Kelheim Fibres Develops Static Dissipative Viscose Fiber

KELHEIM, Germany — September 29, 2016 — By developing a viscose fiber which provides static dissipation, Kelheim Fibres broadens its already comprehensive range of speciality viscose fibers.

The black fiber receives its specific properties by the incorporation of electrically conductive additives into the fiber’s core. As a result, the functional additives are evenly distributed in the whole fiber, while at the same time the typical properties of the viscose fiber — as for example its high absorbency — are preserved.

First tests with these fibers that have been successfully produced on a laboratory scale have shown a significant increase of the fibers’ electrical conductivity in comparison to a standard viscose fiber. Depending on requirements, Kelheim Fibers can produce fibers in the middle conductivity range from about 10-4 S/m to 0.1 S/m.

The functionalized fiber could be used in protective work wear for electrostatic discharge, for the protection of electronic components or humans.

Used as humidity sensor — wherever an immediate detection of moisture is required — this dissipative fiber offers a significant advantage.

Here, the fibers could be used in completely different applications: in bed pads for the health and care sector as well as in roof linings that detect possible leakages.
When the fibers absorb moisture, they swell, which leads to a decrease of their electric conductivity. When water is stored in the fiber’s matrix, the conductive pathways of the additives are interrupted. The change in conductivity depending on the fiber’s moisture is reversible.

Customers will decide the next step of the journey of the static dissipative fiber. Dr. Nina Köhne, R&D project manager at Kelheim Fibres: “This topic is as fascinating as it is wide – up until now, we have created a strong foundation. Depending on the market’s requirements, the future way of the functionalized fiber can lead in different directions. From now on it is important to follow the specific demands of our customers and of different applications in the further development of the fiber.”

Posted September 29, 2016

Source: Kelheim Fibres

The Dixie Group Announces Masland Contract President

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Sept. 15, 2016 — The Dixie Group Inc. today announced the promotion of E. David Hobbs to serve as President, Masland Contract to replace V. Lee Martin, who resigned effective September 15, 2016.

In making the announcement, Dan Frierson, the Company’s CEO and Chairman of the Board, stated: “We are pleased to announce the promotion of David Hobbs to President of Masland Contract. David has most recently served as Executive Vice President of Operations for Masland Contract, and in that capacity has overseen significant improvement in our carpet and tile manufacturing operations, and improved service levels to our contract customers. Prior to joining The Dixie Group in August 2012, David served as President of Interface Americas in La Grange, Georgia.”

Posted September 29, 2016

Source: The Dixie Group, Inc.

ITMA Asia + CITME 2016 Exhibitor Preview: Oerlikon Manmade Fibers

REMSCHEID, Germany/NEUMUENSTER, Germany/SHANGHAI — September 27, 2016 — With numerous innovations, the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment will present at the ITMA Asia + CITME between October 21 and 25, 2016, at the new National Exhibition Center China (NECC) in Shanghai in hall 2, booth A16 – in line with its leitmotif: ‘From Melt to Yarn, Fibers and Nonwovens’.

The primary focus is on the innovative Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Industrie 4.0 system control and customer services solutions. With new features and offerings for the intelligent ‘POC – Plant Operation Center 4.0’ system control software, producers can now maintain a constant overview of all processes – from the polycondensation, spinning and texturing all the way through to downstream further processing procedures. This helps clients increase the productivity of their systems, save energy and deploy resources efficiently. Oerlikon already shows manufacturers how they can optimize the production processes of the future – ‘The Future is Now’.

Industrie 4.0 solutions blazing a trail

Using virtual reality presentation, augmented reality solutions with the recently-launched Microsoft HoloLens IT development for ‘predictive maintenance’ concepts and virtual 360-degree tours through spinning plants, visitors to the trade fair will be offered everything that state-of-the-art technology makes possible today. Linked to future-oriented service and automation solutions, Oerlikon wants to prepare its customers for the future of manmade fiber production. The fact that this will ultimately result in improved yarn quality goes without saying for the market leader, along with offering environmentally-compatible and sustainable production processes. Here, the segment will be presenting its e-save initiative for the 12th year in succession and showcasing new recycling solutions – ‘From shredded PET to value add’.

Oerlikon Barmag exhibiting a dozen innovations

The Oerlikon Manmade Fiber segment comprises two brands – Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag. With its many years of expertise in complex production systems engineering, Oerlikon Barmag – which focuses on CP, POY, FDY, DTY, industrial yarn (IDY) as well as tape and monofilament products and services – alone will be presenting 12 new manmade fiber spinning solutions at the trade fair.

A new addition to the WINGS POY and FDY family

The WINGS POY family now has a further new member, now also including the WINGS POY HD available for processing high titers. With its expanded godet system, the new winder has been designed especially for the requirements of high yarn titers of up to 500den polyester POY. In conjunction with the EvoQuench radial quenching system, microfilament yarns with high titer ranges can now also be manufactured with outstanding properties.

Combined with the eAFK texturing machine – also designed for high titers – Oerlikon Barmag therefore offers a total ‘From Melt to Draw Textured Yarn’ concept that produces polyester DTY with up to 450den in accustomed Oerlikon Barmag DTY quality.

WINGS FDY PLUS eco

Since its market launch in 2010, the WINGS concept for FDY processing has successfully established itself on the market with a total of more than 4,000 installed spinning positions across the globe. Also being unveiled at the trade fair are ‘specialists’ for semi-dull and trilobal bright (WINGS FDY SD / WINGS FDY BR) tailored to the specific requirements of customers. We will also showcase at the trade fair the flexible WINGS FDY PLUS and WINGS FDY PLUS eco variant for a broader application window. Depending on the individual requirements, Oerlikon Barmag now offers the perfect, commercially-attractive solution.

Revolution: EvoQuench now also for polyamide processing

The EvoQuench radial quenching system – the core component within the polyester microfiber spinning process – has expanded its process window: EvoQuench is now also newly available for polyamide processing. With this development, Oerlikon Barmag is the first-ever supplier of systems for high-quality polyamide 6 micro-titers both for the POY and the FDY processes.

eAFK HQ – texturing in a new dimension

With the eAFK HQ, Oerlikon Barmag will be presenting the world’s most productive automatic texturing machine at the ITMA Asia + CITME. Furthermore, the new eAFK HQ simultaneously excels as a result of its extremely space-saving construction. With this, customers are able to texture their products in the tried-and-tested quality, assured by Oerlikon Barmag, on a machine with the smallest space requirements in the DTY market. At the same time, they benefit from the 50% increase in productivity offered by the eAFK HQ compared to other texturing machines supplied by competitors.

The eAFK HQ is designed with 12 sections, each with 48 positions. Compared to the eAFK machine – with more than 1,000 successful installations worldwide – a fourth level in the winding unit of the eAFK HQ increases the capacity of the machine to 576 positions – a world record! And all this with simultaneously considerably reduced energy consumption. The newly-developed compact block heater lowers energy costs by reducing the radiated heat loss. With the highest level of precision, the new ATT traverse system ensures excellent package build.

Industrial textiles becoming increasingly popular

For the industrial textiles growth market, Oerlikon Barmag will be unveiling its latest developments for the production of yarns used in airbags, safety belts and tire cord. Here, the focus will, above all, be on polyamide 6 and polyamide 6.6 solutions. However, the very latest process and machine solutions will also be unveiled for polyester applications – for low shrinkage and high tenacity yarns, among others.

Special winders for carbon fibers and aramid

Furthermore, Oerlikon Barmag will be offering information on its winder portfolio for system modernizations and on the numerous special yarn winders for processing high-tenacity yarns, carbon fibers and aramid.

Oerlikon Neumag presents its expanded portfolio

For the first time since the announcement of the takeover of the Trützschler synthetic staple fiber technologies, Oerlikon Neumag will now be presenting its fully-comprehensive staple fiber production plant portfolio as the leading supplier of technologies and plants within the global staple fiber market. Customers benefit from the best technology and process solutions for their specific requirements – for high-quality fibers from a single source.

Two new solutions for meltblown production

For the nonwovens (spunbond, meltblown and airlaid) sector, Oerlikon Neumag will be premiering two further innovations: the new, multifunctional forming table for the Oerlikon Neumag meltblown systems is characterized by its considerably reduced footprint. The resulting shortened wire length reduces maintenance costs. It is horizontally movable, multiply-segmented and offers individually-adjustable suction boxes. This enables extremely flexible formation and hence increased product diversity.

The FAUS operating unit for automating meltblown systems ensures an increase in both their productivity and reliability. Five different modes of operation with a total of eight different programs guarantee that future meltblown nonwovens can be manufactured even more efficiently.

BCF solution: energy savings of up to 50%

With its BCF systems, the three-end S+ and the single-end Sytec One, Oerlikon Neumag fully covers all requirements of internationally-active carpet yarn manufacturers. While the S+ is a convincing solution for commercial applications, the Sytec One is particularly good for demanding production processes due to its monofilament character. Both system types can be equipped with the RoTac tangling unit. Depending on the yarn type, the compressed air consumption is reduced by up to 50% compared to conventional tangling units to ensure energy-efficient production.

Posted September 27, 2016

Source: Oerlikon 

Alexium International Announces New Sales Contract With U.S.-Based Apparel Leader

PERTH, Australia/GREER, S.C. — September 26, 2016 — Alexium International Group Limited today announced an agreement with a household apparel company to augment the manufacturer’s wicking and antimicrobial technology with Alexium’s innovative Alexicool™ chemistry — an environmentally friendly, phase change material solution that gives fabrics a cool-to-the-touch feel.

The U.S.-based company has identified Alexium as a performance solutions supplier for more than five brands of inner wear and outer wear apparel over the next two years, and will be working with Alexium to qualify the use of Alexicool™ with various fabric types in two U. S. plants, followed by expansion to global production facilities.

“Our new client is a major international player in the apparel industry, and we were able to reach this agreement in just over three months after introducing our products to the company,” said Vice President of Sales Michael Schwartz. “That’s a strong sign that Alexium has moved from being on the edge of a trend to a recognized mainstream standard for innovative, environmentally friendly chemistries.”

Alexium and the manufacturer are collaborating on Alexicool™ applications for more than a dozen fabric types and blends, with more application opportunities being presented each week, according to Schwartz.

“Given our extensive knowledge of our award winning chemistries, we are able to customize formulas for a range of different fabrics which meets a key criterion for many customers when dealing with innovative technologies,” he added.

Posted September 27, 2016

Source: Alexium International Group Ltd.

RISE® Conference 2017 Seeks Abstracts

CARY, N.C. — September 27, 2016 — INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has issued a call for papers for the seventh annual RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics) Conference to be held September 12-14, 2017, at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina USA. RISE 2017 will feature two-and-a-half insightful days of game-changing, pioneering research and science.

RISE 2016 explored futuristic technologies, concepts, and ideas that offered innovative solutions for current industry needs. The exceptional program content included making lighter weight, economic, and sustainable nonwovens from eucalyptus and milkweed materials; rebuilding fibers and fabrics with leading edge self-healing bio-formation structures; and discerning insights into disposable technology for advanced durable applications.

For RISE 2017, professionals are encouraged to submit their innovative, technical abstracts by January 31, 2017 for the opportunity to gain recognition for their work from the industry, potential partners, and customers. Topics currently under consideration are:

Raw Materials

  • Developments in polymer technology
  • Sustainable materials development, or novel uses of existing renewables
  • Fiber development or utilization
  • Nano- and micro-fiber innovations
  • Peripheral material technologies such as elastomeric materials, films, adhesives
  • Market dynamics

Equipment and Processing

  • New processing technologies
  • Novel processing techniques or combinations thereof
  • New or novel converting processes
  • Process control and optimization

Product Related Technologies

  • New or novel solutions for existing technical problems
  • Use of composite materials as solutions
  • Technologies specifically aimed at flammability, acoustic and thermal properties, and moisture management
  • New testing methodologies or equipment
  • Global trends in standards regulations

Applications

  • Medical and hygiene
  • Filtration
  • Geofabrics and building construction
  • Automotive
  • Smart materials

“The RISE Conference continues to offer presentations on fascinating new technologies related to nonwovens that are on the cusp of commercialization. This is forward thinking, state-of-the-art research and science that you can’t find anywhere else. Participants time and time again have stated that the information and technologies presented at RISE directly relate to their current projects and offer proactive solutions to their biggest challenges,” said Dave Rousse, INDA President.

Abstracts of approximately 300 words should be emailed to Deanna Lovell, dlovell@inda.org, by January 31, 2017.  Include contact information and the relationship of the research to nonwovens or engineered fabrics. Authors will be notified of the abstract’s status within 30 days after confirmed receipt.

Posted September 27, 2016

Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry

Helping Rebrand U.S. Textiles

BornemanBy James M. Borneman, Editor In Chief

You may recall the outgoing chairman of the National Council of Textile Organization’s (NCTO’s) address this past spring where Milliken’s Jeff Price spoke of the organization’s efforts to rebrand the textile industry.

NCTO engaged public relations firm Wray Ward to assist in correcting the image of U.S. textiles. The industry has long been framed as non-competitive and antiquated, particularly by those who oppose NCTO’s policy agenda and think there is no significant textile industry in the United States.

According to Price, “… it is our responsibility to paint a picture for opinion leaders and consumers that displays the textile industry’s true technical and innovative prowess.”

The editors of Textile World could not agree more. It always has been frustrating to explain and defend the industry to those who have little concept of how textiles impact their daily lives. Whether automotive, medical, aerospace or traditional home furnishings and apparel products — few understand the depth to which textiles affect their lives.

It is not an intentional slight. The industry was central to the industrialization of the United States, and it does carry a lot of baggage associated with those early days. But as global competition rose, the industry’s only defense was to retool technologies and increase its focus on innovation.

TW has celebrated the industry’s innovation by recognizing significant achievements through the TW Innovation Award and the TW Innovation Forum, which is an event that sheds light on the latest and greatest developments the industry has to offer.

The U.S. textile industry never has focused on self-promotion. Often, industry members avoid attention and suspect prying eyes. But the silence encourages and assists others to frame the industry as they see fit to suit their own agenda.

Over the coming months TW’s magazine, website and e-newsletters will feature stories from NCTO’s “American Textiles: We Make Amazing™” campaign. The editors ask that you share these stories with opinion leaders, friends, and the press — anyone who needs to grow their knowledge of the modern U.S. textile industry.

The industry needs to excite young people and plant the seed to encourage careers in high-tech textiles or aligned industries like robotics, automation or nanotechnology. U.S. policymakers need to hear about the investments made in technology and the contributions made to the military and other government services. The media and press might find it interesting to learn that a plant in their own town is “making amazing.”

TW editors would like to thank the NCTO and Wray Ward for their assistance in this project and hope the exposure in TW will increase the impact of the campaign with TW’s readership reach.

The NCTO has expressed its gratitude for financial contributions from its partners in the project: the American Fiber Manufacturers Association; the National Cotton Council; the Industrial Fabrics Association International; and Glen Raven Inc.

September/October 2016

Carolina Nonwovens Celebrates New Facility Opening

Carolina Nonwovens, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Spinning Co. Inc,. recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of its new facility in Maiden, N.C. The 11-acre site features a 92,000-square-foot facility that houses nonwoven production lines as well as ancillary processes. Carolina Nonwovens selected processing machinery for the new facility from France-based Laroche S.A. and Italy-based Technoplants S.r.l. — both represented in the United States by Cornelius, N.C.-based Allertex of America Inc. The plant will add approximately 30 jobs to the company’s current staff of 35.

National Spinning Chairman and CEO James Chesnutt, National Spinning’s Board of Directors, and the staff of Carolina Nonwovens were joined at the opening ceremony by guests that included North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, Maiden Mayor Robert Smyre and Catawba County Board of Commissioners Chair Randal Isenhower.

“This state-of the-art plant gives us a platform for divisional growth and further economies of scale for our entire corporation,” said Jim Booterbaugh, president, National Spinning.

“Carolina Nonwovens has made tremendous strides since we acquired it in 2012,” said Chesnutt. “We appreciate the support of all those whose efforts have built a strong future for the division. The assistance provided by the N.C. Economic Development Partnership, N.C. Department of Commerce, Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, County of Catawba, Town of Maiden, The Stump Companies, and Matthews Construction Company significantly contributed to the successful opening of this Maiden site.”

September/October 2016

Fruit Of The Loom Donates Apparel To Flood Victims

news
Fruit of the Loom donated items to The Louisiana Salvation Army for Baton Rouge area flood victims.

Bowling Green, Ky.-based Fruit of the Loom Inc. reports it has donated more than 55,000 packages of T-shirts, shorts and underwear to The Louisiana Salvation Army to support victims of the flooding in Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities.

“In times of adversity, we recognize the need to step in and help our neighbors as they recover from one of the worst floods our nation has seen in years,” said Rick Medlin, president and CEO, Fruit of the Loom. “While there is so much loss, we only hope that our donation can provide some relief as these victims overcome such tragedy.”

September/October 2016

EFI Announces Inkjet Center Move

Fremont, Calif.-based Electronics For Imaging Inc. (EFI) has announced plans to move its ink-jet business to a new 250,000-square-foot facility in Londonderry, N.H., in early 2018. The EFI™ Inkjet center will consolidate research and development, manufacturing, warehousing, training, and service for EFI VUTEk® and wide format printers into one facility. Sales and marketing management for EFI’s full portfolio of narrow, wide- and superwide-format industrial ink-jet printers and presses also will be housed at the center. In addition, the center will feature a briefing and demonstration center for customers.

“EFI’s annual ink-jet revenues are closing in on $500 million, and it is happening because our customers are capitalizing on new market opportunities using our expanding portfolio of industrial ink-jet printers,” said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Inkjet.

EFI cites the proximity of the center to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport as well as the pool of talent in the greater Boston metropolitan area as reasons for the site’s selection.

September/October 2016

Jakob Müller Acquires Benninger

Switzerland-based JMBT Beteilgungen AG — a 100-percent subsidiary of family-owned Jakob Müller Holding AG and affiliate of Jakob Müller AG, Switzerland — has acquired 100-percent of the shares of Benninger AG from Benninger Holding AG, thus expanding the company’s offerings into a related business segment.

Benninger develops, manufactures and sells textile finishing systems, tire-cord production systems, and process automation equipment. The company employs approximately 330 people; 110 of the associates are located in Switzerland.

This is the second purchase by Müller in recent years that has expanded its product range. In 2012, Müller acquired Italy-based Comez S.p.A.

September/October 2016

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