Technology, Machinery & Equipment

Leading Italian producer of thermal insulation for apparel and sleeping bags Thermore has introduced Thermore Aria, the latest line of avant-garde Thermore products. With the presentation of its new product range, Thermore revives its slogan ‘Search inside, discover Thermore’, seeing it as a pertinent and essential concept in an age when an outward appearance seems to be more important than the invisible yet important qualities of the product.

Creel specialist Cygnet Tex-Web introduced its new, high-precision mechanical tension control technology at Techtextil 2013 in Frankfurt last week. Targeting high-end processors of composite materials with its latest offering, the company expanded its Flatline range of creel tensioning controls. “We have designed our new system in collaboration with our customers and in line with the industry’s increasing demands for exceptional quality products, to deliver unparalleled levels of tension control and consistency from tow to tow, using a brilliantly intuitive yet simple technology,” said Rich Wakeley, Cygnet Tex-Web’s Carbon Fibre project manager.

Around 40,000 visitors from 113 countries attended Techtextil and Texprocess trade fair duo last week to find out about the latest innovations and trends. A total of 1,652 exhibitors from 56 nations presented their latest products and innovations. “Techtextil and Texprocess have once again set new records,” said Detlef Braun, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt, commenting on the results of the textile trade-fair double. “With an increase of 15% compared to the previous events, the two leading trade fairs confirmed the worldwide significance of technical textiles and textile-processing machinery”, he added. The events focusing on technical textiles combined various aspects of the industry from light to very heavy materials – from functional garments, via car seats and safety belts, to aircraft interiors.

The garment making-up industry has always been the labour-intensive ‘bottleneck’ of the conventional textile chain, despite attempts such as the Leapfrog EU7 project to streamline and automate all of its processes into a single-line system.

Belgium based leader in low pressure plasma technology Europlasma launched a new range of nanocoatings under the Nanofics 110 brand name. Referring to nanoscaled functionalization into the core of complex shaped materials and products, Nanofics is Europlasma’s patented and patent pending nanocoating technology platform, first applied on industrial scale in 1998.

Clariant, a leader in specialty chemicals, presents advanced solutions for technical textiles at Techtextil 2013, under a slogan ‘effects that perform and chemistry that cares’. The company will focus on three key areas – repellence & release, flame retardancy, and stability & resistance with the new solutions formulated to promote processes and products with improved environmental benefits for technical textiles.

Seven large companies in east Netherlands have formed industrial partnerships with the aim of accelerating technological innovations relating to new high-tech materials, products and systems and of rolling these out in international markets. The promoter of this collaboration is the recently established foundation AMMON (Advanced Materials Manufacturing Oost-Nederland). The provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland in the Netherlands have welcomed this focused mode of industrial collaboration and have created favourable conditions by supporting the construction of demonstrators and by becoming a launch customer.

Performance Days functional fabrics fair that will be held in Munich from 19-21 November is expected to repeat its last edition’s success, as the recent May exhibition attracted a record number of visitors and participants. Focusing mainly on active sports and workwear, Performance Forum provides exhibitors with a platform to present functional fabrics, membranes and coatings, laminates, padding and lining materials, treatments and additions, such as yarns, prints, tapes and zippers.

Advansa Thermocool Duoregulation technology is being featured in the professional shirts that will be given to each participant of the third Thermocool Dynafit Dachstein Triple race, with the aim of helping athletes to adapt to the changing thermal conditions during the race. The Dachstein Triple will take place in Schladming, Austria, on 8 June 2013. The race covering three athletic disciplines and the Alpine area is expected to feature top international athletes.

Schoeller owned Eschler Textil will showcase its wide range of warp knitted products alongside new developments in areas such as medical, 3D and velcro textiles at this week’s Techtextil trade fair for technical textiles in Frankfurt.