Yarn Expo Spring 2015 Continued Its Steady Growth

HONG KONG — April 16, 2015 — Yarn Expo Spring 2015, one of the leading fibre and yarn trade events in Asia, wrapped up on March 20 with a steady growth in its visitor number. The three-day event, which commenced on March 18 in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), was the second edition in Shanghai after it relocated from Beijing in 2014.
 
The fair attracted nearly 21,000 trade visitors from 46 countries and regions – with the top five being Mainland China, India, Korea, Turkey and Hong Kong – representing an increase of 3% compared to last year.  “We are very happy to see the growth momentum continues into this year after we achieved a significant jump of over 200% last year when we first came to Shanghai to host our Spring Edition,” said Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.
 
Altogether 238 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions participated in the fair, while the popular Indian Pavilion and Pakistani zone returned once again. “Our members were all happy with the fair as we could make business contacts with not only Chinese customers, but also with those from outside China, such as from the Middle East,” said Mr Ravindranathan Narayanasamy, Joint Director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) from India, co-organiser of the Indian Pavilion. “This year, around 30% of the total visitors that came to our booths were from overseas, and 70% were from Mainland China,” he continued.
 
Indonesian exhibitors also agreed that this fair was a stepping stone for them to open up the global market. “This fair is important to us as we can meet with customers from around the world and we are happy with the responses we’ve got so far,” said Mr Anupam Agrawal, Director – Spun Yarn Business at PT Indo-Rama Synthetics Tbk.
 
Overseas Exhibitors Find Yarn Expo A Good Platform To Boost Sales
As the Chinese yarn and fibre market begins to improve, many fibre suppliers from around the world are trying to capture this opportunity to extend their business into China, and Yarn Expo Spring 2015 is one of the most ideal platforms to achieve this goal. “We saw more Chinese end users and manufacturers coming to the fair this year, showing an improvement in the visitor quality,” Mr Narayanasamy said, stating based on the results from the past several editions, 30% of visitors that came to the Indian Pavilion actually made an order with the suppliers after the fair.
 
Lahoti Overseas Ltd was one of the exhibitors under the Indian Pavilion that benefited from the enhanced visitor flow. “Our main purpose is to meet new customers here and we are satisfied with the results. Right now, we are exporting 2,000 tons of cotton yarn to China per month and with the help of this fair we want to increase it to 3,000 tons by the end of this year,” said Mr Vijay Nate, the firm’s Vice President in Export.
 
Echoing Mr Nate’s positive views is another Indian exhibitor: Square Corporation Synergy Exim Pvt Ltd. “I can see our Chinese customers are ready to make orders now, and I am confident that by the end of this year our export volume to China can increase by 20% and I think this fair can help us achieve this target,” said Mr Vivek Verma, Managing Director of the enterprise.
 
Mr Henry Yang from Lih Shyang Industrial Co Ltd in Taiwan was also happy with the new business potential brought by this fair. “We are extremely happy with the outcome of this fair. We met some very serious buyers from Finland. And I can tell they are very interested in our products, and what’s even more exciting is that they are looking for large-quantity orders. I regret not coming to this fair earlier,” said the manager of the Taiwan nylon textured yarn producer.
 
Synthetic Fibres: A New Trend In China
Other than a trade platform that brings the whole industry under one roof, the fair never ceases to impress buyers with the latest product trends, such as synthetic fibres that featured in the Chinese Pavilion which attracted a lot of attention. “China is getting better and better at producing man-made fibres, and the new trend in the country is that more and more cotton yarn producers are shifting their business focus to the synthetic fibre side,” said Mr Dickens Chen, Business Consultant at Shanghai Jiancheng Consulting Firm.
 
Sharing the same idea is Mr Xiaobing Min, Sales Manager of Chu-li Nano-material Technology Development Co Ltd in China. “Functional synthetic fibres will be under the spotlight next year and this is where the whole Chinese fibre market is heading right now,” Mr Min said.
 
With an expertise in producing synthetic fibres, the Chinese Pavilion became a popular spot for overseas buyers and Richardo Barboss from Portugal was one of them. “I am mainly looking for Chinese products as they have higher quality. I think specialty fibres, such as flame retardant fibres, will be popular as such products can be used in the home textile, sportswear and automobile sectors,” he said, stating he found a wide selection of such products at the fair.
 
Besides the latest products that are on offer, a Trend Area located in the Chinese Pavilion also revealed next year’s fibre developments. “Other than looking for products, I also came to find inspirations and learn about the product trends. I went to the Trend Area and found it is helpful for me,” said Jun Du from Baoxiniao Group Co Ltd, a famous brand-name garment manufacturer in Mainland China.
 
Cotton Yarn Buyers Happy To See Wide Selection Of Indian And Pakistani Premium Products
While synthetic yarns are the rising star in the market, cotton yarns still remain attractive to some buyers. “This fair is good as it has a complete selection of Indian and Pakistani exhibitors,” said Mr David Lei, Vice General Manager of Hebei Spring Textiles Co Ltd in China. “I am here mainly to learn about the new development in Indian and Pakistani cotton yarn products, and I am thrilled to see that their quality is getting much better now,” he continued.
 
Mr Mike Glukhikh from Russia was also amazed by Indian and Pakistani cotton yarn quality. “The product variety at this fair is good, and the product quality from India and Pakistan is improving rapidly, and I believe they will gain more market share in the future,” the Purchasing Manager of Sparta, a Russian garment manufacturer, said.  
 
Yarn Expo showcased a wide spectrum of natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax / regenerated flax, and man-made fibres and yarns as well as specialty products including elastic, and fancy and blended yarns. The next edition will be held from 13 – 15 October this year in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).
 
Yarn Expo Spring is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; China Cotton Textile Association; China Wool Textile Association; China Chemical Fiber Association; China Bast & Leaf Fibres Textiles Association; and China Textile Information Centre.

Posted April 21, 2015

Source: Messe Frankfurt (HK)
 

The Rupp Report: Itema Results – More Than A Turnaround

A few weeks ago, the Italy-based Itema Group, in its own words “the world’s largest privately held provider of advanced weaving solutions, including weaving machines, spare parts and integrated services,” announced financial results for the full year 2014. Itema said: “Thanks to the satisfactory results in volumes, prices in line with expectations, as well as the continuing and relentless actions to reduce variable and fixed costs, the consolidated profit before taxes from operations significantly exceeded expectations, up 20 percent on a year-on-year basis.”
 
Well, after a time of troubled water, not only for Itema, but for the whole industry, it was time to take a closer look at Italy. The Rupp Report recently spoke to Carlo Rogora, CEO, Itema. And, as he said when he started his job in Colzate, there was a lot to do. And it seems he did a lot!
 
Positive Balance Sheet
The financial results press release said: “Following from the +12 percent increase in volumes of machine sales in the first half of 2014, the Group closed the year with sales +10 percent referring to European production and a substantial confirmation of previous year volumes for the Chinese Subsidiary.” According to Carlo Rogora the company grew by some 60 percent in the past two years in a market that declined, according to Itema’s estimates, by some 30 percent over the same period.
 
RR: What are the reasons for this success?
 
Carlo Rogora: You have to know your market well. We monitor the market very careful with our global, I may call it, intelligence team. And so we know the figures quite well, even country by country. This is very important for us to be ready and react flexible to any market change.
 
RR: Mr. Rogora, you call Itema “the only major weaving machine manufacturer to grow in a global weaving machine market recession.” Why is that?
 
Rogora: Well, there are a few reasons for that: First of all, our new model in the market; then the presence and commitment of our sales force, and, as I mentioned before, our extreme flexibility in production. You have to give the market what the market needs and when it wants it.
 
Short Production Times
 
RR: How did you meet market demands?
 
Rogora: In the past three years we shortened the production and throughput time from 6 weeks down to 4 weeks. If you want to be successful in the markets you have to be fast.
 
RR: You write in your annual results, “We are on the right path with renewed confidence, stronger-than-ever company set-up and highest acclaimed product portfolio.” Is this the essence of what you said just before?
 
Rogora: You may say so. In the last three years, not one single stone was left upon another. We x-rayed everything to improve our performance. Today we have every tool to do it right first time from a technological point of view and from a commercial end. As far as I know, we are the only weaving machine producer to offer two years of guarantee for every new machine.
 
RR: This needs a lot of research and development. How is your R&D organized?
 
Rogora: You are right; and it needs a lot of attention. We have two departments in our R&D. First of all our product development: 40 engineers are constantly working to improve the existing models by checking every single detail of the machines. Then we have the division that we call “research and innovation.” Fifteen people are working outside our premises in the building of the famous “red one kilometer” along the motorway from Milano to Bergamo. Their single job is to develop the weaving machine of the future.
 
India: A Growing Market
India is still some kind of a “spinning market” and not a weaving country, due to more than 50 million hand looms. Itema writes that its “operations in the Indian Subcontinent delivered the biggest comeback with a turnaround year and +100 percent year-on-year growth in volumes just from India alone, where Itema has developed over the years a comprehensive sales and after-sales service organization operating from its own offices cities.”
 
RR: India is still the kind of a “spinning market” and not a weaving country, due to still some estimated 50 million hand looms, the so-called 100 dollar looms from the past. Why are you so successful in this difficult market in such a short time?
 
Rogora: Yes, that is true. We really started from scratch. We took a ticket to participate in this difficult and traditional market and reorganized the whole local team. However, last year, we registered a period of unique growth, reaching remarkable results in terms of number of machines installed thanks to our two versions of the very successful A9500 airjet machine with the models A9500e, the basic machine and the A9500p, the top model. This particular model is very well accepted, and far as we know, it can handle much heavier fabrics than any other weaving machine.
 
Global Sales
 
RR: The press release says: “Itema once again increased its geographic reach with highest-ever number of countries in which the Company sold its weaving machinery.” Who is on the top list of countries?
 
Rogora: We sell to more than 50 countries around the world; the top list is, of course, still led by China, followed by India, Turkey and Italy. Yes, Italy!
 
RR: You already mentioned the start of lean manufacturing across Itema manufacturing and assembly lines two years ago. Where are you today with the implementation of the program?
 
Rogora: I’m very happy with the results. We increased the efficiency of the workforce by 30 percent with a remarkable change of the attitude of our people. Along with this change goes a tremendous increase of the quality; and what is very interesting for our finance department, a reduction of our inventory. Believe it or not, but it works. All this is an ongoing process and next year we can start a second assembly line with the same people.
 
RR: Every manufacturer is writing nice stories about his machines. You say that your products “offer features for advanced weaving machines, which constantly receive accolades from the growing ranks of customers.” Why you think this is true?
 
Rogora: You know, our target is to fulfill the dreams of your customers, and, as mentioned before, we never say no, we are committed and are working hard to build the ultimate weaving machine.”
 
Products
RR: Itema claims that its rapier weaving machine R9500 “is the most innovative rapier loom on the global market and it represents half of Itema’s revenues from weaving machines. The annual results say, “the R9500 attained the status of global best-seller.” What is the background that leads you to call the R9500 a “global bestseller”?
 
Rogora: Its reliability and performance, as well as the capability to weave virtually every type of fabric with, I can say, a perfect quality. The flexible rapiers and an optimized shed geometry further increased the versatility of the R9500, making it a success. As I already mentioned regarding India, the A9500 airjet weaving machine is doing very well too. Just to name the cam sley drive coupled with the optimized shed geometry, which guarantees top flexibility to weave a wider range of fabrics.
 
The Future
RR: Itema closed 2014 with the highest backorder for the last five years. However, how do you see the near future of the weaving market in general, and Itema’s future in particular?
 
Rogora: That’s a difficult question. The year 2015 has already changed some times. The first two months were a disaster, and then it recovered. Now we’re back on track but I’m sure, we will have a drop later this year also due to the ITMA 2015. However, it will probably be the same like 2014.
 
It looks like that Itema did its homework and maintained its positive trends for the second year in a row after 2013 and 2014. It seems that there is more than just a turnaround in the air.

April 14, 2015

 

Suominen Prepares An Investment At Its Bethune Plant In The United States

HELSINKI, Finland, April 9, 2105 — Suominen, a global supplier of nonwovens, announced in January that it has started a planning process to execute an investment in a new wetlaid production line in North America. Suominen has now decided that, if the planning process proceeds as expected, the location of the planned manufacturing line would be Suominen’s existing plant in Bethune, S.C.

As announced in January, the planned investment constitutes the most significant single initiative in Suominen’s 30–50 million euro investment program and supports Suominen’s growth target for the strategic period of 2015–2017.

“The planned manufacturing line would contribute essentially for the execution of Suominen’s growth strategy. Through successful strategy execution, as we have announced, Suominen would become a company with a net sales of roughly 500 million euros by the end of 2017. Besides, the investment would support our target to further increase the share of products with higher value-added in our portfolio,” Saara Söderberg, Vice President, Marketing & Product Management and the Project Manager of the investment initiative, says.

“We selected the Bethune, SC plant as the platform for this potential investment for several strategic and financial reasons.  Bethune is ideally located in the Carolinas, the nonwovens hub of North America, and is favorably located from a logistical standpoint of serving our customers and managing our raw materials.  Moreover, the Bethune plant already has ongoing operations, a very talented staff, and has considerable infrastructure already in place for the expansion,” according to Larry L. Kinn, Senior Vice President, Operations Americas.

Suominen continues to prepare the investment project, with finalization of the decision still pending. Therefore Suominen cannot yet comment the total value of the investment.

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Suominen
 

Cotton USA Respins 2015 Advertising Campaign

WASHINGTON — April 9, 2015 —  COTTON USA expands on the universal truth that everyone loves cotton in its new global advertising campaign. COTTON USA plans to inspire consumers through the integrated campaign, both in what they wear and how they wear it, and further spread the benefits of U.S. cotton to markets throughout the world. The campaign slogan, “I Love My Cotton,” encourages consumers and brands alike to connect with the campaign, and inspires them to share their own reasons for loving cotton.
 
To demonstrate how U.S. cotton is a medium of personal expression through jeans, dress shirts and everything in between, COTTON USA cast five individuals from different corners of the globe, wearing cotton in different ways.
 
“These portraits reflect the authenticity and passion unique to COTTON USA: the singular mark that symbolizes purity of fiber, quality of fabric and responsibility for the planet,” said Cotton Council International President Dahlen Hancock.
 
The Texas cotton producer said U.S. cotton sets the global standard for quality and purity. With this campaign, he said COTTON USA hopes to show that U.S. cotton is a premium fashion ingredient, pushing the COTTON USA logo to the forefront and encouraging the growth of U.S. cotton worldwide.
 
Shot by renowned photographer Paola Kudacki and styled by the talented Karen Kaiser, cotton garments ranging from T-shirts to dress pants and jeans to towels are worn effortlessly by models Julia Hafstrom, Lais Oliveira, Gaspard Menier, Bregje Heinen, and young Caitlin Espirtu. Produced in-studio in New York City in July 2014, the campaign has a limitless quality and flexibility that allows it to be used in any market in any medium.

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Cotton Council International
 

Södra Reaffirms Commitment To Grow In Textile Market

Sweden-baesd Södra has announced a major growth plan which involves investing in all three of its Swedish pulp mills, including Mörrum, where Södra’s TextilePulp is made. TextilePulp is the name given to the company’s dissolving pulp for the textile industry.

The SEK-700 million ( $80 million) investment at Mörrum is crucial to the mill’s future and the company’s development of Textile Pulp. The mill has two lines, one for paper pulp and one for textile pulp. The upgrade will mean the capacity of the latter can be increased from 150,000 to 170,000 tpy, but it is the quality improvements that Dag Benestad, Södra’s head of TextilePulp, is most excited by.

“It is of great significance that we will be able to run more birch on the line in the future,” Benestad explains. “An ageing woodyard has been something of a bottleneck and meant that we had to import wood. But with the new investment in state-of-the-art technology, we will be able to use more of our members’ own birch. This makes environmental and logistical sense and will see an increase in the quality and purity of our pulp.”

Faster Operation
Once the new woodyard is installed, as well as using more birch from Södra’s members’ forests, the mill will be able to run its lines at higher speed. This will increase capacity and produce a premium-quality, consistently-pure textile pulp.

The most significant wood handling technology being installed is the deicing. Mörrum will use process water from the pulp mill to deice the logs in winter time. Even in Southern Sweden temperatures can remain below zero for several months of the year.

The recycled water is applied at around 50˚C. Water at this temperature is of little use elsewhere in the process, and will have fallen to that temperature having already been reused in another part of the mill. But for deicing this otherwise-redundant heat is ideal to make debarking much more effective. This is most significant for the production of dissolving pulp, for which the absence of impurities is particularly important. “Purity is vital for dissolving pulp for the functionality and runnability of the customer’s process,” said Woodyard project leader Ulf Jimson.

Since wood handling including de-barking was a bottleneck, this investment will have a real impact on product quality, on both lines. It will take chipping and debarking to a new level, resulting better chips and even better pulp properties.

Process Improvements
Another motivation for the investment is to create a better working environment and for the mill to be “a better neighbour.” “We are within the permissible limits for noise for those living near the mill, but only just,” said Elna Håkansson, head of environment at Mörrum. “The new woodyard will improve the situation considerably and be beneficial for operators, too.”

Håkansson also points to the wider environmental aspect of improved debarking efficiency: “We will be able to sell more bark as biofuel as there will be an excess of bark over our needs in the mill,” she said. “Mörrum is close to being fossil fuel-free – we just need fossil fuel occasionally for the lime kiln. Our ambition is to be 100 percent free of fossil fuels.”

“It has always been our intention to secure our position among the top three producers when it comes to quality,” said Benestad. “We need to be there if we are to secure good margins for the long term, and this investment will be a big step towards achieving that goal. We intend to be the last one standing when the competition gets tough.”

The fact that the raw material will come from Södra’s members’ forests adds peace of mind to the environmentally-conscious buyer. Södra is a unique cooperative of more than 50,000 members who together make up the largest private landowner in southern Sweden. In many cases, their forest holdings have been in the same family for generations and sustainability is at the heart of the business. Forests are certified to FSC and PEFC standards and each member receives a green plan from Södra laying out best forest management practices and areas of conservation.

Competitive Market
There was a time when paper pulp producers hopped on the dissolving pulp wagon in search of higher prices and better returns. But when too many had the same idea, the market became oversupplied and prices dropped, with the result that some producers switched back to paper pulp. Benestad is keen to point out that Södra has no intention of exiting the dissolving pulp market: Quite the opposite, as this new investment confirms. “Despite falling prices, we are committed to this market,” he explained. “The viscose market continues to grow at 8- to 10-percent per year and we believe that will continue over the next three to five years at least. Prices are now so low that up to half of the producers in this market are losing money, compounded by the duties inflicted on exports to China, which is still the biggest market for viscose: The country accounts for two thirds of the world’s viscose production, both for a growing domestic market and for export.”

Imports of dissolving wood pulp to China increased by 15.6 percent in 2014 after growing by 14 percent in 2013 – a total increase of around 500,000 metric tons.

The world’s production of textile fibers is estimated to have increased by slightly less than 5 percent in 2014, reaching 93 million metric tons or four million metric tons more than the previous year. Reason enough for Benestad to believe that textile fiber production will continue to advance ahead of world gross domestic product (GDP) growth, maintaining the positive differential seen since the global recession. “Our forecast shows the textile fiber market continuing to grow faster than GDP in 2015-2016, although slowing slightly compared to the pace of the last four years,” said Benestad. World textile fiber output is projected to reach 101 million tonnes by 2016 after rising 4.4 perecent annually from 2014.

On the plus side for dissolving pulp producers, the fact that returns are currently low means investment in new capacity is limited and there are not many startups planned for 2016-2017 — another reason for Benestad’s optimism that the market will start to pick up by the end of 2015.
 
April 14, 2015

Brother Direct To Garment Printers Are Turning 10

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — April 7, 2015 — In celebration of its 10 years of Direct-to-Garment (DTG) product innovation, Brother is offering a special limited time instant rebate on its popular and reliable Brother GT-3 Series DTG printers. This enticing offer reflects up to $5,000* off the purchase of a new Brother GT-341/GT-361/GT-381 printer. This limited time offer is available April 1, 2015 through July 31, 2015 on all new units purchased in the US and Canada.

“We’re celebrating this truly amazing decade with our current and potential Brother DTG customers,” says Peter Holland, Vice President of the Industrial Products Division at Brother International Corporation. “This exceptional offer will provide current customers with the ability to add a new DTG to their facility for even more productivity and will also provide potential customers with the opportunity to explore the game-changing market of direct-to-garment printing. We’re seeing great interest from individuals in the fashion market that want to bring their stylish fashion sense and new fashion trends into a burgeoning business with the help of DTG technology. Our innovative, user-friendly DTG printer can help them produce clothing with the stringent color demands of the fashion industry. This first decade is only the beginning. We are committed to the garment decoration industry and our customers for many years to come.”

Over the past 10 years, the Industrial Products Division of Brother has experienced continued growth and built its presence in the DTG market with a wide swath of customers from the screen-printing, custom embroidery and promotional product markets to companies and organizations of all sizes. Serving multiple business segments including licensed sports apparel as well as large volume and contract sales, the Brother GT-3 product line provides its customers with high quality and low cost digital printing for all of their color requirements.

“The GT-3 Series is an excellent option for startups or for those looking to expand to the convenience of digital printing,” states Holland. “Brother brings superior product support and training, intuitive, durable machine design, capability for unique applications and day-to-day reliable operation. Coupled with this generous promotion for our 10 year anniversary and our no interest financing offer, now is the time for those considering direct to garment technology to make the GT-3 Series the natural choice for their business.“

The GT-3 Series of machines offers a CMYK-only printer, a CMYK with two white print heads, and a CMYK with four white print heads and single pass printing for higher speed and performance. These feature-packed DTG printers also offer:

  • Up to 16” x 18” print area*
  • Up to 1200 dpi for photo quality printing
  • Up to eight print heads for faster throughput
  • One pass printing with both CMYK and white ink printing simultaneously for higher productivity (GT-361/GT-381)
  • USB memory stick compatibility to load designs without a computer
  • Simple user interface
  • Interchangeable platens for printing on t-shirts, caps, hoodies, coasters and more.
  • Inks certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Class I and are CPSIA Compliant▪
  • On-site training and support (may require additional purchase).

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Brother International
 

Hills Inc. To Open Office At CETI

WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — April 10, 2015 — Hills Inc., a leader in specialty fiber extrusion equipment is pleased to announce the opening of a Hills office located inside the Centre of European Textile Intelligence (CETI).  Located near Lille in Tourcoing France, the CETI technical center offers its customers the latest innovations in fiber and fabric research and development capabilities.  The new Hills office will provide technical advice with trials at CETI as well as perform marketing and service activities to support Hills’ European Customers. The office is set to open Summer 2015. 

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Hills Inc.
 

Business & Financial: Healthy Bottom Lines

By Robert S. Reichard, Economics Editor

Textile and apparel industry profits are a pretty good bet to at least equal last year’s strong levels. Credit this positive outlook to a combination of modest demand gains, the absence of any significant cost pressure, and fairly firm prices. Indeed, given the current business climate, earnings could well inch a bit higher. Nor are TW editors alone in looking forward to another good year. The economic consulting firm Englewood, Colo.-based IHS, in its latest industry projections, is pretty much telling the same story. Its analysts, for example, see 2- to 3-percent profit gains in 2015 for both basic textile mills and apparel manufacturers with mills making more highly fabricated products showing a small fractional advance. Moreover, these increases will be coming on top of the much larger double-digit advances racked up over the past year when sharply lower cotton costs gave producers’ bottom lines a big boost. And the outlook beyond 2015 as seen by IHS analysts seems to be equally bright. Next year, for example, continuing modest earnings gains are projected averaging out at near 4 percent for all three of the just noted industry subsectors. Moreover, go further out into the future, and the economic consulting firm anticipates further small profit gains. That’s hardly a bad future for an American manufacturing sector that many had seen headed for the scrap heap as recently as just five years ago.

Other Upbeat Signs
There are also a host of other signs that would seem to indicate solid bottom-line progress over the next few years. For one, there’s the optimism of mill executives. They would hardly be earmarking more than a billion dollars a year for new plant and equipment if they did not expect a decent return on their investment. Also supporting a rosy earnings picture is the fact that this improving profit scenario is not just something that has suddenly cropped up. Indeed, IHS numbers for the current 12-month period — numbers that factor in all the industry’s profit determinants — have consistently been in the plus column for well over a year now. Still another positive sign: The new 2015 forecast for both textile mills and apparel makers actually are a bit higher than they were six years ago — a time when demand was considerably higher than it is today. Still another indication of stronger earnings is the fact that the percentage of the revenue dollar needed to cover production costs had been declining steadily. Latest 2015 numbers, for example, show combined labor and material costs accounting for 44.6 percent, 56.5 percent and 84.3 percent of the sales dollar for basic textiles, more highly fabricated mill products, and apparel, respectively. They are well under levels prevailing just two year ago. Other things being equal, such declines would clearly suggest that profit margins — profits per dollar of sales — are now also moving higher. Indeed, a look at Uncle Sam’s latest margin numbers would clearly seem to confirm this trend.

The Improving Demand Impact
A few further words also are in order on the demand influence on profits. As point out above, anticipated higher industry activity should be an important contributor to better bottom-line performance. Indeed, improving activity already is apparent, with early 2015 retail apparel sales running upwards of 3-percent above year-ago levels. And TW would expect to see these sales continuing to increase because of a combination of factors: expectations of a 3- to 3.5-percent-advance in 2015 gross domestic product, about 0.5-percent more than last year; a falling jobless rate that could slip to near 5 percent by next fall or winter; a substantial boost in consumer purchasing power engendered in large part by the recent sharp drop in gasoline prices; and the strong recovery in household net worth combined with a significant decline in the household debt/disposable income ratio from 130 percent just before the recession to 107 percent currently. Add in the fact that consumer confidence is now near its highest level in years, and TW now expects the buying of apparel and other textile products to actually accelerate a bit over the remainder of the year and well into 2016. Point to keep in mind here: The pickup in buying is almost certain to have a positive effect on industry earnings. To be sure, just how much of an impact is difficult to precisely quantify. But throw all of today’s profit-enhancing factors into the consumer hopper and TW feels fairly certain that as much as half of any near-term bottom-line improvement will probably be because of improving industry demand.

April 14, 2015

Gerber Technology’s AccuMark 10 Now Available

TOLLAND, Conn. — April 8, 2015 — Gerber Technology announces the availability of the AccuMark 10 intelligent pattern design, grading, planning and marker making software solution. In addition to digital printing capabilities and other features that increase productivity throughout the system, AccuMark 10 will also offer a fully integrated 3D solution for garment development and pattern making as an optional module (available later this spring).

“AccuMark 10 truly revolutionizes the design process in apparel and fashion, by improving communication and productivity all along the line,” said Mary McFadden with Gerber Technology. “This next-generation solution helps manufacturers get their products to market faster, smarter and better.”

Gerber was one of the first to introduce CAD Pattern Making Software for the apparel industry. Today, AccuMark CAD systems are used by more than 15,000 customers, including many of the world’s leading fashion brands. Gerber has a history of bringing forward innovations and technologies that optimize customers’ design and manufacturing processes. Gerber has launched technologies that have become the benchmarks for CAD pattern making, grading planning and marker making software, and automated spreading and cutting machines.

AccuMark 10 automates the entire production process while providing significant advances in quality control, communication and efficiency. The system helps manufacturers reduce raw material and labor costs, and generate fewer samples and prototypes. Users will find that AccuMark 10 is easy to use, improves collaboration and helps to automate every day tasks in pattern design, grading, marker making and production planning.

AccuMark 10 elevates pattern design and streamlines the production process at every level. Features of this system help users in a variety of areas:

Pattern Design: Artwork images that represent fabric textures, appliques, logos, trims and other visual details can now be added to patterns in PDS. This enables the ability to provide partners with visual instructions for pattern placement. Pleats can now be edited, deleted and folded, and the patterns can be modified while the pleats are folded, providing major productivity improvements.

Grading: Allowing users to create Points of Measurement between pattern and chart, provide pattern details to production. With automatic grading updates, intelligent calculations and pre-set size tables, users are able to make pattern changes on the fly and create made-to-measure garments from basic sizes.

Marker Making: AccuMark 10 simplifies the marker ordering process while offering the capability of such advanced technologies as generating digital printing files directly.

Production Planning: Work orders can be imported from ERP systems and automatically planned, nested, plotted, and have reports and cut data generated without human interaction. This ability greatly increases productivity and reduces human error.

“Digital printing will bring dramatic increases to the creativity and production speed of the industry, and we’re happy to be able to offer that capability within AccuMark 10,” said McFadden. “Not only will it offer a more creative range of design options, digital printing will also allow for development of short run “fast fashion” lines – all with lower production costs. When combined with our optional 3D module, users can generate virtual samples and then bring them to life with digital printing. AccuMark 10 is truly next-generation technology, and will help apparel manufacturers unleash their creative vision in design and production.”

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Gerber Technology
 

Emerald Kalama Chemical Makes Multi-million-dollar Investment In Production Of High Purity Benzoic Acid-based Products In Rotterdam

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — April 9, 2015 — Emerald Kalama Chemical, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, announced approval for final design engineering and the initial purchase of key long lead time process equipment for the addition of a second benzoic acid purification and finishing process at its facility in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Final approval for full construction is expected in third quarter 2015. The expansion, slated for completion in 2016, will support the group’s benzoic acid production unit, adding capacity to process an additional 100,000 metric-tons per year of high purity material and supporting output from the company’s two reactor trains in Rotterdam. This project is the group’s seventh multi-million-dollar investment in the last several years at its Rotterdam site.   

The added purification and finishing capacity will support growing demand for the company’s high purity Kalama® and Purox® brands of benzoic acid flakes, sodium benzoate granules and liquid benzoic acid, which it provides to the market and utilizes for the production of downstream products, notably K-FLEX® non-phthalate plasticizers and coalescents. Benzoic acid and sodium benzoate are used as antimicrobials to produce a wide range of products, in markets such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, personal care and industrial applications, including paint, coatings, down-hole drilling and plastics.

“This latest investment is a part of our long-term strategic plan to enhance operations and build the infrastructure needed to support our core global business,” said Hubert Degens, vice president of the Emerald Kalama Chemical Benzoates and Intermediate business. “The current project will support increasing demand for our high purity products by our customers in the core food and beverage segment, as well as in growing segments such as personal care, where benzoates are increasingly used as a non-paraben, non-formaldehyde antimicrobial. The added capacity will also meet our internal consumption needs for downstream products.”

Engineering and design for the project are underway. Construction will begin later this year and continue through 2016, with a planned start-up in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The company has been producing benzoic acid at its Rotterdam and U.S. operations for more than 50 years. In addition to the current benzoic acid investment, the company commissioned a second 75 kilo-ton benzoic reactor train in 2014, new flaker production unit for its Purox® B benzoic acid line in 2013 and a new K-FLEX plasticizer operation in 2012. The company also completed an expansion of its aroma chemical product line capacity in 2013 and several K-FLEX expansions at its Kalama, Wash., facility.        

Emerald Kalama Chemical’s portfolio of benzoic acid products is FDA-approved and GRAS-classified. The Rotterdam operation is also certified to a number of important quality standards, including ISO-9001, ISO-14001, HACCP, FamiQS and FSSC22000.

Posted April 14, 2015

Source: Emerald Kalama
 

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