#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’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.

Trusted by experts and driven by innovation – Autocoro 11

Saurer's Autocoro 11 revolutionises rotor spinning with pioneering innovation and automation. This state-of-the-art, fully automated rotor spinning machine sets new industry benchmarks by significantly reducing energy consumption, maximising efficiency and ensuring unparalleled operational independence. In the Recycling Xtreme edition, the machine is capable of processing the shortest mechanically recycled fibres with an extremely high raw material efficiency. Since its launch in 2023 and first installations in 2024, customers worldwide have experienced the transformative power of the Autocoro 11. Hear directly from industry experts as they share their insights and success with this game-changing technology.

Saurer – the comprehensive solution provider at Egypt Stitch & Tex 2025

Textile professionals will find Saurer at the ATAG booth 1A6 at the Egypt Stitch & Tex 2025 exhibition in Cairo, Egypt, from 20 to 23 February 2025. As a reliable partner for spinning mills, Saurer meets the increasing demand for innovative, energy-saving and high-performance textile solutions. Saurer offers spinning preparation and all five end-spinning systems for staple yarns, as well as advanced digitalisation and automation capabilities for complete spinning mills. With its retrofit and upgrade solutions, Saurer helps customers to extend the lifetime of existing machines.

Rieter reports stable order backlog and strategic progress – outlook for 2025 adjusted

In its Investor Update 2025, Rieter announced an order intake of CHF 203.9 million in the third quarter and CHF 559.3 million after nine months, reflecting a continued cautious investment climate in the textile machinery sector. Sales totaled CHF 121.5 million in the third quarter and CHF 457.7 million for the first nine months of the year, while the order backlog stood at around CHF 590 million as of September 30, 2025.

Nike unites innovation, design and product teams to accelerate athlete-centered innovation

Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse are joining forces under a new, athlete-focused creation structure aimed at accelerating innovation and driving growth across NIKE, Inc. The new setup unites the Innovation, Design and Product teams from all three brands into a single “creation engine” that will enable greater sharing of insights, technology and manufacturing methods throughout the innovation process. This integration is part of Nike’s new Sport Offense strategy and is designed to enhance the creation of products that help athletes perform at their best.

DORNIER celebrates its anniversary at ITMA Asia + CITME

To mark its 75th anniversary, machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER will be presenting the latest developments in its rapier and air-jet weaving machines at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (Hall 2, Stand B401) from 28 to 31 October 2025. The focus will be on energy-efficient weaving technologies, new IoT solutions for networked textile production and systems for the series production of modern fibre composite components.

BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

The approval of the European Commission’s Omnibus I proposal by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, accepting controversial changes to key sustainability directives is of great concern. These changes, namely to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), threaten to significantly dilute business reporting and due diligence obligations.

Pioneering open-source framework shows how early innovation drives a just and net-zero fashion future

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, has unveiled From Signals to Systems Change, an insight report calling on the fashion industry to rethink its role in transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, a pioneering open-source framework that visualises how early-stage innovation could drive a just and net-zero textile future.