Fibres, filaments and yarns

Novel absorbent fibres made from regenerated low-substituted carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) are described in US Patent 9 610 379 by FPInnovations.

­­A polyester (PES) fibre (Seaqual) made from plastic waste recovered from the oceans will be exhibited during Première Vision by the yarn spinner Antex of Anglès, Spain.

BASF New Business of Ludwigshafen, Germany, has acquired the filament producer Innofil3D of Emmen, The Netherlands. 

Don & Low of Forfar, UK, has started-up synthetic grass yarn line, after its Board approved the substantial investment at the end of 2016. 

Lenzing is to launch viscose fibres that it claims have the lowest environmental impact of all such fibres (according to the Sustainable Appare

The first samples of a spider silk produced by genetically engineered silkworms have been delivered to the US Army for independent testing.

During Techtextil, Amann & Soehne is to reveal several developments from its recently opened Innovation Lab.

Victrex plc has acquired Zyex, a manufacturer of polyetheretherketone-(PEEK) based fibres for the aerospace, automotive and industrial markets.

The ceramic composites employed in advanced rocket engines have to withstand temperatures of up to 1600°C and are currently strengthened with silicon carbide fibres.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc is currently negotiating with the central government of Vietnam to expand its business in that country.

Work is underway to increase the capacity of Lenzing’s site in Heiligenkreuz, Austria, for the production of its Tencel lyocell fibre. 

The Germany-based Perlon Group, a specialist in the manufacture of synthetic filaments, has announced investments in its facilities in the USA and China.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, USA, have taken delivery of a melt-spinning system capable of extruding high-performance multifilament yarns.

A single fibre has been employed to successfully deliver a combination of optical, electrical, and chemical signals back and forth into the brain.

Biofibres made from a silk protein of the green lacewing are being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), in conjunction with the company AMSilk GmbH.

A US company aiming to introduce full-scale commercial production of spider silk has secured a long-term lease on land in Texas, USA, where it plans to grow mulberry trees to feed its genetically e

Responsibility for Teijin Group’s aramid fibres business is to be separated from that for its industrial polyester (PES) fibres according to a reorganization announced by the Tokyo, Japan-based Gro

DSM Dyneema has launched a black version of its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre for cut-resistant garments.

A new line of genetically engineered silkworms capable of producing strong fibre has been created by Kraig Biocraft Laboratories of Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

A polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibre with a bulky three-dimensional (3D) structure has been developed in Japan for manufacturers wanting to make lightweight fabrics and materials with a hig

BASF is building a replacement for its acetylene production plant at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. 

In order that mill owners and others can readily determine which elastane fabrics are best suited for specific applications, Invista of Wilmington, Delaware, USA, has developed a proprietary system

A proprietary spinning technology allows its developer to make ribbon-shaped polyester (PES) fibres that are finer than it has previously been possible to use successfully to form fabrics.

A team of researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA, have integrated nano-scale sensors and electronics into yarns – ranging from simple cotton to sophisticated synthetics – th

Lenzing is investing €100 million to increase production capacity for its speciality fibres.

Customized alginate derived from cultivated bacteria has been used to create fibre-based materials in a project funded by the German Government.

New polyamides (PAs) and textiles based on them are to be introduced for applications in the sports and leisure markets by their Japanese developer.

They will not be visible, but geotextiles are an important foundation for a major civil engineering project set to be the focus of the world’s media this weekend.

A fully automated system, which is designed to wrap, pack and prepare for transport sensitive fibres (including carbon fibre) is now available.

Specifically for fibre manufacturers, Teijin Ltd has developed a range of masterbatches that combine its phosphorus-based flame-retardant (FR) agent (FCX-210) with polymers.

A pile fabric developed to meet new stringent fire regulations for upholstery on public transportation is to be revealed at Techtext

The 55^th edition of the annual Man-made Fibers Congress in Dornbirn, Austria, will take place one week later than usual and run from Tuesday to Thursday (20–22 September 2016),

A hybrid woven fabric that is highly permeable – making it suitable for use with resin-transfer moulding (RTM) processes – has been developed by Cytec Industries Inc (now Solvay Cytec Group). 

TissueGen, the developer of a bioresorbable fibre (Elute) that can deliver drugs and medicines in a controlled manner after implantation in a patient, says it has won certification to the Internati

Air freight containers are to be made more durable and fire-resistant (FR) under the terms of an agreement between two companies.

EuroFibers BV of Maastricht, The Netherlands, has signed its first distribution agreement relating to ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibres that have been coloured with a propriet

European polypropylene (PP) staple fibre supplier Beaulieu Fibres International (BFI) has extended its Meraklon range with the introduction of polyolefin bicomponent fibres that combine softness an

DSM Dyneema can now supply its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre in black, potentially opening up new applications, according to the company from Urmond, The Netherlands.

A Swedish biomaterials company says it can now genetically engineer bacteria in order to produce large quantities of the proteins found in a spider’s dragline silk and then use these to make a vari

US researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have developed electrospun fibres with viruses that function as biosensors.

Teijin Corp (Thailand) has started producing Teijinconex neo – a type of highly heat-resistant and dyeable meta-aramid fibre – at its new plant in Ayutthaya—a first for the Association of Southeast

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc, a leading developer of advanced spider silk based fibres, has announced that it, with the University of Notre Dame, has filed two additional patents to strengthen i

The Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering at ETH Zurich in Switzerland has developed a method for obtaining high-quality fibres from gelatine.