily tasks to be run quickly, consistently and with improved flexibility,” he said. “The system enables us to manage our products and our collections throughout their entire lifecycle. YuniquePLM is now used by all of our teams and partners.”
“In collaboration with our partner ACG Nyström, we are happy to have Lindström join our family of YuniquePLM software users,” said Bill Brewster, vice president and general manager, Enterprise SW Solutions. “We are confident that YuniquePLM will help Lindström streamline their systems and accommodate their growth.”
GREENVILLE, S.C. — March 16, 2016 — The Greenville Area Development Corp. (GADC), the county-chartered organization tasked with promoting and enhancing the economic growth of Greenville County, has announced that Fitesa Simpsonville Inc., a global leader and innovator in the design and manufacture of nonwoven fabric solutions for the global hygiene market, will further expand its existing facility in Greenville County to increase production capacity. The $52,000,000 investment is expected to create an additional 38 jobs over the next five years.
Established in 1973, Fitesa primarily serves the hygiene, medical and industrial markets. Its products provide a variety of physical and aesthetic properties, including softness, strength, abrasion resistance and sustainability. The company’s Simpsonville facility, which was opened in 1990, represents one of the company’s eleven plants located across eight countries worldwide.
To expand its Simpsonville operations, which are located at 840 Southeast Main Street, Fitesa is adding 20,000 square-feet to the existing facility. The company will be making infrastructure improvements and adding equipment to increase production of spunmelt fabrics.
“Our mission is to be the preferred choice for the supply of nonwoven fabrics to the global hygiene industry, and to deliver high quality products with exceptional service and sustainable processes. We are pleased to continue to grow our operations here and appreciate the support of Greenville County in making this announcement a reality.” -Fitesa Simpsonville Global Marketing Director Ray Dunleavy
“It’s another great day in South Carolina as we celebrate Fitesa and its decision to expand in Greenville County. With global headquarters already established in the Upstate, this $52 million expansion and the 38 new jobs it will create further show Fitesa’s fantastic commitment to our state and our people.” -Gov. Nikki Haley
“South Carolina’s robust manufacturing industry continues to drive economic success in our state, and today’s announcement from Fitesa is a testament to that. I’m excited to see what our loyal, world-class workforce will achieve with this expansion in the months and years to come.” -Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt
“Fitesa has been an integral manufacturing partner within the Greenville community for almost 30 years. The company’s growth and continued expansion are a true testament to the County’s workforce and collaborative spirit.” -Greenville County Council Chairman Dr. Bob Taylor
The company expects the improvements to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017, and hiring for the new positions will begin in the spring of 2017.
Posted March 16, 2016
Source: The Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC)
COLOGNE/BOCHUM, Germany & NEW YORK CITY — March 2016 — GALERIA Kaufhof, one of Europe’s leading multichannel retailers, will intensify its sustainability initiatives and supports this by implementing advanced supply chain solutions from Setlog. The cloud-based OSCA® Supply Chain Management, Vendor & Compliance Management, and Quality Control solutions promise to help the company gain even greater transparency of its value chains. The new solution will link information about suppliers and factories with articles to increase visibility and facilitate compliance with quality and social standards.
Marion Sollbach, head of sustainability GALERIA Kaufhof, explains: “With the help of OSCA we will be able to understand better under which social and ecological conditions our private labels are produced. The portal enhances transparency in our supply chain and enables us to control the compliance of our requirements of products and suppliers even better – also for the benefit of our customers.”
While the future of wearable tech and smart fabrics is undoubtedly exciting, style and comfort will be key for the discerning consumer.
Sponsored by Nilit
There was a time when a hulking, boxy off-white computer that weighed 50 pounds was considered advanced technology. And who can forget Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street, talking into a cell phone the size of a cinder block?
Today, every new laptop has to be lighter than the last, every new tablet sleeker. Even smartphones, with their ultra-thin designs and endless array of cases and covers, are fashion accessories, practically an extension of a person’s outfit. It’s no longer simply about having tech. It’s about having the best tech, the most stylish design, and the most seamless integration into users’ lives. Consumers aren’t willing to compromise, and companies like Apple have built empires catering to those high expectations.
There is very little doubt that wearable tech is the next frontier in apparel, and when it comes to things like athletic garments that measure heart rate and denim jackets that can control a smartphone, that three-pronged focus on technology, design and usability is going to be more important than ever. That means that fabric makers will need to develop an innovative approach to e-textiles, or the fabrics used in conjunction with the electronics in these garments, combining fashion and function.
So what will it take to be successful in e-textiles?
The future around the corner (Source: Shutterstock)
Big things on the horizon
If there’s any doubt about how major the wearable tech market is going to become, consider the collaboration between Google and Levi’s. In Project Jacquard, the two Bay area companies are pairing up to produce fabrics that can conduct electricity, with the ultimate goal of enabling touch and gesture interactivity. In other words, being able to make a call with your smartphone by touching your pants, or turning on your speakers with the flick of a wrist.
If you’re thinking it’s going to be a while before you’re firing up the coffeemaker by dancing into the kitchen, you might be right. But the e-textile revolution in athletic performance garments is already underway.
Performance garments that collect biometric data and transmit it to a computing device available to a coach or trainer are a natural successor to the integral but cumbersome heart rate monitors already being worn by many professional teams.
The German men’s national soccer team captured the 2014 FIFA World Cup wearing smart jerseys designed by Adidas. These jerseys are the result of a collaboration between the Adidas miCoach system and integrated performance training company EXOS. By tracking players’ performance metrics — distance, speed, acceleration, power and heart rate — Germany’s coaches were able plan future practices and workouts in order to make improvements in necessary categories, and to use players strategically during games according to their individual skills.
In the United States, several NBA teams have begun testing OptimEye, a device made by Australian company Catapult Sports. OptimEye is embedded into a jersey between the shoulder blades and collects data on a player’s velocity, distance, acceleration, deceleration, jump height, heart rate and more.
With the way the average exerciser or casual athlete has been able to adopt the sweat-wicking, body-cooling, anti-bacterial performance garments worn by the pros, it was only a matter of time before performance garments complete with technology like heart rate monitors and satellite tracking became available for amateur athletes as well. Ralph Lauren sells its PoloTech compression workout shirt (developed with Canadian company OnSignal), a fashionable garment that tracks the wearer’s heart rate, breathing depth, stress levels, balance, calories burned, and other metrics.
Montreal-based Hexoskin has developed a smart shirt for runners and other athletes that, when connect to an app-driven device, measures heart rate, breathing, steps, pace and calories. The women’s version has a built-in shelf bra for added support and comfort. A version of the shirt is reportedly being used by the police in Dubai to monitor first responder health.
German firm Wearable Life Sciences has developed the Antelope suit, activewear embedded with electro-muscle stimulation technology steered by a smart phone app that it claims not only measures body’s data but activates it, making workouts more productive and effective.
Sensoria, based in Redmond, Washington, makes fitness socks with embedded pressure sensors that monitor running form and performance, providing real-time feedback of foot landing and cadence. They even tell their running-obsessed wearers when it’s time to change or replace their running shoes!
Started with sport and “quantified self” but definitely not finished there (Source: Shutterstock)
What The Success Of High-Tech Textiles Requires
The idea of wearing clothing embedded with technology is undeniably cool, but on its own that is by no means a guarantee that e-textiles or smart garments are going to be big sellers. Not only do these garments have to be technologically awesome, but they also have to be comfortable, stylish and functional, or neither the professional athlete nor the weekend warrior will be eager to wear them.
“For today’s consumer, technology is a given,” said Maria Teresa Sampedro of consumer and fashion trend forecasting firm Promostyl, who gave a talk on wearable tech at the Outdoor Retail show in Salt Lake City. “Style and aesthetics need to be there, or it’s a deal-breaker.”
Garment design and fabric development are key to producing e-textiles that look and feel good. The smartphone-controlling jeans from Google and Levi’s? They’re going to be made out of a revolutionary denim that looks like your favorite pair of 501s, with the conductive yarn woven into the fabric hidden from view. Similarly, smart athletic garments are going to have to retain all of the performance and tactile aesthetics that have become necessary.
Which goes a long way toward explaining why Ralph Lauren turned to nylon for his first foray into wearable tech, and why the Hexoskin smart shirt is made of an Italian nylon fabric. Nylon 6.6 — the most advanced form of nylon — is as valued for its feel as it is for its performance traits, which range from sweat-wicking and anti-bacterial features for endurance athletes to insulation for activities in cooler climates. Many wearable technology developers feel that nylon is actually a superior conductor. Often combined with a small amount of Lycra, another top performance fiber, nylon is also excellent at retaining its shape and effortlessly stretching and moving with the body of the wearer. The Antelope suit is made of a nylon/spandex compression fabric that holds the electrodes in just the right place to deliver the appropriate muscle stimulation.
Global Nylon 6.6 producer Nilit has created one of its newest products, Nilit® Breeze, with wearable tech in mind. Not only is Nilit® Breeze soft, lightweight and strong, but through a revolutionary and proprietary new fiber technology, it actually also keeps its wearers cool.
The combination of these futuristic features and sought after performance traits allows garment producers to sell these items at premium prices, which consumers are willing to pay because they’re getting garments that haven’t cut corners on performance, comfort or style.
Nilit Breeze cooling effect — eventually it must be comfort & style (Source: Nilit)
Integrating Tech With Textile, Not The Other Way Around
Because such importance is being placed on the look, feel and comfort level of smart garments, engineers and designers are dedicated to finding ways to integrate technology into existing fibers all while trying to design fibers that integrate with technology. As the technical program lead for Google’s Advanced Technology and Products group Ivan Poupyrev says, it isn’t so much about inventing a device or gadget as it is about creating something that can exist within the clothes we already wear.
Essentially, the future of clothing is e-textiles, and the future of clothing is a lot like the comfortable, functional and stylish stuff we’re already wearing. It just happens to have digital connectivity.
