#Yarn & Fiber

2020-04-02

RadiciGroup to deliver personal protective equipment for doctors and healthcare workers fighting COVID-19

Gowns, caps and shoe covers to protect doctors, nurses and healthcare workers battling day in and day out against the coronavirus. The RadiciGroup business area specializing in the production of high-performance nonwovens has brought to life a project that demonstrates the flexibility of the people in the Province of Bergamo and their capability to stand up to complex challenges.

Material for hospital PPE made and approved in record time

First 5,000 gowns to be donated to Papa Giovanni XIII hospital

“Producing high-performance materials is routine for us,” Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup, pointed out, “and we wondered how we could help in this emergency situation. So, we decided to call on local companies – which promptly came on board – to set up a reliable and approved production chain to make much-needed protective equipment for our medical personnel.”

RadiciGroup already has available 10,000 metres of fabric, which has passed the lamination test with plastic film produced by the local company Plastik SpA.

“Our collaboration with RadiciGroup goes back a long time,” said Gianangelo Cattaneo, president of Plastik, “and we think of the Group as a partner we can count on. When they contacted us for this project, our answer was an immediate “yes”. Through this project, Bergamo companies could provide a concrete response to the coronavirus emergency in our region. Our task was to laminate RadiciGroup nonwovens with a special film that makes the fabric breathable and anti-bacterial, and, thus, resistant to infective agents.”

Tests of the material for medical use were performed and validated at Centrocot in Varese. Crucial for the success of the project was the rapid response by some local garment makers who immediately became engaged in the production of the garments, according to the specifications for hospital PPE currently in use provided by Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo.

“We were very cautious all along and waited for the final result of the very last test,” Angelo Radici concluded.” Indeed, we were dealing with materials to be used to protect people on the front lines

in their daily battle against COVID-19. We had to have absolute certainty that the equipment could ensure the healthcare workers’ safety. Now that the approval has finally arrived, I must say that we are very proud, because we saw first-hand the willingness of local entrepreneurs to team up in this endeavour. We are now ready to offer our contribution during this extremely severe crisis we are living through.”

The first 5,000 gowns made will be donated by RadiciGroup to Papa Giovanni XXXIII Hospital in Bergamo.

After that, the Group will be at the disposal of medical associations, hospitals and other healthcare organizations that may need to obtain the raw material or receive ready-to-wear PPE garments (contact wecare@radicigroup.com).

RadiciGroup has also been engaged in other solidarity initiatives: Together with Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, the Group has made a donation towards the purchase of all the necessary plant for piping oxygen to 200 beds for COVID-19 patients in the field hospital built by the Associazione Nazionale degli Alpini (National Association of Italian Alpine Soldiers) at the Bergamo Fairgrounds. Moreover, the Group has contributed to providing a portable CT scanner for Bolognini Hospital in Seriate, Bergamo, where the machine is needed for the diagnosis of patients presenting with respiratory problems potentially due to COVID-19.

Radici Plastics Suzhou, a RadiciGroup company based in Jiangsu Province in China, has joined a fund- raising drive promoted by the Italian community in Shanghai to send Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo over 20,000 masks and other medical devices. This equipment has already arrived at its destination.

What is more, together with Maglificio Santini and Plastik, RadiciGroup has been a leading player in the supply chain for the production of “molamia” (“don’t give up” in Bergamasque) masks, part of the project coordinated by the Bergamo Manufacturers’ Association, which has led to the approval of the product by Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan).

RadiciGroup: 21st Sustainability Report published

RadiciGroup has published its 21st Sustainability Report, covering the year 2024, confirming more than two decades of transparency and measurement in the economic, environmental, and social dimensions. From its first Social Report in 2004 to the current reporting aligned with the GRI Universal Standards, the Group is now preparing for its next challenge: the adoption of the criteria that will be set out by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Twenty years of Sustainability Report for RadiciGroup

The RadiciGroup Sustainability Report reaches an important milestone this year: twenty years have in fact passed since the Group published its first Social Report in 2004, qualifying it as one of the pioneering companies in the realisation of voluntary non-financial reporting. The document measures the Group’s achievements and the actions it has taken to reduce its environmental impact, respect social values, and implement good business management practices.

B.I.G. Yarns achieves EcoVadis Platinum Rating, ranking among top 1% of companies worldwide

B.I.G. Yarns, the carpet yarn brand of B.I.G. and a leading manufacturer of polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET) yarns for contract, automotive, and high-end residential applications, has been awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal, placing the company among the top 1% of more than 130.000 companies assessed globally.

Stability in volatile markets: Heimtextil 2026 launches with 3,000 exhibitors and design expertise from Patricia Urquiola

Heimtextil opens the new season with 3,000 exhibitors from 66 countries – maintaining stability while becoming even more international. The new hall layout increases visibility and connects supply and demand even more efficiently. At the opening, architect and designer Patricia Urquiola and Rosa Bertoli, Global Design Director of Wallpaper magazine, talk about AI, innovative materials and future-oriented design for modern living environments.

January 2026 marks Asahi Kasei’s restart of Bemberg production in restored sections of the Nobeoka facility

Beginning January 2026, production at the Asahi Kasei Nobeoka facility – Bemberg’s only production site – will gradually resume, marking a new chapter following the partial shutdown caused by the April 2022 incident. This progress is the result of significant investments and continuous work toreinforce safety measures, restore full operational capacity, and establish long- term stability.

MUNICH FABRIC START: Between Attitude and Sensuality

The future begins where we reimagine it. After seasons of restraint, Spring.Summer 27 marks a conscious counter-trend: optimism, sensuality, and creative freedom are replacing pragmatism and neutrality. Physical presence and individuality are regaining importance – as a response to uncertainty, exhaustion, and algorithmic predictability. The overarching theme of PLEASURE stands for fashion as an emotional space, as an expression of attitude and cultural reflection. Colours, surfaces, and materials become vehicles for self-confidence and joie de vivre.

organIQ seek: smart alternative to potassium permanganate

CHT Group announces new technical findings within its organIQ seek platform that significantly advance the transition toward permanganate-free denim bleaching. Through extensive industrial testing and application research, CHT confirms that organIQ seek can now be used with remarkable effectiveness as a substitute for potassium permanganate in spray bleach, while remaining aligned with sustainability expectations and cost realities in the European market. At the COLOMBIATEX in Medellín as well as at the Exintex in Puebla and the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam the CHT Group will present organIQ seek as an alternative to potassium permanganate.

PERFORMANCE DAYS: Focus topic shifts to the beginning of the value chain

Following the last Focus Topic in October 2025, which placed Textile-to-Textile Recycling at its core, PERFORMANCE DAYS continues to drive the conversation around circularity – this time with an expanded and more upstream perspective. The upcoming Focus Topic, “Textile to Textile: The Role of Collectors and Sorters,” presented during the spring edition on March 18–19, will spotlight one of the most essential yet often overlooked components of a functioning circular textile system: the efficient collection and sorting of post-consumer textiles.

Proven performance, optimised costs – the new RE 6 EL

Nowadays textile companies increasingly need to produce small production runs and respond to market changes with instantaneous pattern changes in order to operate profitably – meaning they require machines that offer maximum flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency. KARL MAYER understands the challenges of the market and is launching its new RE 6 EL. The Raschel machine offers the core strengths of the classic RSE 6 EL and essentially the same performance parameters, but has been further cost-optimised largely due to local production advantages. This makes the newcomer an efficiency champion in production, especially when it comes to frequent pattern changes.