Messe Frankfurt France is launching Avantex, a trade fair dedicated to high-tech fabrics for fashion and to research in that field, highlighting intelligent, connected fabrics, materials which combine nanotechnology and cosmetics, and surprising finishes and coatings

Teijin Frontier Co Ltd, the Teijin Group´s fibre-product converting company, announced that it has developed an all-new, highly comfortable and functional polyester material that achieves the pile structure of toweling.

Rising labour costs, among other reasons, have driven Chinese manufacturers to set up operations in Southeast Asian countries. A study by ANZ Bank economists suggest that Southeast Asia would take over from China to become the ´world´s factory´ in the next 10-15 years, citing its youthful workforce and strategic location as catalysts for this shift.

Founded in 1835 as a family business, Bräcker AG soon developed into a specialist for key products in the textile industry. Bräcker as technology leader with its own structures in development, production and marketing, supplies: top performance ring/traveller systems for ring spinning machines, inserting tools, cleaning devices, spinning tubes, cots & aprons, and maintenance machines.

Severe competition on global level and lack of initiatives and direction on the domestic front have made a dent in India´s textile exports with a dip in figures for FY 2014-15, diminishing the scope of achieving the cherished goals. S Joseph & M Karthik take an overall look at the scene.

The fabrics displayed by Birla Cellulose at National Garment Fair had a high tinge of innovation in line with consumer trends forecasted by international design consultants.

Electrospun viruses may be biosensors of the future. University of California-Riverside researchers Elaine Haberer and Nosang Myung have given new twist to the electrospinning technique. Recent developments in this technology help in developing smoother, uniform fibers at faster and cheaper rates. Electrospun webs can serve as efficient cavities for an optical phenomenon known as, ´whispering gallery.

The Cotton Association of India fears that India may be piling up huge inventory of cotton just like China, if the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) does not take measures to offload its stock swiftly. Maintaining the cotton output at the last estimated level of 38.27 million bales (a bale is 170 kg), Dhiren N Sheth, President, CAI, says the Corporation had procured about 8.7 million bales from farmers as part of the Government’s minimum support price commitment.

This is SKF’s third Solution Factory in India, after the main facility in west, in Pune and the satellite unit in north, in Manesar.