Five Universities Awarded Walmart Foundation Grants

Five universities were awarded U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grants totaling $2.84 million for their work focused on textile manufacturing from the Walmart Foundation. The five recipients are: Clemson, S.C.-based Clemson University for its energy and effluent reduction through innovative polyester fabric dyeing; Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., for its environmentally conscious dyeing of fabrics using continuous digital printing an drying of biopigment inks; Austin, Texas-based University of Texas at Austin for its on-loom fabric defect inspection system using contact image sensors; Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina State University for its non-stop tying-in process for improving weaving efficiency; and Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cornell University for its recycled post-consumer textile waste and raw material substitute for new textiles.

The grant recipients were chosen for their potential to address the following two key challenges faced by domestic manufacturers: reducing the cost of textile manufacturing in the United States by dealing with production obstacles; and improving common manufacturing processes with broad application to many consumer products.

The awards were announced at the 84th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington. The recent awards are the second round of funding, and the goal is to award $10 million in grants over the course of five years.

“Through these grants we hope to help remove the barriers to revitalizing and growing U.S. apparel manufacturing, while creating more sustainable production processes,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president, the Walmart Foundation, and chief sustainability officer for Walmart. “The U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund is part of the Walmart and the Walmart Foundation’s broader commitment to foster new economic growth and opportunity and create stronger communities.”

In 2013, Walmart committed to purchase an additional $250 billion in products that support U.S. jobs by 2013. Support for the Innovation Fund is part of Walmart’s broader commitment to support U.S. textile manufacturing.

January/February 2016

Meridian Specialty Yarn Group Announces Expansion

Valdese, N.C.-based Meridian Specialty Yarn Group (MSYG) — a specialist in package dyeing, space dyeing, top-dyed wool, yarn printing and twisting — has announced it will build a new 113,000-square-foot plant on its existing manufacturing site in Valdese. The expansion also includes a renovation of its current 152,000-square-foot plant. Once complete, the $8 million construction project will result in 260,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space. The project is expected to be complete by early winter of 2017, and the expansion will add 25 jobs to the company’s current workforce of 146.

“We believe a strong manufacturing based in crucial to the U.S. economy, and we will do all that we can to support our customers, our employees and the communities in which we operate,” said Tim Manson, president, MSYG. “When we developed the business plan for the expansion, we did a great deal of due diligence with regard to the location, and concluded the best place to be is where we are. We greatly appreciate the support of the city and county in helping us through this process.”

“This is a significant announcement for the town of Valdese,” said Chip Black, Valdese Mayor. “We have worked with Meridian for many months to facilitate the process and find a solution that supports their tremendous growth opportunities while remaining here in Valdese.”

January/February 2016

3i Products To Invest $3 Million In New S.C. Facility

Columbia, S.C.- based 3i Products Inc., a producer and distributor of cushions and pillows, has announced plans to open a facility in Lancaster, S.C. The company has located an existing 27,000-square-foot building for the new plant, which is expected to begin operations during the second quarter of 2016. Over the next five years, the company will add 100 employees, and will begin the hiring process in April.

Lancaster County received two grants to  help with the project — a $150,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant from the Coordinating Council for Economic Development to assist with the cost of property improvements related to the project; and a $50,000 grant from AdvanceSC to help with building upfit.

“3i Products is very excited about our move to the Lancaster area and looks forward to opening our new facility and bringing jobs and growth to the area,” said Tim Chen, chairman of the board, 3i. “We appreciated all the work of the local members of the counts, Governor Nikki Haley and her team in the State of South Carolina for making this project a reality.”

January/February 2016

NCTO, U.S. Textile Manufacturers Endorse TPP

The Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has announced its decision to formally support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). NCTO feels that its principal objectives — among them, a strong yarn forward rule of origin for a majority of textile and apparel products; reasonable multi-year tariff phase-outs for sensitive textile and apparel products; and terms that keep the Western Hemisphere textile and apparel production chain stable — were met in the final agreement. NCTO had pledged to support the agreement as long as key objectives were met.

“No agreement is perfect, and certainly that is the case with TPP,” said Jeff Price NCTO chairman. “There were difficult  trade-offs that we, as  U.S. manufacturers, had  to consider during this process, as is the case with any complicated negotiations. Nonetheless, this agreement is very sound in the essential elements that govern textile trade. With legislative review and action expected in 2016, NCTO looks forward to working with congressional leadership, the committees of jurisdiction, our supporters on Capitol Hill, and the Obama Administration on a path forward for TPP.

“We extend our thanks to Ambassador Michael Froman and the entire  U.S. negotiating team  for their willingness to acknowledge our input throughout the TPP process,” Price concluded.

January/February 2016

Textiles 2016: Battle The Low-Growth Economy

BornemanBy James M. Borneman

jborneman@TextileWorld.com

E

ven after a record-setting ITMA and new plant expansion announcements, the low-growth economy is hard to ignore. After reviewing a collection of economic forecasts for 2016, several common themes are apparent. The U.S. economy is an odd blend of low growth, low oil prices, low reported unemployment, low to no wage growth, sluggish retail sales, falling productivity, with a Federal Reserve considering increasing interest rates. The slow-growth U.S. economy and continued slowing in China are making the global economic picture a little sketchy.

However, when you speak with textile producers, particularly non-commodity producers, there are pockets of strength. Lower manufacturing input prices including energy make things interesting. A stronger dollar makes buying equipment cheaper, but slows exports. Although productivity is slowing in general, the level of automation in textiles is tremendous and cited as a factor in investment in U.S. textile manufacturing. Stable power, strong engineering talent that can handle automation, a great cotton supply chain, strong infrastructure including ports, and proximity to the customer are still prevailing drivers for textile manufacturing investment.

It is anecdotal, but interest in U.S. textiles seems to be increasing. Inquiries about the industry and its players seems to be on the rise with Textile World editors. Editorial content from the TW Innovation Forum and coverage of ITMA 2015 provided by TW technical editors is rich with innovation and technical advancements.

With Techtextil North America (TTNA), Texprocess and the IDEA show on the horizon, more opportunity to explore the industry is soon at hand. Unfortunately, the scheduling of these events concurrently makes for some tough choices for exhibitors and visitors who would normally attend TTNA and IDEA. Many will split ranks with colleagues to have a presence or attend both events.

The “What are textiles?” question continues to appear again and again — usually from a consultant hired to do market research for a company not currently participating in the textile supply chain, but looking for opportunity. TW editors tend to point to these shows to illustrate the depth of the answer. People are astounded when you discuss anything beyond apparel and home furnishings as textiles. Automotive and medical products, composites — even the covering on a tennis ball — go largely unnoticed.

As smart technologies evolve and performance materials become matter-of-fact, there will be an even larger misunderstanding of the nature and depth of the U.S. textile industry. As automation increases, the effectiveness of the industry employment head-count is less representative of the size of the industry. As an industry participant, prepare to be more misunderstood — but that is not such a bad thing. It certainly makes reporting on the industry interesting and seeing the innovative things going on in product development areas is pretty amazing. The year 2016 is bound to be an interesting year with a political back drop, sluggish economy and hopefully some insulation from China and Europe’s woes.

January/February 2016

Angelico Finalizes The Acquisition Of British Weaving Company Marling & Evans, A Brand Steeped In History, At Milano Unica

BIELLA, Italy — February 11,2016 — Italy-based wool mill Angelico has acquired England-based weaving company Marling & Evans.

The operation will help to enhance Marling & Evans business and commercial relationships and to expand its refined sesasonal collections.

After an initial foray into last year’s Milano Unica, Marling & Evans is back at this year’s event, buoyed by the excellent feedback from buyers and orders received from top men’s classic wear brands.

Marling & Evans, a key name in British sartorial excellence around the world, producing refined fabrics in the Huddersfield textile district, Yorkshire, for more than two hundred years,  is a presence of the highest calibre for the whole exile industry and for sartorial elegance.

The first results of the new course the brand is following, drawing on Angelico’s expertise, is the first ever collection, SS2017, to be unveiled at Milano Unica.

Superior natural fibres combine in lightweight fabrics and broad patterns that are typical of British tradition: silk/cotton, wool/linen, lightweight wools in which faux uni and classic designs predominate, revisited in a brand new selection of bright colours.

Part of the collection harnesses the natural hues of the fibres, providing a summer variation of the moods of the natural undyed range, the true showpiece of the woollen mill. This is a unique product in both the care and selection that go into it; it is made of British, undyed wools including Shetland, Jacobs and Welsh Black varieties, blended on the basis of  the natural hues of the fibres.

Founded in 1782 as a small, craft weavers, Marling and Evans still produces wool cloth for the garment sector, using singular, non-serial procedures.

Its products contain only British wools, dyes and natural finishes, with no chemical additives and using the soft water in the Huddersfield textile district, renowned for the softness of its fibres.

The exceptional heritage of know-how and craft is carried forward by local craftsmen, skilled in each of the outsourced steps such as spinning and finishing. This is zero-mile production by definition.

A distinctive feature of the Marling & Evans range is ultrasoft covert twill in a Shetland and British lambswool blend. It has been used for years in the upholstery of Rolls Royces and is also highly considered within the fashion industry.

For British textile aficionados, Marling & Evans offers exquisite flannels, melange fabrics for jackets and carded cloths for coats, Donegal, Herringbone, leno weave cloths made on traditional looms in the old-fashioned way, and textiles for hunting jackets that are given water-repellent finishes which heighten the natural properties of the wool.

Posted February 12, 2016

Source: Angelico 

ACIMIT: Textile Machinery Orders On The Rise For The Last Quarter Of 2015, But Only Abroard

MILAN, Italy — February, 2016 — A growing orders index for Italian machinery companies in foreign markets, while on the domestic front the positive orders trend is hit by a setback over the past six months. Raffaella Carabelli, President of ACIMIT: “2015 has closed well overall in terms of orders, with a growing sense of confidence for 2016.”

The orders index for textile machinery grew during the fourth quarter of 2015, mainly due to a boost in exports to foreign markets. Based on the survey conducted by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, during October-December 2015 the order intake for machinery manufacturers increased by 2% compared to the same period of the previous year. The value of the index for October-December 2015 stood at 89.1 points (2010 basis = 100).

However, growth was observed in foreign markets only, where the index registered an absolute value of 99.3 points (+3%). In Italy, the index had an absolute value of just 46.5 points, an 11% drop over the same quarter for 2014, bucking the trend of the previous two quarters.

ACIMIT president Raffaella Carabelli commented the index data as follows: “I believe it’s important to have closed out 2015 with an overall increase in the order intake. This is a positive result that may be further strengthened over the first half of 2016 if the numerous contacts confirmed at ITMA 2015 materialize. As for the domestic market,” continues Carabelli, “we weren’t expecting this sort of setback after two positive quarters. However, the year-end trade fair has confirmed the many signs of recovery, even for Italy, which now need to be verified in early 2016.”

Meanwhile Italian export figures, updated to the first ten months of 2015, confirm the current positive trend under in orders. “We witnessed a recovery in the Chinese market for the second half of 2015,” states ACIMIT’s president, “and generally speaking, the Asian markets account for growth in our sales (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam).”

In 2016, with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development and Italian Trade Agency, ACIMIT aims to further push its internationalization efforts. Around twenty countries/markets will be touched by promotional initiatives favouring the penetration of Italy’s textile machinery sector. Among these are projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Iran, areas which, as ACIMIT points out, Italian businesses are approaching for the first time or after years of partial closure.

Posted February 12, 2016

Source: ACIMIT

Gerber Technology’s Expanded AccuMark® Family Boosts Productivity By 10 Percent, Increases Throughput by 50 Percent: Introducing AccuMark 10.1 And New Module AccuPlan™

TOLLAND, Conn. — February 11, 2016 — A quicker response to market trends by apparel brands and retailers is the result of new technology that accelerates product development and quality while reducing costs. Gerber Technology, the world leader in integrated software and automation solutions for the apparel and industrial markets, has streamlined workflows and supported improved communication throughout the supply chain with the expansion of the AccuMark® family of products.

“The expanded AccuMark family of products will increase throughput and reduce physical samples by as much as 50 percent, and boost productivity by as much as 10 percent. We’ve made communication and quality control more collaborative all along the development and production process,” said Mary McFadden, Gerber’s executive director, CAD Product Management. “In addition, it can cut product development time by two weeks.”

AccuMark pattern design, marker making, grading and production planning software fully integrates the new AccuPlan and AccuMark 3D modules to increase productivity and accelerate time to market. It also coordinates and shares easily with YuniquePLM™.

AccuMark 10.1 closes the gap between production systems by streamlining workflows and supporting improved communication. It offers enhanced pattern design and development, marking, nesting, spread and cut planning. “AccuMark 10.1 accelerates collaboration and improves development time,” explained McFadden. “Patternmakers can easily validate the accuracy of their patterns, and produce a wide range of styles for development. We have made great gains in reducing redundancies and improving integration from design to delivery.”

AccuMark supports digital design, production workflows and collaboration through a comprehensive family of features:

  • AccuMark 3D — offering improved productivity and time to market through enhancements that provide accelerated design development, AccuMark’s next-generation 3D is a powerful, functional platform integrated to the AccuMark system.
  • AccuPlan — this new spread and cut planning solution uses a Marker Library to plan for and process multiple cut orders, plan marker and ply requirements and generate reports, even for multiple fabrics. AccuPlan can increase throughput by 50 percent for spread and cut planning.
  • YuniquePLM Integration — collaboration between AccuMark and YuniquePLM has never been more seamless, as files can be easily moved or saved to both systems, and image and information databases are easily transferred from one system to the other. Bills of Material (BOMs) can be created in AccuMark and saved to YuniquePLM for an accelerated pattern development process.

Enhancements can be found throughout the AccuMark family of products. AccuMark users will find new smart patternmaking tools to improve pattern design productivity and color matching capabilities for fabric printing. Rule-based marker layouts increase marker throughput by using AccuNest on markers previously laid by hand. New DXF output options from AccuScan give customers more options for using photographs for pattern input.

“Throughout our product development process, we take into account the needs and experiences of our customers,” said McFadden. “We understand their challenges and have created this family of integrated products that make going to market easier, more accurate and much more successful.”

Posted February 11, 2016

Source: Gerber Technology

The Next Generation Of Instruments Or Parallel Roll Alignment, RollCheck® Green And RollCheck® MINI

RICHARDSON, Texas — February 11, 2016 — Seiffert Industrial, a producer of laser alignment systems, has introduced the next generation of laser roll alignment tools, RollCheck® Green and RollCheck MINI for parallel roll alignment with green or red visible laser lines. The RollCheck is used for quick alignment checks and roll replacement.

The RollCheck Green is a visual tool used to speed-up quick alignment checks and the replacement of rolls in the processing industry. The RollCheck Green roll alignment tool uses the latest in green laser technology. Green laser lines are 10x’s brighter to the operator than a red laser line. Using our patented reflected-laser beam technology for maximum angular resolution, thus providing you with the most reliable and accurate visual reading, fast and simple way to measure and correct vertical angle (pitch) and horizontal angle (parallelism) between the rolls.
The RollCheck MINI laser alignment system for parallel roll alignment is lightweight, compact and durable. It operates the same way as the RollCheck Green but is smaller so it can fit into tighter places. The RollCheck MINI can measure spans up to 3 feet — 1 meter — from roll to roll sizes up to 4 inches — 101 millimeters — in diameter. The system comes with straps to be attached to the roll.

RollCheck works as follows: A Laser emitter mounted on a reference roll projects two laser lines onto the reflector unit mounted on the roll to be measured and adjusted, allowing the operator to view the alignment condition. The laser line is then automatically reflected back to the transmitter’s reference line indicating if the rolls are parallel to one another. RollCheck eliminates cumbersome trial and error adjustments which usually lead to scrap loss of time and output reduction.

RollCheck is small and compact and fits into small spaces. It is very simple to use and requires only one person to operate with no training necessary. As a result, more frequent roll checks can be made and the payback can be realized very quickly.

The RollCheck can be purchased through our Rental Purchase Program so it can be tested before purchase.

Posted February 11, 2016

Source: Seiffert Industrial

KARL MAYER Organizes In-House Exhibition In USA For North And Central American Customers And Industry Partners — April 26-28, 2016

GREENSBORO, N.C. — February 10, 2016 — Karl Mayer — a producer of machinery for warp knitting, warp preparation for weaving, and technical textiles — has organized an open house scheduled April 26-28, 2016. New machines, new applications and new fabrics, all are a continuous part of the company’s innovation process, leading to radical changes in the production of functional sportswear up to the use of carbon fiber in cars intended to revolutionize mobility.

When developing new machines Karl Mayer always maintains a strong focus on the interests of its customers all over the world with their specific needs. For their industry partners in North and Central America, Karl Mayer will organize a special event in the spring of this year. Goal is to provide the market an opportunity to learn about many recent innovations in detail and to generate ideas for new product development. The event will be set up as in-house exhibition at Karl Mayer’s subsidiary in Greensboro, N.C., April 26-28. This exhibition will bring experts together, will be a know-how exchange, and will show the newest machines and applications for warp knitting, weaving warp preparation and composite fabrics. “We have developed an exhibition program intended to provide our guests with fresh ideas and valuable support for their future development activities,” explains Tony Hooimeijer, president, Karl Mayer North America. “Our customers have enormous experience and knowledge in their markets. If they are able to combine this with our expertise and innovations, it is surely possible to generate completely new product solutions and ideas for increased productivity.”

Exciting Innovations

During Karl Mayer’s in-house exhibition in Greensboro visitors will have the opportunity to see high performance warp knitting machines in operation, producing new and sophisticated fabrics for automotive applications, and for sportswear, including seamless garments. For the weaving industry, Karl Mayer will be displaying its latest automatic sectional warper for the flexible production of high-precision warp beams. For sizing the company will be showing its VSB size box, a revolutionary new development that will generate significant savings. The third highlighted key area will be for the composites industry, and an innovative carbon fiber spreading unit will be demonstrated.

Flexibility For Visitors

The exhibition with all its highlights will be open to guests in the most flexible way possible. A half-day visit, a full-day tour or a stay for several days — the program will be tailored to individual requirements. In addition to having a show and tell at the machines, there will be presentations by Karl Mayer’s Business Units at regular intervals. Also the KARL MAYER Academy will hold fabric forming familiarization courses, providing more insight in the application possibilities of the presented technologies. And last but not least, the event will offer plenty of networking opportunities, with industry partners and with Karl Mayer experts.

Posted February 10, 2016

Source: Karl Mayer

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