Interview by Kohan Textile Journal
KJ: Please let us know about Trützschler Man-Made Fibers and Trützschler Nonwovens’ latest machinery and innovations in the sector
Trutzschler: Trützschler Nonwovens is back into the business with machinery for needle-punched nonwovens. Texnology and Trützschler are a perfect math and partner to supply complete production lines for geotextiles, filtration media, automotive textiles and other functional and technical nonwovens.
Another innovation is T-ONE, our digital working environment for nonwoven producers. We think many nonwoven producers could benefit from the digitalization of work routines, systematic line and product monitoring and analytics helping with machinery optimizations.
To support customers in realizing their full potential, T-ONE continuously collects both product property data and process data. Algorithms, based on Artificial Intelligence, analyze all the data, recommend better machine settings or contribute to predictive maintenance.
This year Trützschler Man-Made Fibers introduced a new extrusion and spinning system for industrial yarn, the OPTIMA for IDY systems. The OPTIMA platform came to life in 2019, starting as the compact, high-productivity system MO40-C for manufacturing BCF – Bulk Continuous Filament – carpet yarns.
Meanwhile OPTIMA systems are also in service for high-count BCF yarns with up to 1,200 filaments per yarn end (MO40-E) and for tri-colour BCF yarns (TO40).
Since the OPTIMA platform is very versatile, OPTIMA for IDY, our variant for industrial and technical yarns, hit the market at Frankfurt Techtextil in June. The TEC-O40 and TEC-O80 systems allow for manufacturing all high-tenacity and low-shrinkage yarn qualities needed for heavy duty and safety-related applications. Examples are car tires, airbags, conveyor belts, fishing nets, climbing ropes and even durable travel bags and parachutes.
KJ: Everybody wait for ITMA MILANO, What new technology does Trutzschler have in booth that will surprise everyone during ITMA?
Trutzschler: Sustainability and digitalization are important topics for every Trützschler business unit. Not only at ITMA but also for the entire planet. We all are well aware of the pressing challenges. Our R&D teams are constantly working on future trends. The new solutions, of course, will be presented at ITMA 2023.
Trützschler Spinning for instance is developing equipment and features for recycling applications. For Trutzschler Nonwovens, renewable, biodegradable fibers and energy-efficient production still are major topics. Trutzschler Man-Made Fibers and Trutzschler Card Clothing are pursuing yet other strategies to cope with today’s market demands.
Novelties will be a major part of ITMA but it’s too early to start telling the various stories now.
KJ: Trützschler in 2022 participate in many exhibitions all around the world and especially after a long time of pandemic it was necessary, what do you think about your events and how do you evaluate them in general?
Trutzschler: In the last 2 years, all face-to-face events around the globe were real successes. The return to “normal” trade fairs has clearly shown that personal meetings and discussions with customers and partners are irreplaceable. Building a trustful relationship is crucial in our business and spending time together on the Trützschler booth helps a lot.
KJ: Trützschler is a global leader to providing Man-Made Fibers and Nonwoven industry solutions and R&D is a vital part of it. Let us know Why you spent a lot of time and money in R&D?
Trutzschler: R&D is a top priority for Trutzschler. R&D people never stop thinking and developing. New trends and new technologies are eagerly analyzed so new market demands can be foreseen and answered.
Learning about new fiber materials and end products, developing new processes and delivering even more beneficial solutions is definitely the fun part of the game.
Our latest R&D success story in nonwovens has been the development of the WLS (Wet-laid/Spunlaced) and CP (Carded Pulp) technologies.
Trützschler Nonwovens and Voith engineers adapted existing machinery into a high-speed production line delivering innovative nonwovens from attractively priced, paper-grade pulp. In combination with viscose or lyocell fibers, pulp gives soft, strong and biodegradable baby and body wipes.
KJ: How do you evaluate the middle east and Africa textile market (including Turkey) in the future?
Trutzschler: Turkey is one of our most important markets worldwide. It is continuously growing. We strongly believe that Turkey has even strengthened its position as textile production hub for the big consumer market of central Europe due to its proximity.
Logistics are an essential cost factor in textiles. Products can easily be transported by truck from Turkey to Central Europe, there is no need for costly sea freight. All Trützschler business units have been quite successful in this market for many years.
Turkey’s development into a top textile exporter could be a blueprint for the Middle East and African markets as well.
The entire region has a huge, almost untapped consumer potential when personal incomes further rise and inspired investors take a lead.
KJ: In recent years paying attention to recycling and sustainability is a must for all industries and especially for the textile industry, how we can have a sustainable and green textile industry?
Trutzschler: There are far more recycling initiatives in the apparel industry than in the nonwoven, carpet, and industrial yarn industry. Because volumes are higher in fashion and home textiles, these segments dominate the discussion.
One of Trützschler Nonwovens’ main targets is to adapt our machinery to recycled materials. The difficulty is to develop an end product that is of par with a conventional product from virgin fibers. This often succeeds but also can fail if the recycled fibers’ or recycled polymer’s quality deviates significantly from the virgin material. Unfortunately, closing the loop in the nonwoven sector is still a big challenge.
But there are interesting examples in the carpet industry. Some producers already collect woven or tufted carpets after use The fibers are sheared and fed back into the extruder for spinning BCF carpet yarns of excellent quality.
KJ: What is Trützschler solutions for recycling and sustainable production? What is Trützschler sustainability policy?
Trutzschler: We see an increasing demand for sustainable raw materials from renewable resources. For instance, hemp can be a future alternative to cotton both in apparel, home textiles and nonwovens. It requires considerably less water, and it grows even under conditions, where cotton is out of the race. The availability is still low, but there is a potential for the future, particularly for blends.
Petroleum-free fibers attract great interest especially in single-use nonwoven end products. Spunlaced wipes from natural fibers, !00% viscose and lyocell and even pulp attract great interest. No micro plastics enter the environment when the wipes biodegrade and leave nothing behind. Sustainable durable felts often are good alternatives to conventional needle-punched nonwovens.
Trützschler Spinning has developed specific machinery and installations for the manufacture of yarn made of recycled materials, for example the TC 19i for Recycling. This machine empowers our customers to achieve the maximum quality when carding secondary fibers from torn waste.
Our customers can expect solutions that meet their demands for cost-effective ways to produce high-quality products made of eco-friendly and even secondary fibers made from textile waste. Trützschler offers energy-efficient machinery and installations tailored to the processing of these materials, as well as solutions for optimal raw material utilization.
