COLUMBUS, Ohio — March 10, 2021 — As part of its broader investment plan to drive innovation and growth in its specialty product lines, Hexion Inc. intends to expand its Portland, Ore., manufacturing site. The company is beginning the permitting stages of a second automated manufacturing line to support its recently-launched ArmorBuilt fire-resistant wrap, a new product which greatly improves fire protection when applied to a substrate, such as wood utility poles. The first automated production line will come online at the end of the first quarter of 2021 and the second automated line is expected to start up around year-end 2021.
ArmorBuilt wrap is a proprietary wrap from Hexion that can be applied to either new or existing wood utility poles. Hexion has been providing high-performing adhesives for decades and has leveraged its expertise to develop a fire-retardant coating for more sustainable wooden utility poles that greatly improves their fire resistance. ArmorBuilt wrap has passed an industry approved wildfire simulation burn test for fire resistance.
“Our ArmorBuilt fire resistant wrap has been extremely well received by the utilities industry,” said Scott McIntyre, North American business director, Performance Adhesives. “The additional automated capacity will enable us to meet the strong demand for this fire-resistant mesh wrap that leverages Hexion’s innovative resin technology and ultimately helps mitigate the devastating impact of wildfires by protecting the critical utility infrastructure. Targeted investments like these, in partnership with our customers, are a key part of our global growth strategy that the company continues to execute against going forward.”
Hexion is working closely with one of the largest wood pole producers in North America to make ArmorBuilt wrap the specified solution for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to protect its utility pole infrastructure in wildfire prone areas. Hexion also continues to strategically expand its manufacturing capabilities for other adhesive applications around the globe, such as the expansion of its Brimbank, Australia, site.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — March 10, 2021 — Elevate Textiles is pleased to announce that it has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay® Transport Partnership as part of the company’s continued efforts to promote and further sustainability throughout its supply chain operations and in support of its portfolio brands American & Efird (A&E), Burlington, Cone Denim, Gütermann and Safety Components.
The Smartway Transport Partnership is an innovative, market-based collaboration between the EPA and industry designed to reduce carbon emissions in the freight transportation sector. The Partnership includes more than 3,000 members including manufacturers, freight shippers and freight logistics companies that share a commitment to assessing and improving the environmental and energy efficiency of moving goods across the United States.
“We are very pleased to join the efforts of the Smartway Partnership and actively participate in identifying ways to reduce our carbon emissions in the transportation of our fabric and thread products,” said Jimmy Summers, chief sustainability officer for Elevate. “Across our brands, we are committed to being a market leader and responsible manufacturer, and that includes the transportation of our goods through our own private fleet and outsourced resources. The actions of the Smartway Partnership very much align to Elevate’s goal to achieve an annual trajectory of 2.5-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.”
Developed jointly in early 2003 by the EPA and Charter Partners represented by industry stakeholders, environmental groups, American Trucking Associations, and Business for Social Responsibility, the Smartway innovative program was launched in 2004. Partners rely upon SmartWay tools and approaches to track and reduce emissions and fuel use from the movement of goods. Elevate is proud to be among the first textile manufacturers to join the Partnership and furthering its goals. The Partnership’s fuel savings to date are equivalent to eliminating annual energy use in over 20 million homes.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — March 10, 2021 — Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. has doubled its planned production volumes of its recombinant spider silk for the month of March.
Following the successful delivery of its first sample production run from its factory in Vietnam, the company has further accelerated its expansion by doubling planned near-term silk output. To support this expansion, the company has outlined plans to more than double the staff at its Prodigy Textiles subsidiary.
The silk resulting from this month’s operations is expected to begin filling existing material requests and contract deliverables to M the Movement, PL Kings. The company is actively working now to develop the first line of apparel based on the unique properties of spider silk.
“Last month our team at Prodigy Textiles set the stage with the delivery of the first production samples of our recombinant spider silk. This month that team is delivering on the promise of a cost-effective and commercially scalable spider silk production system,” said COO Jon Rice. “I am very excited for the opportunities ahead for Kraig as we prepare to bring our spider silk to market.”
The company seized the opportunity to expand near-term production of its eco-friendly spider silk when it was able to secure additional production inputs.
BIELLA, Italy — March 10, 2021 — The recovery of the Italian textile-clothing system? In 2022 according to Gianfranco Di Natale, general manager of Sistema Moda Italia and director of Confindustria Moda, as reported in Episode 3 of “Con le mani”, the series of meetings organized by Filo with some important testimonials from the textile world.
In the interview, Filo has asked Gianfranco Di Natale about the economic situation of the Italian textile-clothing sector and the key-role played by the Made in Italy supply chain.
During his interview Di Natale says that, according to SMI and Confindustria Moda forecasts, it will be possible to speak of a real recovery starting from 2022.
As for sustainability and treacebility, Di Natale underlined: “Many of our companies are already sustainable. The path to sustainability started several years ago.”
The first two interviews of the cycle “Con le mani” hosted Franco Ferraris, CEO of Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna, and Paolo Monfermoso, general manager of Filo.
The 56th edition of Filo will take place on the September 29-30, 2021 at MiCo – Milan.
In 2017, a prominent global apparel manufacturer began upgrading its double-pad chemical application system to Baldwin’s revolutionary TexCoat technology, which applies softener and antimicrobial chemicals to fabrics during the finishing process. The TexCoat system uses precision spray technology instead of padding or soaking/bath methods to evenly apply finishing chemicals.
Baldwin’s “non-contact” method of applying liquids to surfaces is highly efficient and eco-friendly because the minimum required amount of chemicals can be used. It also ensures zero contact between the fabric and the chemistry that is sprayed, eliminating contamination of finishing chemicals by the fabric. When the fabric color changes, the TexCoat system removes the need to drain the chemical pad/foulard, along with the associated downtime and environmental impact from finishing chemical waste.
Agion® Antimicrobial controlled-release zeolite.
In 2018, during its upgrade to Baldwin’s TexCoat, the apparel manufacturer made the decision to switch from its previous odor control chemical supplier to Sciessent’s Agion antimicrobial for improved odor-control performance of its finished garments. Agion is the “smartest” antimicrobial in the industry, only activating when it needs to defend against microbes. This innovative approach provides the longest lasting protection, combatting odor-causing bacteria for an unprecedented durability of up to 100 washes.
Sciessent’s Agion antimicrobial is customizable to meet performance and cost goals and can be applied via spray, padding, exhaust or package yarn. Agion’s safety has been demonstrated across its wide range on applications in everything from textiles and apparel to water devices, medical devices, surfaces, and more. The technology is Oeko-tex certified, bluesign® approved and listed on the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Foundation ZDHC Gateway.
Because this level of change — both antimicrobial solution and spray technology — had a significant impact on the manufacturing process, the Baldwin and Sciessent teams were tasked with verifying the successful application of Agion by TexCoat before the apparel manufacturer completed its transition from its legacy double-pad application technology.
Solution
Sciessent Technical Director Ken Johnson and Baldwin Head of Precision Spray R&D Wesley Clements traveled to the apparel manufacturer’s mill to conduct planned trials to verify that the Agion antimicrobial agent could be sprayed successfully by TexCoat and that, once proven, the results would be seamlessly replicated when rolled out to all 19 TexCoat systems in the manufacturer’s finishing department.
The apparel giant’s vertical mill in the Caribbean offered a prime opportunity to verify the stability of Agion running together with softener mixes on the lines upgraded by TexCoat. Production interruption was not an option so together with the mill technical leader, Sciessent and Baldwin carefully planned the validation trials.
The TexCoat system automates chemical changeover including the cleaning sequence between chemicals. The system is flushed with hot water and the new recipe is loaded. This all happens seamlessly with the new recipe selected by a barcode reader that scans the barcode on the work order.
Ken Johnson, Technical Director, Sciessent
A key part of the validation exercise was to verify the completeness of cleaning and refine chemical changeover sequences between chemical recipes, some of which are incompatible with one another.
The validation team perfected the chemical change sequences which reliably and automatically complete up to 40 chemical changes per line day after day.
The TexCoat system immediately demonstrated its consistent application rates of chemical finishing enabled by its metering valve technology. Agion and TexCoat performed stably and repeatably during the week-long ramp up, monitoring and training period.
“The application rate was extremely consistent from the first yard to the last yard and from batch to batch,” Johnson explained. “Agion enhances the value of the customer product, so with TexCoat we saw that very repeatable pickup ensures equal effectiveness of the antimicrobial yard after yard and batch to batch at 90 yds/min. Furthermore, the TexCoat system wasted no chemistry during color changes. This is an incredible benefit compared to either conventional padding or exhaust.”
“Sciessent was a very open and transparent partner and we were very pleased with the level of pretesting carried out by Sciessent ahead of the trials,” Clements commented. “Agion performs well in the TexCoat system, has zero issue with foaming and works with a wide range of softeners.”
Results
Converting to Baldwin’s TexCoat to apply Sciessent’s Agion antimicrobial odor control technology to tubular knitted Jersey fabric on a big scale at the high-volume mill in the Caribbean checked all the boxes for the manufacturer by providing an economical and sustainable process, which eliminated waste, while boosting quality, odor performance and productivity.
Wesley Clements, Head of Precision Spray R&D, Baldwin Technology
Clements and Johnson emphasized that gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s goals from the beginning, close collaboration, and Baldwin’s and Sciessent’s shared unwavering commitment to providing the highest level of service has ensured the enduring success of their first joint solution.
“Two years later, this combination continues to perform stably and applies 100 percent of the antimicrobial and softener mixes used by the mill,” Clements said. “It delivers to the manufacturer consistent quality with minimal chemical waste.”
As they celebrate the milestone marking the success of the first union of their respective leading-edge technology and chemistry, Baldwin and Sciessent plan to seek future opportunities to leverage their combined expertise to deliver turnkey, customized solutions to other textile manufacturers.
NEW YORK CITY — March 9, 2021 — Chargeurs*PCC Fashion Technologies today announced a new brand identity — Sustainable 360™ — for its permanent line of interlinings launched just over a year ago as the Sustainable 50 collection. The new name marks the collection’s evolution into a stand-alone brand and reflects Chargeurs’ full-circle commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The company also announced that Sustainable 360 will include innovative new performance interlinings and linings, such as those made with Lainiere Performance Silver for antimicrobial and anti-odor protection.
The Sustainable 360 product line is the first complete collection of both interlinings and inner components such as shoulder pads, canvas chest pieces and undercollar felt made with eco-responsible materials, including BCI cotton, GRS-certified recycled polyester, hemp and recycled plastics. Since its launch, the collection has seen widespread adoption by leading brands that include Adidas, J.Crew, Claudie Pierlot, Macy’s, Maje, Madewell, PVH, Target and Uniqlo. Banana Republic Men’s and Itochu are among the Chargeurs*PCC customers that have committed to creating whole ranges using Sustainable 360 interlinings exclusively in their products.
“Our sustainable collection has seen phenomenal growth since launching a year ago and based on that success, we designed the new Sustainable 360 brand identity to identify this as a permanent collection and more clearly convey to the market the breadth and benefits of our offering,” said Audrey Petit, managing director of Chargeurs*PCC Fashion Technologies. “The name better illustrates what sets us apart from our competition — our complete commitment to corporate social responsibility, which goes far beyond just using recycled and sustainable materials.”
Chargeurs*PCC has rolled out a series of innovations since initially launching its sustainable interlining collection, including manufacturing a line of circular-knit interlining products using an innovative, process patented by partner mill Weemeet that requires no water. The company is also creating coatings for products using recycled polyvinyl butyral (PVB), which is commonly used as a safety layer inside auto and building glass and then landfilled. At launch, the Chargeurs*PCC sustainable collection offered 50 items, but the range has now expanded to include more than 250 articles. In addition, the company can now sustainably manufacture any base material in its catalog of thousands of products, including nylon, polyester and cotton.
“Our brand is committed to producing clothing with as close to 100% sustainable materials as possible,” said Tim Reid, head of Brand at State of Matter, owned by Itochu Prominent. “The Sustainable 360 line allows us to source high-quality, sustainable inner components backed by a complete CSR program. Chargeurs*PCC’s full-circle commitment is right in line with our mission to lead the industry into new best practices in sustainability.”
Chargeurs*PCC is holistically committed to sustainability and is the only supplier in its market segment to have both signed the UN Global Compact and performed Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audits (SMETAs) on its facilities as well as those of its suppliers. The audits cover all aspects of responsible business practice across Sedex’s four pillars of labor, health and safety, environment, and business ethics.
In late 2020, Chargeurs Group received its first sustainability-linked Euro private placement loan. The 100 million euro bond underlines the deep commitment of the group to corporate social responsibility and will enable the group to deploy its investment strategy and roll out the Leap Forward 2025 program.
MUNICH — March 10, 2021 — WACKER is to raise prices for its entire silicones product range. The price increases vary between 10 and 20 percent and will be effective for material shipped from April onwards, as customer contracts allow. Additional volume requests outside of agreed ranges are also subject to the new price setting. The measure has been necessitated by the increase in strategic raw material costs, rising costs for support- and packaging materials and multiple corona pandemic measures in order to improve the service of Wacker Silicones.
Wacker’s complete silicones portfolio, including silicone fluids, silicone emulsions, silicone rubber, silicone resins, silanes, silane-terminated polymers and HDK® pyrogenic silica, is subject to the price adjustment. With this, Wacker Silicones will continue to strongly invest in innovation, support global asset development and strive to achieve high customer service levels.
JYVÄSKYLÄ, Finland — March 10, 2021 — Spinnova has appointed Ben Selby as its new CFO effective March 8, 2021. Selby is a senior leader with more than 15 years of finance, investment banking and investor relations experience, and a dealmaker with more than 50 billion euro capital raising experience.
“I’m very excited to join the producer of the world’s most sustainable textile materials at a critical phase of its expansion and commercial scaling,” Selby said. “I look forward to contributing to the further growth and development of Spinnova, as it works to achieve its vision to be the preferred partner for textile brands globally in natural, sustainable textile materials.”
Prior to joining Spinnova, he has held vice president of Investor Relations and Treasury and Head of Investor Relations positions at the Finnish cloud software company Basware (BAS1V at Nasdaq Helsinki) since 2016. Selby’s previous, 10-year career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch included extensive financing and capital raising experience. Selby holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Spinnova’s current CFO Petri Poranen will take up the COO position to support Spinnova’s ongoing industrial scaling. Spinnova recently announced that it is building a commercial factory for producing its sustainable, wood-based materials, operated by a new joint venture company owned by Spinnova and its partner and investor, Suzano. The total investment will be approximately 50 million euros. The new facility will be built in Jyväskylä, Finland, close to Spinnova’s R&D hub.
“To speed up our further growth and production scaling, we are now actively exploring multiple financing alternatives. It’s great to have Ben on the team, to ensure both professional financing operations, as well as current and future investor relations,” said Spinnova’s CEO and co-founder Janne Poranen.
Spinnova has recruited seven people during this year, and is in the process of recruiting more, as it prepares for scaling its operations. Spinnova currently employs 46 people.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — March 10, 2021 — TRSA, in consultation with its Supplier Partner Council, will host a live virtual Innovation Showcase & Exchange, June 14-18, 2021. The showcase will allow TRSA’s supplier partners to present their company’s innovative products and solutions to TRSA’s operator members responsible for supplying, laundering and maintaining nearly 90 percent of the $40-billion North American linen, uniform and facility services industry. Like previous TRSA Exchanges, participants will have the ability to schedule follow-up meetings later in the week.
Following recent Exchanges, both operators and supplier partners were pleased with the time and resources invested. Jim Vaudreuil, president & CEO, Huebsch Services was pleased to report on “several new improvement projects in motion as result of the meetings.” Supplier partner executive Scott Delin, vice president of healthcare sales, Superior Group of Companies, found the Exchange sessions to be very productive. “They gave us a chance to meet one on one with laundry operators we currently do very little, if any business with, at all,” Delin said. “The time allotted for each meeting allowed us to learn more about their needs and how we as a supplier can help them grow their business and partner with them going forward.”
Participating member supplier partners will have the opportunity to provide a five-minute, pre-recorded session on Monday and Tuesday (video or presentation) followed by scheduled 15-minute meetings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday including products and services from these categories:
Uniforms/Workwear/PPE, including healthcare garments (gowns/scrubs/PPE);
Vehicles;
Washer Extractors/Wash Aisle; and
Water Treatment, Reuse and Recycling.
TRSA operator members will register to view the various sessions on June 14-15, then participate in the Exchange, 15-minute pre-scheduled meetings with supplier partners that allow for personalized preparation and solutions-based discussions Wednesday, June 16, through Friday, June 18. Following the event, all supplier partner presentations will be available for viewing in TRSA’s On-Demand Learning Center.
Registration for supplier partners is open now through April 2; registration for operator members will open on April 2. Additional details about the TRSA Innovation Showcase & Exchange can be viewed on the TRSA website at www.trsa.org/innovationshowcase.
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — March 10, 2021 — Today, Shawmut Corp., together with its primary N95 mask production investor, The Fallon Co., announced the launch of its NIOSH-approved Protex™ N95 mask with the patent-pending Protex™ ADC™ all-day-comfort system for prolonged use. Production lines are now operating, with a goal of creating up to 10 million masks per month by year-end to meet continued demand for domestically produced PPE. The company also announced a multi-year distribution contract for its N95 masks with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. representing one of many early orders for the Protex™ N95 particulate respirator.
Shawmut’s new domestic N95 manufacturing operation is based at the company’s West Bridgewater, Mass., headquarters and was created through a purpose-driven partnership with The Fallon Co. and supported by a grant from Massachusetts’s Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT), a program created to support in-state manufacturing of critical PPE items, including N95 masks, protective gowns, hand sanitizer, and ventilators. The new manufacturing facility, which went from concept to production in six months, is expected to create as many as 300 new jobs in Massachusetts.
“As we continue to navigate the pandemic, ensuring a robust local supply of masks and other personal protective equipment will be critical to our ability to defeat the virus and work toward recovery,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Our administration was proud to stand up the MERT Program to help manufacturers pivot their operations to produce key materials in response to COVID-19, and we look forward to continuing to work with innovative companies like Shawmut Corporation and The Fallon Company to keep residents safe and strengthen our economy.”
“The MERT Program is an important part of our administration’s response to COVID-19, helping local companies produce millions of pieces of personal protective equipment right here in Massachusetts,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We are grateful to Shawmut Corporation, The Fallon Company and all MERT participants for their partnership to stand up a strong supply chain of PPE and other materials in our Commonwealth.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put an incredible strain on the country’s healthcare system, and the overreliance on overseas PPE has led to continued shortages and massive counterfeiting of these critical products,” said majority investor Joseph Fallon, CEO, The Fallon Co. “We partnered with Shawmut to rapidly bring our vision for Made-in-America PPE to reality and make sure we are never again in a position where we have to worry if we will have enough high-quality, domestically-produced PPE to keep people safe and healthy.”
Shawmut’s CEO James Wyner remarked: “Shawmut’s 100-plus-years of experience in advanced materials manufacturing makes us a natural fit as a long-term domestic PPE manufacturer. It’s an honor to play a role in helping solve the country’s N95 mask shortage. We put our materials innovation expertise to use to create an industry-leading N95 mask that offers superior quality and safety as well as all-day comfort. And because we are manufacturing our masks here in the US, we can continually monitor quality, ship to market faster, and deliver our customers a better product at a competitive price.”
As part of its US-made Protex N95 initiative, Shawmut retrofitted nearly 70,000 square feet of industrial space to accommodate production. Its N95 facilities include:
A multi-million-dollar investment of new equipment from Germany’s Reifenhäuser REICOFIL GmbH & Co, the world’s most advanced meltblown filter media production system, to produce its proprietary filter media in-house.
A fully automated and flexible molded-cup-mask production system which, despite being the most challenging type of N95 mask to manufacture, has proved to be critical in providing a unique combination of a secure fit and lasting comfort to broaden usage of the Protex N95 particulate respirator.
An onsite materials testing lab and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment that allows the team to test its products in-house and will help foster rapid development of future mask products.
“This is another example of how we are cross-collaborating with other industries to help keep our population safe,” said Lisa Witte, president, Fisher Scientific channel, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We are ready to get these N95 respirators into the hands of those who need them most.”
The New Protex Line of N95 Respirators
The Protex N95 Particulate Respirator Model SR9520 was skillfully engineered with comfort in mind. Determined to overcome user critiques that N95s are uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, Shawmut designed custom-engineered, thermoform molds with feedback from front line workers and other users, to achieve a better fitting mask that doesn’t provide excessive pressure on the face and skin. With the combined use of 3D scanning, in-house testing and rapid prototyping, Shawmut innovated its patent-pending Protex ADC all-day-comfort system that combines a uniquely soft but strong inner layer, incredibly lightweight but highly efficient and effective inner filtration layer, and high-sealing viscoelastic nose foam for a secure but comfortable seal. The result is an N95 mask performance with less air resistance, cooler and less stale air inside the mask for easier breathability, less eyeglass fogging, and less pressure on the face for all-day-comfort and wear.
The Protex N95 Particulate Respirator Model SR9520 offers a minimum of 95 percent filtration efficiency, meeting the government standard for N95s. The molded-cup-style respirator — preferred by most users for its performance — is made with Shawmut’s proprietary high-efficiency, bi-layer, meltblown filtration material offering a comfortable fit for extended wear. Due to its lightweight, inner filtration layer, developed using Shawmut’s advanced material expertise, the Protex N95 respirator is lighter and more breathable than others on the market.
Additional features of the Protex N95 Particulate Respirator Model SR9520 include:
A soft, professional-looking outer protective layer;
Integrated nose foam and adjustable clip system; and
Engineered elastic head straps with an expanded force curve to fit a wider range of face and head sizes.
