#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.

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.

RETECH showcases high-precision godets for high-performance fiber processing at Techtextil 2026

RETECH designs and manufactures godets and draw frames for heated, ambient and cooled processes, enabling precise heat treatment and consistently high yarn quality for a wide range of polymers and applications, with process temperatures of up to 400 °C for high-performance fibers. The company’s key competence lies in exact and stable temperature and speed control, individually adapted to the specific material and process requirements.

Barmag presents the next generation of POY production – energy-efficient and partial-automated

With POY 2.0, Barmag is introducing a completely redesigned spinning concept that takes the production of partially oriented yarn (POY) to a new level in terms of technology and economy. The solution, which was presented to a selected audience of experts for the first time at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025, was met with great enthusiasm: several yarn producers worldwide immediately expressed their interest in a pilot plant.

Development of bio-based polyethylene fibers for textile applications – BB Engineering partici-pates in the bioPEtex research project

In the German research project bioPEtex, BB Engineering (BBE) is working with other partners to develop textiles made from 100% bio-based polyethylene (PE). The aim is to make use of this poly-mer, which has hardly been used in the chemical fiber industry to date. BBE is contributing its spinning and texturizing expertise and developing the texturing process on an industrial scale. The first promising results are already available – opening up new opportu-nities for sustainable and economically attractive applications in the textile industry.

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.

From preparation to 3D weaving: Stäubli’s solutions at Techtextil 2026

Stäubli, a global leader in high performance weaving technologies, is pleased to announce its participation at Techtextil 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany, the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. As technical textiles continue their rapid expansion across demanding markets such as defense, mobility, aerospace, construction, energy… Stäubli will showcase innovative solutions designed to empower mills to produce the next generation of advanced fabrics. Stäubli will exhibit its trend-setting technologies at the Swiss Pavilion Booth B01.6 in Hall 12.0.

Gunold showcases embroidery product range and services at Texprocess

At Texprocess 2026, GUNOLD will present numerous hands-on examples related to embroidery in Hall 8, Booth E20. The focus is on creative embroidery designs as well as the extensive product range of threads, nonwovens, and accessories for embroidery and embellishment. “Trade visitors can once again look forward to many new and creative embroidery designs. Of course, we will also showcase the matching products required to bring these ideas to life,” announces Marketing Manager Stephan Gunold.