For the fourth time since 1959, ITMA Europe returned to Milan. The proud city in northern Italy, its residents and, above all, the well in excess of 1,600 international exhibitors gave their all to ensure that the trade fair held during November 12 and 19, 2015, covering more than 100,000 m², fulfilled the expectation of each and every trade visitor.
The Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group was well represented at ITMA, with its two Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag competence brands. “In a market that is proving to be increasingly difficult, we set new trends with our innovations and once again changed the markets”, said Mr. André Wissenberg, Head of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.
Here, Oerlikon latched onto the successful product developments of the past few years. In addition to unveiling the strategic expansion within the polycondensation business by means of the joint venture with the Chinese partner Huitong, the segment above all focused on offering its customers total manmade fiber spinning systems solutions. “‘From Melt to Yarn, Fibers and Nonwovens’ is our maxim”, said Wissenberg. “Currently, we are the world’s only manufacturer that has the knowhow and the capacities to offer complex manmade fiber spinning systems for polyester, nylon and polypropylene from a single source”.
Something that all visitors to the 650-m² trade fair stand were able to convince themselves of.
The Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment showcased diverse new technologies: Especially the new members of the successful Oerlikon Barmag WINGS (Winding INtegrated Godet Solution) family: WINGS FDY PLUS (for fully drawn yarn) that provided highest yarn quality, a larger operation window and higher packages weights, and the new WINGS POY XS-Series (for partially oriented yarn) that offers various types for the modernization and upgrade of conventional spinning plants.
Furthermore, the Segment presented the new WinTape (for tapes and monofilaments) and new eco-friendly dope-dyeing solutions, as well as a new version of the Plant Operation Center (POC) – a complete software solution that manages the entire spinning and texturing production process, fully in line with Industrie 4.0.
Oerlikon Neumag concentrated on its BCF, staple fiber and nonwovens core competencies and presented all interested visitors with the latest product developments by means of its virtual reality technology in the 3D showrooms. In all cases, the focus was on further new product developments and optimizations in line with the Oerlikon e-save philosophy, which promotes the manufacture of products oriented on sustainability.
In addition to the actual eight-day exhibition, the trade fair once again offered an attractive accompanying program, with active Oerlikon involvement.
After the ITMA Barcelona 2011, Oerlikon once again sponsored the World Textile Summit in Milan with interesting speakers. In line with the key themes of ITMA 2015, the Summit program was developed to explore a series of topics that linked decisions on sustainability to profitability and corporate success.
On November 16, EDANA and ITMA 2015 organizer MP Expositions jointly hosted a Nonwovens Forum. The program featured topics relating to global industry trends, opportunities and challenges, as well as production technologies and management.
Oerlikon Neumag explained about its innovations in ‘Spunbond Lines for Technical Applications’.
Martin Rademacher, Sales Manager, and Dr. Ingo Maehlmann, Senior Manager Product Management Nonwoven, talked on the polymer and technology trends as well as growth expectations for technical applications. They presented their case study: “bitumen roofing substrate and geotextiles meeting market requirements”.