OBERTSHAUSEN, Germany — March 2, 2011 — KARL MAYER will mainly be exhibiting alongside its
subsidiary, KARL MAYER Malimo, as a leading pioneer in the field of technical textiles. This
well-known, global company, which is based in Obertshausen, not only builds efficient, flexible
machines for producing functional textiles, it also develops new applications and markets for
warp-knitted products. The end-uses currently showing the most potential are the sectors of
composites for lightweight construction technology and coatings. Particular requirements here are a
low weight, a long service life, and a high load-bearing capacity, requirements that can be met
optimally by the multiaxial reinforcing textiles produced on the Malitronic® MULTIAXIAL machine and
the grid-like warp-knitted backing/coating substrates produced on the Wefttronic®. The success of
these high-speed machines in practice speaks for itself. The textiles, which are bonded by means of
thermosetting or thermoplastic materials, are already being used to reinforce car bodies and
aircraft components, the rotor blades of wind turbines, sports equipment and moving machine
components, but they are also being used in the construction industry as backings for the
reinforcement in textile-reinforced concrete — and these are just a few of their many applications.
The increased demand for lightweight components in the automotive sector and the need to generate
renewable energy is likely to lead to rapid growth in the business for the products manufactured on
the Malitronic® MULTIAXIAL machine.

The Wefttronic® raschel machine with magazine weft insertion mainly produces grid-like and
full-width warp-knitted fabrics from high-performance yarns for use as printed advertising media in
particular. As well as having a low weight, these high-quality textiles are suitable for use
outdoors, which makes them ideal for use as all kinds of coating/backing substrates.

KARL MAYER will also be focusing on the production of textiles that match the contours of the
end product at Techtextil. In particular, the double-bar raschel machines manufactured by this
well-known manufacturer can produce a wide range of ‘ready-to-use’ products.

These include the warp-knitted spacer textiles produced on the HighDistance® machine in the
shape of car seats for use in the sub-upholstery, seven-zone mattress components, which are also
produced on the HighDistance® machine, and functional, seamless sportswear, which can be produced
in a wide range of different styles and at a high production rate on the DJ series of machines.

KARL MAYER’s innovative machine technology not only focuses on manufacturing textiles
directly, but also on the preliminary stages. This company supplies the Multitens yarn tension
controller from the range it acquired from Benninger’s Weaving Preparation Division, which can
process technical yarns both gently and efficiently. The Rot-O-Tens is another innovative product
for controlling the yarn tension. This is a motor-driven type with an efficient energy recycling
system, which helps to reduce the amortisation period.

KARL MAYER’s clients can rely completely on the Opt-O-Matic for producing warp beams for
technical applications. This warping machine produces uniform band circumferences at high operating
speeds, even when processing extremely sensitive yarns. Visitors to Techtextil 2011 can expect
clearly laid-out exhibits, detailed information and knowledgeable conversations about this wide and
varied range of products. Therefore, it is well worth paying a visit to KARL MAYER on stand B07 in
hall 3.0.

Posted on April 18, 2011

Source: Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH

WASHINGTON — April 13, 2011 — To strengthen sales of U.S. cotton yarns and fabrics to the region,
the COTTON USA Sourcing Program brought together seven U.S. mills, 15 Latin American and European
retailers, and 47 Andean, Central American and Mexican apparel manufacturers for a two-day Sourcing
Fair in Lima, Peru, Apr. 5-7, 2011.

Attendees held private meetings to discuss business opportunities that would move U.S. cotton
yarns and fabrics through the regional supply chain. Close to 700 individual meetings took place.

The event included a conference session with a panel of experts who addressed textile and
apparel trade issues such as an overview of textile and apparel agreements between Latin America
and Europe; a review of the current cotton price situation; a discussion of Western Hemisphere
textile and garment industry capabilities; and sourcing requirements for European brands &
retailers.

The event enabled overseas buyers to meet all segments of the Western Hemisphere supply chain
in one location. This streamlined approach to sourcing reinforced existing business relationships
and fostered new relationships between U.S. mills, their Latin American customers, and downstream
buyers from their region and from Europe.

The timing of the Sourcing Fair was excellent since European brands and retailers have
recently gained interest in sourcing opportunities from Latin America as increased costs in Asia
and political uncertainties in North Africa have strained usual supply channels. European and Latin
American regional sourcing is positive for U.S. cotton and cotton yarn and fabric since goods
sourced in the Western Hemisphere are a high percentage U.S. fiber.

Posted on April 15, 2011

Source: Cotton Council International

United Kingdom-based Tatham Ltd. — a global supplier of drive and control equipment for woolen and
nonwovens processing — has developed a system that provides higher production speeds and improved
product weight distribution for crosslapper control while offering substantial energy savings.

The TSX control system, which can be retrofitted to all makes of crosslappers, uses ABB
high-performance machinery drives and servomotors. Depending on the existing crosslapper
configuration, several panel combinations are available. The system is linked to the master process
control using Profibus, an ABB AC500 programmable logic controller (PLC) that provides positioning
data to the drives, which then convert the data into control signals to maintain servomotor speed.

According to Tatham, when the TSX system was retrofitted to an existing crosslapper, the
energy usage dropped from 60 Amps to 15 Amps. The company reports the software offers precise,
repeatable positioning to provide complete control of the batt profile. The ABB PLC, drives and
servomotors are used to vary the speed at which the batt is laid down, offering a more accurate and
controllable buildup of the layers. The TSX system can adjust carriage speed at the edges of the
batt to avoid distortions and maintain the required density across the entire width. The parameters
may be adjusted using the touchscreen operator interface, and the batt density may be adjusted
across its width to suit the product requirements with coefficient of variation values of around 1
percent.

Tatham also offers a closed loop control system to automatically adjust the batt profile to
the preset requirements. The system can be extended to link with Tatham’s own TS weight control
system if required.

Tatham has installed TSX systems at a geotextile manufacturer in Malaysia, papermaker felt
producer in China, and an automotive textile producer in the United States, among numerous other
installations globally.

April 11, 2011

Universal Textile Technologies Inc. — a Dalton, Ga.-based manufacturer of high-performance backing
systems for carpet and synthetic turf — and Yellowstone National Park have entered into a recycling
partnership intended to reduce the amount of plastic bottles sent to landfills and help Yellowstone
meet its recycling goals while protecting and creating U.S. jobs.

The company will buy the plastic bottles collected by Yellowstone and convert them into a
nonwoven fleece material used to manufacture BioCel™ and EnviroCel™ sustainable backings for carpet
and synthetic turf. Most plastics collected in Yellowstone previously have been sold overseas,
where they have been used as raw material for the production of plastic products eventually sold in
the United States.

BioCel and EnviroCel utilize Celceram™, a highly refined material recovered from coal
combustion in electric utility power plants and then combined with soybean-based polyols derived
from domestically grown soybeans. The backings are certified under the U.S. Green Building
Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program; and are
moisture-resistant, insulate against energy loss, reduce ambient noise and strengthen the
structural integrity of carpet and synthetic turf, according to Universal Textile Technologies.

“Yellowstone was created as the world’s first national park in 1872,” said Jim Evanoff, an
Environmental Protection Specialist with Yellowstone National Park. “We have an obligation to set
the example for promoting sound environmental stewardship practices that will serve as a model for
future generations. This new partnership not only diverts plastics from landfills, it dramatically
decreases the fuel and other resources used to transport materials around the planet.”

The Georgia Tech Research Institute has provided third-party verification for the recycling
project.

April 12, 2011

Sigma Life Science — the biological products and services research business of St. Louis-based life
science and high technology company Sigma-Aldrich Corp. — and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. — a
Lansing, Mich.-based developer of recombinant technologies and fibers — have signed a licensing
agreement under which Kraig will use Sigma’s proprietary CompoZr® Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN)
technology to transfer spider silk genes to silkworms with the goal of commercializing production
of spider silk. Silk from spiders has been shown to have greater tensile strength and elasticity
than silk from silkworms, and potential applications include biomedical products such as sutures
and materials for tendon and ligament repair, ballistic textiles such as bulletproof vests, and
automobile airbags.

“Sigma-Aldrich’s proprietary zinc finger technologies are extremely powerful tools which
enable very precise genetic targeting,” said Kim Thompson, CEO, Kraig Biocraft. “We are convinced
that this technology is the key to creating advanced new products and materials. We believe that
when these customized tools are delivered by Sigma in the coming weeks, the technology will enable
us to rapidly and precisely target specific gene sequences for the creation of stronger fibers,
advanced textiles and new bio-materials.”

“ZFN technology has been revolutionary in genome engineering for various applications,
including animal models of disease, engineering of biopharmaceutical production systems, academic
research and therapeutics,” said Dr. Joseph Bedell, director, Commercial Animal Technologies Group,
Sigma Life Science. “Spider silk production is just the first example of a potential commercial
animal application for this exciting technology.”  

April 12, 2011