WINTERTHUR, Switzerland — March 15, 2016 — The Board of Directors of Rieter Holding AG has appointed Jan Siebert to Rieter’s Group Executive Committee, effective April 1, 2016. Siebert will be in charge of the Machines & Systems Business Group.

Siebert has been successfully managing capital goods businesses on an international stage for many years. Before joining Rieter he was CEO of Krauss Maffei Group, from 2012 to 2015. Between 2005 and 2011 he held various positions at GEA Group, where he had been in charge of the heat exchangers division. In addition to his business experience, he will bring his expertise to the table at Rieter’s R&D and Innovation Management.

He takes over as Head of the Machines & Systems Business Group, which is a position that was previously held by CEO Norbert Klapper since January 2014 on an interim basis.

Siebert was born in 1966, he is married, with three children and is a German national.

Posted March 15, 2016

Source: Rieter Holding AG

ANN ARBOR, Mich. and MASON, Ohio — March 15, 2016 — NSF Sustainability, a division of global public health organization NSF International, has certified Downlite to the Global Traceable Down Standard (Global TDS). Downlite, a major down and feather processor and supplier of responsibly-sourced performance fills to the outdoor, home furnishings and hospitality markets, is the first company certified to Global Traceable Down Standard. Certification to the standard enables an organization to demonstrate the down it processes is from farms that practice the highest levels of animal welfare and that the down is fully traceable throughout its supply chain.

Downlite is a supplier to outdoor apparel company Patagonia. Based on Patagonia’s commitment to animal welfare in its supply chain, it requires its down suppliers to be fully certified to the Global Traceable Down Standard, from parent farm to factory.  As a major supplier to Patagonia, Downlite responded quickly and achieved the first Global Traceable Down Standard certification.

“The Global Traceable Down Standard is extremely comprehensive, and Downlite stands behind it as we believe in the work we did to become certified,” said Chad Altbaier, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Downlite. “Downlite understands our role as influencers to our supply chains to instill the behaviors we need to provide more responsibly sourced down. This is a course of action and not just a single certification event.  Through this Global Traceable Down Standard certification process, we have improved animal welfare practices throughout our global supply chain.”

The Global TDS is an industry-wide standard for brands and manufacturers that want to source down responsibly. The rigorous criteria include on-site audits to confirm full traceability of down from parent farm to final product manufacture and to verify the ethical treatment of birds throughout their lifecycle from the parent farm to slaughterhouse.

“It’s impressive to see a major down supplier commit to the Global Traceable Down Standard, the highest level of animal welfare and traceability protection in the world,” said Cara Chacon, Senior Director for Social & Environmental Responsibility at Patagonia. “We applaud Downlite’s strong efforts to improve the lives of geese and ducks in the meat industry.”

NSF’s Global Traceable Down Standard goes beyond other existing programs, which start at the hatchery, and extends animal welfare procedures to parent farms where animals typically live for at least four years and would be at greatest risk for live plucking. No other down standard ensures animal welfare and protection from practices such as live bird plucking to increase down yield or force feeding birds for foie gras production.

Traceability audits ensure compliant down and feather material is fully documented as the only material used in finished goods. All organizations handling the down are also audited to verify they have good management systems to keep the sustainably-sourced down segregated from conventionally-sourced down.

“NSF International is proud that Downlite, an organization with a reputation for stewardship, has earned certification to the Global Traceable Down Standard,” said Jenny Oorbeck, General Manager for NSF Sustainability. “Downlite worked closely with its supply chain to integrate the standard and report on its accomplishments. Certification to NSF International’s Global Traceable Down Standard shows the commitment Downlite has made to animal welfare and traceability to provide its customers, and eventually consumers, the most responsibly-sourced down products on the market.”

The Global TDS was developed in a consensus-based process in partnership with stakeholders from industry (including down processors such as Downlite), manufacturers, retailers, animal welfare groups (such as Four Paws International), trade associations and other non-governmental organizations. These key groups developed, defined and agreed to the criteria for the final standard.

All companies that use down are encouraged to adopt the Global Traceable Down Standard to set the highest bar possible for animal welfare.

Posted March 15, 2016

Source: NSF International

CHICAGO, Ill. — March 14, 2016 — drupa 2016, an international trade fair for print and cross-media solutions, will soon start with a new strategic focus, improved scheduling over 11 days, a new look and shorter frequency — held every 3 years. With the motto “touch the future” drupa will highlight the industry’s innovative power and provide a platform for future technologies. The focus will especially be on next-generation with themes such as print, packaging production, multichannel, 3-D printing, functional printing and green printing. The event will take place from May 31-June 10, 2016, at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

“With this strategic reorientation and its focus on future and highlight themes we are obviously on the right track. Because the response of international upstream suppliers to the industry has been very good – which was not a given in view of the difficult market environment,” explained Werner M. Dornscheidt, president & CEO, Messe Düsseldorf. Some 1,650 exhibitors from over 50 countries will impressively prove the versatility and innovative power of their sector in all 19 exhibition halls. “International global players and market leaders will present themselves alongside aspiring newcomers and innovative companies from throughout the world. The complete spectrum of print and cross-media exhibits and topics will be represented. Such a comprehensive 360° view of the entire industry is provided by nobody but drupa,” underlined Werner M. Dornscheidt.

According to Claus Bolza-Schünemann, Chairman of the drupa Committee and Chairman of the Board at Koenig & Bauer AG, the mega trend at drupa 2016 will be Print 4.0: “Print 4.0 enables individualization and personalization in digital printing. In view of high-quality packaging and the rapidly diversifying range of solutions in industrial and functional printing this digital networking of machines and systems offers the solution and guarantee for efficiency and competitiveness. Print 4.0 is the mega trend at drupa 2016. This is very clear even at this early stage.”

Added Value: Technical Ancillary Events
The program of accompanying technical events — including the drupa innovation park, drupa cube, the brands PEPSO (Printed Electronics Products and Solutions), 3D fab + print and “touchpoint packaging” — is a substantial enhancement offering target visitor groups added benefits.

One of the most important highlight themes at drupa 2016 will be packaging production. According to current forecasts, the packaging market will grow to $ 985 billion by 2018. The dedicated Special Show “touchpoint packaging” consisting of some 20 participating exhibitors, will reflect the relevance of this market. This special forum in Hall 12 (Stand B53) has been designed and organized in close cooperation with the european packaging design association (epda), Europe’s leading association of brand and packaging agencies. To cater even better to the special needs of the various user industries, “touchpoint packaging” is divided into four “future labs”: “food & beverage”, “non-food”, “pharma” and “cosmetics”.

Another highlight theme at drupa 2016 will be 3D printing. The potential of these additive manufacturing technologies for any vertical markets should not be underestimated. “The spare parts business in mechanical engineering or packaging design offer particularly great opportunities for machinery producers and users but also for print service providers,” said Sabine Geldermann, Director of drupa. The touchpoint 3D fab+print featured in Hall 7A (Stand C41) will reflect this spectrum. As part of this special show, the latest technical developments will be presented as well as visions and examples of best-practice. Technology suppliers & users, exhibitors & visitors, visionaries & practitioners can all meet there for dialogue and drive this exciting subject forward.

Another major future theme at drupa 2016 will be functional printing. Across the globe there are many application examples for printed electronics. Touch sensors on furniture surfaces, Bluetooth loudspeakers made from paper or conductive inks are no longer science fiction due to innovative printing technology. drupa 2016 will pick up on this highlight theme at several points:

1. Under the PEPSO brands, various exhibitors will showcase developments on the theme of Printed Electronics Products and Solutions.
2. The OE-A (Organic Electronics Association) will cover the topic with its members at “dip” (Hall 7.0).
3. ESMA – the European Association for Screenprinting, Digitial and Flexoprinting Technologies, will address this issue with a program in Hall 6 (Stand C02) and Hall 3 (Stand A70).
4. VDMA – German Engineering Federation will offer a number of activities at its “Showcase Industrial Printing” (Hall 7A, Stand B13).

Impulse-generating innovations and business case studies for process-driven print and publishing solutions will be center stage at drupa innovation park, where young companies and start-ups as well as global players will present pioneering solutions. The “dip” in Hall 7.0 will offer visitors the possibility to explore trend-setting innovations, solutions and business case studies on an easy-to-manage area. Presentations, lectures and interviews at the “dip energy lounge” will round off the ranges displayed by about 130 exhibitors.

The drupa cube will have a new approach with the heading “Entertaining, Educating, Engaging”. This event and congress program (Hall 6, Stand D03) will concentrate on the innovative power of printing and the multi-faceted possible applications of printed products across a multitude of industries and spheres of life. The organizers were able to enlist the multi-national The Medici Group as an innovation partner. Its founder and CEO Frans Johansson was quite a sensation with his 2004 book “The Medici Effect” and has been associated with thinking and acting out of the box, known since then as the “out-of-the-box principle”. In addition to two keynotes on May 31 and June 2 the agenda will consist of some 40 lectures by international experts.

Opening times for drupa 2016 will be from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on week days and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekends. 1-day tickets cost Euro 45 online and Euro 65 on show site. 3-day tickets are available online for Euro 120 (Euro 175 on show site) while 5-day tickets are Euro 190 (Euro 290 on show site). drupa tickets include free use of all public transportation within the Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) and Rhein-Sieg (VRS) networks to and from the fairgrounds (on non-supplement trains, 2nd class).

Posted March 14, 2016

Source: Messe Düsseldorf North America

CLITHEROE, United Kingdom — March 14, 2016  — Following significant research and development, Pertex® is now able to offer an extensive range of non-perfluorocarbon (PFC) Durable Water Repellency (DWR) fabrics that have performance characteristics similar to conventional DWR finished fabrics.

Pertex acknowledges that the use of PFC-based water repellent finishes has a negative environmental impact and as such, it has completely eliminated long-chain (C8) PFC chemistry from its products, moving to a less harmful short-chain (c6) alternative.

“For over five years, we have been supplying fabrics with non-PFC DWR to select brand partners and with that expertise and experience, we are confident that we can achieve performance at a similar level to conventional DWR,” said Steve Laycock, Pertex Brand Director.

According to Laycock, it is clear that there are barriers to overcome in order to make a complete move-away from PFC-based DWR. A key issue still to resolve is that dirt and stain repellency of non-PFC DWR finishes remains less effective than that of a conventional PFC based DWR – possibly affecting the garment lifespan.

“We are committed to further expanding our range of non-PFC products through the continued development of new and existing non-PFC DWR technologies, with the ultimate goal of delivering fabrics with long-lasting performance with minimal impact upon the environment,” said Laycock.

Posted March 14, 2016

Source: Pertex®