01/07
Current textile machinery trends at ITMA 2007
Thanks to the improved market situation, the textile and clothing industry is again investing more strongly in replacing equipment, modernisation and new machines. The international textile engineering industry will present its latest developments and consequently solutions for industry-relevant topics at ITMA 2007. Important investment criteria are above all higher productivity, e.g., via automation, increased flexibility, improved textile quality as well as saving of energy and water.

In ring spinning, compact spinning (all the way to fancy-twist yarns and elastic core yarns) has become established worldwide and should already reach the three-million spindle mark in 2007. In rotor spinning, targeted improvements result in reducing energy costs by up to 10 percent, as new developments at ITMA will show.

Investments in the weaving sector are shifting to air-jet weaving in Asia, especially in China, because pure synthetic yarn weaving is becoming less significant on the market. Braiding, stitch-bonding as well as the manufacture of knitted fabrics and composite materials are becoming increasing interesting on the market with the global increase in the significance of technical textiles. The expanding nonwovens material industry is also pushing further into the woven fabric markets (for example, filters or geotextiles).

In nonwovens manufacturing, interest is shifting increasingly from low-revenue mass products to specialties (including for technical applications), whereby more composite systems are being used. Weight minimisation is gaining considerably in importance due to higher fibre prices; recycling is also becoming more important. Numerous highlights will also be shown for the development focal points of performance, fibre throughput, fibre mixture, nonwovens homogeneity and process integration in Munich in the nonwovens area, which will be approximately 50 percent larger compared to ITMA 2003.

The energy costs in textile washing, bleaching, dyeing, printing, drying and finishing, which already compose up to 10 percent of the total costs, are a topic very much in the minds of many and to which mechanical engineers are reacting with new machines and process controls to save energy. Textile mechanical engineers are working closely with manufacturers of dyes and chemicals to use water and textile auxiliary materials more effectively. The inkjet process promises further developments in textile prints. The new REACH law for dyeworks and equipment in Europe – an EU draft law for reforming chemical policy in the areas of registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals – will result in substantial changes in dye formulas and process engineering. With the increasing influence of textile chemicals in the washing, bleaching, dyeing, printing, drying and finishing processes, exhibitions of these products at ITMA have become especially interesting.

In general, energy supply, air-conditioning technology, sewage treatment, transport and logistics, and material recycling is receiving increased attention in the complete textile pipeline, because increased cost-savings potential is seen there. As a result, more exhibitor and visitor interest can be expected for this area in Munich than was the case at previous ITMA events.

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