Atlas Copco Inaugurates Dedicated Production Line For Electric Portable Air Compressor In Belgium

ROCK HILL, S.C. — February 13, 2023 — Atlas Copco is investing in the future by inaugurating its first production line dedicated to the assembly of low carbon electric compressors. Based in Antwerp, Belgium, the new assembly line has cut lead times for the E-Air VSD units by half.

Atlas Copco’s electric mobile compressor range has gained considerable momentum since its release in 2019. Designed to deliver a cost-effective and low carbon compressed air solution in even the toughest applications, the E-Air is in demand across the construction, oil and gas, and mining sectors. Responding to the unprecedented growth of consumer interest in clean energy tech, Atlas Copco has invested in the extra capacity to optimise its output of the E-Air mobile compressors. The new production line — which is itself powered by green electricity, including extensive solar panels on site — has more than doubled daily production capacity of the E-Air at the facility.

Cutting lifetime carbon emissions

During a research project in 2021, Atlas Copco quantified and confirmed that the majority of emissions derive not at the time of manufacture, but from the lifetime use of its products. As a consequence, the company decided to tackle this in-use carbon footprint by increasing the accessibility of electric portable compressed air solutions. The extended production of the electric units will positively impact machine availability and time-to-market, thereby accelerating the transition to a more sustainable future.

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Atlas Copco

Navis TubeTex Receives The North Carolina Governor’s Award For Excellence

LEXINGTON, N.C. — February 8, 2023 — The Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, has recognized Navis TubeTex with the Governor’s Award for Excellence. This award is given each year to recognize one North Carolina company that has made significant contributions in the effort to increase North Carolina exports. Navis TubeTex has worked with Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina for more than 10 years with exhibition cooperation in many of the world’s textile centers with Senior International Trade Manager Glenn Jackman.

The Award was presented at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh. President and CEO William Motchar and Senior Director – International Sales Jeffrey Dixon were present to receive the award on behalf of Navis TubeTex.

Navis TubeTex is a supplier of finishing machinery for the global textile industry. Based in Lexington, N.C., Navis TubeTex designs, engineers, and manufactures machinery for the global knit, woven, nonwoven, technical and geotextile industries. Navis TubeTex has customers in over 65 countries.

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Navis TubeTex

Shawn Holladay To Lead National Cotton Council In 2023

Shawn Holladay

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — February 13, 2023 — Shawn Holladay, a Lubbock, Texas, producer, was elected National Cotton Council (NCC) chairman for 2023 during the organization’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Joe Nicosia, a Cordova, Tenn., merchant, will serve as vice chairman for 2023.

Holladay has served in many NCC roles including as a director and as its vice chairman in 2022. He served on multiple NCC committees including chairing its Farm Policy & Economic Policy and its Budget committees. He was chairman of the NCC’s American Cotton Producers in 2018 and 2019 having previously served for several years as the ACP’s Farm Policy Task Force chairman – proving to be a tireless advocate for sound farm policy development.

Holladay also was a key asset in the creation and implementation of the seed cotton program for U.S. cotton producers and was a member of trade delegations to China and South America coordinated by Cotton Council International, the NCC’s export promotions arm.

A former Plains Cotton Growers Association chairman and Lamesa Cotton Growers president, Holladay is a fourth-generation producer who, along with his wife, Julie, and daughter, Katy, owns and operates an operation in West Texas’ Dawson and Martin counties that primarily produces cotton. He also is a partner in United Gin Corporation, located south of Lamesa.

Holladay was named the 2018 Texas Tech University Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalist in Agricultural Production. He also received the 2017 Cotton Achievement Award from Cotton Grower magazine and was a 2012 recipient of the High Cotton Award – a program sponsored by Farm Progress through a grant to the Cotton Foundation that recognizes conservation and environmental stewardship.

Elected as NCC vice presidents were Hank N. Reichle, Jr., a Greenwood, Miss., cooperative official, and Raymond Faus, a Richardson, Texas, merchant.

Re-elected as NCC vice presidents were Sammy Wright, a Tifton, Ga., cottonseed processor; Robin Perkins, a Sanford, N.C., textile manufacturer; Kirk Gilkey, a Corcoran, Calif., ginner; and Jay Cowart, an Altus, Okla., warehouser. Re-elected as secretary-treasurer is Mark McKean, a producer from Riverdale, Calif.

Re-elected as NCC staff officers were Gary Adams, president and CEO; Marjory Walker, vice president, Operations; Jody Campiche, vice president, Economics and Policy Analysis; John Gibson, vice president, Member Services; Don Parker, vice president, Technical Services; Tas Smith, vice president, Producer Affairs; and Harrison Ashley, vice president, Ginner Services. Robbie Minnich was elected as vice president, Washington Operations

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: National Cotton Council (NCC)

FILO: ZDHC Award To Responsible Companies In “Chemical Management”

BIELLA, Italy— February 13, 2023 — The ZDHC Supplier Platform is a critical tool for companies to effectively implement sustainable chemical management practices. The platform provides valuable resources and guidance, to help companies make informed decisions and continuously improve their sustainability efforts.

To further strengthen the collaboration between Filo and ZDHC and to recognize the efforts of several of the companies exhibiting at Filo, ZDHC Regional Director Elisa Gavazza will award companies having reached the Foundational and Progressive Level in the Supplier Platform by hand delivering a copy of the Certificate released by the Supplier Platform itself, that companies will be able to expose at their booth.

The ZDHC AWARDS will be awarded as part of the “Dialoghi di Confronto” of the 59th edition of Filo.

The appointment is at Allianz MiCo-Milan, Filo Networking Area

Wednesday 22 February 2023, at 4 pm

Receiving the ZDHC AWARD is a significant accomplishment for any company, that demonstrates a strong commitment to responsible and sustainable chemical management. The award also serves to inspire other companies to adopt similar practices and contribute to the creation of a more sustainable future.

The 59th edition of Filo takes place on 22nd and 23rd of February 2023 at Allianz MiCo – Milano

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Filo

Textile Manufacturer Nassimi Completes Move To Establish A Fully PFAS-Free Portfolio Of High-Performing Fabrics 

NEW YORK CITY — February 13, 2023 — Textile manufacturer Nassimi continues to move toward higher product standards with a move to eradicate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from all new production. Staying true to its ethos, Nassimi’s commitment to 100-percent removal of PFAS is characteristically bold. As a company that has always prioritized self-motivated product improvements, Nassimi began producing phthalate-free faux leather in the early 2010s and removed flame-retardant chemicals from its upholstery materials in 2017. Now, the company has reformulated the last of its textile lines containing PFAS, Resilience TX, to create a fully sustainable product portfolio that still delivers on performance.

PFAS, often referred to as fluorocarbons, are a large, complex group of manufactured chemicals present in a variety of consumer products, including performance fabrics, that do not degrade easily in the environment and may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. While many companies are just now beginning to develop PFAS-free alternatives as a response to current legislation in some states, Nassimi has always been at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing, engineering its fabrics to be PFAS-free from the get-go. The majority of Nassimi products — including its revolutionary performance upholstery fabric Supreen® — have always been PFAS-free, while offering the same level of high stain and liquid resistance.

“Human health and environmental stewardship have always been of great importance to us at Nassimi. For many years now, we’ve been on the path to ending the use of potentially harmful chemicals in our fabrics, and we are proud to eliminate PFAS from all products,” said Iwan Nassimi, executive vice president at Nassimi. “Given our prior experience developing PFAS-free alternatives, I’m confident that our customers and end-users will still find that the performance capabilities of our fabrics exceed expectations.”

While conventionally used PFAS-free alternatives are often less effective in repelling stains, Nassimi’s state-of-the-art proprietary technology in the finishing process offers highly effective stain protection. As an example, Nassimi’s Supreen liquid barrier fabrics use a silicone-based stain repellent that is applied following a patented fabric-purification process. This allows for the silicone to fully embed itself into the textiles’ fiber to create an invisible layer of stain protection. Likewise, the surface treatments of Writer’s Block polyurethanes, SiO silicones, and Resilience faux leathers provide exceptional stain resistance, without the use of any harmful chemicals.

There are four states with current legislation related to stain repellents used in furniture and upholstery textiles: California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. In general, these laws prohibit the sale or distribution of carpets, rugs, fabric treatments, upholstered furniture, or textile furnishings that contain perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl chemicals. It is important to note that the first state to have a law against the sale of upholstered furniture to date is Maine. The law has two phases, the first of which is requiring a disclosure statement be supplied to the State of Maine for any company that ships products containing PFAS into the state of Maine. This requirement goes into effect on January 1, 2023. The second phase, which prohibits the sale of furniture with PFAS, is scheduled to be fully implemented January 1, 2030. With most products already free of PFAS and all new production of Resilience TX converted, Nassimi is already ahead of the curve.

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Nassimi LLC

Pat Rosser Joins Culp As Vice President Of Global Operations For Culp Home Fashions

Pat Rosser

HIGH POINT, N.C. — February 13, 2023 — Culp Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, CULP) today announced that they have hired Pat Rosser as the vice president of Global Operations for Culp Home Fashions (CHF), the company’s mattress fabrics division.

Rosser worked for Culp Home Fashions from 2011 to 2014 as director of Operations, and served as the division’s vice president of Operations from 2014 to 2020.

Tommy Bruno, president of CHF, said: “This position is extremely important for leading the CHF team in the execution of our transformation strategy moving forward. Pat’s leadership experience within CHF, along with his knowledge of the mattress industry, make him an ideal fit for this role, and we are thrilled to welcome Pat back to CULP.”

Rosser will report directly to Bruno, working closely with the sales and executive leadership teams to develop and optimize the division’s global strategy, processes, and systems.

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Culp Inc.

Irish Jersey Producer O’NEILLS Finishes Its High-Quality Elastic Sportswear With BRÜCKNER Finishing Line

LEONBERG, Germany — February 13, 2023 — The 100-percent Irish-owned company was founded in 1918 by Charles O’Neill to produce Gaelic footballs. Today the family-run company employs more than 900 people across Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and beyond, and is the biggest sportswear producer in Ireland. With its own knitting mill and dyeing factory, as well as printing and sewing machines, it is able to react rapidly to changing market requirements and create its own new designs. Articles with customized logos and de-signs are a daily occurrence and make the work exciting and versatile. This flexibility provides a big competitive edge for the company.

Today, many leading sports clubs have tricots made by O’NEILLS, from soccer to rugby to boxing, basketball, hockey and many other types of sports. The quality of the products is very important and is anchored deeply in the company’s history. This requires of course high-quality production machines and in this aspect BRÜCKNER could clearly convince O’NEILLS of the performance of the BRÜCKNER lines.

The family-run German company BRÜCKNER develops since more than 70 years drying and finishing lines for the textile industry and for technical products which are based on textiles or nonwovens. The lines are completely produced in Germany, tests and developments can be made together with customers in BRÜCKNER’s own Technology Center. The line supplied to O’NEILLS has also been developed in cooperation with the customer and is tailor-made to the customer’s needs. Special attention was paid to a tensionless fabric transport and improved dimensional stability of the product with the highest possible energy efficiency. In addition, O’NEILLS produces often small lots with heavy nonwovens which leads to an increased formation of fiber fluffs. Therefore, the dryer access has been adapted to simplify and accelerate the cleaning.

The BÜCKNER POWER-FRAME stenter features a web guider system in the entry to ensure proper decurling as well as accurate centric web running into the padder with minimum liquor pad trough. The machine has a vertically moving chain system and is built with alternating arrangement of the heating units/fans and nozzles. The side of the heating and circulating air elements alternates thus every 1.5 meters which leads to a perfectly homogeneous air impingement over the complete fabric width.

The extended cooling zone at the end of the dryer improves the heat-setting results further. At the same time the fabric is led in the exit area over a special transport belt to finish the very delicate and elastic articles perfectly. This is essential for the high quality of O’NEILLS

After several years of operation, O’NEILLS recently ordered maintenance and optimization of the line together with BRÜCKNER’s technologists. John Towell, maintenance manager with O’NEILLS, said: “We have been using BRÜCKNER machines for almost 20 years, and have found them to be reliable, flexible and efficient. BRÜCKNER have helped us to find consistency with drying and heat-setting a varied range of our fabrics. We’ve also found them excellent to work with regarding repair and maintenance issues that have occurred over time. We hope to continue this strong relationship into the future, and would highly recommend them.

We were also very happy with the thorough inspection of the machine and the detailed analysis that followed. The report that we received post service was very informative and will help us going forward to keep our machine running as efficiently as possible and to keep it maintained for the future. We found the BRÜCKNER engineers to be extremely helpful and adaptive to our specific needs on the machine.”

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Brückner Textile Technologies GmbH & Co. KG

Hexcel To Present Composite Technologies For Wind Ships At Third Annual Wind Propulsion Conference

STAMFORD, Conn. — February 13, 2023 — Hexcel Marine Business Development Manager Tom James will discuss how high-performance composites are an enabling technology in wind propulsion systems and how production technologies developed in other industries are speeding their adoption when he presents at the 3rd Annual Wind Propulsion Conference at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London on February 16-17.

Throughout its 75-year history, Hexcel has been at the forefront of composite innovation for the Aerospace, Wind Energy and Transportation markets. With the re-emergence of wind power for shipping, a new requirement exists for high-performance composite materials that are both lightweight and cost-effective in high-volume production.

Hexcel composite material solutions for wind ships include Bureau Veritas-certified HexPly® M9.6 prepregs, HexPly G-Vent out-of-autoclave materials and HexPly XF surfacing technology. Each delivers the performance, processing and price levels required by high-power wind propulsion system manufacturers.

“With wind propulsion vessels firmly in the spotlight, composite materials must earn their place on board,” James said. “Hexcel is committed to supporting wind propulsion manufacturers and helping them to facilitate their adoption of composites. At the conference, we will be discussing the wind ship applications in which composites add the most value, and the role that Hexcel can play in enabling these high-performance and sustainable wind-powered vessels.”

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Hexcel Corporation

Rondal Selected As 2023 JEC Innovation Awards Finalists For Automated Carbon Composite Wing Sail

VOLLENHOVE, Netherlands — February 13, 2023 — Rondal, supplier of superyacht spars and sailing systems, is delighted to announce that its automated, carbon fiber composite wing sail for yachts has been recognized by the JEC Innovation Awards committee and selected as a finalist for the 2023 JEC Innovation Awards in the category Maritime Transportation & Shipbuilding.

Developed with project partners Curve Works and Artemis Technologies, the new wing sail concept aims to significantly increase the market share of wind-propelled yachts by creating a highly efficient, automated, composite solid wing sail technology that can be “ready-to-sail” in seconds, maximizing the time vessels rely solely on clean, renewable wind propulsion. The wing sail created is also the world’s first large structural composite wing produced using a single adaptive mold with integrated heating to manufacture individual curved wing skin panels from pre-preg materials which were then bonded together to assemble the final wing structure.

Rondal and Artemis Technologies employed the latest in simulation technologies to evaluate their wing design before the build of their 9 metre tall sailing prototype. An intensive sailing test program also allowed the project team to validate real-world handling characteristics of the wing versus its predicted performance, and provided key data for the next stage optimization of the wing control systems.

The construction process for the new wing sail also represents a step-change in manufacturing sustainability for such large wing structures, with Curve Works integrating a new mold heating system within their adaptive tooling system. As the Rondal innovation also offers fully customizable wing planforms that can match both the performance and styling requirements of each unique yacht design, utilizing this single mold tool corresponds to a massive reduction in landfill waste resulting traditional composite tooling.

The JEC Innovation Awards — organized by the JEC Group — are recognized as the composite industry’s most prestigious awards. The 2023 award winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on the 2nd of March, with Rondal, Curve Works and Artemis Technologies also displaying the wing as part of the Industrial Planets at JEC World 2023.

“We are thrilled to be nominated as finalists for the 2023 JEC Innovation Awards and are absolutely delighted that the awards committee has recognized the potential of our new wing concept. Rondal’s passion for innovation, along with the design, simulation and manufacturing support of our partners Curve Works and Artemis Technologies has created an extremely exciting new sailing solution. We can’t wait to continue leading the way in enabling a new generation of clean, silent and highly efficient yachts powered solely by the wind,” commented Hermen de Jong, Innovation manager, Rondal

Posted: February 13, 2023

Source: Rondal bv.

Sattler® Outdura® Appoints Caldwell And Talbert To Lead Sales Teams

Chris Caldwell

HUDSON, N.C. — February 10, 2023 — Sattler Outdura, a division of The Sattler Group, Austria, announced that Chris Caldwell, current product manager for Outdura casual furniture and Sattler shade fabrics, has taken on the new responsibility of sales manager for Outdura. Julie Talbert has also joined the Outdura team as a sales manager. Both positions report to Ulrich Tombuelt, Sattler Outdura CEO.

As product manager, Caldwell was responsible for the development, analysis and management of all furniture and shade fabrics as well as working closely with sales and business development to enhance Outdura’s image and create long-term value to the organization. “Chris has done a wonderful job growing our business and has taken us to the next level in sales, delivery and overall service so moving into the position as sales manager is natural progression for his skills set,” Tombuelt stated. “Plus, his in-depth product knowledge will be a great asset to our customers as he helps them resolve their fabric needs.”

Julie Talbert

Talbert joins Outdura with a strong textile background working as a director of product development, outbound sales representative and as a merchandising and design specialist in the industry. “Julie’s extensive experience in textiles along with her in-depth design knowledge and customer service expertise will prove to be extremely beneficial for us and especially our customers as she undertakes this new sales manager position,” Tombuelt added

“We decided to let both Chris and Julie work across the country, instead of in territories, focusing on the companies and people that they have cultivated meaningful relationships with. I am confident that with their broad backgrounds, product knowledge, and network of contacts, both will be successful in maintaining and developing strategic new channels of business for our Outdura line of solution-dyed acrylic fabrics,” Tombuelt concluded

Posted: February 10, 2023

Source: Outdura

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