#Dyeing, Drying, Finishing

2020-05-07

Future Leaders Award presented at International Conference

The AATCC Future Leaders Award was presented to Ashley Handley, Heather Johnson, Katelyn Lee, Bryan Ormond, Tyler Pickett, and Morgan Schanski on March 12, 2020 at the International Conference held in Greenville, SC, USA.

The Future Leaders Award recognizes promising young professionals in the fields of textiles, apparel, and related material sciences. These young professionals are the future of our industry and the future leaders of AATCC. Award recipients are determined by each AATCC Interest Group.

Ashley Handley has been a member of AATCC since 2017. She is project specialist, UL Retail and Industry in Arkansas, USA. Prior to this, she served as production supervisor with Consumer Testing Laboratories where she was promoted to a textile engineer role under the Regulatory Compliance and Technical Support team. Handley attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. She has served as the AATCC Ozark Section Treasurer since 2019.

Heather Johnson has been a member of AATCC since 2016 and has been involved in the AATCC Student Chapter at North Carolina State University since 2014. Johnson currently is a colorist with American & Efird, an Elevate Textiles company, in North Carolina, USA. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Polymer and Color Chemistry in 2016 from NCSU. She currently serves on the Executive Committee on Research as well.

Katelyn Lee has been a member of AATCC since 2008. She is textile chemist at Cotton Incorporated in North Carolina, USA. Lee previously served as research assistant and later specialty applications chemist at Cotton Incorporated. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Polymer and Color Chemistry. Lee has held the role of Committee Chair for AATCC RA80 as of 2016.

Bryan Ormond has been a member of AATCC since 2006. He is assistant professor at the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science, and a BS in Polymer and Color Chemistry (ACS certified). Ormond has been a voting member of CS75, Young Professionals Committee and RA31 Antimicrobial Activity Test Methods, since 2019. He also has served as AATCC faculty advisor for the NCSU Student Chapter since 2018. Currently he serves as an Associate Editor for the AATCC Journal of Research.

Tyler Pickett has been a member of AATCC since 2010. He is senior laboratory specialist at adidas in Oregon, USA. Pickett holds a Master of Science in Textile Chemistry and a BS in Polymer & Color Chemistry from NCSU. He was a graduate research assistant within the Textile Protection & Comfort Center at NCSU prior to joining adidas. Pickett has served as Committee Chair of RA75 since 2018

Morgan Schanski has been a member of AATCC since 2015. She is project manager, consumer innovation at adidas in Oregon, USA. Previously, Schanski was material engineer at adidas. She holds a Master of Science in Apparel Product Development & Merchandising Technology and a BA in Apparel Merchandising, both from Central Michigan University. She was recently nominated for the adidas Creator’s Choice Award in Leadership & Collaboration.

The Future Leaders Award

Nominees for the AATCC Future Leaders Award must be AATCC members who are 39 years old or younger and actively engaged in the greater textile or related industries. They must display leadership skills and have a history of service to AATCC or the greater textile and related industries. A key quality of successful candidates is a desire to become more involved with the objectives of AATCC: to increase expertise, encourage research, and establish channels for the interchange of professional knowledge. Nominees must agree to join the AATCC Young Professionals Committee and must participate, as their professional commitments allow, in the work of the committee.

The award includes a framed certificate signed by the AATCC president and the Interest Group (IG) chairs and a special pin.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

SETEX turns dyeing and finishing data into daily production control

At ITM 2026, SETEX will show how textile mills can use machine, recipe, quality and energy data for more reliable daily production decisions — not as another reporting layer, but as part of the running dyeing and finishing process. With OrgaTEX X3 MES, E390x/C390x controllers, CamCOUNT and FabricInspector Portable, SETEX connects planning, machine execution and fabric-related quality insight within existing mill structures.

Tradition and Innovation – Phoenox Textiles Ltd. relies on state-of-the-art carpet back-coating line from Brückner

For more than 70 years, Phoenox Textiles Ltd. has been synonymous with quality, reliability, and inno-vation in the textile industry. Founded in 1954 in Huddersfield (Yorkshire, UK), a region with a long tradition in textiles, this family-owned business has continued to evolve without losing sight of its roots. Today, in its fourth generation under the leadership of the Mosley family, Phoenox successfully combines decades of experience with a clear, forward-looking corporate strategy.

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.