FW
Kelheim Fibers has introduced a flame retardant viscose fiber called Danufil BF. It’s designed for use in home textiles, interior fittings and for acoustic insulation in the automotive sector. Kelheim is based in Germany and is one of Europe's leading viscose staple fiber producers.
Being a combination of organic wood pulp and inorganic silicate structure, the fiber offers inherent flame protection requiring no additional chemical finish. Products based on Danufil BF emit virtually no smoke or toxic fumes. The fibers do not melt or flow when in contact with heat or flame but the organic parts of the fiber burn away, leaving a residual silicate structure which acts as an isolating barrier against the further spread of the fire both into the depth and on the surface.
Viscose is seen as the environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional materials, being biodegradable and comprising 100 per cent renewable raw materials. Being non-toxic, Danufil BF is presented by the company as an alternative to products treated with halogen-based flame retardants. As a result of its large and irregular surface, this fiber meets the prerequisites for various absorption applications. It is suited to all common manufacturing processes and can be processed to both yarn and nonwovens.
www.kelheim-fibres.com/
Denmark sees great potential for investment in the textile and energy sectors of Pakistan. Since Pakistan has been given the Generalized System of Preferences status by the European Union, it offers an attractive prospect for sourcing companies especially in the textile sector. Pakistan’s economy is growing, with a budding middle class and a relatively conducive business environment.
Danish companies are globalized and are working with emerging markets. The current trade volume between both countries is approximately $425 million. Denmark has set up a commercial section in Islamabad, dedicated to explore avenues of investment for Danish companies.
A few Danish companies have been active in Pakistan for decades. Some are doing very well and there is significant room for improvement. Like Pakistan, Denmark has a long agricultural tradition. There are thousands of Danish companies involved in the agriculture, farming and dairy industries.
Denmark exports to Pakistan to the tune of 1.2 billion kroner a year while annual Pakistani exports to Denmark come to 677 million kroner.
Jakob Müller has introduced its new air-jet label weaving machine. The MBJL6 facilitates the efficient production of labels, images and technical narrow fabrics with cut selvedges. It is ideally suited for top production performance and is designed to allow easy access to all the important machine components and control elements.
Shedding takes place using an electronically controlled SPE3 1536 jacquard machine with patented bottom shed read-in. The jacquard machine is mounted directly on top of the basic machine, reducing the space required to a minimum. Additional advantages include a machine height of 3.65 m and its low weight. The new air-jet weaving machine can manufacture more labels per hour in a production area of only 2.05 m by 4.25 m and a reduced building volume.
The careful handling of the warp and weft material during production allows for top speeds and optimum efficiency. The warp is provided on a warp beam with a maximum diameter of 800 mm. A controlled warp let-off system with a servomotor ensures quick and simple setting of warp thread tension.
Weft insertion takes place using standard main, acceleration and relay nozzles. The main nozzle is designed for the insertion of eight weft threads. The number of weft threads per centimeter can be adjusted via a torque motor. This electronically controlled fabric take-off allows the number of weft threads within a repeat to be varied between 18 picks per cm and 120 picks per cm.
www.mueller-frick.com/
Karl Mayer is making a contribution to the processing of high performance fabrics by introducing a new portal weft-insertion warp knitting machine. The machine can process carbon, glass, basalt, aramid and high-strength polyester fibers, among others, while making maximum use of the yarns, since the weft is inserted with no waste.
The weft is inserted in line with the stitches without any waste being produced and from both sides of the machine. Working from a creel on both sides of the portal weft insertion machine avoids the laying device from making empty runs, thus increasing the productivity of the weft system. The laying device grips the 20 weft yarns of the creel on one side of the machine during the laying cycle and pulls them in a continuous movement over the working width.
The laying device is then synchronised with the transport chain. Once they are running synchronously, the weft yarns are laid into the transport chain to match the gauge, fixed with yarn clamps, and cut from the bobbins on the creel by means of a circular blade. The laying device then grips the weft yarns on the creel on the other side of the machine and repeats this sequence on the other side.
www.karlmayer.com/
Textile companies in Swaziland say they will close down if the government does not pay the duties levied by the United States on exports that do not benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Swaziland will be out of AGOA from January 2015. Swaziland began benefiting from the program in 2001.
Companies say the only way they can continue operating in Swaziland is if government commits to taking over the payment of export duties they would be compelled to pay as of the beginning of next year. They say they are not even willing to bear half the cost as they can’t afford to bear losses.
After an extensive review, the United States concluded that Swaziland had not demonstrated progress on the protection of internationally recognised worker rights. In particular, Swaziland was said to have failed to make progress in protecting freedom of association and the right to organise. Of particular concern was the country’s use of security forces and arbitrary arrests to stifle peaceful demonstrations as well as the lack of legal recognition for labor and employer federations.
AGOA is a United States preferential trade program established in 2000 that provides duty-free access to the American market for thousands of products from eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
trade.gov/agoa/
VF Corporation has launched a method to screen for hazardous trace chemicals in textile formulations before they enter the mill. The Chem-IQ process can pinpoint minute traces of more than 400 hazardous substances before they are used in production. It assigns formulations a simple green, yellow, orange or red environmental rating at the end of a simple five step screening process.
Each sample is given a rating: preferred (green), allowed (yellow), due diligence required (orange) and prohibited (red). The factory then receives a report on all chemical formulations submitted, and is required to phase out use of any red rated chemicals and work towards making sure the inventory is loaded with green rated chemistry. The idea is a factory meeting the Chem-IQ requirements has a very low risk of product failures, wastewater pollution and worker safety issues.
The method can help mills filter out potentially hazardous formulations in the global textile supply chain and continuously improve their environmental profile. Although the Chem-IQ program currently relates only to the VF Corp supply chain, the company wants the new process to be applied to the wider textile community.
www.vfc.com/brands
Invista and Lenzing are working on developing a denim fabric for women that will provide cool dry comfort and softness. The two fiber companies began working together in 2013 when they announced the results of a study on the benefits of combining Lenzing’s Tencel fiber with Invista’s dual FX technology. Now they are extending that collaboration to new fiber blends. The companies are aiming to leverage their strengths in performance, fashion, and sustainability.
Today’s women expect more from their denim and these fabrics can deliver on the benefits women are seeking. Studies by Invista have shown that women are looking for more performance attributes in their clothing as well as aesthetic features such as soft hand. Invista’s Coolmax fabrics blended with Lenzing’s Tencel meets both of these needs as well as provides consumers with a sustainable option.
Coolmax is made from 97 per cent recycled polyester. Tencel is made from wood pulp, a renewable raw material, which is then processed through a closed loop system to create an ecologically responsible fiber. Invista is a part of the ongoing Kingpins show in Amsterdam being held on October 29 and 30. In addition to showcasing its global collection, the company is debuting its new brand imagery to the European denim market and previewing several new fabric innovations.
www.invista.com/en/index.html
Archroma, the global leader in colour and specialty chemicals will sponsor the ITMA Future Materials Awards 2014. World Textile Information Network, publisher of international technical textiles magazine Future Materials had launched this award to recognize successful textile innovations and to celebrate the essential work of the businesses that support the industry.
On the company’s move to sponsor the award, Uwe Halder, Head of Textile Chemicals, Textile Specialties Business, Archroma, says, “Archroma's textile specialties business plays a key role throughout the entire textile supply chain, with special chemicals for pre-treatment, dyeing, printing and finishing of textiles. Sponsoring this key industry event helps to demonstrate our commitment to innovation – and long-term sustainability.”
Future Materials Awards are open to all the end-use sectors for technical textiles as well as material experts, product developers and designers. The winners will be decided by a panel of renowned industry experts and will be announced at a gala dinner that will take place on November 26, 2014 in Dresden, Germany.
www.futurematerialsawards.com.
Nonwoven will continue to see healthy growth in global markets for the next several years, with medical and filtration applications continuing to be focus of use. The market for nonwovens for filtration end-markets is forecast to grow from $3.5 billion in 2014 to $4.6 billion in 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent, says a new study by Smithers Apex. At the same time, the worldwide market for medical nonwovens is forecast to reach $2 billion in four years.
The slow and uneven recovery of global economies after the recession has had a significant impact upon the growth of nonwovens for filtration. With some of the key markets in automotive and construction still growing slowly in some regions, filtration nonwovens have had to aggressively replace older filter media materials, like paper and textiles, as well as enhance performance in order to maintain growth at 5.6 percent per year.
The study, ‘The Future of Nonwovens for Filtration to 2019’, shows that the market for filtration nonwovens is growing because of both the overall growth in filtration market and the replacement of textile and paper filter media. Despite problems in the global economic recovery, the filtration market as a whole has still seen positive growth due to some of the key end-uses for filter media being driven by the increasing demand for cleaner water and air, for protection against pandemic diseases, and for energy conservation.
Global consumption of all medical nonwovens was $1.5 billion in 2013 and is forecast to grow to $2 billion by 2018 at CAGR of 5.1 per cent, according to another study by Smithers Apex, ‘The Future of Medical Nonwovens to 2018’, which covers the time frame 2008 to 2018. Surgical drapes and gowns make up the largest medical nonwovens end-use globally, as well as in most regions, with global consumption valued at $889.2 million in 2013 and a forecasted value of over $1 billion in 2018. The segment is growing at an annual rate of 3.9 percent from 2013 to 2018. Incontinence products are globally the second-largest end-use segment as well as the fastest growing medical nonwovens market, with an annual growth rate of 8.2 per cent from 2013 to 2018.
The study identifies six key trends which are driving the market for medical nonwovens. These include continuing replacement of reusable (textile-based) medical fabrics by disposable (nonwovens-based) medical fabrics; increasing responsibility of hospitals and institutions for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs); increasing emphasis on cost control for healthcare; increasing potential for pandemic outbreaks; increasing age of global populations, which raise the need for assisted care and incontinence products; and increasing availability of modern healthcare to emerging market regions. www.smithersapex.com
Pakistan's exports of value-added textiles grew by 10 per cent in the July to September quarter of this fiscal year. Value-added segment refers to bed wear, knitwear and readymade garments.
However, non-value added spinning-based exports declined by 15 per cent. Exporters expect better figures in the next quarter on the back of a possible hike in international demand, particularly during Christmas. On a month-on-month basis, bed wear and knitwear exports surged by 34 per cent and 27 per cent in September over August. Improved demand from China is thought to be a major factor behind the increase in export volumes of basic textiles.
Textile exports in September 2014 grew by 25.5 per cent over the previous month and 1.2 per cent year-on-year. The silver lining for the textile sector is a plunge in cotton prices. Local cotton prices also reflected the downfall despite flash floods and this is expected to mark higher profit margins for textile players from the October-December quarter onwards. However, the textile sector can benefit from exchange gains in the short term. And, since the provision of the GSP Plus status, the value-added segment has outweighed the fall in the spinning sector to some extent.
