#Yarn & Fiber

2022-03-10

SABIC CEO During GPCA Leaders’ Forum: “GCC Chemical Industry Must Transform to Deliver Decarbonization and Circularity Goals”

The GCC chemical industry must refocus business and operating models to deliver on decarbonization and circularity goals and overcome fundamental structural challenges.

This was the message delivered by Yousef A. Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and CEO of SABIC, and Chairman of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), as he addressed the 2nd edition of the GPCA Leaders’ Forum in Dubai.

Held under the theme “Breaking New Ground in 2022: The regional industry in transformation”, the Forum convened regional and global chemical industry leaders to engage, discuss the latest industry trends, and forge future business partnerships.

During his remarks, Mr. Al-Benyan acknowledged the wide-ranging implications, urgency, and impact on shareholder value of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions utilizing circular carbon economy platform.

He said, “For GCC chemical companies, achieving the decarbonization objective is even more critical than for other manufacturing sectors of the economy, as the chemical industry itself is a decarbonization tool for national oil companies. We have to think about this challenge much more strategically with a laser-sharp focus.”

Mr Al-Benyan identified three priority transformation areas for the chemical industry: partnerships and collaborations; agility; and new business and operating models.

“The key question is how GCC companies can address these priorities. The answer is by focusing on talent and technology. We have to take a global approach to attract and retain top talent and, at the same time, we must create a sustainable source of competitive talent at home.”

He added, “As far as technology is concerned, we have to admit that GCC chemical companies are largely technology users. Going forward, technology will create a greater divide between technology-developers and technology-users as the resource advantage erodes.”

The event follows the inaugural GPCA Leaders Forum held last year, which saw regional leaders share their learnings from the pandemic, deliver a unified message of resilience, and re-emerge ready to face future challenges.

SABIC unveiled its Carbon Neutrality Roadmap in 2021, setting out a strategy to decarbonize its operations by 2050, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The roadmap identifies five pathways to decarbonization: Reliability, Energy Efficiency and Improvements; Renewable Energy; Electrification; Carbon Capture; and Green/Blue Hydrogen.

B.I.G. Yarns achieves EcoVadis Platinum Rating, ranking among top 1% of companies worldwide

B.I.G. Yarns, the carpet yarn brand of B.I.G. and a leading manufacturer of polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET) yarns for contract, automotive, and high-end residential applications, has been awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal, placing the company among the top 1% of more than 130.000 companies assessed globally.

Stability in volatile markets: Heimtextil 2026 launches with 3,000 exhibitors and design expertise from Patricia Urquiola

Heimtextil opens the new season with 3,000 exhibitors from 66 countries – maintaining stability while becoming even more international. The new hall layout increases visibility and connects supply and demand even more efficiently. At the opening, architect and designer Patricia Urquiola and Rosa Bertoli, Global Design Director of Wallpaper magazine, talk about AI, innovative materials and future-oriented design for modern living environments.

January 2026 marks Asahi Kasei’s restart of Bemberg production in restored sections of the Nobeoka facility

Beginning January 2026, production at the Asahi Kasei Nobeoka facility – Bemberg’s only production site – will gradually resume, marking a new chapter following the partial shutdown caused by the April 2022 incident. This progress is the result of significant investments and continuous work toreinforce safety measures, restore full operational capacity, and establish long- term stability.

MUNICH FABRIC START: Between Attitude and Sensuality

The future begins where we reimagine it. After seasons of restraint, Spring.Summer 27 marks a conscious counter-trend: optimism, sensuality, and creative freedom are replacing pragmatism and neutrality. Physical presence and individuality are regaining importance – as a response to uncertainty, exhaustion, and algorithmic predictability. The overarching theme of PLEASURE stands for fashion as an emotional space, as an expression of attitude and cultural reflection. Colours, surfaces, and materials become vehicles for self-confidence and joie de vivre.

organIQ seek: smart alternative to potassium permanganate

CHT Group announces new technical findings within its organIQ seek platform that significantly advance the transition toward permanganate-free denim bleaching. Through extensive industrial testing and application research, CHT confirms that organIQ seek can now be used with remarkable effectiveness as a substitute for potassium permanganate in spray bleach, while remaining aligned with sustainability expectations and cost realities in the European market. At the COLOMBIATEX in Medellín as well as at the Exintex in Puebla and the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam the CHT Group will present organIQ seek as an alternative to potassium permanganate.

PERFORMANCE DAYS: Focus topic shifts to the beginning of the value chain

Following the last Focus Topic in October 2025, which placed Textile-to-Textile Recycling at its core, PERFORMANCE DAYS continues to drive the conversation around circularity – this time with an expanded and more upstream perspective. The upcoming Focus Topic, “Textile to Textile: The Role of Collectors and Sorters,” presented during the spring edition on March 18–19, will spotlight one of the most essential yet often overlooked components of a functioning circular textile system: the efficient collection and sorting of post-consumer textiles.

Proven performance, optimised costs – the new RE 6 EL

Nowadays textile companies increasingly need to produce small production runs and respond to market changes with instantaneous pattern changes in order to operate profitably – meaning they require machines that offer maximum flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency. KARL MAYER understands the challenges of the market and is launching its new RE 6 EL. The Raschel machine offers the core strengths of the classic RSE 6 EL and essentially the same performance parameters, but has been further cost-optimised largely due to local production advantages. This makes the newcomer an efficiency champion in production, especially when it comes to frequent pattern changes.