Saurer Group Opens Production Facility In India

The Switzerland-based Saurer Group reports its new 85,000-square-meter manufacturing plant in India is now complete. The facility will produce Zinser and Texparts spinning technology, as well as function as a sourcing hub for the Saurer group and operate as a service station for some business units including Saurer Embroidery. The company plans an official inauguration ceremony in the near future.

According to Saurer, the plant will manufacture Zinser models 71 and 72 for conventional and compact spinning, in addition to Texparts weighing arms and high-speed spindles.

“The Indian market is one of the most important ring spinning markets in the world, and with the establishment of our new facility in Vadodara, we would be in a better position to cater to our customer needs,” said Dr. Martin Folini, CEO, Saurer Group.

“The Indian textile market is highly sophisticated with challenging customers,” said Ralph Knecht, general manager, Zinser Ring Spinning business unit. “The new project in India would allow us to blend German technology with Indian experience and provide our customers with the latest generation of world-class products combined with our passion for innovation and quality.”

September/October 2015

Textile World Innovation Forum 2015

Back for its second year, the Textile World Innovation Forum 2015 will be held December 1-3, 2015, at the Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel, Charlotte. The forum will begin at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1 and ends at noon on December 3.

The idea behind the single-track, high-level event is to help industry professionals — management personnel in engineering, processing, plant operations, research and development, and quality control — who are short on time, get a high-value dose of the latest and greatest developments across the full textile spectrum — process technologies, trends and quick insights into hot topics in the textile industry.

Feedback from 2014 forum attendees played directly into the development of this year’s program, as well as its relocation from Atlanta to Charlotte.

“Moving the event from Atlanta to Charlotte takes the event closer to the textile manufacturing community,” said Jim Borneman, editor in chief, Textile World. “We hope this new venue will make it easier for textile executives to travel to the event to ensure a large, diverse group of attendees. Last year’s participants were an interesting group of people curious about textiles, many of whom participate in product development for their various companies. The networking aspect of the event increases the value of the time invested.”


Atlanta hosted the inaugural Textile World Innovation Forum in 2014.

Conference Lineup
The staff of TW are working hard to line up speakers for the forum, and are well underway to assembling a high-quality, interesting group of presenters who will cover a broad range of issues related to innovation in the textile industry.

TW is happy to announce K.P. Reddy will kick off the conference on Tuesday. He has an interesting background in taking research, bringing it forward and commercializing advanced and cutting-edge technology.

As a general partner with CTW Venture Partners, Reddy invests in innovative start-ups; and as a managing advisor and founder with AMPIRIX — an analyst, research and consulting company — Reddy launches new products, directs innovative solutions and strategic acquisitions, and forges corporate relationships.

Reddy also is the CEO at Atlanta-based SoftWear Automation Inc., a company focused on bringing automation into the cut-and-sew world that has its origins with a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded research project at the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology. Since Reddy transitioned into his position as CEO, SoftWear Automation has secured an additional $3 million of funding and is poised to move into a bigger facility. The company expects to be the first supplier of fully automated production lines for robotic cutting and garment sewing, which is achieved through the use of patented intellectual property including sewing machine vision, robotics, and computing. According to the company, its technology could lead the conversion of a labor-intensive industry with annual imports of $100 billion to an industry that is capital-intensive and economical.

Other topics being considered for the forum include advanced weaving technologies, fiber innovations, composite developments, automotive textiles, advances in medical textile applications, smart textiles, and a presentation on “The State of the Technical Textiles Market in North America.”

In addition, two of the forum presentations will focus on technology highlights from the upcoming ITMA 2015 show in Milan, Italy. For those unable to attend the event in Milan, but still curious about technology advances on display at ITMA, two professors from the Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina State University will provide a snapshot of the most interesting technology innovations seen on the show floor.

As more information about the speakers becomes available, it will be posted on the Innovation Forum website and highlighted in the weekly TW e-newsletters.

Innovation Award
On Wednesday night from 6-8 p.m., the Innovation Forum will host the 2015 Textile World Innovation Award dinner honoring one company for its outstanding efforts and accomplishments in product invention and innovation.

The Quantum Group, Colfax, N.C., is this year’s recipient (see sidebar); and TW thanks the honored company in advance for providing the time, access and support necessary to tell the Quantum story.

TW hopes to see you in Charlotte at the 2015 Textile World Innovation Forum!

2015 Innovation Award Recipient: The Quantum Group

The Quantum Group, Colfax, N.C., is the 2015 Textile World Innovation Award recipient.

The company was founded in 1985 as a supplier of unique monofilament and multifilament yarns, and high-performance woven and knitted fabrics.

The Quantum Group, along with its four sister companies, was selected to receive the award because of the company’s commitment to innovation and incredible ability to solve client’s challenges, according to James M. Borneman, publisher of Textile World.

“The Quantum Group was founded with innovation at its very core,” said Borneman. “Quantum’s equipment, often heavily modified, allows for creative processes as a fully integrated manufacturer.”

Among many innovations, the company developed Pellicle® fabric for the Herman Miller Aeron chair, and provided the roof fabric for Wimbledon’s Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

The November/December 2015 issue of TW will feature the full Quantum Group story.

For more information and to register for the Textile World Innovation Forum, visit textileworldinnovationforum.com.

September/October 2015

Yarn Market: Production Continues To Expand

By Jim Phillips, Yarn Market Editor

With the demand for U.S.-produced fiber and yarn increasing, the industry is finally poised to grow again, after some four decades of decline.

It has been previously reported that several new yarn plants are under construction, and now DAK Americas has announced a significant increase in fiber capacity. The company recently reported: “… an increase in its polyester staple fiber (PSF) capacity of 230 million pounds per year to meet growing demand in the Americas. The new fiber capacity will be installed at DAK’s Pearl River site in Bay St. Louis, MS, with a project start-up in the second half of 2016.”

According to DAK, the project will create 86 new jobs, including “positions in operations, maintenance, technical and management.” DAK recently completed a PSF expansion at its Charleston facility, adding 27 million pounds per year of PSF capacity.

From 1997 until 2009, some 650 textile plants closed. “We finally got to the point a couple of years ago where we reached the equilibrium point,” said one industry observer. “We had reduced spindles to the point that our capacity roughly matched demand. Now, however, as more programs are beginning to move back, we are finding that we have too little capacity in some sectors.” In recent times, for example, companies in Brazil, Canada, China, Dubai, Great Britain, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Switzerland, as well as in the United States, have announced plans to open or expand textile plants in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

“The industry has been poised for growth for some time,” said one industry executive. “The key was for us to get off the roller coaster. We had such a long time where we would have great years followed by dreadful years. What we needed was just a period of long-term stability so that we could accurately assess what the real demand was. Providing something unexpected doesn’t derail this progress — and providing our government doesn’t give away the store in trade agreements — I think you will see a period of slow, but steady, growth in the U.S. industry.

Orders Expected To Stay Strong
A sustained period of stability is just what the industry has experienced for almost three years.

And that continues into the closing months of 2015. Ring-spun yarns are in high demand, as are a variety of polyester, blended and open-end yarns.

“It looks like the fourth quarter is going to be strong,” said one spinner. “We are in the middle of a very good run, and I just hope it continues.”

“If you don’t have your positions in ring spun, good luck to you,” said one yarn broker. “It is hard to come by, especially for smaller customers. And if you do find it, you are going to pay a premium.”

Cotton Remains In Low 60s
Part of the reason for the stability of the industry is that cotton prices have stabilized, hovering between 60 and 65 cents for some time. “Customers are confident at the moment that what they are buying will maintain its value,” said one observer. “It wasn’t that long ago that many customers were burned by buying product with very expensive cotton and then being unable to recoup their investment when the bottom fell out of the market.”

As of August 28, spot cotton quotations for the base quality of cotton —color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength 27.0-28.9, uniformity 81.0-81.9 — in the seven designated markets measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture averaged 61.30 cents per pound, down from 64.11 cents the previous week and 67.04 cents reported the corresponding period a year ago. Daily average quotations ranged from a high of 64.17 cents August 21, to a low of 59.61 cents August 26. Spot transactions reported in the Daily Spot Cotton Quotations for the week ended August 27 totaled 2,725 bales. This compares to 5,645 bales reported the previous week and 13,668 spot transactions reported the corresponding week a year ago. Total spot transactions for the season were 17,776 bales compared to 21,046 bales the corresponding week a year ago. The ICE October settlement prices ended the week at 63.83 cents, compared to 67.66 cents
the previous week.

September/October 2015

People

Switzerland-based Sanitized AG recently established Sanitized (USA) Inc., a new U.S. headquarters located in Charlotte, and named Scott Rosenzweig president.


Rosenzweig

The Netherlands-based DSM Dyneema has appointed Golnar Motahari Pour president.

Bill Blackstock was appointed corporate vice president for sales strategy for J+J Flooring Group, Dalton, Ga.

The Hong Kong-based strategic innovations research and development facility for Alvanon Inc. has promoted Kevin Campbell to chief technology officer and hired senior software developer Felix Lau.

Stephen Kerns was appointed president of Seattle-based Schoeller Textil USA, a subsidiary of Schoeller Textil AG, Switzerland.

Dr. Jennifer Seifert has joined TissueGen® Inc., Dallas, as senior scientist, and will lead the company’s spinal cord injury repair program.

Finland-based Ahlstrom Corp. has named Satu Perälampi vice president, communications.

Lance deJong has joined the sales team at Miller Weldmaster, Navarre, Ohio.


de Jong

Mount Holly, N.C.-based America & Efird LLC (A&E) has appointed Les Miller CEO following the recent retirement of Fred Jackson. Jackson will continue with A&E as non-executive chairman of the board.

Salt Lake City-based WWA Advisors LLC has partnered with Despina Papadopoulos to offer its clients expertise in the wearable technology sector.

E. Smyth McKissick III was elected chairman of the Clemson University Board of Trustees, Clemson, S.C.

Germany-based Autefa Solutions Germany GmbH has named Christian Egger CEO.

BondCote Corp. — a Heytex Group company based in Pulaski, Va. — has named James Doherty Southwest regional sales manager.

September/October 2015

Huntsman, Pantone Collaborate On Dye Palette

Singapore-based Huntsman Textile Effects has released 210 new dye formulations that were developed with input from Carlstadt, N.J.-based Pantone Inc. The new colors are based on Huntsman’s Avitera® SE reactive dyes, and extend the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors Color System®. According to Huntsman, the new formulations help designers and brands choose on-trend colors that also meet performance requirements and address environmental concerns. The 210 colors include pale, medium, dark, intense dark and brilliant shades, as well as deep black.

September/October 2015

Shaw Invests In Polyester, Nylon Production

Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw Industries Group Inc. reports it will invest a minimum of $45 million in its Lexington County, S.C., carpet fiber plant to add capacity for both polyester and nylon fiber. Shaw acquired the facility, which employs 290 people, from Honeywell International Inc. in 2005. The capacity increase will add 50 jobs.

The new polyester extrusion equipment to be installed during the fourth quarter of 2015 in Lexington County will process recycled plastic beverage bottles. Shaw currently recycles some 3 billion bottles annually at its joint-venture Clear Path Recycling facility in Fayetteville, N.C., and looks to expand its use of recycled materials, which are used in Shaw’s ClearTouch® residential carpet products.

“By continuing to invest in our people, processes and products, Shaw is able to provide a diverse  product mix, innovative design, and the greatest quality and service to our customers,” said Vance Bell, chairman and CEO, Shaw.

“This $45 million investment and plans to create more than 50 new jobs is terrific news for our manufacturing industry, Lexington County and our state as a whole,“ said South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. “We look forward to watching Shaw continue to grow here in South Carolina and around the world for many years to come.”

September/October 2015

Epson Launches New SureColor® F-Series Models

Long Beach, Calif.-based Epson America Inc. has introduced the next-generation SureColor® F-Series dye-sublimation transfer printers. There are three new models in the series — the 44-inch-wide Epson® SureColor F6200, and the 64-inch-wide F7200 and F9200 models.

All three printers utilize Epson UltraChrome® DS ink including the new high-density black ink for improved black density and ink efficiency.

The F9200 model also features dual Epson PrecisionCore® TFP® printheads, which offer high-speed, superior dot control and repeatable performance, among other features, according to the company.

September/October 2015

Invista, Aurizon Collaborate; NSA Acquires Tecgen® Brand

Invista, Wichita, Kan., will work with Aurizon Ultrasonics, Kimberly, Wis., to develop unique ultrasonic bonding equipment and novel stretch fibers for stretch laminates used in hygiene applications. The goal of the joint project is to improve the fit and comfort of hygiene products such as diapers by producing laminates without using hot melt elastic adhesives.

“Invista is excited to explore the combination of Aurizon’s cutting edge capabilities in ultrasonic bonding with our market leading research and development team that has delivered continuous innovations to our Lycra HyFit® offering,” said Scott Blackadar, global vice president, Invista.

In other company news, Invista Ashburn Hill LLC sold its Tecgen® brand of safety apparel to Cleveland-based National Safety Apparel (NSA). “The timing was good for National Safety Apparel to acquire the Tecgen brand assets,” said Anthony Green, global business director of FR Apparel, Invista. “Invista will continue to focus our capabilities on developing innovative technology based solutions for workwear, military and consumer applications where performance and protection create value for our customers.”

September/October 2015

Sawgrass Industrial Joins JK Group

Charleston, S.C.-based Sawgrass Group has sold Sawgrass Industrial — its industrial application sublimation and pigment inks division — to the Italy-based JK Group, which comprises Kiian Digital and J-Teck3. Sawgrass Industrial offers its portfolio of products, including SubliM and M-inks, mainly to customers in Europe and the Americas.

“Following the combination of Kiian Digital and J-Teck3 last year, the addition of Sawgrass Industrial takes the JK Group into a global leadership position in the digital sublimation sector and at the forefront of the textile pigment inks market development,” said Dennis Wilby, president, JK Group.

“Now that digital mass production is a reality for printing onto textiles, this is a perfect time to form a strong alliance to deliver on what was just a dream,” said Nathan Hale, CEO and founder, Sawgrass.

September/October 2015

Alexium Reports Sales

Australia-based Alexium International Group Ltd. reports Greenwood Mills Inc., Greenwood, S.C. — a manufacturer of woven goods including flame retardant (FR) finished fabrics — has selected its Alexiflam™ halogen-free FR treatment. Alexium anticipates an initial delivery in the third quarter of 2015 will be followed by ongoing deliveries of the FR treatment.

Alexium also will provide FR chemistry to Central Falls, R.I.-based Murdock Webbing Co., which will initially use the formulations for its FR stretch-webbing products. Alexium hopes Murdock also will extend use of the treatment into its rigid webbing products line.

September/October 2015

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