Over the past 12 months, extensive trials have been conducted, and tons of data has been collected and used to upgrade the level of accuracy in polypropylene detection. The data was used for optimization in signal processing and to offer an additional setting function specifically for spinning mills that must contend with pronounced climatic fluctuations.

Polypropylene clearing

Contamination of cotton with synthetic fibers remains a significant concern for spinning mills. Polypropylene contamination, typically stemming from bale packaging, can lead to a myriad of issues throughout the production process. These include broken needles in knitting applications, thread breakage during weaving, and visible defects in the final product after dyeing. Effective contamination clearing substantially enhances yarn quality, while overly stringent measures can negatively impact production efficiency and increase waste.

For spinners, clever P-clearing balances the need for quality yarn with the imperative to maintain operational efficiency. Loepfe’s approach combines advanced technology, precise signal processing, and tailored settings to address various production scenarios, now enhanced to account specifically for humidity fluctuations.

New climate compensation

In response to the unique demands of spinning mills operating in environments with significant humidity variations, PRISMA now features an innovative climate compensation setting. Extensive testing of this new functionality at affected spinning mills has demonstrated several benefits, including:

• Enhanced overall classification accuracy
• Improved clearing performance
• Consistent cut rates coupled with superior final fabric quality
• Same cuts and better clearing performance

The new function makes it easy to counteract the changing climate in a spinning mill. The system then takes into account the increasing humidity and calculates an average value between the standard deviation and the peak values.

By providing this enhanced climate compensation setting, Loepfe empowers spinning mills to sustain peak performance and exceptional quality, even when confronted with challenging environmental conditions.

P-Clearing Matrix

The P-Matrix allows operators to input specific parameters, starting with a pre-generated clearing curve by the Autostart function that considers the most crucial factors for optimal and efficient clearing results. By easily adjusting the settings – raising or lowering the clearing curve – operators can tailor outcomes to meet their individual production needs.

The key influences on polypropylene clearing include:

• Raw material (fiber length and short fiber content)
• Yarn count
• Twist amount in the yarn
• Yarn hairiness
• Humidity (impact on hairiness)

How to set P climate compensation

Go to Default Group Settings and set Climate Compensation to 50%. Select the checkbox Adjustable in Group to show it in Group Settings optional. This 50% will be applied to all the groups by default. The service key is required to access the Default Group Settings.

The Climate Compensation value may be influenced by the yarn count and cotton variety. It is recommended to start with a value of 50% as various trials show that the best result can be achieved between 35% and 75%.

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Anniversary

Sports and knitwear specialist Löffler is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023 and its long-held belief in retaining manufacturing in Austria by investing both in its people and the latest advanced technologies at its plant in Ried is now paying dividends.

The plant houses 25 circular knitting machines and three seamless knitting machines with an annual output of around 905,000 square metres of fabric, and in addition to product development, design, cutting and some sewing are all carried out in-house.

“Löffler is part of the family company Fischer Holding, and Ried is the hometown of its owner Josef Fischer, who has been dedicated to maintaining manufacturing here,” says Löffler Plant Manager Arnold Bowier. “While many competitors have outsourced their production to the Far East in recent decades, we chose a different path. In addition to increasing sales, this strategy has reinforced the cohesion of our employees and also our relationships with key partners.

“Due to steadily increasing sales we have been forced to find local partners within Europe, but our core activities and 70% of all fabrics produced come from the Ried plant. Now we are seeing many competing companies reconsidering where they site their main manufacturing operations.”

Function in every fibre

Löffler is well known for its transtex under garments, which ushered in the two-layer principle of structures combining hydrophobic polypropylene and other fibres like cotton, Modal, Tencel or merino wool.

Before transtex, endurance athletes usually wore pure cotton underwear next to their skin, which became wet over time and cooled the body down. Löffler’s two-layer fabric prevented this, since the polypropylene does not absorb moisture and instead wicks it to the outside, where it can evaporate to keep the skin dry.

Innovation has been ongoing ever since, and in December, Löffler received an ISPO Award 2022 for transtex Retr’x – its latest functional underwear made from recycled polypropylene from textile waste and a combination of recycled and GOTS-certified organic cotton. Transtex Retr’x is neither dyed or bleached and is Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex as well as Made In Green by Oeko-Tex approved.

In addition to its own branded products, the plant makes sports garments for sister company Fischer, which is also based in Ried, and is at the same time involved in significant government tender projects, including the supply of polo shirts for the Austrian Red Cross and for the German and Austrian police forces. Combined, Löffler and Fischer employ approximately 700 people in the region of Upper Austria.

Advanced automation for increased efficiency

Bowier and his team built up a strong relationship with Svegea’s technicians during the installation and commissioning of the new machines.

“The machines were delivered directly from Sweden and prepared and adjusted perfectly,” Bowier says. “Because Covid-19 restrictions were still in place during the commissioning phase of the roll slitter, installation training was carried out remotely, with Svegea’s Technical Engineer Erik Bernhardsson guiding us through the process with patience and good humour and providing lots of hints and tips for handling the machine.”

Svegea’s EC 300-S collarette cutter is equipped with the computer-controlled True-Drive II and high pre-feed device and is used by garment manufacturers around the world for the production of tubular apparel components such as cuff and neck tapes and other seam reinforcements. It operates at speeds of up to 20,000 metres per hour. The integrated, fully automatic FA350 roll slitter FA500 roll slitter is equipped with three separately adjustable settings enabling three different band widths to be cut within the same cutting cycle. Automatic tube sewing units are provided for sewn tubes in optional rolled or flat folded forms, depending on customer preference. “Advances in automation continue to make the specialised, bespoke machines we engineer more efficient,” says Svegea Managing Director Håkan Steene. “The garment components our collarette cutters produce make it logical for them to be integrated into a company’s making-up operations and at the moment we’re seeing a lot of interest in the reshoring of operations by our customers, to bring final-stage manufacturing closer to the key European or US markets. Löffler, however, has for many years bucked the trend and retained its manufacturing in Austria.”

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As part of their ongoing commitment to customer-centricity, Loepfe Brothers Ltd. have announced their expansion into China, India and Turkey. The strategic integration of key service partners creates dedicated business units that can provide a local service to customers, while drawing on the international support within the Vandewiele Group.

Decades spent as trusted service partners ensures continuity and stability for clients during the integration period, with experienced and knowledgeable staff continuing to provide customer service and technical support. Further, clients will have the opportunity to impact the company’s future product portfolio more directly. Direct feedback will lead to clients being a key part of solution testing and development, and to products being more closely aligned to their needs.

These strategic moves have been undertaken as part of Loepfe’s long-term goal to provide more direct operational and strategic support to customers in the key markets, Turkey, India and China. The Loepfe business units remain independent within the Vandewiele structure.

Jürg Schneider, Head of Sales & Service at Loepfe Brothers Ltd., said: “By being much closer to our customers, we’re able to offer even more effective local installation, training and troubleshooting services. We want to thank our integrated service partners, who have successfully served our customers in key markets for years, for the smooth integration process. Every member of staff will continue to play an integral part in this transition, ensuring stability for our customers.”

Dr. Ralph Mennicke, CEO of Loepfe Brothers Ltd., states: “This strategic move reinforces our commitment to the three markets, Turkey, India and China. Our teams on the ground will provide product updates, upgrades and trainings, while collecting invaluable customer feedback. We warmly welcome each individual within our new business units to the Loepfe family. Their expertise and local insight are key to the success of Loepfe and play an essential part in our ongoing transformation.”

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Both companies have a long track record of supporting spinning industry customers with latest technology to improve their performance and profitability. Today, this new collaboration brings Loepfe’s YarnMaster Prisma and YarnMaster Zenit+ yarn clearers together with Loptex Exa and Centra sorters for a complete solution supplied by Loepfe.

This integrated offering combines the advantages of eliminating contamination at the opening stages of production with additional refinement of the yarn further down the line at the winding stage. The net result for spinning mills is production of the highest quality yarns while generating less waste, greater machine efficiency and less energy consumption.

Loptex CEO Renato Gerletti commented: “We welcome this collaboration which harnesses the strengths of both the Loptex and Loepfe products for our customers. There are many synergies between the approaches of our two companies, not least of these being our dedication to using leading edge technology to deliver great results for spinning mills everywhere.”

Loepfe CEO Dr. Ralph Mennicke added: “We are looking forward to working with the Loptex team. Next to our in-house R&D commitments, this is a complementary partnership that puts customer needs first and will deliver a vital combination of top quality and greater productivity to textile mills. As the industry emerges from one of the most difficult trading periods in living memory, we continue to be committed to rolling out new and innovative solutions over the

months and years to come.”

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The WeftMaster brand carries with it a long heritage of international success and reputation for Swiss engineering quality. The WeftMaster SFB weft thread brake has now been upgraded with new electronics to control up to four brakes.

Designed for fitting to projectile and rapier looms, the WeftMaster SFB controls the tension for all yarn types, thus minimizing weft thread breaks. Braking start is optimized through precise projectile detection allowing increased loom speeds and promoting higher output. The WeftMaster SFB brakes also feature reduced yarn abrasion and higher wear resistance.

Loepfe CEO Dr. Ralph Mennicke added: “Despite the continuing Covid-19 crisis, a few months ago we announced our intent to transform the company and bring new products to the market. While our transformation is already well-advanced, many congratulations to the whole Loepfe team for their excellent work to facilitate the launch of the new WeftMaster SFB product today. We are all very excited about this and other upcoming product launches. Our customers can soon expect more new best-in-class products to support them as economic recovery gets underway.”Loepfe’s Head of Products & Solutions Guido Wieland commented: “Today, it’s all about productivity and maximizing return on investment. The WeftMaster SFB helps our customers in the technical textile business to increase production while, effectively, prolonging the life of their original equipment. We know there are still many owners of mechanically-braked weaving looms out there, so would urge them to contact us – there’s never been a better time to adopt a well-proven and reliable electronically-controlled solution!”

The post New Loepfe Product Boosts Weaving Productivity appeared first on Textile Focus.

The Loepfe Board of Directors appointed Ralph Mennicke as CEO to lead the company and its subsidiaries. Loepfe is the worldwide leading manufacturer and solution partner for online quality assurance systems in the textile sector. Machine manufacturers as well as spinning mills and weaving mills around the globe use and rely on Loepfe technology from Switzerland.

Ralph Mennicke is a Graduate of the Technical University of Munich, University of York, Mannheim, and ESSEC Business Schools. He holds an MSc and PhD in Physics and an Executive MBA. Previously, Ralph Mennicke has held positions as CEO, Deputy CEO, General Manager and Product Manager, as well as interim Head of Technology, Product Management and Marketing.

Since completing his PhD, Ralph Mennicke has contributed to technology, product and market expansion and acquisitions, as well as providing inspired and effective leadership during times of crisis in his previous company. In his quest to set industry benchmarks and deliver quality improvement for customers, Ralph Mennicke has also been heavily involved in global standardization activities within the sensor and measurement fields.

Loepfe CEO Dr. Ralph Mennicke said: “Despite the current difficult business environment as I begin my role as CEO of Loepfe, my commitment to taking our business and our people on a journey where we will seek to grow and grasp future upsides has never been greater. As in my previous roles, at Loepfe my strategy will continue to focus on leveraging committed talents, superior technology and unique market knowledge to gain and maintain a competitive edge in the markets.

It is my very good fortune to be joining Loepfe from a company now experiencing a dynamic growth environment, and also to follow Maurizio Wermelinger who led Loepfe for more than a decade and established the company’s reputation in the textile industry with some world-leading product brands. As well as Maurizio, I also thank the Loepfe Board of Directors and the Loepfe team for placing their trust in me to lead them through this tough period.”

Loepfe Executive Chairman Alexander Zschokke commented: “The Loepfe Group extends a big thank-you to Maurizio for his long, loyal and successful lead of the company, as well as a very warm welcome to Ralph. We are delighted to have Ralph on board to steer Loepfe through the challenging phase arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. Furthermore, we are confident that Loepfe is in a strong position to emerge from this time with renewed vigour and sustained growth.”

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Four sensor technologies

Controlling the contamination in yarns is of the greatest importance to the spinners. The YarnMaster PRISMA utilizes a sensor for foreign matter detection based on a brand-new RGB-color measuring technology. The new RGB F-sensor illuminates the yarn in the full spectrum of light, enabling the recognition of even the slightest difference in shade and glossiness in any type of yarn and color. The contamination of raw material with white polypropylene from bale packaging is very challenging. To solve this difficult task, Loepfe developed the P4-Sensor, which utilizes the triboelectric effect. The sensor measures electric charge differences, which are caused during the winding process by different raw materials. This technology is able to detect contamination with white polypropylene very reliably. Beyond these, a world-first dual measurement for basic clearing is presented to the visitors. On the YarnMaster PRISMA, the two dominant sensor technologies in yarn clearing are integrated into one single sensing head. This unconventional approach to using an optical and a mass sensor, functioning in perfect harmony, offers unprecedented possibilities and new levels of precision in yarn clearing. The fusion of four sensor technologies into one single sensing head –- YarnMaster PRISMA – guarantees previously unachieved performance and possibilities in quality control during the winding process.

A world of connectivity

The heart of the innovative yarn-clearing concept is the simple and intuitive PRISMA operating system. The new PRISMA GUI offers menu guidance by an intelligent wizard and enables straightforward and intuitive operation. As an extra benefit, Loepfe’s data management system MillMaster TOP 2.0 is an integral part of the new YarnMaster PRISMA and complements every Loepfe yarn clearer installation. 100% online monitoring of quality data produced by the yarn clearers reduces the need for routine laboratory tests. Effective online quality management is one of the key success factors for winding and results in efficiency and lower costs.

The post Loepfe Presents Brand-New Yarn Clearer Generation The Yarnmaster Prisma Opens up a New World at ITMA 2019 appeared first on Textile Focus.

At present locally produced denim fabric can meet 50 % of Bangladesh’s total annual demand; the rest is being imported from China, India and Pakistan. According to Bangladesh Textile Mill Association (BTMA), Bangladesh currently has 31 denim fabrics manufacturing mills, many of them vertically integrated.

Two well-known names in the denim industry in Bangladesh rely exclusively on optical yarn clearing technology from Loepfe Brothers Ltd:

Jamuna Group

The Jamuna Group has diverse business interests, which range from textile to real estate. At the Group’s Textile Division, the unit “Jamuna Spinning Mills Ltd.” is producing various types of ring spun yarns with a capacity of 150’000 ring spindles whereas at unit “Jamuna Denim Spinning Mills Ltd.”, daily 36 tons of classical open-end spun denim yarn is produced for the group’s denim weaving unit. In total 96 tons per day of various yarns is leaving its spinning mills.

Mr. Aijaz Ahmed Faridi, Senior Manager of Production and Mr. Rashid Ali, General Manager of Quality of Jamuna Group’s Spinning Divison explain why the Group’s spinning mills are preferring Loepfe’s optical yarn clearers for both ring and rotor spun yarns:

Since we started to use Loepfe yarn clearers in the winding department, we feel that optical yarn clearers give us greater flexibility, as we process many different speciality yarns such as slub yarn and core yarns. Reliability and the excellent service provided led us to the conclusion to upgrade all our existing rotor spinning machines as well with Loepfe’s 1N1 yarn clearers, which perform extremely reliably and precisely on our rotor spinning machines, helping us to achieve our high-quality requirements.

Mahmud Group

The Mahmud Group of Industries provide total solutions in Denim & Jeans with vertical integration from spinning, weaving, dying and final garments manufacturing. The spinning unit converts raw cotton into top quality yarns and is producing a total of 900 tons per month with ring spindles and rotors in various styles and for the group’s denim weaving unit.

Engr. Md. Hasibur Rahman, General Manager of Mahmud Spinning Mills Ltd. points out that the positive experience made with Loepfe’s YarnMaster ZENIT and ZENIT+ yarn clearers as well as with YarnMaster 1N1 clearers is confirmed by our weaving unit in terms of achieved weaving machine efficiency and fabric quality.

Today’s high-speed air-jet and rapier weaving machines used in denim production require top quality yarns from the spinner, ensuring the productivity and efficiency of its denim mills.

Especially the white PP yarn clearing performance of Loepfe’s latest yarn clearers YarnMaster ZENIT+ DFP is giving us extremely good results. My colleague from our weaving unit reports to me, that the number of yarn breaks during the warping process in our denim mills has been reduced substantially due to the fact, that disturbing white PP fibres were removed during the winding process, which finally leads to an increase of weaving machine efficiency. Another advantage is, of course, that claims due to rejected fabric quality will be minimized.

Loepfe Brothers Ltd. is proud to be the exclusive supplier of yarn clearers for both winding and rotor applications for these two renowned and successful companies in Bangladesh and wants to thank them for sharing their experience!

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The management of Loepfe Brothers Ltd. decided to increase the efforts of the company in relation to environmental sustainability. “We commit ourselves to save resources, to increase the energy efficiency of our processes and products, and to reduce the environmental impact in general”, says Silvano Auciello, Head of Sales and Marketing.

The company already started several activities towards a greener future. A contract has been signed with the utility provider, guaranteeing that electrical energy will be supplied only from renewable sources. The wave soldering process in the production of circuit boards will be eliminated step-by-step. As a result, the energy consumption and the amount of tin solder needed will be reduced significantly. The use of isopropanol in electronics manufacturing will be reduced as well. The packaging of Loepfe´s product will not be of foamed polystyrene in the future. The non-biodegradable material will be replaced by cardboard or reusable packaging. Also, small measures are currently implemented in Loepfe´s headquarters in Wetzikon. For example, waste is not only consequently separated, but also picked up by a certified disposer to minimize the environmental load.

As a result of all measures the carbon footprint of Loepfe´s products and of the company as a whole will be much lower in the future. “We are confident, that we are on the right way to a much greener future for our company”, underlines Silvano Auciello.

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