GretagMacbeth, New Windsor, N.Y., and
eWarna, Malaysia, have signed an agreement whereby eWarna will incorporate GretagMacbeth’s
NetProfiler™ Web-based color measurement application into eWarna’s Web-based XMatch™ and LabWorks
Pro™ color collaboration solutions. eWarna also will distribute NetProfiler as a stand-alone
application.
August 2004
Extrusion Auxiliary Services Inc.
(EAS), Dacula, Ga., now offers equipment consulting, and personnel consulting and recruitment
services, as well as technical assistance for most material handling and melt handling systems.
Dana Darley, founder and president, has served in the extrusion industry since 1981, most
recently as president of Kreyenborg Industries, Lawrenceville, Ga., a subsidiary of Germany-based
Kreyenborg GmbH.
August 2004
Finland-based Ahlstrom Corp. recently installed a new high-performance nonwovens production line in
its Windsor Locks, Conn., facility. “This new expanded capacity recognizes the strength and growth
potential of the dynamic wipes market, as well as Ahlstrom’s intention to invest in technically
superior products for next-generation applications,” said Jukka Moisio, president, FiberComposites
Division. “Its design and capabilities respond to the market need for high-performance,
value-priced wipe materials that are soft, strong and embossed.”
The addition of the $40 million line establishes Windsor Locks as Ahlstrom’s largest nonwoven
manufacturing site. Other recent upgrades at the facility include a $50 million nonwoven composite
line and investment in equipment for dual textured or abrasive nonwovens products.
August 2004
Austria-based Fehrer AG’s new Yarnpuncher needlepunching machine soon will make its debut
August 2004
These imperial sites will serve as backdrops to the modern-day hustle and bustle of the
global textile industry when the 2004 edition of the China International Textile Machinery
Exhibition (CITME) is held at the China International Exhibition Centre Tuesday, Oct. 12, through
Saturday, Oct. 16.
CITME visitors will have five full days in which to explore 10 halls filled with machinery
exhibits devoted to spinning and weaving equipment for cotton, wool, linen and man-made fibers;
knitting equipment; finishing equipment for dyeing and printing; processing systems and equipment
for technical textiles and nonwovens; and textile testing and measuring equipment; among many other
offerings. An accompanying technical seminar program also will be offered.
Strong Support
CITME 2004 is sponsored by the China National Textile Industry Council and the China Council
for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT); and organized by the CCPIT Sub-Council of Textile
Industry, China International Exhibition Center Group Corp., and the China Textile Machinery &
Accessories Association; with assistance from Hongkong Expositions Ltd. and China Textile Machinery
and Technology Import & Export Corp.
With such a contingent of support behind it, CITME is sure to offer something for
everyone. The exhibition benefits from Union of International Fairs (UFI) endorsement, and is the
first international textile machinery exhibition held in China to receive such an endorsement.
CITME Continues To Grow
Held every two years since 1988, CITME has grown in size show after show – in both square
footage and visitor participation. CITME 2002 featured 850 exhibitors and attracted a record
120,000 visitors from 26 countries. Organizers expect to see the same number of attendees in 2004 –
90 percent likely will be local Chinese visitors, while other Asian countries and regions likely
will account for the bulk of the remaining 10 percent. More than 1,000 exhibitors are expected at
CITME 2004, including a larger international contingent than at CITME 2002. China, the United
States, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Korea, India and
Taiwan hosted national pavilions at CITME 2002. They are expected once again to have a major
presence at this year’s show. As of Textile World’s press time, 10 countries will offer national
pavilions at CITME 2004.
According to organizers, the 2004 show will surpass the previous edition in show floor area
– 10,000 square meters have been added, for a total of 60,000 square meters.
Showtime
CITME 2004 will officially kick off Tuesday morning with an opening ceremony. The exhibition
will be open to visitors from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00
p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday.
Understanding The Market
Visitors to CITME 2002 wondered how China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)
would affect the global textile industry. The dominant concern of visitors this year most likely
will be China’s competitive role when quotas are lifted at the beginning of next year.
Recognizing these concerns, CITME bills itself as a learning opportunity for global
companies that wish to understand and enter the Chinese textile market, a market that, since
opening its doors to global industry in the past few years, has shown consistent growth. This
growth shows no signs of abating come January 2005.
According to show organizers, China saw a record 15.8-percent increase in textile and
garment output in 2002, totaling $61.8 billion.
Production also increased dramatically that year: Yarn production grew 15.8 percent;
fabrics, 11.2 percent; garments, 8.5 percent; silk products, 20 percent; and man-made fibers, more
than 20 percent.
The country also imported $3.5 billion worth of textile machinery that same year – a
40-percent increase over 2001. Imports came primarily from Japan, Germany and Italy – with Taiwan,
Korea and Switzerland also providing substantial volumes of textile equipment. Looms accounted for
26.2 percent of machinery imported; dyeing and finishing machinery, 19.4 percent; knitting
machinery, 17.6 percent; spinning machinery, 16 percent; and man-made fiber machinery, 11.5
percent.
In 2002, Beijing was one of the top five import regions in China, along with Zhejiang,
Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu.
China – the world’s most populous nation, with close to 1.3 billion inhabitants – continues
to move towards a full market economy, despite the fact that the European Union recently denied it
market economy status. According to the People’s Daily Online – China’s official Communist Party
newspaper on the Internet – China has put into effect an Administrative Licensing Law that will
help the country fulfill its commitment to the WTO by streamlining approval procedures and removing
certain government restrictions. A revised law on foreign trade also has recently been put into
effect, enabling, for the first time, individuals and businesses to engage in import and export
activities without prior approval from the government.
China’s 10th Five-Year Plan, developed by the China State Development Planning Committee,
outlines its goal for expanding textile and garment exports from $52 billion in 2000 to $70-75
billion in 2005. The plan also calls for increasing fiber production, per-capita fiber consumption,
productivity and technical progress. It would seem that China is well on its way to achieving these
goals.
Old habits die hard, and while China concentrates on opening up its industry to
foreign trade and maintaining steady profits, it still is under the watchful eye of the
ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) – a portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s
Republic of China, still is situated prominently in Tiananmen Square, the city’s center. Party
members numbered more than 68 million at the end of 2003 – an increase of almost 1.3 million from
the year before, according to the organization department of the CPC Central Committee.
Seeing The Sights
Preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing already have begun, and these activities
will reinforce the notion that Beijing is a city of centuries-old tradition and modern-day
conveniences and technology. Visitors will most likely catch a glimpse of this multifaceted
ambiance when they step outside the exhibition for a bit of sightseeing. The Tiananmen Gate at
Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong’s mausoleum and the Forbidden City are attractions not to be missed.
China’s Great Wall and the royal Summer Palace residence are sights of interest located just
outside of the city.
August 2004
New growth will come about as a result of expansion into industrial and apparel markets, at
least in North America, Europe and Japan (See Figure 1). This should not be seen as a threat by the more traditional sectors, but
rather as an opportunity to enhance their production with the introduction of multifunctional,
higher-performance engineered products that can build on the strengths of both sectors.
Tradition
While the nonwovens and textile industries share some common heritage, nonwovens has grown
to present a broad array of engineered fiber and polymer-based products that are driven by high
speed; low manufacturing cost; and innovative, value-added processes. This growth has led to the
adaptation of technologies from the pulp and paper industry, extrusion industry and the like to
bring about desired products at reasonable costs. Consequently, a separation from traditional
textiles, which have been focused primarily on apparel, has occurred.
Today’s segments of the nonwovens industry include raw material suppliers; roll goods
producers; converters and fabricators; machinery manufacturers supporting the previous three
categories; auxiliary material suppliers; and winding, slitting and packaging equipment makers;
among others. Even this segmentation does not offer as clear a picture as one might imagine – there
are varying degrees of vertical and horizontal integration in the industry. Globally, local markets
and economic nuances further complicate the situation.
Hydroentangling
Hydroentangling now is a fairly mature technology. Systems have been in commercial use for
more than 30 years. Hydroentangling was developed initially for making wipes and replacing woven
gauze. Today, the majority of wipes are made using this process, and over the past 10 years,
nonwoven gauze fabrics have reached sales and production levels that challenge those of woven
gauze.
Today, more than 130 hydroentangling lines are estimated to be operating worldwide.
Hydroentangling technology along with calendering and unconventional bonding technologies are the
most important technologies used to produce nonwovens for medical, hygiene and protective apparel
applications.
Germany-based Fleissner GmbH and France-based Rieter Perfojet S.A. have emerged as the two
principal equipment suppliers of hydroentangling technology.
Using Hydroentangling
To Finish Traditional Textiles
Another major application for hydroentangling is in fabric finishing. The concept of
engineered fabrics, long associated with the nonwovens industry, is finding its way to the more
traditional sectors of the textile industry. The result will be better performing, more advanced
and enhanced textiles that move away from the traditional textile box in terms of processing.
US Patent 5,136,761, issued on Aug. 11, 1992, demonstrates clearly that hydroentanglement,
when used as a finishing step, improves surface properties and the dimensional stability of
fabrics.
In fact, it has been observed that for 100-percent cotton jersey knits, hydroentanglement
processes reduce the mass loss brought about by abrasion by as much as 50 percent or more, and the
fabric will not develop a hole for some 60,000 wash cycles or more.
Fleissner offers a water-jet treatment system known as AquaTex. The line is capable of
producing high pressures for fabric enhancement. Rieter Perfojet offers the JETlace 3000, and
textile finishing is listed as one of the intended applications for the unit. Significant growth in
the use of hydroentangling as a post-processing step is predicted, with new applications being
discovered continually. For example, Fleissner recently announced the application of the AquaJet
system in bonding carpet backing. In tufted carpets, a pile layer is attached, usually by insertion
of yarn loops, to a carrier material known as the primary backing. Subsequently, the tufts are
bonded with the primary backing using an adhesive coating. Sometimes, a secondary backing is then
added to improve comfort. The AquaJet has been used successfully to bond the backing to the carpet
without using latex.
How Durable Is Durable?
Nonwovens are generally assumed to be non-durable and disposable. This is true, but only to
the extent that the applications for which they were intended require disposable products.
Nonwovens can be made as durable as desired, if properly engineered. The Miratec® line of products
from Polymer Group Inc., North Charleston, S.C.; and the Evolon® products from The Freudenberg
Nonwovens Group, Germany, are strong testimonies to the fact that nonwovens can be engineered to be
durable.
In general, hydroentangled nonwovens made from staple fiber are not as durable as those made
from filament and are better suited for single-use products. Thus, most wipes today use carding and
hydroentangling processes to produce the desired products. These products may have absorbent
fibers, pulp or other materials added to the web by means of an airlay system.
Nonwovens made from filament will yield superior durable products without the addition of
any binders. However, nonwovens made from staple fiber webs also can be made extremely durable by
the addition of an appropriate binder.
The choice of staple versus filament has mainly to do with the costs involved. The capital
costs for a spunbond/hydro system are significantly higher than those involving carding and
hydroentangling.
Dyeing, Printing & Finishing
Durable nonwovens can be dyed, printed and finished in much the same way as other textiles
using the same type of equipment used to process traditional textiles. In most cases, however, the
nonwovens structure may be composed of two or three different materials, adding to the product’s
complexity.
Nonwovens are finished, laminated and coated to add value, creating products for many
diverse applications ranging from specialty bedding and window treatments to furniture
construction. Examples of end-uses include: medical fabrics; wipes; mattress pads; bedding products
for incontinence protection; and window shades that feature antistatic, antiskid, waterproof,
antimicrobial, or flame-retardant and/or breathability properties. The Precision Fabrics Group,
Greensboro, N.C., is one example of an innovator in the field of finishing nonwovens. Significant
value can be derived by finishing.
The Future
There is considerable know-how in the traditional textile sectors that can assist nonwovens
producers in adapting their products for such demanding areas as apparel and industrial textiles.
In particular, the use of advanced finishing techniques can enhance the properties of nonwovens to
acceptable levels. Also, nonwovens technologies such as hydroentanglement can offer traditional
textile manufacturers opportunities to add value to their end-products. Thus, there are significant
opportunities to harness the strengths of both the nonwovens industry and the textile industry to
create new hybrid, high-performance products that will define the future.
NCRC: Focus On Academic/Industry Nonwovens Development
Located on the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, N.C., the
Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC) was established as a State/Industry-University
Cooperative Research Center in 1991 as a result of a grant from the National Science Foundation
(NSF). The NSF grant was matched by the State of North Carolina and grants from the nonwovens
industry in the form of membership dues. NCRC’s 46 member companies come from all aspects of the
supply chain. It is this partnership that is the foundation of NCRC’s success. In addition to these
sources, the center has received and continues to receive grants, contracts and gifts from the
industry.
Today, NCRC has an annual budget of approximately $1 million funded by state and industry
sources. Core research programs are developed jointly by the center faculty and staff, and member
companies. Programs focus on areas such as:
• new materials development;
• existing materials modification;
• basic studies that lead to a better understanding of technologies;
• applied research directed at process material/property relationships;
and
• instrumentation and test methods development for nonwoven fabrics.
NCRC carries out non-core research programs for individual companies. Non-core
projects of special interest also can be developed for a group of NCRC members or affiliate
companies. The results of non-core research are made public only with the sponsoring companies’
consent.
The center carries out an active program of technology transfer supported by funds from the
State of North Carolina and industry members. This program seeks to disseminate technology
developed by the center along with existing knowledge of the management of materials and processes.
Such programs are provided in the following forms:
• implementation training and assistance for center-developed technology;
• plant site courses;
• workshops;
• industrial internships;
• focused seminars, symposia and conferences; and
• one-on-one consulting.
NCRC’s partnership with the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Cary, N.C.,
is strong. NCRC and INDA together offer five week-long short courses that are unmatched anywhere in
the world.
To carry out its research mission, NCRC seeks out talent at NCSU, as well as at other
universities such as the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology; Clemson University,
Clemson, S.C.; University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.; Philadelphia University, Philadelphia;
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.; University of California Davis, Davis, Calif.; and
others. The faculty, staff, and students of these universities undertake such cooperative research
programs with the approval of NCRC’s Industrial Advisory Board.
Product development programs, the focal point of NCRC activities, center on assisting
various companies to develop their next-generation products. These activities are carried out under
a special Analysis and Testing Agreement (ATA), which allows companies to develop their ideas under
confidentiality.
NCRC offers a series of pilot facilities for manufacturing various types of nonwovens. The
Cotton Incorporated staple nonwovens lab offers carding, cross-lapping, needling, hydroentangling
and calendering facilities. Wetlay and airlay web-forming capabilities are also available. These
capabilities are modular and allow the formation of very unique nonwovens.
NCRC’s Partners Center of Excellence is a unique, world-class research and product
development laboratory. The lab equipment can be operated at full commercial speeds – 300 meters
per minute – while requiring only material for a 0.5 meter-wide line. This allows clients to use
relatively low volumes of raw materials to produce working prototypes.
The process line currently includes carding, bicomponent fiber formation in both spunbond
and meltblown, in-line hydroentangling for bonding and splitting bicomponent fibers, and thermal
bonding equipment.
For more information about NCRC, contact
nonwovens@ncsu.edu;
www.ncrc.ncsu.edu.
Editor’s Note: Behnam Pourdeyhimi is a professor in the department of textiles and apparel,
technology and management at North Carolina State University’s (NCSU’s) College of Textiles,
Raleigh, N.C., and co-director of the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center. He holds a Ph.D. in
textiles from the University of Leeds, England. Pourdeyhimi also recently was appointed one of two
William A. Klopman Distinguished Professors at NCSU.
August 2004
eBridge Technologies Inc., Greenville, has provided Liz Claiborne Inc., New York City, with the
Global Care Label System. The centralized system enables contract producers to download care
information for apparel made in their facilities. Liz Claiborne associates now are able to load and
manage garment care instructions as the garments are completed.
August 2004
Schaetti AG, Switzerland, has delivered a complete hotmelt plant to Paka, a Korea-based spinning,
weaving, bleaching and outfitting company. Paka will use the hotmelt line to produce coated
membrane films under license by Sympatex, a Germany-based manufacturer of breathable waterproof and
windproof membrane films for sports clothing, shoes and other high-tech products. Paka is the first
Asian company to be licensed by Sympatex.
Schaetti developed the hotmelt machinery for Paka’s product needs. Features of the equipment
include: precise web tensioning and centering guides for thin and sensitive substrates; a gravure
roller system for minimum coating thicknesses of 5 micrometers; and a processing speed of up to 100
meters per minute.
August 2004
Lectra, Paris, has released an upgraded version of its PrimaVision textile design software that
features PrimaVision Print, PrimaVision Knit and PrimaVision Weave, new modules designed for
printed, knitted and woven fabric designers. The company also has introduced Kaledo Asset Manager
software for the storing and consulting of existing textile designs. Using the manager, designers
may efficiently search through textile design libraries to create new designs or new colorways.
August 2004
Before taking is summer recess, Congress approved free trade agreements with Australia and Morocco.
The Australian pact had the strong endorsement of the US textile industry, but it was opposed to
the Morocco agreement because it permits specified amounts of yarn and fabric from
non-participating countries to enjoy the same quota and tariff preferences as products from
Morocco. The United States now has free trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, Israel, Jordan,
Australia , Morocco and Singapore, as well as regional pacts with the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan
African nations. This action pretty well wraps up the Bush administrations ambitious free trade
initiatives for this year, as a major agreement with the Central American nations is pending but
will not be dealt with a by Congress in an election year in view of its highly controversial
nature.
August 2004
