Interview with Mr Hartmann Huth

Man-made fibres have the advantage that they can be designed according to their purpose, without having to apply chemical treatments to the yarns or fabrics at later stages. Examples for this include inherently flame retardant polyester products, hybrid fibres and yarns with low melt components, which permit the thermal stiffening of textiles. Fibres made from biopolymers like PLA reflect a growing interest in manufacturers, including in the hygiene sector. This is due to increasing global consumer demand for sustainable products made from renewable resources.

Bicomponent fibres consist of two components, i.e. two different types of polyester or a polyester/polyethylene system. These components are spun together into filaments or fibres, either in a core/sheath or side-by-side alignment. The fibres or filaments are used mainly for thermal bonding of nonwoven materials, i.e. for hygiene products, but also for filtration, insulation and other specialised applications.

The automotive segment remains a strategic core business of Trevira. We expect a globalised business in the future here, since there is a rising demand for automotive interiors outside Europe. As far as the technical aspects are concerned, we see a trend towards reduced weights. Less weight means lower fuel consumption – here again we have an environmental issue. However, the lower weights have to be achieved with the same coverage and elasticity, as well as increased demands regarding the look of the materials. This includes, for example, spun-dyed yarn qualities. We can say that the demands of the OEMs result in increasingly ambitious yarn developments. Over the past years, we have increased our range of “inherently coloured” yarns significantly, and we shall extend this portfolio further.

In principle our fibres from PLA (Ingeo) are manufactured in the same way as “normal” polyester fibres: PLA is counted among the family of polyesters. Of the plant biopolymers, PLA - polylactide - presents the greatest opportunities in technical terms, since it combines good functions with good degradation properties. In order to conserve foodstuff resources, the intention is to manufacture PLA from biomass in future. Our PLA fibres go into a variety of customised technical end-uses, including hygiene applications. They are suitable for every conceivable end use in the nonwovens field. This applies in particular when they are combined with other biologically degradable materials, so that the entire product can be disposed of biologically at the end of its useful life.

There is a rising demand for safety textiles in the contract sector worldwide, especially in the emerging markets in Asia, but also in boom regions like Middle East. New hotels, hospitals and public buildings are being erected all over the world, and existing ones have to be refurbished. Rising safety requirements, as well as new trends in interior design, open up opportunities for suppliers of flame retardant textiles. Together with our customers, we are intensifying our global activities. For example, we have linked European suppliers of Trevira CS textiles with interior designers and architects in Shanghai and also organised a matchmaking event, where European weavers could meet US fabric dealers in New York. Our customers are mainly based in Europe, but they are globally active. By connecting the players along the value chain with our European base of manufacturers and suppliers, we enhance Trevira CS business worldwide. Of course, we also profit from the global set-up of our owner Indorama Ventures.

We see two driving forces here: technical progress and the global megatrend of sustainability. New products require new materials. For example: the new energy storage technologies need new battery separators – these are also made with the use of polyester fibres. Trevira fibres and filaments are also used in composites and multi-axial reinforcements. A substantial part of our business in the technical applications market is made with customised solutions jointly developed for customers.

Prosperity in India is rising and the country is on its way to shed the 'emerging nation' tag. The global megatrends are valid for India as well, combined with rising demands in terms of quality and hygiene standards and new consumer goods. We think the focus will be on hygiene and automotive products, as well as on technologies to support new energy concepts and water treatment (such as filtration).

First of all: the demand for these products definitely exists in emerging markets. However, the level of disposable income in emerging countries has not reached a sufficient level yet. Therefore the volume of the market is still limited. Another bottleneck is that the value chain still needs to be fully established – here the necessary innovative suitable partners in the downstream levels are often not available yet. Today’s sophisticated technical applications generally need very specialised products in medium or small quantities. This is a challenge for manufacturers of big volumes. Trevira as a medium-sized specialty manufacturer has the expertise to offer the customised products these industries need.

In filaments the trend is towards more spun-dyed products and further specialised developments for Trevira CS textiles. In our fibres business we see a growing tendency towards joint developments with partners and customers. This means special projects predominantly under NDAs for many non-textile applications and customised solutions. Our focus in developing the products of the future is mainly on these categories: - Sustainable, lightweight composite materials that support energy saving - Renewable, biodegradable raw material for hygiene products and special applications - Multi-component fibres and yarns for functional textiles with inherent functions for innovative interiors.

Man-made fibres from Trevira can offer solutions that are unattainable with natural fibres alone. 40% of global provision with textiles is covered by products made from only 0.8 % of the total consumption of crude oil – man-made fibres are manufactured from this quantity. These can be recycled. The current focus here is still on recycling PET bottles, but there are projects running on reprocessing used textiles and returning them into the circulation of resources. We are currently establishing a post-consumer recycling concept for Trevira CS textiles. In an assessment of all processes from the oil well to the loading ramp, Trevira fibres clearly come out better than cotton in 8 out of 11 categories. For example, the production of 1 kg of staple fibres takes up only 15 litres of water during the whole supply chain, and here the lion’s share goes on the production of raw materials (extracting and processing oil). According to the study, the same amount of cotton fibres requires up to 7.442 litres, depending on the area of cultivation. We do a lot to reduce the environmental impact of our production even further. We observe high standards in the treatment of waste, water, effluents and air. We recover resources as far as possible and have decreased our use of chemical binders in bico fibres production. We have set ambitious goals for energy saving. On top of the certificates for quality and environmental management, we have received in 2012 also the certificate for energy management according to ISO 50001). In our product development, the ecological focus is on inherent functions instead of surface treatment (like spun-dyed and inherently flame retardant), and on increasing the business with fibres made from biopolymers, which we launched in 2010.