Advances in Textiles Technology (April 2016) · April 2016 An international newsletter on textiles technology edited by: ... the company says, the world’s leading supplier of fabrics

April 2016 An international newsletter on textiles technology edited by:

Nick Butler

AerospaceMaking air freight saferAir freight containers are to be made more durable and

fire-resistant (FR) under the terms of an agreement

between two companies.

Teijin Aramid of Arnhem, The Netherlands, and

Macro Industries from Huntsville, Alabama, USA, have

agreed jointly to develop, manufacture and

commercialize unit load devices (ULDs) based on the

Dutch company’s lightweight aramid fibre (Twaron).

The ULDs will be made from Macro Industries’ fibre-

reinforced composites (Macro-Lite), which the US

company has developed as a substitute for sheet metals

used in primary and secondary structures. According to

the courier, based on its own tests Macro-Lite ULDs

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TechnicalT E X T I L E S

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Highlights this month: full contents listing on page 2…

High-performance reinforcements combined withthermoplastic fibres to form uniform mixed rovingswere unveiled at JEC World 5

An integrated system, from fibre to finished part, formaking carbon fibre-reinforced plastic componentsin a single step has been developed 6

Toho Tenax is introducing a flame-retardantthermoplastic prepreg reinforced withhigh-modulus carbon fibres 8

Xerium Technologies has introduced a range offabrics designed for use with through-air-driers in thetissue manufacturing industry 8

An intumescent mat that can be activated on demandto provide protection without needing to experiencethe heat of a fire was shown at JEC World 9

A UK textile manufacturer has launched a range offlame-retardant fabrics for children’s dresses togetherwith a plea to toughen-up the safety standards 9

Figure 1:

Lightweight, durable and extremely fire-resistant, panels

made from an aramid fibre-reinforced composite are to be

developed for use in air freight containers.

reinforced with Twaron are significantly lighter in weight

and more durable than standard aluminium containers.

Tests conducted by UPS and the US Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) also concluded that the new

containers resist fires with peak temperatures of

648.9°C (1200°F) for more than four hours. An

aluminium container would only survive a few minutes

in the same conditions.

In addition to giving flight crews vital additional time to

land an aircraft in the event of a fire, the higher FR

performance of the composite panels will allow cargo

companies to comply with potentially stricter safety

regulations regarding the transportation of lithium-ion

batteries, which have been the cause of a number of on-

board fires(1) and are already banned from being stowed

in the cargo hold of passenger aircraft.

The partners say that aluminium panels in existing

containers are readily replaced by Macro-Lite, allowing

fleet operators to upgrade their ULDs, and

approximately 900 000 aluminium ULDs in use around

the world could be upgraded. The use of the composite

also reduces the frequency and cost of repairs

compared with the use of aluminium.

UPS began using ULDs made from Macro-Lite in 2014.

See also:(1)Technical Textiles International, March/April 2013,

Poles apart—nonwovens provide efficient separation for

batteries, page 23;

http://www.technical-textiles.net/node/381

Contact: Saskia Verhoeven, Manager Corporate &

Marketing Communication, Teijin Aramid BV.

Tel: +31 (88) 2689-068.

Email: [email protected];

http://www.teijinaramid.com; or: Norris Luce,

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Marcia Elkins,

Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Macro Industries Inc.

Tel: +1 (256) 721-1120. Fax: +1 (256) 721-1129.


http://www.macroindustries.com

http://www.technical-textiles.net ©2016 International Newsletters Ltd

Advances in Textiles Technology April 2016

2

Aerospace 1 Making air freight safer

Finishing 3 Economical silk finish

3 Natural pigment found to be effective against

drug-resistant bacteria

Automotive 4 Nonwoven soundproofing for Toyota

Composites 5 Commingled yarns for composites revealed at JEC World

6 Integrated production of carbon fibre-reinforced parts

8 Flame-retardant thermoplastic prepreg

Industrial textiles 8 Fabrics tailored for through-air drying of tissues

Safety and protection 9 On-demand intumescence

9 Call for tougher flammability standards for children’s

dress fabrics

Business news10 Glatfelter names site for US airlaid plant

11 Sanitized opens technical centre

12 SGL prepares to exploit expertise in automotive

carbon fibres, composites

Contents April 2016

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April 2016 Advances in Textiles Technology

3

FinishingEconomical silk finish

A patented process that allows for the production of

short, fine polymer fibres has found its first use in the

creation of a mattress ticking with a comfortable and

luxurious silk finish.

HeiQ Materials AG of Bad Zurzach, Switzerland, says a

new pilot production plant at its research and

development (R&D) subsidiary in Geelong, Australia, is

making the fibres using the coagulation-based method

and can then apply them to the surface of any fabric

with standard finishing techniques. By adopting this

approach to create short silk fibres, it is possible to

create textiles with the key tactile properties of this

expensive material while applying only small amounts.

The company calls this new finishing technology HeiQ

Real Silk and says that it will target the fashion industry,

but the first user is Bekaert Deslee of Waregem and

Zonnebeke, Belgium, which has used the technology to

develop a mattress ticking unveiled during the International

Sleep Products Association (ISPA) exhibition, which was held

in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 9–12 March 2016.

HeiQ also notes that silk has a number of functional

properties: it can help to regulate temperature; it is highly

absorbent; it dries quickly; it has a high tear-resistance.

Currently, the company is scaling-up production of short

polymer fibres at the plant and is therefore limiting

supply to long-standing partners. However, it plans to

make samples available to others from 1 July 2016.

Bekaert Deslee was formed in February 2016 when

Bekaert Textiles of Waregem acquired Zonnebeke-

based DesleeClama to become, the company says, the

world’s leading supplier of fabrics for mattresses.

Contact: Marlen Philipp, Head of Marketing,

HeiQ Materials AG. Tel: +41 (56) 250-6860. Fax:

+41 (56) 250-6851. Email: [email protected];

http://www.heiq.com; or: Dirk Verly,Group, Human

Resources & Operational Excellence Director,

Bekaert Textiles. Tel: +32 (56) 624126.


http://www.bekaerttextiles.com; or: Hans Dewaele,

co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), DesleeClama.

Tel: +32 (57) 460600.


http://www.desleeclama.com

Natural pigment found to be effectiveagainst drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers based in South Korea have demonstrated

that a pigment produced by naturally occurring bacteria is

an effective anti-bacterial agent when used to dye fabric.

A cotton sample dyed with the violet pigment (violacein)

reduced the growth of drug-resistant strains of

Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), by 99.9%, compared with

untreated samples. The team behind the discovery has

now made prototype facemasks, which it has donated to

a local hospital, Dong Kang General Hospital in Ulsan.

Led by Professor Robert J. Mitchell from the School of

Life Sciences at the Ulsan National Institute of Science

and Technology (UNIST), the researchers developed a

method for extracting the crude violacein before using

it to dye the fabric. According to Mitchell: “This is the

first case where an antibacterial fabric was produced

Figure 2:

On 24 February 2016, the team behind the development

donated facemasks to a local hospital. Pictures courtesy of UNIST.



4

using violacein.” He adds that the fabric has the

potential to combat the growing problem of drug-

resistant bacteria and their role in the increasing

prevalence of nosocomial infections, also known as

healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

The widespread overuse of antibiotics has resulted in

the evolution and ever-increasing presence of bacteria

that are resistant to these treatments. Every year, 0.7

million patients around the world die as a result of

infections acquired in healthcare facilities from these so-

called “superbugs”.

The development was the result of collaboration

between UNIST, Yeejoo Co Ltd of Daegu and the

Seoul-based Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and

Technology (KICET).

Contact: Robert J. Mitchell, Associate Professor,

Ulsan National Institute of Science and

Technology (UNIST), School of Life Sciences,

601-6 Engineering Building 1, 100 Banyeon-Ri,

Eonyang-Eup, Ulsan, 689-805, South Korea.

Tel: +82 (52) 217-2513. Mobile/cellular: +82 (10)

9151-1605. Email: [email protected];

http://news.unist.ac.kr; or: Lee Chang-seok, Yeejoo

Co Ltd, Yeomsaek Gongdan Jungang-ro 20-gil 33,

Daegu, South Korea. Tel: +82 (53) 357-5210.

Fax: +82 (53) 354-2510. Email: [email protected];

http://www.yeejoo.co.kr; or: Korea Institute of

Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET).

Tel: +82 (55) 792-2500. Fax: +82 (55) 792-2530.

Email: [email protected]; http://www.kicet.re.kr

AutomotiveNonwoven soundproofing for Toyota

Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota has chosen

to soundproof its latest model – the 2016 Prius, which

was launched in Japan in December 2015 – with

material made using a novel nonwoven fabric.

Hayashi Telempu of Nagoya, Japan, is supplying the

soundproofing (V-Wave) made from a polyester (PES)

nonwoven (V-Lap) developed by Teijin of Tokyo, Japan.

The fibres in V-Lap are oriented vertically making the

nonwoven as effective at absorbing sound as

conventional materials, while weighing half as much.

As regulations concerning the fuel efficiencies of cars

are made more stringent, the automotive industry is

pushing to make its vehicles lighter in weight. In

response, Teijin and Hayashi Telempu are co-

developing V-Lap and V-Wave products to provide

lightweight sound absorption in a variety of parts, such

as for ceilings, doors and carpets(1).

To make V-Lap nonwovens, Teijin has developed a

unique manufacturing method that produces bulky,

lightweight and easy-to-mould fabrics. Initially used as a

cushioning material(2) in such as bedding and apparel, the

fabric now finds widespread use in soundproofing for

vehicles and Teijin is developing it as heat insulation and

lightweight ceilings for new houses. The fibres

comprising V-Lap are made from recycled PES, adds

Teijin, and the nonwoven can be bonded to films to

form composites.

V-Lap and V-Wave are produced in contiguous factories

located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan: the nonwoven plant,

which is located on the premises of the Ibigawa Plant of

Teijin’s subsidiary Toho Tenax, began operating in

January 2015; Hayashi Telempu’s Ogaki Plant, also

located on the premises of the Ibigawa Plant, started-up

in November 2015.

Figure 3:

The highly vertical orientation of the fibres in V-Lap

nonwovens creates a lightweight acoustic insulator, which is

being used to make soundproofing for cars.



5

Teijin’s fabric is made using technology developed by

the Australian nonwoven machinery builder, Hallam,

Victoria-based V-Lap, a specialist in vertical lapping.

Teijin bought its first machine in 2007 and now has a

licence to produce the fabrics in Japan.

See also:(1)Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology, January 2013,

Mitsubishi opts for V-Lap, page 7;

http://www.technical-textiles.net/node/49904(2)Advances in Textiles Technology, August 2009, Cushioning

material for swimwear, page 3;


Contact: Nana Saito, Corporate Communications,

Teijin Ltd. Tel: +81 (3) 3506-4055.


http://www.teijin.co.jp; or: Toho Tenax, Ibigawa

Plant, 1801 Godo, Godo-cho, Anpachi-gun, Gifu

503-2305, Japan. Tel: +81 (584) 273153. Fax: +81

(584) 276951; or: Hayashi Telempu, Headquarters,

1-4-5, Kamimaezu, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, 460-

0013, Japan. Tel: +81 (52) 322-2121; Fax: +81 (52)

332-0047; http://www.hayatele.co.jp; or: Hayashi

Telempu, Ogaki Plant, 1801, Godo, Godo-cho,

Anpachi, Gifu, Japan. Tel: +81 (584) 280622.

Fax: +81 (584) 280623; or: Jason Cooper,

Managing Director, V-Lap Pty Ltd, PO Box 5007,

Hallam, Victoria 3803, Australia. Tel: +61 (3)

9703-1211. Fax: + 61 (3) 9703-1911, Email:

[email protected]; http://www.v-lap.com; or:

http://www.toyota-global.com

CompositesCommingled yarns for compositesrevealed at JEC World

A range of commingled yarns consisting of high-

performance reinforcements combined with

thermoplastic fibres to form a uniform mixed roving

was unveiled at JEC World, which took place in Paris,

France, on 8–10 March 2016.

The Synergex range combines reinforcement fibres –

carbon (in tows of 3k–50k), para-aramid (84–316 tex)

or glass (300–2400 tex) – with various thermoplastic

fibres including ultra-high molecular weight

polyethylene (UHMWPE), polypropylene (PP),

polyamide (PA 12), PA 6, polyethylene terephthalate

(PET), polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) and

polyetheretherketone (PEEK), according to the

company exhibiting its development, Coats of Uxbridge,

UK, a specialist in industrial threads.

The yarns were developed by Coats Speciality at its

Sevier plant in Marion, North Carolina, USA. Here the

company can commingle the fibres to form yarns that

have a homogenous mixture of the two elements in a

good parallel alignment. Coats also claims that its

technology can largely overcome the problem of the

breaking (filamentation) of some of the stiff

reinforcement fibres when they are spread prior to

commingling them with the thermoplastics. The

resulting yarns have a high level of integrity and can be

embroidered into complicated-shaped composite

preforms using a process Coats refers to as tailored

fibre placement (TFP).

When preforms made from these yarns are

subsequently press-moulded the thermoplastic melts

and forms the matrix of the composite part.

In order to tailor the final properties for a given

application, Coats says it can:

adjust the make-up of the fibre mixture in a given yarn;•

twist various commingled yarns together to form a hybrid.•

Coats believes the resulting composites are suitable for

high-performance applications such as aerospace and

automotive. Rajiv Sharma, Global Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) of the Industrial division of Coats, adds

that the yarns provide a simple means to make

complicated components.

At JEC World the company showed the commingled

yarns, and discussed a recently completed project in



6

which commingled PA and carbon fibres were used to

make the wheel arch for a new sports car.

The wheel arch is made in four stages:

carbon and PA fibres are commingled •

to form a yarn;

a TFP process is applied to the yarn to create an•

embroidered shape;

the preform is press-moulded to create the wheel arch;•

the final part is trimmed.•

Coats says the final part achieves a high standard

without the need to use resins or an autoclave.

The sports car is the Rp1 being developed by Elemental

Motor Co of Waterlooville, UK, and its wheel arch is part

of a project that only began in December 2015. The part

was to be road-tested after JEC prior to going into

production. Other members of the wheel arch project are:

Shape Machining Ltd of Witney, UK;•

Optimal Aerostructures from Cascais, Portugal;•

IFB (Institute of Aircraft Design), Stuttgart, Germany,•

where the preforms are embroidered via TFP using a

machine from Tajima of Nagoya, Japan.

Contact: Andrew Morgan, Research and

Development Director, Coats Plc. Tel: +44 (20)

8210-5198. Mobile/cellular: +44 (7) 8089-43218.


http://www.coats.com; or: Ömür Suner, Marketing

Services Representative, Europe, Middle East and

Africa (EMEA) – Speciality, Coats Plc.

Tel: +90 (224) 243-1550, x 253.

Email: [email protected]; or: Peter Kent,

Composites Director, Elemental Motor Company

Ltd. Tel: +44 (8456) 448856.


http://elementalcars.co.uk; or: Peter McCool,

Managing Director, Shape Machining Ltd. Mobile/

cellular: +44 (7) 5905-71853. Tel: +44 (1993) 225091.


http://www.shape-machining.co.uk; or:

Optimal Aerostructures. Tel: +351 (210) 997788.

E-mail: [email protected];

http://optimalaerostructures.optimal.pt; or:

Professor Dr-Ing P. Middendorf , Head of Institute

and Head of Manufacturing Technology and

Lightweight Design, IFB (Institute of Aircraft

Design). Tel: +49 (711) 685-62402.

Fax: +49 (711) 685-62449.


http://www.ifb.uni-stuttgart.de; or:

http://www.tajima.com

Integrated production of carbonfibre-reinforced parts

Toho Tenax Europe GmbH has developed an integrated

production system, from fibre to finished part, for

making carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP)

components in a single step.

The system combines Toho Tenax Europe’s own

technology for making CFRP preforms, developed in

2014 and called Part via Preform (PvP)(1), with high-

pressure resin-transfer moulding (HP-RTM).

The company from Wuppertal and Heinsberg,

Germany, says a European automobile manufacturer

has already adopted the combined system and that it is

involved in other projects in the automotive sector.

Figure 4:

Coats and Elemental Motor Co and partners have co-

developed this composite wheel arch made using press-

moulded commingled yarns.

PvP technology exploits a carbon fibre yarn and binder

resin (Tenax Binder Yarn) that allows manufacturers to

produce preforms in a single step. Where isotropic

reinforcement is needed, the yarns are placed

randomly, and in the same process they can be aligned

unidirectionally in areas where specific strength is

needed along a particular axis. As a bonus, using PvP

technology helps manufacturers keep down waste of

the expensive carbon fibre.

With the addition of HP-RTM, manufacturers can make

CFRP parts in an integrated process, making such

components more cost-competitive with their mass-

produced metal counterparts.

Toho Tenax Europe has now begun a research and

development (R&D) programme with the goal of using the

new technology to mass-produce surface parts conforming

to the automotive industry’s Class-A standard for the

visual appeal of such products. In addition, the company’s

parent – the Teijin Group of Tokyo, Japan, which has

developed a carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (called

Sereebo)(2) – says it is now exploring opportunities to

exploit its full product range for the mass-production of

CFRPs, and is looking to develop further both thermoset-

and thermoplastic-based materials.

As manufacturers strive to reduce the weight of their

vehicles, it is imperative that they maintain safe levels of

tenacity and stiffness in key components.

To reduce the weight of metallic parts, components can

be made thinner, but this reduces their tenacity. At the

same time, structural designs, such as the use of U-

shaped plates made from high-tensile steel, are

commonly adopted to reduce weight and maintain

stiffness. However, the low elasticity of high-tensile

steels makes them unsuitable for press moulding.

Another approach to weight reduction is to combine

several components in a single integral moulding so

lowering the number of joints needed. However, in this

case, the automotive industry still needs materials with

greater levels of formability, tenacity and stiffness than

are currently available. CFRP components could be an

answer, but typical production cycles are complicated

and too long to be economic compared with currently

used technologies and materials.

The adoption of preformed prepregs as a compromise

solution is common, but to date this approach:

has required intermediate steps, which raise•

production costs;

uses chopped carbon fibre placed on the preform•

resulting in large amounts of waste of an expensive

material;

has not been suitable for forming complicated shapes•

or thick components.

See also:(1)http://www.performance-materials.net/node/45051(2)Advances in Textiles Technology, November 2013,

Teijin’s fibre-reinforced thermoplastics enable recycling and

rapid processing, page 8;


Contact: Frank Oberwahrenbrock, Automotive

Sales, Toho Tenax Europe GmbH, Kasinostraße

19–21, D-42103 Wuppertal, Germany.

Tel: +49 (202) 323219. Email:

[email protected]; or:



7

Figure 5:

A surface component made using Toho Tenax Europe’s

integrated production system. The company is now

developing the technology to produce parts to the

automotive industry’s Class-A standard.



8

Constantin Mützel. Tel: +49 (202) 323304.


http://www.tohotenax-eu.com; or: Nana Saito,

Corporate Communications, Teijin Ltd.

Tel: +81 (3) 3506-4055. Fax: +81 (3) 3506-4150.

Email: [email protected]; http://www.teijin.co.jp

Flame-retardant thermoplastic prepreg

Toho Tenax of Tokyo, Japan, is introducing a flame-

retardant (FR) thermoplastic prepreg reinforced with

high-modulus carbon fibres.

The reinforcement is a woven fabric (Tenax TPWF),

which the company says is designed to allow high levels

of impregnation with the polyethersulphone resin. The

resulting prepreg, to be supplied in 1-m-wide rolls, can

contain more than 55% of carbon fibre and has good

mechanical properties. At the same, according to Toho

Tenax’s tests, the material is compliant with the FR

standard for plastics (UL94 V-0) published by the

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) LLC of Northbrook,

Illinois, USA, and Toho Tenax aims to have the

composite fully certified by June 2016.

The prepreg is made using Toho Tenax’s own press-

moulding technology, which allows the material to be

heated and cooled rapidly, reducing process cycle times

to just 4 min.

Sample shipments began in March 2016, and initially

Toho Tenax will sell the material to manufacturers of

consumer electronic products, medical devices and

sporting goods. Further forward, the company aims to

develop sales for other growing markets such as

industrial equipment and aerospace.

Currently, typical carbon fibre-reinforced plastics

(CFRPs) are made using thermoset resins, such as

epoxy, for the matrix, which require long processing

times and have high associated production costs.

Moreover, often the thermoset-based materials have to

be stored in refrigerators, while their thermoplastic

counterparts can be kept at room temperature. Finally,

the use of the thermoplastic matrix affords the

possibility to recycle the prepreg into pellets for

injection moulding.

Given the advantages of thermoplastic composites over

their thermoset counterparts, several companies are

working to develop the materials as well as processing

technologies that enable them to be mass-produced.

Toho Tenax, for instance, is focusing on further reducing

the cycle times for its press-moulding technology.

Contact: Nana Saito, Corporate Communications,

Teijin Ltd. Tel: +81 (3) 3506-4055.


http://www.teijin.co.jp

Industrial textilesFabrics tailored for through-airdrying of tissues

Xerium Technologies Inc has introduced a range of

fabrics designed for use with through-air driers in the

tissue manufacturing industry.

The company from Youngsville, North Carolina, USA,

says its Drysoft fabrics are designed to help create soft,

bulky tissues and keep the through-air driers working

efficiently. The fabrics have strong seams and reinforced

edges to make them durable and stable.

The warp and weft of the fabrics are hydrolysis-

resistant polyester (PES) woven in one of three weave

patterns (3 × 2, 4 × 1 or 1 × 4) each offering a charac-

teristic pore that can be matched to the specific type of

tissue required.

To form the belts, the fabrics are spliced together,

rather than glued or welded. As a result, there is no loss

of permeability in the region of the joint, allowing

Xerium to make the seam length greater, which results

in a seam strength that is 40% higher than that for

conventional through-air drying belts. The absence of

welds, glues and coatings also means there are no marks

on the tissue caused by the joints.

The use of Drysoft products produces tissues that are up

to 50% more absorbent and require 20% less fibre than

those of an equivalent size and appearance made with

conventional through-air drying fabrics, the company says.

Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Technology

Officer (CTO) Bill Butterfield says the company has

already conducted successful trials with customers and

is now receiving orders for the new range.

Contact: Steve Cole, Director, Global Marketing,

Xerium Technologies Inc. Tel: +1 (919) 556-7235.

Fax: +1 (919) 556-2432. Email:

[email protected]; http://www.xerium.com

Safety and protectionOn-demand intumescence

An intumescent mat that can be activated on demand to

provide protection without needing to experience the

heat of a fire was shown for the first time at JEC World

in Paris, France, on 8–10 March 2016.

Technical Fibre Products (TFP) of Burneside, UK, says it

has developed the mat (Technofire) for use in remotely

controlled fire-protection systems.

As a bonus, owing to the incorporation of conductive

fibres, the material also acts as an electromagnetic

interference (EMI) shield.

In Paris, TFP also revealed the latest additions to its

range of veils made from high-performance

thermoplastic fibres(1) including: polyphenylene sulphide

(PPS); polyether imide (PEI); polyetheretherketone

(PEEK); polyamide (PA); polyimide (PI).

These lightweight materials are intended to be used as

interleaves between layers of carbon fibre-reinforced

plastic (CFRP). The company says that using the

interleaves improves the fracture toughness of the

materials compared with those without: mode-I

fracture toughness is up to 160% higher; mode-II

fracture toughness improves by as much as 430%.

See also:(1)Advances in Textiles Technology, April 2015, Thermoplastic

veils introduced to toughen composites, page 4;


Contact: Rosie Fisher, Marketing Manager,

Technical Fibre Products. Tel: +44 (1539) 818229.


http://www.tfpglobal.com

Call for tougher flammabilitystandards for children’s dress fabrics

A UK textile manufacturer has launched a range of

flame-retardant (FR) fabrics for children’s dresses

together with a plea to toughen-up the safety

requirements for such textiles.

Tiverton-based Heathcoat Fabrics’ range (Heathcoat

1808) includes dress nets, tulles and costume fabrics all

with FR properties resulting from the application of its

own unique technology (Flare-Free).

Flare-Free-treated fabrics meet the requirements of the

European standard for the flammability of toys (EN71

part 2), as verified in independent tests, together with

all other legal dress fabrics on the market, but

Heathcoat believes these standards are not sufficient.

The company therefore demands that Flare-Free-

treated fabrics also meet its own standard, which

specifies that no residual flame should be present after

the textile has been exposed to a gas flame for a stated

time, flammability requirements that are even greater

than those of the UK’s standard for nightwear (BS5722).

Business Manager for Heathcoat Fabrics, Philip

Wignall believes; “There is a definite need for more

stringent controls over flame spread. Other than our

Flare-Free fabrics, all alternative dress nets available

for children’s costumes will simply combust in

seconds, offering no protection.” He adds: “The

Federation of British Retailers has proposed recom-

mendations to modify EN71, but it would be good to



9



10

see more stringent legislation specifically relating to

apparel, similar to BS5722.”

To demonstrate its concerns, the company has released

a video(1) comparing the burn time of a child’s tutu

purchased in the UK with that of a similar tutu made

with a Flare-Free dress net. Heathcoat says the video

starkly shows that a typical child’s costume offers no

protection from flame and will fully combust in a matter

of seconds, while the Flare-Free equivalent will not burn.

Unveiling the range during the Première Vision Fabrics

exhibition in Paris, France, on 16–18 February 2016, the

company added that it also makes the fabrics such that

they contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of

formaldehyde, which is below the detectable limit.

“While formaldehyde has been used for decades in

washing powders and clothing, it is flammable, emits

carbon monoxide when heated, and has been found to

be toxic and corrosive,” said Wignall. In 2014, for

instance, the European Union (EU) classified

formaldehyde as a Carcinogen Category 1B as defined

by its registration, evaluation, authorization and

restriction of chemicals (REACH) regulations.

Anticipating these concerns, Heathcoat has spent eight

years developing technology to create low-

formaldehyde fabrics and has introduced its Zero4 brand

to indicate its use. “While the risks from apparel are

low, we have invested in developing our Zero4 brand,

giving consumers more choice in what they wear.”

At Première Vision Fabrics the company also exhibited

stiffer Flare-Free fabrics for adult dresses, including

those for bridal gowns.

See also:(1)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeczfYk1K6U

Contact: Philip Wignall, Business Manager,

Heathcoat Fabrics. Tel: +44 (1884) 254949. Fax:

+44 (1884) 244332. Email: [email protected];

http://www.heathcoat.co.uk; or:

http://www.premierevision.com

Business newsGlatfelter names site for US airlaid plant

Glatfelter has chosen Fort Smith, Arkansas, as the location

for its first airlaid manufacturing facility in the USA.

The nonwovens manufacturer, which has its

headquarters in York, Pennsylvania, USA, says it is close

to buying a building at Chaffee Crossing, formerly used

by Mitsubishi Power Systems.

The new facility will cost about US$80 million and is

expected to have an annual capacity of approximately

20 kt (22 000 short tons), increasing Glatfelter’s total

global capacity for airlaid materials to approximately

117 kt (129 000 short tons).

When, at the end of 2015, it first announced plans for a

facility in the USA, Glatfelter said the investment was

underpinned by customers’ commitments to purchase a

significant amount of the additional annual capacity.

The new facility will also be a base for the company’s

speciality assets in the USA and host a centre of

excellence for other lightweight products. Glatfelter

anticipates production will start in late 2017 and says

the project will be funded by a combination of cash on

hand and its existing credit facility.

Figure 6:

Heathcoat Fabrics has released a video comparing the burn time

of a child’s tutu purchased in the UK (left) with that of a similar

tutu (right) made with its own dress net (Heathcoat 1808). The

video shows the typical child’s costume fully combusts within

seconds, while the company’s equivalent will not burn.



11

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President of Glatfelter’s Advanced Airlaid Materials

Business Unit and a Senior Vice President of Glatfelter,

Chris Astley said the company chose Fort Smith

because: “Locating here benefits our business in a

number of ways it will: enable us to expand capacity to

meet our customers’ growing demand for advanced

airlaid products; provide us with closer proximity to key

suppliers and customers, and link us to highly efficient

transportation routes across the South; allow us to tap

into the area’s high-quality workforce.”

The company anticipates the creation of 83 highly

skilled jobs at the plant and will begin recruiting in the

next few months.

Glatfelter’s Advanced Airlaid Materials Business Unit has

existing production facilities in Canada and Germany.

Contact: William Yanavitch II, Senior Vice

President, Human Resources & Administration,

Glatfelter. Tel: +1 (717) 225-2747. Email:

[email protected];

http://www.glatfelter.com

Sanitized opens technical centre

A Swiss specialist in antimicrobial additives for textiles

and polymers has invested in a new technical centre.

Sanitized AG has built the TecCenter at its

headquarters in Burgdorf and says the facility will allow

it to develop and optimize its products taking into

account all the production processes its customers

might apply to them. The company says support for

research and development (R&D) into products for the

management of odours in textiles will be a priority.

The centre will allow the company to work with its

customers to assess the best product for any given

application, understand and resolve processing issues,

and conduct microbiological tests and an assortment of

analyses.

Scientists in the centre can conduct thermogravimetric

analysis, thermal testing, testing of a material’s

endurance to environmental exposure (solar light,

ultraviolet radiation and sprays), as well as assessments

of wash-resistance. They can also measure mould

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formation, bacterial growth, odour development,

material deterioration and the presence of dust mites.

In addition, the centre houses equipment to make

textile coatings and plastic films, and allows users to

apply finishes to textiles using pad-transfer and

extraction techniques, and dye baths.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Urs Stalder says the

company can now conduct laboratory tests on behalf of

its customers, saving them vast expense in terms of

time, money and energy consumption.

A further objective of the TecCenter will be to develop

new applications for the company’s existing products.

Contact: Sibylle Hänni, Sanitized AG.

Tel: +41 (34) 427-1624. Fax: +41 (34) 427-1619.

Email: [email protected]; or: Heinz

Studer, Sales Manager, Sanitized AG.

Tel: +41 (34) 427-1622. Fax: +41 (34) 427-1639.


http://www.sanitized.com

SGL prepares to exploit expertise inautomotive carbon fibres, composites

Effective from the beginning of 2016, SGL has formed a

new business unit, Composites – Fibers and Materials

(CFM), combining its existing activities in composites

with those for carbon fibres for the automotive industry.

The SGL Group, a specialist in carbon-based products

and materials with headquarters in Wiesbaden,

Germany, has appointed Andreas Wüllner to head CFM.

Wüllner will also continue as Managing Director of one

of the new business’ two constituents, SGL Automotive

Carbon Fibers, which is a joint venture with the BMW

Group, the automaker based in Munich, Germany(1).

SGL offers expertise in fibres, materials and

components for lightweight composites constructions,

according to Wüllner, who says the combination of the

businesses provides a single point of access to all its

services for customers in the automotive, aerospace,

wind energy and acrylic fibre markets. The Group’s

regional sales teams around the world will support

other industry sectors.

In addition, the new business will be able to sell

materials and products that SGL Automotive Carbon

Fibers had previously made exclusively for BMW.

Building on its experience with heavy tow fibres for

automotive applications, for instance, CFM will target

the aerospace industry.

CFM’s headquarters are at SGL’s existing site in

Meitlingen, Germany, where the Group is to invest in

the establishment of a new Lightweight and Application

Center (LAC) to help customers develop processes,

prototypes and products, as well as conducting small-

scale production. During 2016, CFM will install

specialized machinery and production equipment, as well

as setting-up teams with expertise in digital simulation

methods. As a result, LAC will be operational in 2016,

although SGL says it will not be fully complete until 2018.

The formation of CFM is part of a broader strategy to focus

SGL on globally important industrial trends such as the

drive for energy efficiency, the need to develop alternative

means of transport and the digitalization of processes.

See also:(1)Advances in Textiles Technology, May 2010, BMW and SGL

invest heavily in carbon fibre use for automobiles, page 8;


Contact: SGL Group, Corporate Communications.

Tel: +49 (611) 6029-100. Fax: +49 (611) 6029-101.

Email: [email protected]; http://www.sglgroup.com

12

Figure 7:

Sanitized AG has built the TecCenter at its Swiss headquarters.

Documents

Advances in Textiles Technology (April 2016) · April 2016 An international newsletter on textiles technology edited by: ... the company says, the world’s leading supplier of fabrics