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A.T.E. Enterprises Private Limited of India, manufacturer of textile machinery have entered into a strategic partnership with Italian group Savio Macchine Tessili from for sales and marketing of Automatic Winders, Two-For-One Twisters (TFO), Continuous Yarn Shrinking Machines, OE Rotor Spinning Machines in India.
Established in 1911, the Savio group for more than 100 years of experience and has played major role in development of textile industry worldwide and with its manufacturing facilities in Italy, Czech Republic, India and China that offers state of the art machines. Savio India Ltd., the advanced TFO manufacturing set up of Savio group in India, will continue to provide and ensure state of the art Customer Support and Spare Parts Services.
Meanwhile, it will be noted that A.T.E. group, with its strong marketing network through 11 offices across India and a knowledgeable sales and marketing force, complements the competence of the Savio group as Savio’s sales and marketing partner in India. A.T.E. is in the unique position of being the only company with a presence across the entire textile value chain for textile machinery & accessories, utilities and complete after sales service solutions (for key segments). A.T.E. thus is the only company with the capability of offering to Indian customers a ‘one window solution’ from spinning to garment making.
Oerlikon has signed an agreement to acquire the entire staple fibers technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH, Egelsbach, Germany. This company is part of the German Truetzschler Group, which is a specialist in fiber preparation for the yarn spinning and nonwovens industries.
The acquisition expands the manmade fibers segment’s technology portfolio and opens up access to new customers in the market for synthetic staple fibers.
Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group, said, “The acquisition is an important step in line with our strategy to strengthen our position outside the filament business, where we occupy a leading technology and market position. The ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibers market presents interesting opportunities and we are taking this step to ensure that the manmade fibers segment will merge stronger from the current market weakness and profit from the positive long-term market perspectives.”
With the acquisition of the former Fleissner staple fibers technology portfolio and the intellectual property (IP) of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH, the segment becomes the leading technology and equipment provider in the global staple fibers market.
The acquisition expands the manmade fibers segment’s staple fibers technology expertise and broadens the segment’s customer base and service business in the respective areas. As staple fibers projects are increasingly tied to continuous polycondensation facilities, already now the manmade fibers segment is well positioned to operate as a provider of complete solutions. Truetzschler Group is discontinuing its staple fiber business as it has decided to focus on its core business activities.
In 2015, the produced staple fibers amounted to 18.5 million tons or some 33 per cent of the total synthetic staple fibers capacity.
Tom Young, Overseas Department Sales Manager, Shenzhen Ink Bank Graphic Technology Co. Ltd, one of the exhibitors in TPF explains that types of inks available and their application for textile digital printing. They come with their own features that suit various requirements.
Sublimation has applications for mostly fabric with more than 60 per cent polyester fibers. Textile printing with Reactive inks has applications for cotton, silk, wool, rayon and blended fabrics. Pigment is suitable for cotton, canvas, blended etc. There are also advertisement inks and office printing inks.
Sublimation is most popularly selling because now digital printing is getting more and more popular. And there is no need of screen printing and it can take on small quantity orders. The order can be taken the same day and executed simultaneously without any time lag.
Reactive dyes have advantages. There is no need to make screen; small quantities can be undertaken; it’s less polluting and is energy saving. Textile pigment ink can support almost every fabric. In addition to the advantages of reactive dyes, there is no need for washing or steaming. There is good color fastness. It has vivid colors and uses less energy. Nowadays pigment ink application is growing much faster than others.
Du Pont is the leading supplier of innovative and high quality inks and materials that enable faster and more efficient digital printing.
Keycheng printing machinery from Taiwan, one of the participants in ongoing TPF 2016 fair for digital printing technology, has a cutting edge idea to present, “The machine which we have displayed, is a revolutionary advancement to the conventional printing machine as it runs on CMYK concept and is a functional hybrid between conventional and digital printing machine”, according to Yao Ya-Hsing, General Manager Keycheng.
He claims, “The printing fabric quality it offers is more real. The kind of the penetration it can provide can't be matched by any other form of printing. It can support any thickness of the fabric as there is no ‘gsm’ restrictions compared to digital printing which surely has restrictions. Here there is no coating required while the same is not true even in digital.”
“The machine is by design meant for mass production and can achieve anywhere between 40000-50,000 metres per day which only rotary can match, but rotary has limitations of quite different sorts like of lack of precision it delivers and can have only repeat of 640 mm, whereas here there is no repeat restrictions. Over here there is no restrictions of type of fabrics as well, it can work on cottons, viscose, nylon and polyester-cotton, all with equal ease, whereas digital is more effective on polyester etc. Besides, colour spectrum is very wide you can literally run your imagination wild. The best part of it is machine is incredibly low running cost as low as fifth of any printing machine. Initially preparation screen time use to be high but now with new advanced 'Blue Ray’ system, it’s cut down on the preparation time quite a bit.” Explains Yao.
“As any CMYK concept machine requires low water consumption and then again it's recycled for resource conservation. Energy costs are also supposed to be less than conventional printing process. Since it uses Japanese parts from Yasakawa and electrical components from Fuji,Japan or Germany it's very stable and doesn't need any intense preventive maintenance, doesn’t break down so easy, therefore no trouble shooting is generally required. “ emphasises Yao Ya-Hsing
Speaking in Digital Printing Conference ( TPF) on April 16, Stewart partridge, Consulting Partner, Inkjet Alliance mentioned that “Large percentage of digital textile printing as of now is sublimation transfer, and there is a lower percentage of Direct printing and pigment ink printing than in the analogue textile sector, but as we move forward pigment printing will become increasingly popular, especially as technological hurdles in print heads and ink chemistry are overcome.”
He further added, “as a matter of fact, some of the fastest print heads struggle with pigment printing today, and ink and print head manufacturers need to collaborate more to solve these challenges.”
However, overnight change to pigment ink is not easy, and progress will likely happen in incremental steps over several years, as per him. Later, it is likely that pigmented inks will become a preferred option, because of their durability, light fastness and ability to adhere to a wide range of fabrics. This will leave us with a more even spread of inkjet printing between the four available ink chemistries: reactive, acid, disperse, sublimation and pigment.
The four ink family i.e. Reactive for cotton/cellulose, Acid for Silk/Nylon, Sublimation for Polyester/Nylon 6 and Pigment potentially for many fabrics , makes it very versatile. Heat fixation also enables further reduction in water usage, and minimizes effluent.
The two main influencers in ink jet are, he mentioned, “ one the print head that determines the ink deposit, resolution and defines the limitations of ink used; and the second is ink chemistry itself. It is the ole of OEM or machine manufacturers’ to integrate those technologies, together with the other hardware, transport system, software and media to provide a reliable total printing system.”
Talking further, he said in the economic recession things take a dip, and we also see changes in fashion cycle which affects design and the actual volume of printing produced. The launch of the new generation fast and multiple heads technology makes a forward move.
“The opportunities for digital textile printing in the future are not limited to more of the same, or simply replacement of analogue printed textiles. There are growing opportunities for technical textiles in areas such as military use, medical use, thermal and environment control, and many others, both within as well as outside the textile industry” he summed up.
Japan’s apparel industry is turning to state-of-the-art technology in a bold bid to cut labour costs and secure its future, from ready-to-wear knits manufactured instantly to customized dresses produced on inkjet printers. At Shima Seiki’s factory in Western Japan, garments materialise in minutes, thanks to digitally-programmed automated machines that can turn out a sample seam-free pullover in half an hour with a push of a button.
Patented by the Japanese manufacturer, the WholeGarment system and sold to knitwear companies like Italian luxury brand Max Mara includes a digital design system that allows users to choose patterns, colors and cuts. Known for glove-making machinery, Shima Seiki took a technological leap in the 1990s in an effort to revive the flagging fortunes of Japanese apparel manufacturers.
The WholeGarment system allows one worker to operate ten machines - thereby lowering labor costs - and uses limited raw material to create seam-free garments that generate no waste, since they require no cutting. The initiative is part of a push by Japan’s knitwear industry to capitalize on its technical know-how to create garments that cannot be replicated elsewhere at a lower cost.
The focus on technique and technology has already paid off, with Japan’s knitwear sector registering a 40 percent increase in exports over a 10-year period beginning in 2006, a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal picture for textile and apparel exports from the country.
At the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam this week Invista, owner of the Lycra brand, and Garmon S.p.A., a leading denim finishing house, debuted a collection of knit denim concept garments. The collection integrated fabrics made with Invista’s Lycra Hybrid technology together with Garmon’s latest finishing techniques including chemical formulations assessed using GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals.
Last introduced at the Kingpins Show in October 2015, Lycra Hybrid technology enables mills to create denim fabrics that combine the comfort and flexibility of a knit with the authentic aesthetics and performance typically found in woven denim. Through its collaboration with Garmon S.p.A. Invista aims to show the variety of aesthetic possibilities that can be achieved with knit denim fabrics using Lycra Hybrid technology.
According to Jean Hegedus, Global Segment Director for Denim at Invista, they are excited to demonstrate the finishing options available with Lycra Hybrid technology. Knit denim, while growing, is still at the early stages of development, and it’s important to understand best practices for wet and dry processing. Given Garmon’s unique chemical processes and Italian inspired design, he felt they would be the perfect company to help us with this initiative.
Today’s urbanite seeks apparels that balances form and function with fabrics that absorb moisture, provide year-round comfort, are light weight and packable, and have a sustainable profile. Textile mills and product developers are increasingly finding these characteristics in the 21st century polypropylene fiber, CoolVisions® dyeable polypropylene.
CoolVisions® works well with complementary fibers and dyes easily in fabric form, in the latest colors and patterns; unlike earlier versions of polypropylene fiber, which were limited by the necessity to solution dye at the spinning source.
The features of CoolVisions® dyeable polypropylene fibers are inherently soft, and among the lightest of all commercial fibers; yet provide excellent insulation. CoolVisions® outperforms all other fibers when it comes to moisture management, moving moisture and drying quickly, to keep the wearer dry and comfortable. In addition, CoolVisions® polypropylene is durable, abrasion resistant, and resists stains and bleach.
So, apparel made with CoolVisions® has the potential for a longer life, and an excellent sustainability profile. The cradle-to-factory gate carbon footprint of the CoolVisions® polymer is the lowest of all synthetic fibers. Leading the way in today’s urban apparel is performance denim; recent NPD data shows denim jeans with performance attributes winning back dollars that have been lost to athletic apparel. CoolVisions® dyeable polypropylene staple fiber has been chosen by Taiwan weaver Da Kong for its line of cotton-blend denims, including a Shanghai Innovation Award-winning 3.5 oz shirting weight.
According to explained Susan Lynn, CoolVisions® global marketing manager, most CoolVisions® denims use the polypropylene fiber in the fill, so while the denims look like regular denim, you get the same coverage at a lighter weight. Typically you end up with 30 to 35 per cent polypropylene, enough to add a lot of performance attributes such as moisture management, thermal regulation, and abrasion resistance.
Panos Sofianos, former creative director at Tejidos Royo has been appointed exhibition manager for Bluezone and new business with immediate effect at the Munich Fabric Start show.
Sofianos, apart from being in charge of Bluezone - the show-in-show concept of Munich Fabric Start focusing on denim and sportswear will also be responsible for the content and conceptual design of the newly established Key House, a 2,500-square-meter area that will host an innovative creative project serving as a link between the two trade fair segments - Fabrics and Additionals. Besides, the denim and sportswear market insider will keep a close communication with suppliers and brands in order to react to new developments close to the market.
Few details have been unveiled from the project at Key House, which will take place at the Kesselhaus and Kohlebunker venues. Show visitors can expect an area where ‘content and design goes far beyond conventional presentation formats,’ according to Wolfgang Klinder, managing director at Munich Fabric Start, a new, impulse-generating innovation area. The coming edition starting from August 30 until 1 September 2016 of the trade fair awaits suppliers and visitors with an optimally designed information project for all exhibitions segments.
China is about to open the floodgates of huge supplies of cotton, sparking a rout in prices. The auction sales come as China’s crop is set to shrink this year to the lowest in more than a decade. That’s reducing global output by more than 16 per cent, the biggest annual slide since at least 1961.
The country plans to auction about two million metric tons from May through August. That’s almost equal to total shipments expected this season from American growers, the world’s top exporters.
Cotton futures fell the most in six weeks. The price slid more than seven per cent in the past year in part because the large Chinese inventories curbed overseas purchases from the Asian nation, the biggest consumer of the fiber.
Adding to the outlook for bigger supplies is favorable growing weather in US cotton areas. Rains in the next few days will boost soil moisture in Texas, the country’s top producer. American farmers are expected to increase plantings in the season that starts in August as low prices for competing crops leave farmers with few options.
Any increase in production, as well as any volume pushed out of Chinese reserves, will be added to globally available supply in the coming crop year. High levels of available supply can be expected to keep downward pressure on prices.
