#Textile chemistry

2025-01-30

Americhem expands research and development capabilities with new laboratory facility in Silvassa, India

Americhem, Inc. has announced the opening of a new research and development center in Silvassa, India. This new facility, located at Olive Industrial Park, will enhance Americhem's ability to provide faster and more localized service to customers throughout India and Southeast Asia. The 4000-sf center will offer specialized testing services for masterbatch color development, particularly for melt spinning and textile manufacturing customers. Additionally, it will provide field and technical services to support customer-specific requirements.

S. Mani, Managing Director for India and Southeast Asia (Photo: Business Wire)

The new laboratory aims to help Americhem expand into new markets and areas of business by offering enhanced capabilities for custom color matching and faster response times. This will attract new customers and industries that prioritize speed and efficiency in their supply chain.

S. Mani, Managing Director for India and Southeast Asia, emphasized the company's long-term commitment to the region. “This investment demonstrates Americhem's dedication to fostering innovation, expanding capabilities, and supporting customers as they grow alongside these dynamic markets,” said Mani.

Toshan Simaiya, Americhem's Operations Director for India, highlighted the benefits of the new center, noting that it will allow the company to be closer to customers, provide nimble support, faster color development, and enable real-time communication and approvals. The center will be led by Sandeep Bhamare, Head of R&D – Fibers for Americhem’s India, who will ensure smooth collaboration between Americhem’s Pune site and the new facility. Krunal Bodne, Head of Sales and Marketing Textiles/Fibers, emphasized the benefits for customers, stating that they are welcome to the lab to get the match done on the same day, enabling speed to market.

The research and development center began operations in late 2024 and is strategically situated just 5 km from Bhilad Highway NH-48, with future access to the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway.

Americhem Custom Fiber Color Matching (Photo: Business Wire)

New spinning package with two-step filtration for recycled yarns and more

At the ITM in Istanbul, BB Engineering unveiled its new, patented ValuePack spinning package for the first time, which features a two-stage filtration system. This is particularly beneficial for re-cycling processes. Until now, spinning packs have used either metal powder (“sand”) or filter candles as filter media. Both options are suitable for differ-ent applications, and each has its own specific advantages and dis-advantages.

ITMA 2027 gains strong momentum

In line with the theme "Co-creating the future of textiles", ITMA continues to strengthen its support for start-ups, recognising their role in driving innovation and shaping the future of textile and garment manufacturing. Through the Start-Up Valley, emerging companies gain access to a global marketplace where they can connect with industry leaders, potential partners, investors and customers.

Mongolia: Workshop on Italian textile technologies kicks off in Ulaanbaatar

The workshop dedicated to Italian textile technologies will kick off in Ulaanbaatar from 21 to 23 June 2026. Focused on the most advanced innovative solutions for the textile industry, the initiative will bring together 13 Italian textile machinery manufacturers, confirming the growing interest in strengthening industrial cooperation between the two countries and highlighting Mongolia’s strategic importance for Italian textile machinery producers.

SOKO presents low-impact denim finishing innovations at Denim PV Milan

SOKO will present a range of sustainable denim finishing technologies and collaborative projects at the upcoming Denim Première Vision Milan on 20–21 May in Milan. At booth G27 in Superstudio Più, the company will showcase new chemical solutions designed to combine fashionable denim effects with reduced environmental impact.

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.

GenuTrace client advisory: Is your cotton supply chain UFLPA ready?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released updated operational guidance (CBP Publication No. 5560-0526) expanding its forced labor enforcement framework. The guidance supersedes the original 2022 UFLPA Operational Guidance and now covers all forced labor enforcement authorities — UFLPA, CAATSA, and WROs/Findings — in a single unified document. For cotton importers, the enforcement posture has not softened. It has become more structured, more documented, and more demanding. Learn more about UFLPA.

STOLL: Agreement signed for the divestiture of selected assets

In early 2025, KARL MAYER announced its strategic decision to focus on its core business areas of WARP KNITTING, WARP PREPARATION, and TECHNICAL TEXTILES. As part of this move, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand was discontinued and the production site in Reutlingen was closed in October 2025.