Jute Fibre Gradation by Hybrid AHP-TOPSIS Methodology of ...

5May - June 2020 Journal of the TEXTILE Association

PEER REVIEWED

Jute Fibre Gradation by Hybrid AHP-TOPSISMethodology of Multi-Criteria

Decision Making Technique

Dr. Ashis MitraDepartment of Silpa-Sadana, Visva-Bharati University,

AbstractAmongst the various exponents of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques, the hybrid AHP-TOPSIS approach is much more robust-yet-flexible paradigm in any case of decision-making problem.This methodology is based on strong mathematical foundation of both AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process)and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solutions). Gradation of jute fibreson the basis of certain quantitative as well as subjective parameters or attributes is done by traditionalmethod which follows the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) gradation system. In this paper a modifiedapproach has been proposed using hybrid AHP-TOPSIS tool for ranking/gradation and thereby selectionof jute fibres on the basis of some apposite selection criteria like fibre strength, root content, fibre defects,fibre colour, bulk density and fibre fineness. It is found that the orders of preference of the top-rankedand worst-ranked jute fibre varieties/samples exactly match with the traditional BIS system and MAHPapproach done by an earlier researcher. Moreover, the new hybrid approach shows an overall goodagreement in terms of ranking with the previos system or approach.

KeywordsAHP, Jute Gradation, MCDM, TOPSIS.

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1. IntroductionThe experiences of the domain experts play an impor-tant role duringthe gradation of jute fibres. In somecases, it is done using BIS method [1-2]. In BIS method,which is a scientific grading system introduced byBureau of Indian Standards in 1969, eight grades areused to be identified initially based on seven jute fibreparameters. However, in the modern BIS jute gradingsystem, eight jute grades are identified on the basis ofonly six physical parameters or attributes of jute fibresnamely strength (tenacity), root content, defects, fine-ness, colour and (bulk) density. In the present BISsystem, jute gradation is primarily done using a scoringsystem of the above mentioned six fibre parameters,and this is done as per IS: 271 - 2003 standard wheredifferent score marks has been stipulated for each grade[1].Choudhuri [2] considered above mentioned six jutefibre parameters as six decision criteria and presented

an alternative approach for jute fibre gradation or rank-ing with the help of Multiplicative Analytic HierarchyProcess (MAHP).

Amongst the various exponents of MCDM technique,the AHP is one of the widely used and most talkedabout approach which can efficiently handle both thetangible and the intangible attributes. Accordin to AHPmethod, in a decision-making problem with M alterna-tives and N criteria, the total number of pair-wisecomparison matrices is expressed by the followingexpression :

N(N-1) M(M-1)------------- +N. ------------- 2 2

which may be practically unmanageable in situationswhere a large number of decision criteria and alterna-tives are involved.

TOPSIS, on the contrary, is more efficient in handlingthe tangible attributes and there is no limitation of thenumber of decision criteria or alternatives. Hence, inthis paper, a maidenendevour has been madeusing

* All the correspondence should be addressed to,Dr. Ashis Mitra,Associate Professor, Visva-Bharati University(A Central University),Department of Silpa-Sadana, Textile Section, P.O.-Sriniketan,Dist - Birbhum, WB - 731236,E-mail: [email protected]

May - June 2020Journal of the TEXTILE Association 6

AHP-TOPSIS hybrid method/approach for solving thesame problem (i.e. gradation and selection of jute fi-bres) using the same data set employed by Choudhuri[2], and the efficacy of the proposed method has beenevaluated with respect to the earlier methods/ap-proaches using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

2. AHP-TOPSIS Hybrid MethodologyThe AHP was invented by T.L. Saaty [3-8], and it isbased on the formation of pair-wise comparison matrixto extract relative weights of criteria and scores ofalternatives. The TOPSIS was developed by Hwangand Yoon [9], the basic philosophy of which is that theselected alternative/option should have the shortestdistance, in a geometrical sense, from the positive idealsolution (PIS) and longest distance from the negativeideal solution (NIS) or worst solution. In the case ofAHP-TOPSIS hybrid approach, on the other hand, thepair-wise comparison method of AHP is amalgamatedwith the other steps of TOPSIS. The below is ex-plained the fundamental steps involved in the AHP-TOPSIS hybrid approach [10]:

Step 1 :The relevant goal or objective, the decision criteria andthe alternatives of the problem are identified.

Step 2 :A decision matrix of criteria and alternatives areproduced,in this step, basis the information availableregarding the problem in hand. If number of alterna-tives is M and number of criteria is N, then the result-ant decision matrix with an order of M x N can berepresented as under:

x11

x12 ... x1N

x21

x22

... x 2 D (M×N ) = ... ... ... ...

xM1

xM2

... xMN

where the element xij denotes the actual value of ith

alternative w.r.t. jth decision attribute.

Table 2.1 : The fundamental 9-Point relational scale proposed by T.L. Saaty [3]

Intensity of Definition Explanationimportance

1 Equal importance Two activities contribute equally to the objective.

3 Moderate importance Experience and judgement slightly favour one activity overanother.

5 Essential or strong importance Experience and judgement strongly favour one activity overanother.

7 Very strong importance An activity is very strongly favoured and its dominance isdemonstrated.

9 Extreme importance The evidence favouring one activity over another is of thehighest possible order of affirmation.

2, 4, 6, 8 Intermediate values between When compromise is needed.two adjacent judgement

Reciprocals If activity p has one of the above numbers assigned to it when compared with activity q,then q has the reciprocal value when compared with p.

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Step 3 :In this step, the decision matrix is converted to a nor-malized decision matrix so that the scores obtained indifferent scales become comparable. An element Rijofthe normalized decision matrix is calculated by Eq. (1):

xij

Rij

= ------------------- (1)[S

iM =1(x

ij )2 ]1/2

Step 4 :In this step, the relative importance of different criteriawith respect to the objective of the problem and thescores of alternatives with respect to each of the cri-teria is determined by using a 9-Point scale of relativeimportance proposed by Saaty, which is shown in Table2.1. For N criteria the size of the comparison matrix(P1) will be N x N and the entry c

ij will denote the

relative importance of criterion i with respect to thecriterionj. In the matrix,

1c

ij=1, for i=j and c

ji= --- for i9j.

cji

The pair-wise comparison matrix can be representedasfollows:

1 c12

... c1N

c21

1 ... c2N

P1 = ... ... 1 ...

cN1

cN2

... 1

The relative weight or importance of the ith criteria(Wi) is determined by calculating the geometric mean(GM) of the ith row and then normalizing the geomet-ric means of rows of the above matrix. This can berepresented by the Eq. (2) and Eq. (3):

Then matrix P3 and P

4 are calculated such that P

3 = P

1

× P2

and P4

= P3 / P2 , whereP2

= [W1 W

2 … W

N] T

In order to check the consistency or validity of pairwisecomparison, at first the principal Eigen Vector (lmax)

of the original pairwise comparison matrix (P1) is de-rived from the average of matrix P

4. Afterwards, con-

sistency index (IC) and consistency ratio (R

C) are

determinedusingEq. (4) and Eq. (5), respectively:

where RCI is random consistency index whosevaluesare given in Table 2.2. The judgement is consid-ered to be consistent and hence acceptable only if thevalue of R

C is less than or equal to 0.1. Otherwise, the

pair-wise comparison matrix has to be reconstructedby reconsidering the entries of the matrix.

Table 2.2: RCI values for different numbers ofattributes or criteria (N)

N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

RCI 0 0 0.58 0.90 1.12 1.24 1.32 1.41 1.45

Step 5 :The weighted normalized matrix is obtained by multi-plying each column of the normalized decision matrixR by the associated criteria weight corresponding tothat column. Hence, an element v

ij of weighted nor-

malized matrix Vcan be represented by Eq. (6):

vij = W

j .. R

ij(6)

Step 6 :In this step, the positive ideal solution (A*) and nega-tive ideal solution (A-) are generated in the followingmanner:

where J={j = 1,2,3,…..N / j associated with benefit orpositive criteria)}and J' = { j = 1,2,3,…..N / j associated with cost ornegative criteria)}

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For the benefit criteria (higher-the-better type), thedecision maker wants to have the maximum valueamong the alternatives. So, A* indicates the positiveideal solution (PIS). On the contrary, for the cost crite-ria (lower-the-better type), the decision maker wantsto have the minimum value amongst the alternatives.,and hence, A- indicates the negative ideal solution (NIS).

Step 7The N dimensional Euclidean distance method is ap-plied in this case, to measure the separation distancesof each alternative from PIS and NIS.

where are the separation distances of alter-native i from the PIS and NIS, respectively.

Step 8In this step, the relative closeness or degree of close-ness (Ci*) of each alternative with respect to PIS isderived using Eq. (7). Noteworthy to mention, here,that the value of Ci* ranges from 0 to 1.

Step 9All the alternatives are now arranged in descendingorder of magnitude of Ci*. The higher the Ci* valuethebetter the ranking. Hence, the alternative at the top ofthe list is the most preferred one and vice versa.

3. Materials and Methods3.1 Data Collection and AnalysisThe test results of nine jute fibre varieties or sampleswith respect to six fibre parameters like bundle strength(tenacity), root content, defects, fibre fineness, fibrecolour and bulk density, as well as fibre gradation asper existing BIS grading systemhave been collectedfrom National Institute of Research on Jute and AlliedFibre Technology (NIRJAFT) and furnished in Table3. As mentioned earlier, the same data set were usedby Choudhuri [2] for his gradation approach throughMAHP.

In BIS gradation system, attributes like fibre colourand bulk density are assessed subjectively. However,in order to facilitate numerical calculations, these sub-jective attributes or criteria should be assigned numeri-cal values. The same assignment convension as em-ployed by Choudhuri [2] in his approach, is adopted inthis case also to keep pariety in the original data set.Hence, the 'Fair good' and 'Fair average' colour at-tributes have been assigned numerical values 3 and 2respectively, and two density attributes namely 'Me-dium bodied' and 'Heavy bodied' have been assignedvalues 2 and 3 respectively, as shown within smallbrackets alongwith corresponding attributes in Table3.1.

Table 3.1 : Originlal data set containing jute fibre properties and BIS gradation [2]

Sample Tenacity Root Defects Fineness Colour Density BIS Gradeno. (g/tex) content(%) (%) (tex)

1 24.2 10 1.5 2.9 Fair good (3) Medium bodied (2) TD-4 + 60% -

2 26.5 8 1.5 3.2 Fair good (3) Medium bodied (2) TD-4 + 80% -

3 23.1 8 1.5 3.0 Fair good (3) Medium bodied (2) TD-4 + 65%-

4 24.1 8 2.0 3.3 Fair good (3) Medium bodied (2) TD-4 + 20%-

5 27.1 8 2.0 2.9 Fair average (2) Medium bodied (2) TD-4 + 35%-

6 21.0 15 1.5 3.0 Fair average (2) Medium bodied (2) TD-4



9 15.5 15 1.0 2.6 Fair average (2) Heavy bodied (3) TD-5 + 80% -

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3.2 AHP-TOPSIS Approach for Jute Fibre Grada-tionIt has been already observed that the problem of jutefibre gradation and selection in order to determine thequality value of different jute fibre varieties can beformulated as an MCDM problem as envisaged byChoudhuri [2]. In this paper, the same jute fibre gra-dation problem has been considered, which consists ofnine jute fibre varieties/samples to be evaluated (usinghybrid AHP-TOPSIS approach) with respect to sixjute fibre criteria or parameters, namely bundle strength(BS), fibre defects (FD), root content (RC), fibre fine-ness (FF), fibre colour (FC), and bulk density (BD).The data set for developing the related decision matrixfor this gradation problem are shown in Table 3 whichalso shows the gradation as per existing BIS system.It is obviously a challenging decision making problemsince the values of the criteria or parameters underconsideration are not only quite close to each other butconflicting, too. These values of jute ?bre properties(or criteria) have beenemployed to derive the qualityindex (Ci*) of individual jute fibre variety/sample usinghybrid AHP-TOPSIS approach.

In order to determine the quality indices/values of dif-ferent jute fibre varieties, which is the goal of thepresent decision making situation, the same type ofhierarchy formulation as proposed by Choudhuri [2] isadopted here also, as shown in Figure 3.1.

Figure3.1: Hierarchy of jute fibre properties

3.3 Determining criteria weights or priority weightsThe pair-wise comparison matrix of the six decisioncriteria with regard to overall goal of the problem ispresented in Table 3.2. The pair-wise comparisonamongst different criteria has been done on the basisof Saaty's 9-Point Relational Scale presented in Table2.1.

While making pair-wise comparison, the parameterbundle strength (BS) has been assigned moderate im-portance over fibre fineness (FF), essential/strong im-portance over fibre defects (FD), and very strongimportance over root content (RC). Moreover, therelative importance of parameter 'BS' over bulk den-sity (BD) is between strong and very strong, and thatover criterion fibre colour (FC) is between very strongand extreme. The other pair-wise comparisons havebeen made, likewise.

Table 3.2 : Pair-wise comparison matrix and global weights of criteria w.r.t. goal

Criteria BS FC BD RC FD FF Geometric Mean Normalized GM(GM) of Criteria [global weights]

BS 1 8 6 7 5 3 4.1407 0.4809

FC 1/8 1 2 1/3 1/4 1/3 0.4368 0.0507

BD 1/6 1/2 1 1/2 1/4 1/2 0.4163 0.0484

RC 1/7 3 2 1 1/4 1/2 0.6892 0.0800

D 1/5 4 4 4 1 4 1.9270 0.2238

FF 1/3 3 2 2 1/4 1 1.0000 0.1161

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Since, the consistency ratio (RC) is well below 0.1, so

the judgement of the pair-wise comparison is consis-tent and hence acceptable. The values of normalizedGMs represent the relative importance of the criteriawith respect to the overall objective, and since there isno sub-criterion of any of the main criterion, the rela-tive importances of the considered criteria indicate theirglobal weights with respect to the objective. Therefore,the global weights of strength (BS), colour (FC), den-sity (BD), root content (RC), defects (D) and fineness(FF) are 0.4809, 0.0507, 0.0484, 0.0800, 0.2238, and0.1161 respectively. It should be noted here that BS,FC and BD are all benefit criteria (higher-the-bettertype) since they do exert a positive influence on the

goal, whereas RC, D and FF are cost criteria (lower-the-better type) having a negative influence on theoverall goal.

Table 4.1: Normalized decision matrix of criteria

Sample Normalized Decision Matrix of Criteria

No. BS FC BD RC D FF

1 0.3540 0.4009 0.3123 0.3153 0.2942 0.3153

2 0.3877 0.4009 0.3123 0.2522 0.2942 0.3480

3 0.3379 0.4009 0.3123 0.2522 0.2942 0.3262

4 0.3525 0.4009 0.3123 0.2522 0.3922 0.3588

5 0.3964 0.2673 0.3123 0.2522 0.3922 0.3153

6 0.3072 0.2673 0.3123 0.4729 0.2942 0.3262

7 0.2750 0.2673 0.3123 0.3153 0.3922 0.3806

8 0.3277 0.2673 0.3123 0.3153 0.3922 0.3371

9 0.2267 0.2673 0.4685 0.4729 0.1961 0.2827

4. Results and DiscussionOnce the global weights or priority weights of differentcriteria with respect to the objective of the problemwere determined as shown in Table 3.2, the other stepsof AHP-TOPSIS method were followed as chalkedout earlier (from Step 5 to Step 9) for calculating qualityindex of jute fibre varieties (alternatives).

Table 4.2: Salient results of AHP-TOPSIS alongwithquality index (Ci*) and ranking of alternatives

Sample Weighted Normalized Decision Matrix of Criteria Di* D_i^- Ci* Rank

No. BS FC BD RC D FF

1 0.1702 0.0203 0.0151 0.0252 0.0658 0.0366 0.0315 0.0670 0.6800 2

2 0.1864 0.0203 0.0151 0.0202 0.0658 0.0404 0.0248 0.0827 0.7695 1

3 0.1625 0.0203 0.0151 0.0202 0.0658 0.0379 0.0368 0.0611 0.6241 4

4 0.1695 0.0203 0.0151 0.0202 0.0878 0.0417 0.0501 0.0634 0.5589 5

5 0.1906 0.0136 0.0151 0.0202 0.0878 0.0366 0.0452 0.0838 0.6497 3

6 0.1477 0.0136 0.0151 0.0379 0.0658 0.0379 0.0526 0.0449 0.4608 7

7 0.1323 0.0136 0.0151 0.0252 0.0878 0.0442 0.0748 0.0264 0.2611 9

8 0.1576 0.0136 0.0151 0.0252 0.0878 0.0392 0.0565 0.0504 0.4717 6

9 0.1090 0.0136 0.0227 0.0379 0.0439 0.0328 0.0838 0.0460 0.3543 8

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The determination of normalized decision matrix (asshown in Table 4.1) and weighted normalized decisionmatrix were done in accordance with the method de-scribed earlier. After the determination of positive idealsolution (PIS) and negative ideal solution (NIS) corre-sponding to each criterion, the separation distances ofalternatives from the PIS (Di*) and that from the NIS(Di-) were calculated. Table 4.2reveals the salient re-sults of AHP-TOPSIS analysis. The values of relativecloseness indeces (Ci*) for 9 jute fibre alternatives aredepicted in Figure 4.1. It is observed that the bestalternative is sample no 2 with a Ci* value of 0.7695being close to 1, whereas the worst choice is jute fibresample no 7 with a Ci* value of 0.2611 which is closeto zero.

Figure 4.1: Relative closeness values(or quality indices) of jute fibres

The comparison of ranking orders obtained by earliermethods and the proposed AHP-TOPSIS-based ap-proach is furnished in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3 : Comparison of ranking ordersof different models

Sample BIS MAHP AHP-No. ranking ranking [2] [2]TOPSIS ranking

1 3 4 2

2 1 1 1

3 2 2 4

4 5 5 5

5 4 3 3

6 6 7 7

7 9 9 9

8 8 6 6

9 7 8 8

It is found from Table 4.3 that, for all the three ap-proaches or ranking methods, jute fibre samples 2 and7 occupy the same position in the ranking patterns --- rank 1(bestchoice) and rank 9 (worst choice), re-spectively. There are slight discrepancies, however, insome of the intermediate rankings. The possible causeof these discrepancies may be attributed to the differ-ent approaches of ranking the alternatives in twomethods. Nevertheless, it has been found that the dif-ferences/discrepancies in ranking patterns of the twomethods (BIS and AHP-TOPSIS) are not statisticallysignificant (vide Appendix I for statistical analysis).

Table 4.4 : Comparison of different methods usingSpearman's rank correlation coefficients

Method BIS Grading MAHP AHP-TOPSISSystem

BIS Grading System - 0.9333 0.9000

MAHP - - 0.9333

AHP-TOPSIS - - -

In order to check the validity and efficacy of the pro-posed decision making model, a comparison of rankingperformances obtained by earlier methods and thatattained by the proposed model is presented in Table4.4, on the basis of Spearman's Rank Correlation analy-sis which is given by Eq. (8):

where Rs is Spearman's rank correlation coefficient,

Di is absolute difference between rankings obtainedby any two methods, and M is the total number ofdecision alternatives, which is 9 in this case.

Very high Spearman's rank correlation coefficients of0.9000 between existing BIS system and AHP-TOPSIS-based ranking, and that of 0.9333 between MAHPranking done by Choudhuri [2] and the proposed AHP-TOPSIS model corroborates the potential applicabilityof the proposed model in gradation and ranking of thecandidate jute fibre samples (varieties) thereby identi-fying the choice for specific end-use requirements.

It is worth mentioning at this juncture that the entireanalysis has been performed using MCDM Plus, aself-developed user-friendly software developed usingMATLAB2015 programming platform.

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5. ConclusionA new approach of MCDM technique has been dem-onstrated to evaluate the quality index of jute fibrevarieties, there by ranking and grading the candidatejute fibres in terms of applicability towards specificend-use. All the jute fibre properties or attributes weregiven commensurate weights based on their influenceon overall objective. The final raking of 9 jute fibrevarieties was elicited by the proposed approach whichamalgamates the principles of two popular exponentsof MCDM, namely AHP and TOPSIS. The ranking orgradation of jute fibres attained by this hybrid methodcorroborates a very good degree of agreement withexisting BIS gradation system and MAHP approachdone by an earlier researcher. Free from ranking in-consistencies (associated with AHP method alone), theAHP-TOPSIS hybrid approach exploits the experienceof the domain experts to construct the pairwise com-parison matrix, which can be modified very easily innew situation. Thus, thenew approach is a flexible-yet-potent way of decision-making and can be applied inany such situation regardless of fibre types.

Appendix IStatistical F-Test Analysis to Compare Rankings ofBIS and AHP-TOPSIS Methods

BIS Method : Variance in rankings (s1) = 7.5

Sample size (n1) = 9

AHP-TOPSIS Method : Variance in rankings (s1) = 7.5

Sample size (n2) = 9

Step-1 : Stating the HypothesesNull hypothesis (H

0) : difference in ranking patterns

not statistically significant.

Alternative hypothesis (Ha) : difference in ranking pat-

terns statistically significant.

Step-2 : Finding the Calculated F Value

s1

7.5F

Calculated = ----- = ------ =1 s

2 7.5

Step-3: Calculation of Degrees of Freedom (df)

Degrees of freedom for BIS method (df1) = 9-1 = 8

Degrees of freedom for AHP-TOPSIS method (df2) = 9-1=8

Step-4 : Selection of the Level of Significance(a-level)Let us choose the standard - level of 0.05.

Step-5 : Finding the Critical FValue from the F-TableFor df

1 = df

2 = 8, with a= 0.05, the critical F value can

be found as:F

8,8,0.05 = 3.44

Step-6 : Statistical Inference Through Comparisonof F ValuesSince, F

Calculated « F

Critical,

so, we cannot reject the null hypothesis (H0), i.e. H0

is true.In other words, there is enough evidence (with 95%confidence) that the difference in ranking patterns (givenby BIS and AHP-TOPSIS methods) are not statisti-cally significant.

References1. Textiles --- Grading of White, TOSSA and DALSEE

Uncut Indian Jute, Bureau of Indian Standards,FourthRevision, New Delhi, (2003).

2. Choudhuri P. K., Application of Multi-Criteria DecisionMaking (MCDM) Technique for Gradation of Jute Fi-bres, Journal of the Institution of Engineers (India):Series - E, 95(2), 63-68, (2014).

3. Saaty T. L., The Analytic Hierarchy Process, McGraw-Hill, New York, (1980).

4. Saaty, T. L., Priority Setting in Complex Problems, IEEETransaction on Engineering Management,30(3), 140-155, (1983).

5. Saaty T. L., Axiomatic Foundation of Analytic Hierar-chy Process, Management Science, 32(7), 841-855,(1986).

6. Saaty T. L., How to Make a Decision: The AnalyticHierarchy Process, European Journal of OperationalResearch,48, 9-26, (1990).

7. Saaty T. L., An Exposition of the AHP in Reply to thePaper "Remarks on the Analytic Hierarchy Process".Management Science, 36(3), 259-268, (1990).

8. Saaty T. L., Highlights and Critical Points in the Theoryand Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process,European Journal of Operational Research, 74, 426-447, (1994).

9. Hwang C.L., and Yoon K., Multiple Attribute DecisionMaking: Methods and Applications, Springer-Verlag,New York, (1981).

10. Majumdar A., Sarkar B., and Majumdar P.K., Determi-nation of quality value of cotton fibre using hybridAHP-TOPSIS method of multiple-criteria decision-mak-ing, Journal of Textile Institute, 96(5), 1-7, (2005).

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Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Textile Brands:A Study of Indian Innerwear Industry

Dr. K. P. Sandhya Rao & Prof. Shilpa PraveenJustice K S Hegde Institute of Management, Nitte

AbstractCelebrities are the star personalities who can influence the success of a brand successfully. Their styleis imitated, copied easily by masses who devour their moment to connect with a product or service thatthe celebrity presumably uses as he/ she endorses it. As a result many brands today associate themselveswith a celebrity who can showcase their brands in advertisements and create an image that a branddesires.This study is an attempt to quantitatively measure the impact that celebrity endorsements have on thechoice of inner wear brands for an urban population. India has several national brands of men'sinnerwear endorsed by celebrities along with global brands that have a stronger presence and affordableproducts than ever before.The objective of this study is to find if celebrities have an impact on consumers' purchase intentions forproducts such as men's innerwear. Primarily, the study intends to find whether the brand name of theinnerwear or the celebrity endorsing the brand has more impact on customers. The study included asurvey, and data was analyzed through statistical tools such as frequency distribution and cross-tabulation through SPSS. The findings show that the respondents purchased a particular brand becauseof the quality and brand image and celebrities don't have much impact on buying of innerwear especiallywith older customers. The consumers of 19-25 years age group have a slightly higher impact on celebrityendorsements. As this age group is more active in social media and recall rate of advertisements is slightlyhigher compared to other age groups. Many responses were of a view that premium brands of innerwearneed not have a celebrity to influence customers to purchase as it is well-established in their minds.

KeywordsCelebrity Endorsement, Advertisements, Purchase Intention, Brand Preference

1. IntroductionIn the current times, well-designed marketing strate-gies of a company play an important role in the suc-cess of its products. There are several marketing strat-egies that companies adopt to promote their products.Celebrity endorsement is one such strategy that mostcompanies use to reach out to their customers. Thefame, image, and trust celebrities develop in their re-spective fields will be transferred to the endorsed prod-uct or brand. Celebrities have a great fan followingand are very popular; hence, they can have a greatimpact on the sale of a product. Celebrities are endors-ing different products such as perfumes, laundry deter-

* All the correspondence should be addressed to,Dr. K. P. Sandhya RaoAssociate Professor, Justice K S Hegde Institute ofManagement, NMAMIT, Nitte - 574110 Karnataka.Email : [email protected]. Shilpa PraveenAssistant Professor, Justice K S Hegde Institute ofManagement, NMAMIT, Nitte - 574110 Karnataka.Email : [email protected]

KNITTING

gents, soaps, personal care products including hair careand skin care, cosmetics, soft drinks, chocolates, sneak-ers, cars, etc. to name a few. Celebrities like Bollywoodactors, cricketers, athletes and professional models havesigned contracts with several companies for endorsingtheir brands for a certain fee. The main purpose of anendorsement strategy is to create an emotional attach-ment between the endorser and the consumer to in-crease product and brand awareness and improve theimage of the company [1]. The strategy has been veryeffective, and several brands have been successful ingarnering attention from their customers through theuse of celebrities.

The objective of this study is to find whether the ce-lebrities have an impact on the consumers in theirpurchase intention of inner wears. Several companiesare heavily using celebrity endorsement strategies fordifferent product categories. The main objective of anyad is to create awareness and interest in the minds ofthe target audience regarding any brand. Celebrities


generate a higher level of attention because they havethe power to grab the eyeballs of the customers andstand out from the clutter of other advertisements in aparticular medium. A celebrity who is endorsing a prod-uct might be successful in creating an awareness ofthe brand but there are instances wherein the celebrityhas been very powerful and has overshadowed thebrand, and the target audience just remembers thecelebrity but fails to recall the product category or thebrand. Some celebrities who are very popular are ropedin by several companies for several product categoriesthus resulting in overexposure of the celebrities leadingto poor brand recall and confusion among the targetaudience. Celebrities also charge a very high contract-ing fee for endorsing brands. The ad legend and fatherof advertising David Ogilvy has explained; A celebritytestimonial always had a below-average ability to winover consumers who are of the belief that the celebrityis paid a huge sum of money for giving that testimonial.

1.1 Indian Innerwear Industry:The innerwear category estimated at Rs 27,931 crore,accounts for 10% of the total apparel market and isexpected to grow at a compounded annual growth rateof 10% over the next decade to Rs 74,258 crore.Experts feel innerwear is evolving from being func-tional to a segment with a fashion quotient. It's alsoshifting from a price-sensitive category to a brand-sensitive one.

1.2 Top Innerwear Brands Endorsed by Celebritiesin the Indian Market1.2.1 Amul MachoJ G Hosiery Private Limited is a Non-govt company,incorporated on 02 Apr 2001. Amul Macho is a brandowned by J G Hosiery. Over the years, the brand hasalways been a contemporary definition of machismofor Indian men. It has emerged as one of the leadinginnerwear brands in India. Bollywood actor Saif AliKhan is endorsing the Amul Macho innerwear, cur-rently.

1.2.2 Dixcy ScottDixcy was founded in 1982 by Shri Prem PrakashSikka. Dixcy has evolved from an innerwear brand toa lifestyle brand over the last 32 years. It is beingendorsed by Salman Khan and is one of the successfulinnerwear brands in India.

1.2.3 Dollar BigbossShree Dindayal Gupta established the company Dollar

in the year 1972. It became Dollar Industries Ltd in2008. It started with the brand Dollar, and then Dollarclub range of vest and briefs added mileage to thebrand. Akshay Kumar is endorsing it.

1.2.4 RupaRupa was established by Mr.P.R Agarwal. Rupa is thefirst company that introduced celebrities to endorsetheir product in India in the mid-1980s. They signedBollywood stars such as Sanjay Dutt and Govinda toendorse their product. Presently they have a tie-upwith Ranveer Singh for promoting their product.

1.2.5 Lux CoziIt is a brand of men's underwear which is part of theLux Industries Ltd. based in Kolkata. It was estab-lished in the year 1963. This brand is presently beingendorsed by Varun Dhawan.

1.2.6 VIP MacromanFor more than 40 Years, VIP has been consistentlydelivering quality products that provide comfort to theconsumers. VIP offers products to the consumers whichare affordable by average Indian. Presently it's beingendorsed by Hrithik Roshan.

Fig. 1.1 : Brands of Innerwear Endorsedby Celebrities in India

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Source:http://www.dixcyscott.com/http://rupa.co.in/[https://www.luxinnerwear.com/https://www.dollarglobal.in/https://wcrcint.com/amul-macho/https://www.vipclothing.in/

2. Literature ReviewCelebrity endorsements are glamorous and effectivebut the selection of a celebrity depends on the culturalvalues that they display, as the cultural values or mean-ings are passed from the celebrity to the product firstand then from the product to the consumer [2] [3].Using a celebrity definitely enhances the chances thata brand is positively positioned in the minds of thecustomers, however the qualities or variables used tochoose the celebrity who matches with the brand needsto be carefully researched [4][5]. Findings of sevaralresearch studies on celebrity endorsements confirm theimpact of celebrities on customer brand perception.These studies also emphasize the impact of the celeb-rity credibility on brand credibility and customer-basedbrand equity [6][7] [8].

Atkin and Block (1983) studied the effect of celebrityendorsements on liquor brands and found that whilethe younger consumers were influenced the most bythe celebrities, for the older consumers the influenceof celebrities was limited [9]. The image that a brandhas is enhanced multifold when a strong or famouspersonality is used for endorsement.

Kahle and Homer (1985) studied how the physicalattractiveness of a celebrity matters in a consumer'slikability to use the product thereby influencing thepurchase intention of the consumers [10].

Agrawal and Kamakura (1995) discussed how celeb-rity endorsement contract announcements are consid-ered to be worth the advertising expenses as, on av-erage, the stock prices of the shares were positivelyinfluenced by such announcements[11].

The cultural dimensions of every country also influ-ence the way celebrity endorsements are perceived indifferent countries depending on the level of contextand individualistic or collectivistic nature of the audi-ence [12].

Carroll (2009) conceptualized that the fashion industry

has been open to celebrity campaigns and moved awayfrom traditional campaigns [13]. Celebrities are chosento endorse brands as the target market finds it easierto believe celebrities than non-celebrities. There is someaccountability when a celebrity endorses a brand thana non-celebrity[6]

When a company invites a celebrity to endorse a brand,it hopes the brand will benefit from customers' aware-ness of the celebrity, which could include perceptionsof quality, educational value, or a certain image[14].Studies have shown that celebrity endorsements usedappropriately can serve a valuable role in developingbrand equity and enhancing the brand's competitiveposition [15]. There is little research suggesting that ithas a significant effect on brand loyalty.

Fig. 2.1 McCracken Meaning Transfer Model:

McCracken (1989) explains the effectiveness and im-portance of celebrity by assessing the meaning thatconsumers are linked with endorsers and graduallytransfer to the brand. [2]. The author explains that itconsists of 3 stages. First, the meaning associated withthe famous person moves from the endorser to theproduct or brand. Thus meanings attributed to thecelebrity become associated with the brand in theconsumer's mind. Finally, in the consumption process,brand meaning is acquired by the customer. The thirdstage of the model shows the importance of theconsumer's role in the process of endorsing brandswith famous persons. The meaning transfer process isshown in fig.2.1

2.1 Research Objectives1. To examine the impact of celebrity endorsement

on the purchase intention of men's innerwear.2. To analyze the overall customer perception of

celebrities endorsing innerwear brands3. To find out the target market that is influenced by

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celebrity endorsement.4. To know whether the brand itself plays an impor-

tant role or celebrity has got any influence in thecustomer buying behavior of innerwear.

2.2 Research QuestionsThe scope of the study is to know about celebrityendorsement in India and its impact on customer'spurchase intention and buying behavior with productslike inner wears.

The study also intends to find out whether endorse-ment of innerwear brands by celebrities makes theindividuals to buy innerwear brands or are there anyother factors that impact the buying decision of thecustomers.

In this scope, the basic research questions of the studyare given below;

RQ1: How do people perceive the innerwear brandsendorsed by celebrities?RQ2: Does the brand play an important role or celeb-rity has got any influence in the customer buying be-havior of innerwear?

3.MethodologyThis study intends to find out how consumers perceivethe use of celebrities for endorsing innerwear brands.The study has used data from both primary and sec-ondary sources.

3.1 Primary data : Conducted online surveys by send-ing mails to male respondents between the ages of 18to 45. This age group is the primary market forinnerwear in India.

3.2 Secondary data : Journals, reports, and researcharticles were referred for additional information on theinnerwear brands.

Summarized data is obtained by tabulating the collecteddata. In this research, the data iscollected through a questionnaire and was entered intoSPSS software. This was further processed to obtainvarious outputs. The study used statistical methods offrequency tables, cross-tabulations, etc.

4. Results and Discussions4.1 Data Interpretation:4.1.1 To examine the impact of celebrity Endorse-ment on buying behavior of men's innerwear.The researchers attempted to know if there is an im-pact of celebrity endorsement on buying of innerwear.Respondents were asked if they buy innerwear brandsbased on their brand preference. The responses wererecorded on a Likert scale (5) ranging from stronglyagree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree,strongly disagree. Frequency distribution was used toanalyze the results.

In the analysis, 67.78% of respondents agree that theypurchased based on their brand preference, and 16%of respondents disagree with this, and 15.5% of re-spondents were neutral. The results indicate that theimpact of celebrity endorsement on buying of innerwearis minimal, as most of them go on purchasing based ontheir brand preference.

4.1.2 To analyse the customer perception of celeb-rities endorsing innerwear brands.To know the opinion of customers regarding celebri-ties' endorsing the product such as inner wear therespondents were asked if they had an attractivenesseffect towards innerwear if a celebrity would endorsea brand. Frequency distribution indicates that 53.33%of respondents disagree that they are attracted to acelebrity endorsement. The inference of this study isthat celebrity endorsement does not influence the cus-tomers buying of inner wears.

4.1.3 To find out the target market that is influ-enced by celebrity endorsement.To find the target market that is most influenced bycelebrity endorsement, cross-tabulation was done tak-ing age group and celebrities as two components. In-terestingly, it was found out that the age group be-tween 19- 25 is positively influenced by celebrity en-dorsement of innerwear.

4.1.4 To know whether the brand itself plays animportant role or celebrity has got any influence inthe customer buying behavior of innerwear.The item used to measure this objective was "I hadpurchased innerwear brands when they have beenendorsed by my favorite celebrities". 54.44% of re-spondents disagree that they purchase the inner wearswhen it is being endorsed by their favorite celebrity.13.33% of respondents agree to that statement and

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32.22% of respondents are neutral as they neither agreenor disagree. The inference is that buying behaviordisplayed by consumers is different from the brandsthat have created an impact on the consumers due tocelebrity endorsement. The purchases are based ontheir brand preference, quality, and style. Celebritiesmay have an impact on the purchase of textile brandsbecause there comes a matter of pride, trust in celeb-rities that plays a major role but in case of innerwear,consumer buying behavior was influenced by their in-nate comfort and attributes that they want in the prod-uct.

4.2 Other Findings:4.2.1 Channel or Mode of Buying Innerwear -Multiple brand outlets, departmental stores,hypermarket, brands own showroom and onlineretailers.It was found out that consumers prefer to purchaseinnerwear in multiple brand outlets. 41.11% have optedfor it and then followed by Brand's own showroomthat is 25.55% and then is followed by departmentalstores, hypermarkets and lastly Online retailers.

4.2.2 Source of AwarenessThe respondents were asked to choose the top threesources of awareness. TV commercials, Social mediamarketing, Print media ( magazines and newspapers)Internet marketing Hoarding/ banners, Event sponsor-ship by brands

It was found that the source of awareness for targetrespondents is TV commercials, Social media market-ing and Print media ( magazines and newspapers).

4.2.3 Role of the brand name while buyinginnerwearRespondents were asked if the brand name matterswhile the purchase of men's innerwear and 58.88% ofrespondents agree that brand name plays a major rolein the purchase of men's innerwear 22.22% of peopledisagree to this 18.88% of people neither agree nordisagree.

4.2.4 The three most important factors consideredwhile purchasing innerwearThe respondents were asked the three most importantfactors considered while the purchase of innerwearand from the analysis it was found that they preferquality, comfort and brand name.

4.2.5 Attitudes and perceptions about the use ofcelebrities in adsIn order to measure the level of agreement with allthese statements, a one-to-five point scale which rangedbetween "strongly disagree" and "strongly agree" wasused.

In this section, the means and standard deviations ofthe eight statements reveal attitudes towards the useof celebrities for endorsing innerwear brands

Table 4.1: Attitude and Perception on theUse of Celebrities

Statements Mean StandardDeviation

Advertisements impact mypurchase of innerwear brands 3.01 1.22

I am attracted to celebritiesendorsing innerwear brands 2.33 1.167

I purchase innerwear based onmy brand preference 3.70 1.19

Price is not a concern when Ipurchase a brand of inner wearthat is endorsed by my favoriteBollywood heroes 2.93 1.09

Brand name plays a main role inthe purchase of inner wear 3.45 1.21

I have purchased innerwearbrands when they have beenendorsed by my favoriteBollywood heroes 2.41 1.01

I watch TV commercials ofinnerwear brands to watch myfavorite Bollywood heroes 2.31 1.11

Celebrities have an impact on thesale of innerwear brands 2.77 1.21

Source: Field Survey

The arithmetic means of the statements vary between2.31 and 3.70. The first statement "Advertisementsimpact my purchase of innerwear brands," has anaverage of 3.01 arithmetic mean and 1.22 standarddeviation. Therefore, this may mean that when peoplesee advertisements, it leads viewers to direct theirattention to those ads and may have an impact on theirpurchase. The statements "I purchase innerwear basedon my brand preference" and " Brand name plays amain role in the purchase of innerwear" with a meanof 3.70, 3.45 and a standard deviation of 1.19 and 1.25

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respectively mean that consumers final purchases arebased on their brand preference and the brand nameof the product. The more famous or luxurious a brandis perceived, the consumer would want to use the brand.

The consumers are not affected by celebrities endors-ing a brand, they will also not pay a premium for ce-lebrities endorsing a brand. While consumers have theirfavorite celebrities, this does not assure that they wouldbuy a product they see their favorite celebrity endors-ing.

With a mean of 2.31 and a standard deviation of 1.11,consumers would not continue watching an advertise-ment of innerwear brands just because their favoritecelebrity is endorsing the brand.

It is also clear that the impact of celebrities on the saleof innerwear brands is not very significant.

5. ConclusionThe study tells us about the impact of celebrity endors-ers over the consumers on buying men's innerwearand the study concludes that customers buy based ontheir brand preference, quality, comfort and also price.Celebrities are paid a huge fee for brand endorsementas the competition is fierce in the market for the prod-ucts that are not premium in nature. Premium brandsdo not need any celebrity to endorse as they have builttheir image and reputation in the market. To sustain inthe market a brand has to be superior than other whicha celebrity's image can bring into the product and makeit superior and also bifurcate the brand celebrity en-dorsement are undertaken because sometimes all fac-tors are same in the vest and brand name is differentand if the brand tag is removed from the vest there willbe no difference in vest all might look same. Thuscelebrities are useful in this case. As per the findingsfrom the study, celebrities may be useful for the iden-tification of brand but it doesn't have any impact on thebuying pattern of men's innerwear.

References:1. Cornwell T.B., Weeks C.S. and Roy D.P., Spon-

sorship-Linked Marketing: Opening the Black Box,Journal of Advertising, 34(2), 21-42,(2005).

2. McCracken G.,Who is the Celebrity Endorser?Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process,Journal of Consumer Research, 16(3), 310-321,(1989).

3. Halonen-Knight E. and Hurmerinta L., Who En-dorses Whom? Meanings Transfer in CelebrityEndorsement, Journal of Product & BrandManagement,19 (6),452-460,(2010)

4. Erdogan B.Z., Celebrity Endorsement: A Litera-ture Review, Journal of Marketing Manage-ment, 15(4), 291-314, (1999).

5. Erdogan B. Z., Baker M. J. and Tagg S., Se-lecting Celebrity Endorsers: The Practitioner's Per-spective, Journal of Advertising Research, 41(3), 39-48, (2001).

6. Muda M., Musa R., Mohamed R. N. and BorhanH.,Celebrity Entrepreneur Endorsement andAdvertising Effectiveness, Procedia-Social andBehavioral Sciences, 130, 11-20, (2014).

7. Spry A., Pappu R. and Cornwell T. B., CelebrityEndorsement, Brand Credibility and Brand Equity,European Journal of Marketing, 45(6), 882-909,(2011)

8. Silvera D. H. and Austad B., Factors Predictingthe Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement Ad-vertisements, European Journal of Marketing,38(11/12), 1509-1526, (2004).

9. Atkin C. and Block M., Effectiveness of Celeb-rity Endorsers, Journal of Advertising Research,23 (1), 57-61,(1983).

10. Kahle L. R. and Homer P. M., Physical Attrac-tiveness of the Celebrity Endorser: A Social Ad-aptation Perspective, Journal of Consumer Re-search, 11(4), 954-961,(1985).

11. Agrawal J. and Kamakura W. A.,The economicWorth of Celebrity Endorsers: An Event StudyAnalysis, Journal of Marketing, 59(3), 56-62,(1995).

12. Choi S. M., Lee W. N. and Kim H. J., Lessonsfrom the Rich and Famous: A Cross-CulturalComparison of Celebrity Endorsement in Adver-tising, Journal of Advertising, 34(2),85-98,(2005).

13. Carroll A., Brand Communications in FashionCategories Using Celebrity Endorsement, Jour-nal of Brand Management, 17(2), 146-158,(2009).

14. Goldsmith R. E., Lafferty B. A. and Newell S.J.,The Impact of Corporate Credibility and Celeb-rity Credibility on Consumer Reaction to Adver-tisements and Brands, Journal of Advertising,29(3), 43-54, (2000).

15. Till B. D. and Shimp T. A.,Endorsers in Adver-tising: The Case of Negative Celebrity Informa-tion, Journal of Advertising, 27(1), 67-82, (1998).

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Thermal and Flame Retardant Properties ofFR Viscose Fibre and its Blends

M. S. Parmar1*, NoopurSonee2 & Nidhi Sisodia1

1NITRA Technical Campus, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow2Department of Apparel Design & Construction, Laksmibai College, University of Delhi,

AbstractInherent flame retardant fibres such as Aramids, FR-viscose, Modacrylicetc are widely used for makingdurable flame retardant clothingfor the workers working in petrochemical, foundries, aerospace, fire-fighting, defense etc. Although the clothing made out of these fibres are well known for protection againstfire hazards, however sometimes these clothing are also required to have additional comfort properties.In this study, to achieve additional comfort properties, FR-Viscose fibre is blended with Nylon 6 6,Modacrylic, Thermo-cool and Meta-aramid fibres to develop binary blended yarns on ring spinningsystem. These yarns are converted in to 17 woven fabrics having same constructional parameters.Thesefabric samples are evaluated for durability, safety (heat& flame) and comfort properties.It is observed thatwith the addition of FR-Viscose fibre in the various blends, comfort properties are improved with decreasein durability (tensile, tear and abrasion strength). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)has beenapplied to find out the effect of presence of FR-Viscose in binary blends on various heat& flameproperties. It is observed that there is relationship between FR-Viscose fibre contents in the blend andheat &flame resistant properties.

KeywordsAramid fibres, Convective heat, FR viscose, LOI, Radiant heat

1. IntroductionIn order to provide protection from various occupa-tional hazards like chemical, biological, nuclear, bullet,knives, flame, radiant heat, hot liquid, steam etc, vari-eties of specialized protective clothing have been de-veloped, and are widely used by workers in the indus-trial and government sectors. These specialized pro-tective clothing can be categorized as chemical protec-tive clothing, biological (microbial) protective clothing,nuclear protective clothing, puncture- or cut-resistant(bullet-/knife-proof) protective clothing, and thermal(flame and heat) protective clothing [1]. Among thesetypes of specialized protective clothing, thermal protec-tive clothing has a particular significance.

It is well known fact that the conventional clothingfabrics made from natural fibers, polyester fibers and

* All the correspondence should be addressed to,Prof (Dr) M.S.ParmarJoint Director (A)Northern India Textile Research Association(Linked to Ministry of Textiles, Government of India)Sector - 23, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad - 201 002 (India)Phone : 0120 2783334/586/592/638/090/094/095, 278634/451(Extn:113)Fax: 0120 2783596E Mail : [email protected]

nylon fibers can ignite and continue to burn. In additionto this, fabric made out of thermoplastic fibres likepolyester and nylon are having melting and drippingproperties which can lead to more severe burn injuriesto the wearers[2]. To protect the wearers from suchfire hazards there is a need of fire-retardant clothing.This can significantly reduce the extent and severity ofburn injuries. Beside this, it provides time to the wearerto get away from burning environment. Therefore, fire-retardant clothing should protect wearer from fire andheat by providing insulation as well as high dimensionalstability of the fabrics, so that, upon exposure to thehigh heat fluxes that are expected during the course ofthe wearer's work, they will neither shrink nor melt[3].

Inherent flame retardant fibres such as Aramids, FR-viscose, Modacrylic etc are widely used for makingdurable flame retardant clothing. These fibers come inthe category of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fi-bers and can be used for making various protectivegears [3] in petrochemical, foundries, aerospace, fire-fighting, military applications etc. Although these fibresprovide good protection against flame and heat, some-times the clothing made out of these do not fulfill therequirements of the user in terms of comfort (exceptFR-Viscose) and high abrasion resistance. To fulfill

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these requirements, these fibres are blended with eachother or with other fibres keeping in mind the end useapplication. For example Nylon 6, 6 is found to behaving excellent abrasion resistance property. Themelting point of this polymer is 268ºC, which is high forsynthetic fibers[4]. This property makes it heat andfriction resistance and also exhibits high abrasion resis-tance and self-lubricating properties. It has high ther-mal stability, fire resistance, draw ability, good appear-ance and good process ability. The comfort propertiesof any synthetic fibre made clothing can be improvedupon by adding cellulose based fibres or some engi-neered synthetic fibre in the blend. Blending Meta-aramid or Modacrylic fibres with FR-viscose fibresmay be one of the option for improving comfort prop-erty of resultant fabric[5]. Thermo-Cool is anotheroption which may be explored for such cases. Thermo-Cool fibre is a multi-functional and ecological evolu-tionary technology designed to optimize the body'snatural thermoregulation capabilities through smart fi-ber cross-sections.

In this study, rip stop woven fabric samples of FR-Viscose with Nylon 6 6, Modacrylic, Thermo-cool, andMeta-aramid in binary blends were developed. Theeffect of FR-Viscose fibre in the binary blends ondurability, safety (heat & flame) and comfort proper-ties was evaluated.

2.0 Materials and MethodsAll the fibres (Nylon 6, 6, Modacrylic, Thermo-cool,FR Viscose and m-Aramid) used in the study wereprocured from M/s Invista Industry Pvt. Ltd, M/sJayshree Industry Ltd., M/s Advansa Marketing GmbH,Germany, M/s Lenzing India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s TeijinIndustry Pvt. Ltd.. These fibers were spun individuallyand also blended with other fibers to enhance thecharacteristics such as durability, safety (heat & flame)and comfort properties.Fibre properties such as fibrelength, denier, tenacity & elongation and moisture re-gain of all the fibres were tested using IS 10014 Part-1, ASTM D 1577, ASTM D 3822 and IS 199 standardtest methods respectively. The test results of fibreproperties are given in Table-1.

These fibres (individually and binary blends) wereconverted into 20s count yarn using ring spinning sys-tem. The various physical properties such as tenacityalong with elongation and CSP of these yarn weretested as per test methods IS 1670 and IS 1671 re-spectively. The test results are given in Table -2. The

coding of yarns is also given in the Table-2. Samecoding was used for fabric samples also.

The manufactured yarns (same yarn in warp and weft)were converted into plain rip stop woven fabrics (Ends/inch: 80 and Picks/inch: 60) on CCI's automated sam-pling rapier loom. These fabric samples were washedin hot water for the duration of 30 minutes to removesizing lubricants followed by heat setting (dependingupon the fibre type except FR viscose) in the labora-tory curing chamber. Finally, the fabrics were evalu-ated using standard test methods for various mechani-cal, heat & flame retardant and comfort propertiesafter giving 5 washes as per ISO 6330-2A testprocedure.Fabric mass in g/m2, tensile strength, tearstrength, thickness and taber abrasion were evaluatedusing IS: 1964, ISO 13934-1, ISO: 13937-2, IS 7702andASTM D 3884 test methods respectively.In the taberabrasion method, numbers of cycles required to breaktwo threads (hole formation) of the fabric, is deter-mined by using CS-10 abrasive wheels and 500 g loadonto the specimen surface.

Air permeability of textiles indicates their breathability.The air permeability of fabrics was determined usingWIRA Air Permeability Tester following IS: 11056 testmethod which indicates the amount of air passingthrough test specimen on the scale reading, in terms ofcc/cm2/sec. ASTM E96 / E96M test method was fol-lowed to test water vapour permeability. The measure-ments determine how many grams of moisture (watervapour) passes through a square meter of fabric in 24hours. If a fabric represents low vapour permeability itwould be unable to pass sufficient perspiration and thiscould lead to sweat accumulation in the clothing andhence discomfort. However in this study mg/cm2/secunit is used for water vapour permeability.

Limiting Oxygen Index, Contact heat transmission,Radiant heat transfer index, convective heat transferindex and limited flame spread tests were performedon all the fabric after 5 washes. Various tests werecarried out to determine the thermal and FR propertiesof the fabrics. Limiting Oxygen Index of fabrics wastested following IS: 13501 test method after condition-ing in a standard atmosphere of 65±2 % relative hu-midity and 27±2 degree Celsius temperature. The burn-ing behaviour of textile materials was reviewed in termsof their ability to generate flammable volatile liquidsand gases under the action of heat and their subse-quent ignition [6, 7]. The oxygen index was calculated

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by the formula:[O

2] X100

Limited Oxygen Index (LOI) % = -------------------- [O

2 ] + [N

2]

where [O2] is the volumetric flow of oxygen in cm3/s; and [N2], the corresponding volumetric flow rate ofnitrogen in cm3/s.

ISO 12127-1test method was followed for determina-tion of contact heat transmission on contact heat tester.A heating cylinder was heated to 5000C and main-tained at the contact temperature and a test specimenwas placed on the calorimeter. The heating cylinderwas lowered onto the test specimen supported by thecalorimeter or, alternatively, the calorimeter with thespecimen was lifted up to the heating cylinder. In ei-ther case, the operation was carried out at a constantspeed. The threshold time was measured by monitor-ing the temperature of the calorimeter and registeredto an accuracy of ± 0.10C.

Radiant heat transfer index of all fabrics were deter-mined as per ISO 6942 method B test method.Accordingto ISO 6942 test method, fabrics were exposed toradiant heated source emitting 40 kW/m2 heat fluxes.The time, in seconds, for the temperature in the calo-rimeter to rise (24 ± 0,2)0C is recorded. The heat fluxdensity, Q, in kW/m2, is determined from the followingequation:

Q0 =

where M is the mass of the copper plate in kg; Cp is

the specific heat of copper 0,385 kJ/kg 0C; R is therate of rise of the calorimeter temperature in the linearregion in 0C/s; A is the area of the copper plate in m2

and a is the absorption coefficient of the painted sur-face of the calorimeter.

The convective heat transmission through material isdetermined as per ISO 9151 test method. Horizontallyoriented test specimen is partially restrained from movingand subjected to an incident heat flux of 80 kW/m2

from the flame of a gas burner placed beneath it. Theheat passing through the specimen is measured bymeans of a small copper calorimeter on top of and incontact with the specimen. The time, in seconds, forthe temperature in the calorimeter to rise (24 ± 0,2) 0Cis recorded. The heat flux density, Q (in kW/m2) isthen determined from the following equation:

Q =

where, M is the mass of the copper disc in kilograms;CP is the specific heat capacity of the copper [= 0.385kJ/ (kg.0C)]; R is the rate of rise in disc temperaturein the linear region in degrees Celsius per second; A isthe disc area in square meters.

The Limited flame spread test was carried out as perISO 15025. There are two procedures: Procedure A-Surface ignition and Procedure B- Edge ignition underthis test. Both procedures were carried out on thefabric samples. The test was performed in an atmo-sphere having a temperature between 100C to 300C,and relative humidity between 15% and 80%.

The experimental data obtained from various studieswas analyzed using SPSS (Version 20). Multivariateanalysis of variance (MANOVA)was applied to com-pare means. If there is no relationship between vary-ing FR-Viscose fibre ratio in the blend with LOI, Contactheat, Radiant heat, convective heat, and limited flamespread, then it is considered as null hypothesis (Ho).Null hypothesis will be rejected when the p-value turnsout to be lower than a predetermined significance levelof 0.05.

3. Results and Discussion:3.1 Mechanical and comfort properties:From the Table 3 it is clear that the mass of the fabricvaries from 174 to 194 g/m2. The variation in mass isfound not much as the yarn count and fabric construc-tion was not altered.Abrasion of the fabric can lead to a reduction in weight,thickness, and eventually the failure of the fabric, witha hole forming, which exposes the wearer directly toan electric arc or fire threat. Having fabrics made ofimproved abrasion resistance yarns can result in longerlasting protective garments. It is clear from Table 3that N fabric did not show hole formation even after1000 taber abrasion cycles, while T, M, V and mAfabric samples got abraded as two treads are brokenin 800, 157, 58 and 569 cycles respectively. The resultsshow expected trends as N1 (made out of 100 %Nylon 66) is having high abrasion resistance charac-teristics.[8]. It is clear from the Table 3 the presenceof FR Viscose in the blend with other fibres affect theabrasion resistance property adversely because 100%FR viscose fabric (V) is having very poor abrasion

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resistance.The tensile and tear strength of all the fabric sampleswas tested after five washes. The results are given inthe Table 3. It shows that N (Nylon 66), T(Thermo-cool) and mA (m-Aramid) samples are havinghighertensile strength (Warp wise 1054 to 1059 N andweft wise 928 to 989 N) than other fabrics. The tensilestrength of V(FR- Viscose: warp wise 485 N and weftwise 480 N) was found to be lowest. The tensilestrength of M (Modacrylic)was found to be 645 N inwarp wise and 620 N in weft wise. As all the con-struction parameters of fabric samples were similar,the change in tensile strength was due tothe differencein the tenacity of the fibres as well as yarn. Nylon 66(N) is having higher fibre and yarn tenacity (Table 1and Table 2) than other.

Table 1: Physical properties of Fibers

Fiber FibresProperties

Nylon Thermo- Meta - Modacrylic FR66 cool aramid Viscose

Length 38 38 51 40 51(mm)

Denier 1.60 1.49 2.39 2.06 1.98

Tenacity 48.51 34.38 28.26 25.83 24.21(g/tex)

Elongation 27.46 27.45 36.25 25.29 13.78(%)

Moisture 3.49 0.38 5.5 1.01 7.11Regain (%)

Table 2: Physical properties of yarn with code

Yarn composition Code Tenacity Elongation Count Strength(g/tex) (%) Product (CSP)

Nylon 6,6 100% N 26.1 21.0 3843

Thermo-cool 100% T 23.0 18.2 2808

Modacrylic 100% M 13.0 18.0 2024

FR Viscose 100% V 12.8 7.8 2121

Meta- Aramid 100% mA 23.5 14.8 3843

FR viscose: Thermo-cool 30: 70 VT37 19.1 17.8 2636

FR viscose: Thermo-cool 50 :50 VT55 17.3 16.2 2516

FR viscose: Thermo-cool 70:30 VT73 15.5 9.3 2310

FR Viscose: M-Aramid 30: 70 VmA37 19.2 8.7 2914

FR Viscose: M-Aramid 50 :50 VmA55 16.4 8.2 2780

FR Viscose: M-Aramid 70:30 VmA73 14.0 8.8 2507

FR Viscose: Modacrylic 30: 70 VM37 14.2 12.0 2234

FR Viscose: Modacrylic 50 :50 VM55 15.1 13.1 2485

FR Viscose: Modacrylic 70:30 VM73 14.5 11.9 2413

FR Viscose: Nylon 6,6 30: 70 VN37 22.29 21.43 3024

FR Viscose: Nylon 6,6 50 :50 VN55 19.15 11.65 2905

FR Viscose: Nylon 6,6 70:30 VN73 16.95 8.40 2489

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Due to this it tensile strength is higher than other fab-rics. On the other hand as per Table 1 and Table 2fibre and yarn tenacity of FR viscose (fibre tenacity:24.21 g/tex, yarn tenacity: 12.8 g/tex) is lower thanother fibres.

This may be the reason of lowest tensile strength ofthe fabric made out of this fibre.

Tensile strength results of blended fabrics VT37, VT55and VT73 are given in Table-3. It is clear from thetable that with the increase of FR-Viscose percentagefrom 30% to 70%, tensile strength of the fabric samplesis decreases in both the directions. The reason of suchdecrease is due to the fact that as the FR-Viscose ishaving low tenacity, increase in percentage of this fibrein the blend, decrease overall tensile strength. Similartrends can be seen in other blends (VM-A37, VM-A55, VM-A73, VM37, VM55, VM73, VN37, VN55ad VN73).

Like tensile strength, tear strength of N, T and mAfabric samples are found to be higher than other fabricsamples as mentioned in Table-3. The tear strength is

directly proportional to yarn strength. Higher the yarnstrength, higher will be the tear strength.[9]. From theTable 2, it is clear that Nylon 66 (N) yarn is havinghigher tensile strength than others. Due to this reason,the fabric made out of this yarn is having higher tearstrength than other fabrics. On the other hand FR-Viscose yarn is having lowest tensile strength, due tothis fabric made out of this is having lowest tear strength.Similar inference can be drawn from the various blendsof all the fibres.

The air permeability of a fabric is affected by manyfactors, such as fibre fineness, structural properties(shape and value of pores of the fabric), and the yarnand fabric thickness[10,11]. As per the results givenin Table 3, fabric coded as V shows highest air per-meability (28.1 cc/s/cm2), while N shows lowest (10cc/s/cm2) air permeability. Lower thickness of 100%FR viscose fabric could be the reason for higher airpermeability and higher thickness with higher mass couldbe the reason of low air permeability of fabric codedas N (Nylon 66). Similar conclusion may be drawn onthe other fabrics results mentioned in the Table 3.Generally, it was seen that air permeability decreases

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Table 3 : Mechanical and comfort properties of developed fabrics (after 5 washes)


as mass per unit area, thickness, and density of fabric,increase and diameter of fiber constituting the fabricdecreases [12].Water vapourpermeability determines breathability ofthe clothing material. The mechanism involved inwater vapour transmission through fabric from theskin to the outer surface by diffusion and absorption- desorption method[13].Water vapour permeability ofT fabric (Fabric made of thermo Cool fibre) is foundhigh (15.1 mg/cm2/s) as compared to other fabrics(Table 3). It is claimed that Therm-cool fibre ensuresquick moisture transfer due to its multi-channeled struc-ture [14].On the contrary, amongst blended fabrics,FR-viscose/Thermocool (30:70) blends (coded as VT37)in Table 3 show higher water vapour permeability (13.1

mg/cm2/s). The reason may be due to present of higherpercentage (70%) of thermocool fibre. Nylon 66 (codedas N) and modacrylic (coded as M) made fabric haveshown lowest water vapour permeability. Their blendsalso have shown similar trends. The earlier study[13]also indicated that the fabric made out of these fibreshave low water vapour permeability.

3.2 Flame-retardant propertiesFabric flammability is an important issue, especially foruniform worn during working in industries like found-ries, Oil and Gas industries, fire fighting etc. Flame-retardant clothing neither ignites nor continues to burnwhen it comes in contact with the flame. It not onlyreduces burn injury, but also provides escape time and

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Table 4 : FR Properties of developed fabrics (After 5 washes)


increases chances of survival. This could mean a dif-ference between life and death for valuable humanlives. Hence, it is important to test the fabrics to evalu-ate their heat and flame properties like limiting oxygenindex, contact heat index, radiation heat transfer index,convective heat index and limited flame spread.

3.2.1 Limiting oxygen indexLimited oxygen Index of Inherent flame retardant fi-bres such as FR-Viscose (27%), Modcrylic (31.5%)and Meta-aramid (27.5%) are found to be higher com-pare to Nylon 66 (21%) and Thermo-cool(18%) fibresas shown in the Table 4. It is clear from the Table 4that the individual blends of FR-Viscose with Meta-aramid and Modacrylic are showing LOI from 27 to30%. The results are on expected line as all of theseblends are made out of inherent FR fibres (FR-Vis-cose, Meta-aramid and Modacrylic) having LOI valuesranging from 27 to 31.5%. It is also explicit that withthe inclusion of non FR fibres such as Nylon 66 andThermo-cool, the LOI value start decreasing depend-ing upon the percentage of such fibres. Higher thepercentage of such fibres in the blend, lower is thevalue of LOI. As shown in the table VT37 (30% FR-Viscose and 70% Thermo-cool) is having 21% LOIwhile VT73 (70% FR-Viscose and 30% Thermo-cool)having 23% LOI. Similarly VN37 (30% FR-Viscoseand 70% Nylon 66) is having 23% LOI and VN73(70% FR-Viscose and 30% Nylon 66) is having 26%LOI. It is well known fact that fibres having LOIvalues of 21% or below ignited easily and burn rapidlyin air (around 21% Oxygen). On the other hand fibreswith LOI values above 21% ignite and burn slowly.Generally fibres having LOI values above 26%, maybe considered as flame retardant [15].From the Table4, on the basis of LOI results, fabrics coded as M(31.5%), V(27%), mA(27.5%), VmA37(28%),VmA55(30%), VmA73(29.5%), VM37(30%),VM55(29.5), VM55(27%), VN55(25.5%) andVN73(26%) may be considered as flame retardant.

3.2.2 Contact heat transmissionContact heat transmission test method is applicable toprotective clothing (including hand protectors like gloves)and its constituent materials intended to protect againsthigh contact temperatures.It is clear from the Table 4that VmA37 (FR Viscose: Mata Aramid:: 30% : 70%)had the highest threshold time (8 seconds) for contactheat index. The reason of higher heat contact trans-mission of this m-aramid blended fabric is due to highlyoriented rigid molecular structure of aramid, which make

it high heat resistance. Even 100% M-Aramid fabric(mA) is having higher threshold time after VmA37 ascompared to other fabrics.

3.2.3 Radiation heat transfer index (RHTI)It is a number , to one decimal place calculated fromthe mean time (measured in seconds, to one decimalplace) to achieve a temperature rise of (24±0.2)0C inthe calorimeter when testing by this method with aspecified incident heat flux density. Higher is the timetaken to raise temperature of the calorimeter to(24±0.2)0C, better will be the fabric in radiant heatresistance point of view. From the Table 4, it is clearthat radiant heat transfer index (RHTI24) of the fabriccoded as T (100% Thermocool fabric) is higher (13.4seconds) than others. Fabric coded as N (Nylon 66)is having lowest RHTI24 (10.0 seconds) compare toother.The melting point (Tm) of thermoplastic poly-mers like Nylon 66 is around 2650C. The Tm value ofthis polymers is much lower than the temperature ofpyrolysis or decomposition temperature (Tp ) value(4030C), and thus tends to become fluids before theystart to decompose. This physical property of the poly-mer greatly influences its fire performance. Glass tran-sition temperature (Tg) of Nylon 66 is around 500C.Due to low glass transition temperature these fibrecannot provide protection against radiant heat[16]. It isalso clear from the table-4 that blends of Nylon 66with FR viscose (VN37, VN55 and VN73) does notimprove radiant heat transfer index.

Amongst the all fabrics, fabric coded as T(Thermocool) is showing highest RHTI24 (13.4). Asper the manufacturer, THERMOCOOL fiber combinesmulti-channel and hollow fibers: during physical activ-ity or in case of high temperature multi-channel fibersallow maximum breathability, while the innermost fi-bers allow better air circulation, ensuring optimum pro-cess thermoregulation. That may be the reason thatduring exposure to radiant heat, it regulate radiant heatand thus give higher heat transfer index. The blends ofthermocool with FR Viscose (VT37, VT55 and VT73)also show better RHTI24 (12.3 to 13 seconds) com-pare to other blends.

Modacrylic fabric (coded as M) and Meta-aramid fab-ric (Coded as mA) are having almost same RHTI24i.e.12.3 seconds and 12.6 seconds respectively. Their in-dividual blends (VmA37, VmA55, VmA73, VM37,VM55 and VM73) with FR viscose are also showingsimilar trends as given in the Table-4.3.2.4 Convective heat transmissionindex (HTI)

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The HTI24 values of FR viscose (V) and Mata aramid(M-A) fabrics are 6.1 seconds and 6.2 seconds re-spectively as shown in the Table 4. The fabric codedas T (Thermo-Cool) is showinglowest HTI24 values(2.9). The second lowest HTI24value is of fabric codedas N (Nylon 66). The HTI24value of modacrylic fabric(M) is 5.0 seconds. These results indicated that ataround 80kw/m2 of heat flux, FR Viscose and Meta-Aramid fabric samples are giving more resistance toconvective heat compare to other fabrics. Similar trendsare seen in their blends (VmA37, VmA55 and VmA73).Here also HTI24values varieds from 6.3 to 6.9 sec-onds. It is also evident from the table that the presenceof FR -Viscose fibre in the individual blends of Nylon66 and Thermo-Cool fibre improves the HTI24value(VT37, VT55, VT73, VN37, VN55 and VN73). Higherthe content of FR- Viscose fibre in the blends, higheris the HTI24value. It was also seen from the table thatthere is with the increase of FR viscose contents in theFR Viscose and Modacrylic blends (VM37, VM55 andVM73), HTI24value also increase from 5.2 seconds to6.3 seconds. The reason of this increase may be dueto the higher HTI24value of 100% Viscose fabric (V)than 100% Modacrylic fabric (M) as shown in theTable-4.

3.2.5 Limited flame spreadIn this study, a defined flame from a burner, as men-tioned in the test method, is applied for 10 seconds tothe surface or the bottom edge of vertically orientedfabric specimens. Fabric is analyzed for melting, spreadof flame, afterglow time, after flame time, formation ofdebris, formation of hole etc. All the results of fabricsamples are given in Table-4. From the Table 4 it isclear that except fabrics coded as N (Nylon 66), T(Thermo-Cool), VT37 (FR viscose and Thermo-Coolblend) and VN37 (FR viscose and Nylon 66 blend) allthe samples are passing the passing the criteria of ISO

11612 standard for protective clothing against heat andflame. The results are on expected line. Nylon 66 andThermo-Cool (based on polyester) are not flame retar-dant fibres as indicated their low LOI values in Table-4. Due to this reason these are failing in spread offlame top edge or either side, hole formation, occur-rence of flaming melting debris and after flame timetests.Flammability of fibres can also be determined byanalyzing heat release rates. Higher the heat releaserate, higher will be the flammability. In one of thestudy, it was found that cotton, rayon, silk, acetate,polypropylene, nylon and polyester have relatively highpeak heat release rate (>200 W/g) whereas m-aramidwas having very low relatively high peak heat releaserate (?80 W/g) when analysed by micro-scale combus-tion calorimetry [17].Fabrics coded as VT 37 and VN37 are having high content of flammable fibres (Thermo-Cool and Nylon 66 both having 70% content in blends),that may be the reason they are also failing in spreadof flame top edge or either side, hole formation andafter flame time tests.

4. Statistical analysesTable 5 shows the result of Multivariate analysis ofvariance (MANOVA)which was applied to find outthe effect of FR-Viscose fiber ratio in different blendson Limiting Oxygen Index, Radiation heat transfer in-dex (RHTI24) and Convective heat transmission index(HTI24). The effect of fiber ratio in blend on LOI,contact heat index, radiation heat transfer index andconvective heat index of fabric was found significantat 5 % level. The p value was found to be lower than0.05. The result indicates that there is a relationshipbetween FR-Viscose fiber content in the blends (VT37,VT55, VT73,VmA37, Vm55, VmA73, VM37, VM55,VM73, VN37, VN55 and VN73) and LOI, RHTI24 &HTI24 properties. ]

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5. Conclusions:● Fabric coded as N (Nylon 66), T (Thermo-cool),M

(Modacrylic) and mA (m-Aramid) samples arehaving higher tensile strength than other fabricsof same constructional parameters. The tensilestrength of fabric coded as V (FR- Viscose) wasfound to be lowest. Increase in FR-Viscose per-centage from 30% to 70% in the blends, decreasein tensile strength in both the directions wereobserved. The reason of such decrease is due tothe fact that as the FR-Viscose is having lowtenacity, increase in percentage of this fibre in theblend, decrease overall tensile strength.FR- Vis-cose yarn is having lowest tenacity, due to thisfabric made out of this is having lowest tearstrength.

● Fabric coded as V shows highest air permeability,may be due to lowest thickness.

● Water vapour permeability of fabric T fabric (Fab-ric made of Thermo-cool fibre) is found high ascompared to other fabrics.Amongst blended fab-rics, FR-viscose/Thermocool blends (coded asVT37) showed higher water vapour permeability.

The reason may be due to present of higher per-centage (70%) of Thermo-cool fibre.

● It is also explicit that with the inclusion of non FRfibres such as Nylon 66 and Thermo-cool, theLOI value start decreasing depending upon thepercentage of such fibres. Higher the percentageof such fibres in the blend, lower is the value ofLOI.

● The RHTI24 of the fabric coded as T (100%Thermocool fabric) is higher than others. Fabriccoded as N (Nylon 66) is having lowestRHTI24compare to other.The blends ofthermocool with FR Viscose (VT37, VT55 andVT73) also show better RHTI24 compare to otherblends.

● The HTI24 values of FR viscose (V) and Mataaramid (M-A) fabrics are 6.1 seconds and 6.2seconds respectively. The fabric coded as T(Thermo-Cool) is showing lowest HTI24 values.The second lowest HTI24value is of fabric codedas N (Nylon 66). It is also evident from the studythat the presence of FR -Viscose fibre in theindividual blends of Nylon 66 and Thermo-Cool

Table-5: Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) - FR-Viscose blends and LOI, HTI24& RHTI24

Source Dependent Type III Sum df Mean Square F Sig.Variable of Squares

Corrected Model LOI 697.706a 8 87.213 12.018 .000

HTI24 103.185b 8 12.898 132.835 .000

RHTI24 144.924c 8 18.116 5.806 .000

Intercept LOI 46876.844 1 46876.844 6459.832 .000

HTI24 2072.640 1 2072.640 21345.690 .000

RHTI24 11893.302 1 11893.302 3812.046 .000

BLENDS LOI 697.706 8 87.213 12.018 .000

HTI24 103.185 8 12.898 132.835 .000

RHTI24 144.924 8 18.116 5.806 .000

Error LOI 587.790 81 7.257

HTI24 7.865 81 .097

RHTI24 252.714 81 3.120

Total LOI 48162.340 90

HTI24 2183.690 90

RHTI24 12290.940 90

Corrected Total LOI 1285.496 89

HTI24 111.050 89

RHTI24 397.638 89

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fibre improves the HTI24value (VT37, VT55,VT73, VN37, VN55 and VN73). Higher the con-tent of FR- Viscose fibre in the blends, higher isthe HTI24value. The increase of FR viscosecontents in the FR Viscose and Modacrylic blends(VM37, VM55 and VM73), HTI24value also in-crease from 5.2 seconds to 6.3 seconds.

● Except fabrics coded as N, T , VT37 and VN37all the samples are passing the passing the criteriaof limited flame spread test as mentioned in ISO11612 standard for protective clothing against heatand flame.

● The result of Multivariate analysis of variance(MANOVA)indicates that there is a relationshipbetween FR-Viscose fiber content in the blendsand LOI, RHTI24 & HTI24 properties.

AcknowledgementAuthors are thankful to Ministry of Textiles, Govt. ofIndia for sponsoring the project on "Development ofmultilayered flame and thermal resistance fabric forfire fighter clothing". The study presented over here isa part of this project.

References :1. Guowen Song, SumitMandal and Rene M Rossi,

Book on Thermal Protective Clothing forFirefighters, Woodhead Publishing, September 2017

2. NoopurSonee, ChitraArora, M.S.Parmar, " Burn-ing Behaviour of aramid and FR viscose blendedfabrics", Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Re-search, Vol 44, June 2019, pp. 238-243

3. A. Richard Horrocks and Subhash C. Anand,Handbook of Technical Textiles, Volume 2, 2ndEdition , 2016

4. Vroom D, Studies on Thermal and MechanicalAnalysis of Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 Blends, Master's

thesis, San Jose State University, California, 1997.5. KsenijaVarga, , Michael F. Noisternig , Ulrich J.

Griesser, Linda Alja•& Thomas Koch,LenzingerBerichte 89 (2011) 50 - 59.

6. M. S. Parmar, M. Singh, R.K. Tiwari & S. Saran,Indian J FibreText Res, 39 (2014) 268

7. S. Basak, K. KartickSamanta K, S.Saxena, S.KChattopadhyay&M.S.Parmar, Indian J Fibre TextRes, 42( 2017) 215].

8. M. S. Parmar, Maheshwar Singh & Nidhi Sisodia,Journal of the Textile Association, Vol 79. No 1,May-June 2018, p 11-17).

9. I.C.Sharma, SudeepMalu, PankajBhowan andSurenderChandna, Indian Journal of Textile Re-search, Vol. 8, December 1983, pp 105-110

10. I. Frydrych , G. Dziworska, J. Bilska, J Fibres &Textiles in Eastern Europe 2002; 10: 40-44.

11. EsraKaraca, NalanKahraman, SunayOmeroglu,BehcetBecerir, FIBRES & TEXTILES in East-ern Europe 2012, Vol. 20, No. 3 (92).

12. EmelCincik and ErdemKoc¸Textile Research Jour-nal, vol. 82, 5: pp. 430-442. , September 30, 2011.

13. NoopurSonee, M.S. Parmar and Chitra Arora, In-ternational Journal of Engineering Research &Technology, ol. 5 Issue 03, March-2016.

14. https://www.softlifevisco.com/eng/Kumas-Teknolojilerimiz.html

15. A.R. Horrocks and D Prince, Fire retardant ma-terial, Woodhead Publishing Ltd, 2001, Bajaj P,Bull. Mater. Sci., Vol. 15, No. 1, February 1992,pp 67-76.

16. N.Pan and G.Sun, Functional textiles for improvedperformance, protection and health, WoodheadPublishing Ltd, 2001, Bajaj P, Bull. Mater. Sci.,Vol. 15, No. 1, February 1992, pp 67-76.

17. CQ Yang, Q He, RE Lyon, Y Hu, Polymer deg-radation and stability, 95, 2009, 108-115.

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Influence of Elastomeric Finishing onDenim Fabric Properties

Shereen O. Bahlool 1* & Tarek M. Zaghlol 2

1Cotton chemistry and textile fibers Department, Cotton Research Institute,Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

2Garments Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt.

AbstractIn recent years, increasing the demand for more comfortable garments enhanced the use of elastane-containing denim fabrics for casual wear. This study was carried out to investigate imparting newproperties on denim fabrics using elastomeric finishing agent. Three types of denim fabrics; one is 100%cotton and the other two are cotton/ elastane (Lycra) blends with different elastane ratios (2 and 5%),were treated with elastomeric finishing agent (amino-functional silicon macro-emulsion) using differentconcentrations (0, 10, 20 and 30 g/l) to evaluate the most appropriate concentration on denim fabric.The results revealed that elasticity, tensile strength, and elongation of the denim fabrics were consider-ably improved, due to the increase of elastane content as well as increasing the concentration of theelastomeric finishing agent. Furthermore, as the elastane ratio increased, the absorbency of the cottondenim fabric decreased, which imparts a sort of water repellent property.

KeywordsCotton, Denim, Elastane (Lycra), Stretch garments, Elastomeric Finishing

1. IntroductionToday, a good design is not enough for garments.Garments should have good mechanical propertiesduring usage. Elasticity plays a dominant role in thebehavior of garments during wearing [1]. Cotton gar-ments have very good properties such as water absor-bency, comfort to wear and easy to dye [2]. Cottongarments with high functional properties such as elas-ticity, easy care, softness, antimicrobial, and self-clean-ing have great demand in garments market [3]. Denimis a cotton twill woven fabric. It is popular amongpeople of all ages. It is durable, and strong and due toits fabric structure. It is a woven fabric with dyedwarp yarns and white weft yarns [4].

Today the most trend in denim garments is customer'sneed with comfort, fit, flexibility, better dimension sta-bility and special appearance [5,6]. Stretch denim fab-rics add a comfort factor to work and casual wear[4,7].

*All the correspondence should be addressed to,Shereen O. Bahlool,Cotton Chemistry and Textile Fibers Department,Cotton Research Institute,Agricultural Research Center,Giza, Egypt.E Mail : [email protected]

Stretching performance is very important for the con-sumer comfort for some parts of body such as theknee, elbow and lower back areas. Garments are re-quired to stretch comfortably in accordance with bodymovements, and to retain their original shape. Lycrafiber is the brand name of a class of synthetic elasticfibers known as spandex in the U.S., and elastane inthe rest of the world. Because of its elasticity andstrength, elastane has been incorporated into a widerange of garments, especially in skin-tight garments.Elastane is usually mixed with cotton or polyester, andaccounts for a small percentage of the final fabric,which therefore retains most of the look and feel ofthe other fibers [7].

Adding 1-5% of elastane to cotton will stretch thefabric over the body providing a more comfortable fit.The ratio of elastane had a significant influence on thephysical properties of woven denim fabrics [8].

Increasing the amount of elastane in denim fabricenhances comfort properties related to stretch. Corespun yarn can also be used as filling in which core partis Lycra filament and sheath fibers cotton, to improvethe elasticity of denim [7,9].

Elastane fibers are a class of synthetic fibers compris-

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ing at least 85% by weight of segmented polyurethanecharacterized by superior stretch and excellent elasticrecovery properties. Core spun cotton yarns, withelastane component in the core and cotton in the sheath,have become quite popular in the textile industry. Theelastane in the core yarn provides the necessary com-fort for aesthetics wearer with good thermo-physiologicalcharacteristics [10].

A variety of raw materials are used to produce stretch-able elastane fibers. These include pre-polymers, amongwhich two react to produce the elastane fiber polymerback-bone.

One is a flexible macroglycol, such as polyester,polyether, polycarbonate, polycaprolactone which havehydroxyl groups (-OH) on both ends, these moleculesare long and flexible so that they are responsible forfabric stretching characteristic. The other pre-polymerused to produce elastane is a polymeric disocyanatewhich has a shorter chain polymer and (-NCO) groupson both ends. These molecules are responsible for fabricstrength as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Elastane chemical fiber structure showingflexible segments and rigid segments.

The ratio of the soft and the hard segment has a greateffect on mechanical and elastomeric properties of theelastane fibers blended with natural fibers like cotton[11].

Elastomeric finishes are achieved with silicon-basedproducts which often consist of a terminal silanol (?, ?-dihydroxy polydimethylsiloxane), methyl hydrogen si-lane and a metal salt catalyst. As the elasticity is du-rable, an alternative approach to providing fabrics withelastomeric finishes is to incorporate a few amounts ofelastic fibers into the yarn of the fabric. Using of elas-tomeric finishes on fabrics blends with elastic fibers iscommon in textile industry. To understand the elasto-meric mechanism, it has been reported that elasto-meric finishing covers the fibers with a thin layer of anelastic material without fiber-to-fiber bonding [12].

Some hydro silane groups can be oxidized by air tosilanol groups as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Chemical structure of silane and silanol.Oxidization of hydro silane groups to silanol groups byair resulting in a silicon film as an elastomeric finish.

The resulting silicon film transfers elasticity because ofthis silicon film effect on hydrophilic fibers such ascellulose. Furthermore, the epoxy groups in silicon re-act with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose or the aminogroups of wool and silk generating stable ether or aminobonds between the silicon film and the fiber surface[12,13].

Amino functional siloxanes, such aspolydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) shown in Figure 3 iswidely used in textile finishing.

Figure 3. Chemical structure of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) and amino-PDMS as a siloxane emulsion used

in elastomeric finishing.

Because of the interactions of amino groups with tex-tile fibers, amino functional siloxanes are physicallyadsorbed onto the fiber surfaces as a thin film coveringthe fiber and increasing the fiber smoothness. The maindisadvantage of Amino-PDMS is the yellowing of whiteor light-colored fabrics, due to the oxidation of primaryamino groups by air, heat or light energy [14].

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There is a growing need to study the finishing of denimfabrics, especially when elastane yarns are used in theproduction of the denim. The main aim of our studywas to determine the influence of the elastomeric fin-ishing at different concentrations on the properties ofboth twill woven cotton fabric produced from 100%cotton yarns and from cotton/elastane yarns. Elasto-meric finishing agent based on amino-functional siliconmacro-emulsion chemical structure is used in this study.The research work we undertook allows factories toimprove the elastomeric properties of this popular kindof cotton fabrics.

2. Material and method2.1. FabricsThree variants of twill woven denim fabrics were usedfor this study; Twill weaves such as three-up-one-down(3/1) and two-up-one- down (2/1) are predominantlyused for denim construction, all the warp yarns areindigo blue dyed cotton, the percent of elastane in theblended denim is (2-5%). The specifications of thefabric variants are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Specifications of the denim fabrics.

Denim (A) Denim (B) Denim (C)

weave twill 3/1 twill 2/1 twill 3/1construction cotton cotton cottonwarp cotton cotton /spandex cotton /spandexweft 2% 5%

(core structure)

Fabric weight 266 g/m2 320 g/m2 340 g/m2(g/m2)

warp/weft 30/20 25/20 30/20density threads/cm threads/cm threads/cmFabric 0.630 mm 0.720 mm 0.800 mmthickness(mm)

2.2. ChemicalsSodium hydroxide NaOH, wetting agent (triton X-100),acetic acid and anionic detergent were used for scour-ing and mercerizing, we used a-amylase for desizing.Special finishes were applied on pretreated fabrics usingproducts, (Asumin Elast), Modified poly dimethyl silox-ane amine (Amino-functional silicon macro-emulsion),supplied by ASUTEX, Spain. All chemicals are labora-tory grade and used without any purification.

2.3. MethodsFor pure denim fabric, as well as cotton /elastane denimblends, the warp threads are coated with a substance

known as size or starch. It acts as a lubricant andprotects the yarn during weaving. After weaving, thesizing agent has to be removed from the cotton fabric.Bio-desizing was carried out using a-amylase as fol-lows: a-amylase 1%, Bath ratio 1:10, temperature at500C for 60 min, and pH at 6.0. After the enzymaticdesizing, enzymes were deactivated by immersing thesamples for 10 min in hot water (800C), rinsing andwashing in a solution of anionic surfactants at 800Cfollowed by air drying.

Amino-functional silicon macro-emulsion was used aselastomeric finishing by padding the fabrics in (10-30g/l) Asumin Elast®, acetic acid for adjusting the pH ofthe finish bath at pH 5, pick up 60-80%, then drying at1500C for 3 minutes and polymerization at 1700C for1 minute. We compared the influence of elastomericfinishing with different pretreatment processes (desizing,scouring and mercerization) on the properties of denimfabric type A only, which is made of 100% cottonwithout elastane. For the comparison between the threedenim fabric types in elastomeric finishing we chosebio-desizing, as it is the safest pretreatment for elastaneand this is applied all over the experiments comparingthe three denim fabric types.

2.4. Fabrics measurementsEach sample is tested in the standard atmosphericconditions, 25 ± 20C temperatures and 65% relativehumidity after conditioning for 24 hrs. The results wereexpressed as the average of five measurements. Allthe properties of raw and finished woven fabrics weremeasured in accordance with the following standards:

2.4.1. ShrinkageThe dimension changes in the weft /warp directions ofthe raw and treated fabrics were assessed. It is doneaccording to AATCC 96-1997 method.

2.4.2. Fabric weight (g/m2) and thicknessSamples before and after pre-treatment were evalu-ated according to the standard ISO 3801:2003.Thickness was determined using standard test methodfor measuring thickness of textile materials ASTM (D-1777).

2.4.3. Tensile Strength and elongationBreaking strength and elongation were tested on auniversal tensile testing machine- Galdabini Quasar50KN at the National research centre NRC, Egypt.Fabric samples with 25 mm × 150 mm dimension were

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used. Tensile Strength and elongation were determinedaccording to Standard test method for breaking forceand elongation of textile fabrics (strip method) ASTM(D-5035).

2.4.4. Evaluation of elasticityElasticity is described as the recovery property of amaterial after deformation. Textile materials cannotretain their original length when they are exposed to aforce lower than their tensile strength. To what extentthe material would retain its original length depends onthe force applied, the duration of the application of theforce, the duration allowed for recovery and the prop-erties of the material. The recovery percentage of thematerial after deformation was calculated by the ratioof elastic stretching to total stretching [7]. We used theYoung's modulus of elasticity as an indicator of elasto-meric finishes obeying the Hooke's law which can becalculated with the following equation [15].

Where E is the Young's modulus of elasticity which isinversely proportional to the fabric elongation, F is ten-sile force in N, e is elongation (%), b is width in mmand d is fabric thickness in mm.

2.4.5. Water absorbencyThe test for absorptive capacity and absorbency timewere conducted following the principles of test de-scribed in ASTM D1117-80. Absorbency time is thetime required for the complete wetting of a fabricspecimen put on to the surface of the water from aheight of the samples of 1-liter measuring glass cylin-der, with a stop watch to record the time needed of thefabric to fully sink. For each sample five specimenswere tested. Each specimen dimension was 20mmX20mm. Specimens were tested in distilled water at 200C.The time taken for the fabric to completely sink belowthe surface of the liquid was recorded.

3. Results and Discussion3.1. Influence of elastomeric finishing on shrink-age of denim fabricsShrinkage of all raw fabrics is highest in both direc-tions compared to the finished fabrics, for which shrink-age significantly decreased in the warp and the weftdirections in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Effect of elastomeric finishing concentrationson shrinkage percentage of denim fabrics. ComparingShrinkage percentages in all desized denim fabrics.

The shrinkage of 100% cotton denim fabrics afterpretreatment was within the range of 1-2%. The shrink-age in the warp direction is lowest. The highest differ-ence between shrinkage of fabrics with starch fabricsmade of 100% cotton and fabrics including elastane.The values of shrinkage after finish-ing using differentconcentration decreased the shrinkage especially in theweft direction.

3.2. Influence of elastomeric finishing on fabricweight (gr/m2) of denim fabricsThe results of mass per unit area and change in weight(Figure 5) show that all treatments cause changes inthe weight loss percent of the denim fabrics.

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Figure 5. Effect of elastomeric finishing concentrationon weight loss (%) of denim fabrics A, B and C.

Desizing with amylase enzyme causes reduction inweight, due to the removal of sizing additives up to thelevel of 1.9%. Additionally, Special finishes form a layeraround fibers increasing the weight of the denim fabricrepresented as decreasing in weight loss percent.

3.3. Influence of elastomeric finishing on tensilestrength and elongation of denim fabricsIn a biaxial woven structure two main directions aredefined: longitudinal (warp) and transverse (weft) [15].Because elastane was used in the weft direction, theassessments were carried out for only the weft direc-tion. We observed that the tensile strength of the fab-rics gradually increased with the elastane content asshown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Effect of elastomeric finishing concentrationon tensile Strength N of denim fabrics.

The figure showed that the tensile strength of the denimfabrics treated with elastomeric finishing was enhanced,especially denim C with the highest elastane ratio,maybe due to the fact that finishing made the fabricflexible and for this reason tensile strength was in-creased [16]. In addition, other studies revealed thatsilicon reduces abrasion, increases tearing strength andcrease recovery [13].

These results are associated with the chemical andphysical modifications of cellulosic fibers that occurthroughout chemical treatment. As expected, the denimwhich included elastane in the weft of the fabric re-sulted in high elongation, as shown in Figure 7, anddenim C was higher than denim B because it has moreratio of elastane.

Figure 7. Effect of elastomeric finishing conc. onElongation % of denim fabrics.

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3.4. Influence of elastomeric finishing on Modulusof elasticity in millipascal (mPa) of denim fabricsDenim fabrics treated with amino-functional siliconmacro-emulsion (0, 10, 20 and 30 g/l) as an elasto-meric finishing are shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Effect of elastomeric finishing concentrationon Modulus of elasticity (mPa) of denim fabrics.

Since lower modulus of elasticity means higher elastic-ity [15], denim A showed the lowest elasticity (modulusof elasticity 9.79 mPa) compared to denim B and Cwhich were 5.2 mPa and 4.23 mPa, respectively. Thesevalues were obtained with the highest concentration ofelastomeric finishing (30 g/l).

This finishing agent chemical composition allows it toreact with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose generatingstable bonds between the silicon film and the surfaceof cellulosic fibers.

We also observed that the increase in elastane contentaffected the compressibility and compression recoveryproperties of the denim fabric samples. As the elastanecontent increased, fabric compressibility increased. Thiscan be attributed to the spring like behavior of theelastane fiber and its tendency to return to its originaldimensions after the load is being removed. The com-pression recovery of the denim fabrics also showedsimilar trend as compressibility. In addition, with theincreased elastane content, the fabric thickness wasincreased [9].

3.5. Influence of elastomeric finishing on Waterabsorbency and repellency of denim fabricsFigure 9 showed that as the elastane ratio increasedthe absorbency of the silicon finishing in all denimfabrics A, B and C decreased. This can be explainedby the finishing agent composed of silicon impartinghydrophobic properties to the denim fabric, which isconsidered as a water repellent property [17,18]. Thehydroxyl groups of cellulose in cotton fabric made thefabric hydrophilic, but after finishing with amino-func-tional silicon macro-emulsion, a thin layer of siliconwas made onto the fabric, which prolongs the absorp-tion time [16].

Figure 9. The absorption time of denim fabrics treatedwith elastomeric finishing.

4- ConclusionThis study focused on the impact of elastomeric finish-ing using amino-functional silicon macro-emulsion, onthe physical and mechanical properties of woven cot-ton denim and cotton/elastane blend. Elasticity of alldenim fabrics after treatments was increased, due tothe elastomeric finishing agent reacting with the hy-droxyl groups of cellulose generating stable bonds be-tween the silicon film and the surface of cellulosicfibers. Elasticity of the denim fabrics were increased,

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due to the increase of elastane content as well asincreasing the concentration of the elastomeric agent.The results revealed that mechanical properties of denimfabrics, such as tensile strength, elongation were im-proved after elastomeric finishing, due to the fact thatthe finishing agent makes the fabric more flexible, thusincreasing the tensile strength of the fabric. This finish-ing improved the properties of denim fabrics.

References1. Mihailovi?, T., Simovi?, L. J., (2003). Compara-

tive Analysis of the Elasticity of Clothing Fabrics,June, Conference: The Fiber Society Spring Sym-posium. Advanced Flexible Materials and Struc-tures: Engineering with Fibers, LoughboroughUniversity, Loughborough, UK.

2. Hashem, M., et al., (2009). An eco-friendly - novelapproach for attaining wrinkle - free/soft-handcotton fabric. Carbohydr. Polym. 78, 690-703.

3. Ibrahim, N.A., et al., (2013). Functional finishesof stretch cotton fabrics. Carbohydr. Polym. 98,1603- 1609.

4. Dekani?a, T., Puši?, T., Solja?i?, I., (2015). Influ-ence of special finishes on denim properties. In-dian J. Fibre Text. Res. 40, 170-174.

5. Maryan, A.S., Montazer, M., (2009). The effectof cellulose and laccase enzymes on denim color.J. Color Sci. Tech. 3, 53-64.

6. Montazer, M., Maryan, A.S., (2010). Influencesof different enzymatic treatment on denim gar-ment. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 160, 2114-2128.

7. Özdil, N., (2008). Stretch and bagging propertiesof denim fabrics containing different rates ofelastane. Fibres Text. East. Eur. 16(66); 63-67.

8. Rahman, O., (2011). Understanding consumers'perceptions and buying behaviours: Implicationsfor denim jeans design. J. Text. Apparel Technol.Manage. 7: (1).

9. Kumar, S., et al., (2016). Designing and Develop-ment of Denim Fabrics: Part 1 - Study the Effectof Fabric Parameters on the Fabric Characteris-tics for Women's Wear. J. Text. Sci. Eng. 6:265.

10. Qadir, B., Hussain, T., Malik, M., (2014). Effectof Elastane Denier and Draft Ratio of Core-SpunCotton Weft Yarns on the Mechanical Propertiesof Woven Fabrics. J. Eng. Fiber. Fabr. 9 (1), 23-31.

11. Singha, K., (2012). Analysis of Spandex/CottonElastomeric Properties: Spinning and Applications.Int. J. Compos. Mater. 2(2), 11-16.

12. Schindler, W. D., Hauser, P. J. (2004). Elasto-meric finishing, in: Schindler, W. D., Hauser, P. J.(EDs), Chemical Finishing of Textiles, WoodheadPublishing series in textiles, 138-143.

13. Sakthivel, B., et al., (2011). Application of elasto-meric finish in apparels, Indian Text. J. Sep.

14. Huntsman Corporation, Polysiloxane Modification,(2016). https://www.huntsman.com/performance_products /a/Home/Polymers%20%20%20Resins/Textile%20Finishing (accessed March 2019).

15. Penava, •., Penava, D. Š., Knezi?, •., (2014).Determination of the Elastic Constants of Plain-Woven Fabrics by a Tensile Test in Various Di-rections. Fibre. Text. East. Eur. 22(104), 57-63.

16. Chowdhury, K. P., (2018). Effect of Special Fin-ishes on the Functional Properties of Cotton Fab-rics. J. Text. Sci. Technol. 4, 49-66.

17. Chattopadhyay, D. P., and Vyas, D.D., (2010).Effect of silicone Nano-emulsion softener onphysical properties of cotton fabric. Indian J. Fi-ber Text. Res. 35, 68-71.

18. Islam, M. M., Islam, A., Jiang, H., (2014). Sili-cone Softener Synthesis and Application on Knitand Woven White Cotton Fabrics, Am. J. Polym.Sci. Eng. 3:129-138.

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TEXPERIENCE

MAINTENANCE ESSENCE

Mr. R.N. Yadav is having a wideexperience in the Textile Industry oflast 48years' service in Spinning &Composite Mills. He has started hiscareer from the supervisory level andgradually with his skill and talent inwork experience he elevated to the MillPresident. He has occupied theindependent top authority of Vice-President&then President during hislast 34 years' service.

Mr. Yadav worked with leadingindustrial houses like BharatCommerce & Industries, BhilwaraGroup, Mohota Group, Suryalata,Siddhartha and Jagdamba Group(Nepal).

Mr. Yadav independently started &worked successfully four new projectsand renovated five mills. Heestablished many new milestones inquality & productivity. He presentedseveral papers in textile conferencesand other meets affiliated to textileindustries. He has 100+ technical &managerial papers published in textilejournals and national dailies. Mr. Yadavis author of a hand book "Productivity"on strategic industrial management.

He is the recipient of Precitex award &Life Time Achievement award andLegendary Award from The TextileAssociation (India), M.P.Unit.

He is Patron Member, The TextileAssociation (India) and Life Member,Indian Environmental Association.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mr. R. N. Yadav

Introduction:Good maintenance practices yielded enhancement in productivity in aspin-ning mill in middle India. Erection and commissioning of certain spinningand post-spinning machines were completed in record time. Reduction intime for any work increases productivity. Comparatively shorter durationof erection and commissioning didn't only reduce cost of erection but madethe machines productive earlier. As such productivity gain in terms of costas well as production. In this narration, details of spinning ring- frame andwinding machine Autoconer are presented.

Narration No. 1A fact is being briefed here how time reduced during erection and com-missioningprocess enhances productivity in case of a spinning ringframemachine from M/s. Lakshmi Machine Works Limited.

1). LR 6/S -1008 machine no. 90.2000 was despatchedfrom M/s.LMW,Coimbatore in four truck loads on15th& 16th Sept.2000 by MetroRoadways.2). All truck loads reached on mill siteon 18th Sept.2000 night and were-unloaded immediately on site.3). Erection was started on 19th Sept.2000 morning at 8 AM by a 20per-son team ofengineers, fittersand helpers. Commissioning of themachinecompleted by 7 AM on20th Sept.2000 in a record time of23 hours. Eachand every proceduralelement during erection andcommissioning was takencare ofby 100 %. That the machine wasmade operational the very nextday itreached the site of works.

The machine was run on 45's Ne count with following particulars:Fibre used: Polyester 1D×40mm-50%Viscose1.5D×38mm-50%Gear combination: A:79, B:86,C:72, D:65,E:44,F:69, G:36, H:108Spacer size : 3 mmRing traveller : EM1UDR 7/0TPM : 955Draft : 31.55Break Draft : 1.14Cradle : MediumGauge : (centre- to-centre)Bottom : 54 --60 mmTop : 59--59 mmSpindle speed : 12000 rpm (Running-in-Rings)

Yarn Test Summary :Count (Ne) : 45.57C S P : 3801Ct. C V % : 0.89Test C V % : 2.33U % : 10.64Thin/km : 2Thick/km : 10Neps/ km : 41

Classimat Faults :A1:239, A2:66,A3:9,A4: 7


TEXPERIENCE

B1:17, B2: 18, B3: 9, B4: 7C1:6, C2: 6, C3: 6, C4: 4D1: 0, D2: 2, D3:2, D4: 0E: 2, F: 1, G: 0H1: 40, H2:4I 1:2,I2: 0

4). In general such machine is erectedand commis-sioned in minimum 10 days by 20 persons workingfor12hours daily , that's 2400 man-hours.And the above machine was madeoperational in 460man-hours only.

5). Thus the above machine yieldedproductivity by twoways(a). Man-hours engaged was lessby 81 %.(b). And extra production for aminimum of nine days.

Appreciation Letter from M/s. L M W:The detailed note attached under the heading ' Produc-tivity Essence' complementing our product quality andservice rendered which I am passing to all our factorypersonnel who have toiled and achieved the perfectionin order to meet the customers expectation like you. Iwould like to congratulate you in organizing the teamto execute and achieve the targeted assembly time.Thanking you and with warm regards,Yours sincerely,(D. JAYAVARTHANAVELU), Chairman & Manag-ing Director, Lakshmi Machine Works Limited.

Narration No. 2 :SchlafhorstAutoconer Model 338RM, Type 60 waserected and commissioned within 14 hours, a recordtime it may be.1). The above type machine in containerreached at site7th November 2001morning. Cases wereunloaded,opened and the machine sectionswe're movedon erection spot.2). A total 13 person team of engineers,fitters and elec-tricians startedassembly works at 8 AM on 7thNovem-ber 2001 itself and themachine was made operationalby9 : 45 PM same day in a record timeof just 13 hoursand 45 minutes.Speed : 1000 metres / minuteDrums / Operative : 60Yarn run : 1/ 45s P V: 50/50Efficiency : 83 %Breaks/ 100 km. : 24

Gauge Settings:N : 380%S : 180%L : 40%T : 40%H1 : 370%

H2 : 225%H3 : 100%H4 : 45%C+ : 18%C-- : 18%CC+ : 20%C C-- : 20%

Yarn Test Summary :Count (Ne) : 45.50C S P : 3710CountC V% : 1.06Test C V% : 3.83U % : 11.78Thin / km : 3Thick/ km : 46Neps / km : 149

Classimat Faults :A1: 199, A2: 43, A3: 3, A4: 0B1: 24, B2: 17, B3: 1, B4: 0C1:4, C2:7,C3: 0, C4: 0D1: 0, D2:1,D3: 0, D4: 0E: 0, F: 1, G: 0H1: 9, H2: 0, I 1: 0 I 2: 0

3). In general such machine is erected and commis-sioned in 6 days by 8 persons working for 12 hoursdaily ,that means 576 man-hours. And the above ma-chine was made operational in 179 man-hours only.Thus the above machine yielded in following two di-mensions.(a). Man-hours reduced by 69 %.(b). Production gain by a minimumof 6 days.

Other Machines :In similar way drawing machines were erected andcommissioned just within 8 hours. Cone winding andassembly winding machines too supplied in sectionswere also made functional within 8 hours after cor-rectly erected and commissioned by the maintenanceteam. The only requirement for the above achieve-ments is skilled and dedicated team. And the mostimportant factor being confident and deter manage-ment.

Expectations :Machinery manufacturers need to design and makemachines in sections and that too, to be easily trans-ported and simply erected. Also machines be user-friendly and nearly maintenance -- free. Users be to-tally master of machine's design, functions and it's needto run it for optimum performance.

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The series of chapters under the title, 'Graphene A Wonder Material' are being published in the Journal of the TextileAssociation. The nanomaterial Graphene has been attracting a lot of attention over the past few years. Thankful toits unique combination of a simple structure of bonded carbon atoms with its multitudinous and complex physicalproperties. This series covers the extraordinary features of graphene, its different methods of preparation and isolation,useful applications in various fields of science and technology, its science involved in the technology of textiles, andfinally ending up with its future prospects.

This series is written primarily as an introductory text for the readers of those interested or already working ingraphene and putting up its essence in the textile related areas, who wish to acquire a broad knowledge of grapheneand its application in textiles.

The previous chapter discussed the applications and the recent progresses of graphene and graphene-based materialsin tissue engineering. To give better instruction into exploring potential applications of graphene-based materials fortissue engineering, the chapter had been organized in a property oriented structure. The chapter summarized anddiscussed graphene applications in the tissue engineering field based on their mechanical, electrical, chemical, andother properties.

The present chapter is the concluding chapter to this ongoing series. This chapter summarizes the conclusion and thefuture prospect of the Wonder Material - Graphene in the field of materials science.

Chapter 20GRAPHENE A WONDER MATERIAL : The Conclusion

Saptarshi Maiti, Pintu Pandit, Geetal Mahajan, R. V. Adivarekar & M. D. Teli

TEXNOTE

The wonder material graphene - an array ofinterlinked carbon atoms arranged in a single atomicthick sheet has promised a world of applications, in-cluding super-fast electronics, ultra-sensitive sensorsand incredibly advanced materials. After a few falsestarts, that promise is close to realization. Furthermore,a suite of other extremely thin substances is followingin its wake.

Graphene got its beginnings in 2004, when scientists atthe University of Manchester found they could peel offa gossamer film of the material just by touching apiece of ordinary sticky tape to a block of purifiedgraphite - the solid form of carbon that's mixed withclay and used as the "lead" in most pencils. Grapheneproved stronger than steel inspite being extremely flex-ible, and electrons could zip through it at high speeds.It earned its discoverers the Nobel Prize in 2010, butresearchers have been struggling years to manufactureit on larger scales and figuring out how its remarkableproperties could best be used.

Today, graphene is finding its way into different typesof products. Layered over zinc, graphene oxide (GO)is actively being developed as a replacement, withhigher storage capacity, for the sometimes unreliablegraphite now used in battery anodes. And nanotubesare recently being used as transistors to build a micro-processor, replacing silicon (unlike flat graphene,

nanotubes can be coaxed into acting like a semicon-ductor). Though the microprocessor was primitive bymodern computing standards, materials scientists thinkit could ultimately pave the way for more efficient,faster and smaller carbon components for computerprocessors.

At the same time, a new generation of two-dimen-sional materials is emerging. The success of graphenefurther fueled the ongoing effort to find useful atomi-cally thin materials, working with a range of differentchemicals, so as to exploit the physical properties thatemerge in such super-thin substances. The newcomersinclude an insulator more efficient than conventionalones at stopping the movement of electrons, and an-other that allows electrons to glide across it at a goodpercent of the speed of light, with little friction. Re-searchers think some of these may one day replacesilicon in computer chips, among other potential uses.Other materials now in development have even higheraspirations, such as advancing scientists toward one ofthe most tantalizing goals in chemistry - the creation ofhigh-temperature superconductors.

Future prospectsIt has become evident that the exceptional propertiesof graphene (including electrical, thermal, mechanical,optical, and long electron mean free paths) made itcompelling for various engineering applications. Much


TEXNOTE

effort has been devoted to exploring the fundamentalphysics and chemistry of graphene. Novel propertiessuch as room temperature quantum Hall effect, highestcharge transport and thermal conductivity originatedfrom graphene's 2-dimensional structures have not beenobserved earlier from most conventional three-dimen-sional materials. Large amount of research publica-tions in the past few decades signifies the importanceof graphene that might surpass silicon research in thedevelopment of microelectronics. While silicon-basedresearch is at its mature stage to overcome the tech-nological barrier, graphene is being extensively investi-gated as it holds the future for micro to nano scaleelectronics. The inherent semi-metal characteristics ofgraphene have been modified to realize the applica-tions in transistors. Graphene nanoribbons and bilayergraphene are the results of such modification that leadsto a suitable band gap and allows the applications infield effect transistor (FET).

Being hailed as the strongest material ever tested onthis planet is impressive to say the least. Since itsdiscovery and isolation in 2004, graphene has wornthat title with pride, beating out everything from dia-monds to steel - and winning Sir Andre Geim andProf. Konstantin Novoselov the 2010 Nobel PeacePrize in Physics "for groundbreaking experimentsregarding the two-dimensional material graphene".Due to the incredible demand across all industries forthe strongest, lightest, and thinnest material, new andmore efficient methods of production are in develop-ment. In the race for accessible and commercializedsmart textiles, graphene appears in more and moretechnological innovations - and with good reason.

With the discovery came the knowledge of its manyincredible properties, many of which will undoubtedlyplay (if they don't already!) into the future of smarttextiles. These include:

Strength - As mentioned before, graphene is a "won-der material" - at 1 atom thick, its strength surpassesthat of a diamond.

Conductivity - Proven to be more electrically con-ductive than copper, as well as thermally conductive,these smart textiles have the potential for wearablesthat are actually wearable. Coated fabrics are alreadybeing developed in the Cambridge Graphene Centerthat can withstand at least 10 washes. Potential appli-cations range from garments monitoring vitals in either

a medical, home health, or even military setting withcord free sensors placed directly onto the fabric, withthermal conductivity aiding in heat dissipation to "opti-mize electronic function", or even to track temperatureof the wearer.

Flexibility - While smart textiles in their infancy weren'tas comfortable due to use of stiffer conductive fabricsor other rigid technology, graphene's flexibility, lowdensity, and weight make it easy to forget it's eventhere. The flexibility goes beyond the textile industry:Flexible OLED screen aiming for commercialization inthe next 5 years; which could lead to bendable screenson garments integrating with the graphene equippedtextile itself.

Water Repellency - At an atomic level, graphene ishydrophobic. Recent researches prove an "interestingrelationship with water".

Biocompatibility - Being able to comfortably interactwith the human body (or any other biological form)with no irritation is a major development in the smarttextile industry. In fact, graphene is so biocompatible itis being tested as a potential bone implant material.

Transparency & Versatility - Graphene is the first 2Dimensional crystal that has been discovered, makingit as transparent and versatile as it is strong. Its inte-gration into smart textiles developed for medical andmilitary personnel can usher us into the next genera-tion of wearables -"Invisible Textiles".

Energy Collection - Graphene not only sources, col-lects, and converts energy to electricity - but in thecase of solar energy, can actually double it.

The applications of graphene in the smart textile niche- and across all industries - are just beginning to cometo fruition, and the race to find effective ways to pro-duce and bring these products to commercial market isfull throttle.

Graphene dreamsFor many years it was believed that carbon nanotubeswould create a revolution in nano-electronics becauseof their microscopic dimensions and very low electricalresistance. These hopes, however, have not yet cometo fruition because of various difficulties. These in-clude producing nanotubes with well-defined sizes, thehigh resistance at the connections between nanotubes


TEXNOTE

and the metal contacts that connect them to circuits,and the difficulty of integrating nanotubes into elec-tronic devices on a mass-production scale.

Walt de Heer argues that with graphene we will beable to avoid all of these problems. Using electronbeam lithography it is possible to pattern graphene intoelectron waveguides, and to control its electronic prop-erties by applying external voltages using electronicgates. Furthermore, unlike 1D nanotubes, graphene isa continuous medium and hence the heating associatedwith high resistance at electrical contacts is minimized.This kind of heating is essentially the limiting factor forthe miniaturization of silicon microchips, so graphene isespecially interesting for the electronics industry. Per-haps even more remarkably, graphene offers the pros-pect of carving whole processors out of a single sheet.Graphene research is still in its infancy and we wait tosee what marvels it will produce in both fundamentalscience and technological applications. It is spellbindingto think that so many profound implications could comefrom a pencil and an adhesive tape. Indeed, the newfield of graphene science illustrates well the remark ofLudwig Wittgenstein: "The aspects of things that aremost important to us are hidden because of their sim-plicity and familiarity."

SummaryThis series of chapters dealt with the synthesis, funda-mentals, and device applications of a wide range ofgraphene and graphene-based materials. In order tocover the multidisciplinary field of such diversity, thetext has been divided into two major parts. The firstpart consisting of Chapters 1-6, deals with the history,

synthesis, characterization and basic science ofgraphene, and their multidimensional/multifunctionalderivatives. In the second part, Chapters 7-19 presentan overview of graphene nanomaterials for variousapplications. The above approach will allow the read-ers to first review the scientific basis of such carbonnanomaterials and then extend the basic knowledge tothe development, construction, and application of func-tional devices; many of them are of practical signifi-cance. The series has been explained to the readers ina very simple and lucid language keeping in mind ofthe readers who are new to this field. In the meantime,the large number of updated references cited in eachof the chapters should enable our readers to quicklyreview the multidisciplinary and challenging field withinformation on the recent developments. Experiencedacademic and industrial professionals can use this se-ries to quickly review the latest developments in thischallenging multidisciplinary field and broaden theirknowledge of carbon nanomaterials like graphene fordeveloping novel applications in the field of materialsscience.Finally, we wish to express our sincere thanks to Mr.Ashok Juneja - Hon'ble President of Textile Associa-tion of India (TAI), and his colleagues at TAI for theirvery kind and patient cooperation during the comple-tion of this series named TEXNOTE, without whichthis series "Graphene A Wonder Material" would neverhave been appeared. We would also like to thank all ofthe chapter contributors, co-authors and our colleagueswho contributed in one way or the other to this series.Last, but not the least, we thank our families for theirlove, unceasing patience, and continuous support.

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THE TEXTILE ASSOCIATIONFor more details, contact:

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Mobile: +91-9819801922

E-mail : [email protected], [email protected],

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Website: www.textileassociationindia.org


NEWS

Birla Cellulose launches Liva with added protec-tion of Antimicrobial fibres, making Care Fash-ionable

Liva, the fashion ingredient brand from Birla Cellulose,part of Grasim Industries Ltd, Flagship Companyof US$48.3-billion Aditya Birla Group, has launched Antimi-crobial fibres, a breakthrough innovation that not onlykills viruses and bacteria, but also inhibits their growth,keeping the fabric fresh and hygienic in the long run.

The latest innovation-Liva with added protection ofAntimicrobial fibres by Birla Cellulose - is a leapforward in fashion by successfully injecting antimicro-bial agent into Viscose Staple Fibre which when wo-ven or knitted into a fabric offers protection to thewearer from bacteria and viruses, lasting over multiplewashes while retaining comfort, fluidity and softness ofthe fabric.

Be it introducing fluid fashion or offering sustainablesolutions through Livaeco, Liva has always been afashion forward brand. Today, when the world is em-bracing a change known as "the new normal", under-standing consumer needs, - Liva's special fabric inher-ently possesses Antimicrobial properties which kills 99%of bacteria and viruses and also inhibits their growth onapparels and home-textiles, thereby making it safe foryou.

Introduced in a first ever virtual launch through awebcast, Mr. Rajeev Gopal, Group Executive Presi-dent and Global Chief Sales and Marketing Officer,Pulp and Fibre Business, Aditya Birla Group said,"Antimicrobial products are currently the need of thehour and will continue to be the point of focus in thenear future. Liva with added protection of Antimicro-

Birla Cellulose launches Liva with added protection ofAntimicrobial fibres

bial fibres by Birla Cellulose, is not just antimicrobialbut also long lasting, while it keeps the fashion quotienthigh. At Liva, our aim is to make Apparels and Home-Textiles safe without compromising on performanceand fashion."

BenefitsDeveloped using in-house technology by Birla Cellulose'sResearch & Development team, antimicrobial agentsare injected during the fibre manufacturing stage, makingit an integral part of the fibre and providing durableantimicrobial properties. The science behind the tech-nology involves the active agent being strongly bondedwith the substrate, resulting in excellent durability towash & wear. The interactions between cell mem-brane of the microbe and the active agent causes theinterruption of all essential functions of the cell mem-brane and, consequently, the cell membrane gets rup-tured and destroys the microbe. These agents inher-ently bond with fibres, resulting excellent durability towash & wear and help retain antimicrobial effective-ness through multiple washes. This effectiveness istested under stringent ISO standards and authenticatedby International labs. Moreover, due to its nature-basedorigin, thefabric is skin-friendly. Killing of microbesinhibits odor development, keeps the fabric fresh andincreases hygiene.

Liva with added protection of Antimicrobial fibres byBirla Cellulose, can be used in producing Menswear,Womenswear, Kidswear, Athleisure, Intimate wear,Accessories and in Home-Textile applications.

Traceability & Transparency for the Value ChainLiva with added protection of Antimicrobial fibres byBirla Cellulose has a unique tracer in its fibre whichhelps in source verification at all stages of the TextileValue Chain and removes any possibility of counterfeitor dilution. Blockchain Technology based tool - GreenTrack™ is used to trace upward and downward valuechain, to maintain authenticity of data.

For more information, please visit:www.birlacellulose.com | www.livafluidfashion.com |[email protected]


◆ Since the end of March 2020, COVID-19 hasled to very low demand in all Business Groups

◆ Comprehensive crisis management imple-mented

◆ Loss in the mid double-digit million rangeexpected in the first half of 2020

◆ Plans to introduce short-time working toadjust capacity in Switzerland and Germany

◆ Strategy will continue to be implemented

Due to COVID-19, a large number of spinning millshave stopped production worldwide. Since the end ofMarch 2020, this has led to low demand for spareparts and wear & tear parts and delays in testing pro-grams during the development of new machines. Cus-tomers are postponing investment projects or unable toimplement them due to restrictions imposed by nationalgovernments. This results in low demand for newmachines.

Comprehensive crisis managementRieter has implemented comprehensive crisis manage-ment. Priorities are being given to protecting employ-ees, fulfilling customer commitments and ensuring li-quidity. The necessary measures to protect employeeshave been implemented worldwide. The order backlogof well in excess of CHF 500 million is being pro-cessed largely according to plan, despite the existingbottlenecks in the supply chains. Less than 5% of theorders in the order backlog have been canceled. Rieterhas already implemented measures to ensure liquidityand reduce costs. The company has good net liquidityand undrawn credit lines in the mid three-digit millionrange.

Loss expected in the first half of 2020As already reported, Rieter expects sales and earningsin the first half of 2020 to be significantly below theprior year level. The effects of COVID-19 will placean additional burden on the first half of 2020. Rietertherefore expects sales in the first half of 2020 to beless than CHF 300 million. Despite the countermea-sures implemented at the net profit level, this will leadto a loss in the mid double-digit million range.

Plans to introduce short-time working to adjustcapacityRieter plans to apply for short-time working for theareas with forecasted low capacity utilization at the

Business Situation Against the Backdrop of theCOVID-19 Pandemic

locations in Switzerland and Germany. The applicationwill be for40% short-time working in the third quarterof 2020. Talks with staff representatives will beginnext week. Areas that are responsible for processingthe order backlog are excluded from short-time work-ing. This also applies to the assembly of machines inWinterthur, the relocation of which is being implementedas planned.

Similar measures to reduce working hours are plannedworldwide where necessary, within the scope of theavailable legislative options.As a sign of solidarity,Rieter's Board of Directors, Group Executive Commit-tee and the senior management will waive 10%-20%of their salaries temporarily.Rieter is therefore enteringthe second half of 2020 with a significantly improvedcost base.

Implementation of the strategyIn recent years, Rieter has consistently implementedthe strategy based on innovation leadership, strength-ening the business in components, spare parts andservices and the adjustment of cost structures. Thecompany intends to forge ahead with the implementa-tion of the strategy in the coming months, thus strength-ening its market position for the time after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next information on the course of business isplanned with the publication of the half-year results onJuly 16, 2020.

For further information please contact:Rieter Holding Ltd.Investor RelationsKurt LedermannChief Financial OfficerT +41 52 208 70 15,F +41 52 208 70 [email protected] Management AGMedia RelationsRelindisWieserHead Group CommunicationT +41 52 208 70 45,F +41 52 208 70 [email protected]

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The COVID-19 outbreak is a human tragedy and hasa growing impact on the global economy. The globalpandemic has forever changed our behaviors as cus-tomers, employees, citizens and humans. Major issuesfaced by companies are total restriction on domesticand international travel, no customer contact and eithercancellation or postponement of regular marketingactivities and exhibitions. With these emerging newexperiences, companies now have an opportunity toaccelerate the pivot to digital platforms and to reimaginetheir digital strategies to capture new opportunities anddigital customers.

To provide a solution to this situation, Blkrsna MediaEvents Hospitality has organized a Virtual Exhibitionespecially for the textile industry. The Blkrsna VirtualTextile Exhibition - BVTEX 2020 is expected to takeplace from 3 Sep 2020 to 6 Sep 2020.

Rajesh Padalkar, Principal Owner of Blkrsna informed"This is a perfect platform for every industry to get intouch with their customers from any part of the world.Even the visitors and potential buyers can be from anytime zone on the planet. As no logistics are involvedthere is a huge cost saving in participation in suchvirtual events.

The 3D immersive environment gives the feel of actu-ally attending a real exhibition. The Exhibitors can dis-play their 3D machine models, interact with customersvia text chat or with one-to-one video calls. The visi-tors on the other hand can be part of the trade fairwithout having to book flight tickets, visa, hotels andlocal transportation."

At BVTEX 2020 the Exhibitors can display their post-ers, brochures and videos, which can even be down-loaded by the visitors. There is no restriction on whocan man the booth. Out of the 3 persons designated tobe on the booth, the first can be from Mumbai, thesecond can be from Coimbatore and the third can bea foreign Principal from any other country. The Exhibi-

BVTEX 2020 a boon for the Textile Industrytors can even plan and cater to the demands of theircustomers from other time zones in the world asBVTEX 2020 is on for all 24 hours a day. BVTEX2020 is also a good place for the visitors to connectwith other visitors and network during the show.

Blkrsna is also open to the idea of Research Institu-tions tying up with their textile Principals and partici-pate jointly to establish new business avenues andopportunities.

The textile industry has already reacted positively tothis event. Mr Ashish Sharma, Vice-President-Market-ing, Truetzschler India said "We are already familiarwith the indsutrie 4.0 standards and BVTEX 2020surely will take us a step further in the virtual world.It might not be a surprise if all future exhibitions areheld virtually. We are looking forward to participate inthis unique exhibition".

On the other hand, Mr K P Singh, Director, TeraSpinexclaimed "All other major exhibitions are either can-celled or postponed. Therefore, having a virtual exhi-bition is the best way to stay in touch with our custom-ers".

Rajesh Padalkar smilingly also informed that "All otherevents being offered or planned are in the flat 2Dformat, while BVTEX 2020 is the only event at presentoffering the truly 3D virtual space at lesser costs. Avisitor can actually enter the stall and move aroundhaving a closer look at items displayed. For example,if an Exhibitor had displayed a machine then the visitorcan actually have a complete 360-degree tour aroundthe machine".

Blkrsna wants BVTEX 2020 to be relevant to thetextile industry and its end-users. They are alwaysexploring new means to reimagine and to make itsplatform vital to all Exhibitors by offering an integratedsourcing platform. Blkrsna believes that all Exhibitorsat BVTEX 2020 will be able to have meaningful inter-action with their customers on innovative ideas thatoffer the end users a competitive advantage.

For bookings, the Exhibitors can fill up the form athttps://blkrsna.com/contact-form and for other detailsand sponsorship matter they can drop an email [email protected]

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What are the challenges of safe & healthy air-conditioning in COVID-19 times and how to meetthem head on?

It has been predicted by many that life will not be thesame again post COVID-19. It holds true for everycountry across the globe. The most significant impactwill be on the lifestyle of people. The things that werenormal in pre COVID-era will no longer be considerednormal, and there will be a "new normal" in place.

Air-conditioning, like many other facets of everydaylifestyle, is bound to change for sure. We have beenhearing a lot from the HVAC experts on this subjectin recent times - and ISHRAE, REHVA, ASHRAEand many other global associations of air-conditioningand ventilation engineers have published fresh guide-lines for the safe use of air-conditioning in COVID-19times. It is certain that these guidelines are here tostay for the future as well. Going forward, health andsafety will be the primary criteria while operating HVACsystems or designing new systems, and "thermal com-fort" will take a less important role. Let's take a lookat what's been recommended by the experts mentioneda bove:

Challenges of safe & healthy air-conditioningBy Sunil Tiwari

Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, A.T.E. Enterprises Private Limited (Business Unit: HMX)

Existing practice The new normal

Temperature <24 0C 24 - 300C Humid places 3240C and hot & dry 3270C

Relative humidity (Rh) 50±10% 40 - 70%

Fresh air 10 - 15% of total air Try to go to 100% fresh air, and if you can't, maximise thefresh air

result in a higher number of air changes in buildingsand thus will help in driving out contaminants and in-fectious particles effectively. While increased ventila-tion doesn't guarantee the elimination of risk altogether,it is the safest way to reduce the chances of spread ofdisease. And why only COVID-19, it applies to othertypes of infections as well, which are likely to keepgrowing in number with each passing year.

Let us remember that we have paid and are still payinga heavy price in the COVID times and so everymeasure that would help us to mitigate the impact ofthe dreaded virus must be adopted as soon as possible.Reducing infection chances with an adequate volumeof fresh air in every air-conditioned space should bethe top priority now, way above thermal comfort.

But this is easier said than done. Cooling of fresh aircomes with a whole lot of challenges, and the imme-diate dilemma that air-conditioning users and the de-signers will face is the associated increase in energydemand while bringing in more fresh air. To make thesituation even more challenging, another very impor-tant guideline says - don't use the room return air forpre-cooling of fresh air, as we can't take any chance

of cross contamination of fresh air, while exchangingheat with the return air. The existing practice of usingtreated fresh air or fresh air handling units, using en-ergy recovery devices such as wheels, heat pipes orany such system working with room return air is astrict "No Go".

So what are the options available? How can we strikea balance between following these vital guidelines andstill avoid burning a hole in our pockets due to heavyenergy bills? The time has come to explore uncommonmethods that have not been very popular in the past,or we may say, have been playing second fiddle to theprevailing dominant paradigm of refrigerated air-condi-

From among the three recommendations above, thesingle most important recommendation is the increasein fresh air ventilation in buildings. More fresh air will

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tioning. The technology of indirect evaporative coolingappears to be the unequivocal answer, and it can openup numerous safe possibilities in this new era. Let'stake a look at this option more closely.

Indirect evaporative cooling, when coupled with directevaporative cooling, and popularly known as 'two stage'or 'indirect direct evaporative cooling (IDEC)' is ca-pable of providing the right amount of cooling, with theright kind of humidity, in 8 out of 10 places across theglobe. For example, in India, barring towns located incoastal areas, for the rest of the geographies, IDEC isthe answer to meet the room conditions of 27-30?Ctemp and 60±10% Rh. In the Middle East, the effec-tiveness of IDEC is even higher, and in some places,such as the central province of Saudi Arabia and inte-rior regions of Kuwait, IDEC can provide year roundcomfort without any compromise. When it comes tocooling commercial buildings or industrial facilities inthe safest way, IDEC is the optimum method - ensur-ing 100% fresh air and all this while keeping the en-ergy consumption way below that of regular air-condi-tioning. For the places on the coast, which fall in hot& humid geographies, a modified form of IDEC hy-bridized with refrigerated cooling can be looked at asa healthy option, though it is a little more expensive interms of capital expenditure than IDEC alone.

The most important role that indirect evaporative cool-ing (IEC) will play in future is in the safe pre-coolingof fresh air without using room return air. Integrationof IEC in treated fresh air (TFA) units or fresh airhandling units (FAHU) will help support the cause ofincreasing fresh air intake in buildings for adequateventilation and making them safe. What's more, theIEC enabled TFAs or FAHUs are compact in size,economical and offer very attractive paybacks whencompared to other energy recovery ventilators (ERVs).Due to simplicity in design, these can easily be retro-fitted to existing fresh air handlers. Naturally, for aneffective project, due care should be taken in selectingthe right kind of equipment, and a thorough analysis ofsavings must precede the decision.

While there are several challenges awaiting us in thedays to come, it is our duty to start planning in advanceand evaluating all options including those which mighthave not been taken seriously so far. This paper is anattempt to explore the best possible options in the 'newnormal', post COVID-19 scenario, for safe and healthyliving, with the required level of comfort.# Stay Safe, Stay Healthy

Colorjet earmarks ?25 Million on technology forOxyvent Face Filters launch amid pandemic cri-sis

Responding to the need in the market and to appeasemore people into wearing the face gear by makingthem more inclusive to everyday life, Colorjet Grouphas launched Oxyvent, a designer face filter brand inthe market that comes with creative prints on it toamplify the aesthetics. As the masks become a neces-sity, the need to give the industry a new shape bymaking it fashionable and appealing to the masses forms

Colorjet Group launched Oxyventface filter brandthe core of this new venture.

The face filters are unique adhering to safety stan-dards and putting in creative design prints to encour-age more people into wearing them. The products in-clude Multilayer Safety masks made up with 100%

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Cotton with 120 TC and melt blown material withmoisture control anti-bacterial finish achieving a strict95% Bacterial Filtration Efficiency(BFE). The designsare digitally printed on the fabric with Oekotex™Approved Inks making the masks fit for human useand ecologically compliant.

At the Launch of Oxyvent Face Filters Mr. M. S.Dadu,Managing Director Colorjet Group said," The vision tocreate a cloth based protection filter which providessuperior filtration, yet being highly breathable was keyto the innovation. As masks would become the essen-tials in the coming days, a fashionable yet fully func-tional air filtering mask is the need of the hour. Wehave conceptualized a hand crafted fashionable neces-sity that provides safety while encouraging the fashionit has yet to set. Committing to our core design valuesof being Economic, Efficient and Ecological, we areusing our own renowned International Digital TextilePrint technology."

Colorjet has earmarked an initial investment of 25 millionINR for the venture and is aiming at Printing 100,000filters a day. The company has installed Direct to Fabric,Dye Sublimation, Direct to Garment and Laser Cutting& Finishing machines native to the group and in part-nership with Japanese Technology for the project.

To bring in international designs and styles to life,

Oxyvent has collaborated with renowned Web-2-Printworkflow solution provided by Early Vision from Is-rael. "For mass customization of our designer face fil-ters we needed an end to end workflow solution forour manufacturing. To achieve this we have collabo-rated with Guy Alroy of Early Vision as our patterncutting solution provider because of its intuitive, easy-to-use tools and functionalities. Its insight into imple-menting Early Vision down the road, to enable efficientworkflows for mass customization and on-demandmanufacturing makes it the best in the industry. It willalso minimize errors in communication with our part-ners, hence, saving time and costs." added Mr. SmarthBansal - DGM Product & Brand - ColorJet.

For the print designs, the company has partnered withEmma Tranchini, a renowned Italian fashion designerand NitiSinghal, the native couturier of the New YorkFashion Week fame where she displayed her range ofapparels that were digitally printed on a Colorjet Tex-tile Printers.

Oxyvent is also attempting at bringing its designer masksinto corporate culture and has tied up with severalleading brands in the market to customize the masks asper their branding needs. The whole range of productscomes for men, women and kids, and can be exploredat www.oxyvent.org

For more details, please contact:Arun RaoTaurus Communications+91 98250-38518Email: [email protected] ShakeelColorJet India LtdCell: +91 78279-57563Email: [email protected]

BCI, CICCA, ICA, ICAC and ITMF are unified inpromoting a common set of values and shared commit-ment to safe trading and contract sanctity across theglobal cotton community. Our joint challenge today isto ensure that fair and equitable trade practices governthe commercial relationships throughout the cotton andtextile supply chains. We believe that these principleshave never been more important than they are now.

Cotton and Textile Sectors Call for Collaborative Action

The loss of demand resulting from COVID-19 and thepreventative measures that are being applied through-out the world affects the cotton and textile sectorsfrom end to end. It is essential for each trading partnerto be mindful of each other's position. We must striveto find mutual agreements which keep in mind ourshared commitment to the long-term health of the in-ternational cotton and textile trade, and to the prin-

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ciples of fair and equitable trading practices on whichit is built. We encourage that all those engaged in thecotton and textile value chains jointly and collaborativelycommit to:

◆ Take actions that are considered and designed tocontribute to the recovery of the cotton and tex-tile sectors in 2021 and beyond

◆ Communicate, collaborate and be responsive tothe needs of their counterparties

◆ Continue to respect the trade rules that govern

the sectors◆ Recognise and publicise positive behaviours. Iden-

tify and call out negative, counter-productive com-mercial behaviours.

The strong sense of community in the cotton and tex-tile world will continue to be a source of strength. Theconstraints we are currently facing will pass and manyof the freedoms that we are used to are likely to returnbefore too long. We have confidence in the future ofour industry.

Dr.Dhirendra Sharma

Dr. Dhirendra Kumar Sharma has taken the charge ofPrincipal, MLV Textile & Engineering College, Bhilwara(Rajasthan. He has been contributing towards theprogress of the college for more than 27 years, invaried areas of administration, management and tech-nical education. His expertise lies in developing net-work and raising funds, enhancing the learning envi-ronment, open communication with students and liaisonwith industrialists. Under the dynamic leadership ofhighly skilled, talented and qualified Dr. Sharma, theinstitute is leading towards achieving its goals of excel-lence in technical education.

Dr. Dhirendra Sharma promoted as Principal ofMLV Textile & Engineering College

Dr. Sharma had been instrumental in bridging the gapbetween industry and institute through The TextileAssociation (India). He is Honorary Secretary of theTextile Association (India), Rajasthan Unit since last20 years and organized conferences and seminars ofIndustrial Importance under the banner of TAI,Rajasthan Unit.

Dr. Dhirendra Sharma has published more than 20research papers in national & international Journalsand Conferences. Dr Sharma has been awarded YoungScientist Fellowship by Department of Science andTechnology, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur in 1999.He has successfully conducted Training programmesfor professionals and technocrats for the textile indus-try. His field of interest includes Textile Testing, Spin-ning and Technical Smart Textiles.

Dr. Sharma has been co-coordinator for RMAT-2011,CMAT-2012 and CMAT-2013, the Rajasthan State levelcentralized admission committee constituted for MBAprogramme. He has been in the panel of experts forvarious state level public service commission's andAICTE.

It is hoped that MLV Textile & Engineering Collegewill make exponential growth under the dynamic lead-ership of Dr.Dhirendra Sharma.

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The creative approach to supercharge your brand


DEVITA SARAF is the Cover Girl forHello Magazine's June Issue

Devita Saraf, a new-age role model and businesswomanis this month's cover for HELLO Magazine. ThisHarvard-educated techpreneur started VU Televisionsin 2006. The rare combination of beauty, brains andbravado is what has given Devita the edge to tackleher success with such elan.

She has put to shame anyone who says a woman can'tsucceed in a man's world. She's not just succeededshe's slayin it! She's taken VU Technologies from atech-company to become a 1000 Crore revenue brand,with no signs of slowing down or stopping here!

"Indian women are incredibly intelligent, just like ourgoddesses, but we are always seen as the back-endstrength, not front end as leaders, at least not in thecorporate sphere. So I decided to be the face of mybusiness," says Saraf. This thought-leadership coupledwith her dynamism, versatility and ideas are bound togreatly change this world that loves its disruptors.

Always blending fashion and power, she is wearing astrapless pink dress from Solace London and JimmyChoo shoes on the cover. This statement cover hasbeen well appreciated on social media with over 40,000likes.

The Textile Association (India) Visit us

on www.textileassociationindia.org

Follow us on

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Loepfe announced today the appointment of Dr.Ralph Mennicke as Chief Executive Officer ofLoepfe Brothers Ltd., effective from April 14,2020. Ralph Mennicke takes over from MaurizioWermelinger who, having joined Loepfe in 2007,became CEO in 2009 and is now retiring.

Dr. Ralph Mennicke

The Loepfe Board of Directors appointed RalphMennicke as CEO to lead the company and its subsid-iaries. Loepfe is the worldwide leading manufacturerand solution partner for online quality assurance sys-tems in the textile sector. Machine manufacturers aswell as spinning mills and weaving mills around theglobe use and rely on Loepfe technology from Switzer-land.

Ralph Mennicke is a Graduate of Technical Universityof Munich, University of York, Mannheim and ESSECBusiness Schools. He holds an MSc and PhD in Phys-ics and an Executive MBA. Previously, Ralph Mennickehas held positions as CEO, Deputy CEO, GeneralManager and Product Manager, as well as interim Headof Technology, Product Management and Marketing.Since completing his PhD, Ralph Mennicke has con-tributed to technology, product and market expansionand acquisitions, as well as providing inspired and ef-fective leadership during times of crisis in his previouscompany.

Dr. Ralph Mennickeappointed as CEO at Loepfe

In his quest to set industry benchmarks and deliverquality improvement for customers, Ralph Mennickehas also been heavily involved in global standardizationactivities within the sensor and measurement fields.

Loepfe CEO Dr. Ralph Mennicke said: "Despite thecurrent difficult business environment as I begin myrole as CEO of Loepfe, my commitment to taking ourbusiness and our people on a journey where we willseek to grow and grasp future upsides has never beengreater. As in my previous roles, at Loepfe my strat-egy will continue to focus on leveraging committedtalents, superior technology and unique market knowl-edge to gain and maintain a competitive edge in themarkets.

It is my very good fortune to be joining Loepfe froma company now experiencing a dynamic growth envi-ronment, and also to follow Maurizio Wermelinger wholed Loepfe for more than a decade and established thecompany's reputation in the textile industry with someworld-leading product brands. As well as Maurizio, Ialso thank the Loepfe Board of Directors and theLoepfe team for placing their trust in me to lead themthrough this tough period."

Loepfe Executive Chairman Alexander Zschokke com-mented: "The Loepfe Group extends a big thank-you toMaurizio for his long, loyal and successful lead of thecompany, as well as a very warm welcome to Ralph.We are delighted to have Ralph on board to steerLoepfe through the challenging phase arising from theCOVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. Furthermore, weare confident that Loepfe is in a strong position toemerge from this time with renewed vigour and sus-tained growth."

For more details, please contact:Loepfe Brothers Ltd.SilvanoAucielloKastellstrasse 108623 WetzikonSwitzerland

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Whether standard or fancy, denim fabrics are indemand - but they are a low-margin product. That'swhy Stäubli offers specialized equipment for high-efficiency denim production. The broad range ofmachinery and systems covers production stagesfrom automated weaving preparation to shed for-mation. With ultra-high weaving speeds and shortdowntimes, Stäubli equipment excels when itcomes to efficient production in the competitivedenim market.

The demand for denim fabrics in every format persistseven during economicslowdowns. Denim remains highlypopular; it is present in the collections of virtually everyglobal fashion brand, from low-cost labels to top de-signers. To survive in the competitive world of denimweaving, the mill must optimize its process steps tosave time, enhance quality, and maximize production.That's why Stäubli has developed a range of high-performance equipment for denim production.

SAFIR S40_automatic drawing-in machine

In the weaving-preparation department, the SAFIRdrawing-in machines draw warps automatically and inone stroke into the reed, drop wires, and healds.

The result is a quickly and completely drawn-in weav-ing harness with perfectly aligned yarns, which stream-lines the downstream weaving process. This high-qual-ity result is made possible by Stäubli's ingenious ActiveWarp Control (AWC) system, with standard featuressuch as double-end detection and options such as S-Zdetection.

Efficient processing of denim in the weaving mill

For easy start-up of drawing in, SAFIR features InitialConditions Settings (ICS), options that adapt themachine's behavior to specific yarn characteristics suchas coarseness or hairiness. Besides providing very highdrawing-in performance, the broad SAFIR range al-lows maximum flexibility in terms of application and inthe placement of the system within the existing space.It is easy to integrate into the mill because it can beoptimally adapted to the material flows.

Once the prepared weaving harness has been linked tothe weaving machine, the weaving process, based onthe appropriate shed formation, can start. Crucial as-pects of this step are downtime, yarn treatment, andespecially the speed of the weaving machine, whichmust be coordinated with all other operating compo-nents, such as the shed-formation machinery. HereStäubli shines again with its S1600/S1700 cam motionseries and the dobby range S3000/S3200 versatility interms of pattern complexity. Continued research anddevelopment make the company offer ideally adaptedand efficient solutions for continuous weaving - at alow total cost of ownership.

S1792-cam-motion-Stäubli

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S3260 electronic rotary dobby

Cam motions are available with up to 8 (S1691 &S1692), and with up to 10 levers (S1781 & S1792),electronic rotary dobbies are available in 16-20-24 le-vers format.

This broad range of shed-formation machinery offersmultiple possibilities for any application. The multi leverformats allow to applying stroke forces acting on thewarp yarns through multiple frames and offer addi-tional flexibility in terms of bindings. Most versatiledenim qualities can be woven and allow the weaver toapproach a broad market. Technical improvementsmakefor ingenious machinery movements and support theframes, which results in delicate handling of the warpyarns. The advanced operational concepts result in a

greater reliability during high-speed weaving and allowachieving unprecedented weaving speeds. Minimummaintenance requirements for the machine and the highquality harness motion, the link to the weaving machine- enhance further the high-performance operation ofthese shed forming machinery.

In Indian and Bangladeshi weaving mills, there aresome 50,000 (India 40,000/Bangladesh 10,000)Stäublished-formation solutions (cam motions and dobbies) inoperation.This significant presence illustrates the strongreputation of Stäubli's machinery and services in theIndian and Bangladeshi market. Local teams cover theentire country to provide fast and dependable supportwhenever needed -and the availability of original Stäublispare parts is ensured even years after purchase.Offering a full range of advantages, Stäubli is a provenpartner for denim weavers.

For more information please contact:Mr Fritz LeglerPress RelationsPhone: + 41 81 725 01 01Direct: + 41 81 725 03 [email protected]

Mrs Nadine ReinwaldPress contacts executivePhone : + 33 45 0 64 31 68Direct : + (0)7 60 28 22 [email protected]

Align your companywith the growing

authority in Textiles

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To increase system productivity and to keep ser-vice downtimes as short as possible, remote ser-vicing has long been absolutely essential within agloballynetworked textile industry. For itsOerlikonNeumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven brands,the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment is offer-ing a new secured remote service concept withdefined loan-based hardware and software.

A remote connection with remote access to the systems

creates entirely new service options.

A remote connection with remote access to the sys-tems creates new service options that would not havebeen possible over the phone or by e-mail. With re-mote servicing, unplanned downtimes and the associ-ated production stoppages, which can quickly result incosts running into the tens of thousands are signifi-cantly reduced.

Here, the standards for IT security and the require-ments for IT components are becoming increasinglydecisive. For these reasons, it is all the more important

Focusing on IT security : Up-to-date withsecured remote services

to ensure the requisite hardware and software areconstantly up-to-date.

Upon signing a secured remote service contract,Oerlikon Manmade Fibers provides its customers withthe necessary hardware and software, exchanges thehardware in the event of changes to security require-ments and supplies continuous software updates. "Withinthe context of a secured remote service contract, weloan the hardware to our customers. This means thatour clients do not have additional procurement costsand they do not have to worry about ensuring theirtechnology is constantly up-to-date in terms of securityrequirements. We assume this task for them", explainsJan Pauer, Technical Sales Manager responsible formodifications, talking about the benefits of this serviceconcept.

Secured remote service contracts are offered for allOerlikonNeumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven systems andare available with additional, customerspecific services.

For further information, please contact:Claudia HenkelMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 4321 305 105Fax +49 4321 305 [email protected]é WissenbergMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 2191 67 2331Fax +49 2191 67 [email protected]

Make more people aware ofMake more people aware ofMake more people aware ofMake more people aware ofMake more people aware ofyour brand and servicesyour brand and servicesyour brand and servicesyour brand and servicesyour brand and services

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WINGS HD and eAFK Big V: efficient produc-tion of high-titer products using the POY and DTYprocess.Home textiles directly influence the feelgood fac-tor of our personal surroundings. Being pleasantto the touch, soft and extremely aesthetic,highlybulky upholstery fabrics for furniture, deco-rative fabrics and wall textiles, drapes and pleatedcurtains and even carpets can support and ex-press our lifestyles and personalities. Highqualitytextiles for our beds, bathrooms and tables arefrequently matteroffact for many of us. Andhighend yarns are also used in the automobileindustry for seat upholstery, interior cladding andfloor covering in cars. Often, they have to with-stand heavy demands. For this reason, the yarnquality of the hightiter yarns must be correspond-ingly high.

To date, DTY yarns up to 1200 den and with up to 784filaments have, as standard, been plied from four POY300d/192f bobbins using DTY machines. However, thisprocess has a fundamental disadvantage: half of thetexturing machine's available winder positions are notused. And in terms of machine efficiency this is anunsatisfactory state of affairs. Here, Oerlikon Barmagoffers yarn manufacturers a highlye fficient solution:the spinning concept with WINGS HD winding unit inconjunction with an automatic eAFK Big V Multispindletexturing machine is currently the only system on themarket for manufacturing excellent-quality hightiteryarns with maxi-mum machine efficiency.

WINGS HD -superb efficiency and functionality

Oerlikon Barmag concept comprisingWINGS HD and eAFK Big V.

12 POY packages of up to 600d/576f (final) are pro-duced in the spinning process using WINGS HD 1800.This is made possible as a result of an additional godet,

Home textiles made from bulky polyester filament yarnwhich ensures that the high yarn tensions developing inthe process are reduced to the yarn tensions commonin the case of the winding process to date.

At the same time, the newlydeveloped suction unit withthe accompanying yarn cutting device (yarn collectingsystem) ensures both during string up and in the eventof a yarn breakreliable handlingof the yarn with anoverall titer of 7,200 den (final) and 6,912 filaments.

With this, the OerlikonBarmageAFK Big V Multispindlemachine uses all winder positions and hencehas the fullproduction capacity at its disposal for manufacturingDTY yarns of 1200 den with up to1152 filaments.Multiple plying of individuallyspun filaments to create ahigh overall titer fundamentallyimpacts yarn quality. Withthe OerlikonBarmag concept, this is minimized by ply-ing the highest titerspossible.

eAFK Big V Multispindle - productive and yarn-gentleThe eAFK Big V Multispindle texturing machine isbased on the tried-and-tested eA FKMulti spindle con-cept, with two individual friction rows. The high indi-vidual titers of up to 600 den per single filamentcan betextured using more powerful godet motors, a morepowerful friction unit and a 2.5-m heater.The straightconfiguration of heater and cooling unit ensures par-ticularly gentle yarn handling with asimultaneous draw-ing/crimping process. This is especially important forproducing delicate microfilamentyarns of the best qual-ity. Thanks to this multiple configuration, 576 texturingpositions can beefficiently utilized when manufacturinghightiter yarns, which are then taken up using all 288positions.And the machine is particularly efficient inthe high titer range of between 900 and 1200 den.Here, theoperating window of between 30 and 1200den offers yarn manufacturers maximum flexibility.TheeAFK Big Vtexturing concept was launched in2018, and has already convinced numerous yarnmanufacturerswith its performance.

For further information:Ute WatermannMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 2191 67 1634Fax +49 2191 67 [email protected] BeyerMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 2191 67 1526Fax +49 2191 67 [email protected]

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Mr. Chandresh H. ShahPresident

Mr. Chandresh H. Shah is Executive Director ofKRSNA ENGIMECH P. LIMITED - One of the lead-ing & pioneer manufacturer of soft / over flow fabric

Sales head of KRSNA ENGINEERING WORKSs,manufacturer & exporter of all type washing range /bleaching range & finishing machinery he has been into business of textile industry for last more than twodecade & member of Indian Textile Accessories &Machinery Manufacturers Association [ITAMMA] formore than decade. His main motto to serve ITAMMA& its member for better business environment & helpother small member to get maximum advantage fromgovernment scheme & subsidy. Apart from aboveKRSNA GROUP awarded twice by government ofIndia for Environment friendly - energy saving ma-chines for textile Industry also we are import substi-tute.

ITAMMA elected New Office Bearers for the period 2020-21Indian Textile Machinery Manufacturers Association (ITAMMA) elected their New Office Bearers for the

tern 2020-2021 during their Managing Committee Meeting held on 20-05-2020.

Mr. Dhijen R. MehtaVice President

Mr. Dhijen R. Mehta is the Owner of M/s. AshtGreen & Company Mumbai; which manufacturer'ssewage effluent treatment equipment and related con-veyor systems. Also the company manufacturers PIVchains and PIV gear boxes and a range of powertransmission products. It is the Dealers of Diamondbrand carding chains and all types of roller chains.

Mr. Mehta is also an Associate of the concern M/s.Transpro Engineering, the manufacturers of powertransmission product, dealers and stockiest of wormreduction gear boxes and their spares.Mr. Mehta is also an Associate of the concern M/s.Medh the manufacturers of special purpose food cut-ting machinery.

Mr. Mehta have been guiding and helping the Direc-torate in the management of ITAMMA's Building ac-tivities leading to delivery of quality maintenance Projectsat competitive cost, including state-of-the-art renova-tion of M C Ghia Hall.

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Mr. Purvik PanchalHon. Treasurer

Mr. Purvik Panchal is Technical & Sales Head of(SRT) Shree Ram Textile who Manufacturers a widerange of Warp Stop Motion for all types ofWeaving Machines (Looms). SR Group is establishedsince year 1957.

He is Partner of (SRE) Shree Ram Enterprise who arethe Authorised Distributor and Importer of CNC MetalCutting Machine, Cutting Tools, Oils & Adhesives.

Mr. Panchal has wide experience in Textile & MetalCutting Industries for almost more than 15 years.

He is actively associated with ITAMMA since 2014and in the managing committee since$2017.

Mr. Jugal Kishore

Mr. Jugal Kishore is Managing Partner of SuperTex Industries - one the leading company manufactur-ing & exporting Textile Machinery Parts (SyntheticRubber Cots & Aprons) in the world. He is alsoManaging Director of Yogesh Dyestuff Products Pvt.Ltd. - Manufacturer & Exporter of world class Acrylic/ Cationic Dyes in the worldHe has been into the business of Textile MachineryParts & Dyes business for almost 25years & has beenassociated &a member of Indian Textile Accessories& Machinery Manufacturers Association (ITAMMA)for more than 15 years.Mr. Jugal Kishore has main motto is to serve ITAMMA& its members for collective efforts & help membersto increase their exports & resolve problems faced bythem. Apart from the above he was also the Presidentin his college & recently had been elected as the VicePresident of Rotary Club of Mumbai, Western Elite.

The Corona-pandemic has revealed how extended thetextile value chain is from producing fibres to the fin-ished consumer products offered by brands and retail-ers around the world. Fibres can be produced in onecountry, yarns spun in another; fabrics are woven orknitted yet in another country before the final garmentis sewn and shipped across continents.

The textile value chain is only as strong as the weakestlink in it. It is important to realize that in a situation ofglobal demand and supply disruptions, cooperation anddialogue are paramount for the entire supply chain.Our industry is facing demand shocks due to lockdownsaround the world, which have posed enormous chal-lenges to the retail industry. Passing the loss and pain

ITMF demands brands and retailers toact responsibly and sustainably

to suppliers by cancelling orders cannot be the answer.To the contrary, cancellations will create even moreproblems by weakening the supply chain further.

Textile and apparel companies are willing to do theirutmost part to overcome this demand shock by delay-ing shipments or deferring payments, when necessary.But this has to be within reasonable limits. It is impera-tive that brands and retailers and their suppliers coop-erate closely and look for solutions that support eachother.

ITMF and its national textile and apparel associationsrepresent hundreds of thousands of companies andmillions of workers across the globe. These companies

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and workers cannot absorb the burden alone. ITMF'srecent Corona-Surveys have revealed that orders haveplummeted by more than 40% globally and that turn-over in 2020 is expected to be 33% lower than in 2019.The most pressing issue for most companies is liquid-ity. Therefore, it is essential that brands and retailersfind solutions with their suppliers that allow them topay their workers and avoid massive layoffs.

Responsible sourcing practices by brands and retailersare critical preconditions for socially compliant and eco-

friendly production. Sustainability is not a one-waystreet; it can only be achieved, if stakeholders alongthe supply chain respect and treat each other respon-sibly.

ITMF was founded in 1904 and its members are as-sociations and companies in the fibre, textile, apparel,home textile, textile machinery and textile chemicalindustry in almost 60 countries around the world, thatare employing directly and indirectly millions of people.

Lenzing India and Ruby Mills Ltd have come togetherto present H+ Technology™ - for an antiviral, antibac-terial and antifungal fabric. This breakthrough comesat a crucial time when India is facing an increasingnumber of cases. H+ technology's efficacy has beentested and the findings successfully indicate that vi-ruses and microbes won't survive on the surface of thefabric that's been treated with it - thus helping to arrestthe spread of the virus.

Over the past few weeks, Lenzing and Ruby Millshave invested considerable time to put together a rangeof sustainable fabrics that has anti-viral and anti-micro-bial properties and doesn't compromise on hand-feel,breathability & finish - which makes H+ technologyfabrics unique. H+ Technology™ also works across awide range of pure as well as blended fabrics. H+Technology™ with LENZING™ ECOVERO™ andTENCEL™ means performance to finish on sustain-able fibers.

At the very core of this technology is the active ingre-dient that kills over 99% of the H1N1 Influenza virus(the family of Novel Coronavirus) on contact and pro-vides lasting protection for up to 30 washes, thus en-suring effective protection against transmission of vi-rus.

Avinash Mane, Commercial Head - South Asia,Lenzing commenting on the development, said "Throughthis partnership with Ruby Mills, we aim to provide ourcitizens with the best possible protection through high-quality and sustainable products. We are working to-wards breaking the barrier that fabrics and textiles arecarriers of diseases and viruses. At Lenzing, we be-

Lenzing joins forces with Ruby Mills to fight COVID19Leverages technology to manufacture sustainable antiviral fabric

lieve in innovation and investment in technology to offerproducts that are high in performance and yet at thesame time are part of the circular economy. Consum-ers can be rest assured that apparels with the tag ofTENCEL™, LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and H+ tech-nology™ will be safe to wear".

Rishabh Shah, President, The Ruby Mills Lim-ited commenting on the development, said "Most anti-microbial finishes have significant limitations - theybecome ineffective after multiple washes, and theyhamper the fabric's comfort and hand-feel. In ourcontinuous pursuit for perfection and quality, we devel-oped H+ Technology™ fabrics, by extending our pro-cessing expertise and know-how to ensure that theprotection lasts wash after wash and the hand-feel,breathability and colour are not compromised.

We believe our H+ Technology™ fabrics have a widerange of applications across sectors and is significantlysuperior and most relevant in the times that call forheightened protection in everyday life."

Creators of H+ Technology™, The Ruby Mills Limitedhas been one of the most respected vertically inte-grated textile mills known for fabric quality, consis-tency and innovation since 1917. Headquartered inMumbai, listed on both the BSE and the NSE, RubyMills, aimed at enabling customers with H+ Technol-ogy™ and is working on bringing this to the consumersin collaboration with the Lenzing Group,an innovationleader, which stands for the ecologically responsibleproduction of specialty fibers made from the renew-able raw material wood. TENCEL™ andECOVERO™.

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Morarjee Textiles Ltd., a vertically integrated textilecompany manufacturing high-end products in prints,dyed and yarn dyed fabrics in a variety of substrates,has launched ViroShield range of protective finishes incollaboration with Australia-based Health Guard Cor-poration Pvt. Ltd.

ViroShield by Morarjee meets anti-viral efficacy of 99.99per cent on all corona strains including COVID-19, asper ISO18184 anti-viral test and Bacteriostatic effi-cacy test ISO 20743.

Morarjee Introduces ViroShield Protective fabrics

The fabrics have a special chemical molecule whichdestroys the envelope cell wall of the virus, and as aresult the virus dies. Thus, it helps in minimising thechance of re-transmission of pathogens by killing vi-ruses and bacteria upon contact with the fabric.

"As a leading supplier of premium and niche fabric tothe global brands, we bring the anti-viral fabricViroShield from the house of Morarjee," said Mr. HarshPiramal, Vice-Chairman of Morarjee Textiles Ltd.

ViroShield is compatible with all textile substrates andgives protection from droplets and fluids. In addition tobeing anti-viral and anti-bacterial, the finish is anti-odour,hygienic, skin compatible, non-irritating, and has noimpairment on hand feel.

"In today's situation, safe and resistant fabrics are keyto normal life, and we present the fabrics with anti-viral finishes in our ViroShield range," said ManagingDirector Mr. Rajendar Rewari.

The anti-viral finish on the fabric persists up to 30home/laundry washes at 40 degree centigrade, theIndia-based company said.

Why the tenth birthday of the USTER® QUAN-TUM 3 yarn clearer is worth celebrating

Ten years ago, it seemed like a ground-breakinginnovation in yarn clearing technology. But thatwas only the start, and USTER's ambitions for itsworld-leading QUANTUM 3 series have neverstopped growing. Spinners have been presentedwith a whole series of impressive developments- each one a big step in expanding the possibili-ties, from quality control at winding to 'smart'clearing, contamination control, mill optimizationand even preventing faults from occurring atsource.

"USTER®QUANTUM 3 featuring Smart ClearingTechnology" was the headline in 2010 when USTERlaunched its third generation of yarn clearers. "It wasan exciting time for me, introducing the first yarn clearerwith automatic clearing limit proposals based on theYarn Body concept," says Sivakumar Narayanan, at

Non-stop innovation in quality management

USTER QUANTUM 3 yarn clearer

that time the USTER product manager for yarn clear-ing.

Powerful processing electronics made it possible forthe system to display the full yarn body - an outline ofthe 'normal' yarn with its expected and tolerable natu-ral variations.

Since then, the term Yarn Body has become a well-recognized and easily understood descriptor in the in-

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dustry. Today, spinning professionals readily envisagethe familiar green arrowhead symbol within a varyingdark green frame as an essential element of the clas-sification matrix.

Continuous developmentThis year, it's worth celebrating the 10th anniversary ofUSTER®QUANTUM 3 - but not only as the ground-breaking third generation of a best-selling clearer sys-tem. What's even more notable is its continuous fur-ther development during the past decade. Trailblazingprogress in quality assurance technology now allowstextile manufacturers to optimize production efficiencyand reduce costscontinuously, taking advantage of sev-eral beneficial extras with USTER®QUANTUM 3.The development of Smart Clearing Technology, forexample has been a massive leap, providing an indis-pensable tool for quality-oriented spinning plants.

The new yarn clearer was a game-changer in manyways: it 'learns' everything neededabout the runningyarnin just two minutes, then - using built-in USTER know-how - it proposes suitable clearing limits to achieve therequired quality level. That means the same reliablequality level is achieved with contamination control forvegetable matter or polypropylene. Each issue is solvedwith a dependable clearing solution - even for severeproblems such as periodic faults.

Once these highly sophisticated 'basics' were in place,USTER®QUANTUM 3development focused onchallengeswith trend-related quality control, introducingtwo unique features in 2015.Irregularities in shade couldnow be detected and cleared in mélange and coloredyarns, for better fabric quality. And the Core YarnClearing feature effectively eliminated the risk of fab-ric rejects through defective sections of these yarns -where the inner elastane component was either miss-ing or off-center.

A 'grown-up' partnerAs grown-up technology, USTER®QUANTUM 3 wasready to play a major part in all-round productionoptimizing.Yarn clearer data enables quality and cost tobe balanced for best-possible profitability - and this iscombined with data from USTER®JOSSI VISIONSHIELDto achieve Total Contamination Control,withprecisely-controlled contamination levels. "Our custom-ers value the integrated solution to manage remainingcontaminants in yarns at minimum possible cost," saysSivakumar Narayanan - in the meantime also himself'grown-up' into the position of Executive Vice-Presi-dent for Marketing and Business Development atUSTER.

Extending the partnering of systems still further, the

yarn clearers connect with data fromUSTER®SENTINEL to create the Ring SpinningOptimization Value Module.

This offers optimization potential at the most costlystage in yarn manufacturing. For the first time, millscan intelligently correlate ring quality data and windingquality data in a single system. Smart alerts reportdeviations in ring spinning machines or changes inessential conditions such as relative humidity and tem-perature.

Smart, smarter…preventiveStill not satisfied, USTER product developers wantedto transform 'smart' yarn clearing into 'preventive' yarnclearing. The combination of USTER®QUANTUM 3and USTER®SENTINEL creates a quality securitytool,which stops off-standard quality yarn being pro-duced at source, when the ring spinning optimizationsystem is equipped with the Roving Stop feature.USTER®ROVING STOPeffectively becomes afunctionof the ring spinning machine, just as theyarnclearer does in winding.

The appropriately-named USTER®RSO 3Dadds afurther third dimension - by providing individual copquality data for each spindle position. Quality mappingalong the ring spinning frame maximizes the optimiza-tion potential, while preventive measurements are inplace at spinning and winding. Waste of raw materialand costlyclearer cuts can both be managed preven-tively and automatically, thanks to a bi-directional ex-change and analysis of data betweenUSTER®QUANTUM 3 and USTER®SENTINEL.This benefit isenabled using USTER® QUANTUMEXPERT and Muratec QPRO EX/FPRO EX with SpinInspector. Thus, the USTER®RSO 3D system achievesthe ultimate goals of process optimization and trace-ability.

An impressive history over its first decade, but evenmore can be expected from the USTER® yarn clearerand 'friends' in future...

Contact for journalists:Kathrin NiedurnyMarketing Content & Communication ManagerUster Technologies AGSonnenbergstrasse 10, 8610 UsterSwitzerlandPhone +41 43 366 3889Mobile +41 79 895 [email protected] other media-related requests, please contact:[email protected]

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Protective Masks for EuropeTwo companies newly-established in Germany tomanufacture and distribute high-end protectivemasks were in the spotlight at the beginning ofMay: with FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner,Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasingconsultancy and Berlin-based industrialconsultancy Bechinger&Heymann Holding plan tomanufacture and distribute up to 50 million pro-tection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratorymasks a month exclusively for the Europeanmarket from the beginning of fall. And the pri-mary focus will be on quality. With protectivemasks - including those used in operating rooms- this quality is provided above all by virus-ab-sorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufac-tured by the new venture 'FleeceforEurope' inGermany using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblownsystem.

L to R : Rainer Straub, Managing Director of OerlikonNonwoven and Marc Kloepfel,

CEO of the Kloepfel Group

L to R : Marc Kloepfel, CEO of the Kloepfel Group, andRainer Straub, Managing Director of Oer-likon Nonwoven

Oerlikon Nonwoven delivering high-endmeltblown technology

But all masks are not created equally. For this reason,protection against infections such as corona-virus canonly be guaranteed with the right quality. On the onehand, this relates to how the masks are made. On theother hand, it is above all -as is so often the case -about what's inside. Because the nonwoven used inprotection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masksplays a decisive role.

Here, the globally-leading and long-establishedmeltblown technology from Oerlikon Nonwoven willbe deployed. In a special, patented process, the fiberslaid into a nonwoven fabric during manufacture aresubsequently electrostatically-charged, before the ma-terial is further processed downstream.

Inquiries from all over the world

L to R: Philipp Heymann, CEO of Lindenpartner andOerlikon expert Juliane Müller-Weigel

"Our patented electrostatic charging ensures that eventhe smallest particles, and therefore also viruses, aredrawn in and absorbed by the nonwoven fabric forseveral hours. As a result of the comparatively looseformation of the fibers, the wearer can neverthelessbreathe in and out easily", explains Rainer Straub,Managing Director of Oerlikon Nonwoven with pride.And rightfully so. Because Oerlikon is currently dis-patching one meltblown system after the other. "Weidentified the situation early on and have adapted todemand. We started manufacturing in advance at thebeginning of the year and can now start reliably deliv-ering and quickly assembling systems.

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And, due to our global Oerlikon Manmade Fibers seg-ment network, we are able to offer the necessary serviceas well", explains the experience engineer. Currently,the company is receiving inquiries from across the globe,but specifically also from Europe and from Germanyitself.

"The Federal States all currently want to be self-suf-ficient in order to better control the so-called criticalinfrastructure in the future. The investment programannounced by Germany's Federal Minister for Eco-nomic Affairs Peter Altmaier this week will addition-ally boost the demand for our meltblown technology",continues Straub.

European market for protective masks with apromising futureThose responsible at Oerlikon Nonwoven andFleeceforEurope, which will primarily focus on produc-ing high-end nonwovens, and Lindenpartner, which willmanufacture and distribute the protective masks, arecertain of one thing: the market for protective maskshas a very promising long-term future in Europe. Whathas been commonplace in Asia for many years nowwill also become normal in Europe.

People will be increasingly wearing face masks whenventuring out, in order to better protect themselvesagainst health risks such as the current pandemic andalso against increasing environ-mental pollution in theform of fine particles and exhaust fumes in the future.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology

"We didn't know what meltblown technology was threemonths ago. We helped our customers procure protec-tive masks, at the same time discovering the in parthair-raising conditions in the global markets", explainsMarc Kloepfel, CEO of the Kloepfel Group.

According to him, around 200 businesses in China weremanufacturing protective masks until 2019, a figurethat has meanwhile risen to include thousands of mi-cro-producers. "And there is a lot of very poor qualityon the market and, unfortunately, counterfeits as well.

But customers from all over the world are knocking onthe door with bags of cash and buy everything theycan get their hands on -even items that may have beenstolen further up the supply chain." The prices havepractically exploded. "While masks used to cost tencents to purchase, prices has risen to two euros ormore during the coronavirus crisis", explains PhilippHeymann, CEO of Lindenpartner. However, there is -as in the case of many other industrial and consumergoods -a huge level of dependency on Asia, and Chinain particular, among Europeans and Americans. In or-der to become competitive here, the focus will be onstate-of-the-art production processes for manufactur-ing protective masks. "At the end of the day, we willbe able to manufacture products in Germany at Chi-nese prices as a result of our automation technology",explains Heymann.

Medical face masks from a vending machineMask producer Lindenpartner has already securedsupplies of nonwovens and will be producing face masksfor the European healthcare sector over the comingweeks. To fight the coronavirus pandemic, Lindenpartner is planning to install 100 self-service face maskvending machines in Germany over the next fourweeks, positioning them in publiclyaccessible placessuch as shopping centers and airports, for example.FFP2 masks will initially cost around five euros fromvending machines. As soon as Lindenpartner is able tomanufacture the masks with its own nonwoven fab-rics, prices will fall to approx. 2 to 3 euros.

For more information, please contact:Claudia HenkelMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 4321 305 105Fax +49 4321 305 [email protected]é WissenbergMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 2191 67 2331Fax +49 2191 67 [email protected]

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Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic,the worldwide demand for protective masks andapparel has resulted in a record number of neworders in the high double-digit millions of eurosat the Oerlikon Nonwoven business unit of theSwiss Oerlikon Group. From the manufacturingsite in Neumünster, Germany, the high-techmeltblown systems - with their patented ecuTEC+nonwovens electro-charging technology - aremeanwhile be exported all over the world. Forthe very first time, a contract has now been signedwith a business in Australia. Today, Schleswig-Holstein's Minister President Daniel Günther waswon over on site by the technology of a 'globalplayer'. Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Non-woven, was thrilled, stating: "The machines andsystems for manufacturing manmade fiber andnonwovens solutions from Neumünster enjoy anoutstanding reputation throughout the world. It isespecially in this crisis that the technology fromSchleswig-Holstein has proven itself to be abso-lutely world-class."

Daniel Günther (2nd from left), Schleswig-Holstein's

Minister President, together with Rainer Straub, Head of

Oerlikon Nonwoven, Matthias Pilz, Head of

OerlikonNeumag, and Matthias Wäsch, Chairman of the

Works Council

In addition to a tour of the meltblown system and itsassembly and production facilities, the visit by Minister

Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology meanwhilein demand across the globe

Schleswig-Holstein Minister President visits Neumünster, Germany

President Daniel Günther had one purpose above all:the dialog between politicians and business.Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Nonwoven, andMatthias Pilz, Head of OerlikonNeumag, jointly ex-pressed their thanks for the support that Oerlikon hasrepeatedly had the fortune to experience over the pastmonths and years in Schleswig-Holstein and looked tothe future full of hope.

"As a result of our additional investment at the sitehere in Neumünster - be this in our new technologycenter that will be completed by the end of this yearor in our new logistics center that is already operating- we, as one of the region's largest employers, arecontinuing to move forward, supported by a StateGovernment that is also focusing on both promotingindustry and business and on advancing an efficienttraining and educational system, as innovation is onlypossible with outstanding engineers", stated MatthiasPilz. And Rainer Straub directed his appeal specificallyat the Minister President: "Treat education and trainingas a priority. Ultimately, they will secure the future ofSchleswig-Holstein as a center of excellence andmanufacturing!"

The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology

Five-million-euro digitalization programDaniel Günther, the incumbent Minister President ofSchleswig-Holstein since 2017, immediately responded,making reference to one of the Federal State's currenttraining initiatives: "The State Government is support-

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ing higher education institutions and students in thepresent coronavirus crisis. With a five-million-euro digi-talization program, we are investing on the long-termdigitalization of our higher education institutions.With this, we are overall creating a future for youngpeople, particularly also for those who could very wellgo on to invent the next generation of manmade fibersystems."

And the Minister President was just as impressed bythe willingness and readiness with which Oerlikon hasbeen providing high-level support since the beginningof the COVID-19 pandemic to master the presentchallenges as he was with the company's meltblowntechnology itself. Rainer Straub explained: "When, atthe beginning of the pandemic in February, demand forprotective face masks increased rapidly, we at OerlikonNonwoven responded immediately. We ramped up allthe available production capacities here in Neumünsterin order to quickly manufacture nonwovens for pro-ducing face masks using our laboratory systems.

As a result, we have been able to make a small, re-gional contribution to covering demand. In parallel, wehave pulled out all the stops in order to systematicallyfurther expand our skills as machine and system build-ers so as to cater to the initially expected, and nowalso continuing, global demand for meltblown systemsas quickly as possible."

Leading meltblown technologyThe Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology - withwhich nonwovens for protective masks can also bemanufactured, among other things - is recognized bythe market as being the technically most efficient methodfor producing highly-separating filter media made fromplastic fibers. The capacities for respiratory masksavailable in Europe to date are predominantly manu-factured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. "Ever moremanufacturers in the most diverse countries are hopingto become independent of imports. Therefore, whatwe are experiencing in Germany is also happening inboth industrialized and emerging countries throughoutthe world", commented Rainer Straub. In addition toChina, Turkey, the United Kingdom, South Korea,Austria and numerous countries in both North and SouthAmerica, Australia and not least Germany will for thefirst time also be among the countries to which OerlikonNonwoven will be delivering machines and equipmentbefore the end of 2021.

For further information, please contact:André WissenbergMarketing, Corporate Communications& Public AffairsTel. +49 2191 67 2331Fax +49 2191 67 [email protected]

With the so-called closing, the merger of the two worldmarket leaders, KARL MAYER and STOLL, wasofficially completed on 1st July 2020. The relevantagreements were signed on 26th February 2020, thus,setting the course for the formation of a trans-technol-ogy global player, who changes the world of its cus-tomers and of the textile sector.

KARL MAYER is now the leading provider of solu-tions for the two most important stitch-forming pro-cesses, flat knitting and warp knitting. The company'sentire expertise in the fields of warp knitting, flat knit-ting as well as technical textiles, warp preparation forweaving and digital solutions is now housed under oneroof.

STOLL transferred to KARL MAYER

When it comes to the manufacture of products forwarp knitting, warp preparation for weaving and the

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areas of technical textiles, KARL MAYER is innova-tive market leader with more than 2,300 employeesworldwide. STOLL, the international sector leader withroughly 1,000 employees, stands for progressive toolsand services for tomorrow's knitting.

STOLL will continue its activities within the KARLMAYER Group as autonomous business unit. The brandwill be carried on independently, and represents KARLMAYER's expertise in the field of flat knitting technol-ogy. KARL MAYER also relies on STOLL's provenmanagement. The previous CEO, Andreas Schell ham-mer, will become President of the STOLL businessunit within the KARL MAYER Group.

"With STOLL's excellent know-how and committedstaff, we can build on a good basis for further jointdevelopments.

STOLL and KARL MAYER complement each otherperfectly in terms of technology, they consistently relyon the proximity to their markets, and they are theinnovation leaders in their sectors. The merger offersthe basis for new machine-based solutions, textile prod-ucts and digital offerings, which will make a majorcontribution to strengthening our customers in theirbusiness environment", says Arno Gärtner.

In the area of machine development, it is possible touse completely new technological principles but alsooptimizations of details, for example concerning theoperation. For the development of new textiles, thecustomers can rely on broad, cross-sector expertise.They can benefit from the Group's entire textile-tech-nological know-how in the fields of warp knitting andflat knitting with an even increased application-orientedfocus. The customers contact persons will remain thesame.

One of the main aims in production is to increase theadded value for more know-how protection, flexibilityand rapid delivery. Components from own productionwill be used groupwide, if possible, and the manufac-

ture of the STOLL machines in China will be inte-grated into KARL MAYER's location in Changzhou.With a surface area of 90,000 m² and modern factoryhalls, the Chinese plant offers the perfect conditionsfor continuing STOLL's high-quality production. Theintegration project runs smoothly, despite highest com-plexity and corona pandemic. "The teams from STOLLand KARL MAYER are full on schedule. They coop-erate closely and extremely dedicated, they comple-ment each other's strengths, and successfully live themerger", explains Andreas Schellhammer.

Moreover, via their familiar contact partners, the Chi-nese customers can rely on the resources and organi-zation of KARL MAYER (CHINA) in the fields ofservice and spare parts. The spare parts are manufac-tured in-house, they are stored in larger quantities, anddispatched directly from China to China. This ensuresshortest delivery times.

In terms of digitalisation, the know-how merger raisesexpectations for innovation leaps with advantages forthe customers and effects on the entire textile industry.KARL MAYER's KM.ON is a highly agile softwarestart-up, that uses the potential of cloud-based con-cepts and of artificial intelligence for completely newdigital solutions. STOLL offers many years of experi-ence in the software section. Together it will be pos-sible to accelerate digital product developments enor-mously.

For more details, please contact:Press InformationKARL MAYER GroupBrühlstraße 2563179 Obertshausen

Enquiries:Ulrike SchlenkerTel.: 06104/402-274Fax 06104/402-73-274E-mail: [email protected]

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Clouds of Corona are slowly fading away & so let usbe ready for a brighter "post corona era".

Before getting started with full fledge productions, manymandatory things are coming our way.

There would be certain norms, business ethics & goodwork practices needed to be followed, in order to makeourselves compliant for post corona manufacturingprocess.

Suvin coming up with personalized online solutionstotackle the challenge in post COVID 19

To tackle the challenge up ahead, Suvin are coming upwith personalized online solutions based on:

◆ Best Architectural practices in line with COVID19 norms

◆ Modifications to be carried out in the existingsystems

All these solutions will be crafted taking into consider-ation that no major changes are re-carried in the ex-isting setup. This means Suvin will utilize the existingproduction layouts as they are, by suggesting improve-ments based on post corona compliance. Resulting intoclean production units.

Suvin is ready to render their smart services to enablefor more sophisticated.

What Suvin will need?Existing AutoCAD Drawing | Workers/employeeslist | Existing Setup PhotosFor more details, please contact:Mr. AvinashMayekarMD & CEOSuvin Advisors Pvt. Ltd.332, LodhaSupremus II,Road No. 22, Wagle Industrial Estate,Near New Passport Office,Thane West - 400604Tel.: 67220000, Fax: 022-67220001M.: 9322906199, 9819703962E-mail:[email protected],[email protected]

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Loepfe Brothers Ltd. announced today its intention torestructure and refocus its business over the next threemonths in order to align with the changed market con-ditions and to further leverage digital technologies. Plansto release the next in a series of new solutions inQuarter 4/2020 remain unchanged.

The business will be transformed in the medium- tolong-term by diversification, expanded business portfo-lio and increased efficiency along with an accelerateddigitalization program.

Strategic transformation underway at Loepfe

SilvanoAuciello

Sylvie Hunziker

Guido Wieland

Among the organizational changes made to supportthese objectives will be an increased emphasis oncustomer needs driven by SilvanoAuciello as head ofa new combined sales and customer support setup. Ina move to strengthen the focus on products and solu-tions, Guido Wieland becomes responsible for leading ajoint product management, applications and marketingteam. Furthermore, Sylvie Hunziker has been appointedto drive and shape the digital landscape and processeswithin Loepfe, next to her already established lead ofthe production department. Meanwhile, as announcedin May, the R&D team has already been superchargedby the appointments, as joint heads, of Thomas Schlegeland Roger Hilzinger, capitalizing on their deep special-ist know-how and experience to ensure the flow oflatest technology products through the pipeline. Furtherinternal changes aim at reinforcing Loepfe's high Swissquality standards across the whole product range.

Loepfe CEO Dr. Ralph Mennicke commented: "Welive in a world where change is a standard feature ofour lives. It is important that we embrace and activelydrive these changes by continually questioning thingsand redefining our offering to harness the benefits ofthe fast-moving environment for our customers andour business. My thanks go to each of the aforemen-tioned for taking up the new challenges along with ourteams, and I look forward to our exciting journey to-gether."

Loepfe Executive Chairman Alexander Zschokkeadded: "With this announcement today, the Loepfe andSavio Groups are investing not only in our business, butalso in our people. The work they are now undertakingwill future-proof the company and ensure it remainsthe leading specialist in its field for many years tocome.

For more details, please contact:Loepfe Brothers Ltd.Sandra SteinerKastellstrasse 108623 WetzikonSwitzerland+41 43 488 11 [email protected]

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In today's uncertainty, starting a new business or valueaddition/expansion to the conventional business needsto be done with a great amount of care and with thor-ough investigation. However, crisis always opens thedoors for new opportunities. Let us understand the topsegments of technical textiles which would be servingthe immediate needs of the world.

Looking at our country's strengths, we feel the follow-ing segments would be the most beneficial & feasible:

1. Medical Textiles - Nothing surprising here thecurrent situation has already seen the growth of thissector. Once major importer of PPE kits today India isnot only meeting its own requirement but also export-ing to large extent has become one of the prominentplayers in this sector. We feel the right type of prod-ucts which can serve appropriate quality norms will bethe need of the hour.2. Hygiene Textiles - The COVID-19 pandemic hasopened a wide door for this sector & it has todayacquired the status of prime necessity. Especially "un-touched" "disposable" and "use and throw" productslike napkins, wet wipes, de-makeup pads will find a bigspace in consumer market.

I feel, wet wipes with soap solution will easily be a

Top 10 technical textiles segments/products forsuccessful business ventures

substitute to washing of hands as they will reduce waterconsumption drastically.

3. Sportswear - With the growth of Athletics & fit-ness industry, sport textiles will soon be the essentialrequirement by a major population of our own country.Especially the Post Covid era will see far more peopleattracted to the fitness regime with social distancing. Itwould be more of indoor fitness activities and in housegyming.

4. Industrial Textiles - Looking at the growth ofIndia's manufacturing sector and with our PM's visionof "Atmanirbhar Bharat". Industrial textiles will be thekey segment with huge potential having requirementsfor products like filters, protective wears and otherindustrial products like conveyor belts etc.

Another aspect is to switch over to new products byreplacing the current woven & knitting lines. Convertuse of conventional textiles by using innovative techni-cal textiles.

5. Food &Grain Baskets - With nonwoven efficientpacking material will not only reduce the current wast-age of about 40-50% acquired during movement fromfarm to consumer, but also will be a much cheapersubstitute for bulk production and quality goods. Moreemphasis would be given to environment friendly prod-ucts. We can think of natural fibres being used in thissector. Moreover, waste recycled material may findquite a bigger share in this sector.

6. Disposable Curtains - The curtains used in hotels.Most of them are not replaced for years as they arehighly priced - elegant products produced using wovenjacquard technologies. Now with current pandemic,importance of hygiene is at peak. So if we producethese curtains as disposable curtains that can be re-placed on monthly basis or so. The life of curtain isreducing but at the same time the disposable curtainsare priced almost 1/10th of the jacquard curtains.

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Hence, we can give variety of products with changingaesthetics of hotels/restaurants etc.

7. Automotive Textiles - The safety feature willdrive this sector in coming future. The post pandemicera will be aiming on reducing the flooded public tran-sit. Thus an increased demand of vehicles will be metby in-house productions of automotive textiles to bringdown the overall cost of imported products. Even seatcovers, cushions will be needed to replace as well aswashed on regular basis.

8. Agro Textiles - Agriculture being the backbone ofeconomy, use of agro textiles on account of its benefitsfor fresh produces with better productivity will be anothersector to look on. People will demand for garden freshfood than frozen goods. Moreover, land area cost isincreasing day by day. Atmanirbhar Bharat will also afactor to be looked into. To meet these requirements,we need to harvest more in the limited resources. Agrotextiles will help in this regard in addition to watersaving measures.

9. Geo Textiles - Being a developing country with afocus for strong manufacturing base, the government'simmediate focus will be on increasing the connectivity&& reducing transit time. This will demand toll ofimprovements in the existing roads & many new high-ways. Also more water canals with water saving tech-niques are already planned by Indian Government. Manymore will be built up in near future, all leading to thegrowth of geotextiles. Products like geo-grids, geo-nets& geo composites would be the need of the hour.Moreover, Chinese products will be discouraged forknown reasons hence we can have import substitutes.

10. Even with above generalized assumptions of prof-itable products all new entrepreneurs need to assessthemselves based on their inherent capabilities, mar-ketability, knowledge of the technology, location ofoperation, sourcing of raw materials & convertibilityinto finished products.

Though the technical textiles are growing with a CAGRof 12-15%, there needs to be market study to identify

the products to be manufactured, market potential incoming years & by doing competitors analysis.

Suvinneeds to find answer to general questionslike:Can we convert existing business products into fin-ished products?What are my requirements?What is my USP?How can I be more competitive in coming years?Which are my weaknesses I need to win over?

Only by researching answers to all these questions anentrepreneur will be able to choose the right productbasket for his business.

Be unique… what works for others might or might notwork for you!!!

Business is already filled with uncertainty. It is time toreduce the level of certainty with in depth marketresearch of the subject.

We as expert textile consultants can help you tacklethe challenges up ahead with market & technologyresearch. Explore professional help through our in houseresearch wing and technology awareness.

To know more contact:Mr. AvinashMayekarMD & CEOSuvin Advisors Pvt. Ltd.visitwww.suvinindia.comM.: 919322906199E-mail: [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]

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For USTER customers, superb support is always athand. With more than 225 qualified engineers and tech-nologists in its four regional and 29 local service cen-ters, USTER has the world of textiles covered. Itsexpert teams ensure that every piece of equipment isinstalled perfectly and running smoothly. But that's onlythe start: throughout the long lifespan of the instru-ments, service teams are ready with rapid technicalassistance, even in locations that are in the more re-mote areas. Some of these dedicated support and ser-vice providers are introduced here.

PT Gansa Techno CenterTeam

CATEC Team

People all over the world: USTER's valued assetsAfter-Sales Service factors in key benefits for customers

Product knowledge and customer focus are key at-tributes for the staff responsible for servicing andmaintaining USTER equipment, to keep customer pro-duction facilities running at peak efficiency. Most ofthese individuals are all-rounders, skilled at servicing15 or more different USTER products across an un-equalled range of fiber-to-fabric applications.

Rauf Partners and Executive Directors

Support is delivered both locally and remotely, includingsoftware updates as well as practical advice in thecustomer's own language. Know-how transfer at thelocal level is enhanced through reliable and friendlyservice contacts. "Our After-Sales Service operationalso follows the USTER 'Think Quality' approach, toensure confidentiality and maintain product value," saysSuresh Kris, Vice-President Global After Sales &Service, Uster Technologies.

Ultimately, it's the people who make the differencewith USTER After-Sales Service. They represent teamsbased in every textile market, all over the globe, someof which are featured in this article.

They, and all the others, continue to provide supportwherever and whenever needed - a fact proven evenmore strongly during the current pandemic crisis.

Success factorsA very ambitious team works at CATEC. USTER'sservice and sales agent in Egypt since 1994, this orga-nization has earned over 40 technical credentials, en-gineering awards, top ranking positions in USTER pro-grams and a certificate of excellence in local servicestation performance monitoring in 2017. "Our aim is to

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exceed customers' expectation and we are convincedthat profound knowledge and expertise are one way ofdoing so. Therefore we take part in the wide range ofseminars and training courses offered by USTER,"saysEng. May Ragab, USTER Agency Manager forCATEC.

She is the driving force behind these achievements,working with USTER for over 25 years: her work isher passion, CATEC her home and the team her fam-ily. It also feels like a family to Tarek Ibrahim, whojoined as aService Assistant Manager in 1996. Discus-sions within the team are extremely valuable in seekingthe best solutions for customers.

Mutual interaction within CATEC is also deliberatelyfocused on encouraging team members to progresstheir personal and career development. In Ibrahim'scase, this included achieving a master's degree in in-dustrial engineering.

CATEC services go beyond the expected. Customersespecially appreciate the fact that quality data is checkedonsite - even when there is no apparent issue - tooptimize quality improvement and production efficiency."I like to apply my knowledge in both service andtextile technology fields, helping to achieve the nextstep ofquality optimization," says Ibrahim.CATEC alsoprovideshigh-quality training courses for customer per-sonnel and complementary application seminars toassiston site. "We teach our customers regardless if, orwhen, they will buy.That's why we are ranked for thehighest service standards in the market," saysIbrahim.It's no surprise that he and his colleagues areoften called to visit mills outside their own country ifanother service organization temporarily needs an ad-ditional team member.

Customer satisfaction factorsAfter-Sales Service is seen as a powerful plus forsales by Kim Kim, General Manager of PT GansaTechno Center. That was the reasoning behind theestablishment of a solely service-focused company forUSTER in Indonesia in 2006to support the sales orga-nization PT. AGANSA PRIMATAMA, where he wasappointed Spinning Division Manager.

Kim Kim'swork with USTER products spans 14 years- actually a typical depth of experience among theseservice specialists. His team of technicians, textile tech-nologists and technical managershasbetween 6 and 23

years' experience with USTER products. They alsoregularly attend a range of training programs, buildingon a solid background of electronic and industrial tech-nologies, as well as IT (hardware and software) andtextile knowledge.

This degree of profound know-how and long experi-ence were invaluable to Technical Manager AdiSetiawan- and also to a customer in Malaysia. Whenhe arrived from West Java, Indonesia with everythingprepared for service and calibration work,Setiawanidentified other issues which needed attentionwith higher priority. The customer's assumption wasthat 'service' included total repair - restoring every-thing to newly-installed condition. "My colleagues andI, we are used to acceptingthese kind of surprises asindividual challenges," saysSetiawan. In this case,theyused the limited time to make the equipment run atits best again, and thanked onsite staff for theirsupport,good communication and relationship which made itpossible. Nevertheless, everyone at the customer wasaware of the capability and proficiency of USTERservice technicians-and they were impressed how theyresponded quickly, fixing some problems immediatelyand providing a working solution for other issues untilnew spare parts could be delivered to effect a perma-nent repair.

Long-standing relationship factorOne hundred percent dedication also applies to staff atRauf Electronic Equipment Service, the authorizedservice station of Uster Technologies in Pakistan for55 years.Its full range of after-sales services deliverscustomer care which is individual and comprehensive-as well as customizable.USTER®9000 after-sales andservice plans are tailored for those customers withISO 9000 certifications, where frequent accuracy andcalibration checks of instruments are mandatory.USTERIZED® clients also have a subscription forUSTER®9000services.

The teamat Rauf Electronic Equipment Service (28Field Service Engineers and 22 Technicians at theworkshop) secures a 24/7 service. Their high engage-ment - sometimes really hard work - has established astrong relationship with customers based on trust. At-tending trainings but also on the job they gain valuableknowledge of modern textile technology as well as ofindustries IT.

USTER services help customers achieve and maintain

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top performance from their instruments throughout theirlifecycle. "Optimal performance isn't our prime goal.We go one step further for our customers, aiming formaximized profitability through greater efficiency," saysAbdul SamadAmiwala, Partner and Executive Direc-tor atRauf Electronic Equipment Service.The company'sservice technicians can access the entire range ofUSTER textile know-how, which is at the disposal ofcustomers, helping them to maketheir processes moreefficient and their final products superior.

Cooperative factor"Our goal is joint success with the customers," saysKris, who is in charge of USTER's global After-SalesService. "This cooperative focus is what defines usand motivates everyone involved - in the workshop andin the field.I'd like to take the opportunity to thank ourstaff for going the extra mile in many aspects everyday."

Emergencies often don't keep office hours. Practically,USTER service stations are available around theclockunderstanding the importance of keeping instru-ments and systems continuously operational.USTER®instruments are known for functional design and robustconstruction. They are quality products, built to ensurethey work properly on delivery - and for many yearsto come - a factor in which USTER After-Sales Ser-vice is an essentialasset.

Contact for journalistsEdith AepliOn behalf of USTER Marketing ServiceUster Technologies AGSonnenbergstrasse 108610 Uster, SwitzerlandPhone +41 43 366 38 80Mobile +41 79 91 602 [email protected]

Loepfe increases its backing of the electronicsindustry. The latest projects in China and Taiwanunderline the importance of reliable quality con-trol of demanding technical fabrics. Loepfe'sunique WeftMaster FALCON-i will be integratedinto two of the world's largest manufacturing linesof PCB boards.

Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are used to mechani-cally support and electrically connect electronic com-ponents using conductive pathways, tracks or signaltraces etched from copper sheets laminated onto anon-conductive substrate. Used in quantities of mil-lions, in 2018 the Global Single Sided Printed CircuitBoard Market Analysis Report estimated that the PCBmarket would reach USD 79 billion by 2024.

WeftMaster FALCON-i - New projects in China and TaiwanPCBs are generally made of various layers of materi-als, which are bonded together by heat, pressure andother methods. Its basis, the so-called substrate, iscommonly made of glass epoxy, also known as fiberreinforced plastic. In order to ensure and achieve anefficient and smooth PCB manufacturing process, atop quality and flawlessly woven glass fabric is the keyto minimized rejection costs and ultimate quality assur-ance.

A fully integrated PCB manufacturer can control theentire manufacturing process. One of the world's larg-est manufacturer of such boards and other technicalglass fabrics, operating several plants in China andTaiwan, occasionally experienced tiniest unevenness onthe surface of its PCB boards. Particular defects origi-nated from exactly that woven glass fabric, eventuallycaused by minute filamentation of the yarn and slight-est fluff accumulation during the weaving process. Byusing FALCON-i optical sensors to monitor the weftinsertion during the weaving process, such tiny yet costlydefects could easily and reliably be eliminated.

In order to detect even the tiniest yarn irregularitiesFALCON-i offers extensive sensitivity levels, allowingcustomers to fine-tune the ratio of machine stoppagescaused by necessary quality control stops. Any manu-facturer of demanding technical fabrics and composite

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textiles used in applications such as PCB manufactur-ing, automotive, architecture, filtration, aeronautics,medical and carbon industry can highly benefit fromthis type of versatile quality monitoring sensor. Theimplementation of FALCON-i optical yarn defect sen-sors in the quality control of any running yarn through-out the manufacturing process of fabrics is simple andeasy.

FALCON-i's unique flexibility to select the level ofquality control enables technical fabrics manufacturersto respond quickly and flexibly to market trends, de-mand and developments.

Are you confronted with similar problems? Get in touchwith us - Whatever your challenge, we're waiting, readyto accept it!

For more details, please contact;Loepfe Brothers Ltd.Sandra SteinerKastellstrasse 108623 WetzikonSwitzerland+41 43 488 11 [email protected]

In 2019, global shipments of spinning, texturing, weav-ing, knitting, and finishing machines decreased on av-erage compared to 2018. Deliveries of new short-staplespindles, open-end rotors, and long-staple spindlesdropped by -20%, -20%, and -66%, respectively. Thenumber of shipped draw-texturing spindles declined by-4.5% and deliveries of shuttle-less looms shrunk by -0.5%. Shipments of large circular machines contractedby -1.2%, while shipped flat knitting machines fell by-40%. The sum of deliveries in the finishing segmentalso dropped by -2% on average.

These are the main results of the 42th annual Interna-tional Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS)just released by the International Textile Manufactur-ers Federation (ITMF). The report covers six seg-ments of textile machinery, namely spinning, draw-tex-turing, weaving, large circular knitting, flat knitting andfinishing. A summary of the findings for each categoryis presented below. The 2019 survey has been com-piled in cooperation with more than 200 textile machin-ery manufacturers representing a comprehensive mea-sure of world production.

Spinning MachineryThe total number of shipped short-staple spindles de-creased by about 1.7 million units in 2019 to a level of6.96 million. Most of the new short-staple spindles (92%)were shipped to Asia & Oceania, where delivery de-creased by -20%. While levels stayed relatively small,Africa and South America saw shipments increasingby +150% and +120%, respectively. The six largestinvestors in the short-staple segment were China, In-

Worldwide Shipments of New Textile MachineryDecreased in 2019

dia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

563'600 open-end rotors were shipped worldwide in2019. This represents a 147'500-units drop comparedto 2018. 90% of global shipments went to Asia &Oceania where deliveries decreased by -21% to517'000 rotors. Indonesia and Pakistan, the world's 5thand 6th largest investors in open-end rotors, increasedtheir investments by +120% and 15%, respectively.China, Vietnam, India, and Uzbekistan, the world's 1stto 4th largest investors in 2019 decreased investmentby -48% on average.

Global shipments of long-staple (wool) spindles de-creased from 120'000 in 2018 to nearly 40'000 in 2019(-66%). This effect was mainly driven by a fall indeliveries to Europe (-72%) and South America (-80%).80% of total deliveries where shipped to China andIndia.

Texturing MachineryGlobal shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles(mainly used for polyamide filaments) increased by+12% from nearly 22'800 in 2018 to 25'500 in 2019.With a share of 88%, Asia & Oceania was the stron-gest destination for single heater draw-texturingspindles. China and Chinese Taipei were the main in-vestors in this segment with a share of 64% and 12%of global deliveries, respectively.

In the category of double heater draw-texturing spindles(mainly used for polyester filaments) global shipmentsdecreased by -5% to a level of 464'000 spindles. Asia's

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share of worldwide shipments decreased to 90%.Thereby, China remained the largest investor account-ing for 77% of global shipments.

Weaving MachineryIn 2019, worldwide shipments of shuttle-less loomsdecreased by -0.6% to 133'250 units. Thereby, ship-ments in the categories of "air-jet" and "rapier andprojectile" fell by -7.7% to 30'200 and -22% to 25'000,respectively. The deliveries of water-jet looms increasedby +12% to 78'000. The main destination for shuttle-less looms in 2019 was Asia & Oceania with 95% ofall worldwide deliveries. 98%, 93%, 86% of all water-jet, air-jet, and rapier/projectile looms went to that re-gion. The main investors were China and India in allthree sub-categories. Deliveries of weaving machinesto these two countries reached 89% of total deliveries.Bangladesh further played an important role in the rapier/projectile segment with 20% of global shipments.

Circular & Flat Knitting MachineryGlobal shipments of large circular knitting machinesfell by -1.2% to 26'400 units in 2019. The region Asia& Oceania was the world's leading investor in thiscategory with 86% of worldwide shipments. With 61%

of all deliveries (i.e. 13'143 units), China was thefavoured destination. India and Vietnam ranked secondand third with 2'670 and 2'210 units, respectively.In 2019, the segment of electronic flat knitting ma-chines decreased by -40% to around 96'000 machines.Asia & Oceania was the main destination for thesemachines with a share of 92% of world shipments.China remained the world's largest investor with an80%-share despite a -44%-decrease in investments from122'550 units to 68'760 units.

Finishing MachineryIn the "fabrics continuous" segment, shipments ofstenters and washing (stand-alone) grew by +34% and+0.6%. The growth in stenter deliveries is mainly ex-plained by the addition of ITMF's estimate for thenumber of stenters. The total number of shipped stentersof 1'700 units thus represents an estimate of the totalmarket for this category.

In the "fabrics discontinuous" segment, the number ofjigger dyeing / beam dyeing shipped rose by +35% to561 units. Deliveries in all other machine categories inboth finishing sub-segments (i.e. continuous and dis-continuous) decreased in 2019.

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Mr. Arvind Sinha, Past National President (2014-15 & 2015-17) of The Textile Association (India) passed away onWednesday, July 15th, 2020 at 1.20 p.m. with the victim of Corona Virus. It is extremely shocking, unbelievableterrifying sad news for entire textile fraternity.

Mr. Arvind Sinha is B.Text Tech from TIT,Bhiwaniof 1976 batch and MMS from Bombay University have beeninvolved with various industries in India and abroad for more than thirty five years.He was a very talented anddynamic personality, role modeland was a true back bone of all TITOBIAN.He worked very hard to fulfil his dreams.

He has been very actively involved with World Bank and IMF for last many years for various projects. and receivedmanyAppreciations and Merit Certificates for his involvement in his studies and project work.

He was a Specialist on Chinese matter and involved internationally with various Institutions for studies on Chinaand Far East.He was,also actively involved in promoting and implementing Food Safety Management System underUSFDA guidelines.

His study on human rights in jails widely appreciated and was heading for a Doctorate consideration by leadingUK Management Institute.He has presented more than 200 papers so far in various leading conferences all overthe world and more than 16 subjects including Art History, Defense Forces, Critical Management, DisasterManagement, effective Relief supplies etc.

Mr. Arvind Sinha has been an Art and Antique collector and three of his records are listed in Guinness Book ofWorld Records. He has established twice Guinness World Record in decorated Lapel Pins category. Mr. Sinhawas making attempt for Third Guinness World Record of 1 Lac pins. Also has word record holder for postal stamps,Gold Coins and paintings collections.

He,had occupied many prestigious posts in textiles at various bodies worldwide, He was a knowledge tank ofinternational textile and food markets as a great player. Mr. Sinha was a one of the best friends and guide andspeaker for various conferences.

He was associated with World Bank on various projects as a prominent leader, Founder member ofTextile FriendsGroup and also Textile Forum. He was,also had occupied many prestigious posts in textiles at various bodiesworldwide, He was a knowledge tank of international textile and food markets as a great player. Mr. Sinha was aone of the best friends and guide and speaker for various conferences. He was very talented, knowledgeable andInternational personality.

Under his dynamic leadership TAI organized first World Textile Conference (WTC), celebrated 75th Birth Anniver-sary of TAI, organized 3 days mega Global Textile Congress 2015 at Bangkok, Thailand, organized Second WorldTextile Conference(WTC2), organized India-South Asia Textile Summit and organized first Educational GlobalInnovators Researchers Conclave. He has been a great mentor and supporter during all the time.

Mr. Sinha was currently Chief Advisor and CEO for Business Advisors Group which is a leading sourcing companyfor Relief Supplies globally and also the content creator and provider for critical studies and management issues.

Shri Sinhaji's contribution to the TAI will be remembered for a very long time. TAI and Textile sector of India havelost very well-known and respected personality.

TAI pray to the Almighty for everlasting peaceful stay in heaven to the departed soul and give his family enoughcourage to sustain this irreparable loss.

Dear Arvindji... miss you a lot!!!

TRIBUTE


Introduction:In our nature, we are cultivating and growing varietiesof plants and trees.Some are producing fruits, foodmaterial for animals and human beings, wood, gummysubstances, grass for animals, and so many uses.Weknow some plants are grown in India and abroad,whichare useful for Textile products.Textile useful plants areBanana, Acetate, Bamboo, Coir, Cotton, Flax, Hemp,Jute, Lyocell, Modal, Ramie, Rayon, Sisal, SoyaProtein,etc. These plants are naturally cultivated andare very useful for producing textile fibre, yarn andfabric from it. For uses in Apparels, Home furnishingmaterial,etc. We will see some of above plants for itsusefulness in our day to day life in various areas forwearing cloths, fashion garments, value added prod-ucts, home fashion materialand also for Geo TextileCivil use.

Banana fibreFabricThese fibres are obtained from Banana Pseudo Stemleaves,can be extracted by decorticator machine, ret-ting and degumming of fibre. It is of major content ofcellulose 82 %, and hemicelluloses.Lignin material.Fibrecan be spun using open end spinning, ring spinning,bast fibre spinning.It is strong fibre and has lower strainat break,its appearance is quite shiny, low density, andstrong moisture regain of 13 %,smaller elongation 6.54%.Used as natural absorbent, light density woven fab-ric. It has good modulus of elasticity. Tensile strengthand Stiffness which makes it is prominent fibre mate-rial.

Fabric used for making of Handicrafts, Quality Papercards, coffee, Tea bags, Filter cloths, Cushion cover,Table cloths, Curtains, Table mats, Hats, Shoes, Car-pets, Fashion Garments, Shirts etc. Fabric is 100 %Organic, Bio Degradable, Completely Vegan,and Ecofriendly. Used as Absorbent in colored wastewater fromdyes of textile industry.It contains Pathogens protein,possess Antimicrobial, and Antibacterial properties. Dueto hollow fibre structure,thus have good insulation andabsorbance properties.Thermal conductivity of fibre isquite low, thus used as good thermal insulations.

This may interest you

Plant Based Fibres,its Fabric - Properties and uses in TextileDr. Arun M. Thakare

Mobile No. 7066034863, E-mail: [email protected]

Acetate fibre fabricAcetate is fibre from Plant Abaca. Cellulose acetate ischemical textile or semi synthetic, made form purifiedcellulose cotton linters/ wood pulp. Cellulose acetatefabric is luxurious appearance, crisp or soft hand. Highcomfort to wearer, resist wrinkling. Fabric is havingexcellent drape ability and softness, Shrink, Moth andmildew resistance. Better moisture absorbency thansynthetic fibres.No pilling problem.It can be used asSubstitute for Silk in less expensive garments, Productfrom it is Eco friendly material. Uses in Blouses,Wedding and Party attire, lining, Special occasion Ap-parel. Home fashion- usefulness for Draperies, Uphol-stery, Curtains, Bed Spreads.Fabric require dry clean-ing, ironed through damp cloth as it has low thermalstability.

Modal Fibre FabricIt is type of Rayon, semi -synthetic cellulosic fabric.Made from beech tree pulp tree by chemical process.It is biodegradable in nature, thus ecofriendly. Highwet modulus rayon, alternative to Silk or Cotton. It isstrong because of tight weave and long fibre, moreabsorbent than cotton. Wicking moisture away fromthe body and keeping you fully fresh and cool. Thusthis fabric is great for summer wear, fabric is breath-able, great for shorts,and it is best fabric for Eczema.Fabric is Durable, light weight, resistant to pilling. Re-sist shrinking.Uses- Underwear, Pajamas, and household items like bed sheets and towels, Popular forscarves and night wear.It is super soft,naturally softdrape well-hold up children active lifestyle. Blendingcotton with modal,helps garments keep theirshape.Washed in washing machine and coldwater.Modal is revolutionary in fashion industry, withits light weight, stretching and breathable nature. Eco-conscious, durable option for clothing and house wares.

Soyabean Fibre FabricIt is leguminous plantits plant provide high quality pro-tein. Fibre fromsoyabean plant contains 18 amino ac-ids, added antibacterial element, and offers a protec-

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tive function to the skin. Soyabean fibre is made fromSoyabean cake after oiling by new Bioengineering tech-nology. Protein is distilled from cake and refined. Aux-iliary agent and biological enzyme function the spheri-cal protein changes and then protein spinning liquid isconfected by adding high polymer like acrylo nitrile orpoly vinyl alcohol to add strength. Then liquid is cooked0.9 to 3 dtex fibre is produced by wet spinning. Arereach in protein 37-42%.Its breaking strength is greaterthan cotton, wool, silk and viscose.

It is dyed with acid and reactive dyes.Its fibre hasantibacterial properties.Thus useful for innerwear, sleepwear sportswear, bed sheets, towels, blankets and in-fants clothes. Soyabean fabric is eco-friendly, used forbaby clothing offers many benefits to Baby breathability,warmth and comfort are outstanding.

It has Anti UV properties, are superior to cotton, vis-cose, silk, Absorptive of UV radiation up-to 99.7 %It promotes micro circulation of skin and enforcing theimmunity.

Due to low abrasion resistance, useful in Automobiletextiles. Woven fabric has anti-crease easy wash, andfast dry properties.Fabric shows luster of realsilk,drapability, is good, fine degree of weave. Woven fab-ric is suitable for high grade shell fabric of shirting.Knitting shell fabric has soft and smooth handle andtexture is light and thin. Fabric gives cashmere likehand and touch, silk like luster, cotton like moistureconduction, and wool like warm retentiveness. It offersa protective function to skin. It helps people feel betterand live longer with an enhanced quality of life.

Bamboo Fibre FabricBamboo fibre is from Bast family of Hemp and Flaxfibre. Bamboo fibres are made from its stem, brokendown with chemicals and liquid is forced through thespinnerate to create fibre, yarn is prepared by worstedand ring spinning system. Yarn characteristics - it issoft and drapable, smooth and luxurious in touch, goodBreathability. Cool and comfortable to wear. Antistatic,Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Microbial, and Anti-Fungalproperties.Yarns are Strong and Durable, Abrasionresistance, It Protect from harmful UV rays, and moremoisture absorption than cotton, Fabric is having Mois-ture wicking properties. Natural Deodorizer,Hypoallergenic. Elastic in nature. Thermal regulating.

Fabric uses: It is comfortable, very breathable, havingultra-softness of cashmere and the sheen of silk.

Apparel: Sportswear, underwear, socks for adults andchildren. T shirts, Pants, lingerie, Longwear, Sleepwear.

Home furnishing:Bath towels, Bedding Sheets,Pillow covers.

Bamboo can cut into thin strips and can be woven intohats and shoes by farmers and fisherman for protec-tion from Sun. Bamboo can be blended with Tencil,Cotton, and other fibres.They are also suitable forhygienic products like sanitary material such as sani-tary napkins, absorbing pads, masks, bandages, andsurgical gowns.Benefits - being antibacterial keeps youodour free and feeling,smelling fresh.Highly sweatabsorbent, pulls moisture from skin for evaporation,moisture wicking keeps you dry. Powerful insulatingproperties, keeps you cooler in summer and warmer inwinter. Thus very useful to wearer for feeling comfort.

Hemp fibre fabric:It is Bast fibre like Jute,kenaf, Flaxand Ramie. It is cellulosic fibre.Hemp fibre is obtainedfrom Cannabis Sativa plant, It has deep roots system,helps to prevent soil erosion,removes toxins,provide adisease break and activate the soil to benefit futurecrops.Fibres are stronger and most durable among allother natural textile fibres.It has good fibre lengthabsorbency, moisture regain 12%,stress easily.It hasexcellent resistance to heat thus ability to prevent badeffect of sun light, highly bright like linen fibre.Its bleach-ing is difficult, dyeing with Reactive, Vat and Sulphurdyes.

Uses: Hemp is Coarse fibre,thus useful for Cordage,Rope, Tarpaulin, Interior design and apparels like Tap-estry, Hats, Shawls, Rugs and Carpets, Posters andTowel. It keeps warmer in winter and cooler in sum-mer than cotton. It block UV rays from Sunlight.It isuseful for Fashion design and texture of silk, soft elas-ticity. Can be blended with Cotton, Linen, and SilkFabricHemp / Polyester 60:40, Hemp/Wool50:50 etc.

It is better to do Plantation of Cannabis Sativa planttoget Hemp fibre, to make yarn and fabric from it, as itis having usefulness.

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ABROAD

Intertextile Home TextileDate : 24th to 26th August, 2020Venue : Venue: Shanghai, ChinaWebsite : https://intertextile-shanghai-hometextiles-

autumn.hk.messefrankfurt.com/shanghai/en.html

VTexShow - Virtual Textile ExhibitionDate : 21st to 26th September, 2020Website : www.textileExcellence.com

Please Register as visitor

International Exhibition of Textile IndustryDate : 01st to 03th October, 2020Venue : Sousse, TunisiaWebsite : www.intertextunisia.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

ITMA ASIA + CITMEDate : 12th to 16th June, 2021Venue : National Exhibition and Convention Center,

Shanghai, ChinaWebsite : http://www.itmaasia.com

ITM 2021Date : 22nd to 26th June, 2021Venue : IstanbulWebsite : www.itmexhibition.com

FILTECH 2021Date : 23rd to 25th August, 2021Venue : Cologne, GermanyWebsite : https://filtech.de

Every effort is made to ensure that the information given is correct.You are however, advised to re-check the dates with the organizers,for any change in schedule, venue etc., before finalizing yourtravel plans.

TAI developed Online Membership Registration Form

The Textile Association (India) developed an Online Membership Registration Form, which is uploadedon TAI website www.textileassociationindia.org/membership/

It is made simple to enroll Life Time / Patron Membership online.

Following process is to fill-up the form:◆ Open TAI website, click on Membership on Main Menu Bar.

◆ Click on Application Forms, where there are two sub-menu titles (Manual Form and Online Form).

◆ Before filling the Online Form, Bank payment transaction is required for New Members.

◆ Also, Scan copy/file of your Photo and Aadhar Card should be kept ready for attaching to the form.

◆ Clicking on Online Form, A MEMBERSHIP Online Registration Form will appear.

◆ Entire form to be filled and ensure that all columns are filled. There are some Mandatory Fields. Ifany columns are not filled in, it will show an error.

◆ Once fully filled Form is SUBMIT ted, a reply will be seen asYour FORM is received successfully. Thanks.Confirmation of membership is subject to the approval of the Scrutiny Committee.

In case, if you are unable to open the website, please write below link in Browser to fill-up the form.https://www.textileassociationindia.org/membership-online-form/

For any assistant, please contact TAI Central Office.

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