BRUSSELS — June 23, 2022 — Europe has a 7-7.5 million tons textile waste problem, of which only 30-35% is collected today.

Based on the ambitious European Waste law, all EU Member States must separately collect the textile waste in 2 years and half. While some countries are designing schemes to face the waste collection challenge, currently no large-scale plan exist to process the waste.

The largest source of textile waste (85%) comes from private households and approximately 99% of the textile waste was made using virgin fibers.

We assess that to reach a fiber-to-fiber recycling rate of around 18 to 26 percent by 2030, a capital expenditure investment in the range of 6 billion € to 7 billion € will be needed, particularly to scale up sufficient sorting and processing infrastructure. The economic, social, and environmental value which could be realized, potentially total an annual impact of €3.5-4.5 billion by 2030.

Once matured and scaled, the textile recycling industry could become a profitable industry with a total market size of 6-8 billion € and around 15,000 direct new jobs by 2030.

Facing the European textile waste challenge and to finally activate circular economy in the textile sector at large scale, EURATEX in collaboration with its members launched the ReHubs initiative in 2020.

In June 2022 the first ReHubs Techno Economic Master Study (TES) has been completed and shades lights on key figures, options to collaborate for European-wide solution.

Next steps of the ReHubs initiative

At this stage our joint work paves the way for:

• A European textile recycling roadmap proposing Objectives and Key Results to recycle fiber-to-fiber 2.5 million of textile waste by 2030
• A leading collaboration hub with large players and SMEs from across an extended European textile recycling value chainA first concrete portfolio of 4 launching projects:
  • Transform textile waste into feedstock
  • Increase the adoption of mechanically recycled fibers in the value chain
  • Expand capacity by solving technical challenges for thermo-mechanical textiles recycling
  • Create capsule collection with post-consumer recycled products

The 1st project addresses current sorting technologies which have limits to identify materials with sufficient accuracy for the subsequent circular recycling processes. The “Transform Waste into Feedstock” project will focus on further developing and scaling such sorting technologies. The project group led by Texaid AG aims on building up a first 50,000 tons facility by the end 2024.

What is the ReHubs initiative?

The ReHubs initiative brings together key European and world players to solve the European textile waste problem by transforming “waste” into a resource, and to boost textile circular business model at large scale.

This collaboration is set to turn the societal textile waste issue into a business opportunity and to fulfil the EU ambitions of the Green Deal, of the mandatory texile waste collection by end 2024 and the transition into Circular Economy.

In 2020 EURATEX launched the ReHubs initiative to promote collaboration across the extended textile value chain and considering all perspectives on chemicals, fibers making, textiles making, garments production, retail and distribution, textiles waste collection, sorting and recycling.

In June 2022 ReHubs completes a Techno Economic master Study (TES) which researches critical information on the feedstock (textile waste) data, on technology, organizational and financial needs to recycle 2.5 million tons of textile waste by 2030 and to effectively launch the ReHubs.

Who participates in the ReHubs initiative so far?

To ensure inclusivity and mobilize resources, EURATEX has set three stakeholder groups:

A Business Council pooling together pioneering companies to perform the TES study;  A Stakeholder Forum with a wider pool of business, research and academia players which has been gathered twice to share high-level information and support future collaboration.

A EURATEX Task Force with 14 national associations to review progress of the ReHubs and align with policy and industry developments and national level.

Acknowledgements

The accomplishment of the TES study has been made possible thanks to pioneering companies and to outstanding advisors.

Posted: June 23, 2022

Source: EURATEX

USTER, Switzerland — June 23, 2022 — Producing quality fabrics is much easier with automated inspection. Uster EVS Fabriq Vision gathers quality data and presents it in an album, which is used to certify the quality of each fabric roll, with total traceability. It combines quality assurance and process optimization – automatically – in a solution which is already popular in technical textiles.

In a survey, customers reported that data from the Uster fabric inspection system was useful in quality assessment of the final product, as well as reports for customers. Traceability data was viewed as a particularly strong point for customers serving the automotive industry. Suppliers to this sector, and to other sensitive applications, value Uster EVS Fabriq Vision as a solution which meets the high standards of traceability, they need throughout the production chain.

Smooth and fast

Fabric producers need to guarantee reliable quality, which demands a consistently high rate of defect detection. Uster EVS Fabriq Vision ensures this is by using automated control during intermediate and final inspection, removing the need for manual inspection.

Multiple spectroscopes inspect the material. Unique image processing algorithms identify all defects automatically, recording them in a dataset for each produced roll – which is also used for traceability. A defect map is automatically generated, to help operators understand the allocation of defects in the fabric roll. This information is also available at an offline PC in the Fabriq Album software, which is a valuable tool for optimizing data for final cutting or further processing steps.

Effective – and people-friendly

A good investment shows up in spreadsheets for performance and sales – but it’s also confirmed by feedback from shopfloor personnel, as with Uster EVS Fabriq Vision.

Staff working daily with this fabric inspection system soon recognize that it’s a game-changer, because the inspection routine is increasingly automated. It works smoothly and quickly, in real time, checking every roll and locating every defect, at line running speeds.

Fabriq Album has even more people-friendly tools to make life easier for users. With manual classification, defects can be given customer-specific codes to identify each defect clearly. Unwanted images, or defects which can be ignored, can be removed automatically from the dataset, but are then retained in a hidden layer, for completeness of the dataset.

The future starts

The Fabriq Album software ensures optimum inspection efficiency and throughput. Machine learning capabilities and the implementation of AI-assisted defect classification extend the use of quality data generated by Fabriq Vision. Uster Fabric Inspection solutions bring the added benefit of helping customers to prepare for a digital future.

Uster’s use of Artificial Intelligence for automated fabric inspection was the subject of Michelle Salg’s talk at Techtextil Frankfurt. The Uster Product Manager for Fabric Inspection spoke in the Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence session, on June 22. Anyone who missed it can see all the details from her white paper available at uster.com/adc.

Data-based delivers

Leaders in fabric manufacturing – including knitters – can use Fabriq Vision to help make their own customers more successful. The key is the Fabriq Album. The whole finishing process contains different steps, sometimes executed by various companies. The dataset in Fabriq Album, generated by automated fabric inspection, is effectively a quality status report of process inputs, allowing manufacturers to manage all process steps for optimal output. Therefore, Fabriq Album empowers quality control and optimized end-products along the production chain.

The quality report, automatically created by Fabriq Album, can be provided to customers as an add-on, to give full transparency for every meter of the fabric. In technical textiles, and everywhere fabric inspection is needed – or should be – Uster Fabriq Vision can tap the potential to deliver major benefits for business.

Posted: June 23, 2022

Source: Uster Technologies AG

ZURICH — June 23, 2022 — After 3 years, the ITMF Annual Conference is back as an in-person event. Participants will meet from September 18-20, 2022, in Davos, Switzerland in the wonderful settings of the Swiss Alps in the heart of Europe.

ITMF is proud and delighted that both Swiss Textiles and Swiss Textile Machinery are co-hosts of this year’s conference.

General Theme: “Climate Change and a Sustainable Global Textile Value Chain”.
The world is faced with many short- and mid-term challenges as a result of the pandemic and disrupted supply chains. The consequences and learnings resulting of these challenges will be addressed. The long-term challenge our industry must deal with is climate change. Identifying solutions for sustainable textile production, new products, and market opportunities are key for a successful textile value chain. The conference will provide an ideal platform to exchange best- practises and demonstrate successful cooperation models.

Speakers: Industry experts from the following companies and organisations will share their expertise and vision and will engage in discussions:

Keynote Speaker: Dr. David Bosshart is a renowned philosopher, futurist, retail & consumer analyst with in-depth knowledge about consumer behaviour and the retail industry. He was CEO of the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for Economic and Social Studies in Rüschlikon/Zurich for 22 years. He will deliver a keynote-address with the title “Between cheap, aspirational, and sustainable – textile manufacturing in a fully disruptive and interconnected world”.

Start-up Sessions: Next to speakers with a long history in the fibre, chemical, textile machinery, textile, garment, and home textile industry we are also inviting up to 6 start-up companies to share their innovations and business models. Engaging with start-ups is an effort to learn from each other and to help identify new solutions that turn challenges into opportunities

ITMF Awards 2022: For the first time, ITMF will recognise persons/companies for their outstanding achievements with the newly introduced ITMF Awards. In 2022, the ITMF Awards will be granted in two categories, namely “Innovation & Sustainability” and “International Cooperation”.

World Café: The format of the World Café, which was introduced for the first time in 2019 in Porto, Portugal, will provide delegates with the opportunity to discuss actively in smaller groups selected questions about how to navigate the current and future business environment. The results of the different groups will be shared among the participants at the end of World Café with some main take aways.

Networking Opportunities: The delegates will have many opportunities to discuss with old and new friends and colleagues the state of the industry and the way forward. The networking opportunities during the conference are numerous – breakfast, coffee breaks, lunches, and dinners. The traditional Welcome Dinner will take place in a mountain restaurant “Fuxägufer” high above the city of Davos. The informal get-together will take place in an extraordinary setting with traditional entertainment. The traditional Gala Dinner will take place in the Hotel Schweizerhof in the city of Davos and will feature a fashion show by the Swiss Textile & Design School.

All information about ITMF 2022 Davos can be found on the ITMF Conference 2022 Website. People interested to attend this unique event can contact the ITMF-secretariat at

secretariat@itmf.org.

Posted: June 23, 2022

Source: International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF)

CHARLOTTE, NC — June 22, 2022 — IME South, a conference and exhibition serving the multi-billion-dollar advanced manufacturing industry, convened nearly 2,300 buyers and 300+ exhibitors across the advanced manufacturing industry for the event’s launch.

Held last week from June 14 through 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, IME South comprises six complementary event brands to facilitate cross-category discovery: Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) South, Automation Technology Expo (ATX) South, SouthPack, Powder & Bulk Solids (PBS) South, Design & Manufacturing (D&M) South, and Plastec South.

An event of IME South’s categorial breadth was highly anticipated in the Southeastern region of the U.S., as industrial production and capacity utilization continue to surpass pre-pandemic levels and address new market demands born from accelerated digitization and smart factory adoption. Thousands of senior-level engineers, executives, and buyers from the industry’s most sought-after companies participated in the three-day event, keen on discovering solutions to pressing challenges, networking, inking deals, and learning from renowned experts.

“Nearly every major segment in the advanced manufacturing industry was represented at IME South last week, from automotive and aerospace, medical and pharmaceutical, packaging and plastics, industrial automation and energy, to infrastructure and construction,” said Steve Everly, Group Event Director, IME South, organized by Informa Markets – Engineering. “Nearly half of our attendees hold significant decision-making power and leveraged IME South as a strategic means to move business forward, whether that be learning a solution to a challenge they are facing in an expert-led session, meeting a customer face-to-face, or discovering a new partner to break into a new vertical.”

Notable attendee companies represented at IME South include 3M, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, BASF Corporation, Boston Scientific, Bosch Rexroth, Chevron Phillips, DuPont, Corning, Covestro, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Eastman, Electrolux, G.E. Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Hanes Brands, Honeywell, Michelin, Panasonic North America, Red Star Yeast, Siemens, Space X, Stanley Black & Decker, Stryker, Toyota Motor North America, and Yamaha Motor Corporation.

Everly continued, “It was remarkable to see the event come to fruition after so many years of planning. We walked away with learnings and new opportunities to tap into that will greatly elevate the experience for our second edition in 2024.”

Given IME South is a Smart Event, event participants benefit from an online platform in addition to the live event. The platform is strategically designed to augment the in-person experience, enabling exhibitors to hold meetings with new leads and houses educational content to tune into conveniently.

The expo floor hosted more than 310 exhibitors representing the automation, design manufacturing, plastics, processing, packaging, and medical sectors. Prominent exhibiting companies that played a substantial role in the event’s success include ARBURG, AstroNova Product Identification, Automation NTH, B. Braun OEM, Bole Machinery, Carclo Technical Plastics, Cefamol, Delta Modtech, FANUC, Invotec, Japan Steel Works Americas, Inc., Jenike & Johanson, JR Automation, Keyence, LUTZE, Medical Murray, National Bulk Equipment, NETZSCH, Nordfab Ducting, PAC Machinery, Pak-Tec, PakSouth, Qosina, Renishaw, Vac-U-Max, among others.

In addition to a robust selection of companies and technologies on display, event participants benefited from three days of free and paid education. The PBS Conference explored a range of highly technical and topical issues impacting the processing and bulk solids handling industry.

IME South produced a robust free educational agenda focused on topics pertaining to the medical, processing, and advanced manufacturing segments and partnered with The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) to host the highly specialized ANTEC® conference, bringing 80+ years of global and national advocacy for advancing the plastics industry to curate the event’s conference and networking opportunities.

Well-attended sessions are as follows, indicating industry-wide challenges and bringing to light upcoming trends to watch.

• Keynote: Miniaturized Devices: Current and Future State-of-the-Art High-Volume Micro Molding
• Keynote panel: Collaborative Manufacturing to Keep America Competitive
• Keynote panel: Everything Old is New Again – Reviving a Legacy Industry in the U.S.
• Digital Tech in the OR: How to Plan for SaMD & A.I. in your Medical Devices
• State of Medtech Investment in the North Carolina Region
• Taking the Sting Out of Growth – Financial Incentives & Tax Strategies for Manufacturers
• Redefining the Manufacturing Cell: New Economics, New Teams, New Tech
• Fighting the Maintenance Crisis
• New Workforce Development Strategies for a New Era
• How Local Governments Play a Role in Energizing the Manufacturing Sector

IME South Exhibitor Commentary:

“The Southeastern region of the U.S. is an area that has seen significant growth in the injection molding market and plastics industry as a whole. We’re very excited to have a trade show back in this area – it’s a huge benefit to us to meet with our customers in the area and connect with potential new customers.”— Dale Bartholomew, National Technical Manager, Japan Steel Works Americas, Inc.

Bartholomew added: “The return to in-person events like IME South is priceless – you can’t, no matter how many sales calls you make in a day, get the visibility that you can face-to-face at a show like this. You have a captive audience of your customers all under one roof. You can do your presentations, and they can see your equipment running live, which during a sales call, you can’t do. Having this level of visibility is invaluable in front of our customers.”

“IME South was pretty extensive as far as attending companies are concerned – for example, there is a company here from Virginia Beach that is a very large, well-represented company. But this show is so much more than a regional show, it’s attracted a wide range of attending companies geographically, and I must say, even some of the exhibiting companies are our customers. It’s very exciting to have IME South in Charlotte; there is so much going on here, and it’s only just begun.” – Jeff Sauter, Director of Business Development, SteriTek

“IME South has been a very successful event; we had strong leads only halfway through day two and were able to leave the show with new prospects. A show like this is a great opportunity for us to grow and find new customers, and I’m blown away by how many people we’re seeing attend from outside the Carolinas. We’re already starting to plan for the show’s return to 2024.” – Mitch Davey, Sales Development Manager, Pak-Tec

Davey continued: “Face-to-face events are essential for us. We sell industrial equipment, and our selling approach is visiting our customers, seeing their processes, feeling their products, and talking person-to-person. Events like IME South are crucial for us to show off our equipment and what’s new and meet new customers.”

IME South is held on a biennial cadence and thus is confirmed to return to Charlotte for the second edition in two years’ time, slated for June 4-6, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center. In the interim, the industry is encouraged to reunite next year at IME East, the sister event held from June 13-15, 2023, in New York City at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, which is home to six leading event brands: MD&M East, EastPack, ATX East, D&M East, Plastec East, and Quality Expo East.

Posted: June 22, 2022

Source: Informa Markets