FIBERS, FILAMENTS & PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
ifj.com Issue 1 2024
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INDIA Indorama India Focuses on Expansion Effort with Spandex TECHNOLOGY Smartex offers AI for Quality Control to Advance Traditional Textile Manufacturing ADVANCED TEXTILES Space, Wearables and Medical Markets Dominate
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CONTENTS 2024 | VOL 38 | ISSUE 01
FEATURES
9 Solution Center: Fi-Tech 10
Showcasing solutions for success
CEO Q&A: Get Smart
Gilberto Loureiro, Smartex, on Engaging AI in Textile Quality Control
14
By Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer & Publisher, IFJ
EXECUTIVE Q&A: Expanding Spandex in India
Shalendra Vasudeva, Chief Marketing Officer, Indorama India Pvt. Ltd., India By Arun Rao
18 21 10 24 28 32 34
Just in Time
By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent, IFJ
Redefining Textile Waste Sorting
By Samanta Fruci, Anna Pehrsson and Gesine Köppe
Advanced Textiles Prove the Sky is the Limit By Marie O’Mahony
Space Sportswear By Marie O’Mahony
Hygienix 2023 Reveals An Industry in Flux 2024 Show Previews:
Cellulose Fibres Conference By Geoff Fisher, European Editor, IFJ
Caryn Smith
JEC World Techtextil Frankfurt ANEX
21 28
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
6 Viewpoint
Is My Job on The Line? By Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer & Publisher, IFJ
7 Tech Spotlight
BASF and Inditex Make a Breakthrough in Textile-to-Textile Recycling with loopamid
Tech Notes
8 Movers & Shakers 39
New Technology Briefs
24 2 IFJ ISSUE 1 2024
Industry News and Notes
CONTRIBUTORS | ISSUE 1 2024
Arun Rao
Adrian Wilson
Samanta Fruci s.fruci@texaid.com
csmith@inda.org +1 239.225.6137
arun@tauruscomm.net
adawilson@gmail.com +44 7897.913134
Anna Pehrsson
Gesine Köppe
Marie O’Mahony
Geoff Fisher
a.pehrsson@texaid.com
g.koppe@ita-academy.de
marie.consultant@gmail.com
gfisher@textilemedia.com +44 1603.308158
Caryn Smith
Chief Content Officer & Publisher, INDA Media
Recycling Solutions Lead, TEXAID AG
India Correspondent, IFJ Owner, Taurus Communications
Member of managing board, ITA Academy GmbH
International Correspondent, IFJ
Feature Writer, IFJ Visiting Professor, RCA, London
Marketing, TEXAID AG
European Editor, IFJ
CALL FOR EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS If you have an interest to be more involved in International Fiber Journal as an IFJ Editorial Advisory Board Member, we are accepting applications for the opportunity to work with subject matter development, industry experts and professionals in an enhanced capacity. Please contact Caryn Smith at CSmith@inda.org to receive IFJ Guidelines and Expectations of Service. This is a unique opportunity to help inform, educate and inspire the global textile fiber industry.
2024 CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS International Fiber Journal is actively seeking contributed technical and thought leadership articles from qualified industry professionals and those allied to the fiber industry. If you would like to pitch an article for publication in IFJ, please contact Caryn Smith at CSmith@inda.org or +1 239.225.6137. Inquire to receive a listing of this year’s issue topics.
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4 IFJ ISSUE 1 2024
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VIEWPOINT
Is My Job on The Line?
CONTENT | EDITORIAL
“I know a lot about artificial intelligence, but not as much as it knows about me.” – Dave Waters have officially crossed the age barrier into “can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” There is a technological storm brewing that I am afraid I may not be able to grasp in the future. Soon, I will be the person who has to call in reenforcements – my kids. Until my father passed away at 93, I was his ‘IT guy,’ fixing the oddest of technological issues he had. One day he called to say, “My margins in Word are gone, come over and help me find them.” I found he had the document in “draft” mode. This issue delves into various technological opportunities and challenges in the textile industry. It is a slow moving train to adapt AI, automation, robotics, apps, and more to this traditional industry. More machine-driven textile production that are shoe-ins, like advanced textiles, are even having issues on-boarding tech, but are still more apt to adopt automation. Adrian Wilson explores “Just in Time” automation on page 18. This generally means ‘predictive fulfilment,’ which encapsulates everything AI – from generative design tools for enhancing creativity and streamlining initial process steps to quality and wastage control in manufacturing. He reports on companies who are proving the value of AI in the industry. In Redefining Textile Waste Sorting, found on page 21, the ‘Transform Textile Waste into Feedstock’ project (initiated by TEXAID within the ReHubs initiative) conducted a technology assessment to identify the best available sorting techniques and processes for textile recycling, mainly in sensor-based parameter detection and digital product passports. The overall results identified key roadblocks: incomplete databases needed to run behind the technologies, and the inaccuracy and precision of the scanning. Their findings are very insightful.
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In my interview on page 10 with Gilberto Loureiro, CEO and founder of Smartex, we drilled down to specifics in the application of AI to quality control and production processes in very traditional textile factory environments. Smartex has spent the last five years developing ‘there has to be a better way’ tech solutions to enable textile manufacturers to automatically detect textile flaws, identify production problems, and see real-time data in automated applications – replacing slow and inaccurate manual labor methods. The company published, along with industry notables, “The Modern Textile Factory Report” ( find at www.smartex.ai/ the-modern-textile-factory-report-2023) to empower the industry with knowledge, and to influence mind sets to engage with technology. Smartex investors include Anthony Fadell, father of the iPod and iPhone. A company to watch, for sure. Also in this issue, Marie O’Mahony shares a review of the Advanced Textile Association’s EXPO 2023 on page 24. This year, space, wearables and medical market’s dominated, with many exhibitors (particularly e-textile) serving all three sectors. Her second feature on “Space Sportwear,” page 28, explores the influence of madefor-space textiles and what spacewear us earthlings can even wear! It is a great read. So, are traditional jobs on the line as technology takes over? Probably. It will become a matter of how humans are needed to manage the technology. As for my job, ChatGBT AI is pervasive in the editorial content creation world. Maybe my future replacement will be an app. Who knows!
Caryn Smith Chief Content Officer & Publisher, INDA Media, IFJ
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Caryn Smith Driven By Design LLC csmith@inda.org +1 239.225.6137
EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION MANAGER Ken Norberg ken@ifj.com +1 202.681.2022 ART DIRECTOR Julie Flynn EUROPEAN EDITOR Geoff Fisher INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, EUROPE Adrian Wilson
ADVERTISING | SALES PUBLISHER Driven By Design LLC advertising@inda.media +1 239.225.6137 BUYER’S GUIDE Joan Oakley CHINA Zhang Xiaohua EUROPE & INDIA Sabine Dussey ITALY Ferruccio & Filippo Silvera UNITED STATES Frank Strazzulla ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Vickie Smead vsmead@inda.org +1 919 459 3700 x 3720
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International Fiber Journal is published by INDA Media, the b2b publishing arm of INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. +1.919.459.3700 info@inda.media | www.inda.media INTERNATIONAL FIBER JOURNAL (ISSN: 1049801x) is published bi-monthly by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. Subscription price is $125 per year for non-U.S. subscribers. Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to International Fiber Journal PO Box 158 Cedar Rapids IA 52406-0158 USA.
MISSION
International Fiber Journal covers fiber-related trends and material science developments and how they impact the supply chain from raw material to end use. IFJ provides thoughtful insights and perspectives to global producers, users and business leaders who need to know about what’s next in fibers, filaments and processing solutions.
TECH SPOTLIGHT
BASF and Inditex Make a Breakthrough in Textile-to-Textile Recycling with loopamid The First Circular Nylon 6 Entirely Based on Textile Waste ASF and Inditex together announced a breakthrough in their efforts for boosting recyclability in the textile industry. With the launch of loopamid® – a polyamide 6 (PA6, also known as nylon 6) made from 100 percent textile waste – BASF is providing the first circular solution for nylon apparel made entirely from textile waste. Fashion company Zara has turned the material into a jacket made from 100 percent loopamid, available worldwide now. Following a “design for recycling” approach, all parts, including fabrics, buttons, filling, hook and loop and zipper are made from loopamid. With loopamid, BASF has developed an innovative solution to improve circularity in the fashion industry and recycle polyamide 6 textile waste. Due to its capability to tolerate all fabric mixtures like PA6 and elastane, the cutting-edge technology behind loopamid allows textile-to-textile recycling of postindustrial and post-consumer textile waste. The fibers and materials can be recycled over multiple cycles. At the same time, the material characteristics are identical to those of conventional virgin polyamide. “BASF has reached an important milestone towards circularity in the fashion industry and pioneered an approach to close the loop for nylon textiles,” said Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division. “Our loopamid has the potential to revolutionize the PA6 market for the better. We are in the process of scaling up our technology to serve our customers with commercial quantities. The capsule jacket together with Inditex is
B
BASF has developed loopamid, a recycled polyamide 6 made entirely from textile waste. Inditex has turned the material into a capsule jacket. Inditex
the proof that circularity is possible, and we are eager to further drive the sustainable transformation of the textile industry.” Spanish multinational clothing company Inditex has partnered with other leading groups in the clothing manufacturing industry to seamlessly integrate loopamid into various garment components, including fabrics, zippers, buttons, fillings, hook and loop fasteners, and sewing threads. • ModaRe, a take-back program operated by the charity organization Caritas, classified, sorted and provided discarded textiles as feedstock. • The Italian company RadiciGroup has been working in the process of transforming loopamid polymer into various types of yarn with different characteristics. • The multinational Japanese fastening products company YKK and multinational Velcro companies have also played crucial roles in utilizing loopamid polymer to create plastic components for zippers and snap buttons, and hook and loop fasteners. • Uniter from Spain, Tessitura Vignetta from Italy and Freudenberg and Gütermann from Germany have also participated in this project to develop other garment components such as inner labels, filling materials and sewing threads using loopamid. Javier Losada, Inditex’s Chief Sustainability Officer, added, “Driving innovation is key to advancing towards a more responsible industry. This collaboration is a great example of how, by collaborating all together, we can
use the new technology to transform textile waste into a new resource. This project is also a first step to move towards a circular solution, as the industry still needs to boost new collecting and recycling capacities in order to close the loop and scale recycling for post-consumer waste.” The collaboration of BASF and Inditex is based on a joint journey – both companies are following ambitious sustainability goals. By the year 2030, BASF aims to double its sales generated with solutions for the circular economy to €17 billion. To achieve this, the company is concentrating on three action areas: circular feedstocks, new material cycles and new business models. Inditex aims to have 100% of its textile products to be made exclusively from materials with a smaller environmental footprint by 2030. As part of this commitment, the Group expects to have 25% of the textile fibers made from next-generation materials that do not yet exist at an industrial scale, 40% of conventional recycled materials and 25% of organic and regenerative fibers. Polyamide 6, commonly known as nylon 6, is a type of synthetic polymer that is widely used in various applications due to its excellent mechanical properties and versatility. BASF is one of the leading manufacturers of polyamide 6 and its precursors, with production sites in Europe, Asia and North America.
www.loopamid.com
For details on how to submit your company’s technology for consideration as a “Technology Spotlight” in IFJ, contact Ken Norberg at ken@ifj.com or +1 202.682.2022.
ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 7
TECH NOTES
Celanese and Under Armour Develop Innovative New NEOLAST™ Fiber for Use in Performance Stretch Fabrics Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials and chemical company, and Under Armour, Inc., a global leader and innovator in athletic apparel and footwear, have collaborated to develop a new fiber for performance stretch fabrics called NEOLAST™. The innovative material will offer the apparel industry a high-performing alternative to elastane – an elastic fiber that gives apparel stretch, commonly called spandex. This new alternative could unlock the potential for end users to recycle performance stretch fabrics, a legacy aspect that has yet to be solved in the pursuit of circular manufacturing with respect to stretch fabrics. NEOLAST™ fibers feature the powerful stretch, durability, comfort, and improved wicking expected from elite performance fabrics yet are also designed to begin addressing sustainability challenges associated with elastane, including recyclability. The fibers are produced using a proprietary solvent-free melt-extrusion process, eliminating potentially hazardous chemicals typically used to create stretch fabrics made with elastane. NEOLAST™ fibers will be produced using recyclable elastoester polymers, a critical first step for the industry to address the challenge of recycling blended fabrics containing elastane. As end users transition to a more circular economy, Celanese and Under Armour are exploring the potential of the fibers to improve the compatibility of stretch fabrics with future recycling systems and infrastructure. www.neolastfibers.com
HeiQ Unveils HeiQ Skin Care – a Probiotics-Infused Textile Technology HeiQ, a global leader in textile innovation, announced the launch of HeiQ Skin Care technology for next-to-skin apparel and home textiles. HeiQ introduces a revolutionary proprietary technology, 100% biobased and long-lasting cosmetic finishing technology for textiles to the market. The newest addition to the portfolio harnesses the power of active probiotics and selected prebiotics to enhance the skin microbiome, turning the human’s largest organ into the best-looking one. HeiQ Skin Care is a synbiotic textile finish aimed at providing a balanced microbiome for glowing skin, even after repeated use and washing of textiles. Unlike conventional products, HeiQ Skin Care utilizes slow-release prebiotics and probiotics seamlessly integrated into a biobased textile matrix, enriching the skin’s microbiome diversity, and offering long-lasting cosmetic benefits. The synergistic combination of prebiotics and probiotics, known as synbiotics, delivers a soothing cosmetic skin treatment while we relax, work, or sleep. Probiotics not only restore and improve the skin’s natural balance but also enhance its selfrepair capabilities. Synbiotics promote skin renewal, rebalancing, and improved appearance, reducing the signs of aging and establishing a favorable environment for the skin’s natural repair mechanisms.
www.heiq.com
TENCEL Lyocell Fibers as Alternative Material for Stretch Fabrics Lenzing Group, a leading global producer of wood-based specialty fibers, announced a new processing technique of TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibers tailored to create stretch fabrics that enhances comfort of the wearer. This solution offers a fossil-free alternative that delivers exceptional stretch and recovery properties while adhering to responsible production methods. Lenzing’s new processing technique involves re-engineering woven fabric composed of TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers coupled with a fabric pre-treatment. During the wet process, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers undergo
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significant swelling in diameter, leading to increased yarn crimps in the widthwise direction. This translates into a fabric that can stretch with enhanced recovery and does not shrink or wrinkle easily, maintaining a smooth appearance even after home laundering. To take a step further, Lenzing extends its comprehensive support at the fabric development level to mill partners. The stretch fabrics made using TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers meet the international standard for fabric stretch and recovery properties. The collaboration with Lenzing will enable mills and brands to unleash unlimited design possibilities while addressing
the growing consumer demand for comfortable apparel produced responsibly, particularly in sectors such as sportswear, athleisure garments, loungewear, and home textiles.
www.lenzing.com
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ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 9
CEO Q&A
GET SMART
Smartex is Engaging AI in Quality Control, Creating a Convergence of Technology, Mathematics and Production in the Modern Textile Factory By Caryn Smith
n a presentation at ITMA Milan 2023, Gilberto Loureiro, CEO and founder of Smartex, laid out a vision of possibilities for the modern textile factory. Legacy manual methods for quality control and production plague the industry with inefficiencies and waste. But, what if some of that manual labor and machinery was modified by technology? In an industry still relying on old school production methods, Smartex’s CEO presented a case for such a change, and it was compelling. Smartex technology empowers textile factories and brands towards a more efficient, sustainable future – decreasing textile waste, saving natural resources, troubleshooting quality control, and minimizing financial impacts surrounding customer complaints. Smartex offers three technology products: CORE, FACT and LOOP. CORE addresses production line quality control, inspecting every inch of fabric with precision and speed using artificial intelligence and machine learning. FACT is a real-time production tool where managers gain full control and visibility of textile operations. This is achieved through pre-determined metrics employed from production to inspection, which is accessible from a mobile or desktop device. LOOP works to resolve customers’ problems with tagging of textile rolls with QR codes during production to allow historical data to be accessed months later from the actual production time frame. The company has gained support of well-known technology investors and is recognized by the European Union for its efforts. International Fiber Journal caught
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Q+A IN THIS ISSUE:
GILBERTO LOUREIRO CEO and Founder, Smartex
up with Loureiro to see where the company is today, and how Smartex can revolutionize textile production. International Fiber Journal: What made you aware of the problem Smartex aims to solve? Gilberto Loureiro: We are at the intersection of technology, physics, computer science and mathematics with textiles, and these places don’t overlap too often. Because of that, there are not many startups or technologies in this industry. In my family, everyone works in textile and fashion industry factories. When I was a teenager, I worked with my family in their employer’s factory for extra money,
and I hated it. My job was fabric inspection on the production line – an exhausting, manual job. Looking back, it was fantastic to work in knitting mills, the garment manufacturers, and dye houses to see the whole process. I realized, well, this industry is massive; it moves billions and billions of items, and largely affects many lives. There are so many inefficiencies in quality, such as fabric inspection, internally and externally, which causes disruption and disagreements between suppliers and customers, and it is all still mainly documented with pen and paper. I saw that this was stressful and inefficient. With no desire to follow my family into textile work, I was very lucky to go to college – the first one in my family – to studying physics and finance. It was here I met co-founders Antonio Rocha, CTO and Head of Product and Paulo Ribeiro, VP of Engineering. Antonio was the electronics hardware guy and Paulo was the computer science guy. As we discussed my frustrations with the textile industry, ideas to bring technology to it became “aha” moments for us to pursue the idea to connect the tech and textile worlds. We looked at cameras, UV lights and infrared lights – technologies that we were studying in physics – to potentially apply to textile machines. That was how our ideas evolved. We decided early on to only address the quality control issues – detecting defects that could stop machines and production, including ways to avoid waste. Today, we are always stumbling into larger problems to solve. For instance, the traceability issue and the digital product
Caryn Smith
We are at the intersection of technology, physics, computer science and mathematics with textiles, and these places don’t overlap too often.
passport are the new hurdles. With our ongoing discoveries, Smartex continues to store knowledge to tackle issues. Currently, we are doing research and development on the digital product passport, helping factories to produce efficiency metrics, and the use of televisions and gamification for employees, and things like that. IFJ: You’re just out of college, and you all decided that you could solve this legacy textile industry problem. What gave you the confidence to move forward that you thought you could do it? Loureiro: Sometimes being a bit naive and ignorant helps some of these moves. We were talking with so many factories about the problems, everybody confirmed, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a big problem. We lose millions on that.’ Quality control, massive problem. Dyeing, huge problem. The textile industry is the largest in the world yet remains largely untouched by the internet. Before Smartex, most of our clients relied on pen and paper systems, and analog applications at best. In 2018-19, we had other jobs while developing our idea for Smartex. Then, we all decided to leave our jobs, leave Portugal and move to China because it was a hub place of activity, and in some ways still is, to build robots, hardware, cameras, drones, and electronics. We were super lucky to have our first investor, the HAX
Smartex FACT Roll Map.
program with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, and Shenzhen, China. They invite fund-backed companies to work in Shenzhen with their massive team of engineers – to help naive guys like us to build robots and hardware systems. So, that was the first step. In development, we came up against the real hindrances of the textile industry. For example, many of our clients don’t have internet at all, not even connectivity in the areas. So, we created a cloud-based solution, and so on. Many of our clients have very old machines that cannot incorporate technology solutions. Some don't even have electric connections near their mechanical machines. These are the challenges. We are more experienced after five years, and scaling worldwide. We are now in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Brazil, Portugal, and other countries.
Smartex
(we are present in 13 countries). Maybe if we knew the whole story back then, we wouldn’t have jumped in so fast. Thank God we did. IFJ: You were first backed by the San Francisco fund. Did you have other investors? Loureiro: Yes. We always have been humble. I guess that’s one of our superpowers. We know that we don’t know a bunch of things. So, we are constantly chasing experts who do. We have investors from the textile world. Some fashion brands have invested in us through Fashion for Good’s investment fund. Brands like Adidas, H&M, Indy Tags, and PVH Corp. invest in this fund to help startups. We have also the robotics hardware investors from Silicon Valley, and the machine learning and deep technology investors, also from Silicon Valley, and investors from Europe. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 11
Gilberto Loureiro, CEO and founder of Smartex laid out his vision for a smart production line at ITMA Milan. INSET: Smartex Loop heat press. Caryn Smith
Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of the largest VCs in the world, are investors. Anthony (Tony) Fadell, father of the iPod and iPhone, is a force multiplier as one of our largest shareholders. He is also one of my personal mentors. With input from these smart people, we fail less, but we still fail a lot. We are continuously looking for new investors because we know that if someone will change this industry, it will not be alone. We want to partner with machinery builders in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and with legislators and certification companies. We are open to collaboration. Being a very complex industry with a vast global supply chain, no one can solve this alone. Members at various ends of the supply chain do not often know each other. It is really something that makes this industry special, but also why I believe this industry will be probably the last one to be fully automated. And that’s one of our missions. IFJ: Tell us specifically about your company product offerings. Loureiro: We started the impossible; and it’s still not perfect. Yet, I believe if we started this company 10 years ago, it wouldn’t be possible at all. The first building block that is essential for Smartex tools to be effective is internet connectivity. We install routers, access points, cables, cameras and sensors, etc. Smartex CORE addresses the pain of defects and waste. It is technology that makes machinery “smart,” to combine the
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production and inspection processes, traditionally separate steps. Smartex FACT addresses the ability to go back in time once a product is shipped. If complaints come in after something has been received by a customer, there was no way to verify the problem existed in production. We create a set of computer screen platforms that record a machine’s productivity or worker performance in a previous time frame. We used to say, “your factory in your pocket.” The production manager wants to check who is the best worker, why is that machine stopped, why is that thing not being well-produced, why is there so much waste. This tool allows the production manager to get the answers through a computer screen. Our product Smartex LOOP communicates to the client the quality of the product that he receives. A LOOP QR code as a label on a textile roll – a super roll – is like quality control insurance. Anyone can scan it to see if the roll was fully inspected, with no surprises. Many times, the dye houses receive client calls about defects in shipped materials, causing fabric waste and credit notes, sometimes for millions of dollars. For many, one complaint means they need to work the next three months without any faults to cover that cost. IFJ: How long did it take to get a working model of Smartex CORE, FACT or LOOP? Loureiro: It took a few years to monetize, but we had working model installations in the first few months of the company, then
continuous refinement. Still today, we cannot say that everything we have done is perfect. Like other technologies, there is a constant evolution. We invested already more than $20 million in research and development in patents, discovery, and engineering, and we need to invest much more. We have five years of company life, 150 people, mostly software engineers, and still so much to be done. We focused on the main mission which was detecting defects in textile production. While others ask us to apply this technology to other parts of the industry, we prefer to be where we are, and make sure we kill it here. IFJ: Tell me about how you test your products and work with a client to install Smartex. Loureiro: Whenever we do product upgrades or new product tests, we have an abundance of spinning and weaving mill partners here in Portugal. We have some partners for development, where we can test out new things in a working model. Then, we start monetizing it and charging the partners for it. We have now over 100 clients already using the initial CORE product. Istanbul is another great place for talent, software, and textiles. We acquired a company there last year; now we have 10 engineers there. We now have Turkish development partners, too. We collaborate with a company, with trial and error, when installing Smartex; then, as soon as we feel that we are creating value, we monetize it. That’s what differentiates us from a research center. We have R&D expenses, but it is monetizable at the end of that process, scaling to commercialization as the goal. IFJ: Your mission is to empower textile factories to be fully traceable, with zero waste. You also produced the “Modern Textile Factory Report,” found on your website. Tell us about this.
Loureiro: Everyone talks about sustainability, traceability, and digital product passports. From our perspective, what we need to do is involve the factory in the discussion. Eighty percent of the impact of this industry happens in factories, especially in dyeing, and in all the other stages, in terms of water, chemicals, energy usage, etc. For the average fashion brand, 98% of their environmental impact is in their supply chain. We must move the conversation about traceability and sustainability to include the “98%” of where problems are found. Some brands are aware of this and are building infrastructures in manufacturing to support the whole supply chain. I feel that we are in the right place at the right time. Legislation, smart factories, and awareness are at the forefront of real change. Yet, factories still don’t have the necessary technology to maneuver change. Part of the mission of the Modern Textile Factory Report is general education – we cannot get to the collective goal of sustainability and circularity without information. In the traditional factory, no one knows the source of imperfections, but everybody has an opinion about it. An investment in technology gets to the real source of an issue. IFJ: Can you give us details on current and future development? Loureiro: We cracked a problem that was never cracked before; no one has ever spent so much money and time focusing on textile defects and quality control. We have 150 engineers looking at specific problems. If you are not going fully vertical on textiles, you are not going to break the mold. Many that have tried tech in the past – like computer vision – complain about two things. First, the tech is not at the human level, to understand the nuances in textiles. A defect for you is not a defect for me; there are many materials, colors, wrinkles, fluffs. Second, the ROI is so tight that every cent matters. These two things – tech and ROI – need to be perfectly aligned.
Solving these two issues, Smartex is at the “human level,” at an affordable price with one- or two-years payback period. In two years, we sold more than 1,000 devices. If you look at any other supplier of computer vision camera inspection, they sell a few times per year. That’s a signal that we are on the right track. Now looking at the future, we are thinking where we can expand. An obvious place is going vertically – textile factories have other machines. So our plan is to eventually connect the dots. IFJ: What is your realistic view for automating the textile industry over the next 10 to 15 years? Loureiro: I think the direction might be 10 years or a little bit longer for full automation. The main issue is textile production is driven by geographical factors. One factor is sewing. It is very manual and always pushes this industry to cheaplabor countries. Then, one country raises prices, and everybody is looking to another country, right? Sewing is an inflection point that I am really interested and is the reason textiles are constantly being pushed to cheap labor countries, which often lack connectivity. In theory, you could have the whole industry in mainstream countries or cities, with super automated factories that do it right – with less waste and energy, and more efficiency and profit. We could have centralized factories closer to consumers, minimizing the environmental footprint that long-range shipping creates. Origin of the materials is the second factor; we can’t control where the cotton grows, for instance. It is normal to see textile factories located in these places to be fully vertical there. These two things are very limiting for other innovations to occur. In 10 years, I can still see factories and textile production in these low economy locations, but this trend will gradually decrease with more automation options, which offsets the labor factor, and with increasing environmental legislation. I was talking with you a few minutes ago about tech and price. Legislation is
the new wave for compliance and cost. Depending on how hard the rules become, it could be a push for decentralization, where factories move to places with first-world access to resources that enable green initiatives, and less concentration in China or in Bangladesh that lack traceable accountability measures. We might expect production to be more expensive because of compliance with these factors. But we should not expect a decrease in consumption from consumers or for them to pay for them. Consumers won’t pay for sustainable materials, even if they may say they want them. The “saydo” gap is huge on the consumer side. We shouldn’t ignore these massive problems because of cost. IFJ: What is your advice to up-and-coming textile entrepreneurs? Loureiro: I divide textiles innovators into three categories. One is material types like alternative leathers or yarns. The second one is process technology or automation. The third one is in the retail and consumer arena. My general advice is to focus on a niche pain point in one segment that everybody agrees is an issue. Then, expand the alternatives and make sure that you kill it in that category – go deep on that. And then expand it, because you will have much more market knowledge as a team – and eventually, funding. We raised $40 million with investors, but we also had $10 million in sales. You need to have the initial spark to have the initial flame and then have the initial fire. All these need to be in a specific order. There is a vast range of things to improve upon; we need more entrepreneurs in this industry. That’s one of my missions, attract more talent to fill this industry. IFJ: Do you have final thoughts to share? Loureiro: 2024 is the best year ever to be working in technology, because of all AI and machine learning advancements. The textile industry’s environmental impact numbers are massive. This gives us a special energy at Smartex. We believe technology is best to solve these problems. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 13
EXECUTIVE Q&A
Expanding
Spandex in INDIA
Indorama India is Poised for Opportunity by Being Strategically Focused on “Made in India” Advantages By Arun Rao
emand for spandex-blended clothing is growing among consumers in the last few years, due to the flexibility these garments offer. Indorama India, part of the $25 billion Indorama Group, saw this as an opportunity and was the first to start a spandex manufacturing plant in India in 2011 and branded it as Inviya. Indorama India started with a modest capacity of 5,000 tons per annum and within a space of 12 years increased it four-fold to 20,000 tons per year. The company’s product range includes spandex for woven and air-covered yarns, knits, and specialized offerings like SnugFit for hygiene products such as diapers. Indorama India also manufactures black spandex which is used in black or grey colored fabrics and which assimilates with the color of the fabric and have also recently launched dyeable spandex. Indorama India places a strong emphasis on research and development, continuously innovating and testing new spandex products. Sustainability is another key focus, with the introduction of ECOModa100, a recycled spandex produced from pre-consumer spandex waste. ECOModa100 is Recycled Claim Standard and an EU REACH certified product.
IiStockphoto.com/Monoliza21
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Q+A IN THIS ISSUE:
SHALENDRA VASUDEVA Chief Marketing Officer, Indorama India Pvt. Ltd., India
Inviya competes with leading global spandex brands, offering a “Made in India” advantage and a comprehensive range of spandex products. The company serves both domestic and international markets, with distribution/warehouse facilities in key textile hubs within India and has a strong global sales channel network.
Indorama India sees potential in various segments, including sportswear fabrics, swimwear, and the diaper market. They are committed to contributing to the growth of the Indian textile industry while maintaining a focus on sustainability and innovation. International Fiber Journal: Kindly provide a history about your company including when it was started, who started, etc. Shalendra Vasudeva: Indorama India is part of the $25 billion Indorama Group which was started almost 48 years back by the late ML Lohia and is now headed by SP Lohia, Chairman of the group. The group has two verticals. The first is Singapore based Indorama Corporation(IC) and the other is Thailand headquartered Indorama Ventures (IVL). Indorama Corporation operates in the space of cotton-based textiles, fertilizers, packaging materials and also spandex. Indorama Ventures operates in the segment of polyester beginning with downstream products like PTA, MEG and Paraxylene and also polyester fibers and yarns, polyolefin fibers, bicomponent fibers, and fibers for automotive textiles, composite fibers, rayon and aramid.
INVIYA® is the first new-age spandex fibre produced in India and the Indian subcontinent, and also available in markets globally. Made of advanced polymer, having long-lasting elasticity with robust performance during all textile processes, it exhibits exceptional qualities of stretch and recovery, providing a perfect fit and shape with enhanced comfort and freedom of movement to the wearer.
The consumer behavior in case of spandex is very unique and unpredictable. We had a very healthy growth rate for stretch clothing for the past several years and in COVID-19 times, it surpassed our expectations. Buoyed by this growth, new investments in spandex manufacturing went on-stream. Indorama Ventures is also into recycling of PET bottles and thereafter production of recycled polyester yarns. Incidentally, Indorama Ventures is the largest producer of PET bottle chips in the world. The Indorama Group operates in more than 40 countries with 160 manufacturing sites and has around 40,000 employees. Indorama IndiaPvt. Ltd is a division of Indorama Corporation and was the very first producer of spandex in India in 2011, which is sold under the brand name of Inviya. The project was conceptualized because entire quantity of spandex consumed in India was imported and we saw a good growth opportunity in the Indian textile and garment sector. IFJ: Please share details about manufacturing infrastructure and annual capacity. Vasudeva: We began with an investment close to $70 million in 2011 and set up a plant with a modest capacity of 5,000 tons
per annum. Now we have three plants at the same site with a combined capacity which exceeds 20,000 tons per annum, which indicates significant production growth recorded in the past 12 years. Spandex is made from carbon chain derivatives and has two different raw materials. One is PTMEG and the other is MDI, which we are importing from other countries. Spandex is a proprietary process, which includes polymerization under controlled condition, winding, conditioning and packaging. IFJ: What are the core company products and solutions you offer for the market? Vasudeva: When we started, we offered Inviya brand spandex for woven fabrics and air covered yarns segments. Over time, we also developed suitable products of Inviya for knits and narrow fabric products like elastic tapes used in undergarments. Recently, we launched spandex for a
INVIYA
Black Spandex, Indorama’s latest spandex innovation, is set to revolutionize the world of colorful active wear and body-hugging garments. Made from advanced technology, it elevates your fashion aesthetics, while providing exceptional performance. It features a unique technology that ensures deep, rich colors that resist fading and damage caused by various elements with their proprietary color infusion process that incorporates spun-in pigments, resulting in hues that remain vivid and true, even after repeated exposure to perspiration, sunscreen, lotion, UV rays, and chlorine.
specific use in hygiene products like baby and adult diapers and is sold under the brand name of SnugFit, which too is an import substitute product as this was also fully imported. We are catering to a large customer base in India through SnugFit which also includes multinational companies who produce diapers in India. The polymer characteristics of our Inviya spandex are different for various applications and even the package weight is different for every application and so we offer our spandex in packages from 1.1 lbs to 6.6 lbs. SnugFit also passes through additional tests to ensure that the material does not harm the skin. The compliance requirements for the hygiene industry are far more stringent, when compared with textile or clothing segment. Spandex, by virtue of its polymer characteristics, could not be dyed as it could not absorb the textile dyes. We modified the polymer and now it is possible to dye the spandex with reactive or acid dyes. Now, we offer a variant of Inviya, which is dyeable and spandex component in fabric produced with dyeable variant of Inviya also gets dyed. This results in a more pleasing appearance for the garment. We also offer it in a black color, which is used in black or grey colored fabrics, which assimilates with the color of the fabric and it is used in high-end dress suiting fabrics. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 15
IFJ: Please share details on your R&D facility. Vasudeva: We have a well-equipped R&D facility which was started in 2015, where we have installed a pilot plant to develop various recipes of spandex. The varieties of spandex developed at the R&D facility are then tested at the yarn or fabric and even garments stage at customer facilities. Once we get a confirmatory nod from each of these stages, and only then, the spandex variety is taken up for commercialization. All the new varieties of spandex introduced by our company are due to the efforts of our R&D facility. IFJ: Can you let us know the key trends in consumer demand and the growth trajectory of the Indian apparel market in context of spandex usage? Vasudeva: The volumetric usage of our Inviya in cotton and polyester products is almost identical, but while there is greater degree of consistency in the cotton segment, there are fluctuations in demand, when used in polyester products. The consumer behavior in case of spandex is very unique and unpredictable. We had a very healthy growth rate for stretch clothing for the past several years and in COVID-19 times, it surpassed our expectations. Buoyed by this growth, new investments in spandex manufacturing went on-stream. New investments also came up in various other segments of the textile value chain like spinning and knitting. All these investments created overcapacity, which was disproportionate to the sustainable demand. 2022 and 2023 has also witnessed a slowdown in retail sales of garments. We do a lot of market research and observed that consumers are moving towards comfort clothing. But at the same time the latest trends indicate that jeans with the original denim fabric, without addition of spandex has revived. This has mainly been observed in women's clothing. Actually, the denim category has been the key driver of growth of volume of spandex in the past few years. We expect that demand for stretched denim jeans may revive soon.
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15 percent spandex content. However, 90 percent of fabrics have content between 4 to 10 percent. IFJ: How important is the sustainability factor for your company?
SnugFit® is an improvised polymer variant of premium spandex fibre for baby and adult diapers. It is crafted with European winding technology process to provide better comfort without any leakages. It offers effective solutions for the hygiene industry. INVIYA
But at the same time we see a demand for spandex increasing from the knitting segment as more knitting machines are being added each year in India. In order to increase demand for spandex we did a social media campaign for introducing spandex in school uniforms, because children have lots of physical activities in schools. But since the supply of uniforms is controlled by each individual school and the school uniform fabric as well as stitching industry is fragmented and are more in the unorganized sector, we could not achieve success from the campaign. Women’s leggings are a huge market for spandex which has fueled the growth of spandex for us in the last one decade. Leggings have penetrated the market tremendously in the last few years and several brands have come up with leggings. Leggings have replaced the traditional salwar market and so is a growing market, while being sold at an affordable price point. Leggings, which used to be available in just solid colors, are now also available in print and patterns. IFJ: When you mix spandex with yarn at spinning or knitting stage, how much percentage of spandex is added? Vasudeva: Depending on the fabric structure, 5 to 7 percent of spandex is added at the ring spinning stage, while it is 4 to 10 percent while knitting and swimsuits have
Vasudeva: When considering production, we use a solvent in the process, which is fully recycled and we also have a zero liquid discharge plant. We have been awarded the “Model Manufacturing Plant” certificate by the pollution control board in the province in which our plant is located for our sustainability initiatives. We have also put up solar plant whose energy is used to meet the lighting requirements. We have also started producing recycled spandex from this year which is sold under the brand name of ECOModa100. The recycled spandex is produced from the fabric waste which we collect from our customers and garment factories. We have set up a very robust collection supply chain for this waste fabric collection, which is then brought to our plant. This waste is then used to manufacture recycled spandex. There is a separate dedicated plant to produce this recycled spandex. The current ECOModa100 capacity is very small at two tons per day, but we see a bright future for recycled spandex and we may expand capacity in the near future. ECOModa100 has been approved by clothing brands like GAP, bestseller and an audit of another European clothing brand is ongoing. ECOModa100 is Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) certified and is also an EU REACH certified product. In producing one ton of ECOModa100, the global warming potential (GWP 100 years) when compared with producing one ton of conventional spandex, reduced 83 percent. Similarly, the abiotic depletion potential (ADP fossil) dropped 88 percent, human toxicity potential (HTP) decreased 39 percent, primary energy demand (PED) fell 71 percent and blue water consumption (BWC) went down 38 percent. IFJ: What is the advantage of the products that you offer vis-à-vis those offered by competition?
Vasudeva: Inviya competes with leading brand of spandex in the world, but our home-turf remains our focus area, as the advantage we offer is a “Made in India” product. We also try to stay ahead of competition by constantly launching new spandex products, working very closely with customers for new developments. Since we also offer functional and technical spandex products, our spandex is not considered as a commodity. In the case of SnugFit, which we offer for the hygiene industry, there are entry barriers like legislative compliance requirements for competitors, so there is very less competition. IFJ: What challenges did you face in the initial years and what are your strategies for the future? Vasudeva: Indorama Group started its industrial journey in the textiles segment, which was cotton based and added synthetics to the portfolio in early 1990s. The group made its first foray into spandex business through Indorama India and producing spandex was a challenge as there were many technical issues, which we faced in our formative years. Ganesha also has a Global Recycling Certificate issued by the Control Union, which confirms that our PSF fibers are 100 percent recycled. We also supply dope dyed fibers and yarns, wherein we obtained ZHDC certificate from our dyes suppliers, which confirms that the dyes are safe and free from harmful metals and are environmental friendly. We overcame those by dedicated efforts of all team members and great support from the visionary management. The significant increase in production capacity indicates that we have overcome those challenges. The new functional and technical spandex products were introduced only after we mastered the production of regular spandex. IFJ: Please share details of your presence in the Indian domestic and export markets, as well as distribution or sales channels. Vasudeva: We mainly sell our spandex to meet the needs of the Indian textile indus-
In India, there is no big production facility to manufacture quality fabrics for sportswear. Almost all of it is imported. So if these fabrics were to be produced in India, then this too could be a big opportunity. try, but we also export to Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt, Italy and Sri Lanka. Within India, we have distribution centres in major textile hubs like Ludhiana, Delhi, Surat and Tirupur. We also have stock points at Delhi, Kolkata, Surat and Tirupur and sales and technical services team based in Surat, Tirupur and Delhi who remain in regular touch with customers for their ever evolving needs. Spandex is a functional and technical product and every customer has a different need for a spandex-based fabric and so our technical team helps the customer develop the fabric by adding the right percentage of spandex at the spinning or knitting stage. Globally, spandex finds the highest application in knitted fabrics as against woven fabrics. Surat is the biggest woven fabric hub in India, but the knitting fabric industry is now taking off since the last few years. The Indorama Group has a customer base across the globe and so we tap the strength of the group’s distribution network to reach out to customers. In most other countries, we have appointed agents, who represent us for business of Inviya. However, we also maintain a stock point in Turkey. IFJ: Any planned capacity expansion or new investments? Vasudeva: We have plans to set up another plant at the current site as we still have space to set up another plant, and we shall take the call at an appropriate time. IFJ: What are your expectations on future growth and opportunities in the Indian market? Vasudeva: The Indian textile industry as well as Indorama India can grow faster if there are restrictions on imports of fabrics blended with spandex. There is a huge quantity of spandex-blended fabrics being imported from China. If these restrictions
are put in place, there will be newer investments in the sector to produce spandex blended fabrics and also in garmenting. Indian textile associations have appealed to the government on this issue. In India, there is no big production facility to manufacture quality fabrics for sportswear. Almost all of it is imported. So if these fabrics were to be produced in India, then this too could be a big opportunity. Swimwear is also a segment which can grow if more swimming pools are added in India. Currently Page Apparels, which is a licensee of Jockey and Speedo in India, is importing all the fabrics used in Speedo swimwear. But if demand for Speedo swimwear picks up, then they may plan to set up a fabric manufacturing unit in India. And these fabrics use 15 percent spandex as against 4 to 10 percent in traditional textile fabrics. We also foresee very good growth in the diaper segment in the Indian market. The per capita diaper consumption is very low in India when compared with developed countries. But with Indian disposable incomes growing, we see a very big potential for SnugFit, both in baby and adult diapers in the future. Arun Rao started his career in the textile industry and has worked across the segments of spinning and weaving production. He forayed into the sales function, beginning with selling branded innerwear and graduated to selling clothing of wellknown brands. He then joined Fibre2fashion, a B2B textile website, as News Editor for seven years. Recently, he launched Taurus Communications, a PR & advertising agency focused on the textile industry value chain. With a love for journalism, he freelances for renowned textile magazines, along with managing the agency. He is now the India foreign correspondent to the IFJ. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 17
AI TECH With the latest PicConnect platform, Picanol has aimed to digitize and harness the intuition of the expert weaver. Picanol
JUST in TIME Predictive Fulfilment is the Goal as AI Moves In By Adrian Wilson, IFJ International Correspondent
or a number of decades now, the supply chains of many high-tech industries have been highly structured and strictly managed top-down by the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) they ultimately serve, to ensure both maximized efficiency and just-in-time sequencing. The automotive industry is a good example of this, explains Jason Kent, CEO of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA). “Control from the top over a fully visible supply chain extends not just to suppliers of individual components such as, for
F
example, carpets, but even to the suppliers of the machinery on which these carpets are made,” he explains. “As a result, companies making machines on which automotive carpets are to be produced must not only be ISO 9001 certified, but also meet many other stipulations in areas such as power consumption and wastage.”
Restructuring Such a top-down structure could now be very rapidly established across the highly complex and fragmented textiles and fashion apparel supply chain Kent believes, in response to a raft of new legislative measures that are poised to be introduced,
Automotive OEMS like BMW Group have established a digital-first approach to their complex manufacturing systems across production networks, including real-time digital twin simulations to virtually optimize layouts, robotics and logistic systems. BMW
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initially in both the European Union and parts of the USA. This major restructuring will be enabled by ever-improving AI tools providing greater transparency, digitization and automation. “Having committed to ambitious sustainability goals by 2030, the majority of major apparel brands, as well as the corporations extensively using nonwovens and technical textiles in their products, are taking a much greater interest than ever before in their supply chains,” Kent emphasizes. “They are now examining each link in the complex succession of processes that result in their final products, in order to more fully understand how they are being made and exactly what they are made from. This new level of cooperation and transparency – stretching right back to the chemical and fiber producers – is to be welcomed, and can only lead to more sustainable practices across many areas, and not least in designing for circularity in the first place.” The term ‘predictive fulfilment,’ he adds, encapsulates everything AI – from generative design tools for enhancing creativity and streamlining initial process steps to quality and wastage control in manufacturing, assisted by predictive maintenance and machine learning.
Complex Patterns In respect of the latter, one BTMA member company which has seen its business soar in 2023, is Shelton Vision. Having successfully demonstrated its WebSpector automated fabric inspection system detecting faults on camouflage fabrics at speeds of up to 100 meters a minute during the ITMA 2023 in Milan last June, Shelton Vision has secured an unprecedented number of new orders in many fields of the textile industry. Building on its established vision system for plain, single-color textiles, Shelton’s patent-pending image processing techniques recognize and adapt to complex patterns – even those on fabric with significant distortion and deformation. Fabrics are not rigid and can be sheared or stretched while also being subject to local distortion, but the WebSpector system successfully deals with such anomalies in real time to provide a reliable inspection process at the same levels of plain fabric. Advanced software techniques ensure a totally clean image, allowing the full detection of faults on fabrics running at high speeds.
Eliminating False Positives “Using machine learning, our vision system automatically trains new styles and our AI platform is continuously updating to achieve high accuracy of real time defect naming and grading,” explains Shelton MD Mark Shelton. “This eliminates false positives and provides consistently accurate data for both roll cutting optimization and yield increase, as well as for optimizing fabric utilization in panel cutting processes.” The automotive interiors and one-piece woven airbag sectors remain the major destinations for this advanced technology, but further finished fabric WebSpector systems are now being supplied to manufacturers of performance wear and high-end fashion, denim, outdoor upholstery, sunscreen, mattress ticking, window dressings and even carbon fiber composites. In addition to finished fabric inspection, there is also a growing demand for fabric forming/grey cloth inspection to streamline mending of both plain and patterned fabric.
Using machine learning, Shelton’s AI platform is continuously updating to achieve high accuracy in real-time defect naming and grading. Shelton
“We are being greatly assisted by the increased quality expectations across value chains and the realization by brands and larger corporations of what our technology can do – and on a more fundamental level, that a reliable fabric inspection system technology actually exists, after disappointments with previous technologies,” Shelton says. “These brands and corporations are now actively promoting the adoption of our system to their fabric suppliers.”
lot of new features possible, including realtime monitoring, correcting based on historic data and instantaneously adapting in real time. With the latest Belgian weaving machines operating at the highest speeds attainable to date, real time is very much a necessity. More than anything, digitalization is about increasing the optimal flow of the entire plant, and increasingly, networks of plants operating in sync around the world.
CEMATEX
Weaving, however, is never just a matter of numbers, parameters and settings, but also relies on the intuition, experience and the gut feeling of the expert weaver, who is able to feel when something isn’t right or a machine is off sync, and sense when settings need to be fine-tuned. It is this very intuition, however, that Picanol has now digitalized with its latest PicConnect platform, which provides a wide range of features, from industrial IoT to service-related applications, as well as brand-new functionalities, such as applications for energy and production monitoring, digitalized gripper stroke setting and gripper tape monitoring, climate control and shed angle measurement. PicConnect enables the creation of a library of machine settings which when machines are connected can easily be sent to and from the platform. Ensuring machines all use the optimal settings is extremely convenient and the settings can be easily visualized for an intuitive overview,
The BTMA is one of nine national associations who comprise CEMATEX – the blanket organization behind the hugely successful ITMA exhibitions – and all are agreed on the driving force of AI. They include Belgium’s Symatex and Sweden’s TMAS, who both underline the importance of good data. “Digitalization is both driving the development of new technologies and also leading to an environment of continuous improvement for machine builders,” says Stijn Pauwels, manager of Symatex. “A key strength of companies such as Picanol is in having both R&D and manufacturing at the same locations, because as machines become increasingly customized in mills around the world, it becomes harder to build them in series without access to all production data.” At the site of the customer, digitallyenabled smart factory production machines can talk to each other and make a
Intuition
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and then edited, to further fine-tune performance. An additional feature is the ability to compare the settings of two different machines or compare the actual settings of a machine with a reference file. This highlights the differences between the two machines, and settings can be copied from one file to another. After settings have been changed or copied, all machines in a weaving mill can then be optimized with just a couple of clicks.
Materials Handling Fully integrated technologies with up-tothe-minute automated features for the end-to-end production of fully-finished garments and home textiles have also been developed by members of TMAS, such as the automated material handling installations of Eton Systems and ACG Kinna’s robotic pillow filling system. Eton provides modular, individually addressable carriers designed to eliminate manual transportation and minimize handling within product assembly and finishing plants. The ETONingenious software platform gathers, processes and presents powerful, value-adding product information to operators, supervisors, quality control personnel and management. The system has a web-based user interface and runs on any browser – laptops, PCs, tablets and even mobile phones – without any client installation requirements. It is also easy to integrate with any existing ERP system and is industry 4.0 compatible. Dashboards provide a clear and easy overview of production.
Robotics With the ability to fill and finish some 3,840 pillows per eight-hour shift, ACG Kinna’s automated units meanwhile cover the entire process – from the opening and weighing of the fiber to the filling of the product and on to the sewing and packing processes. The technology is based on two robotic arms which have been specially modified by ACG Kinna with advanced gripping tools and seaming and labelling devices. The system further includes an integrated
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Eton’s automation systems eliminate manual transportation within product assembly and finishing plants. Eton Systems
Data Coordination
ACG Kinna has introduced robotics for the automated handling textiles. ACG Kinna
marking solution which allows QR codes, batch numbers and dates to be individually printed on the labels of each garment, as well as unique software for automatically detecting faults in production. “The use of robotics is now standard across many industries dealing in solid goods, but the handling of soft materials such as textiles is a little more complex,” says ACG Kinna CEO Christian Moore. “Nevertheless, our robotic system is now fully operational in a number of plants around the world.”
“AI and advanced automation really have the potential to revolutionize the textile industry, improving production efficiency, quality control and design processes,” adds TMAS secretary general Therese Premler-Andersson. “AI-powered systems can, for example, help detect defects in fabrics and garments during manufacturing processes and by using computer vision in the machinery, different defects such as stains, holes and uneven stitching can be rapidly identified and corrected at an early stage. “Predictive maintenance is another benefit. AI is being used to monitor machines and predict when they are likely to need maintenance. This can help prevent breakdowns and reduce downtime, improving overall efficiency. AI is also proving valuable in R&D for TMAS companies, enabling data from different sources to be coordinated in order to optimize product design and reduce time and costs via the sensor-controlled optimization of a host of different parameters.” Adrian Wilson is an international correspondent for International Fiber Journal. He is a leading journalist covering fiber, filtration, nonwovens and technical textiles. He can be reached at adawilson@gmail.com.
REDEFINING Textile Waste Sorting
All Photos/UTEXAID
AUTOMATION
Impulses and Findings for the Future on Next-Gen Sorting Facilities By Samanta Fruci, Anna Pehrsson and Gesine Köppe
he “Transform Textile Waste into Feedstock” (TTWiF) project (initiated by TEXAID within the ReHubs initiative) conducted a technology assessment to identify the best available sorting techniques and processes for textile recycling. The assessment identified the need for automated and scalable textile sorting solutions to address the challenges in recycling. The assessment evaluated various technologies and identified requirements for material composition recognition, fiber-to-fiber recycling, and pre-processing. While some technologies showed promise, there were limitations in accurately identifying material composition and capturing other performance metrics. A two-step sorting process was recommended for precise sorting in fiber-to-fiber recycling. Overall, the project aims to revolutionize the textile recycling industry and promote a more circular textile economy. The problem is that European textile consumption contributes significantly to environmental pollution and climate
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change. There is a large amount of textile waste being generated, but only a small percentage of it is being collected and recycled. By 2025, all EU member states will be required to collect textile waste separately, which will increase the quantity of waste collected but may decrease the quality. To create a circular textile loop, the sorting process for recycled materials needs to be improved and automated. The aim of the “Transform Textile Waste into Feedstock” project was to understand the current state of textile waste sorting in Europe and develop a blueprint for a more advanced sorting process. The project focused on three segments: semiautomated sorting for reuse, automated sorting for recycling qualities, and automated pre-processing for recycling. The goal is to automate and enhance the sorting process by implementing technologies such as sensor-based parameter detection and digital product passports. Additionally, the project aimed to improve the accuracy of material composition determination for recycling purposes by scanning both the inside and outside of
garments. Pre-processing techniques are also explored to remove impurities from products before fiber-to-fiber recycling.
Sorting on a Mission TEXAID is a company that specializes in textile sorting and recycling. They collect and process approximately 80,000 tons of textiles each year, employing over 1,200 people and operating second-hand shops in Germany. The “Transform Textile Waste into Feedstock” project involved collaboration between TEXAID and various companies, organizations, and institutions in the textile industry to promote scaled textile sorting in Europe. The project aims to exchange knowledge, drive innovation, and address challenges within the industry. The assessment of technologies for the project was commissioned to ITA Academy GmbH in collaboration with Institut für Textiltechnik Augsburg gGmbH, Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (together representing ITA Group – International Centre for Sustainable Textiles), and SAS CETIA, France. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 21
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This interdisciplinary team is responsible for evaluating current processes and technologies related to textile sorting. The partnership between TEXAID and ITA Group has allowed both parties to enhance their capabilities, research expertise, and develop new relationships within the industry. The Technology Assessment is divided into three segments that can be used independently or together. The first segment provides an overview and emphasizes the integration between the segments. A promising approach was defined to effectively sort garments, considering various competencies and technologies while avoiding duplication and maximizing synergies. The following steps outline the recommended approach: 1. Establish general requirements and sorting criteria for recycling technologies. 2. Compile a list of best-available technologies on the market, adaptable to various process steps, conducting a technology assessment. 3. Carry out comprehensive tests for the most promising technologies to elaborate the technology readiness level, and relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). 4. Employ a decision matrix for technology and supplier evaluation, incorporating prioritization and risk analysis. 5. Develop a comprehensive plan for a demo plant.
6. Conduct a gap analysis between the current state and desired outcomes, identifying areas for improvement and optimization in the recycling process. To achieve the capabilities in automatic sorting for reuse and recycling, several technologies in transportation, preparation, feeding, detection, sorting, and logistics were analyzed. For the observation, current state-of-the-art machines, processes and software solutions were researched, tested, and evaluated aligning and incorporating automation, robotics, sensor technology, and artificial intelligence.
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Key Requirements During the research phase of the project, over 160 requirements for technologies and feasibilities were gathered and evaluated by an international consortium of recyclers, manufacturers, tech startups, and brands. The consortium identified key requirements such as autonomous operation and non-damaging effects on garments. They also emphasized the importance of storing historical sensor and machine data for traceability purposes. Product and quality categories are crucial for recycling, with fiber composition being a fundamental factor in sorting. The system should be able to scan both external and internal aspects of garments, including trims. Accuracy in sorting categories is essential for fiber-to-fiber recycling, with a tolerance level of no more than 5%. Color sorting should also be
BATCH 2
facilitated. The aim is to automate over 90% of the recycling process. The system should be extendable to accommodate future upgrades or adaptations as recycling technologies evolve. Timely implementation by the end of 2023 is necessary to meet project timelines and objectives. At the start of the research project, a comprehensive survey was conducted, involving a diverse spectrum of companies representing the entire recycling process chain. This survey involved participants from different textile recycling sectors, with active participation by the entire project consortium. The survey’s overarching objective was to elicit insights into the prerequisites associated with source materials, processing methodologies, and sector-specific requirements. The survey focused on both existing and potential recycling methods, with an emphasis on supporting circular economy practices. It also analyzed mechanical, chemical and thermomechanical recycling processes to identify relevant categories. Key performance indicators were derived from the survey results and ranked through a pairwise comparison to enable a systematic approach to technology selection.
Sorting and Testing The assessment focused on sorting solutions for reuse and evaluated AI-based algorithms for pattern recognition and handling garments. Different technologies such as tray sorters, separation robots, and garment-on-hanger systems were ex-
amined for feasibility. Sorting categories were developed for recycling scenarios, and various sensors were trained through a program. Industrial individual solutions and complete sorting solutions were considered based on market readiness. The testing process involved evaluating material composition recognition using different batches of textile samples. The results showed that while color recognition was satisfactory, material composition recognition had significant deviations in the case of mixtures. A two-step sorting stage was determined to be necessary due to unmeasured performance metrics such as impurities, contaminants, feedstock format, fabric structure, and weight. The process flow for multicategory sorting and binary category sorting in recycling was elaborated upon, including the use of spiked lattice conveyors, sensors for composition detection, pressure nozzles for diverting textiles into chutes based on their composition, bale pressing mechanisms to compress sorted textiles into packages, cutting processes to enhance purity before sensor-based detection in binary sorting, and the removal of metal contaminants but limitations in detecting plastic contaminants or patches like leather or embroidery. The binary sorting solution is considered a quality control step for recyclers to ensure precision in feedstock specification before recycling.
Challenges that Shape Solutions To conclude the main challenge is that it is difficult to develop a process where different steps with different TRLs are combined throughout the process. Added to this, there is the complexity of the unevaluated area of textile waste sorting and several technologies not developed for the use case of textiles. Dealing with the complexity of textile waste is another issue, as textile waste is not standardized by comparison to other waste streams, where sorting for reuse is also not the case. For the semi-automated sorting for reuse, the TRL is still very premature, and it will be challenging to fully automate this step in the future. Skilled operators
will still be key when sorting textile waste according to the waste hierarchy. When it comes to automated sorting for recycling, theoretical research and testing show that the sensors are not mature enough to sort as exactly and precisely as the recyclers need their feedstock to be. There is a technology gap and two main points were found that will be important to develop further. Firstly, the databases behind the technologies and secondly the accuracy and precision of the scanning itself. Pre-processing is also very specific and different depending on the use case and the specific recycler, which makes a standardized solution difficult. Therefore, the idea of two-step sorting for recycling could be a way to tackle the issue of quality control and pre-processing. In general, the requirements vary considerably for the different use cases, the value chains, and stakeholders per use case, which makes sorting and pre-processing for reuse and recycling more complex.
It was also found that from a technological point of view, there is not only a lack of datasets but also the need to digitalize the entire sorting process to unlock the potential of data in sorting in the future. The collaborative project has revealed the current challenges in developing an innovative process with new technologies due to the unexplored field. Following the vision to shape the textile circularity in Europe and therefore to significantly reduce CO² emissions, TEXAID is committed to investing in an infrastructure of 50,000 tons of new sorting capacity in Europe using new technologies. For a spin-off project proposal to address the current gaps, TEXAID is inviting interested parties to expand the network and work together on innovations that will make the future more sustainable. Samanta Fruci is in Marketing at TEXAID AG. Anna Pehrsson is in Recycling Solutions Lead at TEXAID AG. As a textile Engineer with specialization in textile recycling, her passion is for turning the textile industry circular. Gesine Köppe is a Member of managing board, ITA Academy GmbH who focuses on textile design enriched by technical product development and digital applications that streamline the production process. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 23
ATA HIGHLIGHTS
Advanced Textiles Prove the
SKY IS THE LIMIT By Marie O’Mahony
he Advanced Textiles Association’s (ATA) annual expo attracts national and international exhibitors, conference speakers and delegates to become a barometer for innovation in advanced and smart textiles. Held in a rotation of around half a dozen cities in North America, the ATA EXPO 2023 was held in Orlando, Florida. Colocated with the Sun Shading EXPO, the events attracted 4,517 attendees with 375 exhibitors from North America, Europe and Asia. This year, space, wearables and medical market’s dominated, with many exhibitors (particularly e-textile) serving all three sectors. NASA are regular exhibitors and speakers at the ATA EXPO, but this year the discussion on space was much broader because of the growth of the commercial space sector. There was a long list of stakeholders represented either as speakers, exhibitors or both: Axiom Space, Columbia Sportswear, Bally Ribbon Mills, Kuraray America and Aegis Aerospace all participated.
T
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The Space Foundation’s Q2 report for 2023 provides some insights on this. The U.S. government space budgets the report puts at $69.5B, against a non-U.S. government budget of $49.1B, citing a growth rate of 8%. Commercial infrastructure and support industries are valued at $139.6B, a figure surpassed by the commercial space products and services at $288B. “The Space Report forecasts continued growth in the space economy, and
based on our conservative modelling, we anticipate nearing the $800 billion mark within five years,” according to Thomas Dorame, senior vice president at Space Foundation. “This forecast is bolstered by the increase in 2023 space launch activity, which is well on pace to surpass the annual record set in 2022.” The commercial space sector growth is impacting the number and range of stakeholders, in addition to the new performance demands it brings.
Speaking of Space Haskell Beckham, Vice President of Innovation at Columbia Sportswear chaired a very lively panel discussion titled “Advanced textiles – a new frontier and new opportunities.” The panelists were Chyree Batton, Commercial Innovation Strategy Lead for in-space solutions and Axion Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit prototype showing the white outer layer. Axion Space Systems will work with Prada’s engineers throughout the design process to develop solutions for material and design features to protect against the unique challenges of space and the lunar surface. Axiom Space
iStockphoto.com/nonnie192
ATA EXPO 2023 Delivers Smart Solutions to Textile Technology
manufacturing at Axiom Space, Matthew Reid, Industrial Market Manager Vectran Fiber Division, Kuraray America and Jason Smith, Customer Solutions and Business development Lead, Aegis Areospace Inc. The focus was on the opportunities offered by the space industry and some of the challenges faced by textile in the extreme environment – from temperatures that can plummet to -193 Celsius, to solar dust that require ballistic-level protection by materials exposed to it. Clear from the discussion was the interconnections of the stakeholders, from spacesuit design and manufacture, new fibers and fabrics, to material testing that needs to be carried out in the unique environment of space and ultimately looking towards manufacturing in space. Chyree Batton actively reached out to the audience for new fibers, fabrics that might provide solutions that might be used for Artemis III and beyond.
Fashioning Tech Wearables and e-textiles were another key focus. Billie Whitehouse, CEO and Creative Director of Wearable X shared her experience of working collaboratively to take concepts through to production. She looks to make haptic technologies as invisible as possible, using vibration embedded in the clothing as a primary interface with the wearer. Her Nadi X Yoga pants integrated the hardware into the pants that is then linked to a smartphone to provide both audio and visual guidance with pose confirmation software. Accelerometer and Gyro sensing is used for orientation and performance analysis that includes an evaluation of repetitive motion, with haptic guidance being provided in real time. Ms. Whitehouse shared her guiding principle when working with wearables “Do
not put the tech before the human experience.” In the next stage of development, the yoga clothing process is being used as the basis for the design of physical therapy garment to reduce lower back pain. This is currently being tested in a pilot study.
tions, 10 spin-off companies, graduating 105 PhDs and publishing over 650 papers. The post-pandemic shifts are noticeable as the medical and healthcare industry is placing greater emphasis on continuous monitoring of patients. There are several reasons for this. One Doctoring Textiles is the move away from a lab or hospital Health, wellness and medical were imporenvironment so that a more accurate tant markets on the show floor. NC State’s picture of patient’s movement and activiASSIST Center is directed at the creation ties can be attained as they move around of self-powered sensing, computing, and with greater freedom. A second reason is communication systems to enable datathe shift towards care in the home with driven insights for health and wellbeing. shorter hospital stays and fewer visits. The approach is multidisciplinary, bringProviding power to such wearables is one ing together academic researchers, practiof the questions that ASSIST is addressing. tioners and industry partnerships. The reIn one effort, research of a self-powered sult is an environment that places a high smart shoe insole energy harvester is bevalue on innovation bringing together ing developed for use in applications in education and outreach. which data on patient gait, balance, and Celebrating the center’s ten-year anniactivity are required as indicators of disversary, the approach is clearly successease progression, severity and falls risk. ful, generating 53 patents, filing 90 invenPatient falls are a significant factor, where in the U.S. alone they are resulting in more than 3m trips to hospital emergency rooms each year, with around 28,000 fatalities and an estimated cost of $50B. Furthermore, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) showcased a number of new developments at their booth that reinforced Dr. Sasha Stolyarov’s emphasis during his conference presentation on achieving scale, integration of technologies and collaboration between stakeholders. They are also addressing design and construction issues, for example, where conductive elements need to cross seams. The garment construction can use a relatively thick fabric that creates an obstacle or break in conductivity. Coupled with this is the growing demand that wearBillie Whitehouse discussing the challenges of taking concepts through development ables address environmental and scale to commercialisation at an ATA EXPO campfire session. Marie O’Mahony impact, considering repair INSET: Wearable X Nadi X Yoga pants is linked to the user’s smartphone to allow for and design for disassembly. real-time audio and visual guidance. Wearable X The challenge becomes not ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 25
Caryn Smith
just designing for performance and comfort, but repair and end of life also. Technology is central, but design and construction are playing an increasingly important role in finding a solution to this global problem.
Yarn Tales The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have developed both e-yarns and conductive print processes. In conventional sensory yarns a helical process is used to wrap the fine wire or wires around the yarn. In a new development, the wrapping of yarns with different capacitive-sensory areas within a yarn were investigated. What this achieves is an ability to identify the location where the yarn has been touched. This has been achieved by a kiss-roll coating method where the yarn is raised and lowered in order to prevent sections of the yarn from being coated. Another method uses a roller with partial recesses to achieve the effect, while a third process uses digitally-controlled nozzles for the application of water-based solutions. The result is yarns that can be fully or partly uncoated, or have a low level or full coating that makes the whole process very flexible. During the fabric manufacturing process, the sensory yarns are positioned to run towards each other. When
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ATA EXPO 2023 attracted 4,517 attendees with 375 exhibitors from North America, Europe and Asia. they are touched or loaded the signals can be picked up and assigned to a specific area in the textile. This allows for very complex contact and load patterns to be used, and importantly for production, knit, weave and e-broidery machines can use the yarn while running at conventional speeds. In a collaborative research project with dp-solutions, GSB-Wahl and ilm Ulm funded by the state of Baden Württemberg, the DITF are developing a new
process for conductive printing. The novel aspect lies in the combination of digital printing with laser sintering and inks that are easily pyrolyzable, the inks in this form making it possible to print digitally in a way that is economical. A further saving is made by the elimination of multiple printing and a move to less expensive metals rather than silver. The result of this is a thin, flexible and highly conductive film that can then be used as low resistance conductor paths and for making an electrical contact. Amann and Syscom were both showing advances in their range of conductive
Wearables challenges goes beyond technology, as details such as seams can present particular problems relating to the risk of a break in conductivity as seen in this jacket from AFFOA. Design has an important role to play from a very early stage in the process. Marie O’Mahony
thread and yarn. The Amann Group were founded in 1894 and specialize in the manufacture of high-quality performance and smart sewing thread and yarn. The AMANN Innovation Lab was set up as a think tank to develop new innovative products across disciplines so that it includes e-sewing and embroidery threads as well as smart surfaces. These include Silver-tech and Silver-tech+ threads. Silver-tech is a silver coated polyamide/ polyester hybrid thread for use in conductive seams and surfaces. Silver-tech + is a silver coated polyamide that offers maximum conductivity with a fully conductive (100% silver) surface.
The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) sensory yarn used here for moisture detection, shown incorporated into a woven fabric. DITF
Marie O’Mahony
Silver-tech (left/top) and Silver-tech + (right/bottom) conductive threads from Amann used for applications including textile electrodes as sensors and actuators.
Applications for both include conducting sensing and in seam positions that require antimicrobial properties in smart textiles including medical. The company also produces Steel-tech, a stainless steel and polyester hybrid thread for use in heating applications as well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antennas and as a multifunctional smart yarn for embroidery, knit and weave. Applications here include automotive interiors such as heated car seats. The Bekinox stainless steel polyester/polyamide thread contains an inox component that provides protection against oxidation and is used in applications such as workwear to help protect the worker by dispersing electrical or static charge. Syscom fully specializes in the manufacture of conductive fibers based on a process of metal-coating. These are used across a range of applications including space, industrial, military, commercial and medical markets. Weight is a factor for many applications and a primary reason, along with cost and flexibility, for
The author at ATA EXPO 2023
Marie O’Mahony
using a hybrid fiber. The Liberator is the most lightweight conductive fiber produced by Syscom and uses a Vectran fiber core to provide a good strength to weight ratio as the fiber core that can be coated with silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and Nickel (Ni). Lyofil uses Toyobo’s Zylon polyphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) fiber as its core with an outer layer of conduct-
ing metal. It offers a higher break load and level of fatigue resistance than Liberator. AmberStrand also uses a PBO fiber core and used as a braided electromagnetic (EMI) shielding offering a weight saving up to 87% according to manufacturers. It is used in applications such as aerospace and defense. ATA EXPO 2024 is being held in Anaheim, California, September 24-26. New in 2024 will be a merging of the Smart Fabrics Summit with the Emerging Technologies Conference, indicating an even stronger presence of smart textiles throughout the show. Visit https://advancedtextilesexpo. com for more information.
Dr. Marie O’Mahony is an industry consultant, author and academic, the author of several books on advanced and smart textiles published by Thames and Hudson. She can be contacted at marie.consultant@ gmail.com. www.linkedin.com/in/marie-omahony-94776836. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 27
ADVANCED TEXTILES
SPACE SPORTSWEAR The Final Frontier Has Never Been So Fashionable By Marie O’Mahony
pace provides a very unique environment in which to build products with particular attributes that can’t be built terrestrially. The value is there, from research and development (R&D) to generating new value pool and business models. In a 2022 article on the potential offered by the near-vacuum state of the atmosphere in space, as well as higher levels of radiation and micro gravity for R&D and manufacturing, McKinsey & Company points to the increase in the number of patents with “microgravity” in their title or abstract as rising from a mere 21 in 2000 to 155 in 2020. At the Advanced Textiles Association EXPO 2023, this was one of the hottest topics with speakers from NASA, Columbia Sportswear, Axiom Space, Aegis Aerospace and Kuraray America – all entering the debate exchanging their thoughts, experiences, and future direction. As plans for the Artemis III trip to the moon (that will be the first landing since Apollo 17) gather pace, Evelyn Orndoff, Non-metallic Materials Engineer at the NASA Johnson Space Center ( JSC) is clear about the many challenges faced, saying, “The lunar South Pole adventure represents the greatest thermal challenge for visitors and machine because of its temperatures, its daylight and night times, and its craters.”
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The Artemis III spacesuit prototype, the AxEMU. Though this prototype uses a dark gray cover material, the final version will likely be all-white when worn by NASA astronauts on the Moon’s surface. Axiom Space
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Omni-heat was launched in 2010 and since then has been further as Omni-heat 3D (2018), Omni-heat Black Dot (2020) and Omni-heat Infinity (2021). The latter was inspired by NASA’s space blanket and uses an expanded pattern of metallic gold dots to reflect more body heat and deliver warmth quickly, while wicking away moisture from the body and retaining breathability. Omni-heat Infinity offers a very significant 50% surface coverage, compared with 25% in the original Omniheat. In terms of heat, this translates as a 40% increase in Radiant Heat Reflection. Already widely used in sportswear jackets by the brand, this next venture sees it offering thermal protection to the Nova-C lunar lander as the spacecraft lands on the moon for the first time in half a century. This comes within NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative that includes both experimental NASA
From Space to Earth Suits
Omni-Heat Infinity visually is a series of gold dots. On a jacket, it’s the inside layer which reflects body heat. It was originally inspired by the reflective insulations that NASA has uses in their space materials.
Heat protection is not confined to the spacesuit, and Columbia Sportswear have a material going to space with a launch scheduled for January 2024. They have been working with Intuitive Machines to put a robotic lander on the moon. This will be part of NASA Artemis program’s IM-1 mission laying the foundation for a sustainable human presence on the moon. Columbia’s role has been developing a protective layer for the robotic lander using a material based on their Omniheat Infinity technology.
Columbia Sportswear’s Double-wall Elite jackets use the same Omni-heat Infinity material technology that will be used in the Nova-C lunar lander.
Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C lunar lander protected by a blanket of Columbia Sportswear’s Omni-heat Infinity technology. The lander is 14 feet tall (4.3 meters), 5 feet (1.6 meters) across its hexagonal-shaped hull and weighs 1,488 pounds (675 kilograms). Intuitive Machines
technologies and payloads from commercial customers. The version used for space will be a Multi-layered Insulation (MLI) blanket. This allows for radiation to be reflected between the metallic foils, deflecting the radiation at each stage. This approach has also been applied to Columbia’s Double-wall Elite jackets for hiking. The design traps heat using a reflective gold dot technology while deflecting wind. It retains a light weight and lowbulk, to provide 60% greater warmth than the original Omni-heat jacket. One of the challenges has been cost as Haskell Beckham , Vice President of Innovation at Columbia Sportswear puts it: “It’s one thing to put heat innovation into a $600 jacket, it’s another thing to put it into a $200 jacket that more people can afford.” The jackets are currently selling for $200, so another challenge resolved. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 29
Columbia Sportswear
In order to protect the astronaut and vital functions of the entire lunar gear, the requirements are substantial: an outer fabric with high emissivity and low absorptivity for thermal management (space suit; powered hardware); covers to prevent materials from being damaged by extreme temperatures (non-powered hardware); outer fabric and covers resistant to abrasion and act as a barrier to lunar dust (space suit; hardware); outer fabrics should not attract dust particles that are positively charged during the lunar day. The thermal challenges in space are considerable, where materials need to offer protection against temperatures that can reach -193 Celsius at night in the polar regions, then going up to 111 Celsius during the day in equatorial regions. Alongside this is the need to cool the active body and move moisture away in an environment where convection does not occur because of the vacuum where heat stays rather than rises. The innermost garment contains tubing filled with water for cooling. This is largely unchanged since the first missions and according to Evelyn Orndoff it is still the best option available. However, Axiom Space who have been awarded the contract by NASA to design and make the Artemis III spacesuits, anticipate that there will be a replacement material and garment in place for Artemis III onwards, as there will be more time for development and to undertake the rigorous testing and certification needed to approve a fully new material for use in space.
Aegis Aerospace Aegis Aerospace providing commercial Space Testing as a Service (STaaS) in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).
Astronauts Wear Prada Axiom Space build space stations including private astronaut missions, “we provide space access to all” offers Chyree Batton, Commercial Innovation Strategy Lead for in-space solutions and manufacturing – all who can afford it that is. Axiom is in the process of designing and making the Artemis III spacesuits that will be worn by a crew that will land on the dark side of the moon, the South Pole, where no human has ever been. The company has teamed up with a wide range of partners, some where there is an obvious connection, such as NASA and Kuraray America. Less obvious is their partnership with Prada, better known for high fashion. “Prada has extensive experience and history developing composite materials and fabrics,” explains Chyree Batton, “way back into the 90s they have been working on this [Americas Cup] competition, so we are going to tap into this knowledge base and their reach to help us to innovate to reimagine some of those technologies within our spacesuit.” The relationship she sees as a good example of STEAM – bringing the art and science together. NASA’s Evelyn Orndoff raised the question of whether the Artemis space program provides the impetus for manufacturing some of NASA’s fabrics that were developed but not yet produced. Chyree
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NASA’s Evelyn Orndoff raised the question of whether the Artemis space program provides the impetus for manufacturing some of NASA’s fabrics that were developed but not yet produced. Caryn Smith
Batton pointed to the great value in looking at existing materials from the space agency before starting on the journey of developing a new textile from scratch. Developing and then certifying a 100% new material for use in space can take a very long time. The company first looks at how they might leverage materials already certified by NASA, to see how they might put a spin on it. Because the Artemis trip will be to such a temperature-challenged environment, they also need to work with textile manufacturers working with cryogenic materials. The thermal pressure on mate-
Vectran fiber, woven fabric and protective glove using Vectran. Marie O’Mahony
rials will be considerable as astronauts will experience a sunset resulting in extreme temperature shifts every ninety minutes. They need to ensure that any material choice ensures both astronaut safety and comfort. There are new problems to face, such as lunar dust that is charged positive in the morning and negative at night. Dust is a significant problem because it does not weather in space, remain sharp with the potential to damage fabric. Also important is ensuring that the dust is not inadvertently brought back into the habitat on astronauts clothing. The solutions that Axiom are looking at includes working both with NASA legacy materials, as well as new coatings that can repel the dust, composite materials and engaging with new partners as they prepare for launch of Artemis III. Lunar dust is particularly pervasive, so they also plan to have special brushes and nitrogen gas to get rid of as much as possible, but as a final containment the astronaut will don an outer suit with a drawstring to keep the habitat protected. Kuraray America are manufacturers of Vectran, with Matthew Reid describing the company as engaging more in polymer than fiber science. Vectran is a Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP), that uses a special polymer based on polyester chemistry. It offers an excellent strength to weight
ratio, has low crystallinity that competes in world with aramids on one side and High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE) on the other so possessing characteristics of both. The fiber they acknowledge is expensive, but their mantra is “we work where others fail,” so that it is used in niche applications including extreme environments. The fiber already has a long history of use ranging from tethers for landing vehicles to a crucial role in the Mars Rover projects. Here it is used during the landing process in the airbags. The airbags are inflated when landing in order to cushion the impact of landing, protecting the vehicle as it bounces around thirty times on the rough surface before fully coming to a stop when the airbag then deflates. Vectran has been found to work very well in the harsh environment, inflating and deflating without degradation of the fiber, that has been shown to increase in strength as the temperature goes down to cryogenic temperatures. Projects such as the Pathfinder, Spirit, and Opportunity Mars landings are a few examples where fabrics woven with LCP fiber were used in space application. Today, LCP fibers are being used to build the life habitat shelters that will be linked to the International Space Station. Testing is crucial for applications in space with Aegis Aerospace providing commercial Space Testing as a Service (STaaS) in space. The atmosphere that materials have to withstand are extremely harsh: constant UV that is unfiltered because there is not atmosphere to do this so that materials are exposed to UVC, that is the shortest wavelength that we do not usually have to worry about on earth but is very damaging to textiles and polymers in space. The microgravity can alter products to make them more brittle, the atomic oxygen causes oxidation resulting in material degradation while a lack of vacuum can cause materials to form, misform or misshape. Jason M.F. Smith, Customer Solutions and New Business Development Lead at Aegis, counters the challenges with the reminder “there are some advantages such as the clarity aspect beneficial to creating a textile that is improved or new, that is stronger or more durable, even more comfortable.” Adidas, for example, have sent polymers to space with the goal to provide a sole that would be more comfortable for astronauts. The space industry has always looked to build collaborations with manufacturers and brands through material development work as well as programs such as Spinoff. This relationship has never been stronger, as evidenced here through the very wide range of collaborators and the benefits that these are already bringing for material development both in space and on earth.
Dr. Marie O’Mahony is an industry consultant, author and academic, the author of several books on advanced and smart textiles published by Thames and Hudson. She can be contacted at marie.consultant@gmail.com. www.linkedin.com/in/marie-o-mahony-94776836. ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 31
SHOW REVIEW
Redefining the Future: Hygienix 2023 Reveals an Industry in Flux By Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer, IFJ
ygienix 2023, hosted by INDA,
of the Nonwoven H Association Fabrics Industry, brought profes-
sionals together to define sustainability movement challenges facing the industry. With close to 450 participants and 50 tabletop exhibits, the event focused on addressing key trends and statistics, redefining hygiene in a future economy and innovating brands for up-and-coming eco-conscious consumers. The energy was amplified by lightning talks, award presentations, panels and keynotes. Courtney Scharf, futurist and chief content officer of Trend Hunter Inc., kicked off with a keynote on AHP trends and forces at work that change the industry and reveal opportunities. The key takeaway is the prevalent technological acceleration in the consumer marketplace. There is a disruption of niche brands arising from innovators, like Dude Wipes. “Technology is an accelerant with changes on a week-by-week basis,” she said. “It is causing a rise in prosumerism – a better version of consumers. Consumers expect brands to be an educator as the average consumer becomes more sophisticated.” Access to more and more information is driving this desire for education. Trends that impact personal hygiene brands include the idea that people don’t buy products, they buy better versions of themselves. Along with this, there is an evident “wellness backlash,” as this industry is typecast as shame-driven, unscientific, overpriced, and exclusionary. She warns, “Your next competitor may come out of nowhere and are not even on your radar today.” She cited UK flushable sanitary pad maker FLUUS, who advertise that their pad is the size of an eyelash once flushed into water ways. That powerful visual creates consumer trust because they can immediately gauge the end-of-life result. Products with special or limited editions
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Clockwise from top left: Greta Meyer, CEO/Co-founder of Sequel – the 2023 Hygienix Innovation Award recipient; Keynote speaker Courtney Scharf, futurist and chief content officer of Trend Hunter; Ashish Chatterjee, Innovategrn/Centrifuse; and Colin Hanna, Price Hanna Consultants, and Heidi Beatty, Crown Crown Abbey, discuss the current marketplace. Caryn Smith
also are gaining popularity because it confirms a notion that the brand is paying attention to the desires of its target market. Lastly, she noted that “smaller numbers of choices can translate to purchasing power; people do not always want so many choices, just good choices to choose from.” Also speaking to trends, Ashish Chatterjee, from Innovategrn/Centrifuse, spoke on the accelerated consumercentric approach to product marketing. “Why accelerate? Increasing demand boosts the consumer experience and empowers the underserved.” The way to do this, he suggests, is to leverage AI-curated technology to access the consumer directly and identify their compensating behaviors. AI can quickly identify solutions to consumer problems, with validated user interest, tangible cost savings from launching products consumers don’t want, and products to market first over competitors. AI-based curation, by definition, uses algorithms to process huge volumes of
data, deciphering meaning, and patterns. AI works by analyzing user data to make sense of user intent, thereby helping marketers address consumers better. Sequel’s product developer and CEO/ cofounder Greta Meyer spoke about their product success using the “listening to the consumer” approach. Sequel, founded by Meyer and Amanda Calabrese, is the prestigious 2023 Hygienix Innovation Award recipient. In Sequel’s case, the consumers who provided insight were their female college athlete peers. They all complained about traditional tampon design failures in their everyday sports life. By thinking outside the box, the product developing duo changed the traditional tampon design into a spiral shape for greater desired protection. They proved the concept and are currently bringing it to market with great success. Christy Sapp, strategic feedstock sourcing director at Nexus Circular, addressed plastics circularity by promoting
INDA
engagement to recycle plastic as feedstock in large quantities. Projected feedstock consumption needs from 2023 to 2025 will be growing exponentially. The development of feedstock sources for the advanced recycling is critical, and the limiting factor for industry growth. “As a critical tool for circularity, advanced recycling can close the circularity gap. Our process utilizes four types of used plastics as pyrolysis feedstocks, addressing 60% of global plastic waste: HDPE, LDPE, PP and PS. Recycled resins are a drop-in replacement, and perform just as virgin resins,” she says. Colin Hanna from Price Hanna Consultants addressed the policy side of the sustainability strategy, showcasing a series of recycling and waste reduction trends, like diaper recycling, and mechanical and chemical recycling. Prudent industry players should “all be thinking how to make change come about in your companies – social change and system change.” Regulations will come to drive change, and it is wise to get ahead of the mandates. Sharing global initiatives as exam-
ples, he believes that best ideas will come when municipal policy (waste management), private commercial, and national policy all work together. In another call to action, Heidi Beatty of Crown Abbey made the case for collabora-
Caryn Smith
“I am humbled to be recognized on behalf of my industry colleagues with the honor of receiving the Lifetime Technical Achievement Award. Over my entire career I found the industry to be filled with opportunities to help people solve problems and to mutually share with them the technical understanding of our engineered products. I had Left to right: Matt O’Sickey, INDA Director of fun many more days than not and, along the way, Education & Technical Affairs, Jim Robinson, and got to meet so many fine people and develop Tony Fragnito, INDA President/CEO of INDA. lasting, rewarding relationships.” Jim Robinson has 33 years in the absorbent hygiene industry, including 28 years as a Technical Service Manager at BASF. He led technical teams that focused on the application of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in hygiene products. Robinson has extensive knowledge of SAP applications, absorbent core formation, and hygiene article design, performance and testing. While with BASF, Robinson led efforts with multiple external companies to provide co-supplier solutions to hygiene converters.
tion as necessary, particularly in circularity, for product development. For long-term success, supply chain collaboration can define what are proper solutions – from choosing raw materials, to manufacturing methods and ultimately end-of-life options. INDA’s Matt O’Sickey continued that thought by discussing that the consumer’s desires for sustainability do not match what they are willing to pay. He shared that words and definitions matter, with a 2023 McKinsey & Company study that says products making ESG-related claims averaged 28 percent cumulative growth over the past five-year period, versus 20 percent growth for products that made no such claims. The industry is lacking a defined vocabulary with describing bioplastics, noting several studies and articles that confirm “consumers may mis-perceive bioplastics and base their decisions on their limited understanding.” His call to action is also based in collaboration: There are many solutions for sustainability; consistency of language will be critical; and the nonwovens industry can and should act together in a mutually supportive manner. Caryn Smith
INDA
Jim Robinson Awarded INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award at Hygienix
www.hygienix.org ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 33
SHOW PREVIEW
The Success Story of Cellulosic Fibers Continues The Annual Conference Will Provide Insights on the Current Trends of Circular Economy, Recycling and Sustainable Carbon Cycles By Geoff Fisher, European Editor, IFJ
atural fibers, such as cotton and
will not be able to satisfy N hemp, the increasing global demand for more sustainable and renewable fibers. Cellulosic fibers are undoubtedly part of the solution. Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and is a natural polymer. It is both bio-based and biodegradable, even in marine environments, where its degradation does not result in the production of any microplastic. Cellulosic fibers are at the forefront in the race to replace single-use plastic products. For example, 100% cellulose-based recyclable barrier papers, cellulose foam for packaging, wet wipes and hygiene products are already in the market or under development. The various production technologies for extracting cellulose from plants can also be used for the recycling of cellulose, which ensures circularity of the material. At the same time, innovations using alternative raw materials, in particular textile waste, used clothing and agricultural residues, are also gaining ground.
34 IFJ ISSUE 1 2024
The audience at the Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023.
Nova-Institute
With a compound annual growth rate of 5-10%, cellulosic fibers have been a major success story within the textile market over the past decade, with similar growth rates projected in future. Meanwhile, the continued growth of cellulose-based nonwovens, packaging and hygiene products continues to push the boundaries of fibers beyond the horizon of traditional textile applications. Sustainability, fiber-to-fiber recycling and alternative fiber sources are some of the key topics of the next Cellulose Fibres Conference, to be held in Cologne,
Germany, on March 13−14, 2024 and online. The two-day event, which includes an exhibition area, will cover the entire value chain, from lignocellulose, chemical pulp, and cellulosic fibers such as viscose, modal and lyocell, to new developments across a wide range of applications, including textiles from renewable fibers and nonwovens such as wet wipes, as well as new areas such as composites, hygiene, packaging, and nanocellulose in the food industry. Organized by Nova-Institute, an independent German research institute founded in 1994 that offers research and consultancy with a focus on the transition of the chemical and material industry to renewable carbon, this annual conference will highlight some of the most successful cellulose-based solutions currently on the market or planned for the near future. First held in February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic struck, this next edition will be the fifth in the series – a unique event in the global cellulosic fibers industry’s calendar. Last year’s conference attracted around 230 participants from 27 countries. Pertti Nousiainen of NousFibre Consulting, Finland, said, “The Cellulose
Fibres Conference is important to gather experts worldwide amid the challenges of responding to the increased demand for bio-based textile fibers with hydrophilic and tensile properties produced with zero carbon footprint.” Lucja Wanicka of AFRY, Finland, mentioned that the event is “the ideal place for experts within the man-made cellulosic fibers and textile industry to exchange ideas, collaborate and make the future together.” “Conferences like this drive scientific collaboration and innovation, which is essential for progress in industrial applications,” added Thomas Harter of Graz University of Technology, Austria, while Sascha Schriever of RWTH Aachen, Germany, said it is the “place to be for innovators in the cellulose fibers industry.” The 2024 conference will feature sessions on traditional and new markets for cellulosic fibers, replacing single-use plastic products, sustainability and environmental impacts, circular economy
and recyclability, alternative feedstocks and supply chains, cellulose fiber-based hygiene products, ionic liquids and new technologies for pulps, fibers and yarns. The opening session will provide an overview of the market and the applications of cellulose in the textile sector, as well as in other fields such as hygiene and packaging. In addition to exploring the various uses of cellulose, speakers will highlight market opportunities. During this timeframe, a case Kantola. study, Evolving Cellulosic Textile Fibres presented by Jukka Kantola of the World BioEconomy Forum, will outline the role of the Finnish forest clusters in developing an innovative environment for cellulosic fibers based on the first Finnish bio-economy strategy. Session tracks include exploring new markets for cellulose, single-use plastics, sustainability and recyclability, feedstocks and supply chains, hygiene, and pulps, fibers and yarns.
This year, six nominees that will present innovative and sustainable solutions for various industries in the cellulose fiber value chain have been announced as finalists for the Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year 2024, sponsored by GIG Karasek, Austria. (See graphic for nominees.) The innovations range from resource-efficient and recycled fibers for textiles and building panels to geotextiles for glacier protection. www.cellulose-fibres.eu
Geoff Fisher is the European editor of International Fiber Journal, editor of MobileTex and a director of UK-based Textile Media Services, a B2B publisher of news and market reports on transport textiles, medical textiles, smart materials and emerging markets. He has more than 35 years of experience covering fibers and technical textiles. He can be contacted at gfisher@textilemedia. com or +44 7803 718443.
ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 35
SHOW PREVIEW
Exploring What JEC World 2024 Has to Offer he 2024 JEC World exhibition for
materials and their T composite applications, to be held March
5-7, is gearing up for success. The conference program will emphasize both the challenges of the industry as a whole and specific application sectors, particularly in the fields of wind energy, aerospace, and transportation. The show is expecting 43,500 visitors to attend, hosting key players in the global composites industry around a rich and rallying program. Over 49 countries represented among 27 international pavilions are converging on the Paris Nord Villepinte convention center located in Villepinte, France. Several countries are boosting their presence at the event, including Germany, Austria, Belgium, China, South Korea, the United States, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey. Exhibiting are industry leaders such as 3M, Airbus, Daher, Hexcel, Mitsubishi, Owens Corning, Porchers Industries, SGL Technologies, Solvay, Teijin Carbon and Toray Advanced Composites. Also, 116 new exhibitors are set to join the event, including ACCIONA Construcción S.A., BÜFA Composite Systems, ExxonMobil, Geiss® AG, Kaon Polymer and Sealants Co., Ltd. and Sekisui aerospace.
Sessions to Note The program is full of thought leadership, including panels on circularity. “Unleashing the Power of Nature: Exploring Natural Fibers and Bio-Sourced Materials in the Composites Industry” explores opportunities associated with the supply chain of these natural resources and with integrating natural fibers and bio-sourced materials into existing manufacturing processes and products; “Composite Materials and Sustainable Transportation” sheds light on how lightweight and durable materials are reshaping the landscape of transportation; and, “Revolutionizing Composites: The Benefits and Challenges of Using Recycled Materials” presents a
36 IFJ ISSUE 1 2024
dynamic landscape of recycled materials, exploring the benefits and challenges associated with incorporating them into composite products, and future impacts on manufacturing. Another discussion, “Competitiveness and Innovation in the French Composites Industry Through the ‘France 2030’ Relaunch Plan,” are two panels sessions that include experts from the office of the French Prime Minister (the General Secretariat for Investment, SGPI) and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). They highlight the “France 2030” relaunch plan advanced policy, and the project’s plan for the new generation of recyclable composite components and government support for R&D, and talent development. Manufacturing has a panel discussion, with “Composites Manufacturing 4.0: Unlocking Efficiency and Sustainability Through Automation & Digitalization” exploring technological revolutionization of manufacturing with the integration of automation, robotics, and digital technologies ushering in unprecedented efficiency, precision, and cost-effectiveness to composite production processes.
Preshow Priming the Pump On March 4, a unique pre-show event is being hosted by JEC, “Composites: Shaping the Future of Low Carbon Construction.” The recent introduction of composite-related building codes in the United States, coupled with similar measures underway in Europe, now provides architects and structural engineers with clear
guidelines for the use of composite materials in both exterior and interior building structures. These efforts could tackle construction to meet the needs reported by the World Economic Forum, that estimates by 2030, three billion people will need access to adequate, affordable housing. These opportunities are accompanied by a growing focus on all aspects of composites-related sustainability. Two roundtables on reducing carbon emissions and new standards are central to the discussions, as well as various workshops during the half-day event.
Award Finalists Honored The JEC Composites Innovation Awards recognize initiatives and collaborative efforts within the composites industry. From the 33 finalists, one winner will be selected in each of the 11 categories: Aerospace – Parts, Aerospace – Process; Automotive & Road Transportation – Parts; Automotive & Road Transportation – Process; Building & Civil Engineering; Circularity & Recycling; Digital - AI & Data; Equipment, Machinery & Heavy Industries; Maritime Transportation & Shipbuilding; Renewable Energies; and Sports, Leisure & Recreation. The awards ceremony are February 8, in a live broadcast on www.jec-world. events/program/innovation-awards.
www.jec-world.events
SHOW PREVIEW
Innovation and Digitalization in Focus at Techtextil and Texprocess 2024 he international textile industry
its many players will be T and able to look into the near future at Techtextil and Texprocess in Frankfurt, Germany, April 23-26, 2024. These two leading trade fairs are hotspots for innovations, textile solutions and networking. With over 1,600 exhibitors from around 50 countries, Techtextil and Texprocess reflect the extraordinary degree of innovation prevailing in the sectors. Innovation, research, an exchange of ideas and information, inspiration and successful business transactions – these are the promises made to the international industry by Techtextil and Texprocess. The large number of current exhibitor registrations from around the world confirms the relevance of the two trade fairs for the textile sector. Companies can look forward to meeting buyers and top decision makers from 95 (Techtextil 2022) and 86 (Texprocess 2022) countries. In addition to familiar and high-grade formats, such as the Techtextil Innovation Award and the Texprocess Innovation Award, as well as the Techtextil Forum and the Texprocess Forum, the coming editions will be distinguished by several new special areas, e.g., the Nature Performance area and the Future Materials special show at Techtextil, and the Denim Hub and an Emerging Markets area at Texprocess. Visitors can discover a spectrum of unparalleled textile solutions and an extraordinary range of products in twelve areas of application, which are used in many different industries – from automotive, fashion, medicine, construction and more. The latest developments in fibers and yarns, nonwovens, composites, coated textiles, technologies, etc., will be presented by companies at Techtextil, in many cases, for the first time. Texprocess is the international platform for exhibitors of the latest machinery, equipment, processes and services
for manufacturing garments, as well as textile and flexible materials. The spectrum of products to be seen ranges from sewing technology and materials, embroidery technology, fastening, CAD/ CAM and cutting to recycling technologies and much more. Digitalization is an emerging hot topic, as it affects innovation and efficiency. During a panel discussion of industry experts recently by Techtextil/Texprocess, it was pointed out that digitalization has by no means carved out a place for itself in the work processes of many companies. A study conducted by the German Economic Institute in 2022 revealed that only 31 percent of companies in Germany are able to use data efficiently. However, it is essential for companies to improve their digital infrastructure because legal regulations, such as the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles and the associated digital product passport, require a corresponding level of digitalization. Digitalization also helps to meet the sustainability requirements of customers and partners by improving supply chain transparency or resource calculation. Companies wanting to remain competitive can no longer avoid digital technologies. “The sectors have an enormous potential for innovation, especially in the field of digitalization. We can only realize this through a joint international exchange of information. The global industry meets
at Techtextil and Texprocess. Dialogue, knowledge transfer, unique innovations and multifaceted solutions strengthen companies on their journey into the future”, said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt. Digitalization helps companies meet the challenges currently facing their industries and remain competitive. Companies can take advantage of digital developments to counter raw material and labor shortages, energy costs or increased sustainability requirements and produce more efficiently, faster, more flexibly, more transparently and more cost-effectively. “Constantly changing consumer and legislative requirements, as well as labor shortages and more difficult trading conditions due to geopolitical changes, are constantly posing new challenges for garment manufacturers and processors of technical textiles. The manufacturers of machines, systems and processes for processing textile materials offer the necessary solutions. Through digitalization and automation for increased flexibility, sustainability, quality and increased product potential, we help our customers in their production and at the same time ensure a boost in innovation,” explained Elgar Straub, Managing Director of VDMA Textile Care, Fabric & Leather Technologies, who participated in the panel discussion. techtextil.messefrankfurt.com
A panel of industry experts discuss how digitalization is driving growth in the industry. Digitalization will be in focus at this year’s Techtextil Texprocess in Frankfurt Am Main in April. MesseFrankfurt ISSUE 3 2023 ifj.com 37
iStockphoto.com/Gmoz Shih
SHOW PREVIEW
ANEX 2024: Sustainably Innovating with Nonwovens rateful for the support and par-
from international G ticipation well-known brands, ANEX 2024 is expected to have 350 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors from all over the world, showcasing sustainable innovative technologies and trends. The nonwoven industry event will be held in Taipei, Taiwan for the first time on May 22-24, 2024.
Overall, the mission of ANEX 2024 will showcase cutting-edge sustainable technologies and industry trends. Taiwan Nonwoven Fabrics Industry Association (TNFIA) President Jian Jiajing was interviewed by Japan Nonwoven Reports in November 2023 on ANEX 2024. The following statistics are the article’s key points: • Global nonwoven fabric consumption reached nearly 50 million tonnes in 2020 and will reach 90 million by 2030. This underscores the nonwoven industry’s capacity to modify or control materials ranging from 50 to 90 million tonnes. • In 2022, Taiwan’s nonwoven production totaled 151,000 tonnes (39% meltblown/ spunbond, 32% spunlace, 12% needlepunched, 9% thermal-bonded, 4% chemicalbonded, 3% dry-laid/other, 1% wet-laid), marking a 17% decline from 2021. Of the nonwoven products manufactured in Taiwan, over 60% are designated for export. • Taiwanese nonwoven companies are proactively adjusting production lines and raw material choices to diminish their carbon footprint, enhancing the recyclability of their products.
38 IFJ ISSUE 1 2024
• In collaboration with TNFIA, Taiwan’s nonwoven companies have initiated the production of masks designed to be recyclable, reusable, and minimized. Advocating for recyclable materials and standardized masks produced in Taiwan, dedicated collection bins, marked with the TNFIA-approved logo, will be strategically placed across Taiwan for recycling masks.
Well-known brands gather to create a nonwoven ecosystem in Taiwan, supporting TNFIA. TNFIA
A Vibrant Association TNFIA is a trade association representing nonwoven interests in Taiwan, whose members include manufacturers and converters of nonwovens and suppliers. Founded in 1978. TNFIA has 139 member companies, including 60 Nonwoven makers, 34 Nonwoven Develop factories, 27 nonwoven machinery factories and
18 nonwoven material suppliers; and 1 support member. Membership represents approximately two-thirds of the companies that produce and convert nonwovens in Taiwan. They are strong supporters of other nonwoven associations across the globe. TNIFA’s goals are to: • Actively represent the nonwoven interests in Taiwan by offering needed benefits, uniting the membership and attracting new member companies. • Stimulate the growth of the association and the member companies by gaining substantial support from the government official and other related institutions. • Help companies gain the competitive edge by establishing strong relationships with government management officials, research institutions and manufacturers of chemicals, fibers, machinery and equipment. • Enhance contacts with overseas nonwoven institutions through participation in their activities such as exhibitions, conventions and symposia. TNFIA welcomes the nonwovens industry in Taipei. www.anex2024.com
MOVERS & SHAKERS
FILTECH 2024: Call for Papers he world’s largest filtration event, FILTECH, has issued a call for papers for the conference scheduled for November 12-14, 2024, in Cologne, Germany. The FILTECH 2024 Conference will feature the latest advances and techniques in liquid/solid and gas/particle separation (dust, gas & air filtration) during three days of in-depth exposure. Technology and know-how transfer is the main target. Industry professionals are invited to present their latest research at the conference to an international audience and network with filtration experts from all over the world. Deadline for submitting abstract is May 31, 2024. More than 200 presentations are planned for the event. Topics covered are: Solid-Liquid-Separation; Solid-Gas-Separation; Filter Media; Testing; Instrumentation; Control; Simulation and Modeling; Product Related Processes; and, Membrane Processes. www.filtech.de
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Shelton Vision Pushes Needle on AI Quality Control aving successfully demonstrated its WebSpector automated fabric inspection system detecting faults on camouflage fabrics at speeds of up to 100 meters a minute during ITMA 2023, British Textile Machinery Association member Shelton Vision has secured an unprecedented number of new orders in many fields of the textile industry.
H
“We are definitely seeing a ‘sea change’ across the textile industry, with a new generation of management rapidly embracing imaging technology and fully automated fabric inspection,” said Shelton Vision CEO and Managing Director Mark Shelton. “On top of all the throughput and first quality yield improvement benefits our automated fabric inspection can bring, companies throughout the industry, face difficulties in recruiting, training and retaining staff, especially those needed to carry out repetitive manual fabric inspection.” At best, manual inspection can detect around 65% of faults present in the fabric, while the WebSpector offers automated defect detection of over 98%, he adds. “Using machine learning, the vision system automatically trains new styles, and our AI platform is continuously updating to achieve high accuracy of real time defect naming and grading to eliminate false
positives and provide consistently accurate data for both roll cutting optimization and yield increase, as well as for optimizing fabric utilization in panel cutting processes,” he said. www.sheltonvision.co.uk
Davis-Standard to Acquire Extrusion Technology Group avis-Standard, LLC, a global leader in the extrusion equipment and services sector, announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Extrusion Technology Group (“ETG”) from entities controlled by the Dutch Investor Nimbus. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Davis-Standard has been majority owned by funds affiliated with Gamut Capital Management, L.P. (“Gamut”) since December 2021 and serves the
D
global infrastructure and packaging endmarkets with a highly engineered suite of extrusion equipment and converting systems supported by world-class aftermarket spare parts, service, and support for its base of industry critical customers. ETG is a leader in the supply of extrusion equipment and downstream processing equipment, in addition to extensive tooling, dies, spare parts, and service capabilities, for the global pipe, profile, film and sheet markets. ETG’s operations span Europe, the United States, and Asia and includes long-established and storied brands, such as Battenfeld-Cincinnati, Exelliq ( formerly Greiner Extrusion), and Simplas. Giovanni Spitale, CEO of DavisStandard, stated: “The acquisition of ETG will be highly complementary and diversifying to our fast-growing enterprise, and we believe it will allow Davis-Standard to provide a broader and deeper product portfolio to our customers.” Gerold Schley, CEO of ETG, will join the Davis-Standard senior leadership team and continue to manage the ETG business as a standalone segment after closing of the transaction. www.davis-standard.
ProTact by Haartz™ Line Expands its Offerings he Haartz Corporation, a global leader in highly engineered and uniquely designed textile materials, announced that its ProTact by Haartz™ material is now available in MultiCam® patterns. MultiCam® is an original combat-proven pattern officially issued for use by the US Army for its Afghanistan operations in 2010 and remains a leading name in concealment pattern solutions. The different camouflages from MultiCam® incorporate unique high-resolution patterns designed using tests that studied how camouflage works in nature to increase its wearer’s concealment properties. Variants can be applied to printed textile applications across different global environments, elevations and light conditions. ProTact by Haartz is a multi-layer textile laminated material that provides military, law enforcement, SWAT teams and other first responders with a durable material tested against flex and fatigue, fabric fraying, high-temperature laundering and hightemperature and humidity endurance. The design of ProTact material is adaptable and can conform to a wide range of patterns including each MultiCam® variant and can be scaled to meet growing demand. www.haartz.com
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ISSUE 1 2024 ifj.com 39
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Atlas Copco Names New CEO
IDEA®25 Exhibitor Booth Registration Open, Launches Redesigned Look
tlas Copco has named Vagner Rego new president and CEO, effective May 1, 2024. He will replace Mats Rahmström who has requested to leave his position after leading the Group since 2017. Rego, currently senior executive vice president and president of the Compressor Technique business area, joined the Group in 1996 as a trainee engineer in his native country Brazil. A decade later he was appointed Business Line manager for Compressor Technique Service in Brazil and in 2010, he became vice president of Marketing and Sales for the Compressor Technique Service division, based in Belgium. He has also been general manager for Power Technique’s Customer Center in Brazil. Before he took on his current position in 2017, he was president for the Compressor Technique Service division. Rego has a degree in mechanical engineering from Mackenzie University and an MBA from Ibmec Business School, both located in Brazil. Rego will be based in Stockholm, Sweden. www.atlascopco.com
NDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced that exhibit space reservations for IDEA®25 are rapidly approaching 70% capacity. IDEA is the largest North American exhibition dedicated to the next generation of nonwovens and engineered materials. Potential exhibitors are encouraged to make space reservations as soon as possible to ensure they receive the best booth location. IDEA®25 is being held April 29-May 1, 2025 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. The expo attracts global suppliers and manufacturers with a strong desire to connect their technologies and innovations to C-suite leaders, R&D developers, and specifiers, and to demonstrate products to participants from around the world, answer their technical questions, and collaborate on new products. FiltXPO™, the International Filtration Conference & Exhibition, will again be co-located with IDEA® bringing additional value to all participants. Registrants can attend both shows whether they are attending the expo or the conference and expo. Participants will notice a new look and feel to the show centered on sustainability. Tony Fragnito, INDA President, said, “Our theme for IDEA® 25 is ‘Nonwovens for a Healthier Planet’ and will culminate our 2024 focus on Sustainability with pillars on Responsible Sourcing, End-of-life Solutions, and Innovations in Sustainability. We are excited to see the diversity of companies showcasing their commitment to sustainable concepts. This event is where the future of nonwovens will be on display.” For exhibit questions, contact Joe Tessari, Associate Director of Exhibit Sales at jtessari@inda.org or +1 919 459 3729. Reserve exhibit space online at www.ideashow.org.
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