From the Sector

A new type of pure synthetic leather meets the requirements of the European Ecodesign Regulation. Made from a bio-based plastic, it is biodegradable and meets the requirements for a closed recycling process.

Many synthetic leathers consist of a textile substrate to which a polymer layer is applied. The polymer layer usually consists of an adhesive layer and a top layer, which is usually embossed. The textile backing and the top coat are usually completely different materials. Woven, knitted, or nonwoven fabrics made of PET, PET/cotton, or polyamide are often used as textile substrates. PVC and various polyurethanes are commonly used for coatings. The use of these established composite materials does not meet today's sustainability criteria. Recycling them by type is very costly or even impossible. They are not biodegradable. The search for alternative materials for the production of artificial leather is therefore urgent. In 2022, the EU adopted the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) ("Green Deal"). It includes an eco-design regulation that considers a product's life cycle in the conservation of resources. For textile and product design, this means incorporating closing the loop or end-of-life into product development.

In an AiF project carried out in close cooperation between the DITF and the Freiberg Institute gGmbH (FILK), it has now been possible to develop a synthetic leather in which both the fiber material and the coating polymer are identical. The varietal purity is a prerequisite for an industrial recycling concept.

The aliphatic polyester polybutylene succinate (PBS) was recommended as the base material because of its properties. PBS can be produced from biogenic sources and is now available on the market in several grades and in large quantities. Its biodegradability has been demonstrated in tests. The material can be processed thermoplastically. This applies to both the fiber material and the coating. Subsequent product recycling is facilitated by the thermoplastic properties.

In order to realize a successful primary spinning process and to obtain PBS filaments with good textile mechanical properties, process adjustments had to be made in the cooling shaft at the DITF. In the end, it was possible to spin POY yarns at relatively high speeds of up to 3,000 m/min, which had a tenacity of just under 30 cN/tex when stretched. The yarns could be easily processed into pure PBS fabrics. These in turn were used at FILK as a textile base substrate for the subsequent extrusion coating, where PBS was also used as a thermoplastic.

With optimized production steps, PBS composite materials with the typical structure of artificial leather could be produced. Purity and biodegradability fulfill the requirements for a closed recycling process.

The EU TCLF Social Partners, CEC, Cotance, Euratex and industriAll Europe call for future EU policy makers to increase their ambition to safeguard the European TCLF sectors and keep good industrial jobs in Europe. The TCLF Social Partners are all signatories to the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal and express their full support for a European Industrial Deal to complement the Green Deal and keep quality jobs in Europe.

The European TCLF sectors provide over 1.5 million jobs in the EU (Textiles and Clothing: 1,300,000, Tanning and leather: 34,531 and Footwear: 222,000) and have a combined turnover of over €200 bn (T&C: €170 bn, T&L: €7.3 bn and Footwear: €23.2 bn). However, the industries continue to face a range of challenges, including fierce global competition, high energy prices, an ageing workforce, and a huge increase in new legislation. These challenges are especially tough due to over 99% of companies in the TCLF sectors being SMEs. As such, the European Social Partners call for increased focus and commitment in the next EU mandate to ensure that the TCLF sectors can become green and digital while remaining competitive on the global market and that no region, company or worker is left behind.

In relation to the Antwerp Dialogue, CEC, Cotance, Euratex and industriAll Europe have also signed up to a specific joint statement focused on the social dimension of an EU Industrial Deal which is vital to ensure its success and social acceptance. The following demands from the TCLF Social Partners are essential to guaranteeing quality TCLF jobs in Europe:

1. Ensure a Just Transition for our industries and workforce
2. Develop a re-skilling and up-skilling agenda
3. Promote social dialogue and social partners' involvement
4. Ensure a sensible, stable and coherent regulatory environment for our industries
5. Access to energy and raw materials
6. Free and fair trade to ensure a level playing field
7. Sustainability and increased demand for products made in Europe 

At DRUPA in Düsseldorf, BW Converting – formerly BW Converting Solutions – has launched an updated branding identity on the heels of incorporating print and industrial technology company Baldwin into its roster – a portfolio that already includes heavyweights Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) and Winkler+Dünnebier (W+D), as well as Hudson-Sharp, STAX Technologies and Northern Engraving and Machine Company.

With a potent mission, BW Converting pledges to do more than just describe the quality of its converting technologies, but also signify a commitment to betterment that reaches outside the factories and extends into the lives of consumers and society.

The rebranding effort positions BW Converting and its brands in a visually strong and structured architecture so customers and markets can quickly grasp the breadth of the capabilities the company can offer, over just individual brands’ strengths.  

“Our mission is to inform our markets about topics which help them bridge the gap between what they know and what they need to know. This starts with the clarity of our mission,” said Simon Blake, VP of Marketing, BW Converting. “Because we change and transform many raw materials from one purpose to a better one, we are supporting all our customers’ and markets’ goals to ‘Change for the better.’”  ¬¬

“The rebrand is a culmination of a focused plan to support customers’ growth through the integration of our knowledge, scale and global footprint over six strong product brands,” said Stan Blakney, Group President, BW Converting. “Customers are looking for a recognizable company that can support them either in one or many technologies. This rebranding will enable them to do that and have a better understanding of why we come and work for BW Converting.”

The EREMA Group, based in Ansfelden near Linz, Austria, closes the financial year 2023/24 with total revenues of EUR 380 million. A joint venture with the Lindner Group sees the group of companies expand its portfolio to include washing technology. EREMA Group GmbH now has eight subsidiaries: EREMA, PURE LOOP, PLASMAC, KEYCYCLE, Lindner Washtech, UMAC, plasticpreneur and 3S.

"With our machines and components, we have now reached a recycling volume of more than 25 million tonnes per year worldwide, which makes a significant contribution to the development of a circular economy for plastics," says Manfred Hackl, CEO of the EREMA Group. The group of companies manufactured 290 extruders for recycling plastic in the past financial year, supplemented by over 100 add-on components such as filter systems and ReFresher anti-odour technology. These recycling solutions generated total sales of EUR 380 million. Around 8,500 machines and components from the group are in operation in more than 100 countries. The EREMA Group employs 950 people worldwide.

Strategic investments in all areas of the plastics recycling industry
In recent years, the EREMA Group has invested in developing specific machines, applications and infrastructure. "The opening of the new R&D Centre in Ansfelden last summer and the new machines in the Customer Technology Center at EREMA North America at the beginning of this year, have seen us complete the largest phase of investment in our history to date. We have invested more than EUR 110 million in the expansion and modernization of our international locations over the past five years," emphasizes Horst Wolfsgruber, CFO of the EREMA Group. Another important milestone is the founding in August 2023 of the holding company BLUEONE Solutions together with the Austrian family-owned company Lindner. Incorporating Lindner Washtech means that the EREMA Group's extensive portfolio now also includes washing technology.

Developments in post consumer and PET recycling
The new DuaFil® Compact technology, which EREMA developed specifically for challenging applications with high levels of contamination and moisture, is proving successful. Since the launch at K 2022, around 20 INTAREMA® TVEplus® DuaFil® Compact systems have been sold. In the post consumer segment, ReFresher technology for the production of odour-optimised recycled pellets is also gaining ground and is now in use worldwide with a total capacity of one million tonnes per year for film and regrind applications. Another interesting new component is the DischargePro control system for the EREMA laser filter, which has been nominated for this year's Plastics Recycling Awards Europe. The discharge control system responds automatically to fluctuations in flow rate during the recycling process and reduces melt loss by up to 50 percent. With its new Fast-Track scheme, EREMA is responding to the demand for machines available at short notice at an attractive price-performance ratio.

For bottle applications, VACUREMA® systems have been proving their performance for 25 years. Over 400 EREMA PET systems for food grade are in operation worldwide, notching up a total capacity of more than 4.5 million tonnes per year. PET recycling is also becoming increasingly important in the textile industry. FibrePro:IV technology was developed especially for fibre-to-fibre recycling, which is used together with machine combinations from EREMA or PURE LOOP, who specialise in shredder-extruder technology, depending on the geometry and contamination of the PET fibre waste. For these applications, the EREMA Group has set up a fibre technical centre at its headquarters in Ansfelden.

Big potential for plastics recycling
The amount of plastic produced worldwide is currently around 400 million tonnes per year - and the figure is still rising. Around 9 percent of it is recycled globally. This represents big potential for the EREMA Group, as Manfred Hackl emphasizes.

Teijin Carbon Europe has been awarded ISCC PLUS certification (Certificate Number: ISCC-PLUS-Cert-DE100-15897124). This ISCC PLUS certification covers Tenax™ Carbon Fiber produced at the Heinsberg-Oberbruch plant in Germany. This accreditation enables the Teijin Group to offer its customers sustainable products that contribute to circular economy. Teijin has selected the ISCC certification route as the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) is an independent organisation and the leading certification system in this field.

The ISCC PLUS certification is a voluntary system which administers the circular economy of chemicals, plastics, packaging, textiles and renewable raw materials. Raw materials which are made from sustainable source materials (e.g. via recycling or bio-based sources) are labelled with a sustainability declaration (country of origin of the raw material, quantity and type of sustainable raw material, user ID, etc.). This document then follows the product during further processing – even over several stages – until it is used by the end customer. If all partners in the chain are ISCC PLUS certified, the documents can be passed on clearly and reliably.

The Teijin Group is globally establishing a carbon fiber production and supply system based on ISCC PLUS certification. The attractiveness of ISCC PLUS certification for the Teijin Group is exemplified by the future production of sustainable carbon fibers. Teijin uses various chemical building blocks for the internal production of polyacrylonitrile. Conventional and sustainable raw materials can now be purchased and processed on the global market. In future, Teijin also intends to purchase materials that are obtained via recycling or directly based on a bio-based source.

These raw materials will then be processed into a sustainable polyacrylonitrile precursor. As the production processes are identical to those used in the conventional production of carbon fibers, the mechanical and chemical properties are identical. Based on the sustainability declaration, a clear mass balance is used to differentiate between sustainable and conventional products.

The Teijin Group obtained ISCC PLUS certification for carbon fiber and the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fiber produced at Teijin's Mishima Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan in June 2023, and began mass production of carbon fiber based on the certification in December of the same year. The Teijin Group benefits from this approach as customers are offered products that contribute to the circular economy or continue to use conventional raw materials.

adidas unveils its FW24 London Tennis Collection – a range of apparel crafted with comfort in mind – including seamless material construction, to help players focus whilst performing in major moments on grass court.

Although a pure-white color spectrum is found across the entire collection, raised structures implemented on the base of select pieces, create the appearance of darker shadows that flow throughout - celebrating the different shades of light seen on a grass court during the summer months.

Supporting the demands of grass court tennis, the collection has been crafted for added mobility, unlocked by adidas’ FreeLift Construction – which incorporates adaptive stretch areas under the arm of each garment, to offer players a greater range of motion.

To help players in the heat of the moment, the collection also includes adidas’ AEROREADY technology, which uses sweat-wicking or absorbent materials to keep players feeling dry. This combines with AIRCHILL for the AIRCHILL FreeLift T-Shirt Pro – an adidas technology that supports players feeling cool through thermally zoned, raised pattern motifs and mesh layers, helping to optimise airflow during high-intensity workouts and matches.

The collection premiers at the summer London tournaments and will be worn by athletes including Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Xinyu Wang, Dana Mathewson, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Angelique Kerber, Camila Osorio, Daria Kasatkina, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Davidovich-Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Martin de la Puente, Francisco Cerundolo, Jakub Menšík, Alex Michelsen and Luca Nardi.

The Lenzing Group once again received the Austrian sustainability award for top listed companies, the Vienna Stock Exchange VÖNIX Sustainability Award. Lenzing takes the first place in the ‘Industrials’ category. The award honours those companies that stand out on the capital market with their sustainability performance. According to the VBV (Austrian Sustainability Index), which is the sustainability benchmark of the Austrian stock market, the Lenzing Group achieved the best score in its category.

Other environmental organisations and rating agencies have also already testified to Lenzing's efforts in the area of sustainability and the transformation to a circular economy: For the third year in a row, Lenzing received a place on the annual ‘A list’ in all categories of the global non-profit environmental organisation CDP. This makes Lenzing one of only ten companies worldwide to receive a triple ‘A’ - out of over 21,000 companies assessed. Lenzing was also once again awarded platinum status in the EcoVadis CSR rating. This puts Lenzing in the top one per cent of companies rated by EcoVadis. MSCI awarded Lenzing an ‘AA’ rating for the third time in a row, placing the company among the top eight per cent of rated companies in its peer group.

• The fully electric vehicle sport EV to incorporate sustainable, flax-based composites to decarbonise manufacturing
• CUPRA Born VZ to have full natural fibre front seats with Bcomp’s high-performance ampliTex™
• Bcomp’s natural fibre materials enable a reduction of 49% of CO₂ emissions in seats’ production compared to previous version

CUPRA announces the use of Bcomp’s innovative natural fibre composite solutions for the new CUP Bucket seats in the CUPRA Born VZ electric vehicles, the latest addition to the Spanish brand’s vehicle line-up.

CUPRA focuses on innovation and sustainability to redefine the automotive industry. This approach is exemplified by the CUPRA Born VZ, which combines powerful performance with eco-friendly design, aiming to inspire a new generation of drivers with its progressive and responsible engineering.

For the car’s interior design, CUPRA’s collaboration with Bcomp and Sabelt, has resulted in the creation of the first full natural fibre CUP Bucket seats in the CUPRA vehicle line-up. By replacing the seatbacks currently made from carbon and glass fibres, the new all-natural fibre seatbacks offer significant reductions in emissions. The use of Bcomp’s proprietary ampliTex™ technical material reduces CO2 emissions by 49% compared to the hybrid version, while also offering end-of-life options. The incorporation of natural fibres offers other benefits including enhanced vibration damping and increased safety, providing a blend of sustainability and high performance.

With the next generation of soft and stretchable electronics, reproducible and stretchable conductive inks are playing an increasingly important role in areas such as smart textiles, medical textiles or wearables. Saralon produces a range of stretchable conductive inks including Saral StretchSilver 500 for e-textile applications.

While electronic applications integrated into textiles gain popularity, printed stretchable conductive inks emerge as a transformative alternative for the complicated approach of weaving conductive yarns and fibres.

Just like choosing the right fabric and additives is vital for smart textile development, selecting the right conductive ink matters too. There are challenges to consider, such as conductivity, ink penetration into the fabric, changes in physical properties most importantly stretchability, printing process controllability, and reproducibility. That's why research and analysis are essential when deciding on the best conductive ink for a project.

Together with the Saxon Textile Research Institute e.V. (STFI) Saralon conducted some performance tests benchmarking our Saral StretchSilver Ink against some competitor product.

Results:
Conductivity:
Saral StretchSilver 500 consistently demonstrated superior conductivity, regardless of line width.

Fluctuations at lower widths:
Both inks exhibited fluctuations at narrower printed lines, but the Alternative Ink displayed significantly higher variations.

Reproducibility Insights:
Saral StretchSilver 500 maintained stable resistance at 2mm and beyond, while the Alternative Ink noticeably struggled.

Elongation behaviour:
Saral StretchSilver 500 harmoniously coexists with the textile. Its application has minimal impact on the fabric's stretching properties, ensuring stability. The Alternative Ink, on the other hand, leads to significant changes in textile’s elongation properties. With this ink, stretching demands considerably higher forces.

Polyurethane has become an integral part of our daily lives, whether in the construction industry, in leisure activities, in the manufacture of furniture or in numerous other applications. The precision gear pumps from Oerlikon Barmag, which will be presented at this year's UTECH Asia / PU China 2024 in Shanghai, impress with customised solutions for demanding tasks in the chemical industry. They increase the productivity of the often complex manufacturing processes for this wide range of applications.

Oerlikon Barmag pumps handle demanding processes in PUR applications, in the chemical, plastics or paint and lacquers industries. One of the greatest challenges lies in the accurate and reliable metering of toxic or low-viscosity media. With the GM and GA series and the associated components, Oerlikon Barmag presents the optimum equipment for these applications.

GM pump
Pumps in the GM series achieve precise dosing by feeding the flow with low pulsation. The multi-stage GM pump conveys low-viscosity media even under high pressure and the most difficult operating conditions (e.g. 250 bar, 100 mPas). The standard pump for many dosing tasks is the GM series in a square design. With the development of the multi-stage pump, the range of applications for the GM series has been significantly expanded. The round 2-stage GM pump has been specially developed for use in high-pressure technology. It fulfils the special challenge of pumping small flow rates with low viscosities. The pump serves flow rates from 0.05 to 20 ccm/rev and is therefore particularly suitable for the production of PUR moulded parts, block foam, refrigeration unit insulation or sandwich panels.  

GA series
Making products and processes more efficient is a constant challenge for manufacturing companies. This is why Oerlikon Barmag has added the GA series to the GM series especially for the demanding conveying of high-viscosity media. The GA series is available in delivery volumes of 1.25 - 30 cm³/rev (0.6-144 l/h). It is designed for pressures up to 200 bar, for viscosities up to 1,500 Pas and for temperatures up to a maximum of 225°C. With this pump series, Oerlikon Barmag offers customised solutions for process engineering processes where highly accurate and uniform metering is required.

The drum pump
The drum pump from Oerlikon Barmag is specially designed for conveying and dosing highly viscous materials such as adhesives, silicones and other highly viscous materials from drums and other large containers and for pressures of up to 250 bar. One of its special features is not only that it discharges highly viscous materials from the drum, but also that the medium can be dosed directly without an intermediate stop.

The gear pump and drum follower plate are synchronised so that the plate effortlessly reaches the bottom of the container, leaving behind only a very small residual quantity of < 1%. This reduces material costs and has a positive effect on the production process.