Oerlikon Textile Reorganizes

Oerlikon Group, Switzerland, has announced changes to its Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co. KG
business, including simplifying its structure, moving its headquarters and increasing R&D
investments.

Oerlikon Textile’s five textile machinery and components businesses are being reorganized
into three business units: Manmade Fibers, comprising Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag; Natural
Fibers, comprising Oerlikon Schlafhorst and Oerlikon Saurer; and Textile Components. Current
branding of products will remain as is.

Oerlikon Textile’s headquarters have relocated from Remscheid, Germany, to Shanghai. In
connection with the move, CEO Thomas Babacan has left the company and has been succeeded by
Singapore native Clement Woon, an executive with considerable experience in international and Asian
business. The position of CFO also is moving to Shanghai. By the end of 2012, more than 40 percent
of the company’s senior management will operate out of Shanghai.

Oerlikon Textile’s 2012 R&D investment will grow to approximately 80 million Swiss francs
worldwide, including some 60 million Swiss francs in Germany, and R&D capacity will increase in
China. R&D in Germany will center on development of leading-edge technologies, while in Asia,
it will focus on adaptation for the regional market.

Oerlikon Textile’s sales in Asia account for some 70 percent of total 2011 sales. Some 45
percent of its employees currently are based in Asia, and by 2014, that portion is expected to grow
to 50 percent. 

“We have seen strong improvement in our Textile business, resulting in record margins,” said
Dr. Michael Buscher, Oerlikon Group CEO. “To ensure the continuation of this success, we will
manage the textile business directly out of its most important market and at the same time
strengthen R&D capabilities, especially in Germany.”

January/February 2012

Indorama Acquires FiberVisions

Polyester producer Indorama Ventures PCL (IVL), Thailand, has acquired specialty polyolefin staple
fiber and bicomponent fiber producer FiberVisions Holdings LLC, Duluth, Ga.

FiberVisions’ production capacity totals more than 200,000 tons per year at facilities in the
United States, Denmark, Argentina and China. The company devotes 75 percent of that capacity to
fiber production for disposable branded feminine hygiene products and 25 percent to fiber
production for automotive and industrial applications. FiberVisions also has a joint venture (JV)
with bicomponent fiber producer JNC, Japan.

Over the last year, IVL also acquired Wichita, Kan.-based Invista’s U.S. and Mexican
polyester assets; Ireland-based Wellman International Ltd.’s recycling and fiber businesses in
Europe; polyester fiber and filament producer Trevira GmbH, Germany, acquired through a JV with
Sinterama S.p.A., Italy; and South Korea-based SK Chemicals Co. Ltd.’s polyester assets in
Indonesia and Poland.



January/February 2012

Quality Fabric Of The Month: Spider Silk — Potential Unleashed

Spider silk has been the subject of advanced research and development efforts for years because it has exceptional strength, elasticity and abrasion resistance, as well as numerous potential technical textile applications — if only it could be produced in commercially viable quantities. That’s been a problem because spiders are not exactly social creatures and, in fact, tend to be cannibalistic, so farming them as one would silkworms is not an option. However, a breakthrough has
occurred thanks to collaboration involving the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.; Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. (Kraig Labs), Lansing, Mich.; and the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyo.; and the first result — a hybrid silk produced by transgenic silkworms — is well on its way to commercialization primarily for traditional silk applications including apparel and medical applications such as sutures.

QFOMspidersilk

Armed with an exclusive license to use patented technologies developed by Randolph Lewis at the University of Wyoming, Kraig Labs Founder and CEO Kim Thompson began working with Malcolm Fraser at Notre Dame, developer of piggyBac gene-splicing technology, and Donald Jarvis at the University of Wyoming. PiggyBac vectors have been used to combine certain spider silk proteins with silkworm proteins to create a transgenic silkworm that produces a composite silk that, while it
comprises only about 5-percent spider silk protein, exhibits significantly increased strength and elasticity when compared to conventional silk. This hybrid silk is called Monster Silk, “a beautiful product,” Thompson said, that has an entirely different hue and sheen than traditional
silk. “The percentage of spider silk proteins in the fiber is not indicative of the fiber’s strength,” he said. “Those proteins are acting sort of like rebar in concrete, to create a reinforced fiber.”

Monster Silk can be produced in commercially viable volumes, and Kraig Labs, which has signed a commercialization agreement with Notre Dame, is exploring the possibility of acquiring an end-product manufacturer working in its target market.

A Generation II 100-percent recombinant spider silk for technical textile applications is in advanced stages of development and soon is expected to be ready for commercialization. This fiber, developed using St. Louis-based Sigma-Aldrich Corp.’s zinc finger gene-splicing technology, would
have advanced medical, composite and possibly ballistic applications, among others — spider silk is said to be stronger than aramid and 10 times as strong as steel. “I would like to see testing data before we make ballistic claims,” Thompson said, “but there is discussion in the scientific literature that this material would be like a miracle product for ballistic resistance. I imagine it would be used in a composite product to reinforce, for example, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.”

A customizable Generation III fiber that can include various mechanical and chemical properties is also in development.


For more information about Kraig Labs’ recombinant spider silk technologies, contact Kim Thompson +517-336-0807; kraiglabs.com.

January/February 2012

Barcelona: Center Of The Textile Universe In 2011 (Part II)

Since ITMA 2003 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, there have been a lot of discussions within the
global textile industry, and among Western European machinery suppliers in particular, about
whether an ITMA in Europe still makes sense. It seems these discussions are over now. Reflecting on
the recent ITMA Europe in Barcelona, Spain, one can say this event is still the top performance
show for high-quality machinery, especially for nonwovens and technical textiles production.


Increasing Importance


It took quite a while to convince officials from ITMA owner CEMATEX (European Committee of
Textile Machinery Manufacturers) that nonwovens machinery is not a part of spinning equipment in
spite of the cards, which to some extent apply the same technology. Since ITMA 1999 in Paris,
nonwovens has had its own nomenclature in the ITMA catalog. And with its steady growth, this
important sector is today one, if not the, cornerstone of the Western textile industry. On top of
that, other fabric production machinery, such as that for woven and warp-knitted technical
textiles, is classified in the catalog in a much better way.

Even one decade ago, the nonwovens sector was rather a mass market. Those days are gone
forever, at least for durable and custom-made products. Today, there are two different nonwovens
manufacturing sectors: disposables including products such as feminine care products, wipes and
other one-use items; and tailor-made nonwovens, which are becoming more and more a specialized
niche market with a growing demand.

That’s one reason why high-quality nonwovens machinery is still produced mainly in Western
Europe, and particularly in Germany and France. There are companies such as Andritz Küsters GmbH,
Germany; NSC nonwoven (now Andritz Asselin-Thibeau), France; Trützschler Nonwovens GmbH, Germany;
and Andritz Perfojet, France, just to name a few — but also France-based Laroche S.A. with its
recycling equipment, which today is an important part of the nonwovens business.

DiloGroup, Germany, was the only ITMA exhibitor to present a complete nonwovens production
line, on which it ran fiber to show a number of newly developed characteristics. According to
DiloGroup Chairman Johann-Philipp Dilo, this line attracted some 3,500 visitors to the company’s
1,000-square-meter booth.

ITMARupp1

DiloGroup presented a complete nonwovens production line in its booth and ran fiber on it
to show a number of newly developed characteristics.

Top products were the new Alphamix as well as suction, filtration and sound insulation
techniques from DiloTemafa; MultiFeed and MultiCard from DiloSpinnbau; and the Webguide of the
DiloLayer as well as the Isomation Process to produce a more consistent fiber mass flow and a more
even end product.

Of course, one must not forget weaving and warp knitting machines for technical textiles —
with labels such as Dornier, Karl Mayer and Sultex. The Sultex P7300HP projectile weaving machine
still plays a prominent role for technical textiles as well as polypropylene ribbons. All these and
other companies prominently exhibited their top products. Many confirmed that only at ITMA in
Europe would they show the high end of their production lines. For Asian fairs, the products
exhibited are mainly produced at their Far Eastern production sites.

ITMARupp2

The Sultex P7300HP produces fabrics of high quality, from all raw materials and for all
applications, as well as fabrics made of polypropylene ribbons.


Europe In The Foreground


Visitors for nonwovens and technical textiles came mainly from Western Europe and North and
Latin America. Visitors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and the Middle East mainly were
looking at traditional textile manufacturing machinery. China was absent, which is no surprise
considering there are a lot of domestic events in China — in particular, ITMA Asia + CITME next
June in Shanghai.

The importance of European markets for technical fabrics and nonwovens is a fact. Marc
Wolpers, sales director, nonwovens, Trützschler Nonwovens, said his company is enjoying very good
business in Europe, particularly in the fields of filtration, automotive and hygiene products. It
is very difficult to get firm facts and figures for European nonwovens and industrial fabric
production, but experts say that today, some 40-plus percent of all textile articles produced in
Europe are made of woven fabrics and nonwovens.


However, Asia Is Keeping Up


On the other side, Wolpers mentioned, “China, India and Indonesia are becoming more and more
important also for the nonwovens industry. Further industrialization, rising standards of living as
well as improvement in infrastructure will support further growth in the next few years.”


Good Show


Most of the exhibitors were very pleased with visitor quality and level. “The quality of the
visitors was excellent; we have been busy every day and were able to fulfill our entire goals for
the show and are very satisfied with ITMA 2011,” Wolpers said.

Trützschler Nonwovens presented two new machines: the Streamliner drum dryer with improved
air flow distribution and higher drying capacity with lower energy consumption; and the Erko
EKLB439 crosslapper with improved material guidance for enhanced web qualities at speeds greater
than 160 meters per minute. “At the same time, we have been able to reduce the energy consumption
of the crosslapper drastically,” Wolpers added. Both machines received excellent feedback from the
industry, and Wolpers is sure these products will be top sellers for Trützschler Nonwovens in the
future.

ITMARupp3


Trützschler’s Erko crosslapper EKLB439 offers improved material guidance to enable enhanced
web qualities at speeds above 160 meters per minute.

It seems the nonwovens industry is not that jeopardized by the current financial turmoil.
Furthermore, Wolpers added, “We don’t see any slowdown in order income or requests for new quotes.
We feel well-positioned because we can offer all major staple-fiber-based web forming and bonding
technologies. Therefore, we are not dependent on certain product markets. We can fulfill most
requirements of our customers from our portfolio, which certainly helps to continue our growth. In
addition, we can offer know-how from staple fiber production to the final product. This will help
us to support our customers even more in developing new products.”


Concentration Of Producers


The manufacture of machinery for technical textiles and particularly nonwovens production
requires a certain company infrastructure and size. Until recently, there were many more players in
this sector. As seen in the past few months and at ITMA in Barcelona, there is an ongoing
concentration in these markets. One big issue was the takeover of NSC nonwoven by the Andritz
Group. Andritz had already acquired Perfojet from Switzerland-based Rieter Group some months
earlier.

Another astonishing move was the acquisition of Autefa Solutions  by the China Hi-Tech
Group Co. Ltd. (CHTC). CHTC’s target is to become a number-one player in the nonwovens business to
manufacture complete lines for spunbonds, spunlace, needlepunching, through-air thermal bonding,
hot-calendering, melt-blowing and composite material.

That’s quite a challenge for the established suppliers. Wolpers mentioned that “the group
formation in our industry seems to be finalized with the acquisition of NSC by Andritz and the
Oerlikon Carding Unit [Autefa Solutions] by the China Hi-Tech Group. This will help us to position
ourselves even more strongly as a family-owned company that is a technology leader.”


Market Situation


None of the companies mentioned sees any real difficulties with the actual market situation.
Most of the order books are full, and the only problem is delivery time. For the future, there is
no trouble, either. Comments were unanimous that nonwovens and technical textiles are cornerstones
of the future for the Western textile and textile machinery industries.

One thing is certain: The markets for these products and the man-made fibers markets —
particularly, filaments — will further grow. In contrast to the traditional textile industry, the
nonwovens and technical textiles sectors comprise strictly innovative businesses and solution
providers. And there is no sign that fewer solutions will be needed in the future.

And yes, in spite of all rumors in the markets and the ongoing discussions about the
frequency of the ITMAs, everybody will attend ITMA Asia 2012 in Shanghai as well as ITMA 2015 in
Milan.

January/February 2012

Avery Dennison To Shutter Facility In Greensboro, N.C.

Pasadena, Calif.-based Avery Dennison Corp. — a producer of identification and decorative solutions
for a variety of applications — has announced plans to shutter its Summit Avenue manufacturing
facility in Greensboro, N.C., eliminating 59 jobs. The company reports it is reorganizing its U.S.
operations in an effort to more efficiently serve its global customers. The facility is part of
Avery Dennison’s Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS) business and manufactures graphic
tickets and apparel tags.

Approximately 78 employees from the facility will be relocated to Avery Dennison’s 16th
Street facility in Greensboro, where the company plans to operate a quick-response manufacturing
facility for price tickets and printed fabric labels to serve U.S. retailers and apparel brands. A
total of 130 people in operations, commercial, customer service and other functions will be
employed at the 16th Street location.

In other company news, Avery Dennison has signed an agreement to sell its Office and Consumer
Products (OCP) business to St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M for $550 million. The company’s OCP business is
among the leading suppliers globally of printable media and other products with expected sales in
2011 of approximately $765 million.

“The sale of our Office and Consumer Products business to 3M presents the best opportunity to
maximize OCP’s value for Avery Dennison’s shareholders, and complements 3M’s global portfolio,”
said Dean A. Scarborough, chairman, president and CEO, Avery Dennison. “Our industry-leading
Pressure-sensitive Materials and Retail Branding and Information Solutions businesses, combined
with our strong balance sheet, make us well positioned for profitable growth and increased return
of cash to shareholders.”



January 24, 2012

Teijin Introduces Twaron® 550f1000

The Netherlands-based Teijin Aramid BV — manufacturer of aramids including Twaron® Sulfron®,
Teijinconex® and Technora®; and a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Teijin Group — has launched a new
higher-performing lightweight aramid yarn that offers improved ballistic protection in body armor
for police, military and law enforcement officers.

According to Teijin, Twaron 550f1000 is the finest filament aramid-based yarn in the world.
It comprises 1,000 filaments, offering significantly better performance than comparable yarns; and
has the highest tenacity combined with breaking strength of all the yarns in Teijin Aramid’s
porfolio. Twaron 550f1000 offers improved resistance in exposure to the blast effects of roadside
bombs, good fragment resistance, and enhanced bullet protection.

The yarn will be used primarily in soft anti-ballistic products for the police, military and
law enforcement markets; but may also be used in a woven fabric for anti-ballistic and anti-stab
products.

“This new yarn is our response to the demand for lightweight ballistic protection, which
itself is the result of the increasing threat of violence in society,” said Karl Henke, business
manager, Ballistic, Teijin Aramid. “Police officers, soldiers and even private citizens who require
protection will start wearing a bulletproof vest earlier when the weight and comfort is even better
than nowadays.”



January 24, 2012

New Research Reveals Benefits Of RFID For Apparel Suppliers

ARLINGTON, Va. — January 15, 2012 — New research from the University of Arkansas quantifies
benefits that apparel suppliers can gain from the use of radio frequency identification (RFID), it
was announced today by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and GS1 US, the
study’s sponsors.

In a year-long project, researchers found the potential for suppliers to realize both top-
and bottom-line improvements via increased inventory accuracy, cycle count reductions and minimized
chargebacks. The results were presented during a workshop held by the VICS Item Level RFID
Initiative at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York. The research is available for
download from the University of Arkansas Web site.

“The University of Arkansas report published today offers a greater understanding of the many
uses of RFID technology for the apparel industry particularly in the area of inventory accuracy,”
said AAFA Special Advisor Mary Howell. “By exploring these use cases, apparel and footwear brands
can begin to see the full range of benefits RFID can provide when working to remain competitive in
the global market by streamlining the supply chain and continuing to deliver quality, safe, and
affordable clothes and shoes to American consumers.”



Key Findings

The research — titled “Supplier Return on Investment Use Case Data Collection and Analysis” —
is the second phase in a three-phase study commonly referred to as the “Many-to-Many study.” It
focused on three supplier use cases identified during Phase I of this research published in January
2011.

Researchers measured the benefits that apparel suppliers can achieve by adopting RFID based
on GS1 Electronic Product Code (EPC) standards. They quantified the effects of EPC-based tracking
on improving the suppliers’ inventory accuracy, along with the effects on their productivity,
costs, and revenues.

In one use case, increased inventory accuracy, researchers discovered that suppliers’
estimates for their outbound shipments were much higher than the actual shipment count accuracy, in
part because the companies were auditing very small percentages of those shipments. The costs of
incorrect shipments, including chargebacks, are very high. With EPC-based RFID enabling audits on
100 percent of shipments, the frequency of incorrect shipments can drop to zero, creating savings
equal to the cost of implementing the RFID system.

“The research captures the first efforts of retail suppliers to shift their focus from just
playing ‘catch up’ to retailer source tagging requirements, to truly leveraging the full value of
item level tags by discovering the benefit and the value in their own supplier operations,” said
Justin Patton, Managing Director, ITRI/RFID Research Center, University of Arkansas.

“The simple concept behind the study is to answer the question, What happens when suppliers
move beyond EPC tagging just for their retail partner’s sake, and begin to internally capture and
use EPC data from their tagged items?” said Patrick Javick, vice president, industry engagement,
GS1 US. “Retailers use standardized RFID technology to improve inventory accuracy, and now with
EPC, suppliers can also feel confident of the high level of accuracy in their shipments.”

In addition to the key findings, the research highlights the critical relationship between
apparel suppliers and retailers and encourages continued collaboration in the widespread adoption
of RFID. As such, AAFA and GS1 US are active supporters of the VICS Item Level RFID Initiative
(VILRI). The initiative, formed in 2010, is an inter-industry group of retailers, manufacturers,
and industry stakeholders with the mission of exploring the benefits that EPC-enabled RFID
technology holds for the retail industry.

Research results for the Phase II University of Arkansas supplier study were captured in a
paper available on the University of Arkansas Web site. They were also discussed during webinars
hosted by AAFA and GS1 US in December. Recordings are available for replay on the AAFA Web site.

Posted on January 24, 2012

Source: AAFA

Lectra And Walter Wilhelm Associates (WWA) Renew Their Global Partnership

PARIS — January 18, 2012 — Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to
industries using soft materials — textiles, leather, industrial fabrics and composite materials —
is pleased to announce the renewal of its global partnership with Walter Wilhelm Associates (WWA)
for a three year period.

“Our customers in the fashion world are increasingly aware of the strategic importance PLM
plays and the immediate benefits a fashion and apparel-specific solution can bring to their
development process. It is also critically important to find a partner who grasps the subtleties of
this industry. With close to forty years of expertise and countless technology implementation
projects between us, Lectra and WWA both understand the economic realities and challenges unique to
fashion companies. Lectra’s strength — and the strength of our partnership with Walter Wilhelm
Associates — lies in an exhaustive knowledge of the tasks essential to apparel development, from
design through product development and production,” explains Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO.

Initiated in February 2009, this partnership and its renewal signify how well aligned the
Lectra and WWA teams are. In an increasingly mature market focused on achieving greater
profitability and reducing time to market, Lectra and WWA have been able to successfully complete a
range of PLM initiatives, thanks to their combined expertise in fashion.

Lectra Fashion PLM is the only fashion-specific PLM solution on the market. It combines
management tools such as flexible workflow and sourcing functions, tailored to the needs of the
fashion sector, with applications and features specific to job roles found in the fashion industry,
such as textile and fashion design and product development. The arrival of this break-through
technology in today’s economy presents an opportunity for apparel companies to look at how they do
business, re-assess their priorities and, quite simply, improve how they make what they sell.

“Deploying PLM in an unstable economic context demands quick implementation — often in no
more than six months. At every stage of collection development, fashion companies want immediate
proof of hard and soft ROI, regardless of whether project implementation is complete. This agile
way of working requires knowledgeable process analysis based on industry standards and best
practices, which Lectra Fashion PLM incorporates. Thanks to their respective industry experience,
Lectra and WWA experts master this methodology,” explains Walter Wilhelm, founder and CEO of Walter
Wilhelm Associates.



Posted on January 24, 2012

Source: Lectra

Lenzing Will Continue To Supply Flame-Resistant Fibers To The U.S. Army

LENZING, Austria — January 12, 2012 — The Lenzing Group will continue to supply flame-resistant
specialty fibers for a new generation of U.S. Army combat uniforms. The signature of U.S. President
Obama on December 31, 2011 formally approving the National Defense Authorization Act enables the
delivery of “TenCate Defender™M” uniform fabrics for an unlimited period of time (“permanent
waiver”). The key component included in this fabric is the heat protection fiber Lenzing FR® of the
Austrian Lenzing Group. In principle, only clothing products “Made in USA” are allowed for the U.S.
Army. Up until now, textiles made from Lenzing fibers were supplied on the basis of a limited
exemption granted in the year 2008.

Lenzing exports flame-resistant fibers from Austria to its American cooperation partner
TenCate Protective Fabrics (TenCate). The company is the leading manufacturer of flame-resistant
fabrics for the U.S. Armed Forces. The President’s signature approving the waiver now allows
Lenzing to make the required volumes of the specialty fiber Lenzing FR® available to the U.S. Army
without restrictions in the future.

Lenzing FR® advantages

The uniform fabric Defender™M meets the enhanced need of U.S. soldiers for flame and fire
protection related to the rise in attacks using unconventional explosive and burning devices. In
contrast to other fibers, Lenzing FR® not only offers the stipulated flame and heat protection
properties, but comfort and good breathability and last but not least the fast and reliable
delivery capability of sufficient quantities on an industrial scale. The close cooperation of
TenCate and Lenzing combines excellence in the fabric development and production of flame-resistant
fibers.

TenCate Defender™M fabric with Lenzing FR® fiber offers superior protection and the high
wearing comfort of conventional non-protective fabrics.

In August 2007 TenCate was officially commended by the United States Marine Corps for
superior excellence in delivering an outstanding level of quality in its products and services in
response to the demands of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Posted on January 24, 2012

Source: Lenzing

The Rupp Report: The Next Step To Sustainable Fibers (?)

The increased consciousness for the environment began some 20 years ago. Since then, many
organizations and nongovernmental organizations have started campaigning for a healthier
environment. In this context, the textile industry and mainly the producing sectors of the business
were and are challenged to produce their articles in a more sustainable way. Even the Chinese
government pays attention to this and has implemented rules in the last two five-year plans for a
more sustainable finishing. “From cradle to cradle,” “life cycle analysis” and “carbon footprint”
are just a few key terms in this — one can say — marketing fight for understanding, acceptance and
finally success of the products. To heighten the confusion, many organizations claim to have the
key to success, but nobody knows which rules are the right ones.



A Hidden Controversy

 In this rising global consciousness to support a sustainable production of
textiles, fibers play an important role. For the neutral observer, it is extremely interesting to
see what’s going on in the fiber markets. Twenty-five years ago, the ratio between natural and
man-made fibers was somewhat 50:50. These times are gone forever. Today, the market share of
man-made fibers is heading to close to 73 to 75 percent of the global fiber consumption owing to
the increased properties, technical textiles and, last, but not least, a growing world population.
For quite some time, the producers of natural fibers, and here mainly cotton, tried to demonize
man-made fibers. These times are, luckily, over too. Everybody agrees that one fiber can complement
the other with inherent properties to build an even better product.

Viscose Is Booming

 However, for the last one or two decades, there has been another fiber that is
competitive to cotton: viscose, rayon, Tencel®, lyocell, or whatever it may be called. In the
1980s, viscose production was such a dirty job that many European producers stopped production
because of soaring costs for a more environmentally safe production. Only Austria-based Lenzing AG
remained as a global player and became the undisputed leader in the world, holding most of the
international generic and brand names such as Lenzing Lyocell, Tencel, Modal® and others.

Viscose has enjoyed tremendous development over the last ten years. Virtually every year, a
new fiber type has appeared on the market. And parallel with the development and the growing
importance in the markets, the arguments for “clean production” became ever-more significant. And
the marketing activities increased on both sides. Reduced water consumption and fertilizer usage,
just to name two — the marketing strategy arguments are endless.

Dr. Susanne Jary, head of marketing, home textiles, mentioned at the Lenzing press conference
held last week at Heimtextil 2012 that in the year 2000, 30 million tags were distributed for
products made with Lenzing Modal. Today, more than 200 million tags are required. She also
mentioned that the yield of cellulose from beech wood is said to be twice as much compared to
cotton.



New Cellulose Fiber

The next step to a cleaner fiber was presented at the press conference: Jary announced the
home textiles market introduction of Lenzing Modal Edelweiss®, mainly for terry fabrics.
“Edelweiss” is the German name of an alpine flower, which is the symbol in the Alpine nations for
cleanliness and purity. She explained that the so-called Edelweiss effect should explain and
communicate the purity of this fiber. Lenzing said that “the botanic feeling can be incorporated
into remarkable terry goods. Beech wood proliferates by rejuvenation so no reforestation or
plantations are necessary. More than half of the wood used at Lenzing is harvested in Austria, and
the remaining raw material comes from neighboring countries.”

However, it is not only the fiber’s eco-friendliness that makes it so compelling. The fiber’s
performance properties such as color brilliance, absorbency, and softness make terry goods of
Lenzing Modal that are said to be especially appealing to consumers. Also, the colorfastness seems
to be on a high level. Gradual fading or graying is said to be no longer an issue with terry
fabrics made of Lenzing Modal.



Paper Background

 Chlorine is a very aggressive agent for bleaching. The paper industry, for example,
has been selling chlorine-free paper for years. And cellulose fiber is made from the same raw
material as paper: wood pulp. So the idea was to produce a chlorine-free fiber, based on oxygen
bleaching. The Edelweiss treatment is said to offer new technological and environmental standards
for the entire cellulose fiber industry. The production process involves oxygen-based chemistry. It
is more environmentally friendly than conventional production procedures. At the moment, Modal
Edelweiss is the only Modal fiber to satisfy the highest environmental standards, Lenzing reports.

It is produced differently from the conventional Lenzing Modal fibers, but the properties,
such as softness and color brilliance, are the same. The fibers process identically at all points
in the textile chain. Jary added at the press conference that “the fiber plant in Lenzing Austria
is the only one in the world which is fully integrated and has all production steps, from pulp to
the fiber, perfectly under control throughout the entire process.”

It seems that Lenzing did a good job and took a step toward more sustainable products. To go
from the environmentally disastrous production processes in the 1980s to creating a chlorine-free
cellulosic fiber type was a long way. Let’s see if it will pay off.

January 17, 2012

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