Der Beitrag AGATEX at Cinte Techtextil China 2026 erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

Der Beitrag AGATEX at Yarn Expo Autumn2026 erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

Why we are coming

Much of what a diaper, a feminine care pad or an adult incontinence product actually delivers is decided at the fibre and web surface. That is exactly where we work — since 1921, from Edt bei Lambach in Upper Austria, today serving customers in more than 40 countries.

The second reason is Asia. AGATEX is building a second production site in Prachinburi, Thailand. For converters across South and Southeast Asia that means the same formulations, but with short lead times, local availability and a response speed that shipping from Europe cannot match. ‘RIGHT’ HYGIENE is where we want to discuss that with the people it matters to.

The five conference tracks — and where we fit

The programme runs across Markets & Trends, Materials & Innovation, Process & Technology, Consumer Rights and Sustainability. The material side and the sustainability debate matter most to us: requirements for auxiliary chemistry are shifting faster than in the previous decade — PFAS regulation, recycled fibre entering hygiene applications, cost pressure with no tolerance for lower performance.

What we want to talk about in New Delhi

• Topsheet and ADL: reproducible hydrophilicity with LAMBAFIL® — sink time, strike-through, wetback and run-off, including multiple-insult testing. Permanent or temporary, depending on the product concept.
• Backsheet, leg cuffs and barrier layers: LAMBAPHOB® is 100% PFAS-free, based on natural raw materials and readily biodegradable to OECD 301. We have been developing PFAS-free alternatives for over a decade — not since the EU restriction debate began.
• Fibre preparation: LAMBAFIL® spin finishes for PP, PET, PLA, viscose, lyocell and bicomponent fibres — matched to carding, spunbond, needlepunch and spunlace.
• Process stability: LAMBAFELT® antistatics against fibre fly and machine downtime, LAMEX® defoamers for spunlace water loops and finishing baths.
• Development instead of a catalogue: at the AGATEX Innovation Center (AIC) in Austria we develop together with the customer — lab carding, lab padder, sink-time measurement and hygiene web testing to EDANA methods. The deliverable is not a test report, it is a formulation that runs on your line.

Who you will meet

Ravi Shindale, Application Technologist Asia, will be on site for both days. He advises converters across Asia at the machine and brings their requirements back into the AIC, where our lab develops the formulation. The path from “this does not work on our line” to a first trial sample is short here — the advantage of a family business with its own laboratory.

Book a slot

Two conference days, limited slots. Reach Ravi in advance at apac@agatex.at

Learn more:

www.agatex-nonwovens.com

www.agatex-fibers.com

AGATEX Feinchemie GmbH · Chemical auxiliaries for the fibre and nonwovens industry since 1921 · Production in Austria and Thailand · ISO 9001, ISO 14001, REACH · EDANA member

Der Beitrag AGATEX at ‘RIGHT’ HYGIENE 2026 in New Delhi erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

Brussels, June 2026 — The Textile Recycling Expo 2026 in Brussels brought together the leading minds in mechanical and chemical textile recycling — and AGATEX Feinchemie was right in the middle of it.

Over two intensive days at Stand #2424, our team engaged in in-depth conversations with recyclers, fiber producers, nonwoven manufacturers, and industry pioneers from across Europe and beyond. The message was clear: the circular textile economy is scaling up fast, and the right specialty chemistry is what makes the difference between a lab result and an industrial reality.

What We Presented

LAMBAFIL® R Series — Spin Finishes for Mechanically Recycled Fibers

The LAMBAFIL® R Series is our dedicated spin finish platform for mechanically recycled fiber streams. Purpose-built for the challenges of recycled feedstocks, the series addresses the most common processing pain points head-on:

• Reduced short fiber content and dust generation
• Significantly improved cardability and spinnability
• Higher potential recycled content in the final textile product

The series covers four distinct material profiles:

LAMEX® & LAMBATOL® — Process Chemistry for Chemical Recycling

Chemical recycling places highly specific demands on auxiliary chemistry. Our LAMEX® defoamers and LAMBATOL® washing agents are precisely tuned to the process conditions found in chemical textile recycling — from dissolution and purification through to polymer recovery.

Both products are formulated to work reliably at the temperature profiles, pH ranges, and contamination loads typical of modern chemical recycling operations.

LAMBAFIL® PET-Series — From Recycled PET Chips to High-Performance Fiber

Polyester fibers produced from chemically recycled PET chips require a spin finish system that accounts for the specific rheological and surface characteristics of recycled polymer. The LAMBAFIL® PET-Series provides exactly that — optimized lubrication, cohesion, and antistatic performance for consistent processability from spinning through downstream textile manufacturing.

Why AGATEX?

AGATEX Feinchemie has been developing and manufacturing specialty process chemicals for the fiber and textile industry since 1921. What sets us apart:

• 100+ years of fiber chemistry expertise
• Custom formulation — no off-the-shelf compromise
• AGATEX Innovation Center (AIC) for joint application trials
• PFAS-free and bio-based options available
• Production sites in Austria and Thailand
• ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 certified

Let’s Continue the Conversation

Did we miss each other in Brussels? We would love to hear from you.

Whether you are scaling up a recycled fiber line, qualifying a new feedstock, or looking to improve yield and quality in your current process — our team is ready to help.

📩 salesfc@agatex.at 🌐 www.agatex.at

Built on Trust. Driven by Chemistry.

Der Beitrag AGATEX at the Textile Recycling Expo 2026 erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

AGATEX will be present at the 65th Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (Dornbirn GFC) 2026 with a table top exhibit.

Our focus will be on our full portfolio of spin finishes and process auxiliaries for the fiber and nonwovens industry — from classic textile applications to technical and hygiene nonwovens.

Our solutions support:

• optimal fiber processing through controlled friction, antistatic performance, and cohesion
• textile applications in yarn and filament production
• technical nonwovens for automotive, filtration, geotextiles, industry & construction
• hygiene nonwovens with the highest requirements for skin compatibility and fluid management

At our booth, we will be showcasing:

• LAMBAFIL® – spin finishes & fiber preparations
• LAMBAFIL® – hydrophilic finishing agents
• LAMBAPHOB® – PFAS-free hydrophobic finishing agents
• LAMBAFELT® – antistatics
• LAMBATOL® – wetting agents
• LAMEX® – defoamers
• CABERTEX® – flame retardants & functional finishes

Visit us at table and discuss your specific applications with our team — from fiber to textile, technical, and hygiene nonwovens.

More about the congress: dornbirn-gfc.com

1. LAMBAFIL® spin finishes for man-made fibers (PET, PP, PA and others)

Spin finishes for filament and staple fiber processes, tailored to polyester, polypropylene, polyamide and further polymers. Development follows process reality: filament cohesion and friction behaviour, antistatic performance, thermal stability on godets and heated elements, drawing behaviour, and clean processability in texturing, carding and downstream operations. The standard range is complemented by customer-specific formulation development.

2. LAMBAFIL® hydrophilic finishes for man-made fibers and nonwovens

Durable and temporary hydrophilic finishes for applications where liquid uptake and distribution determine product performance – hygiene and medical nonwovens, filtration, technical nonwovens. The focus is on reproducible wettability across multiple insults, low yellowing tendency, and stable performance in spunbond, meltblown and carding/thermobonding processes.

3. LAMBAPHOB® hydrophobic finishes – PFAS-free

Water- and oil-repellent finishes without per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. With European PFAS restrictions advancing, substitution is no longer a future question for many producers but a live project on a deadline. LAMBAPHOB® is our answer: fluorine-free hydrophobic finishing with a robust property profile for technical textiles and nonwovens – including hands-on support during the changeover phase in the plant.

4. LAMBAFIL® R – finishes for mechanically recycled fibers

The product line currently occupying us most. Mechanically recycled fibers are shorter, more heterogeneous and mechanically more sensitive than virgin fibers – which shows up in tearing, carding and web formation as fiber breakage, short fiber content, dust and unstable slivers.

Less fiber damage means higher yield, better yarn and web quality, and calmer machinery. At the Table Top we are happy to walk you through how the series is structured and which grade suits which input stream.

5. LAMEX® defoamers for fiber production, spunlace and rPET washing

Foam is rarely a headline item in plant engineering – and frequently the reason a line does not run at rated capacity. LAMEX® defoamers are formulated for the aqueous circuits of fiber and nonwoven production: spunlace water circuits including filtration, finish baths in fiber manufacturing, and the washing stages of rPET processing. The criteria are fast knockdown, sustained foam control at low dosage, and compatibility with the remaining process chemistry.

6. LAMBATOL® washing agents for rPET flake and chip washing

The quality of rPET is decided in the wash. LAMBATOL® washing agents are designed to remove label adhesives, oils, greases and residues from the post-consumer stream – with controlled foaming and good rinsability. The objective is a flake or chip that delivers no surprises in extrusion and re-spinning.

Der Beitrag AGATEX at the 65th Dornbirn GFC 2026 erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

That one sentence is the answer most people are searching for. Everything below explains why it’s true, where the technology currently stands, and what it takes to turn recycled fiber into yarn a mill will actually run.

The Untapped Resource: 1 Million Tonnes a Year, and Counting

Germany alone collects roughly 1 million tonnes of used textiles every year. According to a June 2026 trend report in Melliand Textilberichte (Stegschuster & Cetin), more than half of that volume still ends up in downcycling — think insulation material, wiping cloths, nonwovens — or in thermal recovery, i.e. incineration. Given how resource- and emissions-intensive textile production is, that is a lot of value being destroyed rather than recirculated.

The report’s core finding is encouraging: mechanical recycling is technologically ready. The bottleneck isn’t the concept — it’s execution. Specifically, it’s fiber shortening during the tearing process, and everything that shortening breaks downstream.

How the Mechanical Textile Recycling Process Chain Works

Mechanical recycling of textiles follows a defined sequence, sometimes called the “rag-to-yarn” or “tearing-to-yarn” chain:

1. Sorting and pre-treatment — used textiles are sorted by fiber type and color, since mechanical recycling works best on relatively homogeneous input.
2. Tearing — textiles are mechanically shredded back into a fibrous state. This is the highest-risk step: aggressive tearing shortens fiber length and increases neps, dust, and fiber breakage.
3. Opening and blending — torn fiber is opened and typically blended with virgin or other recycled fiber to compensate for strength and length loss.
4. Carding — fibers are aligned into a web. Carding performance is extremely sensitive to fiber length distribution, dust load, and fiber-to-fiber friction — all of which are set upstream at the tearing stage.
5. Spinning — the carded sliver is drawn and spun into yarn. Weak, short, or high-friction fiber shows up here as breaks, uneven yarn, and low production speed.

The report frames this clearly: fiber length loss at step 2 is the single variable with the largest downstream impact on whether the final yarn is high-quality or barely spinnable.

Why Mechanical Recycling Isn’t “Just Good Enough for Downcycling”

There’s a persistent assumption in the industry that mechanically recycled fiber is inherently second-tier — suitable for nonwovens and insulation, not for apparel-grade yarn. The Melliand analysis pushes back on that. Done with the right process control, mechanical recycling can produce yarns that hold up against virgin fiber, at a fraction of the energy and water footprint of virgin fiber production or chemical (dissolving-pulp) recycling routes.

The determining factor isn’t the recycling method itself — it’s whether fiber integrity is protected at every step of the chain, starting with tearing.

Where Fiber Auxiliaries Come In: The LAMBAFIL® R Series

This is exactly the problem FiberLoop by AGATEX was built to solve with its LAMBAFIL® R Series, developed specifically for recycled raw materials. Four variants cover the main recycling feedstocks:

• LAMBAFIL® R100 — for synthetic-rich recycled material
• LAMBAFIL® R200 — for cotton and cellulosic recycled material
• LAMBAFIL® R300 — for PET-rich recycled material
• LAMBAFIL® R400 — for blended PET/cotton (“poly-cotton”) recycled material

Applied at the tearing and preparation stage, the LAMBAFIL® R Series reduces short-fiber content and dust generation and noticeably improves carding and spinning performance — enabling a higher achievable recycled content in the finished textile product. In short: LAMBAFIL® R doesn’t recycle the textile itself — it protects the fiber quality that mechanical recycling depends on, at the exact point in the chain where most of the damage happens.

AGATEX and the Recycling Atelier Augsburg

Since June 2024, AGATEX has been an industry partner in the network of the Recycling Atelier Augsburg (Technische Hochschule Augsburg / Institut für Textiltechnik Augsburg, ITA) — the world’s first model factory for mechanical textile recycling. The partner network comprises eleven industrial companies that together cover the entire mechanical textile recycling process chain. AGATEX contributes its process chemistry expertise, aimed at maximizing fiber length retention and recycling quality. More on the partnership and AGATEX’s circular-textiles products: agatex.at/textilesrecycling.

What It Will Take to Scale Circular Textiles

Mechanical recycling only scales if the whole chain works together:

• Mechanical recyclers need consistent, well-characterized fiber output
• Spinning mills need fiber and auxiliaries that run predictably on existing equipment
• Textile manufacturers need yarn quality they can specify against, not “recycled content” as a compromise
• Brands need traceable, verifiable circular material they can put on a label with confidence

None of these can solve fiber quality alone. It gets solved at the interface — tearing, carding, spinning — with the right process partners and the right auxiliaries.

FAQ: Mechanical Textile Recycling

What is mechanical textile recycling? Mechanical textile recycling is the physical processing of used textiles — tearing, opening, carding, and spinning — back into fiber and yarn, without chemically dissolving the polymer. It’s distinct from chemical/dissolving-pulp recycling methods.

Why does mechanical recycling produce lower-quality fiber? Not inherently — fiber quality loss comes primarily from mechanical damage during tearing, which shortens fibers and increases dust and breakage. With the right process control and fiber auxiliaries, mechanically recycled fiber can be spun into high-quality yarn.

How much used textile is available for recycling in Germany? Around 1 million tonnes per year are collected, per the June 2026 Melliand Textilberichte trend report — more than half currently goes to downcycling or thermal recovery rather than fiber-to-fiber recycling.

What does the LAMBAFIL® R Series do in the recycling process? The LAMBAFIL® R Series is AGATEX’s FiberLoop Technology fiber-auxiliary family for recycled raw materials, applied during tearing and preparation. It reduces short-fiber content and dust, and improves carding and spinning performance — with four variants for synthetic-rich (R100), cotton/cellulosic (R200), PET-rich (R300), and blended PET/cotton (R400) feedstocks.

What is the Recycling Atelier Augsburg? It’s the world’s first model factory for mechanical textile recycling, run by Technische Hochschule Augsburg and ITA Augsburg. A network of eleven industry partners — including AGATEX — together covers the full process chain from tearing through to finished recycled yarn.

Source: Stegschuster, G. & Cetin, M., “Prozesskette des mechanischen Recyclings vom Reißen bis zum Garn zur Herstellung hochwertiger Garne,” Melliand Textilberichte 3/2026, June 8, 2026. Read the original report.

More on AGATEX’s partnership with the Recycling Atelier Augsburg: agatex.at/textilesrecycling All AGATEX products for mechanical and chemical textile recycling and rPET fiber: agatex-fiberloop.com

Der Beitrag Mechanical Textile Recycling: Why the Process Chain from Tearing to Yarn Is the Key to Real Circularity erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

AGATEX will be exhibiting at the Textile Recycling Expo 2026 in Brussels.

Our focus will be on specialty additives for textile recycling, in particular our LAMBAFIL® R series – FiberLoop Technology, developed to improve the processing performance of mechanically recycled fibers and enable stable industrial production.

Our solutions help to:

• improve the processability of recycled fibers
• increase process stability
• ensure consistent material performance

A key focus will be on our core products within the LAMBAFIL® R series:

• LAMBAFIL® R100 – adapted for synthetic-rich recycling materials
• LAMBAFIL® R200 – adapted for cotton and cellulosic recycling materials
• LAMBAFIL® R300 – adapted for PET-rich recycling materials
• LAMBAFIL® R400 – adapted for mixed PET/cotton blended recycling materials

These solutions are designed to address the specific challenges of different recycling streams and support our customers in reliably integrating recycled materials into industrial processes.

Visit us at our booth and discuss your specific applications and challenges in textile recycling with our team.

Plan your visit and schedule a meeting:
https://tre2026.mapyourshow.com/8_0/exhibitor/exhibitor-details.cfm?exhid=2424

Der Beitrag Textile Recycling Expo 2026 – Brussels erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

During Techtextil in Frankfurt, our colleagues Thomas Maier and Kristian Gavric met with Maria Ström and Roos Mulder from Loop Factory to further strengthen our ongoing collaboration.

The focus of the discussion was clear: how to improve material performance through early and close cooperation. In the fiber and nonwovens industry, the best solutions are rarely developed in isolation — they emerge when different areas of expertise come together at an early stage.

At AGATEX, one principle guides our work:
material performance must prove itself in real production environments.

This means:

• reliability in processing
• consistent, reproducible results
• long-term stability

Together with Loop Factory, we are working along this path — step by step, without shortcuts.

Partnerships like this are a key part of how we operate. They allow us to learn faster, develop better-performing materials, and create solutions that truly last.

We look forward to continuing this collaboration.

Der Beitrag Building Better Materials Through Strong Partnerships – AGATEX at Techtextil erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

Edt bei Lambach, Austria – AGATEX Feinchemie GmbH has opened a new Innovation Center at its site in Edt bei Lambach. Following less than one year of construction and an investment in the seven-figure euro range, the new facilities were occupied at the end of last year.

“This investment is a clear commitment to our Austrian site and highlights the importance of research, development and innovation for our company. At the same time, our parallel investments in Thailand strengthen our international presence and allow us to be even closer to our customers in global growth markets,” says Managing Director Georg Bauer.

The core of the investment in Edt bei Lambach is the expansion of AGATEX’s research and development capabilities. This includes an upgraded chemical laboratory, a new application technology laboratory designed to simulate real customer processes, as well as additional office and meeting spaces. The application laboratory, in particular, enables product testing under realistic, process-oriented conditions.

“With this investment, we can support our customers even more effectively and significantly reduce development timelines. Developing solutions together with our customers is essential to finding the right answers to complex challenges. Our clear goal is to become the preferred partner of our customers,” adds Managing Director Nikolaus Bauer-Harnoncourt.

With the new Innovation Center in Austria and the simultaneous expansion of its international activities – especially in Southeast Asia – AGATEX is setting the course for sustainable growth, technological excellence and closer customer collaboration worldwide.

About AGATEX

AGATEX Feinchemie GmbH is an Austrian family-owned company founded in 1921 and headquartered in Edt bei Lambach. The company develops, produces and markets specialty chemicals for the fiber and nonwovens industry, the paper and pulp industry, the wood-based materials industry, as well as other industrial applications.

A second business segment supplies refrigerants for the air conditioning and refrigeration industry as well as for the automotive sector. Through shareholdings, AGATEX is also active in the detergent business.

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Der Beitrag AGATEX opens new Innovation Center erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.

As a family-owned company with more than 100 years of history, circularity is deeply rooted in our philosophy. We firmly believe that real progress can only be achieved through strong industrial partnerships across the value chain.

Our Contribution: LAMBAFIL® R – Enhanced Performance for Mechanical Recycling

With our LAMBAFIL R Series, we support fiber and nonwoven producers in achieving higher recycling performance without compromising process efficiency:

• Longer fibers due to improved cohesion

• Significantly reduced dust formation

• Smoother processing in carding and spinning

• Stable and consistent quality, even at higher recycled content

We are delighted that our Head of Application Technology, Thomas Maier, will be present at the event to discuss technical challenges, ongoing projects, and new partnership opportunities.

More information about our solutions: https://www.agatex.at/en/textilerecycling/

More information about the event: https://www.stfi.de/en/events/colloquium-re4tex

Let’s shape the future of circular textiles together.
Let’s go Circular together.

Der Beitrag AGATEX at Re4tex 2025 – Driving Circularity in the Textile Industry erschien zuerst auf AGATEX.