Switzerland-based Rieter Textile Systems recently honored four individuals with the Rieter Award
2008. Presented annually since 1989, the award recognizes students and young professionals who have
distinguished themselves in the realm of textiles. According to the company, this year’s awards
competition saw improvements in topic quality and presentation technique.

The award was presented to Yuguang Yang, China; Yusuf Ali Syed, India; Mohammad Owais Raza
Siddiqui, Pakistan; and Orcun Cakici, Turkey. The winners accepted their awards at Rieter’s
headquarters in Winterthur, where they presented their final theses, and met Rieter employees and
management, visited several plants, and explored local sites of interest.

October 1, 2008

Germany-based spinning manufacturer Spindelfabrik Suessen GmbH is celebrating 10 years of its
EliTe® Compact Spinning system for short- and long-staple spinning frames.

In 1998, Suessen delivered the first EliTe system to its Austria-based customer and yarn
producer Linz Textil Holding AG; and in 1999, the company presented the system to the market at
ITMA in Paris.

To date, Suessen’s EliTe compact spinning system is running on more than 2,800,000 ring
spindles globally, amounting to about 45 percent of the total market of compact ring spindles. More
than 1,300,000 of those are running on spindles in India alone.

Suessen will demonstrate its new EliTe CompactSet V5 with optional EliTwist® applications and
new core yarn COREflex® attachments at India-ITME, to be held in Bangalore Nov. 15-22, 2008. 

October 1, 2008

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based American Fibers & Yarns Co. (AF&Y) has filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection, with the intention of liquidating its assets. The company plans to
discontinue manufacturing operations and close its two plants in Bainbridge, Ga., and Afton, Va.,
on October 17 and auction off its assets. Including manufacturing and corporate employees,
approximately 330 people will lose their jobs.

According to documents filed with the US Bankruptcy Court, the company is the largest US
supplier of solution-dyed polypropylene filament yarns, and is a major supplier to the residential
and contract furnishings marketplaces as well as a supplier of product for industrial, automotive
and apparel applications. The yarns, marketed under the Marquesa® and Innova® brands, have been
touted for their earth-friendly, inherent performance attributes, and the company initiated a
program at its Bainbridge plant for recycling fabrics made with its yarns.

AF&Y cited a number of factors leading to the Chapter 11 filing, including increased
offshore sourcing for residential upholstery fabrics, a spike in the price of polypropylene resin ,
competition from polyester manufacturers, price pressure from lower-cost imported textiles and the
current economic decline. Coupled with those factors have been unsuccessful attempts over a period
of time to secure additional financing or to sell portions of the business.

The company’s outstanding debts include $7.7 million in revolving credit loans from General
Electric (GE) Capital Corp. and more than $6.8 million in accounts payable to its 20 largest
unsecured creditors. AF&Y has requested debtor in possession financing in the amount of $7.7
million from GE Capital to assist it in liquidating its assets in an orderly manner.

“The company has tried for many months to find either incremental investment or someone who
wanted to buy all or portions of the business, and all of those discussions came to naught,” said
Timothy Boates, president of Newport, R.I.-based RAS Management Advisors LLC, which has been
retained by AF&Y to assist it in its efforts to wind down the business and settle its affairs.

Remarking on the cost increases for polypropylene resin and competition from
now-lower-priced polyester-based products, Boates said: “For a long time, there was a real value
differential that AF&Y benefited from, where its products were cheaper than polyester-based
products, but the price of raw materials has gone up so sharply over the last couple of years that
that price advantage has turned the other way around. Right now, there’s a substantial negative
price variance between our product and polyester-based product.”



October 1, 2008

Effective October 1, or as contracts allow, Germany-based BASF will implement a
50-euro-per-metric-ton price increase for acrylic acid and acrylic esters — including glacial
acrylic acid, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate — in
Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The company cited ongoing inadequate margins in announcing the
price increase.

BASF also announced that effective immediately, it has implemented price increases for
ethylamine, propylamine and butylamine in Europe from 30 to 300 euros per ton. The company cited
the rising cost of handling, logistics and raw materials in announcing the increases.

October 1, 2008

Australian Wool Innovation Ltd.  (AWI) — the research, development and marketing organization
of Australia’s wool industry — has launched MerinoCool™, a new lightweight, woven fabric suitable
for year-round apparel. Constructed from a new generation of fine Australian Merino fibers that are
spun into yarns and woven into a fabric weighing less than 165 grams per square meter, MerinoCool™
fabrics allow the wearer to stay cool or warm, depending on the environmental conditions and
wearing situation. According to AWI, the fabric also has a fineness, softness and hand, as well as
good drape properties. The company is targeting MerinoCool™ to the smart casual market in Italy,
France, Japan, Korea, India and China.

AWI also has introduced MerinoFresh™, a technology that permits woven apparel made from
Merino wool to be refreshed or cleaned after wear using a domestic shower. The user simply hangs
the garment on an appropriate hanger, and rinses it in the shower for three to four minutes using
clean, warm water. The process removes smog, dirt, common water-based stains, smoke and odors.
Water-based stains that are more ingrained can generally be removed with a mild detergent solution.
Following rinsing, garments can be drip-dried over a period of three to four hours at room
temperature. Generally, when garments are handled as recommended, no ironing is needed following
cleaning.

“A MerinoFresh garment not only looks smart all day, it also saves on trips to the dry
cleaner, reducing costs and very importantly, impact on the environment,” said Craig Welsh, CEO,
AWI.

Manufacturing involves the following process: first, the base fabric is stabilized to
eliminate shrinkage; then the garment is sewn and made-up using special techniques; and lastly, the
garment seams, creases, trims and accessories are permanently set. According to AWI, MerinoFresh is
the world’s first rinse-and-clean shower suit technology. The company is introducing it to
companies in China, India, Korea and Europe.

October 1, 2008

The Hosiery Association (THA), Charlotte, and title sponsor Groz-Beckert USA, Fort Mill, S.C., will
hold the 4th Annual Legwear Industry Golf Tournament on Wednesday, October 15 at the Bermuda Run
Country Club in Bermuda Run, N.C.

The tournament’s proceeds will benefit NoColdFeet™, a charity created by THA that donates
underwear and legwear to non-profit service organizations. THA recently announced that this year,
NoColdFeet will partner with Working Wardrobes, a non-profit organization that supplies its clients
with career counseling and business attire suitable for interviews.

Albany, N.Y.-based Primaloft, Hickory, N.C.-based Fiber & Yarn Products Inc. and
Greensboro, N.C.-based Unifi Inc. also are sponsoring the event.

To register, or to learn more about the NoColdFeet program, visit
www.HosieryAssociation.com.

September 23, 2008

Israel-based OptiTex Ltd. — a developer of 2-D and 3-D CAD/CAM solutions for sewn products and
related industries — has added Color Manager to its OptiTex™ 3-D Runway Designer software.
According to the company, the Color Manager software system simplifies color scheme selection for
both individual garments and entire collections, allowing designers to have more control over their
collections.

“We have always maintained a commitment to provide designers with the latest features to
enhance the design process,” said Ran Machtinger, president and CEO, OptiTex. “Now, our new Color
Manager will appear any time a user clicks on a color control, providing an extended set of tools
that promote both creativity and collaboration.”

Color Manager comprises three main sections: Color Pickers and Color Spaces, which supports
four-color spaces; Harmonious Color Schemes, for monochromatic color work; and the Color Banks
section, which provides creating, editing and color scheme storage functions and enables designers
to collaborate with one another as well as communicate with other graphic software. With this new
system, designers can select and change colors in real time and instantly see the results.

“The design of our 3-D Runway system is the natural outgrowth of our philosophy about
facilitating collaboration, ensuring that all players in the production process are on the same
page,” Machtinger said. “In the end, it’s all about an efficient, streamlined process that results
in remarkable, beautiful designs.”

September 23, 2008

The polyester staple fiber (PSF) market is experiencing some changes, with the exit of one
established supplier and the announcement by another supplier that it will maximize its production
capacity to meet market needs.

Fort Mill, S.C.-based Wellman Inc. — manufacturer of PSF under the Fortrel® brand, as well as
Wellamid® engineering resins and PermaClear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging resins —
announced last week it will exit the PSF and engineering resins businesses and consolidate its PET
resins business as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of this year. The moves
involve the shutdown of the company’s PSF and PET resin manufacturing operations at its plant in
Darlington, S.C., and engineering resins operations at its Johnsonville, S.C., plant; and the
consolidation of the PET resins business at its Pearl River facility in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Wellman also will close its administrative offices in Fort Mill and move those operations to Pearl
River. Nearly 800 employees in South Carolina will be impacted by the closures. Assets from the
discontinued businesses will be liquidated.

Stepping in to fill the void, Charlotte-based DAK Americas LLC — a subsidiary of Mexico-based
conglomerate Alfa S.A.B. de C.V. and a manufacturer of PSF under the Dacron® Plus, Delcron®
HydroPur® and Hydrotec, and SteriPur®AM brands; as well as PET resins and terephthalic acid
monomers — has announced it will maximize PSF productivity in order to increase its own supply to
the North American market. The company’s North American manufacturing base includes facilities in
Charleston, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Mexico.

“We have additional capacity that we will be maximizing,” said Ricky Lane, corporate
communications manager, DAK Americas. “We will rebalance what we currently have running and look
for opportunities to increase that capacity.” He added that more details will become available as
assets are rebalanced and needs are assessed.

September 23, 2008

Every year, the man-made fiber industry meets in Dornbirn, Austria. The 47th Man-Made Fibers
Congress took place Sept. 17-19, 2008. The event closed with a record attendance of more than 720
visitors from 40 countries. Experts from all around the world gathered to exchange information and
knowledge. This congress is known to be the first address for new developments in the entire
man-made fiber industry.

In the last 10 years, the congress moved away from being a high-ranking meeting of scientists
with papers, which most of the attending people didn’t understand. This has changed a lot over
recent years. The organizing body, the Austrian Man-Made Fibers Institute (www.dornbirn-mfc.com) is putting more emphasis on
practical topics.

Cradle-To-Grave Products

The main topics this year were new fiber developments, sportswear, safety technical textiles,
nonwovens and new research projects. However, the overwhelming subject was sustainability, with the
focus on cradle-to-grave products. What does that mean? It means that more than ever, future
products must be developed under a complete rethinking.

For example, man-made fibers have in most cases, compared to natural fibers, a favorable
environmental balance sheet. Also, the man-made fiber industry is facing the same problems as any
other industry. One thing is for sure, just to pass the buck to the next one in line is definitely
not the ultimate solution. However, everybody should be aware that these three issues — exploding
raw material prices, energy prices and climate change — are closely linked and interact with one
another.

Obviously, the time in which relatively inexpensive natural resources are available is over.
The need for raw materials on the part of the high-growth economies of China and India is in
contrast to a raw material supply industry that has been stagnating for decades.

The price of energy has become more volatile than ever in the last 12 months. In spite of the
day-to-day fluctuations between $100 and $140 per barrel for oil, it is more important to know that
this oil price rose from the “traditional” $10 to $20 dollars a barrel up to, let’s say, $100.

It was amazing to see that the man-made fiber industry worries about climate change too. I
don’t care what the reasons are, as long as we all care about it. It can be even emotional, just
like Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth.” It is so emotional because climate change directly and
personally affects each and every one of us.



Interacting Factors

US economist and United Nations advisor Jeffrey A. Sachs describes in his book, “Common
Wealth – Economics for a Crowded Planet,” the interaction of factors such as population growth,
climate and environmental protection, and poverty in various regions of the world.

What does this mean for the companies? Just like for any country, economic success, social
acceptance and political stability are intimately linked to the sustainable economic management of
a company. The debate about climate change has led all big companies to reconsider their policies.
Today, most of the industries know the term “carbon footprint.” Companies that already have
experience with the issue of sustainability have a competitive edge. They work with one of the most
promising issues of the future for the textile industry: recycling.

Don’t Waste Your Waste

Many lecturers in Dornbirn said they are forced to significantly increase the share of
recycled raw materials in the manufacturing process, particularly oil-based polymers. In many parts
of Europe, other industry sectors are working very successfully with recycled material — paper and
glass, for example. The overall share for recycled paper is Europe is 55 percent and for glass 62,
percent. Switzerland is recycling 99 percent of its used glass, and even in this so-called “
expensive” country, the glass industry is very successful. Examples in the man-made fiber industry
include the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into fiber. But it is not only
the raw material; it’s also less energy consumption and less air pollution. Again, to be “green”
pays off.

Ultimately, the awareness of consumers will play a decisive role. An increasing number of
companies are already reacting to the growing demand for eco-labels. And to survive as a company in
the ever-so-competitive world is also an act of sustainability.

Any comment is always welcome at
jrupp@textileworld.com.

September 23, 2008

Freudenberg Nonwovens, a Germany-based nonwoven materials manufacturer with operations in 13
countries worldwide, has announced plans to close its staple fiber manufacturing operations in
Durham, N.C., effective the end of March 2009. The company will transfer products currently
manufactured in Durham on two base lines and two print-sets to other facilities or discontinue
them. The closure will affect 60 employees. Freudenberg’s Spunlaid Division in Durham will remain
in operation; as will the company’s facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., which includes manufacturing
operations for its Filtration Division and Freudenberg Vitech LP.

“The business with staple fiber nonwovens has suffered financial hardship due to the
economic slowdowns in the three largest markets of home industrial, mattress and wipes,” said John
McNabb, general manager and vice president, Industrial Nonwovens Division. “This adjustment of
production capacity is necessary to bring our capability in line with current market demand. We
will focus on serving our key customer base with a local sales force, supplying Freudenberg
material from other facilities.”



September 23, 2008