Südwolle Group Acquires Italian Yarn Manufacturers Safil And GTI

NUREMBERG, Germany/Biella, Italy — October 19, 2015 — Südwolle Group, a leading global producer of worsted yarn for weaving, circular and flat knitting in pure wool and wool blends, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Safil S.p.A. as well as an 80% stake in Gruppo Tessile Industriale („GTI“) S.p.A., both Italian based worsted yarn manufacturers. The shares are being acquired from Finsavio S.p.A., a holding company for 100% of Safil shares and 50% of GTI shares, as well as from the founder and CEO of GTI, Alberto Frignani, who currently holds 50% of GTI shares. As a result from this transaction Mr. Frignani will remain a 20% shareholder in GTI and he will continue to lead GTI as CEO. Alberto and Cesare Savio, the sons of Safil founder Fernando Savio and owners of Finsavio S.p.A., will continue to support the future growth path of Safil as an individual unit under the umbrella of Südwolle Group: CEO Cesare Savio will continue to lead the company and CFO Alberto Savio will continue to advise the company. The parties agreed on confidentiality concerning financial details of the transaction.

With these complementary acquisitions, Südwolle Group enhances its product range and capability to address client needs in customized, fashion, luxury as well as non-apparel segments. Furthermore, the group will increase its footprint in the European and especially in the important Italian yarns market. Both Safil and GTI are established family businesses that currently generate the majority of their turnover in Italy. With the global reach and the financial strength of Südwolle Group as a reliable industrial partner, Safil and GTI will be able to enter their next phase of growth, expanding within and beyond Europe.

Südwolle Group: customized and volume yarn products for the needs of specific market segments
Based in Schwaig near Nuremberg, Germany, independent family owned Südwolle Group, whose roots date back to 1918, covers the complete yarn value chain from the sourcing of raw materials to treatment, spinning and dyeing. It has six principal brands: Südwolle (weaving yarns), Biella Yarn (flat knitting yarns), Yarn in Motion (circular knitting yarns especially for the outdoor sector and functional clothing), Richter (yarns for hosiery), Stöhr (yarns for technical applications, e.g. for automotive, upholstery and corporate) and Soey (Air Jet yarns). With production facilities in Germany, Poland, Romania and China, Südwolle Group employs more than 2,300 people worldwide. Südwolle Group combines a worldwide yarn spinning capacity of 21,000 tons p.a., a dyeing capacity of 8,000 tons p.a. and a wool top treatment capacity of 7,000 tons p.a. The products are ranging from large volume standard yarns to highly customized yarns.

Traditionally, Südwolle Group was focused on large volume orders of standard yarns. Over the past decades, the group has diversified its business model and branched out into customized yarn segments, developing into a one stop shop for its customers. In fiscal 2014, Südwolle Group posted revenues of € 340 million. With ca. 85% of revenues, the main customers of the group are suppliers to the apparel industry – both fashion and non-fashion, such as work wear. The other ca. 15% of revenues are generated with non-apparel products, such as yarns for seat covers for the automotive, airline, railway and furnishing industry.

Safil And GTI Form Perfect Strategic Fit With Südwolle Group
Safil, based in Gaglianico in Italy’s Biella province, is a renowned supplier of worsted yarns for knitwear (outwear, underwear, jersey), weaving (apparel and upholstery), hosiery, protection clothing and sportswear and has shown steady growth over the past years. While the company’s main customers are also suppliers to the clothing industry, it traditionally focuses on different, usually more customized segments than Südwolle Group as well as non-clothing segments. With approx. 700 employees and production facilities in Italy and Bulgaria with production space of almost 60,000 sqm, the company has a yearly spinning capacity of ca. 7,000 tons and a cone dyeing capacity of ca. 4,000 tons per year. In 2014, Safil posted revenues of more than € 90 million.

GTI, based in Verrone in Italy’s Biella province, develops, manufactures and commercializes worsted and woolen yarns for the weaving and knitwear industries, focusing on small productions of high-end yarns for suppliers to the luxury fashion industry. GTI has approx. 50 employees, a yearly spinning capacity of ca. 200 tons and production space of ca. 5,500 sqm. In 2014, GTI posted revenues of more than € 10 million.

Klaus Steger, CEO of Südwolle Group, said: “Safil and GTI are established players in their respective segments with significant international growth potential that we want to realize together with their experienced management teams. In line with our strategy to focus resources on our spinning businesses, increase our scope of products and expand our geographic reach, both firms are an excellent strategic fit for our business. Our clients will benefit from our group’s enhanced know-how and product offering in the global yarn market as well as our strengthened footprint in Europe and Italy. We look forward to working with Cesare and Alberto Savio and Alberto Frignani who share our commitment to quality as well as modern corporate governance and welcome them together with all Safil and GTI employees to the Südwolle Group.”

Cesare Savio, CEO and Managing Director of Safil, said: “Südwolle Group is an ideal strategic partner for Safil as it will enable our company to increase its global reach and access customers and sourcing facilities within Europe and beyond”. Alberto Frignani, CEO of GTI, added: “I am convinced that GTI, thanks to its new partner Südwolle Group, will be in an excellent position to develop its unique know-how in natural fibers and its product innovation potential, and I am excited to lead GTI in this new phase of its growth path”.

The closing of the transaction is expected within the coming weeks. Südwolle Group has been advised in the transaction by Deloitte Germany (due diligence & legal; Partners: Dr. Markus Niebler, Dr. Michael Fischer, Dr. Michela Pastorelli). Safil and GTI have been advised by K Finance – Clairfield International as financial advisor (Partners Giuseppe R. Grasso, Albert Schander), by Pedersoli & Associati as legal advisor (Partner Alessandro Marena) and by Deloitte Financial Advisory as advisor for the vendor due diligence (Partner Marco Bastasin).

Posted October 26, 2015

Source: Südwolle Group
 

Colordyne, LasX Europe Partner To Strengthen Digital Print And Finishing Solutions

BROOKFIELD, Wis./LANGENHAGEN, Germany — October 20, 2015 — Colordyne Technologies and LasX Europe GmbH have partnered to bring together complementary core strategies and a wide knowledge of the digital printing and finishing industries to offer stronger solutions.

The companies have been working together for the past five years in the Americas market offering the 3600 Series Laser Pro which makes use of LasX’s state of the art laser die cutting solutions. This year’s Labelexpo-Europe was the first time Colordyne and LasX Europe were represented as a partnership, exhibiting in a shared stand on the show floor.

Both companies have solidified efforts in the European, Middle Eastern and African markets, and in doing so have opened a shared demonstration center and sales office in Langenhagen, Germany, just north of Hannover. The new demonstration center and sales office will showcase the Colordyne 3600 Series Sprint and LasX’s Matrix digital label finishing system, and will serve as an outlet for customers to experience the technology firsthand and understand the value of digital printing and finishing offered by Colordyne and LasX Europe.

“It has been a group effort in the last few years to create and nurture such an important partnership in the industry,” said Gary Falconbridge, president, Colordyne. “It has been great to see both companies fortifying efforts to be an even more concrete competitor in the digital printing and packaging industry.”

“We are excited to be able to serve as home base for Colordyne’s EMEA outreach and look forward to mutually beneficial growth within the market with such a reliable and quality product line combination,” said Dirk Stünkel, managing director, LasX Europe.

Posted October 26, 2015

Source: Colordyne
 

Rieter: Structural Measures For Production At Winterthur Site

WINTERTHUR, Switzerland — October 20, 2015 — Over the past few years, the spinning industry continued to move to Asia. As a consequence, Rieter has made significant investments in China and India adding production capacities in these countries. On top, the appreciation of the Swiss Franc has also contributed to a change in the business environment.

In March this year, Rieter announced that it intends to streamline production in Winterthur (Switzerland) and reduce the amount of purchases in Swiss Francs. Both measures are being introduced in response to the changed business environment.

The proposed concept for the streamlining of production provides for Rieter to concentrate on the assembly of machinery in Winterthur and thus to discontinue machining and sheet metal operations there. The corresponding discontinued production is to be taken over by other Rieter sites and suppliers, while the remaining production is to be realized in a single building.

The machinery currently being produced in Winterthur should continue to be assembled and tested there. The concept provides for the continued provision of machinery of Swiss origin.

With the implementation of the two measures, a cost reduction of CHF 15 – 20 million should be achieved as of 2017. These proposed measures, being made in 2016, will lead to investments in the single-digit million Swiss Franc range.

In addition, Rieter has started to develop a concept for future land use at the Winterthur site.

The proposed concept entails a workforce reduction of around 150 full time equivalents at the Winterthur site. Moreover, there are to be 59 fewer temporary positions. The number of persons employed by Rieter in Winterthur totaled 855 at the end of September. Rieter foresees to minimize the number of potential layoffs through early retirement and fluctuation. Rieter has a social plan in place for potentially laid-off employees. The consultation process with the employee representatives starts today.

Pleasing Demand For After-sales Services And Components; Market For New Machinery Still At Low Level
At the end of September 2015, Rieter posted cumulative order intake of CHF 587.1million.

The CHF 68.2 million for orders received by the Components business group in the third quarter is especially pleasing. Also, the demand dynamics in the After Sales business group were favorable in the third quarter with order intake amounting to CHF 32.3 million.

The low demand for new machinery in the third quarter resulted in order intake totaling CHF 98.3 million at the Machines & Systems business group. Rieter will respond to the resulting lower utilization of the production capacity at the Winterthur site. Appropriate temporary working time adaptation measures are being planned.

Outlook For The Business Year 2015 Unchanged
The outlook for the business year 2015 as communicated on July 23rd, 2015, remains unchanged.

Posted October 26, 2015

Source: Rieter
 

World’s Leading Apparel Brands Combine Forces To Transform Global Labour Conditions

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — October 21, 2015 — A Social and Labour Convergence Project led by the world’s best known brands, retailers, industry groups and civil society was launched today with the aim of improving working conditions in apparel manufacturing across the world.

The project seeks to achieve real, sustainable change through the collective development of an industry-wide, standardised methodology for social and labour performance assessment in apparel and footwear supply chains. Through this, the industry believes that it will be able to significantly reduce the amount of money that it spends on duplicated auditing and invest the money saved in improving social welfare for millions of people employed in apparel manufacturing around the world.

This collaborative effort is being facilitated by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). Signatories to the public statement include Nike, H&M, VFc-Timberland, Levi Strauss & Co., PVH Corp., Target, Columbia Sportswear Co. and adidas, standard holding organisation WRAP, the non‐profit supply chain improvement experts SEDEX, NGO Solidaridad, auditing firms Bureau Veritas and SGS, the International Apparel Federation and many others stakeholders at all levels in the value chain. The signatories are keen to attract more supporters to join this collaborative effort.

Baptiste Carriere-Pradal, Vice-President Europe of SAC says: ““The industry, having heard the call from so many different stakeholders is convinced that the time has come to create greater alignment within the industry. We want to check less and act more: This initiative will accelerate a race to the top in social impacts within apparel and footwear manufacturing countries by shifting resources away from redundant and misaligned assessments to performance improvement and enhanced transparency. Convergence is the key to successfully increase transparency and to improve working conditions in global supply chains.”

Tobias Fischer Sustainability Manager H&M: “H&M strongly believes that the sustainability challenges we are facing in the textile supply chain requires joint efforts since all parties have a shared responsibility and have a stake in it. This was one of the key reasons H&M joined SAC as a founding member in 2010. When it comes to the social convergence group, specifically, we acknowledge the challenge to agree on a common standard. However, the industry has changed, the experiences from different initiatives (e.g. Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals, The Accord and Alliance in Bangladesh) show that the industry has taken significant steps forward and are willing to find joint solutions for a common good. H&M is therefore ready to support this project for a common social assessment in the apparel supply chain.”

Marieke Weerdesteijn from Solidaridad comments: “We warmly welcome the convergence project. According to the World Trade Organization, world exports in clothing and textiles reached nearly $800 billion in 2013. It is estimated that more than $1 billion annually is spent on social compliance audits in China alone. There is a lot of redundancy in social auditing. Dramatically reducing the number of audits by using one common assessment would allow for redirecting time and money towards improving working conditions in the apparel sector. The textile sector needs to focus more on continuous improvement rather than compliance.”

“As a company with a pioneering record on labor rights and a long history of industry collaboration, we welcome the opportunity to explore how to support more effective and efficient ways to raise labor standards in the apparel supply chain,” Michael Kobori, VP of Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co.

Jonathan Ivelaw-Chapman, CEO at Sedex:
“Since the birth of ethical sourcing in the apparel and footwear supply chain more than twenty years ago, there has been a proliferation of differing codes, audits, protocols and approaches as part of company efforts. This duplication and lack of convergence causes issues for the industry, drains suppliers’ resources and makes it difficult to benchmark their efforts. We hope that this new project will help drive convergence and encourage others to join us in this exciting collaboration.”

“Social and labour assessment convergence to get to “one assessment” is an often repeated request of Sedex members, especially manufacturers, which is why Sedex is delighted to be a part of this new project.”

The initiative, which follows the implementation of a successful framework on environment by the SAC, seeks to provide an answer to calls from the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and a number of European countries for a standardised, global approach.

Spokespeople from signatories including SAC, H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., Solidaridad and Columbia are available for interview on why they believe that the new framework is important and the benefits that it will have for both their businesses and apparel manufactures globally.

Posted October 26, 2015

Source: Sustainable Apparel Coalition
 

Hyosung To Launch creora® Fit² Technology In Denim With Pakistan-Based Soorty In November

SEOUL, Korea — October 19, 2015 — HYOSUNG, the largest global spandex producer with the creora® brand, will launch new creora Fit2 technology for extraordinary comfort and fit at Denim by PV November 18-19, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain.
 
creora Fit2 technology was developed to meet consumer demand for second skin fit with 360 degree comfort. The technology capitalizes on superior setting performance of creora spandex for 4-way stretch development with reduced shrinkage and better recovery. Bi-stretch denim with creora Fit2 technology offers more comfortable wear and a perfect silhouette.  

“For 2017, we see continued demand for super stretch denim for women and men. Today’s consumers expect denim to fit better and with more comfort” said Ria Stern, global marketing director. “We will be working with retailers and brands to promote creora Fit2 technology as it delivers on those consumer needs”.
 
Hyosung has partnered with Soorty of Pakistan to introduce a new collection utilizing this proprietary new technology.
 
“creora Fit2 technology has allowed us to create a new collection of 4-way stretch denim with higher stretch but without the typical warp shrinkage and instability issues.” said Levent Korkmzer, Soorty, the head of R&D. “The new collection is more affordable than previous 4-way stretch technology and therefore, more marketable. We are calling the collection Zumba to capitalize on today’s strong athleisure inspirations”

Posted October 26, 2015

Source: Creora
 

ICAC: Stable World Cotton Trade Expected In 2015-16

WASHINGTON — October 1, 2015 — World cotton imports are projected to remain unchanged at 7.6 million tons in 2015-16. While China is likely to remain the world’s largest importer in 2015-16, its imports are forecast to fall by 12 percent to 1.6 million tons.

This represents 30 percent of its peak volume of imports in 2011-12. In 2015, the Chinese government restricted imports to the minimum volume required by the World Trade Organization to encourage mills to purchase domestic cotton. In July and August 2015, it sold nearly 60,000 tons from its reserve, but still holds 11 million tons. Given the large volume of production and reserves, imports are likely to be restricted again in 2016.

Meanwhile, imports by other countries are expected to grow 4 percent to 5.8 million tons. Imports in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia, the next three largest importing countries, are all projected to grow in 2015-16. Bangladesh imports are forecast to increase 1 percent to 972,000 tons while Vietnam’s imports are forecast up 2 percent to 956,000 tons. After decreasing in 2013-14, Indonesia’s imports recovered 13 percent to 735,000 tons in 2014-15, and are expected to increase 6 percent to 782,000 tons in 2015-16. The United States is forecast to lead in export volume, although its exports are projected down 9 percent to 2.2 million tons due to a smaller volume of production in 2015-16. After declining 48 percent in 2014-15, India’s exports may recover 34 percent to 1.2 million tons. Exports in the next three largest exporting countries are likely to decrease due to reductions in their exportable surplus. Brazil’s exports are forecast down 10 percent to 766,000 tons, Uzbekistan’s down 5 percent to 565,000 tons and Australia’s down 10 percent to 467,000 tons.

World cotton area is projected to fall 7 percent to 31.1 million hectares in 2015-16 due to significantly lower cotton prices in 2014-15. As a result, world cotton production is expected to fall by 9 percent to 23.8 million tons. India’s cotton area is estimated down 5 percent to 11.6 million hectares, and production down 2 percent to 6.4 million tons. China’s cotton production is set to decline by 16 percent to 5.4 million tons due to a 12 percent reduction in area and a 5 percent decrease in the average yield as a result of unfavorable weather. After a 24 percent expansion in 2014-15, cotton area in the United States has receded 13 percent to 3.3 million hectares with production declining 11 percent to 3.2 million tons. Pakistan’s production is projected down 11 percent to 2.1 million.

World cotton consumption could grow 2 percent in 2015-16 to 25 million tons with consumption growth remaining flat or slowing in many countries compared with last season. Consumption in China, the largest cotton consuming country, is expected to remain flat in 2015-16 at 7.7 million tons. India’s consumption growth is expected to slow to 3 percent, reaching 5.6 million tons, while Pakistan’s consumption growth remains steady at 2 percent, reaching 2.6 million tons.

World Cotton Supply And Distribution

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16
changes from previous month
million tons million tons
Production 26.29 26.11 23.84 0.00 -0.08 0.14
Consumption 23.61 24.47 25.03 0.00 0.01 -0.02
Imports 8.65 7.58 7.62 0.00 -0.06 0.00
Exports 9.00 7.72 7.62 0.00 -0.18 0.00
Ending Stocks 20.31 21.79 20.62 0.00 0.04 0.20
Cotlook A Index 91 71 74*

* The price projection for 2015-16 is based on the ending stocks/consumption ratio in the world-less-China in 2013-14 (estimate), in 2014-15 (estimate) and in 2015/16 (projection), on the ratio of Chinese net imports to world imports in 2014-15 (estimate) and 2015-16 (projection). The price projection is the mid-point of the 95% confidence interval: 62 cts/lb to 89 cts/lb.

Posted October 23, 2015

Source: ICAC

The Rupp Report: New CEO For Uster Technologies

In between all the ITMA 2015 previews, and just in time to be the talk-of-the-town at ITMA in Milan, some news reached the desk of the Rupp Report: Switzerland-based Uster Technologies has announced a new chief executive. Its current CEO, Dr. Geoffrey Scott, plans to take an early retirement by April 2016. He will be succeeded by the company’s Head of Textile Technology Thomas Nasiou. “The announcement, emphasizes Uster’s foresight in formulating a succession plan for the leadership of the company into the future,” reports Uster.
 
Seamless Transition
In a very textile-like way, Uster reports this succession plan will be a “seamless transition” for the company and its customers. As is it most likely the case with Swiss companies, the handover was planned carefully. Scott has been Uster’s CEO for the past 16 years, and said regarding his chosen early retirement that: “Since the formation of Uster Technologies in 2003 following the first Management Buyout, we have been through some exciting and challenging times, including being publicly listed on the Swiss SIX Exchange. Furthermore we managed the company through the financial crisis, the investment and subsequent takeover by Toyota Industries and most recently the successful acquisition of Jossi Systems.”
 
A Consequent Move
“We have developed a profound focus on the needs of our customers,” Scott continued. “We are committed to providing the best solutions to help our customers with the many challenges they face in today’s demanding market environment. The work has been enjoyable, but demanding. It is time to slow down a little and to spend more time with my family. It is the right time to step back from the CEO role and hand over the leadership role to a ‘new set of hands.’ And I believe that now is an optimal time from the viewpoint of both the company and our customers. We have the ideal successor here already, so we can work towards a seamless transition for the future sustainability of the business.”
 
In-house Solution
The press release reports that, “The Board of Directors and Toyota Industries is pleased that the successor for the CEO has been found early and also with the decision of Dr Scott to remain as a Board member, giving continuity of support for the company.”
 
Thomas Nasiou, the new CEO will take over on April 1, 2016. As current head of textile technology and a member of the Executive Board, Uster said: “Thomas Nasiou has extensive experience of the textile industry, with the company’s customers, markets and the company. His experience has been gained working through the value chain from cotton farming, ginning, and spinning and through various roles in Uster. He has a detailed understanding of the needs of modern textile manufacturers.”
 
Greek Citizen
The designated CEO was born in 1970 and is a Greek citizen. He has lived in Switzerland since 2006, is married and has two children. He holds an MBA from Hellenic Management Association in Larissa, Greece. And what about a personal statement? “Learning is important for me,” said Nasiou. “That means learning from the customers, our collaborators and our colleagues. Only by applying that knowledge can I help our company to remain focused on quality and remain successful developing solutions that create value.”
 
From 1995 until 2006, Thomas Nasiou worked as a mill manager and head of quality control at Selected Textiles S.A., in Farsala, Greece. His special responsibilities covered customer support, optimization of production cost and quality, raw material management and liaison with cotton ginning firms. This professional background was the foundation of his expertise in quality-minded spinning. He joined Uster in 2006 as a Textile Technologist.
 
Head Of Textile Technology
In 2011, he was promoted to Head of Textile Technology and to be a member of the Uster Executive Board. Consequently, in 2014, Nasiou became a member of the Spinners’ Committee of the International Textile Machinery Federation ITMF.
 
Exiting CEO Geoffrey Scott said about Nasiou: “This background makes him uniquely qualified to take the next step as CEO. His deep textile expertise, knowledge and commitment to Uster and its long term strategy will ensure continuity and stability of the Uster business.”
 
Over the past few years, the Rupp Report has had the opportunity to meet Thomas Nasiou here and there. The author was always pleased to face a positive personality in terms of professionalism and personal emanation.

October 23, 2015

Loepfe Celebrates 60th Anniversary

WETZIKON, Switzerland — October 7, 2015 — In 1955, the two brothers Helmut and Erich Loepfe founded the Loepfe Brothers LTD. in Zurich. Technical innovations for the textile industry were the driving force behind the development of the company over the last six decades. Loepfe introduced weft feelers and weft stop motion – the first electronic sensors for looms at a time, when electronics itself was still in its infancy. The big success in weaving technology was transferred to the world of spinning. The first electronic yarn clearers and a data management system contributed to the success. In 1991 Loepfe developed the first yarn clearer YarnMaster, which was able to detect not only classic yarn defects but also foreign fibres as well as the first online classification of NSLT. The next breakthrough development was the online detection of yarn imperfections leading to an integrated laboratory. With the launch of the YarnMaster Zenit generation, the yarn clearers are now also able to clear synthetic foreign material like polypropylene. The YarnMaster Zenit+, which has been introduced in 2014, is the successor of the successful yarn clearer, offers an user-friendly 15.6 inch wide touch-screen, completely new graphical user interface with a dashboard view of top ten cuts, trends over the last few days, all these useful information at a glance. Today, Loepfe offers the new MillMaster TOP online data management system, which monitors and analyses the quality data from all Loepfe yarn clearers in a winding room in real-time. During the last six decades Loepfe gained a market leading position in electronic quality control in weaving and winding.

Loepfe employs approximately 150 staff in its headquarter in Wetzikon. The company is present in all major textile markets worldwide with agents and service partners. With its high percentage of research and development Loepfe plans to contribute substantially to future developments in the textile industry.

Posted October 23, 2015

Source: Loepfe Brothers Ltd.
 

New Graphene-coated “e-fabrics” Detect Noxious Gases

DAEJEON, Korea —October 12, 2015 — Scientists in Korea have developed wearable, graphene-coated fabrics that can detect dangerous gases present in the air, alerting the wearer by turning on an LED light.
 
The researchers, from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and Konkuk University in the Republic of Korea, coated cotton and polyester yarn with a nanoglue called bovine serum albumin (BSA). The yarns were then wrapped in graphene oxide sheets.
 
Graphene is an incredibly strong one-atom-thick layer of carbon, and is known for its excellent conductive properties of heat and electricity. The graphene sheets stuck very well to the nanoglue—so much so that further testing showed the fabrics retained their electrical conducting properties after 1,000 consecutive cycles of bending and straightening and ten washing tests with various chemical detergents. Finally, the graphene oxide yarns were exposed to a chemical reduction process, which involves the gaining of electrons.
 
The reduced-graphene-oxide-coated materials were found to be particularly sensitive to detecting nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant gas commonly found in vehicle exhaust that also results from fossil fuel combustion. Prolonged exposure to nitrogen dioxide can be dangerous to human health, causing many respiratory-related illnesses. Exposure of these specially-treated fabrics to nitrogen dioxide led to a change in the electrical resistance of the reduced graphene oxide.
 
The fabrics were so sensitive that 30 minutes of exposure to 0.25 parts per million of nitrogen dioxide (just under five times above the acceptable standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) elicited a response. The fabrics were three times as sensitive to nitrogen dioxide in air compared to another reduced graphene oxide sensor previously prepared on a flat material.
 
The new technology, according to the researchers, can be immediately adopted in related industries because the coating process is a simple one, making it suitable for mass production. It would allow outdoor wearers to receive relevant information about air quality. The materials could also be incorporated with air-purifying filters to act as “smart filters” that can both detect and filter harmful gas from air.
 
“This sensor can bring a significant change to our daily life since it was developed with flexible and widely used fibers, unlike the gas sensors invariably developed with the existing solid substrates,” says Dr. Hyung-Kun Lee, who led this research initiative. The study was published on June 4 in the online edition of Scientific Reports, a journal from the publishers of Nature.

Posted October 23, 2015

Source: ETRI/ResearchSEA
 

The Rupp Report: New CEO For Uster Technologies

In between all the ITMA 2015 previews, and just in time to be the talk-of-the-town at ITMA in Milan, some news reached the desk of the Rupp Report: Switzerland-based Uster Technologies has announced a new chief executive. Its current CEO, Dr. Geoffrey Scott, plans to take an early retirement by April 2016. He will be succeeded by the company’s Head of Textile Technology Thomas Nasiou. “The announcement, emphasizes Uster’s foresight in formulating a succession plan for the leadership of the company into the future,” reports Uster.
 
Seamless Transition
In a very textile-like way, Uster reports this succession plan will be a “seamless transition” for the company and its customers. As is it most likely the case with Swiss companies, the handover was planned carefully. Scott has been Uster’s CEO for the past 16 years, and said regarding his chosen early retirement that: “Since the formation of Uster Technologies in 2003 following the first Management Buyout, we have been through some exciting and challenging times, including being publicly listed on the Swiss SIX Exchange. Furthermore we managed the company through the financial crisis, the investment and subsequent takeover by Toyota Industries and most recently the successful acquisition of Jossi Systems.”
 
A Consequent Move
“We have developed a profound focus on the needs of our customers,” Scott continued. “We are committed to providing the best solutions to help our customers with the many challenges they face in today’s demanding market environment. The work has been enjoyable, but demanding. It is time to slow down a little and to spend more time with my family. It is the right time to step back from the CEO role and hand over the leadership role to a ‘new set of hands.’ And I believe that now is an optimal time from the viewpoint of both the company and our customers. We have the ideal successor here already, so we can work towards a seamless transition for the future sustainability of the business.”
 
In-house Solution
The press release reports that, “The Board of Directors and Toyota Industries is pleased that the successor for the CEO has been found early and also with the decision of Dr Scott to remain as a Board member, giving continuity of support for the company.”
 
Thomas Nasiou, the new CEO will take over on April 1, 2016. As current head of textile technology and a member of the Executive Board, Uster said: “Thomas Nasiou has extensive experience of the textile industry, with the company’s customers, markets and the company. His experience has been gained working through the value chain from cotton farming, ginning, and spinning and through various roles in Uster. He has a detailed understanding of the needs of modern textile manufacturers.”
 
Greek Citizen
The designated CEO was born in 1970 and is a Greek citizen. He has lived in Switzerland since 2006, is married and has two children. He holds an MBA from Hellenic Management Association in Larissa, Greece. And what about a personal statement? “Learning is important for me,” said Nasiou. “That means learning from the customers, our collaborators and our colleagues. Only by applying that knowledge can I help our company to remain focused on quality and remain successful developing solutions that create value.”
 
From 1995 until 2006, Thomas Nasiou worked as a mill manager and head of quality control at Selected Textiles S.A., in Farsala, Greece. His special responsibilities covered customer support, optimization of production cost and quality, raw material management and liaison with cotton ginning firms. This professional background was the foundation of his expertise in quality-minded spinning. He joined Uster in 2006 as a Textile Technologist.
 
Head Of Textile Technology
In 2011, he was promoted to Head of Textile Technology and to be a member of the Uster Executive Board. Consequently, in 2014, Nasiou became a member of the Spinners’ Committee of the International Textile Machinery Federation ITMF.
 
Exiting CEO Geoffrey Scott said about Nasiou: “This background makes him uniquely qualified to take the next step as CEO. His deep textile expertise, knowledge and commitment to Uster and its long term strategy will ensure continuity and stability of the Uster business.”
 
Over the past few years, the Rupp Report has had the opportunity to meet Thomas Nasiou here and there. The author was always pleased to face a positive personality in terms of professionalism and personal emanation.

October 19, 2015

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