#Spinning

2023-06-07

Renewcell X Inovafil X Saurer – the story of a sustainable fiber’s journey to ITMA

At ITMA in Milano, on the Saurer booth in Hall 2 B 101, visitors can experience what happens when three innovative companies which are all focusing on increasing sustainability in the textile value chain, meet, and decide to showcase how a new innovative sustainable fiber is turned into yarn. Renewcell’s circulose fiber, prepared by Inovafil for Saurer, is being spun simultaneously in three different spinning applications: air, rotor and on selected days also on ring.

The ITMA2023 motto “Transforming the World of Textiles” is excellently chosen, as the upcoming European Union (EU) directives as part of the EU textile vision 2030 set a framework for driving positive change and creating a more sustainable and resilient textile sector within the European Union. The textile industry will look for new sustainable solutions and new business models. New fibres, using textile waste as raw material, are being developed and brought into the markets. This is especially true for Scandinavia with its long history of paper production. This industry has fostered a deep understanding of pulp processing techniques, equipment, and technologies. The extensive knowledge in pulp processing has given the region a head start and empty paper mills have offered space where discarded textiles are given a new life.

One of the frontrunners in the new textile recycling development and the first for industrial scale up of production is Renewcell from Sweden. Founded by innovators from Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2012, the award-winning, Sweden-based sustaintech company’s vision is to make fashion circular. Through its patented process, Renewcell is able to recycle cellulosic rich textile waste, such as worn-out cotton clothes and production scraps, transforming it into a pristine new material called CIRCULOSE® which is then processed to fibres and spun into new yarn for textile production. Inovafil in Portugal is one of these spinners in the early stages of commercialization.

Inovafil Fiação, S.A. spinning mill was founded in 2011 in Portugal. The company’s CEO Rui Martins is convinced that circular textile fashion can only be achieved with collaboration in all process steps. Therefore, he set up a platform to promote partnerships for closed loop textile projects and to generate groundbreaking ideas for new textile applications. Inovafil has been a Saurer customer from early on, trusting Saurer’s Autocoro rotor spinning machine for recycled fibres.

For decades, sustainability has been an important part of Saurer's vision for the future. As the only manufacturer of spinning machinery for all five end-spinning application for staple fiber, Saurer is today already prepared for processing recycled and regenerated fibres. When Saurer launched the new air-spinning machines Autoairo for field tests, Saurer relied on Inovafil’s expertise for the continuous development, shipping one of the very first machines to Inovafl. Recognising the potential for highest processing efficiency, Inovafil was spinning viscose made with CIRCULOSE® successfully on Autoairo.

The Saurer Autocoro spinning machine at Inovafil factory © 2023 Saurer

When the team from Inovafil, Renewcell and Saurer met to share ideas, the ITMA Milano quickly was chosen as the right stage for showing the potential of the new sustainable fibre. Thanks to Renewcell’s kind support and the excellent fibre preparation of Inovafil, the visitors at ITMA can see CIRCULOSE® being spun daily on the Air- and Rotor-spinning machines, and on selected days on the ring-spinning machine as well. Renewcell has proven over and over again with its partner that the CIRCULOSE® is suited for a multitude of textile applications. Saurer is grateful for the opportunity to show the flexibility of the fiber on its spinning portfolio, recognising again what a great source of inspiration our innovative customers are.

Saurer Technologies Twisting Solutions at ICFE 2026

Saurer Technologies Twisting Solutions, a global leader in textile machinery innovation, will be present at the International Carpet and Flooring Expo ICFE 2026. Join us January 6–9 at the Istanbul Expo Center, Türkiye, as industry leaders, manufacturers, and innovators gather to explore the latest breakthroughs in carpet and flooring technology. Let’s meet at the new established global Center of the Carpet Sector in hall 3, booth 300!

Saurer’s leading technology for the yarns of tomorrow at ITMA Asia 2025

Saurer, is looking forward to presenting the latest innovation highlights at the ITMA Asia + CITME 2025 in Singapore on booth C 301 in hall 3. The spinning, twisting, and automation solutions are underlining the commitment to driving efficiency, sustain-ability, and digitalisation in the textile industry, paving the way for the yarns of tomorrow.

SAHM Winding Solutions and Vandewiele Automation present integrated automation solution for winding processes

For the first time at the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (21 - 26 April), SAHM Winding Solutions (Hallo 12.0. / Booth 95) and Vandewiele Automation will be showcasing their combined automation expertise for industrial winding processes. Under the motto “Combining Automation. Maximizing Flow”, the two companies will demonstrate how automated package handling and robot-assisted yarn knotting can be integrated into a continuous production flow.

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.

DIENES at Techtextil 2026: Flexible pilot lines for bio-based fiber development

The growing relevance of bio-based materials in technical textiles is accompanied by increasing demands for reproducibility, high-quality data, and scalable process routes. Especially when working with cellulose and its derivatives, chitosan, lignin-based approaches, or bio-based PAN as a carbon-fiber precursor, R&D teams face variable feedstock quality, tighter process windows, and the need for reliable comparability across trials. This calls for flexible, data-driven experimental setups that can be reconfigured efficiently when recipes, solvents, and raw-material batches change.

UNIFI celebrates recycled and circular Innovation with ninth annual REPREVE® Champions of Sustainability Awards

Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI), the makers of REPREVE® and one of the world’s leading innovators in recycled and synthetic yarns, today announced the winners of its ninth annual REPREVE Champions of Sustainability Awards, recognizing brands and mills that are advancing circularity and responsible manufacturing across the global textile industry.

Teijin Frontier announces new Stretch Polyester yarn offering exceptional compatibility with high-performance Polyester materials

Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. announced today that it has developed a new stretch polyester yarn that offers new opportunities to create comfortable, all- polyester fabrics for sports and outdoor wear. The new polyester yarn demonstrates exceptional compatibility with high-performance polyester materials. Further, Teijin Frontier’s proprietary polymer design and spinning technology impart excellent elasticity to the new yarn. In turn, this yarn adds stretchability and recovery to the advanced functionality and excellent texture of high-performance polyester materials.

Lenzing commissions 14 MW power‑to‑heat facility, strengthening grid stability and heat management

The Lenzing Group has successfully commissioned a new power‑to‑heat (P2H) facility with an electrical capacity of 14 megawatts. The installation converts renewable electricity directly into process heat, is fully integrated into the existing heat network at the industrial site, and represents a key building block for a fossil‑free heat supply. As project partner, VERBUND was responsible for the energy‑market integration and will operate the facility for balancing energy marketing, enabling it to respond flexibly to short‑term fluctuations in the power grid.

Kraig Biocraft reaches next step in production growth

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“the Company”, “Kraig Labs”, or “Kraig’s”), a world leader in spider silk technology*, today announced that it has produced more than 1.3 metric tons of recombinant spider silk cocoons in a single month. This is a new world record and shatters the Company’s previous production record by a factor of five. Today marks a pivotal step forward in the transition of spider silk from laboratory innovation to an industrial-scale material platform.