FLORHAM PARK, NJ, March 18, 2010 — BASF will increase the price forPolyamide 6, Polyamide 6,6 and
Polyamide 6/66 copolymer by $0.09 per poundeffective March 29, 2010 or as contracts permit. This
increase covers nylonpolymer for spinning, extrusion, and compounding.
Press Release Courtesy of BASF
Posted on March 23, 2010
Nano-Tex, Oakland, Calif., has introduced All Conditions Fleece, a fabric that offers inherent
protection from the elements combined with traditional fleece characteristics such as durability,
comfort and easy care. The fabric also is static-resistant. Nano-Tex offers All Conditions Fleece
in a range of weights and styles including standard double-sided fleece, microgrid and sweater
knit.
March/April 2010
Fruit of the Loom (FOTL), Bowling Green, Ky., will extend its waste recycling initiative with
Martex Fiber Southern Corp., Spartanburg, to ensure textiles from its U.S. and Central American
manufacturing waste streams are recycled into useable products.
Martex processes fabric waste to create raw fiber for use by nonwoven producers or for fill
products. The company also spins recycled-content yarns using reclaimed fiber at its Jimtex Yarns
Division in Lincolnton, Ga.
“Martex Fiber has been a responsible partner of ours for many years,” said Ted Goolesby,
FOTL. “We appreciate their efforts to explore new markets for textile waste, and together, our
efforts have led to many innovative materials. Some of these waste-based fibers products have been
used to insulate cars, fill mattresses or even go back into making new apparel fabrics.”
Jimmy Jarrett, manager of the FOTL waste contract, Martex Fiber, added: “The possibility for
large scale apparel producers to actually take their own waste and have it processed back into yarn
and then back into finished product is now a reality. It is very exciting!”
March/April 2010
The Fairfax, Va.-based
Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) has released its 2009 Industry in
Review: Annual Report, and an online version of its 2010 Who’s Who Membership Directory.
West Conshohocken, Pa.-based
ASTM International‘s Subcommittee D13.19, part of its Committee D13 on Textiles,
has been retitled D13.19 on Industrial Fabrics and Metallic Reinforcements.
The
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Washington, is accepting
applications until March 31 for the ICAC Researcher of the Year, 2010. Information is available at
www.icac.org.
Valentin Rius Clapers S.A., Spain, now offers detailed videos of its machinery
models on YouTube.
Pantone LLC, Carlstadt, N.J., has released the Pantone® Fashion Color Report Fall
2010.
The Hohenstein Institute, Germany, has renamed three of its companies: Hohenstein
Research Institute Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mecheels GmbH & Co. KG is now Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH
& Co. KG; Hohenstein Clothing Physiology Institute is now Hohenstein Institut für
Textilinnovation e.V.; Hohenstein Technical Academy is now Hohenstein Academy e.V.
Southbridge, Mass.-based
Hyde Tools Inc.‘s Industrial Blade Solutions division has launched an enhanced
website, located at
www.hydeblades.com.
Amacoil Inc., Aston, Pa., has introduced the Amacoil-Uhing Kinemax linear drive
for fiber/wire spooling, automation, and measuring and testing operations, among other
applications.
Celanese Corp., Dallas, has raised prices in North America by 6 cents per wet
pound for pure acrylic emulsions and 3 cents per wet pound for vinyl-acrylic emulsions.
Toledo, Ohio-based
Owens Corning‘s glass fiber veils for carpet, ceilings and flooring have been
designated Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified® by GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, Atlanta.
The products also received Greenguard Children & Schools
SM product emissions certification.
Cognex Corp., Natick, Mass., has introduced VisionPro® Surface, a vision software
package for inspecting the surface of materials.
Calhoun, Ga.-based
Mohawk Industries Inc.‘s Mohawk Home business unit has implemented Red Bank,
N.J.-based
Log-Net Inc.‘s enterprise supply chain management solution and Importer Security
Filing services.
The RFID Research Center at the
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., has appointed Pasadena, Calif.-based
Avery Dennison Corp. to its advisory board.
Northbrook, Ill.-based
Protect-A-Bed® has acquired its United Kingdom-based distributor
Shine Capital Europe Ltd.
Textile Media Services Ltd., United Kingdom, has released “Automotive Textiles:
The Changing Landscape for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Suppliers”.
Avery Weigh-Tronix, Fairmont, Minn., has introduced the Model 1080 weight
indicator/controller, a data management and process control solution.
Banner Engineering Corp., Minneapolis, has debuted the iVu Bar Code Reader, the
first industrial touch-screen bar code reader.
New Way® Air Bearings Inc., Aston, Pa., has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification.
March/April 2010
Invista, Wichita, Kan., has debuted Cordura® denim fabric containing a blend of 88-percent Invista™
T420 nylon 6,6 fiber and 12-percent cotton. Cordura denim offers the look, feel and comfort of
100-percent cotton denim but is more durable, lasting 50- to 60-percent longer when industrial
laundered, and also is three times more abrasion-resistant, Invista reports.
Artistic Milliners (Pvt.) Ltd., a textile company based in Pakistan, will produce Cordura
denim fabric for use in full garments, which soon will be available in the United States.
March/April 2010
Xennia Technology Ltd., United Kingdom, now offers an inkjet-based nano process technology,
including patented production process and specially designed chemistry, that offers new
possibilities for printing and finishing textile materials as well as significant cost and energy
savings. Xennia has signed an agreement with Reggiani Macchine S.p.A., Italy, under which Reggiani
will produce and sell the industrial digital printing machines and work with Xennia to further
develop the printing technology, produce special inks and create new textile printing inks. Xennia
will modify third-party print heads for special applications under its own name, and produce
proprietary inks for textile printing and finishing.
March/April 2010
Sunoco Inc., Philadelphia, has agreed to sell its polypropylene (PP) business subsidiary Sunoco
Chemicals Inc. to Braskem S.A., Brazil, for approximately $350 million. The sale will include
Sunoco’s PP manufacturing plants in Marcus Hook, Pa.; La Porte, Texas; and Neal, W.Va., which
combined have an annual production capacity of approximately 2.1 billion pounds of PP. The sale is
expected to be completed by March 31.
March/April 2010
Sheboygan, Wis.-based Rockline Industries Inc.’s regenerated cotton wipe recently received the 2010
Visionary Award, presented at the Vision 2010 Consumer Products Conference organized by the
Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Cary, N.C. The award recognizes innovative
consumer end products that incorporate nonwoven fabrics or use nonwoven technology during the
manufacturing process.
The wipe’s substrate comprises 100-percent biodegradable materials — a 75-percent
cotton/25-percent Lenzing Tencel® blend. The cotton comes from post-industrial waste generated by
T-shirt manufacturing, and is recovered using an energy- and water-efficient process. The wipe was
one of five finalists chosen from products nominated for the award.
March/April 2010
Shaw Industries Group Inc., Dalton, Ga., reports three of its facilities — two Tuftex carpet
manufacturing plants in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., and a Shaw fiber extrusion facility in Clemson,
S.C. — have attained zero landfill status. The plants have redirected all waste by implementing
alternative recycling and reuse measures.
“Because the facilities were already operating at a very high level of efficiency, each plant
was already sorting and recycling every possible type of waste on site and through local partners
like New Green Day, RJM and Serv-Wel Disposal,” said Jim Cusick, Tuftex carpet director. “The final
step was finding a method of recycling or reuse for the break-room waste generated each month.”
That trash is now being used as an alternative fuel source to generate electric power.”
The two Tuftex facilities, along with two plants in California that manufacture products for
Shaw’s Patcraft Designweave and Tuftex brands, have received CalRecycle’s Waste Reduction Awards
Program (WRAP) award for the fifth consecutive year. The facilities have diverted some 10 million
pounds of waste from landfills in one year, saving $1,736,541 by cutting landfill costs, and
reducing and reusing waste, according to Tuftex Environmental and Risk Manager Bill Woyshner.
March/April 2010
Columbia Sportswear Co., Portland, Ore., over the years has developed several proprietary, easy-to-understand performance apparel technology platforms — including repellency, sun protection, waterproof breathability, evaporative, cooling and others — under the Omni umbrella. Its newest platform, Omni-Heat™, includes three different thermal-management technologies to help a body stay warm in cold weather.
Omni-Heat Thermal Reflective lining fabric comprises a breathable base fabric covered with tiny foil dots — allowing a comfortable hand, in contrast to a stiff, impermeable solid foil surface, and greater reflectivity than a polyurethane film infused with aluminum oxide powder.
“Our solution takes a bicomponent approach,” said Woody Blackford, Columbia’s director of global innovation, noting that the foil dots cover about 35 percent of the fabric, which is tightly woven or knitted to prevent fiber migration from the insulation underneath. “The dot pattern is good for the hand, and the base fabric wicks moisture and is air-permeable. It also drapes nicely, which has been a real problem in previous reflective approaches,” he added.
The foil dots reflect body heat back to the wearer but also are conductive, which helps dissipate excess heat, providing what Blackford called a “ying-yang” effect. “If you start to overheat, the humidity makes the foil conductive and draws heat away,” he explained. The foil also discharges static electricity that might otherwise build up in the fabric. And, because the fabric is reflective, 20-percent less insulation is needed to obtain comparable heat retention.
Thermal Insulated features a multi-denier, down-like fiber construction that provides higher warmth-to-weight value than any other branded insulation as well as superior loft rebound, according to Columbia. “It’s a bird’s nest approach with some pretty fat fibers that are nodally
connected running through the entire insulation, and other much finer filaments that run through the thicker fiber,” Blackford said, noting that there are six different deniers in the make-up. The construction also includes 50-percent recycled fibers.
Thermal Electric, for footwear, provides active heating as needed at the push of a button when the wearer isn’t generating enough heat. “The boots also have the reflective and insulated components, and Thermal Electric provides a boost if needed,” Blackford said. The technology
comprises a flexible carbon fiber insole connected to a removable, rechargeable lithium polymer battery. The control switch on the outside of the boot is waterproof, and extended battery packs can be used.
Omni-Heat debuted in the uniforms worn by the Canadian freestyle ski team competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Columbia will launch it at retail in October in a line of men’s and women’s cold-weather apparel, gloves, caps and boots.
For more information about Omni-Heat™ Thermal technologies, contact Anna Sanford +503-970-5691; asanford@ columbia.com.
March/April 2010
