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Weaving New Opportunities
2018-03-09

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A Taiwan Textile Research Institute staffer puts an antipollution face mask through its paces. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)

Technical fabrics and high-tech production are adding momentum to Taiwan’s textiles industry.
 

When severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, broke out in Taipei City 15 years ago, Huang Po-hsiung (黃博雄‬) was among those most at risk of contracting the highly contagious viral disease. Neither a medical volunteer nor in close contact with an infected person, rather, he was involved in a government program ensuring the steady supply of face masks to hospitals.

“We helped coordinate available supply chains and quickly build extra capacity at local plants,” Huang said. “This was in addition to overcoming production challenges like delays in satisfying standing orders and developing different sized products for use by all members of the public, especially children.”

Highly Adaptable

Huang, who is today secretary-general of Taiwan Technical Textiles Association (TTTA), said the flexibility and responsiveness of his organization’s member firms in the face of the public health emergency left a lasting impression on him. “The industry pulled together and demonstrated its proficiency in producing high-quality technical textiles like nonwovens for face masks.”

Established in 2004, TTTA is headquartered at Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI) in Tucheng District of New Taipei City. It comprises around 160 companies and industry associations spanning areas like manmade fibers, nonwovens, spinning and weaving, and government-supported R&D organizations. The latter includes Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Material and Chemical Research Laboratories in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County, Plastics Industry Development Center in central Taiwan’s Taichung City and TTRI.

A prominent member of TTTA is Taipei-based Super Textile Corp., a leader in making eco-friendly fabrics from recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles. Luo Zhong-you (羅忠祐‬), co-founder and president of the 43-year-old company, doubles as chairman of the association’s board of directors. About 40 percent of TTTA’s member firms, including Taipei-headquartered TECO Corp., a top manufacturer of industrial electrical equipment and home appliances, come from outside the textiles industry. This is due to the classification of products fashioned from technical textiles as belonging to other sectors. Face masks and protective clothing, for example, are attributed to the medical sector and air conditioner filters to the household appliances industry.

 


A fabric for geological use is manufactured at TTRI. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)

Unsung Heroes

Technical textiles, sometimes called industrial or functional fabrics, possess performance properties like electromagnetic shielding, flame or water resistance, and light absorption from sunlight or artificial sources. TTRI Vice President Chen Hung-en (陳宏恩‬) said such fabrics were a largely neglected area in Taiwan until technological advances made production economically viable.

“When the domestic textiles industry reached its peak during the mid-1990s, general apparel and home textiles accounted for 90 percent of production.” While many Taiwan firms chose to shift manufacturing abroad to take advantage of lower labor costs, Chen said those that remained embraced technical textiles and capitalized on rising demand to finance large-scale business restructuring efforts.

According to Huang, technical textiles require a shorter production chain than apparel items that typically go through a lengthy process of spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing. “This sector promises stable development for the foreseeable future as opposed to the frequent ups and downs of the garment business,” he said.

The production value of technical textiles increased from NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) in 2009 to more than NT$130 billion (US$4.3 billion) in 2017, or one-third of the textiles industry’s total output. “This rapidly growing sector supports many other industries,” Huang said. “A piece of fabric that undergoes additional processing can be used in many kinds of compound textiles products.”

Diversified Demand

TTTA classifies such items into the categories of agricultural, automotive and aerospace, construction, ecological, geological, home, industrial, medical, packaging, protective, special use clothing and sports. Huang expects the number of categories to expand as demand for technical textiles grows on the back of changing industrial and social conditions.

One example in the ecological category is the recent rise in popularity of antipollution face masks. “These products are designed to protect the respiratory system from harmful PM2.5 particles,” Huang said. “Over time, particles could become smaller and smaller, placing the onus on manufacturers to keep upgrading the fabric performance.”

PM2.5 is particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller, or about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair. Like dust, the particles are an airborne granular contaminant that may cause cardiovascular and lung disease. They also reduce visibility, harm the environment and are thought to play a role in climate change.
 

 


Taipei City-based Super Textile Corp. is a leader in making fabrics from recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Technical Textiles Association)

In the category of electronics, technical textiles are also seen as offering an array of opportunities. “The combination of fabrics and electronics is opening the door to next-generation products,” Huang said. Given handheld devices require slim componentry, technical textiles made to conduct electricity could replace materials like metal and plastic that degrade in functionality and strength over time, he added.

The use of carbon and glass fibers, as well as fiber-reinforced plastics, throughout leading global industries is expected to take the Taiwan technical textiles sector—already a major producer of such high-tech materials—to new heights. Developing highly durable fibers and multifunctional fabrics, along with core components such as graphene and Teflon, is one of TTRI’s main organizational tasks. Another is ensuring the transfer of requisite technology to local firms.

Government efforts in support of this mission have largely benefited Taiwan small and medium enterprises (SME). These number around 1.4 million—or 97 percent of the country’s private sector companies—and employ about 78 percent of the nation’s workforce, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Taiwan’s SME outfits are world renowned for a can-do approach to doing business and high degree of organizational flexibility, Chen said, adding that the sector is integral to the health of the economy and society. “But they need assistance in accessing advanced data analysis and modeling to strengthen brands and maximize production value.”

Strong Support

TTTA is working with the government to make sure its members receive timely support in this regard and other areas where potential synergies exist. Each year, the association organizes a country-themed International Technical Textiles Symposium during which members share best practices and cutting-edge ideas with counterparts from around the world.

The 2018 edition, set to take place in March in Taipei, focuses on Turkey—a maker of fine fabrics with a pedigree dating back to the Ottoman Empire. Following the symposium, a TTTA delegation will visit Istanbul to take part in Techtextil, or the International Technical Textiles and Nonwoven Trade Fair. The event is considered an outstanding global platform for showcasing advances in nonwovens, technical textiles and technologies.

Another major support measure is the establishment of a mechanism for standardizing and certifying technical textiles. Initiated by TTRI in conjunction with the MOEA’s Department of Industrial Technology, Chen said the undertaking aims to upgrade the local textiles sector as a whole and boasts cross-industry applications worldwide.

“Rising global demand for technical textiles capable of meeting the requirements of businesses on the cutting edge of technology will continue adding momentum to our industry,” he said. “These high-quality fabrics are more than a driver of economic growth, they are the future.”

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Technical Textiles Applications

1. Light filtration, heat retention 2. Solar power 3. Vertical garden 4. Canopy 5. Pest control 6. Odor absorption, antibacterial 7. Heat insulation 8. Transparency 9. Plant pesticide filter tube 10. Light-emitting diode, or LED, sail 11. LED advertising 12. Motorcycle airbag suit 13. Airbag bumper 14. Body sensor clothing 15. Solar power backpack and e-book 16. Geogrid mesh 17. Solar power patio umbrella 18. Piezoelectric charging shoes 19. High-visibility safety apparel 20. Radiation/biochemical protection 21. Airship 22. Motorboat 23. Heated clothing 24. Shock massage 25. Keyboard 26. Sports protection 27. Geofilter 28. Electric blanket 29. LED jump-rope 30. Water absorption, ultrathin diaper 31. Musical baby clothing 32. GPS clothing 33. LED billboard 34. Fabric canopy 35. Inflatable tent 36. E-schoolbag 37. Lightweight plaster 38. Inflatable dock 39. Smart closet 40. Heat-emitting painting 41. Pressure relief mattress 42. Light filtering 43. Smart carpet 44. Scale shoes 45. Glove remote control 46. Electric cooktop 47. Self-cleaning, heat-retaining tablecloth (Infographic courtesy of Taiwan Textile Research Institute)