Speed Weaving
Multiple weft insertion, advanced drives propel weaving machines to new heights of productivity
and efficiency. It wasnt so long ago that uniformly green, clacking, creaking,
fly-shuttle looms lined the weave rooms of American textile mills in seemingly endless columns,
pounding out yard upon yard of fabric in a laborious, raucous process that substituted sheer volume
for efficiency. The United States can credit these looms, along with the furnaces of Pittsburgh and
the assembly lines of Detroit, for its ascendancy to the pinnacle of world economic power.Those
were days of high adventure in American textiles. Every now and again, a shuttle deviated from its
assigned mission of weft insertion, escaped the shed and was launched on an uncontrolled flight
across the weave room, providing perhaps the first definition of projectile weaving. Those also
were the days when Americas staple product was borne from the take-up rolls on the backs of
broad-shouldered cloth doffers, and loom fixers resembled automotive mechanics more than computer
technicians. Quiet, relatively vibration-free machines, automated processes, and speeds in excess
of 1,000 picks per minute might well have been the subjects of science fiction novels.Then, some
bright engineer decided to take a look at the method of weft insertion and well, suffice it to say
that things changed. A weaver transported from a 1960s greige mill wouldnt recognize the smooth,
svelte machines at modern plants today. But, more to the point, a weaver from an early 1990s
environment might find himself equally as lost in the weave room of 2001.A number of companies have
new offerings in weaving machines, and most claim their products herald the dawn of a new era in
fabric production. Somets Mythos was reviewed in these pages several months ago (See Vision,
Innovation Are Keys To Viability, ATI, August 2000), and the products of other manufacturers will
be the subjects of future articles. In this issue, ATI provides a look at new concepts from two
leading manufacturers in Europe.The process of weft insertion provided the first major stumbling
block to increases in weaving speed. The fly-shuttle looms of the previous era could run only so
fast with any semblance of control over the process. Then came the first projectile looms, rapiers
and air-jets.Multi-Phase Weaving With Sulzer’s M8300Sulzer Textil, Switzerland, has taken the
concept of high-speed weft insertion a step further with the introduction of its multi-phase
weaving machine, the M8300.Single-phase weaving, traditional projectiles, rapiers and air-jets have
pushed the envelope, both in textile and technical limits, in what we can do, explained Louie
Dejonckheere, vice president, marketing, for Sulzer Textile Inc., the Spartanburg, S.C., unit of
Sulzer Textil. Improvements in insertion rates are limited by textile and technological factors,
particularly when processing spun staple yarns, he said. These limits are caused, in part, by
incompatible stressing of the threads and by uncontrollable physical conditions. When Sulzer began
looking at new technologies to improve efficiency and performance, we began exploring the
possibilities of multiple weft insertions.The concept of multiple insertions is not new. Research
dates back more than four decades to 1955, but finding a practical method of bringing concept to
reality proved a daunting task. Multiple shed formation can be accomplished with two basic
techniques, wave-shed and multi-linear. In wave-shed, the sheds are formed in the direction of the
weft, while multi-linear insertions require the sheds to be formed in the direction of the warp.

Initial concentration was on the wave-shed technique. At ITMA 75, four manufacturers
including Ruti (which had not yet been integrated into the Sulzer group), presented developments in
wave-shed techniques. By ITMA 83, three manufacturers were still demonstrating this technique, but
technological obstacles prevented the concept from achieving market success.On the basis of
experience drawn from our long-standing research, the wave-shed development failed because of
several inherent shortcomings, Dejonckheere said. Among those were: the impossibility of repairing
mispicks; differing weft-thread tensions as a consequence of several weft-yarn carriers being
activated at the same time; the requirement of an additional rewinding process caused by the
special make-up of the weft carriers; restriction to output-limited mechanical weft carriers; and
the failure to achieve the required beat-up necessary to obtain uniform insertion across the entire
weaving length.As a logical conclusion, arrived at with the experience we collected, Sulzer began
considering the multi-linear shed strategy for implementing multi-phase weaving, Dejonckheere said.
The M8300 is the result.The M8300, designed exclusively to be a single-warp machine, is earmarked
for mass-production commodity fabrics. Technological design at this point does not yet allow for
multiple-color, patterned insertions. The machine is installed in production capacity in several
locations throughout the world, including the United States. The M8300 has four sheds open at all
times, resulting in a machine that is technically capable of running from three to four times as
fast as a typical air-jet machine, Dejonckheere said. Weft insertion rates of up to 6,000 meters
per minute are possible, as Sulzer demonstrated at ITMA 99 in Paris. This concept truly extends the
boundaries of fabric production, he said.The M8300 has a complete modular design for ease of
installation, operation and maintenance, according to Dejonckheere. The machine is divided into a
weaving module, warp module, shedding module, cloth-winding module and yarn-feeding module. This
arrangement guarantees warp and cloth run-off optimized for ergonomics and facilitates a quick warp
change. The machine accommodates warp beams of up to 1,600 millimeters, which allows processing of
large batch lengths.Shed Formation And Weft InsertionThe multi-linear shed formation opens four
sheds across the entire weaving length. The parallel sheds are opened in the warp direction, one
behind the other. One thread is inserted into each shed to allow the simultaneous weaving of four
picks. Unlike the wave-shed method, every missed pick can be detected and repaired, Dejonckheere
said.The individual sheds are form-fit across the circumference of a weaving rotor, anchored by
shed-holding elements arranged in a line. Spreading the warp threads on the shed-holding elements
is achieved with the aid of warp positioners similar to the needle bars of knitting machines. The
quantity of required warp positioners depends upon warp density.

Weft insertion is accomplished with a low-pressure blast of air through a weft channel formed
by the shed-holding elements. Additional relay nozzles are placed within the shed-holding elements.
The weft threads are continuously unwound through metering rollers from four stationary packages.
Constant thread velocity can be controlled according to weaving width, insertion rate and the speed
of the metering rollers. Thread velocity amounts to only 20 meters per second at an insertion rate
of 5,000 meters per minute. Weft threads are fed to a weft-processing unit, which controls
distribution. The weft-processing unit consists of two concentrically arranged disks in a
multi-channel system. The threads leave these guiding channels in a synchronized sequence and enter
the appropriate weft channel. Between the weft-processing unit and the weft channels are a thread
clamp and the main cutter. The four weft yarns are then transported very gently through their
respective sheds in a staggered sequence by a compressed air stream of only 25-30 psi.On the
receiving side, arrival of the weft thread is electronically detected, and combs positioned on the
circumference of the weaving rotor accomplish weft beat-up. These combs are located between two
rows of shed-holding elements and replace the function of conventional weaving reeds.Single-Motor
ControlThe M8300s individual motor control allows optimum support of the modular weaving system,
according to Dejonckheere. All motions are freely programmable to ensure adaptation to weaving
requirements. The actuating concept of the M8300 features an electronic guiding shaft with no
moving parts. The guiding shaft position is transmitted to all drives via a tact bus. Each drive
has an electronically controlled coupling and gearbox with programmable transmission ratios and can
be operated either synchronously or asynchronously in any direction of rotation. This allows for
absolute freedom in the spatial arrangement of drive shafts, he said, and provides for the
programmability of all motions via software. Ultimately, one has the possibility of optimizing
operability and weaving automation without either conversions or additional hardware.Because of the
low velocity of weft insertion, weft-thread stress is considerably lower than in single-phase
air-jet machines, even though ultimate insertion rate is substantially higher. Despite
two-and-a-half times higher production rates, this weft-insertion system reduces the maximum weft
velocity by approximately 75 percent, compared to single-phase air-jet weaving machines, he said.In
addition to much higher insertion rates, Dejonckheere said the M8300 reduces noise levels by up to
50 percent over conventional air-jet machines and consumes less power. Self-contained
air-conditioning reduces heat build-up, waste and airborne particulate matter.The M8300 multi-phase
weaving machine is a milestone in technology, he said. For standard fabrics, we believe it is the
most economical weaving system currently available. Picanol Focuses On Production
FlexibilityWhile Sulzer has been focusing on multi-phase weaving for large runs of commodity
fabrics, Belgium-based Picanol NV continues to optimize its line of air-jet machines for smaller
production runs.Just under a decade ago, Picanol introduced its revolutionary Omni air-jet weaving
machine based on the fast-response philosophy, said James C. Thomas, president, Picanol of America
Inc., Greenville, S.C., the U.S. subsidiary of Picanol NV. Weve been working to enhance economical
production of relatively small batches at high speed, with the capability to make frequent style or
warp changes. We consider this to be the textile industrys answer to lean, flexible
manufacturing.Earlier this year, Picanol expanded upon this concept with the launch of the OMNIplus
machine (see New Products, ATI, September 2000). 

The two starting points for development of the OMNIplus were the fabrics to be produced and
the weavers job, Thomas said. On one hand, the machine had to be able to produce high-quality
fabrics in a very wide application range and at competitive prices. On the other hand, it had to
enable the weaver to meet varying market demands in a flexible, user-friendly way. These, then, are
the key features of the OMNIplus: higher quality at lower cost coupled with production flexibility
and user-friendliness.The OMNIplus weaves spun, filament and a wide range of fancy yarns
high-twist, stretch, chenille and textured yarns in up to six colors and yarn types. For the weave
pattern, there is a choice of positive cam, positive dobby or jacquard motion. Available reed
widths include 190, 220, 250, 280, 340, 380, and 400 centimeters. The OMNIplus can produce cloth
rolls of up to 720 millimeters or 1,500 millimeters with the Picanol Batching Motion. Sumo
Drive MotorPerhaps the biggest innovation associated with the introduction of the OMNIplus is
Picanols Sumo drive motor, which is based on switched reluctance technology. Sumo derives its name
not from the famed Japanese wrestlers although Picanol uses the image in its marketing efforts but
from the first two letters in the words super and motor.The Sumo motor drives the weaving machine
directly, Thomas said, without the clutch-and-brake units. This is an enormous contribution to
reliability, he said. Moreover, the extremely fast response time its on the order of milliseconds
makes it possible to automatically vary the speed of the motor during the weaving cycle to suit
each and every pick. The variable speed of the Sumo is set electronically. The Flexispeed version
of the motor, which is standard on the OMNIplus, enables the speed variation to be set in
distinctive steps when the machine is stopped. The optional Multispeed version permits continuous
speed adjustment during weaving. A third option, the Optispeed version, allows automatic variation
according to color and weave pattern. 

The principle of the switched reluctance motor, according to Picanol, dates back more than a
century to the early days of electromagnetic technology. The rotor is merely a lump of iron, with
no permanent magnets or windings. The stator consists of slots containing a series of coil
windings, which are energized by electronic switching to generate a moving magnetic field.While the
basic concept is extremely simple, Thomas said, the switching necessary to obtain top performance
at an acceptable price has been, previous to this development, too complex.In addition to the Sumo
motor, the OMNIplus features a flexible insertion system that enables the speed to be
electronically controlled to suit the filling material and the weave pattern, he said. With
Picanols Quick Style Change system, a style change can be carried out in less than 30
minutes.Yarn-friendly insertion is achieved with separate controls of both the fixed and movable
main nozzle, the low-friction presentation of the yarn, the filling tensioner and the motion of the
sley, Thomas said.Energy consumption is estimated to be 15 to 20 percent less than comparable
machines, and air consumption is lower because of a reduced pressure drop in the air distribution
system.  Productivity Enhanced By Technological InnovationsThese offerings, in combination
with advanced weaving machines and systems from other manufacturers that will be explored in
upcoming issues of ATI, are poised to have significant impact on the productivity of American
textile plants, as well as those throughout the rest of the world. What has been a steady evolution
in single-phase technology is becoming, with the advent of multi-phase insertion, a revolution,
according to Sulzers Dejonckheere.We began working on multi-phase technology many years ago, he
said. And we are constantly looking at pushing the edge of the envelope of applications as far as
it will go.Its all about meeting the customers needs, says Picanols Thomas. Its about close
collaboration, advanced production methods and extensive test programs. These are the factors that
have led to the advanced Picanol machines of today and will lead to even more advancements
tomorrow.
November 2000

Rugs Offer Styling Options
Emerging trends and colors are translated into rugs designed to coordinate with surrounding
furnishings.Home furnishings designers and colorists are having a field day with accenting
rugs to correspond with furniture, walls and windows throughout the home. Its a fact people should
be comfortable in their own homes, living with surroundings that reflect their tastes. The way a
home is furnished should also fit the lifestyles of those living there, while making it
comfortable, functional and attractive. In todays scheme of things, just about anything goes. Its
mostly about a homeowners personal choice and preference. Results can come from a complete
re-modeling, new paint and/or carpet, rearranging existing furniture, or just adding a rug to
exactly the right place, in precisely the right color.Beaulieu® Knows Rugs

Perhaps adding a rug as an accent to existing decor has become the preferred method of
augmenting the ambiance of a home as evidenced by the rapidly growing demand in the United States
for area rugs. Beaulieu Home Fashions, Dalton, Ga., a division of Beaulieu of America, has been an
instrumental force in the development, design and manufacture of these products. In fact, Beaulieu
Home Fashions pioneered the affordable oriental rug by producing in-demand designs using
proprietary polypropylene (olefin) yarn systems along with its high-tech computer-aided design
capabilities. Beaulieu of America had its beginning in 1959 in Belgium. The name Beaulieu is French
for a beautiful place. The first rugs bearing the Beaulieu trademark were woven in 1962 in Belgium.
By 1978, rugs were being woven in Dalton, Ga., independently of the European operation. The company
manufactures a unique and exclusive line of area rugs, according to Janice Stern, graphic designer,
Beaulieu Home Fashions. She said these rugs are styled in colors relevant to home decorating
trends, with careful attention paid to todays popular themes, patterns and fabrics. They have been
designed to complement other furnishings in a room with warmth, pattern and color.Laura Ashley,
Waverly and Raymond Waites are names used for Beaulieus brand name collections. The Laura Ashley
line has fine-quality area rugs designed to coordinate with many of the colors in the Laura Ashley
Color Collection of interior paints. The firms Silver Label Collection is designed by Raymond
Waites. These rugs are machine-woven from premium Beaulon® olefin yarns using a double-point
weaving technique that adds an embossed appearance to each of the patterns. Double pointing allows
an illusion of many colors made from only eight colors. The rug is twice as thick in the places
where double pointing is used because two tufts of yarn per pick are used instead of one.Each of
the rugs is serged on all four sides and is available in five different sizes. The Waverly®
Royalton Collection is a 100-percent DeepWeave® Plus olefin pile and is available in five different
sizes: 2 feet by 4 feet, 2 by 8, 5 by 6, 6 by 9, and 9 by 12.Stern noted that Beaulieu uses a
variety of fabrics, styles and designs, from old-world designs to modern prints. There can be up to
eight colors in the woven rugs, but double pointing can give the effect of up to 36 colors. In some
cases, the colors in a rug are used for inspiration in decorating an entire room.In our Jewel
Collection, you will see that historic designs from Europes grandest eras have become todays most
interesting and appealing area rugs, Stern said. She gave as examples timeless architectural motifs
from the Golden Age of Greece, heraldry from the crusading knights of the Middle Ages, French
symbols of royalty and revolution, and the beautiful Chinese fabrics discovered by Syrian traders.
All are redefined into new designs reminiscent of fine Axminster carpets found in the grand
European ball-rooms and palaces of earlier times.Trends

Robin Cole, a colorist for Beaulieu Home Fashions, understands how the transition is made
from individual elements to a complete home furnishings pack-age. In determining the focus of the
coming year, Cole explained, the emerging trends from areas such as bedding, fabrics, upholstery,
furniture, wallpaper, bath, accessories and fashion are studied. Womens fashion is always
interesting to watch because a lot of trends in design and color begin here, Cole continued. At
this point, Cole translates design ideas from home furnishings to rugs.The botanical look with a
tropical tone is emerging as a strong trend, she said. Bamboo, palm leaves, pineapples, palm trees,
orchids and textural fabrics are used with distressed woods. Animal prints are still popular;
leopard, tiger, pony, snake, giraffe, and zebra are often used with bright colors such as hot pink,
aqua and day-glow yellow. The animal-skin trend is present in just about everything from fashion to
home furnishings.The botanical look is a new version evolved from the Asian theme that has peaked
and now is decreasing in popularity. However, Cole said, interest in the Asian theme, while
declining, will still command some market attention over the next year or so.African motifs are
also being seen. Everything from elephants to monkeys is popular, including cheetahs, leopards,
giraffes and camels. Feathers are trendy and are being used on lampshades, frames, pens and floral
arrangements just about anything that can be imagined.Patterns, according to Cole, will be making a
comeback. After years of textural fabrics being so popular, pattern is beginning to reappear, she
said. It has been seen in many current fashion collections and is called the Pucci look [after
Italian designer Emilio Pucci, whose patterned, brightly colored fashions were popular during the
1960s]. How this will work its way down to the home furnishing sector will be interesting to
discover.French and English country designs also are emerging as trends, she said. Toiles, florals,
plaids, stripes and checks are plentiful, as well as realistic floral motifs that are upscale and
more sophisticated than in the past. There appears to be a more traditional look on the scene and
[these motifs] should be appearing in the next six to 12 months. However, she doesnt think it will
be the stiff, formal look of the past, but rather a look that will mix well with the casual themes
seen over the past couple of years. This look will show up, she said, as traditional florals and
leaf designs, but just a little more simplified. Damask and less complicated conventional looks
will be seen.ColorsColor preferences, of course, wax and wane with the finicky and fickle taste of
the consumer, with some seasons featuring fashions in bright primaries, while others see more
subtle, muted tones. Cole discussed some of the colors currently shaping fashion in home
furnishings. For the next home furnishings season, she sees blues gaining ground in popularity in
light to mid-tone hues and in shades infused with green.Black is coming back. It will be used as a
base and could be in response to the re-emergence of a 1980s trend that is showing up in various
fashions this year. Red has been popular and will continue. There will also be shades of
terracotta, orange, melon and, especially, copper.An exotic palette to support the botanical,
tropical look includes water blues, peacock, leaf-green shades, ripe melon and sand. Warm purples
mixed with greens will show up as iris, dusk, cloud, aloe and sage. Tans accented with warm muted
gray-blues will include hazelnut, mudslide, silver fox, lapis and slate.Colors within palettes
complement each other and will have sophisticated blends of color rather than contrasting tones.
Rich, aged cultural colors will be plentiful in gold, truffle, desert, spice, caviar, artichoke,
olive, mustard, harvest, clay, russet and cinnamon.Rug Fibers

Aside from the plethora of colors and patterns from which to choose, another important factor
in the design of rugs is construction. In earlier days, fibers usually were chosen because they
were native to the place where rugs were woven. Sheep raising was widespread, so wool became the
chief carpet and rug fiber. In the Far East, silk was also woven into rugs and hangings. The hair
of such animals as goat, camel and alpaca was used in certain areas. Cotton, jute, and linen have
also been used. Today, carpets and rugs are made from both natural and man-made fibers. Wool
remains popular, but nylon has been used more frequently in the United States since the 1960s.
Cotton has been used primarily for scatter rugs.The leading man-made fibers are filament and staple
nylons; acrylics and modacrylics; rayon and polypropylene (olefin); and polyester. These fibers,
although they are the same generic types used for apparel and other furnishings, are produced
especially for flooring use. There are different grades of density and pile. Man-made fibers are
colorfast, non-allergenic and easy to clean.Rugs are often used by those homeowners who want to add
a designers touch for decoration but are on a budget. Olefin fibers are used for both pile and
backing. Many synthetic and natural fibers are also used to make decorative carpet wall
hangings.Rugs And Carpets DefinedFloor coverings of all types are found in homes, offices,
churches, restaurants, stores, schools, offices, and other settings. These floor coverings range
from wall-to-wall carpet and hard-surface flooring to a large variety of rugs. Rugs, as mentioned
previously, are being used more and more in homes because they are rich in color and design and
offer many styling options.Sometimes the terms carpet and rug are used interchangeably. Carpet
usually is referred to as a wall-to-wall floor covering that has been installed. The two main types
of carpeting are flat-woven and pile (woven and tufted). In woven pile carpets, pile yarns and
backing yarns are interlocked simultaneously. In tufted carpets, pile yarns are attached to a
pre-constructed backing. Pile carpet is the most widely used.A rug, in general, is a textile floor
covering that is not fastened down. In home furnishings, rugs are used as accents and decoration.
In addition, rugs are used not only over wood, ceramic, and hard surface flooring but often a
designer rug is spread over wall-to-wall carpeting.Pile rugs, like pile carpets, have strands of
yarn standing erect from the carpet backing to create a soft, luxurious surface. The pile may be a
loop of yarn or a yarn tuft with free ends. The thicker and denser the pile, the more wear and
service may be expected.Other types of rugs include handwoven rugs, which also include Oriental
rugs.Having a warm and inviting home can be achieved by combining the right design elements that go
into creating a comfortable feeling. Choosing the right type of rug can be a matter of personal
option, although many homeowners seek help from an interior designer. Handwoven RugsAlthough
power machinery turns out most of the carpet and rugs sold today, it has not eliminated the ancient
craft of handweaving. Most handwoven rugs are Orientals, made in the Middle and Far East. Many are
produced in Turkey, Iran and the Central Asian countries to the north and east of Iran, such as
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan formerly part of the Soviet Union. Specific
styles (characterized by local motifs, colors and weave qualities) include Bokhara, Tekke, Yomud,
Sarouk and Salor, among others. Samarkand rugs are woven in Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region. With the rise of communism in China, however, the weaving and export of handmade rugs
declined.Oriental rugs are usually classified geographically as Persian, Turkish, Caucasian,
Turkoman, Indian, or Chinese. Varieties within these groups may be named for towns in the various
weaving districts often for their marketing centers. Traditionally, Oriental rugs are woven on
upright frame looms consisting of four poles.The weaving methods have not changed in centuries. The
warp threads are stretched lengthwise from top to bottom around rollers or beams. The weaver sits
on a board facing the loom. To make the silky pile for which these rugs are famous, the weaver
loops pieces of yarn to tie knots around the warp threads. A pattern hanging behind the warp guides
the choice of colored yarns to fill in the design.After a row of knots is tied, the weft yarn is
shuttled across the rug, then beaten with a comb against the knots to hold them firmly. The knot
ends are clipped and stand erect as pile. However, in todays workplace environment, rugs for public
use are mass-produced using sophisticated carpet machinery.
November 2000

Switzerland-based Sulzer has announced plans to divest five Sulzer Industries business units,
including Sulzer Textil, in a move to focus the companys business activities on medical devices and
on surface and materials technology.In addition to Sulzer Textil, Sulzer will divest Sulzer Infra,
Sulzer Pumps, Sulzer Turbo and Sulzer Burckhardt and related distribution and service
organizations.The five units together represent approximately CHF 3.6 billion in revenues. More
than 14,600 employees, including 2,000 in Sulzer Textil are affected by the decision.Sulzer intends
to complete the divestiture as quickly as possible and has pledged to honor its obligations to its
employees. Sulzer Textil CEO Philip Mosimann and Christopher Somm, head of sales and marketing,
issued a statement in conjunction with the announcement, citing opportunities for the manufacturer
of weaving machines to reorient its own activities. In this new arrangement, we aim to strengthen
and extend our operations as a leading provider of weaving machines and associated services, they
stated. Sulzer Textil took a significant step in this direction more than two years ago when it
took over the weaving machine business from Nuovo Pignone Divisione SMIT, a unit of General
Electric.With the expansion of our product portfolio into rapier weaving machines, we massively
increased our market share. There has been a significant increase in sales and profits for the
current financial year compared with last year, and a remarkably higher number of orders received.
The restructuring that was introduced by Sulzer Textil management has now improved
profitability.Our new situation will allow the right conditions for continuing improvements in our
customer-focused activities, and successful further development of the company of this, the
management and employees of Sulzer Textil are convinced.

The arrival of the new millennium has brought with it an array of challenges to the textile
industry, according to Eduardo Rocha, vice president and general manager for Houston-based KoSa.
But these challenges can be overcome by innovative alliances, marketing and technology.Rocha,
addressing the summer conference of the Textured Yarn Association of America Inc. (TYAA) in Myrtle
Beach, S.C., said the fibers sector, in particular, is facing limited profits because of the
escalating prices of raw materials caused by a significant increase in oil prices over the past few
years. Pressure from imports has impacted profit margins in the texturing segment. In the yarn and
fabric sector, imports are also a major obstacle to profitability.However, the opportunity exists
for textile manufacturers to capitalize on growing demand worldwide and to increase exports to both
established and developing economies, he said. Much of the opportunity will be in apparel and
accessories constructed from man-made fibers and yarns.Cotton production has flattened in the past
15 years, he said. With population growth and more demand for land for agricultural use, it is
anticipated worldwide growth of cotton will be limited. On the other hand, and due to its versatile
properties, polyester is, and will be, the growing fiber of the future, Rocha said. Since 1978,
olefin fibers have had the largest rate of growth 7.2 percent per year while demand for fibers such
as nylon has grown by 1 percent per year. Total fiber demand is currently about 120 billion pounds
per year, with polyester accounting for 39 billion pounds, of which 17 million pounds are staple
and 22 million pounds are filament. North America, Western Europe and China remain the largest
markets for fiber products, he said.

Table 1The United States, with a per capita consumption of 80 pounds, continues to lead the
world in fiber demand. Total textiles consumption in the United States accounts for about $130
billion per year. The per-capita income in the United States is approximately $20,000 per year,
Rocha said. With its high per-capita income and large total market size, the United States is the
target market for producers of textile goods worldwide. But if income per capita improves in other
regions, fiber demand will increase dramatically. The man-made fibers industry will then have the
opportunity to show its ability to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances.Export
OpportunitiesRocha said export opportunities will exist for U.S. companies in commodities, but the
real opportunity is in the specialty products where the United States enjoys worldwide recognition
for quality, marketing and branding key factors in capitalizing on the market for higher-end
products.The key issues impacting the future of the textile business and the opportunity for U.S.
companies to increase exports are:

• The United States has an open economy capital and technology flows freely around the
  world.
• World textile production capacity exceeds demand.
• The economy in Asia will continue to grow after the 1998 setbacks.
• Industry consolidation will continue.

There are different ways we can react on globalization, Rocha said. We know that this
represents increased competition and lower prices. We can ask for protection against unfair
advantages that some countries have subsidies, labor costs, taxes or we can show them how good we
are, generating new products and developing innovative technologies.The world is aligning in trade
blocs, and the United States has the opportunity to capitalize on some of them. NAFTA [North
American Free Trade Agreement] continues to be a good vehicle to increase trade, especially now
that the Mexican transition to democracy is advancing faster, he said. CBI [Caribbean Basin
Initiative] will be a benefit for apparel with U.S.A yarn and fabric content. WTO [World Trade
Organization] quotas for yarn, fabric and apparel will be phased out by 2005. China, currently the
largest man-made fiber producer in the world, is hardly investing today to be prepared for the
WTO.The end result is that consumers will benefit and the most competitive firms will prevail, he
said.Addressing overcapacity, Rocha said there were high expectations of large market growth over
the past decade, and most fiber producers, with a commodity mindset, invested in large facilities
to seize the opportunity. When growth slowed down, we ended up with a considerable overcapacity
throughout the world.

Imports double exports. However, a large part of the consumption is locally
produced.Companies began to focus on cost reduction and fought for market share, prices decreased
dramatically, and reinvestment economics disappeared. The natural consequence was the shutting down
of older equipment.Lessons learned from the past decade will allow us to focus on selective growth
in specialty niches and investment will flow for the most attractive opportunities, Rocha said. The
supply-demand balance will be healthier.With the Asian financial crisis, demand reduction put more
pressure on exporting countries in Asia to sell outside the region. For example, in 1998, domestic
textile consumption in Korea decreased almost 20 percent. During the same year, China, Hong Kong
and Korea exported about $45 billion in clothing, almost 25 percent of the world total.

Table 3With its large population and past economic performance, Asia has the potential
despite some setbacks to be the most important textile market in the world, Rocha said. This could
represent a good opportunity for innovative North American textile producers. With a sound Far
Eastern economy, North America will benefit.Consolidation To ContinueConsolidation of North
American companies alliances and joint ventures can capitalize on North Americas growing purchasing
power, improve utilization of capacity and focus on selective growth. Industry consolidation will
continue, he said, resulting in stronger companies and eliminating some of the fragmentation in the
value chain. It will also change some of the forces in the industry.With the state of the age of
global mega-competition, selection and concentration have become essential, he said. The end result
will be a North American industry with fewer players, but much stronger.Giant chemical firms, for
example, have withdrawn from the man-made fiber business, placing particular emphasis on life
science and specialty chemicals, with the hopeful expectation of growth and better profits. Other
companies have acquired new partners, and new manufacturers constantly enter the marketplace.In
1980, eight of the top 10 polyester fiber producers were North American and European companies (See
Table 1). By 1999, seven were Asian companies. These changes have altered the balance of polyester
fiber production worldwide, Rocha said. The Asian man-made fibers industry has grown enormously and
today accounts for nearly 70 percent of worldwide capacity.The consolidation of texturing equipment
manufacturers Barmag/ Saurer, Rieter/ICBT, etc. will result in the application of joint technology
to bring more innovation and better machines. This technology innovation must have a faster pace,
and the western hemisphere must be the driver, he said. For instance, the friction disk was
initiated in the 1970s. It is 30 years later now, and some other mechanism should come to innovate
the process.As well, he continued, the manufacturers of fibers will need to come up with new
methods for extrusion and spinning that results in better fiber performance and color
stabilization, and with a focus on customer and market needs.The development of a commercial
bicomponent fiber that will be textured by heating effects will take a share of the future textile
market. Specialty texturing certainly opens an opportunity to produce a vast number of new
products. Productivity must be improved, he said, and average speed should increase.We must look at
how we will win, not only at how we will defend our North American market, he said. A modernization
process for polyester spinning and for texturizing machines is needed to improve productivity. A
key issue is the knowledge, expertise and talent of the people involved in the process.E-commerce,
he said, will certainly be a driver that will revolutionize the textile transactions, with more
global access to producers and consumers.A stronger alliance among fiber producers, texturizers,
textile manufacturers and distributors is needed to improve the entire value chain. The industry
must continue to design programs to insulate at least some of its products from direct imports,
focusing on product and market innovation. Areas of concentration should include enhanced comfort,
aesthetics and performance.In general, a change is needed from volume to value, from mass
production to niche markets and to research-based products, he said. The best way to predict the
future, he said, quoting legendary manage-ment scholar Peter Drucker, is to create it.

November 2000

MobileDesigner.com
Designers can take advantage of portable equipment and accessories to take the design process
on the road.Back in the industrial age, designers had a fairly mobile profession. A set of
color pencils, some blank paper and possibly a pair of scissors were about the only design tools
they needed while on the road. With the technology revolution came $50,000 to $100,000 CAD
work-stations and expanded job functions that pretty much tethered the designers to their shared
office computers for much of the 1990s.The good news is that not only have software and hardware
prices fallen, but so has the size of the equipment. In addition, monolithic
everything-for-everybody industry-specific software applications have given way to individual
plug-and-play modules designed to integrate with all aspects of not just design, but also the
surrounding supply-chain processes. These tools make it possible for todays global traveling
designer armed with a laptop, accessories, access to the Internet and a good battery to work on the
road, in the air and even at the beach.Defining Needs And AbilitiesStep one in creating a mobile
design studio is to define the processes that need to be supported. With the technology age having
re-engineered the design process to include everything from design to production to merchandising
and marketing, the well-equipped laptop will contain a broad range of applications to support
business correspondence, desktop publishing, textile design, product design, visual merchandising,
scheduling and more.The questions to be answered here include: how do you work; how much do you
travel; what kind of work do you do; will the design applications used run on a laptop and, if so,
what are the system requirementsAnother very important consideration is your comfort level with
system administration. The mobile designer loses the benefit of the companys IT administrator or
local guru while on the road. Its one thing to know how to use applications, but quite a different
set of skills is necessary to be able to recover crashed systems, re-install files from a backup,
detect and destroy a virus, connect a broad range of peripherals, and configure Internet access
using international dialing codes and foreign telephone wiring.The Mobile Designers Tools

Outfitting the mobile design office can be as simple or as complex as the job description,
travel requirements, skills and budget will allow. At the very minimum, mobile designers will want
the fastest laptop they can afford, either Macintosh or PC, that is also as lightweight as
possible. It should include as much RAM as possible, at least 8 gigabytes of hard drive space, a
24x CD-ROM player (or faster), an internal modem of at least 56K, and at least one spare battery.Be
sure your tool kit includes a telephone extension cord that will allow you to plug your computer
into the wall jack or dataport on the telephone. An analog/digital line splitter will prevent
having to swap the computer and phone on the wall plug-in locations where there isnt a dataport on
the phone itself. Be sure to include surge protection for both electrical and phone lines. U.S.
travelers may want to check out the Curtis compact all-in-one device that includes surge protection
for both electrical and phone lines, as well as a built-in RJ-11 telephone extension cord.Also on
the list of essentials is a CD containing backup copies of the operating system install disk,
copies of all device drivers and software, all essential files and images, as well as copies of all
software programs. You should also carry information on emergency technical support contacts for
both Internet and telephone access on all hardware and software. Be sure to research Internet
dial-up numbers for each city you are visiting before you leave.International travelers will need
to include surge protection for overseas electricity as well as an electrical converter kit that
will convert their 110-volt appliances to the 220 to 240 volts found in many foreign countries.
Phone jack adapters will allow them to plug their RJ-11 phone plug into the broad range of unique
jacks found around the world.The software on your mobile office will be unique to your job
requirements and work habits. Chances are you will be working with a combination of both
off-the-shelf and industry-specific applications. Holly Henderson, United Design Resources, New
Rochelle, N.Y., and an instructor at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York City,
advises prospective mobile designers to confirm their industry-specific software will run on a
laptop computer, as a few still do not. She also recommends they check to confirm the software will
support dual monitors, as many designers prefer to connect their small laptop monitors to larger
ones, often placing the application design tools on one monitor with the work product on
another.Must-have applications include virus software, Internet software and file-compression
software to compress designs into a manageable size that can be sent via the Internet. Industry
veterans recommend using the .zip format, which can be universally read on both Macintosh and PC
computers. Adobe Acrobat will allow conversion of your work product to the Adobe .pdf format, which
will allow files to be read by computers that dont have your specific software on them. The
recipient need only have Adobe Acrobat Reader software, which is available free from the Adobe
website (See Resources For Mobile Travel Information And Products at the end of this article).The
Wired DesignerFrom here, we launch into a world of hardware options that will truly allow you to
push the technology envelope. From digital tablets and storage devices to printers, scanners,
cameras, PDAs and cell phones, there are a wealth of portable options.A cell phone with a
cell-compatible modem and software will allow access to the Internet without the need for a
hard-wired phone line. Not all cell phone manufacturers support this feature, so check before
buying a phone if this option appeals to you.If you own an older computer that doesnt have a USB
port, you may want to look into a USB converter PC card, which slides right into the PC card slot
and will allow you to add many of the new USB Macintosh or PC peripherals on the market. The PC
card can also improve the likelihood of being able to connect to peripherals found at remote
locations.An internal or external Jaz or Zip media drive will not only expand file storage
capacity, but will allow you to receive and distribute files when they are too large to transmit
via the Internet or when associates dont have Internet access.Dont forget to carry a few extra
disks with you. With the cost of writeable CD drives diminishing as fast as the size of the units,
this could be an alternative solution to Jaz or Zip drives.While there are portable scanners on the
market, a digital camera may be more versatile and easier to carry. The newer breed of portable
digital cameras supports the ability to capture more than 3 megabytes of data in a single photo,
more than enough for the inspirations found in retail, trade show or fashion show jaunts. The
ability to photograph your inspirations and then download them directly into the computer without
processing film and scanning photos will allow you to pay for the cost of the camera fairly
quickly. Take a look at the new Canon PowerShot S20, reported to be the worlds smallest digital
camera.The designer who feels that drawing with the mouse is like drawing with a bar of soap should
check out the 6-by-8-inch Wacom tablet and pen.The well-equipped designer is not without SCSI
connectors for peripherals, video cables (for presentations) and Ethernet cabling. Oh, and dont
forget the AC power cable for your computer!While a hand-held device such as a Palm Pilot is too
small for use as a design tool, it supports many of the functions that a growing number of
designers now perform on the computer, including scheduling, e-mail communications and contact
information.There is also a broad range of software available for these devices to supply excellent
travel information including maps, hotels and restaurants. These hand-held devices, which are
synchronized with the information on the main computer, can be a wonderful tool for quick access to
information in places where booting up your laptop just isnt feasible.Now, heres the clincher.
Whatever you use must fit into a carry-on bag that conforms with airline size restrictions that
allow storage of the bag underneath the seat in front of you. You dont want to check it and risk
losing or breaking the components. You probably dont want to have to watch it as you roam around
the plane either. A strong cable and lock will allow you to secure it to your seat so that you can
visit the restroom with peace of mind.And last, but not least, dont forget to insure your mobile
office. The setup will cost between $4,000 and $10,000, and by virtue of its portability, it is
more susceptible to damage, theft and loss. Insure the cost of the equipment and software, and
leave a good backup of your data at home. Practicing safe computing will avoid the pain of possibly
losing years of hard work.
Editors Note: Teri Ross is a writer, speaker and consultant focusing on CAD/CAM technology and
process improvement strategies for the sewn products industries. She is owner and president of
Imagine That! Consulting Group, publishers of the award-winning techexchange.com. She can be
reached at tross@techexchange.com or at (952) 593-0776.

November 2000