22 July 2010, Friedrichshafen -
Leading Italian manufacturer
of warp and weft knitted fabrics SITIP SpA Industrie Tessili, showed its
new Acqua
Zero range of ‘non-wetting’ fabrics at last week’s Outdoor show on the
shores
of Lake Constance in Germany. Acqua Zero non-wetting fabrics are said to
be durable
and unique in that they have inherent stretch but can still retain their
water
repellency over long periods of time.
Speaking at Outdoor, SITIP’s Executive Marketing Director
Sergio Alibrandi explained: “Leading competitive finishes applied to
stretch fabrics
become brittle and start to break up when the fabrics are stretched.
Subsequent
washing then starts to remove the finishing particles, destroying the
water repellency
of the fabrics.”
The patented Acqua Zero nano-finishing technology is said to
have excellent water repellency (ISO 29865 - New 60 min.), have very low
water
absorption (ISO 29865 – New 60 min.) and low water leak (ISO 29865 – New
60
min.). Long lasting durability after
repeated use and laundering are also claimed and treated fabrics are
also said
to be both oil and stain resistant.
According to SITIP, Acqua Zero treated fabrics score grade 4
Water Repellency in the ISO 29856 (New 60 min) test, whilst a well known
competitive
product scores just a Grade 1. SITIP also claims that Acqua Zero has a
water
repellency value approximately three times greater than its competitor
after
one hour of rain and absorbs about 25% less water.
SITIP also says that tests on treated and non-treated tricot
swimwear fabrics show that the treated fabric completely outperforms the
non-treated fabric, leaking less than 500ml water as opposed to around
3000ml
water. Further water leakage tests on stretch thermal fabric for winter
activewear are also said to favour Acqua Zero over competitive products
and
non-treated fabrics.
Acqua Zero
treated fabrics are also said to score well in
easy care and comfort ratings as they are highly breathable and have
superior
moisture management properties. In addition fabrics are claimed to be
fast drying,
have improved UV and chlorine resistance, are wrinkle resistant and are
soft to
the touch.
SITIP manufactures fabrics for personal care, technical,
automotive, sports and beachwear applications. As well as substrates for
synthetic leathers it also produces laminated fabrics, stretch fabrics
and
ribbons for technical applications. Its vertical warp knitting division
incorporates
spinning, knitting and dyeing and finishing and can finish as much as
1.2
million kg per month of warp knitted fabrics. The company’s four warp
knitting production
units in Bergamo and Nylon Knitting company in Malta have a combined
knitting capacity
of 1.6 million kg per month.
The Bergamo sites house 143 warp knitting machines and the
Maltese site, 126 machines. Although best known for its warp knitted
fabrics,
SITIP also has the capacity to produce approximately 100,000 kg of
circular
knitted fabrics per month. SITIP also has brushing, shearing and fabric
polishing facilities and a flame lamination facility which is used to
bond foam
to fabric substrates.
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