Hyosung has more than doubled its Creora production in recent years, Polygiene joins with Sinterama and Schoeller Textil AG and Osmotex AG have done the same on odor control technology, while Invista grows nylon.
Hyosung
Hyosung Corp., the South Korean industrial giant, is celebrating its 25th year in the spandex business with a renewed commitment to its textile unit.
The company’s newest plant in Quzhou, China has started up, while global expansion is now at 230,000 kilotons of capacity, making it the largest spandex producer in the world with its Creora brand, a company spokeswoman noted. This compares to 200,000 kilotons produced last year and just over 100,000 kilotons in 2010.
Further investment in capacity is also seen in Vietnam, despite the Trump administration pulling the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which was expected to boost manufacturing in Vietnam. The investment is said to be spurred by solid results from Hyosung’s Vietnamese subsidiary and measures from the government to attract foreign investment in the Southeast Asian nation.
Hyosung posted a net profit of $131 million from its Vietnamese business in 2016, and is expected to increase its spandex production capacity in Vietnam to 80,000 tons from the current 50,000 tons, according to information filed with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.
Hyosung will also launch a fine denier, high tenacity fiber called Mipan Robic Fine at this week’s Techtextil show in Frankfurt, Germany. The performance nylon is aimed at the outdoor apparel and workwear markets.
Polygiene
Polygiene has developed a new type of yarn with polyester producer Sinterama.
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Polygiene’s Permanent Odor Control Technology is added to 100 percent recycled fiber Newlife, opening up opportunities for the two brands in the areas of workwear and the care sector, with potential to develop into other categories, as well.
As the yarn is treated at the fiber level, it will bring considerable benefits to the consumer in terms of odor-control, easy-care and longer lasting garments.
Polygiene Permanent Odor Control—a silver chloride derived from recycled silver from electronic waste—inhibits and guards against the growth of odors arising from microbes such as bacteria and fungus. The treatment is permanent and products treated with Polygiene stay fresh and remain hygienic between washes, therefore earning Polygiene’s tagline “Wear More. Wash Less.”
Christian von Uthmann, Polygiene chief executive officer, said, “The care sector, where we first started out, as well as the corporate and workwear industry will both benefit as Polygiene treated fabrics will be capable of withstanding industrial level laundering. In addition, the shorter lead times with the ability of pre-treated fabrics to be to be stored and colored is an exceptional market advantage to an even wider audience.”
Hydro_Bot
Schoeller Textil AG and Osmotex AG have signed a production agreement for Hydro_Bot, bringing the technology a step closer to commercialization.
The two companies also announced that further tests of the Hydro_Bot panels have shown encouraging results for the moisture management solution. Hydro_Bot, a new technology for moisture management, was first introduced at ISPO earlier this year. It is intended to solve one of the biggest challenges in sports, work and protective clothing: to transport moisture to match human sweat rates in various climates, conditions and activity levels.
Behind Hydro_Bot is Osmotex, a Swiss-Norwegian start-up dedicated to developing solutions for electro osmosis for moisture management. Swiss textile manufacturer Schoeller Textil is the production partner for the Hydro_Bot panels.
The first product to consumer is planned with KJUS, a leading innovator in ski, golf and lifestyle wear. They will take Hydro_Bot to market in selected skiwear products planned for the 2018-2019 season.
Invista
Invista is said to be investing more than $65 million in state-of-the-art fiber production equipment at its Camden, S.C., facility. This investment will expand capacity of nylon 6,6 fiber used in a diverse range of applications, notably high-tenacity, specialty fibers for its Cordura fabrics.
These durable fabrics are used in military applications like bags, backpacks and ballistic vest carriers, as well as in a range of commercial end uses such as hiking boots and workwear to motorcycle gear, and many other outdoor and lifestyle apparel and equipment products.