Fibers
Week of January 13, 2003
Wellman touts benefits of its value-added fibers
Editor’s note: This submission by Wellman, Inc. was inadvertently excluded from our annual Fibers, Chemicals & Dyestuffs edition.
Wellman, Inc. said it is committed to a strategy of developing unique, value-added fibers that will give its mill, manufacturer and retail customers the opportunity to create products that will excite its customers and grow their business.
With the launch of Sensura, Wellman introduced a whole new body of chemistry. Sensura is a staple fiber that gives fabrics a sensual and soft hand, and an extremely luxurious appearance, the manufacturer said. It is naturally comfortable and cotton-like. It dyes deeper, holding color much longer and providing great stability throughout the life of the garment, Wellman added.
Sensura dries twice as fast as cotton, and moves moisture through the microclimate between skin and clothing, transporting it to the surface where it quickly evaporates, Wellman pointed out. Thus, skin never gets clammy or chilled.
New for 2003 is microdenier Sensura with the potential of innovative new fabrications. Currently being seen — or soon to be seen — at major retail stores, beautiful Sensura fabrics have been added to lines at manufacturers such as Dockers, Champion and Eastern Mountain Sportswear, as well as in upscale catalogues including Coldwater Creek and TravelSmith.
Ultura, a filament fiber, produces fabrics that are sexy and silky to the touch. On the performance side, Ultura has wonderful moisture management capabilities, resists static, wrinkling, shrinking and pulling out of shape. Another durable and easy-care fiber, Ultura works well in swimwear and intimate apparel.
ComFortrelPlus is a feel-good filament fiber that gives fabrics all the softness of natural fibers and the performance of synthetics, Wellman said. It has better moisture management properties, higher strength and lower static, the company added.
Wellman noted that ComFortrel Plus has higher dye uptake at atmospheric temperature and pressure. It has extraordinary compatibility with spandex and is equally game for swimsuits and intimate apparel, sleek sportswear and body- responsive performance wear, the manufacturer said.
ComFortrel Plus has superior breathability and chemically based wickability, dyes well and holds color longer, wash after wash, Wellman claimed. Also, it resists wrinkling, shrinking and pulling out of shape, the company said.
Currently developing ComFortrel Plus fabrics into their lines are Levi, Haggar and Savane.
New for Milliken for fall 2003 is a group of breakthrough fabrics utilizing the ComFortrel Plus technology in both staple and filament form. These fabrics will go into mens’ and womens’ casual wear, as well as executive wear.
The latest in this new technology is ComFortrel XP for extra performance. This new staple fiber is an advancement of Wellman’s current ComFortrel technology. With a soft hand, excellent moisture management, low pill and excellent dye capability that keeps color bright for a long time, Wellman said, ComFortrel XP has been specifically engineered for the outdoor high-performance market. Wellman launched this new fiber last year at the Outdoor Retailer Show.
As part of the new fiber strategy, Wellman also identified a new market for its fibers, the sock market. Building on a strong foothold in the performance fibers industry, Wellman’s sock-specific fiber business will focus on some of its most comfortable, high-performance staple fibers, ComFortrel XP, Sensura® and Spunnaire®, as well as ComFortrel Plus‚ a filament fiber which provides the hosiery manufacturer with a replacement for the nylon filament they typically use, but dyes like these new staple products and is less expensive than nylon, according to Wellman.
This exceptional family of high performance fibers, developed from a patented co-polymer that allows fibers to be atmospherically dyed for greater color fastness, delivers superior fit, shape retention, excellent abrasion resistance and moisture management, the maker said.
For Wellman, the hosiery industry was a logical next step in a fibers strategy based on product innovation and market diversification. Wellman said it continues to develop viable and unique added-value fibers to complement the needs of its customers’ product offering.
Not to be forgotten are MicroSpun and Spunnaire — also viable, added-value products that have a solid place in Wellman’s family of fibers. Along with new technologies and new fibers, Wellman continues to develop product extensions of its existing products, bringing additional value to the distribution chain. Whether as enhancements in mill spinning or excitement at retail, Wellman fibers have an edge and can solve customers’ problems.
Wellman said it is working on some additional surprises for this year, continuing to build on its strategy of new and innovative advances in technology, marketing and exciting new brands.
