Suominen Expands Nonwoven Production Capacity, Sells Codi Wipes Business Unit

Suominen Corp. — a Finland-based supplier of nonwovens, wet wipes and flexible packaging for
consumer products — will invest approximately 2.5 million euros (US$3.3 million) at its plant in
Windsor Locks, Conn., to expand production capacity for its Hydraspun® Substrates — including
Hydraspun Dispersable Substrate, a nonwoven roll good for flushable wipes. The Windsor Locks plant
operates under Suominen’s Nonwovens business unit.

“We have decided to proceed with this investment in order to be able to answer to our
customers’ increasing demand,” said Jean-Marie Becker, executive vice president, Suominen
Nonwovens. “We will further strengthen our position in the wipes market, and particularly in this
market segment, and the investment will expand the production capacity of our proprietary Hydraspun
Substrate technology.”

To further strengthen its strategic focus on nonwovens, Suominen has sold all shares of Codi
Wipes — its wet wipes business unit based in the Netherlands — to Cogitandum BV — a subsidiary of
private investment firm Value Enhancement Partners, the Netherlands — for approximately 9.2 million
euros (US$12 million). Following the closing of the transaction, Suominen will operate two business
units, Nonwovens and Flexibles.

“Divesting Codi Wipes business unit is very well in line with our ‘In the Lead’ strategy as
the deal clarifies both our corporate structure and our position in wipes value chain, particularly
in relation to our nonwovens customers,” said Nina Kopola, president and CEO, Suominen Corp. “We
can now concentrate even better on further strengthening our competitiveness in nonwovens. “Due to
our major expansion in nonwovens, the strategic role of an own converting unit has clearly
diminished from 2003, when Codi International was acquired. For Codi International, this
transaction assures an owner with strategic interest to develop the company further.”

“Codi International holds a very strong position in the European wet wipes industry with a
highly automated production that provides some of the highest quality converting possibilities in
Europe,” said Kenneth Tjon, managing partner, Value Enhancement Partners. “The fragmented market
and growth in upcoming markets presents opportunities to increase the scale of the company and to
diversify its production into more geographies and products, thereby also potentially being better
able to serve its globally operating customers. We look forward to realizing the growth plans
together with management.”

June 25, 2013

  

Martex Fiber Acquires JBM Fibers Inc.

Martex Fiber Southern Corp. — a Spartanburg-based manufacturer of recycled industrial textile
products — has acquired JBM Fibers Inc. — a Brownsville, Texas-based manufacturer of reprocessed
textile waste and fiber by-products. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Martex Fiber’s
position in the textile recycling industry by allowing the company to expand into post-consumer
shoddy manufacturing, widen its product offerings and improve its access to recyclable raw
materials.

JBM Fibers operates a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and has an additional
200,000-square-foot storage warehouse in Brownsville; and has a 45,000-square-foot facility in
Mexico for sorting, cleaning and pre-blending additional raw material.

“Our acquisition of JBM Fibers’ assets will expand our pre-consumer textile recycling
leadership position into the post-consumer segment,” said Rick Otero, CEO, Martex Fiber. “JBM’s
position is extremely complementary to our ‘No fiber left behind’ strategy, which diverts more than
130 million pounds of pre-consumer material each year from landfills, while also upgrading those
materials into wiping rags and remnants for paint and industrial cleaning, shoddy for insulation
and padding markets, and high quality recycled yarns for knitting and upholstery applications for
our global customer base. Martex Fiber’s Brownsville division will also open up markets and
geographies that we had not previously served.”

June 25, 2013

Hyosung Expands Production Of Creora® Spandex In Vietnam

South Korea — June 24, 2013 — HYOSUNG, the largest spandex producer in the world, announces plans
to expand their production facility of creora® brand spandex in Vietnam in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai.
Phase 1 will be operational in August and Phase 2 in November. This is to better serve needs in
South East Asia as well as in anticipation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being approved
with yarn forward rules of origin.

Hyosung1

Hyosung’s creora® brand spandex facility in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai

“We continue to invest in spandex as we believe market demand is going to continue to grow
and our state of the art facilities will enable creora® to deliver the best quality, consistency,
and value to solidify our global leadership position.” stated President Whang. “We have numerous
plants around the world including South Korea, China, Turkey, and most recently, we added one in
Brazil to supply growth in South America.”


Hyosung2
creora® brand spandex growth 1992-2013



Posted on June 25, 2013

Source: Hyosung 

DAK Americas Consolidates Operations With The Closure Of Its Cape Fear Site

CHARLOTTE — June 19, 2013 — DAK Americas LLC (DAK) announced today the planned closure of all
operations at its Cape Fear Site, near Wilmington, NC. The site was built in the late 1960’s and
acquired by DAK Americas in 2001. Approximately, 350 full service employees and 250 contract
workers are employed on-site to produce PTA, PET Resins and Polyester Staple Fibers. 

Jorge Young, DAK Americas’ President stated: “We acknowledge that this business decision is
very difficult for our employees and thank them for their dedication and commitment to our industry
for more than 40 years.  Closure of the site will allow us to further improve our low cost
position by supplying the vast majority of the Cape Fear Site customers from our other North
American facilities.” 

DAK Americas remains dedicated to the polyester value chain and supplying trade leading
products and services through its six remaining production facilities in the
Americas.   

The closure of the site is expected to be completed by September 2013. Employees will be
given timely notice and will be provided with a comprehensive separation package as part of the
closure. 

Posted on June 25, 2013

Source: DAK Americas LLC

Textile Manufacturing: Global Cost Trends From A U.S. Perspective: Knitting


Introduction


This is the third installment of a four-part series of papers stemming from a research
project conducted by B.J. Hamilton to analyze the competitiveness of the U.S. textile industry.
Earlier parts of this series have reported trends in fiber and yarn costs followed by the costs of
yarn production in the United States when compared to global competitors. This and the subsequent
part will investigate whether the demonstrated cost advantage of U.S.-produced yarn can be carried
through to afford economic advantages in fabric production.

The main sources of secondary data utilized in this paper were surveys conducted by the
International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), Switzerland, and include the ITMF
International Production Cost Comparison reports (1991-2010) and the ITMF International Textile
Machinery Shipment Statistics reports (1990-2010).


Knitting Machinery Cumulative Shipment Data


The ITMF International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics reports do not include total
knitting capacity for each country. As an indicator of recent investment in knitting capacity,
Figures 1 and 2 were created from available data to show the cumulative shipments from 2000 to 2010
for flatbed knitting machines and for large circular knitting machines.

Figure 1 shows that China accumulated more than 88,000 flatbed knitting machines during that
time period. No other country accumulated more than 13,000 such machines during the same period.

Figure 2 shows an even more extreme accumulation of large circular knitting machines by
China, with more than 130,000 cumulative shipments between 2000 and 2010. No other country exceeded
20,000 over that time frame.

NCSUFigure1



Figure 1: Cumulative Shipments Of Flatbed Knitting Machines

Data Source: ITMF International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (1991-2010)


Click
here to view Figure 1 in a new window

 

NCSUfigure2

Figure 2: Cumulative Shipments Of Large Circular Knitting Machines

Data Source: ITMF International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics
(1991-2010)

Click
here to view Figure 2 in a new window


Knitting Cost Trends


Figures 3 and 4 show the trends of knitting cost, including input cost (yarn) in each of the
included countries from 2003 to 2010. The U.S. is shown in a bold red line to emphasize its place
among competition.

Figure 3 shows the U.S. cost lowering from third-lowest to second-lowest over this time
frame and cost in China rising from second-highest to highest. In Figure 3, note that for the cost
of knitting with ring yarn, the steep decline for all countries between 2003 and 2006 is caused by
an adjustment in how the costs were calculated by ITMF. Specifically, a different base knit fabric
was used for the calculations.

Figure 4 clearly shows that over recent years, when using rotor yarns as the raw material,
the cost of producing knitted fabrics in the U.S. has become more competitive. This is mainly due
to the lower rate of increase in cost over time as compared to other countries.



NCSUfigure3

Figure 3: Knitting With Ring Yarn Costs By Year


Data Source: ITMF International Production Cost Comparison (2003-2010)


Click
here to view Figure 3 in a new window

 

NCSUFigure4

Figure 4: Knitting With Rotor Yarn Costs By Year

Data Source: ITMF International Production Cost Comparison (2003-2010)

Click
here to view Figure 4 in a new window


Components Of Knitting Cost


It can immediately be recognized that, according to the surveys of the ITMF, raw material
costs are more significant for knitting than for spinning or weaving. The individual cost
components available for each country for knitting in the 2010 ITMF International Production Cost
Comparison report are raw material, interest, depreciation, auxiliary material, power and labor.
Please note that the “raw material” for weaving and knitting processes refers to the costs of
purchasing yarn. It has been previously shown that yarn manufacturing costs are very competitive in
the U.S., and this benefit of locally produced inexpensive, high-quality yarn should impact
knitting costs. For the sake of brevity in this paper, only the results for knitting with ring yarn
are shown below, but knitting with rotor yarn had similar results.

Figure 5 shows the total cost of knitting for each country in 2010, broken into cost
components. A bold red line was placed on the top of the U.S. bar in order to gauge its cost
relative to the other countries.

Figure 6 shows what the total knitting cost for each country would become if the raw
material cost were doubled. As shown in Part 1 of this series, this scenario could easily happen as
the result of an elevation in fiber costs, such as experienced with the cotton price increase in
2010-11. This figure shows the clear advantage gained by the U.S. versus the majority of its
competitors in the face of a large increase in yarn cost. Another factor for which a uniform global
increase might be advantageous to the U.S. is power cost. However, as indicated in Part 2, it may
be unrealistic to expect a uniform increase, and there is growing evidence that the rises in power
costs may be more influenced by regulatory issues, which vary significantly from country to
country. This is a subject of ongoing research.

NCSUFigure5


Figure 5: Cost Components For Knitting With Ring Yarn

Data Source: ITMF International Production Cost Comparison (2010)




Click
here to view Figure 5 in a new window

 
NCSUfigure6

Figure 6: Cost Components For Knitting With Ring Yarn (Raw Material Doubled)



Data Source: ITMF International Production Cost Comparison (2010)

Click
here to view Figure 6 in a new window




Conclusions


This paper shows that the U.S., while losing worldwide share in knitted fabric production,
has been slowly gaining in global cost competitiveness in knitting. Additionally, the cost
structure of U.S. knitting provides the opportunity for the U.S. to benefit from global increases
in fiber prices. The reasons for the advantage being much more applicable to knitting is that there
are very few operations in the conversion of yarns into knitted goods, which require a significant
labor input compared with weaving, which requires warp preparation.

References

Hamilton, B.J. (2012). “Short- and Long-Term Opportunities for US Textile Manufacturing.” Ph.D.
Dissertation, North Carolina State University.

ITMF. (1990-2010). International textile machinery shipment statistics.

ITMF. (1991, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010). International production cost
comparison: Spinning, texturing, weaving, knitting.

Editor’s note: Brian John Hamilton, Ph.D., is product developer – Domestic Lifestyle at New
Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., Boston. William Oxenham, Ph.D., is Associate Dean, and Kristin Thoney,
Ph.D., is Associate Professor at North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles, Raleigh,
N.C.

June 25, 2013

Business Stays Strong; Spinners Optimistic About Second Half Of Year

Business remained brisk for yarn spinners through the first part of June, despite eroding consumer
confidence in the economy and gradually escalating cotton prices.

“Right now, both ring-spun and open-end yarns are moving well,” said one yarn seller. “We
have a good pipeline in place at the moment, and it hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.”

Unlike during the boom of several years ago, few shortages have been reported. “Business is
strong, but there is still yarn to be had out there,” said one buyer. “I think part of that is due
to the fact that blends became popular back when there was a run on cotton yarns and a lot of
customers never switched back to all cotton. In fact, poly/cotton blends are still moving well.”


Of some concern are delivery times. “Obviously, with higher demand, delivery times move out,”
said one spinner. “At this point, it hasn’t been a huge concern, but customers who were used to
getting their orders filled in a time frame of days or a few weeks are having to wait a little
longer. It’s a delicate balance for us, as well, as we have to face the choice of extended delivery
cycles versus building inventory.”

Another spinner agreed: “We’ve been fortunate in that we are in a position to both build some
inventory and extend some credit, especially for our Central American customers. But that is, as
you know, a double-edged sword. The last time mills went in that direction, we ended up with a lot
of high-dollar yarn and very low prices.”

Overall, spinners remain optimistic about business prospects over the last half of the year.
“We haven’t had any indications yet that a slowdown is on the horizon,” said one yarn buyer. “Most
of the spinners I work with are running full seven-day schedules. Orders are still coming in at a
brisk pace. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunities to quote on some very large orders
– larger than what I’ve seen in some time.

Added another spinner: “So far, we’ve had exactly what we’ve needed: a sustained period of
good business. Raw material costs have been stable, and our customers are losing their fear about
the volatility of cotton prices. For a long time, there was some hesitancy to place large orders
because of the huge drop in prices. Neither customers nor mills wanted to get stuck with a large
inventory that was way above the prevailing market cost.”


Cotton Prices Rise While Consumer Sentiment Falls


Two developments in recent weeks, however, are raising the eyebrows of some spinners: the
price of cotton and several reports about eroding consumer confidence. As noted by the spinner
above, cotton prices have remained relatively stable for most of the year. However, prices began to
move up again in June, closing above 83 cents per pound for the week of June 20, up more than 13
cents per pound over the corresponding period a year ago. Futures prices for later in the year
topped 90 cents per pound.

“Some movement in the price is to be expected,” said one yarn broker. “An extended period of
favorable business conditions will obviously impact demand in a positive way, and that will
escalate prices. What we do not need to see, however, is the rapid rise of a few years ago, when we
went over $2 per pound in a very short period of time. As of the moment, we are not overly
concerned, but we will keep a close eye on prices.”

Also with the potential to negatively impact the industry is the report by Reuters that the
Consumer Sentiment Index reading for June declined and was substantially below expectations. The
index fell to 73.2 in June, from 79.3 in May. It was the lowest level in the past six months. Also,
at the end of May, the U.S. Department of Commerce revealed that consumer spending fell in April,
the first such decline of the year.

“While the overall level of consumer sentiment is substantially above last summer’s low –
which would normally indicate a growth slowdown, not a downturn – the buying plans of upper-income
households have also sharply declined,” survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

“Since these households account for a large share of total spending, if the declines continue
in the months ahead, it could have a substantial impact on total spending.”

One industry expert noted: “The June figures follow on the heels of May, which were among the
highest in the past six years. Obviously, it is our hope that this is a temporary thing. We don’t
find a one-month drop to be alarming. If a pattern emerges, that will be a different story.”

June 2013

Capital Spending Perks Up

There’s increasing evidence that domestic textile mills are again beginning to shell out
substantial dollar amounts for new plant and equipment. A new government report tells the story: It
finds that U.S. firms invested $1.2 billion in 2011 — the latest year for which data are available.
That’s a solid 9-percent jump over the $1.1 billion spent the previous year. Moreover, compared to
2009, the latest number is up by an even more impressive 27 percent. In any case, this marks a
dramatic reversal from the huge 30-percent-plus tumble recorded in 2009, the low point of the
recent business downturn. And virtually the same improving capital outlay pattern is noted for the
U.S. downstream apparel sector, where the latest annual increase came to near 23 percent. It might
also be pointed out that all these recent capital spending increases are not that different from
those recorded for all U.S. manufacturing. That’s not to say, of course, that these latest business
investment numbers are anywhere near the peak levels of a decade or so ago. But that’s only to be
expected. Indeed, to put this spending in perspective, capital outlays should be compared to
overall industry revenues. And here, the picture also quite encouraging. At last report, for
example, U.S. textile mills were earmarking a solid 4 percent of their sales dollars for new plant
and equipment. Not only is this close to levels prevailing before the recent recession, but it’s
also above the 3.5-percent level now being reported for all U.S. manufacturing.

BFgraph


Other Upbeat Signs


Nor are all the above reports the only indication of strengthening industry investment. Also
pointing in this direction is the pickup in domestic textile machinery demand — with the latest
production numbers here ranging a strong 25-percent above their 2009 low point. And if further
proof of a rising capital spending trend is needed, it comes from a new National Council of Textile
Organizations (NCTO) survey indicating that an impressive 23 new American plants have come
on-stream over the past three years. True, some of these new installations are aimed at replacing
older, less-efficient ones. But, as noted in last month’s column, all this new investment also
seems to be both halting the precipitous decline in industry capacity noted over the past few
decades, and helping to maintain the industry’s record for solid 3- to 4-percent annual
productivity gains. This latter trend, in turn, offers still more evidence that the U.S. is
becoming a lot more competitive in today’s global marketplace. And virtually all U.S. executives
would pretty much agree. In fact, there is now a solid consensus that the domestic industry is well
on the way toward becoming a lot leaner and meaner. Couple this with the increasingly hefty labor
and material cost increases now being faced by the United States’ major overseas competitors and a
modestly improving economy, and it’s making for a major shift in industry thinking — one that
exudes confidence that the industry will not only survive but actually prosper in the years ahead.


Further Thoughts On Trade


Meantime, another good hard look at import strategies seems to be in order. It’s becoming
increasingly clear, for example, that relying solely on China — now faced with labor shortages,
annual double-digit pay increases and ecological pressures — may no longer be the way to go. Nor
does switching to such developing nations as Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and India offer
sure-fire alternatives. Reason: Not only do these countries also face sharply rising costs, but
also they present big new question marks vis-à-vis worker safety. Witness, for example, the recent
tragic Bangladesh building collapse. It has already forced many large American apparel firms to
reevaluate their overall sourcing plans — and with good reason. Thus, aside from the public
relations problems that such disasters raise, there’s a realization that it will take billions of
dollars to raise many of these countries’ garment factories to anything even near Western safety
standards. In any event, large U.S. buyers like Walmart and Levi Strauss are now increasingly
questioning the feasibility of putting too many of their procurement eggs in these countries’
baskets. Then, too, there’s always the fear that buyers’ ever-increasing emphasis on cost
containment, speedy turnarounds, and zero mistakes could precipitate a lot of other Bangladesh-type
debacles. Finally, factor in such other important sourcing factors — including today’s vastly
cheaper U.S. energy costs as well as its superior reliability and quality — and some modest shift
to more reshoring could well become a more viable option.

June 2013

Top Value Fabrics Introduces Low Lead Polyester For Industrial Applications

CARMEL, Ind. — June 20, 2013 — Top Value Fabrics has expanded its line of polyester fabrics for
industrial applications. The newest addition is 600 X 300 Denier PVC Backed Polyester developed
with a low lead formulation.

This new polyester has been added to Top Value Fabrics’ product line by request as there are
a growing number of manufacturers who want a lower lead material without the requirement of using
CPSIA Compliant goods.  While this polyester offers product manufacturers a new option for low
lead content, it features the same durability as the company’s best-selling 600 X 300 Denier PVC
Backed Polyester goods with minimal additional cost. Both the company’s traditional goods and fully
CPSIA Compliant options are still available.

Top Value Fabrics’ 600 X 300 Denier PVC Backed Polyester is a versatile material with a
sturdy 0.55mm vinyl embossed backing. Popular applications of this fabric include a variety of
bags, luggage, indoor covers and custom cases.

Posted on June 24, 2013

Source: Top Value Fabrics

SGIA Product Of The Year Competition Now Open

FAIRFAX, Va. — June 20, 2013 — SGIA is now accepting submissions for its 2013 Product of the Year
awards! This esteemed competition recognizes the latest equipment and supplies currently on the
market, and advancing the specialty imaging industry.

Only Expo exhibitors who are SGIA members can enter their newest innovations that benefited
the industry in 2013. Each product will be judged by a select group of experts based on its
perceived value to the specialty imaging community. Products submitted must be currently available
in the market for 2013, and all entries must be received by October 11, 2013.

Judging for all categories will be held Tuesday, October 22, the day before the 2013 SGIA
Expo (Orlando, October 23-25). The most innovative products for the imaging community of 2013 will
be awarded Product of the Year honors, within these four categories:

  • Media for digital inkjet (seven sub-categories)
  • Inks
  • Finishing (three sub-categories)
  • Output Device Test Print Shoot Out

All entries will remain on display throughout the 2013 SGIA Expo. Register today and submit
your entries for Product of the Year at SGIA.org!



Posted on June 24, 2013

Source: SGIA

Garmatex Performance Fabric Breakthrough: Kottinu™ Surpasses Demanding Occupational Health And Safety Standards, Winning Coveted Approval Of Firefighters

VANCOUVER, Canada — June 6, 2013 — Garmatex Technologies, Inc., an innovative leader in the
research and development of scientifically-engineered fabrics and technologies, has successfully
completed the testing of its Kottinu™ fabric to occupational health and safety (“OHS”) standards
for use in garments worn underneath protective wear. The accredited, third party testing was
initiated to qualify Kottinu™, with its “cotton-like” comfort and feel, as a alternative to the
traditional cotton fabric currently favored by firefighters.

Darren Berezowski, Garmatex President, says “Statistics show that heat/stress exhaustion
leading to a heart attack is the number one killer of firefighters across North America. The ISO
17493:2000 test substantiates that the thermal stability of Kottinu™ exceeds the requirements of
section 31.15 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (British Columbia) standards by a
wide margin.”

“Just as important,” said Berezowski; “are the moisture management aspects of the fabric that
assist in helping the body moderate the effects of excessive heat buildup as well as regulating the
cooling process so there is a less dramatic effect on the body during the rehab/cool down period.”
Berezowski also noted that, “These dynamic performance aspects combined with the “cotton-like”
comfort and feel of the fabric is what the firefighters find most impressive.”

Darrell Smith, an assistant Fire Chief in a prominent Canadian municipality and a veteran
firefighter, says; “Firefighters are not dying because they are getting burnt in a fire.
Firefighters are overheating and having heart attacks.” Endeavoring to provide his team with the
best protective equipment available, he adopted the Kottinu™ shirt for field testing within his
department a few years ago and predicts that other fire departments will do the same “once they are
enlightened on what this product is.”

Martin Doane, CEO of Garmatex, says the Kottinu™ product has far-reaching potential
applications: “The evolution of our technologies is ongoing and the cooperation of groups within
the segments we serve provides a valuable contribution. Rigorous standards, such as those that must
be adhered to within the firefighting industry, allow us to build upon and demonstrate the superior
quality and attributes of our Kottinu™ product and technology and opens the door to the global
opportunity to serve this industry and others. With proven results that it outperforms cotton on a
multitude of levels, Kottinu™, designed with our fiberithm technology, is the next standard for a
true cotton-like performance fabric.”



Posted on June 24, 2013

Source: Garmatex Technologies Inc./PRNewswire

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