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| Issue date:01/10/2008 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Oct 2008 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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Increasing functionalities and durability are only part of the reasons why protective textiles are sought after among producers of high performing garments, Adrian Wilson reports
Netherlands-headquartered TenCate was notified this July that it would receive orders worth at least US$100 million over a 12-month period from the US military for its Defender M fabrics.
These have been selected as the standard fabric for flame resistant combat uniforms for the US Army and the US Marine Corps.
TenCate became one of the largest players in the market for flame retardant fabrics for professional and safety wear with the acquisition in 2004 of Southern Mills, for approximately US$36 million. This company had annual revenues of around US$100 million prior to its acquisition and brought a well established product range in protective and safety fabrics to TenCate, produced largely under its own brand names, for the US firefighting and industrial markets.
TenCate's focus in respect of product comfort has recently been on such areas as humidity regulation, air permeability and lower weight, and this has partly been the reason for its success with the armed forces in the USA.
TenCate introduced Defender M fabric last year and it has subsequently become an integral component of US military combat uniforms. Continued demand from the US Army and the US Marine Corps has outgrown the available production capacity of FR rayon and also of meta-aramid fiber, which is employed in the fabric.
TenCate’s Defender M enhances flame protection |
With the introduction of Defender M, TenCate was responding to the need for enhanced flame protection spawned by frequent attacks with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
This February, a five-year waiver of the Berry Amendment -- which rules that US military products must be made in the USA wherever possible -- was signed into law for Lenzing's FR rayon fiber, allowing the US military to continue to source garments made from Defender M fabrics.
Lenzing announced in July a capacity expansion of its Lenzing flame retardant (FR) fiber to enable TenCate to supply larger quantities of its Defender M fabric to the US military.
TenCate says that new products based on its patented technologies are being developed in close co-ordination with several branches of the US military. As an example, Defender MX stretch fabrics for combat uniforms, which offer enhanced comfort and mobility will be tested shortly in the field by combat soldiers.
TenCate points out that although the direct customers for its protective fabrics are mostly producers and distributors of industrial clothing, specifications are determined to a large extent by the end-users of the materials.
The tightening of safety requirements in work situations has led to greater demand for high-quality protection in Europe and North America, and various industries have drawn up standards for which TenCate has developed tailor-made products.
As a result of the increasing integration of TenCate's protective fabrics business, new and existing products are now being exchanged between its various geographic markets. An example of this is TecaSafe Plus electric arc and flash fire protection fabrics, developed in Europe and recently introduced to the United States.
TecaSafe Plus fabrics consist of 48% PPAN-FR modacrylic fibers, 37% viscose and 15% para-aramid fibers.
The success of this product is due to it conforming to all necessary standards for electric arc and flash fire protection yet being lightweight and comfortable. It is inherently flame resistant and the FR protection does not wash out or wear out.
TenCate's Millenia light outer shell fabrics, meanwhile, consisting of 60% DuPont Kevlar and 40% PBO, have been recently introduced into Europe after their launch in the USA.
The start-up of a new continuous wide-width bleaching machine (CBB) for textile finishing at the Nijverdal-Noord site in The Netherlands during 2006 had a positive effect on the quality, capacity, costs and delivery reliability of TenCate's products, the company reports. The CBB is currently unique in the textile industry and optimises the production process.
Microprocessors enable the machine to automatically measure and adjust all variables itself in accordance with the relevant recipe, and when required, it can vary the amount of water and chemicals, as well as the speed and pressure. The continuous open-width bleaching machine carries out the process-controlled pre-treatment of fabrics in an integrated step involving singing, scouring and bleaching.
This machine was jointly designed with the Swiss supplier Benninger and is over 80 meters in length, spread over two levels.
The CBB works with 25 automatic dosing points for chemicals, which makes accurate process-controlled operation possible.
Investment in this machine amounted to approximately 6 million euros, including alterations to buildings and the laying of the foundations and platform for it, which weighs some 90 tonnes.
French army updates protective clothing
Meanwhile, the French Army has just placed orders with protective clothing manufacturer for its V50 and VMC40 camouflage fabrics.
Both fabrics are said to combine comfort, durability and fire resistance and offer considerable improvements in standards for camouflage battledress. Kermel V50 is used for summer wear and VMC40 for winter clothing. Both fabrics have been successfully tested by the French Army and the first battalions will be equipped with Kermel camouflage battledress from late 2008.
Kermel V50 is an ideal and lasting solution for summer battledress. The softness of the fibers, combined with the absorption capacity of FR viscose, provide greater levels of comfort. These properties, together with its excellent thermal protection, ensure that this uniform is perfectly adapted to summer and mid-season conditions.
The material employed in Kermel VMC40 is ideal for use in damp conditions and in cold weather. It is also extremely soft to the touch and highly durable. This new blend provides the ideal balance of softness, humidity transfer and fire resistance.
Kermel fabrics are tested in real-life conditions. They are inherently non-flammable and remain non-flammable for the full lifecycle of the garment. Garments produced using Kermel aramid fibers benefit from excellent performance in terms of colorfastness. After repeated washes, the fatigues retain not only their camouflage protection, but also their thermal protection, even in the most extreme conditions.
Another leading specialist in protective and workwear is Lauffenmühle, based in Lauchringen, Germany, which has over 1,000 different products in its portfolio.
The French Army will be equipped with Kermel V50 and VMC40 camouflage fabrics later this year |
A significant part of the company’s workwear business involves supplies for the public authorities, including medical officers, police and firefighters as well as the military, and as such is business with very specific order and supply criteria, in addition to strict parameters in respect of performance and quality.
Orders can range in size from just 300 meters up to 30,000 meters, with an average run of around 8,000 meters.
Durability is the key to the workwear market, especially for contract clothing, according to managing director Volker Steidel.
"For instance, we have recently introduced new fabrics with Tencel fiber for moisture management, and the effect lasts for 50 industrial washing cycles," he said. "The normal way to achieve moisture management on fabrics is to add chemical finishes, but in order to withstand the 50 washes, a lot of chemicals are required, so this development leads to both considerable savings – in abolishing a finishing step and the chemicals required – as well as a more eco-friendly and effective product."
"In a hospital environment, for example, these fabrics not only move moisture away from the skin, but also help in the fight against bacteria," said Mr Steidel.
The company's main ranges are polycotton, and it has developed a special weaving method that results in more cotton against the skin for comfort, along with more polyester on the outside for performance and durability.
Lauffenmühle attaches a lot of importance to warp preparation in the construction of its protective fabrics |
At the moment there is a key demand for stretch fabrics, Mr Steidel observed, and Lauffenmühle has been very successful with its Relax product, which incorporates Dow XLA fiber for elasticity.
"We are the first company to make this functional on the market, because to work with this fiber is not easy," Mr Steidel said. "We have sold lots of bi-elastic fabrics, particularly denim, and washing at 30℃ is no longer a problem."
As a fully integrated company, Lauffenmühle spins all of its own yarn, and currently manufactures around 50 different types.
A continuous investment program has seen the company's annual capacity climb to a current level of 8.3 million tonnes of yarn, 18.7 million running meters of woven fabric and 18.6 million running meters of finished fabrics.
Improved and light fabrics protect soldiers
DuPont remains at the forefront of protective clothing, and three of its most recent introductions perfectly illustrate the diversity of its products for this field.
Kevlar XP is the latest patented DuPont technology for ballistic and trauma protection.
Independent tests show that it consistently stops bullets within the first three layers of a vest designed with a total of 11 layers. The remaining layers absorb the energy of the bullet, resulting in less trauma, or backface deformation, to the vest wearer. Based on experience, significantly more layers are typically required to stop a bullet in other commercially available lightweight technologies.
The new product will initially be available for body armour, but DuPont is already developing additional ballistic applications for the future, as well as products for other industries.
It typically provides a 15% reduction in backface deformation and at least a 10% lighter weight vest design against the most challenging National Institute of Justice (NIJ) level IIIA threat, a .44 magnum bullet. Additionally, it is said to provide excellent layer-to-layer abrasion resistance.
New Kevlar XP allows for the construction of anti-ballistic vests that are 10% lighter than those made of competing fibers |
Kevlar XP is targeted at the growing global market for ballistic protection -- a market growing at more than 10% annually.
DuPont is responding to growing global needs for increased safety and security by developing new technologies. It continues to work closely with body armour manufacturers and end-users to better understand emerging needs and to develop solutions that help to protect more lives from increasing threats.
DuPont has also committed additional resources towards meeting the growing demand for Kevlar fiber by investing US$500 million in a multi-phase Kevlar production expansion to be completed in 2010 -- the company’s fifth major investment in seven years.
A new protective garment featuring a back panel made of its ACT (Advanced Composite Technology) fabric with the front and sleeves made entirely from Tyvek fabric has also just been released to the market.
The Tyvek Dual cover-all design is intended for applications where the risk of exposure may be largely frontal, whilst areas like knees and elbows typically demand high abrasion resistance and robustness.
Applications that are physically demanding especially when combined with high ambient temperatures, can make the wearing of some protective barrier garments uncomfortable due to restricted air-flow and water vapour permeability.
According to DuPont, the Tyvek material offers both excellent barrier protection and breathability, while the ultra-high air and water vapour permeability and tactile touch of its patented ACT fabric provides increased levels of comfort.
Multiple properties achieved by composite textiles
DuPont’s Advanced Composite Technology (ACT) is a new bicomponent technology platform, which is redefining the way designers create fabrics to meet new marketplace needs or provide better solutions for existing applications. It allows the production of fabrics that tap a wide variety of polymer properties in different combinations, and help customers adjust the balance between the bicomponent layers and include various additives to create the ideal fabric solution for a specific application.
DuPont's Suprel for such products as protective gowns and drapes in the healthcare industry is an example of this. Made with polyester for strength and polyethylene for softness, Suprel delivers a high level of protection without compromising comfort.
DuPont ACT helps produce DuPont ProShield (right), a breathable, lightweight fabric that guard users from non-hazardous dry particles, balancing value and comfort for both purchasers and users |
Customers can now request from DuPont a change in filament sizes to create products with new properties such as nonwoven nano-fabrics with greater barrier, higher filtration and greater softness. In other cases, customers can use ACT to replace expensive sheet polymers, fabrics, film, paper and even wovens with a product that will work as well or better.
Potential construction innovations include sound barriers and wall insulation where multiple-layer products can be replaced by a single-layer nonwoven product.
DuPont’s Tychem BR garment, meanwhile, is certified to the US National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 1994 Class 2, 2007 edition standard. The new Tychem garment is lighter weight and less cumbersome than a traditional, fully encapsulated suit. It provides increased vapour and liquid protection, is easier and faster to change into, and is more cost-effective than traditional garments.
Tychem BR meets the NFPA’s highest level of protection within the 1994 Standard, providing first responders an increased level of protection when dealing with chemical, biological or radioactive incidents.
Tychem BR fabric has been successfully tested against more than 240 chemicals. It provides durability and tear-, puncture- and abrasion-resistance. In addition, the new NFPA 1994 Class 2 Tychem BR is specifically engineered for ease of putting on and taking off, thereby making it easier for first responders to complete their work even in the most challenging situations.
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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