W
hen asked “What types of capital equipment expenditures do

Textile World
readers’ companies make?” the leading response in the 2009 Reader Profile was lab/testing
equipment. Given the nature of textile products and processes, the response makes perfect sense.
Whether it is product quality, verification against regulated or vendor standards or even a little
reverse engineering – politely known in certain circles as deformulation – testing technology is an
everyday necessity. Recently, interest in product analysis has moved forward as concerns over
contaminants have made the news. Also, technical textile trends have made more people aware of the
physical testing necessary to market products like geotextiles and related performance products.

Qualitest USA


According to Marcus Bergsten, product/marketing manager of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based
Qualitest USA, testers in the company’s Q-Line of Universal Testing Machines are typically used to
test breaking strength and elongation of textiles according to ASTM D5034. “They are used for
testing all textile products from yarns to heavy-duty geotextiles and fabric for personal
protection gear,” Bergsten said. “All manufacturers in the textile industry at all levels of the
added value chain will benefit from the Q-line, both for research and development work and for
quality control.”

The Q-line has been in full production since 2006, and its development was based upon a
previous product line.

“We have been supplying the market with High Quality Universal Testing Machines for more
than 15 years,” Bergsten said.

Bergsten added that the main attributes are that the company supplies lightweight testers
with a small footprint, which makes the testers easy to place in a lab; and they offer a wide test
range per load cell with extremely accurate test results that conforms to all applicable standards.

Measured Solutions


Measured Solutions Inc., Spartanburg, supplies laboratory instruments for testing cotton and
man-made fibers, and all types of yarns including spun, filament, textured, carpet, and industrial
yarns. Managing Director Mark Reese and his staff represent various firms including Germany-based
Textechno, Switzerland-based Rothschild-Instruments and Japan-based Keisokki; as well as FCS
Procedyne and Schwing Cleaning Systems, Aspex/SpinTrak Spinneret Inspection Systems, and Ceccato
Spinnerets.

Reese said spinners, weavers, institutes and yarn dealers can save testing costs by using
Textechno’s Statimat DS. First exhibited at ITMA 2007 in Munich and with the first delivery in
2008, the Statimat DS combines testing of yarn and thread tensile properties, unevenness, and count
in one tester.

“Common use of all peripheral components of the tester – like package changer, threading
mechanism for introducing the yarn sample into the test sections, yarn feeding device, waste yarn
disposal and instrument housing with protective front panel, as well as control electronics
including the personal computer (PC)-based Textechno Testcontrol system for the different test
modules built in – all lead to a very economic price for the Statimat DS compared to that for three
separate testing appliances. The operator presents the test samples to only one instead of several
different testers, which results in considerable time and labor savings, and all measured data are
presented in one test protocol, so that the data can be easily interrelated, for example, to
calculate tenacity from the measured strength- and yarn-count values,” Reese said.

Uster Tackles Slub Quality


Introduced in July 2008, the Uster® Fancy Yarn Profile for the Uster Tester 5 is a solution
for the quality control of slub yarns.

According to Gabriela Peters, product manager, yarn testing, Switzerland-based Uster
Technologies AG, the importance of quality control in yarn manufacturing is magnified when the
end-use is a high-cost product such as the latest denim jeans with fashionable slub yarns.
Producers of these yarns need to make them appear irregular, yet retain precise and consistent
control over quality – which means fewer complaints and, ultimately, more profit. Uster has tackled
this requirement with a system that analyzes slub yarn quality. The Uster Fancy Yarn Profile uses a
unique measuring method that makes it easier than ever to obtain all the quality-relevant
information for slub yarns, while maintaining the high standards of precision and reliability for
which the Uster Tester family is acknowledged, she explained.

A.B. Carter/Mesdan-Lab


Henderson Wise, national marketing manager of Gastonia, N.C.-based A.B. Carter Inc.,
represents the Autodyn 300 Automatic Strength Tester from the Mesdan-Lab division of Italy-based
Mesdan S.p.A.

The Autodyn 300 tests the tensile strength of 24 different yarns. Wise said Autodyn 300 has
modular features that also can work in semiautomatic mode for industrial yarns, hanks and fabrics.
The tester is controlled by flexible, easy-to-operate software, complying with all current
international textile standards. More than 30 test modules are available in the software. The
tester is versatile, accurate and reliable, thanks to a complete range of interchangeable clamps
and load cells, he said.

Advanced Testing Instruments (ATI)


Advanced Testing Instruments (ATI), Greer, S.C., has been featuring the TruBurst2 pneumatic
burst strength tester, which complies with ISO 13938-2 and ASTM D 3786. The TruBurst measures the
distension and time to burst as well as the pressure at burst. The TruBurst Advanced + includes a
cyclic function that allows the pressure to cycle up and down for a stretch and recovery test.
According to the company, the fully pneumatic and non-contact laser distension measurement
guarantees accurate, consistent and reproducible results. In production for two years, this
bursting strength tester for fabric and nonwovens testing offers pneumatic versus hydraulic
bursting.

ATI also offers the Textest Air Permeability Tester FX 3300 Labotester III, which is used to
determine the air permeability of flat materials and foam cubes. The measuring range covers dense
papers and airbag fabrics as well as extremely open nonwovens and forming fabrics.

By means of the Labodata III Evaluation Program, the test results can be converted from air
permeability into the pressure drop at a given air velocity. This value, which is important for gas
filter materials, is shown both numerically and as a curve depicting pressure drop versus air
velocity in double logarithmic scale. According to ATI, the instrument works in accordance with
AFNOR G 07-111, ASTM D 737, ASTM D 3,574, BS 5,636, DIN 53,887, EDANA 140.1, EN ISO 7,231, EN ISO
9,237, JIS L 1,096-A, TAPPI T 251, and other standards.

 


Q-Lab Corp.


Westlake, Ohio-based Q-Lab Corp. offers new lightfastness testing technology with the Q-Sun
B02 Lightfastness Tester. In production for approximately 18 months, the Q-Sun B02 incorporates the
newest xenon technology to meet ISO 105 B02 and AATCC textile standards more efficiently and
affordably. According to Q-Lab, the B02’s optical filters maintain the required spectrum
indefinitely, so they do not need to be replaced unless they are broken, or the test method
followed specifies regular filter replacement. Its patented Solar Eye Irradiance Control sets a new
standard in calibration and takes only seconds, so there is little chance for operator error, and
expensive calibration contracts are not required.

According to Q-Lab, while any textile lab can benefit from the Q-Sun B02, the tester’s
affordability and efficiency make it an ideal choice for small labs that previously could not
afford xenon lightfastness testing.

X-Rite


Kentwood, Mich.-based X-Rite Inc.’s Product Manager Richard Knapp said the Color iQC Version
6.0, introduced in November 2008, is the new major release in the X-Rite Color iMatch and Color iQC
family of color formulation and quality control products.

“While there have been several color supply chain solutions available over the last five
years, none of them has been very successful or received broad adoption,” Knapp said. “When we
tried to understand why this was, we quickly found that no two companies followed the same process
and that all existing systems were far too rigid in their implementation and imposed a specific
workflow on the users. With Color iQC Version 6.0, we have produced a color supply chain solution
that can significantly reduce the time it takes to develop colors, is adaptable to existing
customer workflows and business methods, and can be aligned with a customer’s parallel business
processes.”

In terms of prospects, Knapp added: “This new product allows us to work with customers
throughout the color development process: designers, buyers, brand managers, quality control, and
producers. This product also allows for the expansion of color supply chain management into areas
that were previously excluded and into hard-line products as well.”

HunterLab


Hal Good, director of marketing services at Reston, Va.-based HunterLab, explained that the
UltraScan Pro® color measurement spectrophotometer has interesting attributes, and scanning as low
as 350 nanometers (nm) enables measurement of ultraviolet (UV)-blocking materials. He also said
scanning up to 1050 nm enables measurement of camouflage materials. The 5-nm optical resolution and
reporting interval enables precise color measurement of dyes that have sharp spectral cutoff
characteristics. According to Good, the wavelength range is wider than any other color measurement
spectrophotometer. Target customers are those that need to have accurate color measurement of
fabric, yarn, thread or fiber. In addition to measuring visual color, the UltraScan Pro also
enables measurement into the near infrared for camouflage materials, as well as the measurement of
UV-blocking characteristics of materials and the effect of whitening agents.

Datacolor


Bob Karpowicz, Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Datacolor’s product manager, instruments, spoke of
the December 2008 release of the Check® II Portable Spectrophotometer.

“Most users sort right on the factory floor, so measuring with a portable instrument is the
key to efficiency,” Karpowicz said. “However, the competing instruments do not have the versatility
of the Check II, which sorts using L*a*b*, LCh or CMC tolerances, depending on the needs and
preferences of the user.

“Additionally, we’ve reduced the time our customers spend transferring data to their PC
software by implementing wireless data transfer on the Check II. Now Datacolor Check II users can
send data via Bluetooth or existing Wi-Fi® networks straight from the instrument.

“Besides the the Check II’s exclusive three-mode 555 Shade Sorting function and high-speed
wireless operation, the Check II offers unparalleled agreement with our Datacolor 600 reference
grade spectrophotometer that most textile mills use for color matching. That means that the numbers
you get sorting with the Check II will agree very closely with your mills’ numbers,” Karpowicz
concluded.

Update: Textile Technology Center At Gaston College


Belmont, N.C.-based Textile Technology Center Director John A. Anderson stated that the
center’s mission is to be of service to the textile industry and assist the industry in solving
problems. The center has five testing labs specializing in fiber, yarn, fabric performance, defect
analysis and microscopy. New capabilities are currently being installed as a result of a recent
donation from Fort Mill, S.C.-based Wellman Inc. New services will include testing for metals, such
as lead in fabrics, to the parts-per-million level using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy;
determining polyester composition using gas chromatography (GC); ultraviolet/visusal analysis of
polymers for component levels; differential scanning calorimetry analysis for thermal properties of
polymers and other materials; various wet analytical techniques and custom analysis of materials
for purity using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC); GC/Mass Spec for unknown analysis of
polymer or material components and impurities; and determining oligimer content of polyester using
gel permeation chromatography/HPLC.

“As we carry out our mission to be of service to the textile industry, we continue to search
for emerging segments that can benefit from our services, technologies and cumulative expertise
through the ‘Center of Excellence’ shared resource concept,” Anderson said. “To use Benjamin
Franklin’s words in a slightly different context than he originally spoke, ‘We must hang together,
gentlemen … else, we shall most assuredly hang separately.'”

January/February 2009

T
hough the US textile industry has been dealing with some intense competition in the
marketplace from products manufactured in low-wage developing countries, it has been experiencing
growth in the demand for technical textiles, an area that remains globally competitive. According
to the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), US exports of technical
fabrics grew by 31 percent to $3.4 billion between 2003 and 2007. This increase is one indicator
that US technical textile manufacturers are continuing to find new market opportunities for their
products, and that there are opportunities for expansion. One way in which the US textile industry
remains competitive is by participating in trade shows.

New Location


Techtextil North America (TTNA), the North American trade show for the technical textiles and
nonwovens industry, was formerly a biennial show held in Atlanta. In early 2008, show organizer
Atlanta-based Messe Frankfurt Inc. announced TTNA would become an annual event with venues
alternating between Atlanta in even-numbered years and a Western US location in odd-numbered years.
(See ”
Techtextil
North America To Go Annual,” March 18, 2008). This year’s edition will be held April 21-23
at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Messe Frankfurt says the Western region provides an opportunity to expand TTNA’s US presence.
An analysis released last year noted close to 90,000 companies in that region that would be
potential participants in the show, with interest areas including general technical textiles as
well as more specific agricultural, transportation, industrial and medical sectors.

Agrotextiles are seen as having the greatest growth potential, with consumption projected to
increase from nearly 1.4 million tons in 2000 to nearly 2 million tons in 2010. Transportation
textiles represent the most valuable technical textiles market, worth $25.6 billion in 2000, and
are expected to remain the most valuable at $29.3 billion in 2010.

The analysis also found 41 percent of potential attendees are in California; 21 percent in
Texas; 8 percent in Washington; and 7 percent in Colorado. With this in mind, Messe Frankfurt chose
Las Vegas as the venue for TTNA 2009, as it is convenient for each of these key states.

“The Western region features a significant concentration of manufacturers and customers in
important growth markets,” said David Audrain, president, Messe Frankfurt Inc.”By offering
Techtextil North America annually in two US regions, this event will be accessible and beneficial
to significantly more buyers, [making] it even more valuable for our exhibiting companies.”

The last edition of TTNA saw 310 exhibiting companies from 21 countries and 3,711 visitors
from 40 countries. At this year’s show, more than 200 exhibiting companies are expected to fill the
Sands Expo and Convention Center, and more than 3,000 visitors are expected to attend.

“We are continually looking for ways to enhance the experience and engage new participants in
Techtextil North America,” said Stephanie Everett, TTNA show manager. “TTNA 2009 promises to
deliver a new mix of global decision makers and suppliers, more innovation and increased
opportunities for all participants, and demonstrates Messe Frankfurt’s continuing commitment to the
growing technical textiles industry.”

This year’s industry partners include the Fiber Economics Bureau Inc.; North Carolina State
University’s The Nonwovens Institute for Innovative Fibrous Systems; the Cordage Institute; and
various textile-related publications, including

Textile World
,

Textile World Asia
and
Textiles Panamericanos.

Symposium


The 2009 Techtextil North America Symposium – held concurrently with the exhibition – offers
a three-day educational conference for high-level technical textiles. International specialists and
industry consultants will present the latest technology, applications and market trends, as well as
the overall direction of the technical textiles and nonwovens sectors. Thirteen sessions with more
than 65 presentations will cover topics ranging from aerospace, automotive and military defense
textiles to medical textiles, performance textiles and nanotechnology. Several sessions will focus
on the expanding role of nonwovens in the industry. There also will be presentations on new
materials and technology, such as research being conducted in universities and government labs.

Richard C. Brown, CEO of Richmond, Va.-based Performance Fibers, will give the keynote
speech, “Adapting to Changing Times,” concentrating on how the fiber industry has evolved and the
ways in which companies are adjusting to changes in order to remain competitive. Other topics to be
discussed in the opening session include global competition and the overall state of the technical
textiles/nonwovens industry, as well as the current state of the US textile manufacturing industry.

For the first time, the symposium will hold a session on the first day featuring an
international team of presenters who will provide an introduction to technical textiles for those
who are new to the industry.

Show Details


Show exhibitors will be categorized into 10 product groups, which represent the technical
textile sector’s entire value-added chain:

•    Research, development, planning and consultancy including international
institutions, government research institutes, universities, polytechnics, industrial research
bodies, and planning and consultancy companies;

•    Technology, machinery and accessories including production processes,
processing technology, machinery and equipment, control procedures, cleaning and regeneration
systems, disposal and recycling systems, technical accessories and quality assurance;

•    Fibers and yarns;

•    Wovens, scrims, braids and knitted fabrics including tapes, string,
cords, belts, ropes and nets;

•    Nonwovens;

•    Coated textiles including laminated textiles, tent/canvas materials,
packaging materials, sacking, awning cloth and materials, coverings and accessories;

•    Composites including reinforced textiles, composite textiles, prepregs,
structural components and moldings, fiber-reinforced materials, membrane systems, films and
sheeting, textile-reinforced plastic and concrete components, pipes and containers, and textile
sheet products for lamination on solids such as metal, plastic and glass;

•    Bondtec including finishing processes, adhesive, sealing and molding
materials, laminating and coating materials, raw materials and additives, application processes,
material pretreatment, plastics and other hardening masses, adhesive mixing and application
equipment, robot technology, surface treatment technology, plasma treatment and flocking;

•    Associations; and

•    Trade publications.

These product groups also are classified according to 12 application areas: Agrotech,
Buildtech, Clothtec, Geotech, Hometech, Indutech, Medtech, Mobiltech, Oekotech, Packtech, Protech
and Sporttech. The show has marked each application area with a special pictogram that will be
displayed with the product.

Sector Offers Opportunities


Though the US economic situation has been trying, experts such as William C. “Bill” Smith,
TTNA Symposium director, a principal of Industrial Textile Associates and technical textile
industry product/market development consultant, believes the technical textiles industry will
survive and prosper. Smith says opportunities are available for companies to develop new products,
applications and markets, and compete successfully, but they must use the time to learn and network
at shows such as Techtextil.

“I am confident in the success of the upcoming Techtextil North America in Las Vegas,” Smith
said. “Though we are certainly in tough economic times, most individuals I speak with are still
upbeat. Some are even reporting record sales while others are new suppliers entering the market.
And the chance to expose in greater detail our industry to those in the Western part of the United
States is receiving a growing enthusiasm.”

For more information about Techtextil North America, contact Stephanie Everett (770) 984-8016,
Ext. 424; fax (770) 984-8023;
stephanie.everett@usa.messe
frankfurt.com;
ttnainfo@usa.messefrankfurt.com;
www.techtextilNA.com. For more information about the
Techtextil North America Symposium, contact Bill Smith (864) 292-8121; fax (864) 292-5333;
billsmith@intexa.com.



January/February 2009