#Dyeing, Drying, Finishing

2025-02-27

SL Smart Weft-Straightener success at Harris Tweed Hebrides, UK

High quality fabric is essential for any finisher who wants to ensure consistent quality and resource efficiency. A particularly important quality criterion is straight weft and straight course fabric. The Scottish tweed manufacturer Harris Tweed Hebrides finishes 100% woolen, handwoven cloth and stands as a world class leader in British luxury cloth with an extensive, high quality product range. The company was looking for a weft-straightening system which, in contrast to the previously used pinwheel system, could not damage the wool.

SuccessStory at Harris Tweed Hebrides, UK © 2025 PLEVA

They finish 100% woollen, handwoven cloth with fabric weights from 260 to 353 g/m² and fabric widths from 750mm up to 1500mm. Each individual tweed is approximately 50m in length.

Precise weft correction without pin wheels for high-quality, straightened fabrics

The customer's aim and requirement is a precise correction of the weft without usage of pin wheels to produce high quality, straightened fabrics without distortion as well as automatic adaptation on a wide range of weaves and the variations that occur with handwoven fabrics, while maintaining easy, intuitive operation.

Pleva's SL smart weft-straightener: advanced technology for precise and efficient fabric straightening

Fitted to these needs the well-known German manufacturer PLEVA gives with the automatic weft-straightener SL smart including the unique high-tech traversing camera technology the optimum solution and offers the finisher several advantages.

The user-friendly, self-explanatory interface displays all important information at one glance. This enables to work with maximum efficiency and to react to the complex portfolio with the integrated recipe management for sophisticated straightening. The well-established advanced traversing camera with many measuring points across the fabric width ensures the most accurate straightening. In combination with the fast reaction time of the rollers, it allows best straightening results. Furtheron the machine design is fitted to even the harshest working conditions and optimized for easy cleaning and low maintenance.

PLEVA SL smart weft-straightener © 2025 PLEVA

Harris Tweed Hebrides praises SL smart weft-straightener for precision and efficiency

David Stewart, Harris Tweed Hebrides Ltd is very satisfied and states: „The SL smart weft-straightener performs very well with our product. The traversing camera is exceptionally accurate and automatically adapts to a wide range of weaves. The system of skew and bow rollers allow precise alteration of the weft without the possibility of damage to the fabric. It requires very little input from the operator and minimal maintenance, resulting in increased productive times. The addition of the touch screen control panel allows the operator to view the current weft position in real-time, ensuring that the fabric is within the accepted parameters. Excellent support from PLEVA team.”

Besides those advantages, also a positive ecological impact is achieved: Due to the first-time-right-principle, only one round through the production line with the fabric is needed to produce directly the aimed result. This saves energy and valuable resources. In addition, due to the higher quality of the goods, there are no more costly readjustments or wasted fabrics and complaints can be reduced drastically. This is not only good for textile finishing companies and customers, but also for the environment.

Learn more about sustainability with PLEVA Sensors and Controls on www.pleva.org

Smart sensors, smart savings - Reducing energy and cost in textile finishing

As energy prices, sustainability requirements and quality expectations continue to rise, manufacturers of technical textiles face increasing pressure to optimize efficiency while ensuring process reliability. At the same time, skilled labor shortages require production systems that are intuitive, automated and easy to manage. PLEVA addresses these challenges with robust, maintenance-friendly sensor technologies combined with intelligent process control.

Smart automation to fix gaps of skilled staff

Advanced technology for high quality and efficiency at textile finishing - ITMA Asia 2025, Singapore As customer expectations rise and skilled labor becomes increasingly scarce, smart sensor technology and automated control systems have become essential in modern textile finishing. PLEVA meets these challenges with its renowned, robust and reliable sensors, specifically designed for the demanding conditions of textile production.

Generation change at Pleva: Kathrin and Stephan Pleva join the Management Team

PLEVA GmbH, a leading manufacturer of sensors, measurement and control technology for various industries, announces that Kathrin Pleva and Stephan Pleva have been appointed as Managing Directors of the family-owned company. Together with their father, Dr. Ralf Pleva, they will shape the future of the company.

BW Converting expands Southeast Asian presence with new agency partnerships in Vietnam and Indonesia

BW Converting is strengthening its presence in Southeast Asia through new agency partnerships in Vietnam and Indonesia, reinforcing the company’s commitment to supporting textile manufacturers across the region. The expansion comes as BW Converting prepares to exhibit at SaigonTex 2026 (April 8–11, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) and INDO INTERTEX 2026 (April 15–18, Jakarta International Expo, Indonesia).

Commission presents proposal for EU Inc. - unlocking the full potential of the Single Market for Europe's entrepreneurs

Today, the European Commission presented its proposal for EU Inc., a new single set of corporate rules, building the cornerstone and starting point for the EU's 28th regime. EU Inc. is an optional, digital-by-default European corporate framework. It will make it easier for businesses to start, operate and grow across the EU – incentivising them to stay in Europe, and encourage those who once looked elsewhere to return.

OnceMore® from Södra brings end-to-end traceability for circular Man-made Cellulosic Fibers (MMCF) using TextileGenesis

OnceMore® from Södra, the world’s first large-scale process for recycling blended fabrics into high‐quality dissolving pulp, will begin using TextileGenesis, a Lectra company, to strengthen traceability from raw material to retail across the value chain. OnceMore® produces dissolving pulp made from blended textile waste and wood sourced from responsibly managed Swedish forests. By integrating TextileGenesis, OnceMore® supports the growing need for verified data and secure, transparent tracking throughout increasingly complex supply chain.

Experts publish APAC policy priorities

Cascale today announced the publication of its APAC Policy Priorities Paper, developed by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Policy Member Expert Team (MET) to identify key regional sustainability challenges and provide practical, aligned recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders across Asia-Pacific.

Temco launches a new DTY all-in-one solution

Temco introduces the DTY All-in-One Solution – a fully harmonized set of components engineered to give customers a highly stable, low maintenance and reproducible process environment. The solution reduces interruptions, extends component lifetimes and supports consistent yarn quality across all machine positions. All-in-One Solution – a fully harmonized set of components engineered to provide maintenance and reproducible process environment.