Andritz’s partnership with Pellenc ST and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles marks a turning point for industrial-scale textile recycling technology.

The first industrial-scale automatic textile sorting line in France has been established thanks to a collaboration between the global technology company Andritz, Pellenc ST, and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles. The three partners' respective areas of expertise—sorting technologies, textile machines, and post-consumer textile value chains—are combined in this collaboration.

Utilizing automated sorting technology from Pellenc ST and recycling technology from Andritz, the new textile sorting line will process post-consumer textile waste and produce recovered fiber for the spinning, nonwoven, and composite sectors.

The line will function as a production line for Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, an R&D line for the partners, and a test and demonstration facility for its clients once it starts operating in the middle of 2023.

The goal of Nouvelles Fibres Textiles is to establish itself as a leader in the creation of industrial-grade materials as well as industrial-scale post-consumer textile sorting. This will be accomplished by utilizing cutting-edge technologies that include hard point removal to produce pure fibers, selective colors, and distinct fiber kinds.

Eric Boël, president of Nouvelles Fibres Textiles said that the partnership between Nouvelles Fibres Textiles and Eric Bol has officially begun, and the company is really delighted to announce this. This was made possible by several years of R&D with important figures from the textile and domestic waste management industries. By fully integrating the value chain, they all contributed their knowledge and skills to promoting circularity for textiles on the ground. This ensures the traceability of recovered materials, decreases the environmental effect of the textile and composites sectors and lowers their carbon footprint while producing worthwhile jobs.

The new alliance highlights the partners' dedication to sustainability and innovation in the textile industry and represents a significant step forward for industrial-scale recycling technologies for circularity.