U.S. Senators Baldwin And Braun Defend Made In America Mask Manufacturers, Call On Commerce To Investigate Chinese Mask Dumping

WASHINGTON — June 23, 2022 — Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) sent a letter to the Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to advocate for American mask and medical equipment manufacturers, calling for an investigation into the alleged dumping of Chinese-made products into the U.S. market. Reports allege Chinese-made masks and other products have been dumped into the U.S. marketplace at such low prices, sometimes 1/10 of the cost of American made products, it has created an unfair marketplace for American manufacturers, driving many out of business.

“This unfair competition is putting significant financial pressure on American manufacturers, driving many out of business, and threatening, for example, our ability to scale up the production of high-quality masks, such as N95 respirators, in the event of a new variant,” said the senators.

“Aside from the benefits domestic production brings to local economies in our states, localized production helps ensure that the resulting products meet the highest standards of quality, sterilization, and consumer safety,” the senators continued.

The letter calls for the Department of Commerce to self-initiate an antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) inquiry into masks, meltblown raw material, and other single use medical equipment imported from the People’s Republic of China. While other industries have the financial ability to petition the Department of Commerce to take such action, the U.S. mask manufacturing industry are under such extreme financial pressure from Chinese imports that they are unlikely to have the resources to spend the significant time and money needed to submit a petition to the Department of Commerce.

“Thanks to the great work by Senator Tammy Baldwin, I hope that the Department of Commerce will be taking a closer look into the problems China has caused the healthcare and domestic PPE industry,” said Nicolas Smit, Executive Director of the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association. “These problems have affected our economy, our ability to keep Americans properly protected throughout the pandemic and have caused countless domestic manufacturers to close. The days where the health and safety of Americans are put at risk due to China flooding the market with dumped, counterfeit, or substandard PPE will soon be behind us. This and other initiatives recently launched by the Biden Administration will help bring back 1000s of jobs and ensure we have all the tools needed to help keep America safe and strengthen our economy at the same time.”

“We sincerely thank Senators Tammy Baldwin and Mike Braun for their support in urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to self-initiate an antidumping duty and countervailing duty inquiry into respirator masks, melt-blown raw material, and other single use medical equipment imported from China,” said Kim Glas, President and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations. “Domestic PPE manufacturers that pivoted to make lifesaving face masks and other public health supplies are now facing another challenging environment where Chinese PPE production has ramped up significantly and cheap product is being dumped into the U.S. market below cost, and it is threatening our domestic PPE industry. We know the administration is committed to building and supporting PPE supply chains domestically and that is why we are urging the Commerce Department to use all of the trade remedy tools at its disposal to help support a critical domestic PPE supply chain and force China to compete on a level playing field.”

The full letter appears below:

Dear Secretary Raimondo:

I write to you today to request that the Department of Commerce self-initiate an antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) inquiry into respirator masks, meltblown raw material, and other single use medical equipment imported from the People’s Republic of China. Single use medical equipment manufacturers throughout the country have alleged in media reports that Chinese-made products, including masks, such as including N95 respirators, and single-use instruments for joint replacement are being sold into the U.S. market for less than the cost of production. In addition to this alleged dumping, we know from previous CVD cases that Chinese exporters often receive subsidies from national and provincial governments, allowing these producers to lower their costs and their prices to levels at which American companies cannot compete.

This unfair competition is putting significant financial pressure on American manufacturers, driving many out of business, and threatening, for example, our ability to scale up the production of high-quality masks, such as N95 respirators, in the event of a new variant. The pressure from imported Chinese masks is so detrimental to domestic mask manufacturers that they are unlikely to have the resources to spend the significant time and money needed to submit a petition to the Commerce Department for an investigation into Chinese mask and meltblown imports. We also represent constituent companies who have decided to maintain a U.S.-based supply chain. Aside from the benefits domestic production brings to local economies in our states, localized production helps ensure that the resulting products meet the highest standards of quality, sterilization, and consumer safety.

Given this financial pressure, and the information available to the Commerce Department on imports from China, I believe the circumstances warrant a self-initiated AD/CVD investigation. The AD and CVD laws provide a transparent, quasi-judicial, and internationally accepted mechanism to address the market-distorting effects caused by injurious dumping and unfair subsidization of imports into the United States. For the purpose of AD investigations, dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value. For the purpose of CVD investigations, a countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from a foreign government that benefits the production of goods from foreign companies and is limited to specific enterprises or industries, or is contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods. Under sections 702(a) and 732(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, which specify that AD and/or CVD investigations “shall be initiated whenever the [Department of Commerce] determines, from information available to it, that a formal investigation is warranted into the question of whether the elements necessary for the imposition of a duty . . . exist.” While self-initiated investigations are rare, in just the last month the Commerce Department self-initiated a scope and circumvention inquiry into quartz-surface products from China.

Americans must to be able to count on domestic manufacturers to deliver the medical equipment they need on a timely basis. Sustaining a level of wholly domestic production of N95 respirators, meltblown raw materials, critical medical instruments, and the expertise and equipment required to make them, is integral to maintaining that assurance. This policy goal—ensuring that quality PPE and medical equipment is available to the country when needed by maintaining production levels of wholly domestically made materials—is emphasized in the National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply Chain, published in July 2021 as a deliverable of President Biden’s Executive Order 14001 on “A Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain.”

I believe the circumstances present in the domestic medical supply manufacturing market suggest that a self-initiation would be appropriate. Given the public health and national security implications of a broad and diverse manufacturing base, I urge you to work with the domestic N95 respirator and meltblown raw material manufacturers, as well as the domestic producers of single-use instruments for joint replacement to investigate the allegations.

Posted: June 28, 2022

Source: The Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Toray Supplies NASA HiCAM With Thermoset And Thermoplastic Prepreg Technologies To Enable Increase In Airframe Manufacturing Rates

TACOMA, Wash. — June 28, 2022 — Toray is among the shortlist of composite material suppliers who are members of the Advanced Composites Consortium (ACC) and are supporting NASA’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. The ACC is a Public-Private Partnership which includes NASA, FAA, select aerospace and materials companies, and academia that supports the HiCAM project. The project seeks to dramatically improve the manufacturing rates of composite airframe structures for future single-aisle commercial aircraft manufactured in the United States. Its approach includes the use of high-rate composite technologies to improve production rates and cost without sacrificing weight and performance attributes.

“The HiCAM project has completed tasks supporting formulation and is entering the next phase for technology development. We are pleased to have Toray as one of the members representing raw material suppliers,” said Richard Young, HiCAM project manager.

Toray Composite Materials America Inc. (TCMA), manufacturer of TORAYCA™ carbon fiber and aerospace-grade thermoset prepregs, is involved in three sections of the project’s current phase supplying TORAYCA carbon fiber and next-generation thermoset prepregs. TCMA also provides process guidance of the materials’ use in automated fiber placement (AFP) process development, rapid cure, and resin infusion for wing and fuselage structures. The thermoset prepregs utilize intermediate modulus plus (IM+) carbon fiber with a toughened epoxy resin system, providing structural performance, low resin content, and tight physical property manufacturing tolerances.

“We’re proud to participate in the ACC’s effort to reduce cost, improve performance and increase delivery rates of single aisle commercial aircrafts to retain the United States’ competitive advantage in aircraft manufacturing,” according to Jeff Cross, TCMA director of Business Development for Aerospace.

Toray Advanced Composites (TAC), manufacturer of a broad range of thermoset and thermoplastic composite technologies, is directly involved in four additional sections of the program with a range of Cetex® thermoplastic UD tapes and material science input. These materials represent state of the art structural thermoplastic composites on standard, intermediate and intermediate modulus plus (IM+) TORAYCA carbon fibers and are being utilized in innovative part fabrication and assembly processes. “Toray is honored to support this holistic material and process technology initiative, helping US aerospace manufacturing achieve an unprecedented 4-6x production rate increase” according to Steve Cease, TAC vice president of Technology.

Posted: June 28, 2022

Source: Toray Composite Materials America, Inc.

Ascend Brings New EV, Battery Materials To Battery Show Europe

HOUSTON — June 28, 2022 — Ascend Performance Materials is showcasing its latest materials for e-mobility at the Battery Show Europe this week. Among the products Ascend is exhibiting are a new color-stable grade of its Starflam® flame-retardant polyamides; its new Vydyne® AVS for damping noise, vibration and harshness; and Trinohex® Ultra, its REACH-registered electrolyte additive.

Ascend has developed a color-stable orange grade of its Starflam 525K flame-retardant PA66 that is laser-markable, withstands long-term heat aging over 5,000 hours and retains its electrical properties, including a UL 94 flammability rating of V-0 at 0.2 mm. This new color-stable grade is designed for use in high-voltage connectors and busbars.

Vydyne AVS, Ascend’s new anti-vibration material, will also be highlighted. Tailored to dampen the high-frequency vibrations from EV motors and compressors, AVS is an effective NVH solution that mitigates in-cabin noise without adding complexity or weight.

Finally, Ascend will also promote its Trinohex Ultra electrolyte additive, which improves lithium-ion battery performance, safety and longevity. In third-party testing, Trinohex Ultra has demonstrated superior cathode protection across cathode and electrolyte chemistries. This protection leads to a 30% reduction in harmful gas generation and longer-lasting performance, especially in extreme conditions.

“Our goal is to bring new material solutions to the e-mobility space,” said Ian van Duijvenboode, Ascend’s director for e-mobility. “Our capabilities in application and design engineering, coupled with our extensive materials knowledge, continue to help OEMs overcome some significant challenges in terms of safety, passenger comfort and range.”

Ascend is exhibiting at booth 10-C94 at the Battery Show Europe through June 30.

Posted: June 28, 2022

Source: Ascend Performance Materials

TRSA’s Production Summit & Plant Tour Thrives On Operational Diversity

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — June 28, 2022 — The TRSA’s Production Summit & Plant Tour took place at the Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown in Chicago from May 18-19, 2022, and attendees experienced a gathering of some of the industry’s most successful operators who discussed their latest process improvements for improved throughput and profitability in plant operations. The Summit addressed market areas including healthcare, industrial and linen supply.

Summit participants enjoyed a day of sessions and networking opportunities, including keynote speaker Kevin Ames, the founder of Ames Leadership Institute. Ames provided an outside perspective on labor market shifts and how laundry operators can adapt. Other sessions included:

  • ‘Legislative Update’
  • ‘Recruiting and Retention in the New Market for Talent’
  • ‘New Wastewater Challenges’
  • ‘Plant Safety & Health’
  • ‘Benchmarking’
  • ‘Mitigating Supply Chain Problems’
  • ‘Recruitment and Retention Tactics Panel Discussion’

Summit attendees emphasized the impact of COVID-19 during the program with participants discussing how employee retention has deteriorated during the pandemic, and what steps operators can take to combat these challenges. Panelists suggested that mental health was a main driver for this issue, as employees require a sense of stability, and placing a stronger emphasis on stability when advertising job positions could help promote staff longevity and resistance to recession-related challenges.

Recruitment expert Kathleen Quinn Votaw encouraged employers to reframe their focus from “recruiting” to “talent acquisition,” highlighting an important point for attendees to consider: “Employees don’t work for you. No one ever did. They work for their families.” Attendees backed the idea that the industry’s HR and sales personnel can collaborate to find and acquire talent, with TSRA leading the charge through collaboration by its HR and Marketing & Sales committees.

While candidates hesitated to endorse Votaw’s idea of inviting families and friends to a catered lunch to encourage candidate referrals, amid concerns about its likely payback, there was support for increased on-site dining events to reinforce team building, which could have a positive impact on retention.

The next day, attendees visited two of America’s largest operator’s local plants: UniFirst Corp.’s year-old 64,000-square-foot facility in Hammond, IN; and Alsco Inc.’s 20-year-old 185,000 square-foot plant in Chicago.  The hosts at both plants described not only what they have, but why management had chosen their various plant systems.

Attendees praised the tours. “UniFirst Hammond, very impressive; both the new plant and the proud knowledgeable staff, an example for our industry, said one attendee. “Alsco Chicago, a huge facility, well maintained and great quality product.”

Further information about this event can be found at: https://www.trsa.org/news/production-summit-thrives-on-diversity-of-industrys-operations/

Posted: June 28, 2022

Source: TRSA

Careismatic Brands Announces The Appointment Of Sidharth Lakhani As COO

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — June 28, 2022 — Careismatic Brands, the world’s largest manufacturer of medical apparel, announced today the appointment of Sidharth Lakhani to COO. The appointment of Lakhani marks another step forward for Careismatic Brands, as the company continues to evolve its business through building an industry-leading executive team, including the recent appointment of new CEO Girisha Chandraraj.

Lakhani brings a wealth of operating experience to his new role as COO. Prior to joining Careismatic Brands, Lakhani served as Chief Executive Officer of Healing Hands Scrubs for more than a decade, providing critical resources across all areas of the business, developing key customer relationships and fostering talent across the organization. Before joining Healing Hands, Lakhani worked across a number of industries including food service, technology, finance and real estate, in roles at Madison Realty Corporation and Krazy Kat Sportswear, among others.

“Sid’s focus on diversity and empathy helped him grow Healing Hands into a leading medical wear brand, and I am excited for him to integrate this approach into our operations,” Chandraraj said.

Lakhani is recognized as a strategic leader whose leadership style centers on culture, diversity and empathy, and his appointment will help Careismatic Brands progress to its next evolution of growth.

“I look forward to the opportunity to lead Careismatic Brands’ business operations and to build on the strong momentum the company has shown,” said Lakhani.

Posted: June 29, 2022

Source: Careismatic Brands Inc.

ANDRITZ Presents The World’s First Nonwovens Pilot Line For Wipes With Integrated Wetlaid Pulp Process

GRAZ, Austria — June 28, 2022 — International technology group ANDRITZ has established a new inline Wetlace™ CP pilot line with an original design at its center of competence in Montbonnot, France.

From now on, ANDRITZ partners will be able to conduct trials and test all options available for wipes production — from carded staple fibers to pulp and various combinations thereof — thanks to the new inline Wetlace CP line. Customers will benefit from the expertise of the ANDRITZ specialists with this fully engineered process, combining both spunlace and wetlaid technologies, so that they can move forward to more sustainable options while maintaining a high level of product quality, in particular by achieving high CD strength and good linting properties.

Over the past few decades, ANDRITZ has continued to innovate with various nonwoven processes, like spunlace, Wetlace and Wetlace CP, with the aim of optimizing the use of raw materials and focusing on sustainability by reducing the synthetic fiber content. Facing the growing demand for bio-wipes in parallel with enforcement of the EU’s single-use plastics directive last year, ANDRITZ has decided to go one step ahead to help its customers make the right investments.

The Montbonnot pilot line has been rebuilt to integrate the new headbox inside the spunlace line. Pulp can be fed in directly and entangled with carded staple fibers to produce unique nonwoven fabrics designed for end uses as bio-wipes.

Posted: June 28, 2022

Source: ANDRITZ GROUP

Ralph Lauren Announces Nomination Of Deb Cupp To Board Of Directors

NEW YORK — June 24, 2022 — Ralph Lauren Corporation today announced that Deb Cupp, President of Microsoft North America, has been nominated as a director for election at the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held on August 4, 2022. The Company also announced that Judith McHale, who has served on the Ralph Lauren Board of Directors since 2001, will not stand for reelection after her term, which is set to expire in August.

“I have always been inspired by people who have a passion for what they do, and Deb has demonstrated that in all of her roles,” said Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer. “As we continue to build on the many strengths of our Board, I know that she will bring this passion and special expertise as we build the story of our future. I would like to thank Judith for her many years of leadership and her dedication to the Board and our Company.”

Patrice Louvet, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Deb has built her career around business and organizational transformations that support growth and customer engagement. As we continue to accelerate our momentum at Ralph Lauren, we stand to benefit greatly from her unique perspective, leadership and digital expertise.”

Ms. Cupp was named President of Microsoft North America this year. She has been with Microsoft since 2018 and held positions as President of Microsoft United States and Corporate Vice President of Enterprise and Commercial Industries before assuming her current role. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the IT consulting and services company Avanade.

Ms. Cupp said, “Ralph Lauren has been a leader in American fashion for decades, and their focus on digital acceleration to remain an industry leader is inspiring. I am very proud to join the Board of Directors and look forward to being part of this iconic Company’s Next Great Chapter.”

Before joining Microsoft, Ms. Cupp spent six years at SAP, serving most recently as the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Success Factors for North America. In this position, she was responsible for leading the HR business by driving sales and go-to-market strategies, as well as overseeing operations for the field sales organization.

Posted: June 27, 2022

Source: Ralph Lauren Corporation

BSN SPORTS Acquires The Eastbay Team Sales Business From Foot Locker Retail, Inc.

DALLAS — June 27, 2022 — BSN SPORTS, one of the largest direct marketers and distributors of sporting goods, footwear, apparel and branding to the school and league markets and a division of Varsity Brands, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Eastbay Team Sales business (“Eastbay Team Sales”) from Foot Locker Retail, Inc., a subsidiary of Foot Locker, Inc.

Founded in 1980 and originally established to meet the performance needs of local high school and college athletes in Central Wisconsin, Eastbay Team Sales is now a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment to high school and college athletes. Foot Locker, Inc. acquired Eastbay Team Sales through its acquisition of Eastbay in 1997 to integrate an additional channel of distribution for athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment.

BSN SPORTS is a leader in the school and league markets with over 1,100 Field Sales Professionals serving coaches and athletic directors in virtually every zip code in the United States. The Company supports these Field Sales Professionals with Category Managers, Territory Managers, Customer Service Representatives and a robust marketing infrastructure and leading technology that enable the Sales Professionals to provide customers with the most complete and customized one-stop shopping experience in the team sporting goods industry.

Terry Babilla, President of BSN SPORTS, said, “We are excited that the employees of Eastbay Team Sales will be joining the BSN SPORTS family, which is dedicated exclusively to serving athletes, athletic directors and coaches who impact more lives in a year than most people do in a lifetime.  This dedicated approach means that our new Sales Professionals will benefit from the best and broadest inventory selection, leading design and customization tools and support resources as they deliver the stellar service experience all customers deserve. We welcome the Eastbay Team employees to the BSN SPORTS family and look forward to a productive and rewarding integration of our teams headed into the 2022-2023 school year.”

Varsity Brands, BSN SPORTS’ parent company, is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity.

Posted: June 27, 2022

Source: BSN SPORTS

ANDRITZ To Supply Batt Forming Equipment For A PTFE Line To YANPAI, China

GRAZ, Austria — June 27, 2022 — International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from Yanpai Filtration Technology Co., Ltd. (YANPAI®), China, to supply batt forming equipment with an aXcess card and crosslapper for a needlepunch line producing PTFE filtration products at its site in Tiantai. The PTFE felts will be used as smoke filters in waste incineration plants. Start-up of the line is planned for the second half of 2022.

This is now the third order that ANDRITZ has received from Yanpai over the past three years. The first contract – awarded in 2019 – was for three complete needlepunch lines (including one PTFE batt forming line), and just recently, Yanpai ordered four new lines containing aXcess and eXcelle equipment.

Vincent Chen, Vice-President at Yanpai, says: “After years of strong presence in the filtration industry, Yanpai has become the main supplier of filtration and separation materials in China, with the ability to provide customers with high-quality, customized, and also complete series of industrial filtration materials for separation tasks. We began our collaboration with ANDRITZ in 2019 and have always been very satisfied with the high quality of machines, process knowledge, and comprehensive technical support from ANDRITZ. This gave us the confidence to award ANDRITZ an order for four new needlepunch lines at the beginning of 2022 and now also the batt forming equipment for the PTFE line.”

Yanpai is one of the leading Chinese producers of nonwoven filters for dust and air treatment and of woven filter fabrics used in solid/liquid separation. Established in 1990, Yanpai was at the forefront of development work on new industrial filtration fabrics. Today, Yanpai is a company with facilities in China and the USA.

Posted: June 27, 2022

Source: ANDRITZ GROUP

Indorama Ventures Enters World-First China License Agreement With Shandong Binhua New Material Co. Ltd.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas / BINZHOU CITY, Shandong, China — June 27, 2022 — Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, has signed a license agreement with Shandong Binhua New Material Co., Ltd. (Binhua), a subsidiary of Befar Group, a leading petroleum and chemical enterprise in China, to build, own and operate a propylene oxide (PO), t-Butanol (TBA) and t-Butyl methyl ether (MTBE) co-production unit.

Featuring the world’s only MTBE ‘single-step’ reaction technology, IVL’s proprietary innovation, the project is part of the ‘C3 and C4’ comprehensive utilization project in Shandong, China. It is one of the largest in the province, covering an area of over one million square meters.

“On completion, this project will be able to produce 600,000 tons of propylene, 800,000 tons of butane isomerization, 150,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, 240,000 tons of propylene oxide and 742,000 tons of MTBE per year. With the lowest operational cost of all other propylene oxide technologies and close to 50 consecutive years of successful and safe operation, the license with IVL was selected because of its superiority, unique features, and competitiveness,” said Mr. Liu Hongan, Vice President of Befar Group and General Manager of Shandong Binhua New Material  Co. Ltd.

Under the contract, IVL will provide a design package, technology, operational know-how and training to enable the construction and operation of a PO co-production with MTBE and TBA units for Binhua. The plant is part of a larger complex comprising propane dehydrogenation to propylene, butane isomerization, synthetic ammonia, and other installations.

Alastair Port, Executive President, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives (IOD), IVL, said, “IVL is honored to be providing this important technology license, enabling the monetization of Binhua’s raw materials in Shandong Province with a world-class and cost-effective plant. Our technology uses 130 U.S. patents and more than four decades of continuous development. This allows IVL to provide both the license, and owner/operator knowledge to deliver the quality and effective solutions a project of this scale requires.”

Posted: June 27, 2022

Source: Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL)

 

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