Closed Loop Initiative By Designtex, Steelcase, Victor, And Unifi Builds A Circular Economy Model

ST. GEORGES, Quebec, Canada – June 12, 2015 — Four years after their first meeting to explore possibilities to close the loop on their textile waste, Designtex, Steelcase, Victor and Unifi continue to collaborate and build on this important initiative with ongoing advancements in driving sustainable innovation. The four companies established a program whereby textile waste from Victor and Designtex products at Steelcase’s Athens, Ala., manufacturing facility is segregated, collected and sent to Unifi’s Repreve® Recycling Center in North Carolina to be recycled into first quality Repreve fiber. The yarn is then sent to Victor and developed into new woven fabrics for Steelcase and Designtex.
 
With the goal of taking this closed loop initiative to the next level, the team met again in St. Georges, Quebec, to discuss further expansion of this circular economy model. Based on this platform, the traditional supply chain is being redesigned, as Steelcase becomes a supplier of raw materials to Unifi. Having addressed the complicated logistics of waste reclamation, the focus of the team has now shifted to expanding the product waste collection and growing the impact, while providing more secondary raw materials for new product development by Victor, Designtex and Steelcase.
 
The product offerings are expanding with Designtex previewing four new styles based on the closed loop platform at Neocon 2015, which are featured in the new Designtex + West Elm Workspace collection. Designtex will continue to tackle the design challenge to create new products that also enable future recyclability.
 
“We believe that the new model for material supply chains needs to be a circular one, and this collaboration is a good demonstration that it is both possible and profitable,” said Susan Lyons, President of Designtex.
 
From a product design standpoint, Victor’s emphasis on sustainable products and processes, as well as their vertical operation, has enabled them to develop new yarns and fabrics with the closed loop componentry that align well with the product directions of both Designtex and Steelcase. In addition to being developed with recycled polyester components, the closed loop fabrics are designed and manufactured for recyclability.
 
“This unique initiative represents more than just an innovative recycling program for our industry’s waste. It shows how collaboration at multiple levels of the supply chain can enable us to develop better business models for the future,” said Alain Duval, President and CEO of Victor.
 
Unifi’s ongoing technological advancements in recycling textile waste into first quality fibers have enabled the success and growth of the closed loop program.  Unifi continues to expand its raw material feed stocks, recycling capabilities, and capacity for recycling textiles and plastics.
 
Just as important to the success of this program is the commitment by Steelcase to implement a system to identify, segregate and collect fabric waste to support future production of the closed loop yarn and further expansion of this circular economy model.

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: Victor
 

Carolina Nonwovens Announces Ground-breaking For New Facility

WASHINGTON, N.C./NEW YORK CITY — June 16, 2015 — Carolina Nonwovens LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Spinning Co. Inc., has announced the construction of a new facility to be located in Maiden, N.C. The site will consist of approximately 100,000 square feet on 11 acres and employ approximately 65 people. 

The current workforce will be retained and 35 new jobs will be added. The plant is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2015. The Maiden facility will house nonwoven production lines and ancillary processes. Additional space for logistics, engineering, quality control, product design, and offices will fill out the facility.

Commenting on the expansion, Ed Hull, plant manager, stated, “We are energized by the opportunity to continue serving customers with enhanced production capacity and product capability.” Sales Director Greg Gerald added: “Our automotive, industrial, and construction customers have shown great enthusiasm for our product offerings. The new plant will provide greater through-put, a more diverse range of products, line extension, and quicker turns.” National Spinning President Jim Booterbaugh noted, “With this plant we have a platform for divisional growth and further economies of scale for our entire corporation.”

National Spinning Chairman and CEO Jim Chesnutt commented: ”We could not be more pleased with the progress Carolina Nonwovens has made since we acquired it in 2012. We appreciate the efforts of the entire team and the opportunities this opens for our Associates, trading partners, local economies and shareholders.  The assistance provided by staffs of the NC Economic Development Partnership, N.C. Department of Commerce, Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, County of Catawba and Town of Maiden, The Stump Corporation, and Matthews Construction Company contributed significantly to our decision to locate the new state-of-the-art nonwovens facility in Maiden, North Carolina.”

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: National Spinning
 

FloorTek 2016 Dates Announced

DALTON, Ga. — June 15, 2016 — The American Floorcovering Alliance will host the FloorTek Expo in Dalton, Ga., Oc. 18-20, 2016, at the Dalton Convention Center (formerly the NWGTC). 
 
Exclusively for the flooring industry, FloorTek is known for being the premier showcase of machinery,  technology, suppliers, and services in the floor covering industry. The event includes technology solutions, demonstrations, and select educational opportunities for exhibitors and attendees across all flooring segments, according to Wanda Ellis, Executive Director for the AFA.
 
FloorTek 2016 will serve as a launching platform for new machinery, training and added association benefits. A listing of exhibitors and seminar schedule will be published at a later date.

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: AFA
 

Business & Financial: More Thoughts On Imports

By Robert S. Reichard, Economics Editor

Incoming textile and apparel shipments seem to again be on the increase. In the first quarter 2015, for example, volume totals were running better than 7-percent above the previous year — thus continuing the advances reported during 2014 when imports sported an almost as large 5-percent increase. Even when it comes to China, modest shipment gains now seem to have replaced an earlier flattening out. All this raises a key question: Do these latest numbers point to a new round of big import gains, or is it all just a short-term aberration? TW feels it’s the latter, blaming increases on two temporary factors — recent significant gains in the value of the dollar and a rising gross domestic product (GDP) trend. On the dollar score, recent strength has tended to lower prices for American buyers of textiles and apparel. But now, there are signs that the dollar may be losing some of its buoyancy. Next, consider the relatively strong economy. Recent GDP gains have undoubtedly beefed up demand. But here too, there are signs of change. True, GDP is still rising. But any new gains won’t reach the 3-plus rate that many analysts had been predicting for the current year. Nor are recent Wall Street gains — another purchasing power plus — likely to continue. Finally, some attention should be paid to a few long-term developments that would also seem to point to putting a lid on imports. The two most important of these: More U.S. manufacturing interest in reshoring and continuing double-digit increases in foreign supplier labor costs.

The Reshoring Impact
Looking first at companies returning production to U.S. shores: Up until recently, the evidence on this score had mostly been anecdotal. Not so anymore. A.T. Kearney, a major global consulting firm, provides a lot more solid proof of this trend and the textile industry’s involvement in it. The firm’s latest reshoring study finds that 12-percent of the more than 700 companies in Kearney’s reshoring database are now in the apparel sector. That’s only slightly fewer than the 15-percent readings noted for both the transportation equipment and electrical machinery/appliance sectors. Kearney analysts also note that apparel participation was much higher than they expected. Commenting on this, one key apparel executive adds that reshoring is making more and more economic sense — noting that the foreign price advantage usually given for choosing an overseas supplier can be quite misleading. The reasoning: A lower base price isn’t always better. That’s because to get a cheaper foreign quote in the Far East, one often is forced to opt for large production runs. These runs are so big that companies often end up with lower sell-through rates, so low that the imported goods has to be unloaded at cut-rate prices. Moreover, there are a lot of other factors cited for considering domestic production including quality enhancement, faster turnovers, better brand image, and the growing preference on the part of American consumers to buy made-in-U.S.A. products — even when such products cost a bit more.

The Labor Cost Impact
As noted earlier, our projections for an eventual leveling off in imports also is based on rapidly rising foreign supplier labor costs. To be sure, talk of completing eliminating the still rather substantial U.S.-overseas pay differential is little more than wishful thinking. As such, a large percentage of the industry’s lost markets will never return. On the other hand, it’s evident that this pay gap has narrowed to the point where it’s now a lot more likely that domestic manufacturers will consider additional U.S.-made production, particularly in areas where niche-type products are involved. Moreover, if there’s any doubt on the extent of this changing labor cost picture, just compare recent American and competing overseas pay rate trends. The numbers show that the U.S. hourly compensation rates for both textile and apparel companies have inched up less than 2-percent annually over the past five years. That’s actually less than offsetting productivity advances — thus indicating that the textile industry’s unit labor costs actually have been edging lower. Compare this to the steady tattoo of double-digit increases reported in China, and most other Far Eastern supplier countries in recent years and it’s easy to see why American producers are increasingly taking new hard looks at their overall global sourcing strategies.

June 2015

EVS Expands iBar Sales In China, Receives Significant Order For 12 iBars From Hailide

CAESAREA, Israel — June 16, 2015 — Elbit Vision Systems Ltd., a pioneer in the science of camera-based automatic vision inspection for textile fabrics and technical webs, announced today that it has received a significant order of 12 additional iBar systems from Zhejiang Hailide, a major manufacturer of high quality technological and advanced materials. This order is the result of a successful 5 iBar systems trial installation on the company’s tire cord looms.

Mr. Gao, President of Hailide, commented: “In order to maintain our position as a leading technical and composite supplier, we made the decision to invest in state-of-the-art technology to ensure the quality of our products. Over the past few months, we have been working closely with EVS, testing their iBar system on our tire cord production floor. The collaboration has been excellent, and we have been particularly impressed with the results which demonstrated an exceptionally strong ROI. These iBar systems paid for themselves in only a few months by increasing our overall product yield and reducing waste. We expect these new machines to play a significant part in bringing our customers an unparalleled top-quality end product. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with EVS in the near future.”

Mr. Sam Cohen, CEO of EVS, commented: “We are very pleased with the success of the iBar systems and believe this order marks the beginning of the escalation of our land-and-expand strategy. This important new partnership with Zhejiang Hailide and the potential business it represents certainly validates our marketing plan. As we expected, the iBar brings an immediate return on investment which will lead customers to quickly replicate this success to large numbers of machines following initial trials.”

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: EVS
 

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Provincial Government Of Vietnam To Mass Produce Spider Silk

LANSING, Mich. — June 15, 2015 — Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., a developer of spider silk based fibers, announced that after a series of meetings with Vietnam’s central and regional governments, it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This MOU outlines a framework for the creation and rearing of transgenic silkworms in Vietnam. Pursuant to the MOU, Kraig Labs and the Vietnamese provincial government will jointly develop a cooperative plan for the development and production of Kraig Labs trangenics in Vietnam.

“This MOU represents a breakthrough for Kraig Labs and potentially the silk industry. The Central and Provincial Government officials in Vietnam with whom we have held extensive meetings share our passion and vision for reinvigorating the silk industry. This new relationship should bring new opportunities for both the Company and Vietnam. The goal is commercialization of our disruptive technology for the technical textile markets,” said Company CEO Kim Thompson. “Vietnam offers specialized silk infrastructure which is ideal for expanding our operations. Vietnam’s tradition of quality silk production makes it an excellent fit for our transgenic silkworms. This cooperative effort will further serve to support our recombinant silk technology, its many applications and end markets.”

The Company is continuing to work with the provincial government to develop advanced research and development facilities in Vietnam, as well as pilot production of transgenic hybrids. Negotiations for a final agreement incorporating the terms of the MOU are expected to conclude in the third quarter of 2015.

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: Kraig Biocraft
 

People

AATCC — the Association of Textile, Apparel & Materials Professionals based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. — announced the winners of its 2015 AATCC Concept 2 Consumer® Student Design Competition. First place was awarded to Ornella Santoni, Drexil University for her Fold Me Away – Tech Me Away submission. Armani Dodd, Drexel University took second place for Illusion. Honorable mentions also were awarded to Brenna Conner, Kansas State University, and Emily Kopcik, University of Delaware.
 
Australia-based Alexium International Group Ltd. has appointed Steve Gravlee senior sales associate, Nicole Graver technical sales representative, and Reginald Didier head of product development. The company also added U.S. Brigadier General Stephen Cheney to its Board of Directors as a non-executive director.
 
Jon Arendt has joined Helsinki-based Suominen Corp. as product manager.
 
Diamond Springs, Calif.-based Miller Weldmaster West Coast has named James Nute sales manager for the alternative distribution team. Nute is responsible for sales and service in the company’s eastern sales territory, and also will implement the sales and marketing transition of the Sinclair Equipment product line into Miller Weldmaster.
 
Australia-based Impression Technology Pty. Ltd. has named Bruce Van Greunen sales and technical manager, Pigment.inc UK, its European, Middle East and Africa sales division.
 
Hunter Douglas, Pearl River, N.Y., promoted Ron Kass to CEO effective July 1. Kass replaces Marv Hopkins who is retiring.
 
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Coville Inc. has appointed Scott Willis COO.
 
Microban International, Huntersville, N.C., has made the following appointments: Robert Gunn, managing director, Europe; Martin Szeto, managing director, Asia; and Renato Souza, senior sales director, Latin America.
 
Southfield, Mich.-based JVS honored Randy and Craig Rubin, inventors of Crypton® fabric, with the JVS Business Leadership Award during its Strictly Business Networking and Awards Luncheon.
 
Switzerland-based Santex Group named Jude Britto head of sales for technical textiles and emerging technologies for India-based Santex Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.
 
Scott Hart has joined the sales team at Martin Patrick Evan Ltd. Hart is responsible for territory in Southern California.
 
The Memphis, Tenn.-based National Cotton Council (NCC) announced the following 12 members as participants in the Emerging Leaders Program for 2015-16: Producers — Rafe Banks, Brandon Brooks, Matt Coley, Paul Minzenmayer, Sutton Page and Brad Williams; Ginners — Phillip Kidd and Todd Waters; Merchants — Cory Barnes and Ken Burton; Warehouser — Joe Cain; and Marketing Cooperative — Vicki Dorris.

June 2015

American Rug Craftsmen Introduces Berkshire: A Super Plush EverStrand Collection

SUGAR VALLEY, Ga. — June 12, 2015 — The Berkshire Collection from American Rug Craftsmen is a new super-plush shag collection that offers the freshest trends in home décor. It colors contemporary designs in a palette of soft neutrals accented with a splash of sun-washed hues. Berkshire rugs are especially suited for the modern home, offering a range of designs from abstracts and transitionals to geometrics and florals.

This collection is woven of EverStrand fiber on Van De Weile looms to provide superior softness and durability. EverStrand is a premium recycled polyester fiber that starts clean and stays clean because it utilizes the highest-grade plastic from recycled beverage bottles. EverStrand includes up to 100% recycled content and offers inherent “stain-free” beauty.

The Berkshire Collection includes:
Billerica: A tribal stripe in today’s shades (Blue and Grey).
Brewster: A modern Egyptian stairstep geometric available in Blue and Grey.
Chatham: An artistic crosspatch available in Coral and Grey.
Chilmark Blue: An abstract skyscape.
Cohasset Grey: An ancient cobblestone look with a modern twist.
Hadley Multi: A lighthearted paisley floral in fashion shades.
Rowley Multi: An artsy trellis with dabs of sun-washed color on a grey ground.
Paxton: A modern floral with a time-worn heirloom effect. Available in Blue and Coral.
Vernon Multi: A delightful display of Suzani medallions framed in vines.
Truro Grey: An abstract watercolor in today’s shades.
Wendall Blue: A splash of artistic abstraction.

Posted June 16, 2015

Source: American Rug Craftsmen
 

J+J Flooring Group Certified As A Zero Waste To Landfill Manufacturer

DALTON, Ga. — June 10, 2015 — J+J Flooring Group, a leading manufacturer of commercial specified flooring, announced today it has been certified as a Zero Waste to Landfill manufacturer by GreenCircle Certified LLC., a prominent third-party certifier of environmental claims. J+J Flooring Group is the first commercial flooring manufacturer in the United States to achieve this landfill free status. It is also the first company in the industry to have its waste diversion efforts audited and verified by a recognized, third-party certifier of environmental claims.  
 
Over the years, through effective reuse, recycling and repurposing methods, J+J Flooring Group has significantly decreased the amount of waste it directly sends to local landfills. This long-standing initiative concluded in August of 2014 when the company officially stopped sending any material directly to the landfill.
 
Now in 2015 and beyond, any waste at J+J’s Dalton, Ga., campus that cannot be recycled, reused or repurposed — approximately two percent of its total waste — will be sent to Covanta, the country’s largest energy-from-waste operator. The waste received by Covanta will be converted into energy to help provide steam power to the Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army garrison that services a number of tenants including the Army Materiel Command, the Missile Defense Agency of the Department of Defense and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
 
To further demonstrate commitment to waste diversion, J+J Flooring Group selected GreenCircle to verify its waste diversion process. This certification included a material flow analysis of J+J’s Dalton campus as well as a review of its downstream material management organizations receiving J+J’s waste. After verification of the processes, sources and procedures, GreenCircle awarded J+J Flooring Group a Zero Waste to Landfill Certification.
 
“Our focus on waste reduction and recycling over the past 20 years is what has allowed us to reach this significant milestone. It is the result of a common passion and drive between all J+J associates,” said J+J Flooring Group Director of Sustainability Russ Delozier. “This marks another significant step in J+J’s journey to holistic sustainability.”
 
Landfills not only represent a waste of resources, but according to the EPA, they pose significant risks to the environment. Landfills in the U.S. are the third largest emitters of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4), which is 34 times more harmful than CO2. Hydrologically, toxic liquids can leach from a landfill and cause water management concerns.
 
J+J Flooring Group’s landfill reduction, an effort started nearly a quarter of a century ago, has been accelerated by the company’s 20/20 Vision.  This roadmap includes the company’s sustainability goals to be met by 2020 and demonstrates its commitment to corporate responsibility.

Posted June 11, 2015

Source: J+J Flooring Group
 

PA Group Software Enhances Lean Manufacturing Operations At World’s Largest Insect Screening Manufacturer

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — June 10, 2015 — PA Group USA is implementing manufacturing software solutions at Phifer, Incorporated that will enhance lean manufacturing practices. PA Group has fully implemented machine monitoring, planning and scheduling, and product life cycle management software solutions in one Phifer manufacturing division with two more scheduled to go live this summer. Phifer is based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum and fiberglass insect screening.

The three software components are part of a suite of solutions commonly referred to as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) that are focused on giving manufacturing executives greater visibility into manufacturing operations. PA Group has published a case study to highlight the software implementation process and business outcomes of the Phifer MES project.

“As I worked on this case study with Phifer it became very clear to me just how valuable the insight they were gaining was. It was powerful to hear a customer say that your software is opening new opportunities to look at their business in ways that they never even imagined,” stated PA Group Marketing Director Josh Davis.

Posted June 11, 2015

Source: PA Group
 

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