#Yarn & Fiber

2024-04-25

AMSilk strengthens management team

AMSilk GmbH, a global leader in advanced materials made from spider silk-based proteins, today announces the appointments of Ralph Fraundorfer and Ctibor Kohutovic to its Management Board starting immediately.

Ralph Fraundorfer has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and will lead the finance team, with responsibility for all financial issues, such as company accounts, financing and risk management. Ralph’s professional finance career spans over 20 years, having worked for companies such as Shell, Syngenta and Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, Ralph was CFO of Tropic Biosciences, a pioneering company in the field of agricultural gene editing, where he built the finance function, enabling strong growth from 40 to over 150 employees and successfully closing several financing rounds.

Ralph Fraundorfer officially succeeds Arne Treinies as CFO, with Arne leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities. ”We would like to thank Arne for his important contribution to the scale-up of AMSilk”, Ulrich Scherbel (CEO) says. “In his role as CFO he has professionally built up the finance and organizational structures of the Company. We wish him continuous success and all the best for his new challenges.”

Ctibor Kohutovic joins as Chief Production Officer (CPO), with responsibility for driving AMSilk’s industrial scale up as it moves into the commercialization phase. Ctibor will focus on the Company’s global protein production, developing production capacities with new and existing CMOs, improving capabilities and reducing costs. Ctibor has extensive experience in global production processes, process improvement and contract manufacturing, beginning his professional career at Evonik in 1998 as a Fermentation Process Engineer at the Fermas site. Most recently, he was Head of Strategic Projects at Evonik Operations, as well as Site Controller and Strategic Project Manager at Evonik Fermas.

The key appointments of Ralph and Ctibor complete the AMSilk Management Board, alongside current Chief Executive Officer, Ulrich Scherbel, and Chief Scientific Officer, Gudrun Vogtentanz.

Ulrich Scherbel, Chief Executive Officer at AMSilk, said: “Ralph and Ctibor are two proven experts, whose industry knowledge, experience and track record are of immense importance for the future development of AMSilk. These appointments complete our Management Board, and I look forward to working alongside them both to drive the Company’s continued industrial scale-up towards profitability.”

Ralph Fraundorfer, Chief Financial Officer at AMSilk, added: “AMSilk has a stellar team and I am looking forward to helping scale up production of a fantastic product that the world really needs. AMSilk has products with a real purpose and people with great passion. For me, these are the most important elements of a successful company, and AMSilk has them all.”

Ctibor Kohutovic, Chief Production Officer at AMSilk, said: “Joining AMSilk feels like the perfect alignment of my passions, expertise, and aspirations. AMSilk’s vision and potential are truly inspiring. I am very motivated to play my part in ramping up production so that we can launch our spider silk-based products to the market.”

Wolfgang Colberg, Chairman of the Board, AMSilk, commented: “AMSilk is at a pivotal point in its development. To attract individuals of this caliber to the Management Board is testament to the progress AMSilk has made towards its goal of becoming a leading protein solutions business for a variety of industries.”

AMSilk’s spider silk-based protein fibers are the gold standard, offering high-performance qualities which translate to a wide range of applications in the textile and automobile industries. Based on their exceptional natural properties, which can be tailored to the specific needs of the market or customer, AMSilk’s high-performance material outweigh many natural or fossil-based materials, while being verifiably biodegradable.

In January 2024, AMSilk announced a partnership with 21st.BIO to accelerate production using a new protein production strain created from highly specialized precision fermented microorganisms, ensuring that AMSilk can meet demand as it increases production from the laboratory to industrial scale. The new strain ensures extracellular expression of silk proteins, enabling manufacturing at unprecedented productivity levels due to higher yield and greater efficiency, thereby reducing production costs. In March 2024, AMSilk also announced an update on its strategic R&D collaboration with BRAIN Biotech, which allows the structural proteins underlying AMSilk’s protein fibers to be modified at the amino acid level enabling products to be easily tailored to specific market requirements.

AMSilk and Ajinomoto Foods Europe expand partnership to enable industrial-scale production of silk proteins

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader leader in biotech produced silk materials, today announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe (AFE), marking a key step in scaling the industrial production of its silk proteins. Building on the collaboration first established in 2023, the two companies have now entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement, enabling the transition from industrial validation to dedicated, large-scale production.

Christian Wichert appointed Chief Executive Officer to lead next phase of growth

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader in advanced biomaterials made from silk proteins, today announces the appointment of Christian Wichert as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 June. The appointment marks a pivotal moment in AMSilk’s journey, as the Company advances from development through scale-up to commercialization.

Expansive innovations converge in Shanghai as Yarn Expo Autumn 2026 opens doors next week

With just days to go, industry enthusiasm is building for the opening of Yarn Expo Autumn, Asia’s premier yarn and fibre trade fair, running from 25 – 27 August at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Across 27,000 sqm in Hall 8.2, buyers will find nearly 600 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, spread across seven specialised zones that range from cutting-edge man-made and regenerated fibres to time-honoured cashmere and silk. Beyond the extensive sourcing options, a fringe programme of trend showcases, presentations and product launches rounds out the three¬day event with design, innovation and market intelligence.

Dornbirn GFC 2026 expands conference program with new thematic sessions

For 65 years, Dornbirn GFC has stood for innovation and is one of the world’s leading conferences in the fiber industry. From September 16 to 18, 2026, the international fiber community will meet in Dornbirn, Austria, to discuss current trends, technological developments, and forward-looking solutions. More than 600 experts from industry and academia from over 30 countries are expected to attend. With around 100 presentations by renowned speakers, a 2,5-day conference program, and three parallel presentation rooms with moderated sessions, Dornbirn GFC provides a first-class platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and international collaboration. Together, participants will generate ideas and impulses that will sustainably shape the future of the global fiber industry.

Lenzing reports improved half-year results and advances strategic transformation

Despite a persistently challenging market environment in the first half of 2026, characterized by volatile energy and raw material prices, subdued global consumer demand and intensified competition from Asia, the Lenzing Group significantly improved its financial performance. Net result after tax more than doubled to EUR 35.6 million, compared with EUR 15.2 million in the first half of 2025. Free cash flow increased to EUR 45.8 million, while EBITDA amounted to EUR 239.2 million. Revenue totaled EUR 1.27 billion, compared with EUR 1.34 billion in the previous year.

BICO BCF yarn delivers impressive performance in field testing

In a joint development project with other partners, Barmag and Object Carpet have successfully tested BICO BCF yarn in the carpet manufacturing process. The results show that this innovative yarn technology offers significant performance advantages and opens up new possibilities for recycling-oriented carpet constructions.

DOMOTEX Southeast Asia 2026 - Building the Gateway to ASEAN's fast-growing flooring market

From 11–13 November 2026, the inaugural DOMOTEX Southeast Asia will take place at BITEC (Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre) in Bangkok, Thailand. Jointly organized by GLOBUS Events Limited and Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd., with Worldex G.E.C. Co., Ltd. as the local partner, the exhibition marks the expansion of the internationally recognized DOMOTEX brand into Southeast Asia. As the newest addition to the global DOMOTEX portfolio, the exhibition has been developed specifically to serve the rapidly evolving ASEAN market, creating a dedicated business event for the flooring and interior finishing industry.

Execs help steer Cascale’s consumer goods agenda in Athens

The 2026 Cascale Annual Meeting, taking place September 15–17 in Athens, Greece, will convene leaders from across the global consumer goods value chain to tackle one of the industry’s defining questions: how to accelerate meaningful, system-wide transformation. Guiding those conversations as this year’s co-chairs are Sean Cady, vice president, global sustainability, responsibility, trade, and government affairs at VF Corporation, and Dr. Delman Lee, vice chair at TAL Apparel Limited.

YKK launches no. 3 size of QuickFree® click-TRAK® magnetic zipper globally

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Matsushima; hereafter, YKK) has begun the global rollout of the No. 3 size of its QuickFree® click-TRAK® Magnetic zipper, expanding availability beyond China for the first time. While maintaining the same functionality and ease of operation, the No. 3 size is approximately 60% the size of the No. 5 size *1. This enables applications in lightweight garments, sportswear, hooded apparel, and other similar uses.