Features

In the first months of 2018, plastics have continued to make plenty of unwanted headlines, with synthetic textiles entangled in an ongoing debate about sustainable manufacturing and single-use disposable products. Inevitably, this raises fears in the industry of wide-ranging legislation that will ban such products, fears that are already becoming reality in the UK, as Adrian Wilson reports.

The world is changing at a rapid pace, driven in major part by advancements in technology. The high-performance composites industry is no different and, as James Bakewell reports, at the 2018 edition of JEC World held in Paris, France, on 6–8 March, several key trends became apparent.

Experience in the highly demanding newspaper print industry has given Baldwin Technology its expertise in hydraulic spray technology. Now the company aims to introduce the technology to solve many of the problems faced by textile finishers.

Three US companies aiming to make smart fabric products a reality reveal to John McCurry the reasons that their sector has yet to exploit its full potential despite the continued interest shown by consumers and apparel manufacturers.

Mass customization, direct-to-consumer sales models, drastically reduced delivery times and the strong influence of social media on buying decisions are all contributing to the continued rise of digital textile printing, according to Adrian Wilson.

In their attempts to conquer space travel, today’s private companies backed by entrepreneurs have a rich legacy of development work from the USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to draw on, writes Adrian Wilson

The fifteenth edition of Techtextil North America (TTNA) will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on 22–24 May 2018. Co-located with Texprocess Americas, also organized by Messe Frankfurt Inc of Atlanta, the combined shows offer a comprehensive overview of the performance textiles industry in the region, from the beginning to the end of the supply chain, and have become an important date in the calendar. To help our readers find what they want in the expansive halls of the Georgia World Congress Center, Composites Editor James Bakewell has compiled this preview of the shows

Founded in 1880, Bekaert of Zwevegem, Belgium, has grown to become a worldwide company with around 30 000 employees specializing in steel wire and coating technologies. For more than 40 years, an important part of this activity has been in developing, making and supplying metal/metal alloy fibres, textiles and semi-finished products, reports Nick Butler.

Few can afford to ignore the draw of the large and fast-growing market in China, but many are still worried about trading there owing to the unique challenges this poses. Jason Teng believes reassurance is to be found in first understanding how to use the local legal framework for intellectual property rights to protect the would-be trader’s innovations.

On 6–8 March 2018, Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre in Paris, France, will host the annual exhibition JEC World. Much like the sector it represents, the composites industry's flagship event appears to be going from strength to strength, reports James Bakewell.