John A. Hopkins Announces He Will Step Down As IACMI – The Composites Institute CEO

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — February 10, 2022 — The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) today announced that Dr. John A. Hopkins will step down from his role as CEO effective March 31, 2022. IACMI is one of 16 Manufacturing USA innovation institutes created to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain and workforce development.

“Leading IACMI and serving the U.S. composites community has been one of the true highlights of my career. I am proud of the material and manufacturing advances our core R&D and industrial partners have made. IACMI is well positioned to drive further significant national initiatives in composites innovation and workforce development,” said Hopkins.

Hopkins became CEO of IACMI in 2017. He had previously served as senior project controls director for the institute where he managed R&D programs. IACMI, under Hopkins leadership, has built upon its strong collaborative system across the U.S. composites community that brings researchers together to advance manufacturing and applications of new composites materials.

“Under John’s leadership, IACMI has expanded its footprint and elevated the institute’s reputation nationally and internationally. His vision and guidance have provided valuable strength in partnerships, innovations, and solutions relevant to advancing composites design, manufacturing, technical innovation, and workforce solutions — all of which positions IACMI to capitalize on many opportunities in the future,” said Stacey S. Patterson, president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF). UTRF is the sole corporate member of Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation, the non-profit organization which operates IACMI.

Patterson said a search for a new IACMI CEO is now underway and that Hopkins, who has set a high standard for innovation and creativity, will be actively involved in finding his successor.

Since 2015, IACMI has managed over 50 collaborative and industry led technical projects with greater than $150 million in research and development value. More than 15 new products are now commercially available and $400 million-plus has been invested in a broad system of open access facilities for demonstration at scale in eight states. IACMI has engaged more than 9,000 people in composites training and STEM outreach and placed more than 100 university interns with industry collaboration.

Through collaboration with industry, academia, and national laboratories, IACMI projects have demonstrated faster cycle times and lower costs for composite materials and structures, decreased carbon intensity, and increased recyclability of composites.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: IACMI – The Composites Institute

Team USA Uniform Tailor Ferrara Manufacturing Launches Specialty Uniform Division

NEW YORK CITY — February 8, 2022 — Ferrara Manufacturing, a family-owned apparel manufacturer that has partnered with Ralph Lauren to create the U.S. Olympic and Paralympics uniforms from 2014-2022, announced today the launch of Ferrara Uniform. Ferrara Manufacturing produces garments worn on the runways of New York and Paris-as well as by American Olympians and the U.S. military. Located in Manhattan’s Garment District, Ferrara Uniform is a new division of the company focusing specifically on uniforms made in the USA.

The members of Team USA competing at the Winter Games will wear jackets and bottoms in the Closing Ceremony manufactured in New York by Ferrara Uniform. The creation of Ferrara Uniform highlights the 35-year-old company’s commitment to expanding its uniform tailoring and manufacturing services. In its state-of-the-art facility in New York City, Ferrara also produces for the Ralph Lauren Purple Label, The Durst Organization, United States Airforce, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard.

Founded in 1987, Ferrara Manufacturing is a union, family owned and operated business with a highly skilled workforce that produces everything domestically. With the addition of Ferrara Uniform, the company is now made up of three specialized divisions serving diverse markets – tailoring, uniforms, and protective garments. Ferrara Supply Company was one of the first federal partners to provide domestically made Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, and has made millions of gowns and masks in the U.S. during the pandemic for the U.S. government. The company spent months exploring product development for masks and eventually created a high filtration product that President Biden wore during the 2021 inauguration.

Ferrara Uniform is led by Gabrielle Ferrara, the COO at Ferrara Manufacturing and daughter of founders Carolyn and Joseph Ferrara. The mother-daughter team of Gabrielle and Carolyn are an innovative force in the industry, including in the development of a proprietary custom fit technology designed to dress women of all shapes and sizes. The company continues to grow, and with its recent expansion to a facility in Long Island City, Ferrara Manufacturing plans to continue to increase capacity and hire more employees.

In 2019, Gabrielle led the launch of Ferrara Supply, the special business unit created to produce domestic PPE. In 2021, the Manufacturing Institute honored Gabrielle in Washington, D.C. for Leadership Excellence in American Manufacturing. She is a board member of both the NYC Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Council (MAIIC) and the Athena Center at Barnard College, where she attended.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: Ferrara Manufacturing

Kornit Digital Unveils State-Of-The-Art Ink Manufacturing Site

ROSH HA’AYIN, Israel — February 10, 2022 — Kornit Digital Ltd., a worldwide market supplier of sustainable, on-demand, digital fashionx and textile production technologies, announced on 26th January the official opening of its new scalable, state-of-the-art ink manufacturing facility in Kiryat Gat, Israel.

The modern, 11,000-square-meter facility incorporates advanced automation, sophisticated workflows, and innovative technologies for production optimization. The new high-volume production facility is expected to fulfill global demand for Kornit consumables for the next decade.

Recently completed at an estimated investment of $25 million, the facility was built in accordance with the highest quality, safety, and security standards, reflecting the Company’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets embedded in Kornit Digital’s 2020 Impact Report.

“This is a key milestone in our journey to become a $1 billion company by 2026 and will ensure we can support the tremendous growth our customers are experiencing, for many years to come,” said Ronen Samuel, Kornit Digital’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to lead the charge for a cleaner and more responsive textile industry as we continue to write the operating system for sustainable fashion and textiles on demand.”

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: Kornit Digital

INDA Announces Timing Changes To Major Events: Moves IDEA® To A Two-Year Cycle And Filtxpo™ To Every 18 Months

CARY, N.C. — February 10, 2022 — INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announces today that IDEA® will be held every two years instead of three starting in 2024.

The upcoming dates for IDEA® under the new schedule will be March 28-31, 2022, as currently scheduled, and then April 23-25, 2024. Both will be held as live, in-person events at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida. Exhibition and registration details are available here: https://www.ideashow.org/index.html#attend

“INDA has three key reasons for making this change in event frequency,” said Dave Rousse, INDA president.  “First, the nonwovens industry has been a vibrant, innovative sector with new products, processes and materials every year, so providing an opportunity to showcase more frequently these new developments better serves the industry. Second, one of the major nonwoven events in Asia has declared they will run each and every year, impacting the past three-year cycle of major shows in the nonwovens industry. Third, coming out of the Covid pandemic, market research predicts for the near future that regional events are expected to be better supported than global events.”

The last time IDEA® was held in 2019 it broke all attendance records. INDA expects the 2022 edition March 28-31 to attract several thousand senior-level buyers and attendees from over 60 countries and several hundred exhibitors from a myriad of industry sectors, including absorbent hygiene, wipes, filtration, medical and surgical products, personal protective equipment, home and office furnishings, transportation, geosynthetics and building construction.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, our members and the entire industry realize the power of gathering in-person at live expositions and conferences like IDEA®,” said Rousse.

“This new schedule, approved by the INDA Board, responds to the new findings in event research, developments in Asia, and to the need for our industry members in North America and beyond to create more opportunities to showcase their offerings, make new connections, and grow their businesses. We are excited for the 21st edition of this premier event coming in 7 weeks and the 22nd edition of IDEA® in 2024. We encourage everyone to mark your calendars and start planning for the 2024 future dates.”

FiltXPO™
, North America’s only exposition and technical conference dedicated exclusively to the filtration and separation industry, will be co-located with IDEA® in Miami Beach this March 29-31 to avoid conflicting with other filtration events that were originally planned in 2021. FiltXPO™ then returns to an 18-month schedule and will next take place October 10-12, 2023, at Navy Pier, Chicago, Ill.

“Establishing this new timing for IDEA® and returning FiltXPO™ to its original cycle aligns with our industry’s needs to continue the growth of the nonwovens industry and establish its global leadership and versatility in delivering essential, environmentally-responsible materials and products,” he said. “With a more frequent IDEA® cycle, INDA will be better positioned to overcome business challenges and to support our members at the highest level.”

These scheduling moves support INDA’s newly developed strategic plan guiding its activities. That plan is based on the following five pillars:

  • Convene and connect the industry through trade shows and conferences;
  • Achieve industry relevance among policymakers, end-users, and other key stakeholders;
  • Advocate for the Nonwovens Industry in public policy forums;
  • Deliver market insights for better decision making; and
  • Provide training programs to sustain the industry’s innovative edge.

For full details about the IDEA® expo, conference, essential short courses, or to register, visit ideashow.org

For full details about the FiltXPO™, expo, conference, training, or to register, visit filtxpo.com

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry

BB Engineering GmbH Delivers Melt Filter For PET Recycling System To Indorama Polyester Industries

REMSCHEID, Germany — February 10, 2022 — 2021 saw BB Engineering GmbH (Germany) deliver a melt filter for recycling PET flakes to polyester manufacturer Indorama Polyester Industries (Thailand). Indorama will be using the type NSF38 filter in its recently assembled recycling system in order to produce rPET granulate from flake PET bottle waste. The NSF38 filter enables continual filtering — in other words, the system switches from one filter to the other during the process without the need for conversion shut-downs. The filter allows the processing of consumer waste — for example, in the form of shredded PET bottles – into new, high-quality rPET granulate. This granulate is subsequently processed into manmade fibers in spinning systems.

The NSF38 is a switchable filter with a filter surface area of ap- prox. 16 m2 on each side, with throughputs of between 1,000 and 1,900 kg/h. The filter inserts each contain 19 pleated filter candles (60 x 1,000mm Ø). The filter medium comprises a sin- tered metal fiber nonwoven with a filtration fineness of 25 μm. This ensures that the melt remains free of contaminants and gel particles, which in turn enables the production of high- quality end products.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: BB Engineering GmbH

IDEA®2022 Exhibitor Preview: International Technology Group ANDRITZ

GRAZ,  Austria — February 9, 2022 — International technology group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production and textile solutions at IDEA 2022 in Miami, USA, from March 29 to 31 (booth 4104). The broad ANDRITZ product portfolio covers state-of-the-art nonwovens and textile production technologies such as air-through bonding, airlay, needlepunch, spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid/WetlaceTM, converting, textile finishing, recycling, and natural fiber processing.

What are the highlights for IDEA 2022?

News in Wipes technology developments

ANDRITZ offers various nonwoven processes to produce best and cost-effective wipes, like spunlace, Wetlace and Wetlace CP. ANDRITZ also accompanies nonwoven producers in the move to sustainability with the aim of reducing or eliminating plastic components while maintaining the high quality of the desired product properties. This applies to all types of sustainable wipes, such as flushable, biodegradable, bio-sourced, carded-pulp or standard carded wipes. Indeed, hydroentanglement has the advantage of being able to bond any kind of fibers without the use of chemical binders or thermal fusion. It is, therefore, the most suitable bonding process for natural fibers, such as pulp, cotton, hemp, linen, flax, bamboo, and more. The latest development in this field is the ANDRITZ neXline wetlace CP line, which integrates the card-pulp (CP) process. This is a fully engineered production line combining the benefits of drylaid and wetlaid technologies to produce a new generation of biodegradable wipes.

In order to make a meaningful contribution, ANDRITZ has become a member of the Board of the Responsible Flushing Alliance (RFA) in the USA. The RFA is an independent, non-profit trade association committed to educating consumers in responsible and smart flushing habits to help reduce damage to the nation’s sewage systems. ANDRITZ is deeply involved in this topic with its technologies for 100% dispersible and biodegradable wet wipes and is highly committed to being part of the RFA.

To serve customers even better and offer the best possible R&D and service, ANDRITZ welcomes producers to its spunlace technical center at ANDRITZ Perfojet in Montbonnot, France. It is equipped with the very latest technologies as well as a dedicated team of process engineers. The technical center has been upgraded just recently with an inline pulp formation system and is now the most advanced nonwovens test center for wipes worldwide. The line configuration is now similar to an ANDRITZ Wetlace CP line.

LATEST technologies for Hygiene applications

ANDRITZ will highlight the technology development in the spunlaid sector with the patented nonwovens process called Spunjet Soft. This is the in-line hydroentanglement of continuous filaments, creating a new generation of premium spunlaid nonwovens with unrivalled bulkiness and softness compared to standard spunbond fabrics. Samples of absorbent hygiene products integrating spunjet soft materials will be available at the ANDRITZ booth.

Moreover, ANDRITZ will introduce its adult pants converting line, which offers top-class components and an innovative technology process. The growing market for adult incontinence products has resulted in a state-of-the-art process with highest quality standards, such as the development of ultrasonic side seam solutions with excellent results in terms of bond strength and system reliability. As a result, operations and size changes are faster and easier. The modern forming system for higher SAP (superabsorbent polymers) concentration and the turning and placing system guarantee maximum process stability and put the adult pants produced by ANDRITZ customers at the top of the adult hygiene market.

Innovations In Solutions For Durable Applications

Another strong focus lies on technologies for durable nonwovens, especially for the automotive industry. The use of nonwovens in the automotive area has increased substantially in recent years. Indeed, a very large number of automotive parts are made with nonwovens fabrics, from trunk liners, carpets and insulation to air and fuel filters. In addition, the automotive industry is moving its focus to green technologies, which has a direct impact on the characteristics of nonwoven parts in vehicles. Thanks to the ANDRITZ airlay and needlepunch processes, producers are able to provide the most suitable fabrics for this industry’s requirements.

The ANDRITZ airlay technology can process all types of fibers and solid particles. It is offered as a complete line with needlelooms, thermobonding or other bonding methods for numerous applications in the automotive and also the furniture, bedding, insulation, and filtration industries.

In addition, ANDRITZ is presenting the brand new ProWinTM technology for profile weight correction in the needlepunch segment, which is used to optimize processes, provide a faster return on investment, and save raw materials. This unit combines the well-known systems ProWid and ProDyn, enabling even better performance, and the same machine can run faster with less mechanical stress.

Customers are welcome to conduct trials and compare the different options available in the technical center for needlepunch processes at ANDRITZ Asselin-Thibeau, Elbeuf, France, and/or in the airlay pilot line at ANDRITZ Laroche, Cours, France.

Another very relevant topic these days is textile recycling, which has become a key focus of worldwide sustainability efforts. Customer and consumer awareness as well as new regulations are pushing clothing brands to recycle their pre-consumer and post-consumer waste in their own products. ANDRITZ is very much involved here with its technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled fibers.

Spot-on and digital service to keep machines running

ANDRITZ offers a full-service portfolio and thus can ensure improved uptime, productivity, and product quality – for years to come. This includes on-site support, specific training, line audits and troubleshooting, upgrades and modernizations, spare parts, and roll repair centers. In the USA, ANDRITZ is well supported in sales and service by its local branches – ANDRITZ Küsters in Spartanburg, SC, and ANDRITZ SHW in Torrington, CT.

Moreover, customers can bring their production to a new level with ANDRITZ digital technologies combined under the Metris technology brand. One focus is the Metris UX digitalization platform, which provides full support for industrial plants throughout their entire life cycle. It combines a complete set of functionalities for professional production management, simulation and optimization using the latest artificial intelligence methods, plus cyber security, and condition monitoring with smart sensors in an integrated approach. ANDRITZ will offer a live demonstration at its booth (4104) at IDEA.

Visit the ANDRITZ Booth – Physically And Digitally

A special highlight for IDEA is the virtual booth called the “ANDRITZ Teleport”. For customers who cannot travel to Miami due to the travel restrictions, ANDRITZ offers the opportunity to enter this booth and discover state-of-the-art technologies, obtain the latest marketing material and press information, and meet the ANDRITZ team.

The entire ANDRITZ Nonwoven team is looking forward to welcoming customers to its booth (4104) in person and online in the “ANDRITZ Teleport” virtual booth.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: ANDRITZ AG

IDEA®22 Exhibitor Preview: Oerlikon Nonwoven Presents Portfolio At The IDEA In Miami

NEUMÜNSTE, Germany — February 9, 2022 — Oerlikon Nonwoven will be traveling with its entire product portfolio to this year’s IDEA, being held in Miami between March 28 and 31, Hall B, Stand 4111. The company will be presenting customer- and market-oriented systems solutions with a special focus on sustainability, quality and efficiency. Very much in line with Dr. Ingo Mählmann’s, Head of Sales at Oerlikon Nonwoven, pledge: “We love building systems, machines and components that sustainably manufacture materials from which our customers’ successful products are made.”

The Phantom technology is revolutionizing the nonwovens process

With its Phantom platform, Oerlikon Nonwoven offers an innovative co-form technology for manufacturing various wet wipes from pulp and polymer fibers. Here, the spunmelt and airlaid processes are combined in a manner that perfectly unites the properties of the starting materials. The material mix can comprise up to 90% cellulose fibers. Alternatively, cotton or synthetic fibers can also be added.

Compared to processes such as classical spunlace (hydroentangled carded nonwovens) produced to date, the patented Phantom technology offers ecological, performance and cost advantages. The sustainable process stands out above all with regards to energy efficiency and water consumption as well as user-friendliness. Dispensing with hydroentanglement renders subsequent drying of the material redundant. Product parameters, such as softness, tenacity, dirt absorption and liquid absorption, can be optimally set. The Phantom technology enables the manufacture of both flexible and absorbent structures and highly-textured materials.

Airlaid technology for sustainable nonwovens

Pulp or cellulose fibers as raw material for manufacturing nonwovens are currently virtually unrivaled with regards to sustainability and environmental compatibility. The Oerlikon Nonwoven airlaid process is the ideal solution for processing this raw material into high-end products for a wide range of applications. Today, there is huge demand for manufacturing solutions for high-quality, lightweight airlaid nonwovens with economically-attractive production speeds and system throughputs. Here, the patented Oerlikon Nonwoven formation process is setting standards – for homogeneous fiber laying and superb evenness even for nonwovens with low running meter weights. Furthermore, it permits the homogeneous mixing of the most diverse raw materials, including pulp, short- and long-staple natural and manmade fibers (up to 20 mm) and powders, as well as the utilization and combination of the most diverse mechanical, thermal and chemical tangling methods for creating the requisite product properties.

Oerlikon Nonwoven’s airlaid technology is also perfectly suited to expanding typical spunlace systems in order to add a cellulose layer to the product that, for example, improves the water absorbency of wipes using a low-cost and biodegradable raw material.

QSR: attractive spunmelt systems for the hygiene and medical market

For manufacturing hygiene and medical nonwovens, the QSR (Quality Sized Right) technology offers a financially-attractive solution for producing these highly-diverse spunbond and meltblown composites (SSMMS, SMMS, SSS, etc.) in accordance with globally-accepted standards. As a result of intensive collaborations and partnerships, close-knit quality assurance measures and extensive interaction with its technology partners, Oerlikon Nonwoven is able to equip this type of system with unique features that enable producers to distinguish themselves within their respective markets with special nonwoven properties such as higher volumes, softness and customer-specific embossed patterns, for example.

Filtration: leading meltblown competences from Neumünster

Unique and highly-sophisticated nonwovens for filtration, insulation and sorption applications can be simply and efficiently manufactured thanks to Oerlikon Nonwoven’s meltblown technology. The polymers used to produce the filter media and membranes are as diverse as their field of applications. The spectrum ranges from classical polyolefins (PP, PE), PET, PLA, PBT and PA all the way through to special plastics such as PPS and TPU. All these, and other raw materials, can be reliably processed using the Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology. Filter media can be efficiently electrostatically charged with the ecuTEC+ electro-charging unit developed by Oerlikon Nonwoven for increasing the filtration performance of meltblown media without reducing air permeability. It distinguishes itself from other concepts currently available on the market as a result of its extreme flexibility. Users can choose from numerous possible variations and hence set the optimum charge intensity for their respective filter applications. However, ecuTEC only represents the beginning of an era of new charging and treatment systems available from Oerlikon Nonwoven for further increasing media filtration performance and product diversity.

Comprehensive spunbond portfolio – always the right solution

For industrial nonwovens, Oerlikon Nonwoven systems are capable of high production capacities and yields with simultaneously low energy consumption. To this end, geotextiles made from polypropylene or polyester can be efficiently manufactured with running meter weights of up to 400 g/m2 and filament titers of up to 9 dtex, for example. And Oerlikon Nonwoven also offers specialized spunbond processes for producing nonwoven substrates for roofing underlays (PP or PET spunbonds) and so-called bitumen roofing substrates (needled PET spunbonds) for bitumen roofing membranes.

Furthermore, spunbond products are also becoming increasingly important in filtration applications – both as backing materials for filter media and as the filter media themselves. A flexible nonwoven structure permits the inclusion of customer-specific requirements for various functions. It is Oerlikon Nonwoven’s many years of core-sheath bi-component experience in particular that enable the creation of completely new nonwoven structures and hence the incorporation of various functions in a single material. The core-sheath bi-component spinning process permits various combined fiber cross-sections and also simultaneously different fibers to be produced from a single or different polymers.  The spectrum ranges from core-sheath and side-by-side bi-component filaments, splitable fibers all the way through to so-called mixed fibers.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: Oerlikon

Baldwin Partners With Blutec S.A. de C.V. To Serve Mexico’s Textile Industry

ST. LOUIS — February 9, 2022 — Baldwin Technology Co. Inc. has forged a new partnership with Blutec S.A. de C.V., which now represents Baldwin’s full range of innovative spray systems and corona/plasma treaters for wovens, knits and nonwovens in Mexico.

Blutec is a leading agency in the textile sector, representing many of the most reputable textile machinery manufacturers worldwide. Present in the Mexican market for more than 25 years, Blutec is committed to collaborating with companies on the forefront of textile manufacturing technology, including Brückner, Mahlo, EFI Reggiani, Ferraro and, now, Baldwin.

“We are pleased to partner with Blutec in Mexico,” said Rick Stanford, Baldwin’s vice president of Global Business Development for textiles. “We find that this organization has an excellent reputation in the Mexican textile industry, with a portfolio of machinery principals that provides excellent synergy for Baldwin and our product lines. We’re extremely excited to be onboard.”

Added Daniele Uslenghi, Blutec’s general manager: “The textile industry in Mexico is looking for solutions to help reduce manufacturing costs. Baldwin’s precision spray technology provides savings in energy, water and chemistry.”

Baldwin’s precision spray systems for finishing and remoistening use non-contact spray technology to provide optimal controlled coverage of the exact amount of liquids needed to achieve the specific characteristics of the fabric — saving customers time, money and valuable resources. Because only the required amounts of water and chemicals are applied, water consumption can be reduced by up to 50 percent, contributing to considerably improved productivity in the finishing process.

In addition, these solutions can process a wide range of low-viscosity water-based chemicals — such as softeners, antimicrobial agents, durable water repellents, flame retardants and more — for woven fabrics, knitted textiles and nonwovens.

Posted: February 10, 2022

Source: Baldwin Technology Company Inc.

3M™ Thinsulate™ Xerogel Insulation Wins ISPO Textrends Top Ten Award

ST. PAUL, Minn. — February 9, 2022 — 3M announced its latest performance product, 3M™ Thinsulate™ Xerogel Insulation, has won an ISPO Textrends 2023/24 Top Ten Award. The prestigious award recognizes the latest textile-based innovations for sports and outdoor apparel.

Launched in November 2021, 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation is a xerogel-based insulation designed primarily for boots and gloves. Xerogel is an ultralight solid that’s nearly 99-percent air, and due to its porous structure, it can inhibit air circulation, making it a natural thermal insulator. In fact, it retains warmth even under compression. This insulation also highlights 3M’s ongoing commitment to sustainable solutions, as it’s comprised of 60-percent recycled fibers.

Furthermore, 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation is proven to be 20 times more breathable and almost twice as warm as legacy 3M Thinsulate Insulation products designed for footwear.

The ISPO Textrends 2023/24 Top Ten Award was recently presented by ISPO, the leading platform for global sports and outdoor brands. An international jury of textile and sporting experts assessed a wide range of new textile-based products before deeming 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation as a top ten innovation from everything they reviewed.

Given the time required to implement new textiles into upcoming apparel lines, the ISPO Textrends 2023/24 Top Ten Award recognizes 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation as a hot trend expected for the Fall and Winter lines released throughout 2023 and 2024.

“The sell-cycle is around 18 months and it’s important that the textile apparel industry and organizations like ISPO continue to push and challenge ahead of each cycle to bring more innovation to the market,” said Mike Mandanas, global R&D director. “ISPO is excellent when it comes to spotting the products that are going to make an impact on the market, and we’re truly honored they recognized the potential of 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation to revolutionize performance apparel and footwear.”

The development of 3M Thinsulate Xerogel Insulation falls into 3M’s wider sustainability initiatives. Today, 3M’s global headquarters is powered by 100-percent renewable electricity, with an aim of achieving 50-percent renewable electricity in all company locations by 2025. In 2021, 3M announced it’s pledging $1 billion over 20 years to accelerate environmental goals, including reducing water usage, minimizing dependence on virgin fossil-based plastics, and achieving carbon neutrality across its operations.

To date, 3M ThinsulateXerogel Insulation has met the strict sustainability standards for textiles set forth by bluesign®, OEKO-TEX®, and The Global Recycled Standard.

Posted: February 9, 2022

Source: 3M

NRF: Congested Retail Ports To See Welcome Break From Rapid Import Growth During First Half Of 2022

WASHINGTON — February 9, 2022 — Imports at the nation’s congested container ports are expected to grow modestly during the first half of 2022, but continued high volumes will keep up pressure that built as the economy bounced back from the pandemic last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“We’re not going to see the dramatic growth in imports we saw this time last year, but the fact that volumes aren’t falling is a clear sign of continued consumer demand,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Last year set a new bar for imports, and the numbers remain high as consumers continue to spend despite COVID-19 and inflation. The slowdown in cargo growth will be welcome as the supply chain continues to try to adapt to these elevated volumes. Unfortunately, many experts expect ongoing disruptions throughout 2022 for a variety of reasons.”

Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said congestion remains on both coasts and the Port of Los Angeles alone has around 40 ships waiting to dock. As more ships arrive each day and delays mean some cargo won’t get unloaded until the following month, shifts in import patterns could be difficult to follow for the next few months.

“With Lunar New Year factory closings in Asia this month and the consequent drop in export production, North American terminals will have an opportunity to reduce existing congestion,” Hackett said. “Nonetheless, backups cannot be erased quickly as long as terminals continue to face a lack of space brought on by the supply chain’s inability to efficiently transfer cargo out of the terminals to its end destinations. A shortage of equipment, worker availability and storage space at distribution centers and warehouses across the country remains problematic, as does the export of empty containers back to Asia.”

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker are expected to handle 13 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units – one 20-foot container or its equivalent – during the first half of 2022, up 1.5 percent over the 12.8 million TEU handled during the same period in 2021. By contrast, the first half of 2021 saw a record 35.7 percent increase over the unusually slow first six months of 2020, when many Asian factories and U.S. stores were shut down because of the pandemic.

The ports handled 2.09 million TEU in December 2021, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 1.2 percent from November and down 1 percent year-over-year. Imports for all of 2021 totaled 25.8 million TEU, a 17.4 percent increase over 2020’s record high of 22 million TEU that was set despite the pandemic.

Ports have not yet reported January numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.15 million TEU, up 4.4 percent year-over-year. February is forecast at 2.04 million TEU, up 8.7 percent; March at 2.12 million TEU, down 6.7 percent; April at 2.19 million TEU, up 2 percent; May at 2.27 million TEU, down 2.6 percent, and June at 2.26 million TEU, up 5.2 percent.

How to build a stronger and more sustainable supply chain will be addressed as retailers, industry experts and technology innovators meet at the NRF Supply Chain 360 conference in Cleveland in June.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at NRF.com/PortTracker. Subscription information for non-members can be found at www.globalporttracker.com.

Posted: February 9, 2022

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

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