Techtextil and Avantex Innovation Awards 2011

The choice is made: we now know this year's Techtextil and Avantex Innovation Award winners. With a total of over 80 entries, numerous companies and research institutes applied to be considered for the 2011 Techtextil and Avantex Innovation Awards.

Ten developments were awarded prizes: seven for the Techtextil Innovations Award and three for the Avantex Innovation Award. At the same time, three 'Honourable Mentions' were awarded.

Techtextil Innovation Award Winners:

• D`Appolonia S.p.A. (Italy) together with the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI/Germany), Blastech Ltd. (Great Britain), Consorzio CETMA (Italy, Air Tex Solution (U.S.A.), Cargo Network (Germany), Meridiana Maintenance S.p.A. (Italy), APC Composite (Sweden), and Riso DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy (Denmark) for "Fly-Bag: explosion resistant textile luggage container for aircraft cargo holds" in the category of "Safety + Protection".

• Fibroline France SARL (France) receive an "Honourable Mention" for "a new 'latex free' carpet for the automotive industry, manufactured with powder coating wastes" in the category of "New Processes"

• The Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering Denkendorf (Germany) together with the Plant Biomechanics Group, University of Freiburg (Germany) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart (Germany) for "Bionic facades shading based on the

model of the strelitzia" in the category of "Architecture".

• The Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering Denkendorf (Germany) together with the State Museum of Natural History, (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde), Stuttgart (Germany), The Institute of Geo-sciences (Institut für Geowissenschaften), University of Tübingen (Germany), Mattes & Ammann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) and Solarenergie Stefanakis (Germany) for "Development of three-dimensional textile materials for the recovery of water

from fog aerosols" in the category of "New Materials".

• Lindauer Dornier Gesellschaft mbH (Germany) for "Open Reed Weave Technology" in the category of "New Technologies"

• Outlast Europe GmbH (Germany) for "PCM – Polyester fibres" in the category of "New Materials"

• PyroTex GmbH (Germany) receives an "Honourable Mention" for "The new safety fiber" in the category of "New Materials"

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INDEX 11 closed its doors with record breaking results

For another edition, INDEX 11 closed its doors with record-breaking results, confirming its title as ‘The world’s leading nonwovens exhibition’, with a diversity of products and services on offer, from all sectors of the market - from machinery and raw materials to converted products.

More than 12,600 visitors made their way through the doors of the Geneva Palexpo exhibition centre, keen to see the 530 exhibitors from 43 countries in over 21,600 m2 of stand space across the 50’000m2 of exhibition halls.

Visitors attending the show from the 12th to the 15th April 2011 were able to engage with a larger portion of the industry than ever before, as well as take advantage of the special events organised during the exhibition. Special events focused on innovation, nonwovens in packaging, and product presentations, as well as introductory lunchtime tutorials to provide an overview of the world-famous EDANA training courses.

“For an industry which has just started to show signs of recovery – now finally rising to levels above those recorded before the global financial crisis, we can be incredibly proud. This challenging commercial context spurred the nonwovens industry, already renowned for its creativity and development, to be even more innovative, and companies are investing in sustainable activities which not only bring a positive effect to the world we live in, but also secure the industry for the future.” said Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA, the sponsor of INDEX.

Exhibitors shared their delight with the quality of the attendees visiting the show, alongside feedback from visitors who were pleased with the breadth and depth of the exhibitors on offer, covering the entire chain from machinery and raw materials producers to converters and providers of added-value treatments and processes.

A European visitor stated that “This is most definitely the best show yet.”, a sentiment echoed by an exhibitor who commented that “As an industry player who wants to not just survive but grow, you can’t afford not to come to INDEX”. Several exhibitors also reported growing numbers of high-level enquiries from Latin America and Africa.

Comments were also received from visitors from the Americas and Asia, with individuals paying tribute to the organisation of the show in terms of the ease of finding those companies they wanted to see “Having travelled so far, I really need to make sure that I can prove the value of my visit. I’m here for 3 days, and by the end of the first day I was reporting back to my boss about how next time we should all come! This has been a great show for us professionally, and I’ve managed to speak to all of the people that I needed to contact, with enough time to visit one of the workshops – unexpected value that I am very happy about, and I know my boss will be very happy too.”

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Tredegar Film Products Receives Innovation Award at INDEX11

Tredegar Film Products was one of three companies to receive an INDEX11 Innovation award in the new category of Sustainable Management Practice and Process. The award is for Flowertool(TM), a software system developed by Tredegar Film Products in conjunction with and certified by University L'Aquila, Italy, Department of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials. Tredegar Film Products has applied for a patent on this new software system which assesses the eco-efficiency of industrial systems, facilities, and products based on scientifically and technologically validated models and indicators. Flowertool(TM) is based on the already established LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, and has a "cradle to cradle" oriented structure which provides a "cradle to customer gate" LCA study and includes Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emission sources.

This system can help businesses determine a current baseline for their business operations, sites, and products. Flowertool(TM) can also help businesses determine sustainability targets and measure and monitor their progress toward those targets. The results provided by Flowertool(TM) allow businesses to have a clearer vision of eco-efficiency and related impact categories of industrial processes, sites, and products.

Tredegar Film Products is utilizing Flowertool(TM) to assess the eco-efficiency of its supply chain, and is making the system available to businesses in the industry that need this capability. We will combine our efforts by partnering with customers on their strategic sustainability initiatives and investing in innovation.

Flowertool(TM) can be customized based on specialized business needs and is available in two versions:

1) Standard - with the identified plastic film industry indices, and

2) Premium – a custom tailored system.

Tredegar's overall goal for Flowertool(TM) is social responsibility and public awareness of eco-efficiency.

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Aditya Birla group acquires Swedish speciality pulp manufacturer

Aditya Birla Group today announced the acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker, a leading Swedish Speciality Pulp and Bio-refinery Company, through its global companies Thai Rayon Public Company Limited (Thailand) and Indo Bharat Rayon (Indonesia), for a sum of US $ 340 million from a Swedish consortium.

Comments Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group: “The acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker, a world-class company, with the most environmentally-friendly technology marks a significant milestone for our Pulp & Fibre business. Its cutting edge technology and production process coupled with a state-of-the-art bio-refinery, add significant value to our Pulp & Fibre operations. Its high quality pulp will enable us enhance the supply of top quality premium VSF to our customers. The Pulp & Fibre business is a core business of the Aditya Birla Group. Domsjö has a highly professional management team and a committed staff. I most warmly welcome them to the Aditya Birla Group.”

Says Mr. K. K. Maheshwari, Business Head, Pulp & Fibre: “This acquisition is in line with our strategy of having a substantive part of our speciality pulp for our consumption through our captive source. With Domsjö Fabriker, we are closer to this goal”.

“As a large quality manufacturer of speciality pulp, Domsjö has a synergistic fit with us. There is a great opportunity to further grow the company. Domsjö has an extensive investment programme for capacity expansion from its current 210,000 tons to 255,000 tons per annum by 2012. We are fully committed to Domsjö’s growth. Going forward, our intent is to expand the innovation and research and development efforts at Domsjö as part of our global R&D efforts," added Mr. Maheshwari.

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Sigma-Aldrich & Kraig to create the next generation medical textiles

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services research business of Sigma-Aldrich® (Nasdaq: SIAL), today announced the signing of an agreement with Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB) to develop genetically modified silkworms for the production of spider silk, using Sigma's proprietary CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology. The transfer of silk genes from the spider to the silkworm is expected to allow the mass production of silk with enhanced strength and elasticity with potential textiles and biomedical applications, such as sutures, tendon and ligament repair, bulletproof vests, and automobile airbags.

Since the first published sequence of a spider silk gene in 1990, much research has focused on the production of commercially viable spider silk with high tensile strength and elasticity. In 2010 KBLB made an important advance towards this goal, by producing hybrid silkworms with randomly inserted spider silk genes, yielding hybrid spider¬silkworm silk with greater strength and durability than native silkworm silk. The precise gene targeting and high efficiency of Sigma's ZFN technology allows KBLB to build on its revolutionary proof of concept research, by concomitantly targeting the insertion of spider silk genes into the silkworm genome while removing endogenous silkworm silk genes. The resulting transgenic silkworm is expected to be capable of spinning pure spider silk at commercially viable production levels.

"ZFN technology has been revolutionary in genome engineering for various applications, including animal models of disease, engineering of bio pharmaceutical production systems, academic research and therapeutics," said Dr. Joseph Bedell, Director of Sigma Life Science's Commercial Animal Technologies Group. "Spider silk production is just the first example of a potential commercial animal application for this exciting technology, perfectly positioning Sigma Life Science as a leading provider of innovative technologies that are changing the face of science and improving the quality of life."

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