#Yarn & Fiber

2021-06-17

Indorama Ventures completes acquisition of CarbonLite’s Texas PET Recycling Facility

Indorama Ventures (IVL), a global chemicals producer, has completed its acquisition of CarbonLite Holdings’ facility in Texas as part of the company’s commitment to increasing PET recycling capacity.

Now known as Indorama Ventures Sustainable Recycling (IVSR), the Dallas site is one of the largest producers of food-grade recycled pellets (Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate or rPET) in the U.S., with a combined capacity of 92,000 tons annually. The facility will recycle more than 3 billion PET plastic beverage bottles per year and support more than 130 jobs directly. IVL is the world’s largest producer of recycled PET for beverage bottles. With this acquisition, IVL expands its U.S. recycling capacity to 10 billion beverage bottles a year, towards its global target of recycling 50 billion bottles (750,000 metric tons) annually by 2025.

Thailand-based Indorama Ventures entered the U.S. PET market in 2003. In 2019, the company acquired recycling facilities in Alabama and California, bringing a circular business model to its U.S. operations. The new acquisition in Texas allows IVL to better serve customers’ increasing need for recycled PET for beverages. America’s leading beverage companies have launched the ‘Every Bottle Back’ project to support the circular plastics economy by reinforcing the value of their fully recyclable PET bottles among consumers.

Mr. D K Agarwal, CEO of Combined PET, IOD and Fibers Business at Indorama Ventures, said, “We are excited to have completed this acquisition and welcome new employees to the Indorama Ventures family. Dallas now joins Indorama Ventures recycling sites around the globe, dedicated to giving new life to post-consumer beverage bottles. We are also pleased to support more than 130 green jobs for the Dallas community. Indorama Ventures Sustainable Recycling, as it will now be known, will complement our existing PET and fibre businesses in the US. By providing an expanded global recycling presence, we will meet the growing needs of our customers.”

Mr. Yashovardhan Lohia, Chief Sustainability Officer at Indorama Ventures, said, “Plastic waste has no place in our environment. By recycling 10 billion beverage bottles in the U.S, we are diverting waste away from the environment and back into the economy. The unique PET plastic used in beverage bottles is fully recyclable. Consumers want sustainable packaging and global brands are using more and more recycled content in their bottles. This recycling facility supports customer needs and consumer wants. We are delivering the infrastructure America needs to close the loop, enhancing our approach to sustainability with the Deja™ brand platform to build a circular economy for PET plastic beverage bottles”.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Expansive innovations converge in Shanghai as Yarn Expo Autumn 2026 opens doors next week

With just days to go, industry enthusiasm is building for the opening of Yarn Expo Autumn, Asia’s premier yarn and fibre trade fair, running from 25 – 27 August at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Across 27,000 sqm in Hall 8.2, buyers will find nearly 600 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, spread across seven specialised zones that range from cutting-edge man-made and regenerated fibres to time-honoured cashmere and silk. Beyond the extensive sourcing options, a fringe programme of trend showcases, presentations and product launches rounds out the three¬day event with design, innovation and market intelligence.

Dornbirn GFC 2026 expands conference program with new thematic sessions

For 65 years, Dornbirn GFC has stood for innovation and is one of the world’s leading conferences in the fiber industry. From September 16 to 18, 2026, the international fiber community will meet in Dornbirn, Austria, to discuss current trends, technological developments, and forward-looking solutions. More than 600 experts from industry and academia from over 30 countries are expected to attend. With around 100 presentations by renowned speakers, a 2,5-day conference program, and three parallel presentation rooms with moderated sessions, Dornbirn GFC provides a first-class platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and international collaboration. Together, participants will generate ideas and impulses that will sustainably shape the future of the global fiber industry.

Heberlein reinforces its commitment to the Chinese market

Heberlein, globally recognised as a leading provider of air interlacing and air texturing jets for synthetic filament yarns, is consolidating its success in the Chinese market with its APh- and APe-series for DTY applications. Particularly in the field of Air Covering, Heberlein technologies combine excellent quality with significant savings in compressed-air consumption. A new service hub in Shengze City underlines the company’s long-term commitment in the Chinese market.

RE&UP’s Next-Gen Cotton fibers power Zalando private label t-shirt collection crafted from innovative recycled textiles

RE&UP Recycling Technologies’ Next-Gen Cotton powers a new collection from Zalando’s private labels, marking a step forward in bringing textile-to-textile recycled fibers into commercial fashion production. Launching on Zalando in August, the collection comprises five t-shirts across YOURTURN by Zalando and Even&Odd by Zalando, made from a circular-knit fabric blending 80% organic cotton with 20% RE&UP Next-Gen Cotton — textile-to-textile recycled fiber produced from textile waste. This is the first time RE&UP's recycled fibers feature in Zalando's private label assortment.

Heimtextil Trends 27/28: ‘Home-Maxxing’ between performance and respite

Sleep better, recover faster, live more efficiently: the desire for optimisation has long since reached our homes. Under the title ‘Home-Maxxing – The Performance of Everyday Living’, Heimtextil Trends 27/28 show how our relationship with efficiency-driven thinking and technology is influencing the design of spaces and textiles. The more sleep, wellness, routines, materials and spaces are optimised, the stronger the desire for a home that does not demand even more of us.