#Spinning

2024-10-24

BCF yarn producer Sitong expands polyester capacities

The Chinese carpet yarn manufacturer Zhejiang Sitong New Material Technology Co., Ltd. is expanding its polyester capacities with the commissioning of an Oerlikon Neumag BCF system of the BCF S+ type. This will enable the company to ensure a balanced production of polyester, polyamide and polypropylene yarns.

The three-end BCF system BCF S+ is extremely flexible: even in the design optimized for polyester yarn production, the system produces excellent polyamide 6 yarn. © 2024 Oerlikon

Oerlikon Neumag's BCF systems are gaining ground in the Chinese market

With a total capacity of 50,000 tons per year, Sitong is one of the largest BCF yarn manufacturers in Asia. With the additional four BCF S+ positions for polyester yarn, the company from Hangzhou is responding to the trend towards polyester carpet yarns. In the future, Sitong will use them to produce balanced BCF yarns made of polyester, polyamide 6 and polypropylene. “Our strategy is a broad portfolio; this makes us more robust in the face of trends and market fluctuations,” says Tang Liang, president and owner of Sitong. The decision in favor of Neumag was based on the good experiences. “Since our foundation in 2002, we have relied on technology from Europe; for polyester production, we only consider Oerlikon Neumag plants. We have established ourselves with our quality products in both the local and international markets; this shows that we have made the right investment decisions.”

BCF S+ is flexible

The new BCF S+ Monocolor plant is designed for polyester yarn production, but it also produced excellent data during the production of polyamide 6 yarn during the commissioning process. The ability to quickly switch to the cost-effective production of high-quality PA6 yarn gives Sitong a significant competitive advantage. “Trends are becoming increasingly short-lived. However, investing in a plant is a long-term decision. So it's a strong argument if I can spin different polymers with the same system without sacrificing the quality of the end product,” Tang Liang sums up.

Carpet market in Asia is gaining in importance

The Asian carpet market is currently experiencing noticeable growth. While the focus of carpet yarn production has been in the US and Turkey so far, Chinese BCF yarn production in particular is experiencing a real boom in the post-corona years. This is due, on the one hand, to the strengthening of the Chinese automotive sector and, on the other, to the resurgence in travel. “Many hotels are currently being renovated and new ones are being built. During the pandemic, many hotels were closed, but now there is a significant backlog demand,” says Sun Peng, Sales Director at Oerlikon Neumag in China, assessing the increased demand.

Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions hosted successful Technology Day 2025 in India

Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions recently hosted its highly anticipated Innovation and Technology Day at the Deltin Hotel in Daman by end of January 2025. The event attracted over 300 participants, including industry experts, partners, and stakeholders, who gathered to explore the latest advancements and trends in the manmade fibers industry in India.

Oerlikon reports third quarter 2024 results, highlights strong execution in a challenging market landscape

In the third quarter of 2024, Oerlikon reported a stable operational Group EBITDA margin, despite challenging market conditions, thanks to a focus on pricing, cost management, and efficiency across both divisions. Group order intake saw a 4% year-over-year decline at constant FX, attributed to temporary market softness in Surface Solutions, while orders in Polymer Processing Solutions showed signs of stabilization.

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.