W
hen addressing the question “What will yarn preparation look like in the future?” there
are two different approaches. The first is the safer approach of looking at possible progressions
and developments in the existing technology, then predicting where this will lead in the future.
The second approach is not to be restricted by today’s technology. Starting only with the premise
of needing to translate bales of fiber into a strand, which is suitable to feed into a spinning
machine. In the present article, it is hoped to combine aspects of both of these approaches. Thus
not only will possible developments in processing stages be discussed, but also in some cases the
need (or techniques adopted) for the process may be questioned. An inherent assumption is also that
the properties of the fibers used will not radically change in the foreseeable future.

There is no doubt that the current trend for greater use of monitoring and control devices
will continue, as will the development in off-line testing equipment. This can be a double-edged
sword. While these systems provide data on the process and product that was not previously
available, they also provide the challenge of how to use the data. There are obvious benefits in
using data on fibers to optimize bale lay-down, or to determine drawframe performance by monitoring
sliver regularity. Unfortunately, there is presently a surfeit of results and the channelling of
data (preferably obtained from both on-line and off-line sources and collated into usable
information) to the appropriate individual, is a necessity, if these systems are to have any
long-term usefulness.

One of the major concerns expressed by spinners is that the current grading of cotton does
not reflect the ultimate quality of the yarn. Some spinners would prefer less effectively ginned
fiber, if this caused less fiber damage.

Opening

A
historical overview of the offerings by different machinery makers clearly shows that there has
been a rationalization in units used for opening and cleaning. Whereas, in the past there seemed to
be a multitude of apparently different concepts for opening and cleaning fibers. A cursory perusal
of the current offerings of machinery makers shows that there essentially seems to be a few core
components that can be modified to cater for different demands in terms of opening and/or cleaning.
An example of this is the Cleanomat/Tuftomat
(Figure 1) unit offered by Trützschler, where the basic design can be altered in terms of
number of rollers, roller covering and use of trash removal (mote knives) or “plain” under-screen.
By using the correct combination, it is claimed that optimum opening and cleaning can be achieved
with minimum fiber damage.

It is hard to foresee any major developments in bale opening systems, which are presently
available for either batch or continuous processing. Even in “batch” processing (normal bale
lay-down), it is currently possible to process almost 200 bales and up to three different bale
groups. Similarly the use of multimixers will be the integral component for efficient fiber
blending. With current production rates potentially well in excess of 1,000kg/hour, it is believed
that future developments may be aimed at improving quality rather than productivity.

Recent developments that will continue to grow in importance are:

• Fine Particle Cleaners (dedusting units): the successful use of high-speed spinning
machines (rotor, jet and vortex) requires that the feedstock is cleaner. For example, in rotor
spinning, fine dust particles in the feed lead to rotor deposits that not only reduce processing
efficiency, but can also result in moir — defects in the fabric. Similarly with jet/vortex
spinning, the presence of fine trash particles in units incorporating small holes to twist the
fibers could result in excessive wear and/or blocked channels that would in turn change product and
process quality.

• Foreign Parts Detection (metal, foreign fibers, etc.): as the feed to the opening process
becomes more automated, there is little opportunity for visual inspection and thus automatic
detection and elimination of unwanted material at an early stage is now a critical component of an
opening line. There are distinct benefits to early detection and removal of unwanted fibrous
material since later processing stages open up and spread out these “foreign fibers.” This can
result in the contamination of many yarn packages. Developments in automation coupled with advances
in image processing will further improve the efficiency of these units.

Carding

High-production
carding currently equates to throughputs of about 100kg/hour (maximum 120kg/hour) for a meter-wide
card. If developments in other carding technologies such as nonwovens are considered, there is no
doubt that further improvements in processing speed will be achieved in cotton cards. This may
however necessitate developments in the output from the card, such as dual doffers or some
alternative output format to the current sliver. This latter approach, which is used in woolen
processing, has been the subject of several research projects and includes the possibility of
spinning directly from the card.

While there has been continuous improvement in carding technology and in associated process
and product control, these seem to have come of age and rather than simply being “crowd-pullers” at
machinery shows, they now present an alternative approach to maintaining high quality in carding.
Multiple liquor-in rolls have been tried in the past, and this approach is being promoted by
Trützschler and is claimed to give better fiber opening. Other manufacturers have incorporated
modifications to the feed/liquor-in region aimed at better cleaning and minimum fiber damage.

Recent machinery exhibitions have unveiled several interesting developments from different
card manufacturers, each of which leads to a minor improvement. However, if these could be
integrated into one unit there is potentially a major change in the control of the carding process.
These developments include both new and established ideas:

• integrated flat grinding has been available for several years;

• automatic measurement of flat setting is now available;

• motorized flat setting
(Figure 2) is a possibility;

• an integrated cylinder grinding system
(Figure 3) was recently made available. This consists of a grind-stone mounted under the
cylinder which traverses the cylinder at intervals calculated by software (based on production and “
experience values”);

• autolevelling systems and the monitoring of sliver regularity is almost a standard
accessory; and

• automatic nep counting at the doffer is an established technology but this now forms the
basis of “intelligent grinding management.” Data from the automatic nep sensor can provide a useful
indication of appropriate times to grind the flats (i.e. when there is an unacceptable increase in
the level of neps).

It is thus evident that it is possible to measure sliver quality in terms of uniformity and
neps and, furthermore, the factors primarily responsible for sliver quality (i.e. the condition of
the card clothing and flat setting) can be adjusted. Thus, rather than grinding and adjusting card
settings on a fixed time interval, it is now potentially possible to make these adjustments when
the quality of the sliver approaches some predefined limit.

The possibility of incorporating a drafting head between the card and the coiler unit is not
new and has been the basis of earlier autolevelling systems and also an approach to eliminating
drawframe passages. A drawback of these systems was that they operated at very low drafts and this
could result in grouping of fibers, which became evident in subsequent drawing processes. The
recently introduced IDF (integrated drawframe) from Trützschler is claimed to overcome the earlier
limitations by operating at significantly higher drafts between two and three. Indeed it is claimed
that significant improvements in fiber straightening (resulting in greater fiber length and yarn
strength)
(Figure 4) can be achieved at drafts greater than two.

There are differences of opinion over the use of an integrated drafting system as an
alternative to a drawframe passage (since this reduces the doubling and hence blending potential of
the processing line). However, this approach may become a standard feature of “cards of the future”
should double doffers become a necessary requisite for higher productivity.

The other technology, that may re-emerge, is the use of a direct link between card and
drawframe. While this has been proposed several times previously, any future balance in production
levels of cards and drawframes may re-establish interest in this approach.

Combing

Combing
preparation is potentially totally automated, including the transfer of laps to the comb, and it is
unlikely that any major developments will be seen in this area. Unless there is a radical departure
from the current design of combing machines, it is unlikely that they will make any significant
increases in speeds beyond 400 nips/minute. An area where improvements may be seen is the automatic
setting of the comb to achieve some preset quality standards.

The use of imaging systems on the combed web can be used to assess not only the nep and trash
particle content, but potentially could also determine fiber length and fineness. The data from
these sensors could be part of a system that self-adjusts the comb settings and thus yields
consistent quality.

Drawing

Drawframe speeds have peeked at about 1,000m/min. Autolevelling systems are available from all
drawframe manufacturers, as is the possibility of automatic can change and the potential of a
material handling (can transport) system. It is likely that there may be greater use of rectangular
cans (originally promoted by Rieter with their CUBI can system), since these not only provide
better use of the available space under modern spinning frames, but also offer easier handling in
an automated transport system. The relative advantages and disadvantages of reducing drawframe
passages are still the subjects of debate, but it is likely that there will be a move to the use of
integrated drawing systems where two drawframes are essentially combined into one unit.

Systems of this type were proposed almost 50 years ago by Toyobo
(Figure 5) for cotton spinning and more recently by Sant’Andrea Novara and OKK for worsted
processing and it seems logical that such a set-up should figure in a drawing line of the future.
As mentioned earlier, the old idea of linking several cards to a drawframe may also reappear if
production levels can be matched. The drawframe of the future may also be “smarter” than today,
where it responds to data input from previous machines and/or integrated sensing systems.
Potentially the machine may optimize draft, ratch, and production speed based on values of fiber
properties (obtained from high-volume tests) and regularity of the final sliver.

Roving Frame

There has been a question mark over the future of the roving frame for the last 40 years, but it
still forms the feedstock for ring spinning. There is, however, current renewed interest in the use
of higher drafts on the ring frame and this leads to the possibility of using heavier feedstock.
Thus, it is possible to eliminate the roving frame and use a lightweight sliver to feed the ring
frame. A further route to improving the total efficiency of the ring spinning process is to utilize
heavyweight rovings in terms of both roving count and package size and weight (up to 5 kg). The use
of heavy rovings offers several advantages:

• the production of the roving frame is greatly increased;

• automatic doffing of the roving frame is a well-developed technology;

• automatic transport of rovings and creeling of ring frame is easier to perform than the
transport of sliver cans; and

• space requirement at the ring frame is significantly less than with sliver feeds.

As indicated above there is unlikely to be any major increases in productivity of the
machines utilized in spinning preparation and likely benefits will probably be achieved by
increases in the throughput weights rather than speed. The possibility of shortened processing
routes should not be discounted for certain types of yarn, but while direct spinning from the card
may be an interesting research topic, it is extremely unlikely to be of any commercial
significance. The greater availability of cheaper and more powerful microprocessors; cheaper and
more sophisticated imaging systems; cheaper variable speed motors and drivers; and access to more
data on fiber and sliver quality will inevitably result in smart, more integrated machines, which
automatically respond to compensate for changes in quality.

Editor’s Note: William Oxenham is professor, associate department head and graduate
administrator in the Department of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management in the College of
Textiles at North Carolina State University. Oxenham earned his bachelor’s degree and doctorate at
the University of Leeds, England.

April 2000

C
otton Incorporated has started the millennium on the right foot with the opening of its
new world headquarters in Cary, N.C. The newly built 125,053-square-foot facility will consolidate
the two research operations the company has in Raleigh, N.C. (Crabtree and Neil Street), along with
product marketing and integrated technical marketing. Approximately 110 of the company’s 160
employees will be in the Cary facility. Anything directed towards consumer trade, general promotion
and public relations will remain in New York City.

Construction of the new facility was funded by the Cotton Board, Memphis, Tenn. Estimated
costs are more than $10 million, which, according to Cotton Incorporated President and CEO J.
Berrye Worsham, was within the budget approved by the Cotton Board. Worsham said they have
estimated that by consolidating the Raleigh facilities and downsizing the New York City office,
they will save approximately $1 million annually in rent. Money that, according to Worsham, will go
back into the cotton program.

All Under One Roof

The
plan to consolidate facilities in Cary got off the ground in 1996, when Hurricane Fran hit, causing
floods throughout the region. Cotton Incorporated’s Crabtree facility had two feet of water in it,
and the damage done totaled $750,000.

In December of 1996, the board asked Cotton Incorporated if they could move the Crabtree office.
The first thought was to expand the Neil Street facility, but it was soon decided that it would be
more cost-effective to build a new facility that would house both the Crabtree office and the Neil
Street facility. After numerous location scouts, an area was found that suited the company’s needs
in the Weston Office Park. Worsham said the search was concentrated in the Raleigh area.

“We like the area for a number of reasons,” he said. “For one, we have a good talent pool of
young people in the textile industry. You have the North Carolina State University School of
Textiles. You also have Duke and North Carolina nearby. So you have a good group of young people
interested in technology.

“Also you are close to the spinning activity in North Carolina, which is the largest area as
far as cotton spinning, and we’re within driving distance of the major textile mills. So this is a
good area between the talent pool and our customer base.”

Another advantage is that the new facility is near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport,
which makes customer travel to the facility much easier.

“It took about a year to develop plans and get the team together that was going to put
together the building; the builders, the architects and engineers,” Worsham said. “We really had to
do it right up front. We’re not like the sports complex down the road that started out as a
$40-million project and ended up as a $160-million project. We couldn’t have those kinds of
overruns. We had to get everything laid out just right in the beginning, to minimize change-overs
and lost time.” The company broke ground in October 1998 and moved into the completed facility in
December 1999. The official opening is set for April 18, 2000.

Research And Development

Consolidating
facilities has brought the company closer together, making it more of a team-based environment.
With the old set-up, R&D personnel were driving back and forth between the two facilities. Now
they just have to walk down the hall.

The building was designed with workflow in mind. It is divided into two buildings connected
by a glass walkway. The front building is a two-story facility made up of offices that surround the
perimeter of the building. And even in the offices, cotton tests are being done — all of the
carpeting in the offices is cotton blended with nylon or polyester. The carpet in the executive
suite is cotton/wool. The carpet in the high-traffic areas, such as hallways and stairs, and in lab
buildings is commercial-grade nylon.

Through the glass walkway on the second floor is the testing facility. This was designed so
the cotton travels in a big circle. The warehouse is in the back corner, where the bales of cotton
are delivered. There is also a large warehouse area for storing fabric test rolls.

The cotton then travels to the Carding Lab. During
ATI’s visit, none of the machines in the lab were up and running yet. Some were
still in the process of being put back together from the move. Through a set of double doors is the
fully equipped Spinning Lab. Machines stood in the ready for the main switch to be thrown. Dr.
Preston Sasser, senior vice president, managing director, research, pointed out that each lab has
independent temperature and humidity controls. In the lab building, steam and hot water are used
for heat, while steam is used for humidity.

In the Knitting Lab, Sasser explained that each knitting machine was taken apart section by
section, brought to the new facility via truck, and put back together. The doors of the Knitting
Lab were specially designed to be tall enough to fit the knitting machines through them. The
hallways around the lab are wide enough to move machinery through.

The Applications Lab is the largest lab in the new facility. Its 24-foot-high ceiling is a
criss-cross of silver and white pipes and tubes.

Because it would not be cost-efficient to air condition such a large area that is
continuously running hot water and steam into machines, above each work station is a pipe that
dispenses cool air and mist onto the worker below.

All of the water used in the dyeing and other applications is drained from the machines into
trenches built into the floor. The waste water is stored outside of the facility. Sasser said
Cotton Incorporated discussed the disposal of the waste water with the town of Cary. The town has
enabled the company to release the waste water into the town sewage system at a rate of no faster
than 20 gallons per minute. A special meter keeps track of the water to make sure that it is being
released properly.

The chemical storage area is specially designed so if ever the sprinkler system comes on, the
water that comes down in that area stays in that area until the water can be tested before it is
pumped out.

The entire lab area is surrounded by research offices and smaller testing labs. There are
also several fabric libraries that store small swatches of every fabric the company has made, along
with every characteristic of that particular fabric. These libraries are identical in every office
of Cotton Incorporated.

A new development at the facility is a room that was made to be a life-sized light box.
Separate lighting systems representing natural, incandescent or fluorescent lighting can be used
individually or together to see the variations of dyed fabric.

Also, Cotton Incorporated is working with Raitech Inc., Charlotte, N.C., by using its
Quickwash™ line of testing instruments in the labs at the new facility. Sasser said that using the
Quickwash saves a lot of time and fabric because sample tests can be completed in minutes rather
than hours.

Meeting Customer Demands

Customer
satisfaction is extremely important to Cotton Incorporated. Throughout the moving process, the
company was, for the most part, able to keep up with the needs of its customers.

“We continued to service the textile industry,” Worsham said. “One of our jobs in the textile
area is not just to do research, but to take presentations and information and visit textile
companies here in the United States and around the world.”

One thing did work in Cotton Incorporated’s favor in that most of the machinery was being
moved in November and December, when most of the mills are down for the holidays.

“We do still have the fabric development up and running,” Worsham said. “Some of our weaving
research is contracted out, so that is not affected. We can still visit mills and solve technical
problems over the phone, that hasn’t changed.

“This research center was developed to help further the interest of cotton. I think it will
be a benefit to the cotton producers. I think it will be a benefit to the cotton textile mills, as
well as the manufacturers and retailers that process cotton.”

April 2000

A
long with the freezing temperatures, ice and snow that covered a large part of the nation
this winter, a ray of warmth emerged. In January, international forecasters, stylists, studios and
a small group of fabric companies presented trends for Spring/Summer 2001 and beyond. Their message
is optimistic. After a decade of black and grey, color returns. Fabrics will be light, fluid and
refined, woven or knitted in blends of natural and man-made fibers. Prints make a comeback.

Freedom Of Movement

Jean
Hegedus, DuPont Lycra® marketing knitwear manager, noted that sweaters are a fast-growing category
in women’s apparel. Elasticized sweaters are growing more rapidly than the category as a whole.

“In December ’99 we ran a sweater survey on our Lycra website. Respondents’ comments fell
into three categories, softness, comfort and freedom of movement, and shape and newness retention,”
Hegedus said.

Hegedus also pointed out that Lycra low-power yarns, which were developed specifically for
knitwear applications, have less “snapback,” allowing better control of garment weight and sizing.

Sheila-Mary Carruthers, global knitwear consultant for DuPont Lycra presented colors and
fabrics for Spring 2001. Developmental fabrics showed a variety of constructions, weights and
textures all knitted in yarns containing Lycra from global resources.

One group of soft sheer fabrics, knitted with Supplex®, polypropylene, acrylic, rayon or
cashmere with Lycra, had a touch of metallic glimmer. A clear, mid-level color palette was shown in
shades of cream, skin pink, clay mauve, turquoise and earth hues. Fabrics in this group were
knitted with yarns from international spinners including Unifi/L Payen & Cie., Saint Lievin and
Loro Piana.

Another group of fabrics has surface detailing and strong color contrasts. Dry-hand and rough
textured fabrics, with knops and boucles are knitted in blends of Lycra with linen or cotton. Yarn
resources include Wykes, The Lurex Co. and Rignasco.

A third range, inspired by pop art, features graphic prints, stripes and checks in bright
shades of red, pink and green with touches of neutrals, black and white. Cauilliez Freres, Luigi
Botto and Elate are some of the yarn resources.

One collection was created to demonstrate how a variety of different fabrics can all be made
using the same equipment. Extra-fine merino/Lycra from Luigi Botto in a feather weight single
jersey; a hairy, bulky fabric containing wool/mohair/Lycra yarns from Raumer; a thick crochet look
in silk/Lycra from Filiatura Botto Poala; and a tuck construction in cotton/Lycra from Cauillez
Freres were all knitted on the same Stoll machine.

The Technology Of Comfort

Presenting color trends for Solutia, consultant Phil Shroff said: “Fiber innovation continues,
with technology coming up with modifications that take care of the concerns of modern society.” His
examples are “antimicrobial, antifungal and antiodor properties for underwear and socks,
antiallergens to provide freshness in home textiles, UV protection, antistatic and antimagnetic
properties, moisture absorption and moisture transport for comfort, temperature control and muscle
stimulation for performance enhancement and aromatics for relaxation.”

Shroff showed six groups of colors. A range of neutral tints is sandy in feeling. There is
very little grey. Intense whitened pales and sherbet midtones are used tonally, with white as
accent. There are eight vibrant shades in the brightest range. A second group of brights is warm,
deep and spicy. Darks are “to be applied on satin finishes to look like liquid metal.”

Fabrics Shroff recommends include crepes and crepons with a crisp, dry hand, silky organzas,
sensual satins and soft spongy surfaces. Tie-dyes, ikats and burn-outs are mentioned, along with
double-faced fabrics and rubber touches.

Return To Elegance

Angelo Uslenghi, who heads a committee that sets trends for the Italian textile trade show Moda
In Tessuto, held in Milan twice a year, previewed Spring/Summer 2001 to New York designers and
press.

“Sloppy is out,” he said. “There will be a return to elegance and fluidity. There is a
symbiosis of nature and technology. A new generation of man-made fibers has the look of natural
fibers, and natural fibers are copying the easy-care and performance characteristics of man-made
fibers.

“New finishing treatments give fabrics a light coating. They can be lubricated, moisturized,
hydrated, lightly chintzed or slightly soaked with polyurethane. The hand is sometimes a bit soapy
or peach skin to the touch,” he added.

Specific fabrics mentioned by Uslenghi include crepe, voile, fine jersey, georgette, mesh,
rip-stop, chambray, etamine, cloque, canvas, muslin, drill and denim. Fabric surfaces are often
bubbled and puckered, or they can be open with eyelet or laser cut patterns. Stretch is a
given.

IFFE Under New Management

Advanstar Communications has taken over management of IFFE (International Fashion Fabrics
Exhibition). The next IFFE, April 11-13, will have a new layout, new exhibitors and expanded
display areas.

A group of trend forecasters met in January to select color and fabric directions to be shown
at IFFE. Their conclusions confirm a return to color, ranging from soft cosmetic shades, earthy
clay and terra cotta tones, creamy and sandy neutrals, full pastels with a high-tech quality,
sunbaked darks and two ranges of bright colors.

Fabric choices include crisp sheers, open lacy looks, wrinkles, pleats, nylon rip stop, light
taffeta, shantung, linen, poplin, twills and denim.

Metallics will continue, sometimes with a matte luster. Light chintz surfaces were also
mentioned. Washed and faded surfaces and stretch are other trends to look for.

The committee noted patterns and prints are making a strong comeback. The range goes from
blurred water color florals and soft botanical prints on sheers, to Hawaiian surfer motifs, madras
plaids, tropical designs, stripes, dots and spots and summer paisleys.

Prints In The Spotlight

Spring/Summer 2001 will be a big print season,” said Massimo Iacoboni, organizer of Printsource,
a show selling surface designs from more than 20 studios. “We were surprised by the turn out of
buyers, considering the weather. The January event was our best attended ever.”

This sentiment was echoed by Eileen Mislove of Inprints, where 15 design studios exhibited
prints and patterns. “Business was up 10 percent.”

London Portfolio, a group of eight British designers that exhibited at Inprints, noted that
for the past two years embroideries have sustained their business.

The Colorfield, another Inprints exhibitor, also reported that embroideries are beginning to
taper off, prints have returned. Small to large multi-floral designs, brightly colored tropicals,
spots and dots and stripes are among their best sellers.

At Printsource, Tom Cody, who sells his designs to international textile companies and
designers, agreed. “Embroideries are still selling, but 2001 is all about color, and that bodes
well for prints. At the moment we are selling dots, tie-dyes, tropicals, op-art and pop art. There
is a lot of interest in a refined, up-scale hippie look which is slightly reminiscent of the ’60s
and ’70s,” he said.

The Design Library, also at Printsource, has the world’s largest archives of documentary
designs, some dating back to early 1700. In addition to selling antique swatches, designs are
available on CD-ROM. There are three sections — florals, geometrics and ethnics — which include
conversational and period styles. There are 484 color images in the floral section.

Italian Collections

A contingent of Italian textile companies, selling under the banner Texitalia Club, brought a
first look at fabrics for Spring 2001 to New York. Although lines were incomplete and buyers were
filling in with orders for Fall, what did turn up gave a reality check to forecasters.

Cotton knits, cotton/nylon wovens with a crisp or soft hand, and ultra-light faux snake are
some of the new items at Nello Gori (Francesca De Vito). Technical fibers are also in this line,
including Amicor antibacterial acrylic from Acordia and DuPont’s Kevlar.

Milior (Gordon Textiles) continues with technical innovation. They are showing antistatic and
antimagnetic treatments.

At Picchi there is crinkle stretch, sheer coated fabrics, printed linen and many bright
colors. Manteco Mantellassi (Andrew Koenig) has linen/viscose shantung, chambray, and bold stripes.
There is stretch, double-faced and washed linen at Linea Emme (International Textile Workshop).

Linea Tessile Italiana (Horne & Weiss) has developed linen gauze with a very soft hand.
They sell it printed with large scale boarder designs and enormous flowers. Linen denim is a fabric
they introduced a year ago. They are showing it in two weights, dyed in shades of green or brown as
well as indigo.

March 2000

T
he Lonati Group of Italy is one of the rising stars on the European textile machinery
scene, with l998 turnover exceeding $1 billion for the first time. Not all of this is in textile
engineering. A major stake in the Italian iron and steel industry accounts for almost 41 percent of
turnover, electronics for a further 23.3 percent, mechanical engineering for 1.9 percent and real
estate for 0.88 percent.

But textile engineering, especially hosiery and allied equipment for both fine gauge and
socks, is at the heart of the group. It was here, with a small output of 15 machines a month, that
Francesco Lonati Sr. began his long and distinguished industrial career in 1946.

Today, at 89, he remains president of the group and still strides around all departments of
the Via San Polo, Brescia factory at 7 a.m. each morning. The Italian government recently awarded
him Cavaliere del Lavoro (Order of Merit), the highest honor for industrial achievement.

Export Powerhouse

The achievement of the textile
engineering division alone in capturing a lion’s share of world hosiery machine markets is
remarkable by any standard. 1998 saw 11,000 machines produced, bringing turnover of 505 billion
lire. Exports were made to 60 countries, the most important being the United States, France,
Brazil, Hong Kong, Poland, Algeria, China, Spain, Philippines, Argentina, Turkey, England,
Colombia, Japan, Germany, Morocco, Thailand, Romania, Australia and Venezuela.

Substantial and ongoing investment in buildings, R&D and production facilities has
characterized the Group from its inception. This has found one expression in the plan to build a
15,000-square-meter factory adjacent to their existing plant in Brescia. The present plant will be
completely renovated and refurbished.

Electronic Essential

More
and more European textile engineering companies find it wise to have their own electronics
companies which can make them self-sufficient in hardware and software for their own equipment but
that can provide important diversification in their own right. Specialized expertise can be made
available to group companies, to other companies in the industry and to other industries as well.

A short distance from Via San Polo, Lonati has Dinema, that is now more than an electronics
company for computer controllers for knitting machines but active in yarn management devices,
pattern preparation, data collection analysis and production control systems.

The close collaboration of the two companies is assuming increasing importance, especially in
the field of yarn control where the diversity of yarns and structures involving elastanes calls for
specialist yarn, knitting and product expertise.

At present one pay-off is a major Lonati penetration of the Chinese market with fine-gauge
pantyhose machines. This is the result of active marketing and promotion and their own
man-on-the-spot in China for several years.

In sock machines, the major story at present is total garment automation with various systems
being applied to close the toe of the sock automatically on or immediately adjacent to the machine.
The path was pioneered by another Brescia company with a stitch for stitch off-machine linking
method but Lonati backed their own folding dial method with several million dollars and this is
finally paying off. As an alternative they have the Air Closing System.

The company has pinpointed the large U.S. market for automatic closed-toe sports socks and
dress socks to a lesser extent. Just how successful this is can be proven by the fact that nearly
2,000 machines were on order at year’s end, with anticipation of 3,000 by the end of 2000.

Bodywear Production

For
the Lonati Group as a whole however, the current number-one winner is Santoni, which has its own
divisional responsibilities with Marchisio, Vignoni, Simtex, Mec-Mor and MCM. Fifteen years ago
Santoni was a modest small hosiery machine maker specializing in cylinder and dial true rib
machines and pantyhose machines, especially for medical uses.

Today Santoni is at the forefront of a garment revolution in which sophisticated large
diameter hosiery machines are being used to knit seamless bodywear garments with an increased
comfort factor. Making up labor required is minimal, production is fast and pattern/style potential
virtually unlimited. Major plants are being installed in the United States, Israel, Continental
Europe and the United Kingdom.

Eighty-five percent of current production is underwear, with five- percent swimwear and five-
percent homewear/ outerwear but an additional advantages of the technology is its capacity for
expanding into several other product areas.

Until the end of September 1999, Santoni had produced more than 1,400 bodywear machines and
had orders for 2,000 more. Meeting orders in a reasonable time scale became a problem but the
Brescia factory now has four production lines capable of constructing 200-220 machines a month.

Competition is looming but Santoni is confident it has a very significant lead. Another
Lonati company, SRA, in Florence has developed an automatic steam-finishing machine for bodywear
products. Automatic packaging machines will follow.

Through its Santoni division, which includes the MCM cylinder making concern, Lonati has
further diversified away from its hosiery machinery base into circular fabric machines, circular
garment machines and flat knitting machines.

In the new 8,500-square-meter factory op-posite their main plant on the outskirts of Brescia,
Santoni has organized a new complex to house research, development and production of Marchisio and
Vignoni circular fabric and Simtex flat machines. An active program of fabric and garment
development is taking place with keen trade interest expressed especially in the Vignoni system for
cutting the tubular fabric on take-down so that dyeing and finishing can take place in open width
rather than tubular format.

Sophisticated Rib Machine

Since
the specialized skills at Mec-Mor, the world leader in rib jacquard open width garment machines are
concentrated in the city of Varese, this operation remains there. Further R&D investment has
allowed the company to develop a range of sophisticated machines that will cater not just for the
most advanced needs of rib garment length production but for simpler volume requirements as well. A
noteworthy feature of these Variatex garment machines is that each feeder arrangement comprises an
individual programmable microprocessor, making pattern/style data input a simpler.

In a logical move, Santoni is also to locate production — although not R&D and sampling — of
their latest bodywear machine at Varese. This SM9 is an all-electronic cylinder and dial
double-jersey garment-length machine. It is built in various body sizes and has all the attributes
of its SM8 single jersey counterparts. Electronic needle selection extends to both cylinder and
dial.

More recently Tecnopea, a smaller designer and producer of electrical and steam sock boarding
machines has established a commercial partnership with the Lonati Group.

Another important arm of the textile machinery division of the Lonati Group is located in
Florence. Apart from the city’s well-known background as a center of art and culture, making it a
tourist magnet for close on two centuries, Florence has a reputation for creativity and innovation
in hosiery machinery and allied production equipment.

Today’s Lonati Group activity in Florence is centered on Matec. The single story Matec
factory at Scandicci today houses the design, production and sales of Matec fine gauge pantyhose
machines, single and double cylinder sock machines but also the associated Matec-Solis and
Matec-Conti Florentia activities.

The latter includes the final development stages of the GL (Golden Lady) one-piece pantyhose
machines that has gone through a variety of forms in the last 15 years. It is now being progressed
jointly and competitively by Matec and Nagata in Japan. The two versions, Italian and Japanese, are
both likely to be demonstrated at next month’s (April) IHE in Charlotte N.C.

Golden Lady, the number one European pantyhose manufacturer, has purchased Kayser Roth in the
United States, and is retaining all rights to the GL one-piece machine.

Matec employs extensive precision engineering machinery to build the major proportion of its
hosiery machines in-house. These include the latest round-the-clock tooling systems. It’s total
program covers the complete range of plain and full patterning pantyhose machines on a standard
frame, single cylinder sock machines covering almost every product manufacturing need and double
cylinder machines. In 1998 Matec produced 3,680 of the total of 10,810 Lonati Group hosiery
machines.

Automating Knit Garments

An important aspect of automation in the pantyhose industry is the development of pick-and-place
systems with robotic links between processes that eliminate all manual making up processes. These
have evolved more quickly as the many efforts to produce a one-piece garment on the knitting
machine have been slow to mature.

In their Solis division, also housed in the Scandicci factory Matec has a company wholly
devoted to this automation objective. Very con-siderable investment has been devoted to devising
systems that are applied to knee-highs: pick-and-place + toe closing and to pantyhose:
pick-and-place + toe closing + line closing or to pick-and-place + toe closing + line closing and
gussetting. All modules in these systems are Solis design and manufactured equipment, stresses
general manager Mario Mamberti.

The first Solis pick-and-place system has been installed in a family-owned mill, Vignoni at
nearby Castelgoffredo. Asked why, with reasonable access to skilled labor locally he needed
automation, managing director Stefano Vignoni said: “We have to save the labor content: we have 160
employees here and 60 of these are engaged in manual making-up operations. To stay competitive, we
have to replace them with automation systems.”

The Sandicci plant additionally houses the Conti Florentia operation previously owned by
Golden Lady. This spearheads the Matec sock closed toe solution with the Air-Toe Closing System, as
opposed to the Lonati Company alternatives of their own folding dial method. Matec Conti Florentia
has its own machine range and is working in close cooperation to provide an updated version of the
Crawford ‘Concept’ machines for the U.S. market.

SRA Moves Into Bodywear

Matec has also completely renovated and expanded the SRA factory in Florence. Before a major
shareholding was acquired, SRA was a small producer of hosiery boarding machines and packaging
lines. Today, invigorated with the recruitment of more design staff and professional management, it
is a hive of innovative activity in its own and new fields.

As well as full steam pantyhose boarding machines SRA is working in close cooperation with
Santoni to produce fully automatic inner and outer bodywear boarding machines and modular packaging
lines for each product type.

Lonati Group’s policy has always been to market their textile products not just through a
network of well-established agents, but also at specialist hosiery yarn and equipment exhibitions
such as F.A.S.T. and IHE together with general textile and knitting domestic shows in China, Turkey
and Pakistan for example.

Since the Group’s diversified investment policy has proved so successful, Francesco Lonati
promises more of the same strategy, “Our thinking is to diversify investments, but always remain in
our own field. We can only do what we know.”

And, based on the extraordinary success of Santoni bodywear, he is an enthusiastic for the
whole of this seamless garment concept.

“Yes, we see — and the market confirms it — a big future for this type of seamless garment,
not only in underwear but also in other directions such as fitness wear, sportswear and suits.”<
/font>

March 2000

T
he Fillattice Group (Fillattice SpA, Italy, and Fillattice Inc., Charlotte., N.C.) is a
dynamic Italian industrial corporation that has become one of the most important producers of
elastomeric fibers, stretch fabrics, covered yarns and textile machinery.

In the aftermath of World War II, the company branched into the production of rubber yarns
derived from latex and became one of the world leaders in this field.

In the ’70s Fillattice Group launched Linel®, a polyurethane-based elastic fiber. The success
prompted the establishment of the Lineltex plant to produce stretch fabrics.

An international network of production and distribution facilities was installed as well. The
demand for Linel in the textile sector, and the development of new applications, have driven the
Fillattice Group to increase its production capacity steadily in the past years.
(See “Fillattice Boosts Spandex Image Worldwide”
ATI
, February 2000.)

The Wet-Process Yarn

Linel is a continuous polyurethane
fiber composed of filaments. It has a high elasticity and remarkable strength of recovery without
being constrictive. It is produced through a wet-processing technology that provides the yarn with
the advantage of leaving it with the highest elongation.

Linel distinguishes itself from other elastams due to its exceptional regularity which
enables the creation of extremely fine, even fabrics. Because of this fact some of the most
recognized garment manufacturers in the world choose fabrics with Linel, especially in the swimwear
and sportswear field.

The Dry-Process Yarn

Linel Comfort® yarn is produced from
fiber manufactured at the new Fillattice 3 plant. The fiber itself was created by Fillattice’s
in-house research and development team and uses the innovative “dry-spun” technology.

Linel Comfort is produced in a clear and dull version from 11 dtex to 235 dtex.

Applications And End-Uses

Linel in its original condition, “
bare Linel,” as Fillattice calls it, can be used on circular knitting machines or weaving machines
equipped with positive feeders that control the tension of the elastam, help the unwinding of the
yarn from the package and ensure constant conditions for the yarn.

Some technical fabrics up to 35- to 40-percent Linel and Linel Comfort may be used.

Great Outlook

As already mentioned, Fillattice has been steadily increasing its production quantity. The
strongest markets for Linel and Linel Comfort are Europe, the United States and the NAFTA
countries, South America and the Southeast Asia.

Fillattice has made a worldwide commitment to serve its customers with the best possible
yarns, tailored to their needs. The company understands that this is a consumer driven market and
develops its products to fulfill the demands of comfort, durability, and easy care.

Fillattice’s elastic fibers are offered in a broad range of yarn counts and fashionable
colors.

March 2000