Karl Mayer Malimo Unveils Weftronic Parallel Weft Insertion Warp-Knitting Platform

Karl Mayer Malimo, the technical textiles business unit of Germany-based Karl Mayer
Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH, now offers the RS MSU S warp-knitting machine with parallel weft
insertion, the first model in its new Weftronic platform. The machine, which recently made its
debut at Karl Mayer (China) Ltd.’s facility in Wujin, China, features a working width of 268 inches
— 600 millimeters wider than previous models offering parallel weft insertion — and operates at
the same speed, thereby offering a substantially increased square-meter production rate.

malimo
Karl Mayer Malimo’s RS MSU S Weftronic

For the Weftronic program, Karl Mayer Malimo has re-engineered the weft insertion system,
making improvements to the weft chain and fitting it on both sides of the unit comprising the
transfer station, yarn-laying carriage and yarn take-off device; and using new technology to
enhance the mode of operation. The Weftronic’s design makes all main components easily accessible,
and the machine is made up of compatible component groups. In addition, the company reports
assembly costs and the amortization period are reduced thanks to rapid integration into the
manufacturing process.

“The working width and productivity of our latest new development are unparalleled anywhere
in the world,” said Axel Wintermeyer, head of sales, Karl Mayer Malimo. “With this system, we will
set new standards in terms of efficiency and applications, especially on the rapidly growing market
of backing and coating substrates.”

The Weftronic will be available as of ITMA Asia + CITME 2010 in June. The company also is
implementing the Weftronic platform in its entire line of weft-insertion warp-knitting machines. In
addition, Karl Mayer Malimo is developing a Weltronic model with a working width of 138 inches and
additional upgrades, and expects to make that model available by the end of this year.



May 11, 2010

Huntsman Introduces ERIOPON®WFE, ALBAFLOW®CONTI

Singapore-based Huntsman Textile Effects — a manufacturer of chemicals and dyes for finished
textiles and materials, and a division of Huntsman Corp. — has introduced ERIOPON®WFE soaping
agent for cellulose fibers dyed and printed with reactive dyes. The agent keeps hydrolyzed dyes in
the water, preventing fabric backstaining. According to the company, the agent is not affected by
water hardness or residual salt, and offers water, time and energy savings, assuring high wet
fastness and good reproducibility.

The company also has launched ALBAFLOW®CONTI, a dye bath penetration agent suitable for all
continuous applications. According to Huntsman, the agent offers good wetting, defoaming and
de-aerating performance. The agent distributes liquor throughout the fiber assembly quickly and
uniformly, promoting penetration and ensuring level dyeing. Because it is silicone oil-free, it
won’t spot the fabric or leave residue on the machinery.

May 11, 2010

Consolidated Fibers Establishes International And Technical Fibers Division

Charlotte-based Consolidated Fibers — a supplier of fiber to manufacturers in industries including
hygiene, medical, filtration, automotive, furniture and home textiles, among other industries —
has established an International and Technical Fibers division to supply staple and continuous
filament fibers to Latin America mainly for nonwoven end-uses. The company has promoted Paul Latten
to division president.

“We believe our fiber knowledge and sourcing capability can be leveraged to benefit customers
throughout the Americas,” Latten said. “With regard to innovation, there has been relatively little
coming from the fibers industry in the last decade. Our intent is to disrupt status quo in our own
thinking and in the minds of fiber consumers. There is excess fiber manufacturing capacity but a
shortage of practical and affordable ideas. We intend to bring these components together to
positively impact profits, the planet and people in the global community.”

May 11, 2010

Sandler Begins Construction Of New Plant

Germany-based nonwovens manufacturer Sandler AG has begun construction of its new plant at its
headquarters in Schwarzenbach/Saale. The company announced last year it would build the plant
(See ”
Sandler
To Build New Plant In Schwarzenbach, Germany, Nov. 10, 2009). Since then, it has invested
40 million euros to build a 150-meter long, 70-meter wide, 20-meter high, two-story facility, along
with a 20,000-square-meter biotope and new parking areas, access roads and bridges.

The company will commission an additional spunlace line in fall 2010 to produce a new
generation of wipes as well as technical nonwovens and plans to begin commercial nonwovens
production in the first quarter of 2011. Sandler reports the investment — expected to generate
more than 60 jobs over the next two years — will make Schwarzenbach the largest manufacturing site
for wipes substrates and one of the largest nonwovens production sites worldwide.

May 11, 2010

Ahlstrom To Consolidate Wipes Production In Italy

Finland-based Ahlstrom Corp. — a manufacturer of high-performance nonwovens and specialty papers
used in applications including filters, wipes, flooring, labels and tapes — has announced plans to
consolidate its nonwoven wipes fabric manufacturing in Italy in an effort to increase its capacity,
efficiency and product range. The company will close its Carbonate plant and move production to its
Mozzate and Cressa manufacturing sites, which operate under the Home & Personal Nonwovens
business. According to Ahlstrom, the consolidation, which it expects to complete by early 2011,
will not significantly impact personnel.

May 11, 2010

Morrison Textile Machinery Supplies Equipment To Asia

Fort Lawn, S.C.-based textile dyeing and finishing machinery producer Morrison Textile Machinery
Co. reports it has had significant sales success with its recently introduced machinery including
the MDS-450 Ball Warper, the MDS-550 ReBeamer and the Spectrum™ Indigo Rope Dye Ranges.

The following companies have purchased both ball warpers and rebeamers: Chonbang Co. Ltd.,
South Korea; Envoy Textiles Ltd., Bangladesh; and Orta Anadolu Ticaret, Turkey; and Turkey-based
DNM Textiles. DNM and Yixing Lucky, China, have purchased indigo rope dye ranges. In addition,
China-based Mou Fung Ltd. has purchased a ball warper.



May 11, 2010

Congressmen Work On Expansion Of Buy American

Congressmen from textile states have won House of Representatives approval of an amendment to the
Defense Department Procurement Authorization that could lead to requiring members of the armed
forces to buy American apparel. The amendment — sponsored by Reps. Larry Kissell, D-N.C.; Howard
Coble, R-N.C.; and Mike Michaud, D-Maine — calls for the General Accountability Office (GAO) to do
a study to determine if there is sufficient domestic supply of items purchased by soldiers’ uniform
allowances and report its findings back to the Armed Services Committee, which then could consider
requiring such purchases to be made in the United States. The amendment would cover a cash
allowance that is used to buy items that soldiers are required to have but are not directly issued
by the Department of Defense. The amendment does not name any specific products, but items subject
to the amendment will be spelled out in the GAO report.

Calling it a “common sense amendment,” Kissell said, “If we can get these items made in
America, it will support U.S. industries, hopefully create jobs and allow the members of our armed
forces to take pride in the American-made items they wear.”

May 4, 2010

Legislation Calls For Expanded Trade To Help Haiti

U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers will play a key role in helping Haiti’s recovery from the
January earthquake that shattered that nation’s economy under legislation that has been introduced
in both the House and Senate providing for extended and expanded trade preference programs covering
textile and apparel trade. Because the legislation was introduced by the chairmen and ranking
members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees, it likely will receive quick
consideration and enactment.

The legislation, called the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP), extends the expiration date
for two existing trade preference programs and expands their coverage for duty-free entry of
apparel. U.S. importers of apparel have strongly endorsed the legislation, and textile makers will
not oppose it, although they have some lingering concerns over the legislation’s impact on U.S.
jobs.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., said: “This legislation provides
important incentives to expand trade and investment in Haiti, and it does so in a manner respectful
of the complementarities of the industries of our two countries. It reflects careful consideration
and collaboration with stakeholders here in the United States as well as Haitian industry
representatives and provides a way forward that works to the benefit of workers and businesses in
both countries.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, also
underscored the  need to protect the interests of both nations, saying “the legislation will
spur investment and create jobs in Haiti, and at the same time the legislation addresses the
concerns that have been expressed by the U.S. textile industry with respect to both domestic and
regional production of textiles and apparel.”

As the legislation was being developed, U.S. textile lobbyists worked with committee
staffers to find a way that would benefit Haiti but not have a negative impact on U.S. textile
jobs. As the legislation was being developed, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton
called for the widest possible liberalization of trade, which made it difficult to oppose some of
the proposals that were being made. However, the textile representatives were successful in
minimizing the impact on particularly sensitive product categories such as trousers, knit T-shirts,
pullovers and sweatshirts. This issue involved the so-called Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) that
permit use of yarn and fabric regardless of the country of origin. TPLs were broadened for certain
Haitian knit and woven apparel items  from 70 million square meter equivalents to 200 million.
The TPLs on  trousers, T-shirts, pullovers and sweatshirts will remain at the current levels.

The legislation also extends the expiration dates for the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership
Act and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act through Sept. 30,
2020.  It also expands the duty-free treatment to products that are wholly assembled or
knit-to-shape in Haiti regardless of the origin of the inputs.

Under the legislation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is directed to verify that goods
under TPLs are not being unlawfully transshipped into the United States, and it authorizes the
President to reduce the TPLs to account for unlawful apparel shipments.

Calling for quick enactment of the HELP Act, Kevin Burke, CEO, American Apparel &
Footwear Association, said: “As the single largest sector of Haiti’s  economy, the apparel
industry will play a leading role in Haiti’s overall recovery. By renewing soon-to-expire trade
preference provisions and expanding existing programs, this bill works to ensure that all facets of
the U.S. apparel and textile industry have the opportunity to participate in Haiti’s short term
recovery and long term growth.”

May 4, 2010

The Rupp Report: Cotton Contamination And Stickiness

“Despite some improvements in the recent past foreign matter, stickiness and seed-coat fragments in
raw cotton continue to be serious challenges to the cotton spinning industry worldwide.” This
sentence is kind of a general summary of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation’s
(ITMF’s) Cotton Contamination Survey for the year 2009.

Every Second Year

The Cotton Contamination Survey is produced by ITMF every other year. Last year’s edition is
the 11th issue in the series since a new methodology was applied in 1989. And the paper is very
much representative: 110 spinning mills located in 23 countries evaluated 63 different cotton
growths.

Following is ITMF’s summary of the survey:

Contamination — Unchanged In Comparison To 2007

The level of cottons modestly or seriously contaminated as perceived by the spinning mills
from around the world did not increase compared to the last survey in 2007 remaining constant at
22%. A closer look at the extent of the contamination shows that 6% (2007: 7%) of all cotton
evaluated were seriously contaminated by some sort of foreign matter whereas 16% (2007: 15%) were
only moderately contaminated. As the summary data are arithmetic averages of the different
contaminants, the extent of contamination is fully illustrated only by the results for the
individual contaminants. They range from 4% for “tar” (2007: 5%) to 42% of all cottons processed
being contaminated by “organic matter”, i.e. leaves, feathers, paper, leather, etc. (2007: 40%).
Other serious contaminants are “strings made of jute hessian” (32%), “strings made of woven
plastic” (29%), “fabrics made of cotton” as well as “fabrics made of plastic film” and “strings
made of cotton” (26% each). The most contaminated cotton descriptions considered for the survey
originated in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan and Mali. In contrast, very clean raw cottons were
produced in the USA, (Texas High Plains, Memphis, Pima, South Eastern, California), Israel,
Australia, Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

Stickiness — Record Low

The presence of sticky cotton as perceived by the spinning mills fell in 2009 to 16%, the
lowest level ever recorded (compared to 21% in 2007). Nevertheless, the level of stickiness is
still considerable high and remains a major challenge to the spinning industry. Descriptions that
were affected most by stickiness were those from Burkina Faso, Benin, Brazil, Chad, and Uzbekistan
(medium staples). Also US cotton growths like US-Pima, Israel-Pima, Mali or Tajikistan (medium
staples) were reported to be sticky. On the other end of the range, cottons from Egypt, Greece, USA
(California, South Eastern), Australia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Pakistan (AmSeed AFZAL, Others)
or India (Shankar-4/6, MCU-5) were not or hardly affected by stickiness.

Seed-coat Fragments — Lowest Level Recorded Since Introdution In 1991

With regard to seed-coat fragments the Cotton Contamination Survey 2009 shows that their
appearance in cotton growths remained an issue for spinners around the world with 31% claiming that
they have encountered them in the cotton growths consumed. This is the lowest level since including
measuring the level of seed-coat fragments in the survey in 1991. The origins affected most by
seed-coat fragments are those from Nigeria, India (H-4, J-34), USA (South Eastern), Uzbekistan
(medium staples), Tajikistan (medium staples), Burkina Faso and Syria. Cotton descriptions for
which the existence of seed-coat fragments was negligible (prevalence of less than 20%) included
those from Australia, Benin, India (Others), Pakistan (Others), and the US (California, Texas High
Plains).

May 4, 2010

Starlinger Supplies 600th KON Sack Conversion Line

Austria-based Starlinger & Co. GmbH — a manufacturer of machinery and complete lines for
producing woven plastic bags — recently delivered its 600th KON series sack conversion line. The
KON series of sack conversion lines, which Starlinger has been supplying globally since the 1960s,
converts tubular fabric woven from plastic tapes into sacks. In an automatic, continuous process, a
woven tube is cut to the desired length and sewn, and then a closure is added according to the type
of application and customer specifications.

Starlinger reports the latest version of its KON 2002 line, used to make polypropylene (PP)
sacks, is suitable for leno, coated and uncoated fabric, as well as oriented PP-laminated material
and material tubed from flat fabric. The KON 2002 offers cost-savings for customers through
material-savings processes; and also consumes less energy than comparable machines and 50-percent
less energy than the first KON lines consumed, according to the company.

May 4, 2010

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