By André Imhof, CEO, AUTEFA Solutions Switzerland and AUTEFA Solutions Austria
AUTEFA Solutions is a leading global supplier of innovative and high-performance machines and systems. The company operates in four business areas: Nonwovens Technology, Baling Technology, Woollen/Worsted Technology and Automation Technology. Overall, AUTEFA Solutions is committed to providing innovative and high-performance machines and systems that meet the evolving needs of its customers around the world. With a focus on growth and expansion, the company continues to invest in research and development, as well as the expansion of its worldwide manufacturing facilities to better serve its customers and drive future success. Customers looking for a key supplier for their nonwoven technology needs.
AUTEFA’s state-of-the-art technology includes carded-crosslapped needle punch lines, aerodynamic web forming technology, thermobonding lines and spunlace lines. As the market leader in staple fiber and tow baling presses, the company offers everything from fiber transport to the baler to bale handling and storage. And if you’re in the market for OCTIR woollen carding sets for high quality weaving and knitting yarns, we’ve got you covered. Be sure to visit AUTEFA Solutions at ITMA 2023, where we’ll be showcasing our innovative solutions and expertise in advanced materials, digital future, innovation, & sustainability & how you can take your production to the next level.
The textile industry faces many challenges and sustainability is one of the most pressing. Our industry needs to reduce its carbon footprint, water consumption, recycling, circular economy, and energy savings are key to achieving these goals and innovative solutions need to be developed to meet these challenges. Another key challenge is the changing workforce. As the industry continues to grow, there is a need for more skilled personnel and talent to operate and maintain the complex machinery used in the manufacturing process. Digitalization and automation are also transforming the industry, and companies need to invest in brand new technologies to keep up with the pace of change.
As a result, the industry can continue to grow and prosper while contributing to a more sustainable future. At ITMA, we are excited to showcase our latest innovations and technologies that cater to the needs of our customers while also minimizing their impact on the environment. Our advanced Airlay technology delivers heavy and thick fibers mats by using natural or recycled fiber for the growing acoustic and thermal insulation market. Our energy-saving Spunlace technology is designed to maximize efficiency while minimizing energy consumption. Our Needle Exchanger technology reduces downtime and increases productivity, making it a valuable addition to any production line. We also offer automated bale warehousing solutions that optimize space and streamline operations.
And with our unmatched customer support, you can count on us to be there every step of the way. But it’s not just about business – we are also committed to reducing our carbon footprint. Our innovations and technologies are designed to minimize waste and energy consumption, making them a sustainable choice for businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact. Join us at ITMA to learn more about our solutions and how they can benefit your business and the environment. As sustainability becomes an increasingly important consideration in the fashion industry, we are witnessing a significant increase in the demand for textile circularity, with consumers and companies alike seeking solutions to recycle fast fashion; in response to this trend, AUTEFA Solutions offers a range of innovative solutions designed to process and reuse various types of fibers, including reclaimed, natural, and man-made materials.
Our Airlay KV12/K12 aerodynamic web forming machine in combination with Stylus Needle Loom or HiPerTherm Oven meets all customer requirements for maximum productivity and consistent high quality. The re-needling of needle boards in needle punching nonwovens production has to be simple, safe, and efficient to avoid long downtimes and extend the service life of the needle boards. AUTEFA Solutions has developed an innovative solution, the Needle Exchanger, to address these challenges. This machine replaces the physically tiring and risky manual process of needle insertion, exchange, and removal with an automated process that removes the risk of operator injury and minimizes the risk of board damage. The Needle Exchanger provides a great return on investment and is the most economic service machine for needle exchange in nonwovens production.
With the Automatic Needle Exchanger AUTEFA Solutions offers a unique service machine. The machine is efficient and equipped with an adapted software system, so that reproducibility and safety at every needle exchange are of utmost importance. According to the customer’s requirements the re-needling of the needle boards has to be simple, safe, and efficient, in order to avoid long downtimes and to extend the service life of the needle boards. The Needle Exchanger is the most economical way to perform this service in a nonwoven production line. Even if there is enough manpower for a service workshop, there is a high risk of board damage due to manual needle exchange. The Needle Exchanger is our innovative solution that replaces the manual process with a machine engineered to replace needles without damaging the needle boards. The automated process also eliminates the risk of operator injury and provides a high return on investment.
The cooperation between AUTEFA Solutions and PAMA Paper Machinery offers the best of two worlds – the nonwovens world based on fiber-based web forming, consolidation and drying technology combined with the Wetlaid technology commonly used in the paper industry. Wetlaid – Spunlace is the technology of choice to produce sustainable and cost-effective nonwovens from 100% cellulosic raw material such as cellulose pulp, viscose or Lyocell fibers. This collaboration provides the machine technology to produce sustainable and biodegradable products for a world with less plastic. With the enormous challenge of rising raw material and energy costs, producing sustainable products with energy saving and innovative Wetlaid technology is the answer.
The process improves the bulkiness and feel of the final product through AUTEFA carding and spunlace technology. Compared to the classic Wetlaid inclined wire technology, we are focusing on innovative paper machine solutions with even better performance, especially for CP products. The use of this technology reduces the amount of pulp fibers and energy required. Further savings in power and water consumption are achieved with AUTEFA Solutions’ V-Jet technology for hydroentanglement, our most effective dewatering with V-shaped suction slots, and the highly efficient SQ-V square drum dryer technology. Our technology is designed to create a uniform pulp layer for optimal fiber distribution with the lowest fiber consumption. We are proud to offer our customers the technology to produce the highest quality and quantity of Wetlaid – spunlace product.
Automated warehousing can provide a wide range of benefits, from space savings, lower building costs, improved productivity, more efficient material flow, fewer people, and safer operations, to reduced inventory, lower operating costs, better ROI, and lower life cycle costs. As the market leader in fiber baling presses for man-made fibers, we have expanded our service offering to include all production steps, including warehousing. We are pleased to announce that our latest project with a customer in Turkey is about to start. During the ITMA, you will have a sneak preview of one of the largest PET fiber bale logistics centers in the world. The warehouse and logistics center of AUTEFA Solutions will organize, press, form, package, strap, identify, label, stack, sort and prepare the enormous fiber output of six new polyester staple fiber lines with specific fiber know-how for storage and logistical actions.
Over the last ten years, AUTEFA Solution has become an expert in special fiber properties, with fully automated baling systems with enormous capacities, covered and sealed short cut balers, hygienic fiber baling systems, silicon and conjugated fiber baling systems, bale transport with additional strapping, weighing, automated labeling, stacking, and sorting, and storage as a block or rack system. Our focus is not only on classical mechanical engineering, which aims for higher, faster, further. Instead, through our service offerings, we aim to promote a stable and sustainable production. One example of this is our assessments for thermal systems, where our experts develop individual solutions for our customers and identify high potential energy savings.
When we perform conversions and install new drives and controls for our customers, we consider this to be a sustainable approach. We offer conversions, modifications, and electrification for existing machines, which are updated to be resource-efficient, cost-effective, and compliant with current safety standards for future use. Because most machines worldwide function mechanically flawlessly, we recommend that our customers take advantage of the “low-hanging fruit” potential and invest in upgrades to secure their production for the coming years. We place great emphasis on sustainability and want to help our customers achieve efficient and environmentally friendly production. Our new AUTFA Loyalty programs convey our commitment to sustainability and focus on extending the lifespan of older machines, which aligns with environmentally conscious companies.