Interiors

SGL Group will debut its most recently developed product, a thermoplastic-compatible heavy-tow carbon fibre, at this year's JEC Europe that will be taking place from 11-13 March in Paris. It is essential for producing fibre composite materials with a thermoplastic matrix, the company reports.

Milliken has appointed Jim McCallum as the company’s’ new Floor Covering Division President. McCallum joins Milliken with more than 30 years’ experience in the textile and carpet industry, including senior leadership positions at Interface, Mohawk and Lees Carpets. The industry veteran will be located at the Milliken Corporate Headquarters and Design Center in Spartanburg, SC, USA. He will report directly to Joe Salley, Milliken President and CEO, and is expected to help to move Milliken forward in providing industry-leading products.

Bavarian nonwovens producer Sandler AG has reported a successful year 2013, during which the company has generated a sales volume of EUR 274 million, manufacturing approximately 100,000 tonnes of nonwovens. The Sandler team also grew in 2013, with a staff of 600 now working in the company’s headquarters in Schwarzenbach. According to the company, it achieved very good results in all market segments from nonwovens for hygiene applications and wipes substrates for care and cleaning to technical applications in industrial and household uses. The hygiene, wipes and automotive segments were major contributors to Sandler’s success. Long-term development projects were also successfully implemented and established on the market.

Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Barmag will be presenting their solutions for efficient carpet production at this year’s Domotex Asia that will take place from 25-27 March at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center. The focus of the information will be on the three end BCF plant S+ from Oerlikon Neumag, as well as on the new tape yarn solution for carpet backings, EvoTape with WinTape, from Oerlikon Barmag.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Toray Industries announced it would invest $1 billion in a new carbon fibre manufacturing facility in South Carolina. There has also been a lot of recent press coverage about the revival of the US textiles industry and the ‘Made in America’ movement.

Suominen, a supplier of nonwovens and flexible packaging, has launched a new range of nonwoven materials for use in tabletop applications in the hotel, restaurant and catering markets globally. The Novolino nonwoven range of substrates, featuring a number of unique attributes, has already seen commercial success in both Europe and the Americas, the company reports. The launch is in line with Suominen’s strategy of increasing the share of value added products in its portfolio.

Customised , high performance Monforts stenters are available as a central feature of the latest drying and coating installations for floor coverings. “Monforts has produced a number of stenter installations for drying and backing systems for modular carpet tiles, rugs, mats, textiles and other floor covering applications,” said Jürgen Hanel, Head of Monforts Technical Textiles Division. “The latest Monforts stenter, the Montex 8000 Series, is the most advanced carpet tile pre-coating stenter in the world – it’s a masterpiece.”

Battery less smart curtain is the latest development in smart and intelligent textiles, led by the Associate Professor Ali Javey of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. This work has been recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

Milliken has introduced its new Nordic Stories and Fretwork floor covering collections. The company aims to provide innovative floor covering solutions that invite designers to think about the floor plane with fresh perspectives. The collections explore unique inspirations and design aesthetics.

With further growth in the number of exhibitors and more visitors, Heimtextil provided a successful start to the new home and contact textiles season. From 8- 11 January 2014, almost 67,000 trade visitors from 133 countries saw the latest products of the 2,718 international exhibitors. “In addition to the excellent statistics, the quality and enormous spectrum of products underscore the unique position of Heimtextil as the world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles”, commented Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt.