Toray's Nylon Primeflex Now Available Worldwide

Toray Industries, Inc., has announced a supply chain breakthrough that will make its Nylon Primeflex fabric available to the worldwide market.

Since its introduction five years ago, Nylon Primeflex has been an under-the-radar favorite for certain Toray customers in the Japanese market. Small yarn capacity meant low production quantities, so available inventory was quickly purchased.

Now, however, manufacturers around the world will have access to the 4-way stretch, abrasion resistance and smooth, quiet hand-feel of Nylon Primeflex.

The fabric itself is an improved stretch nylon that employs a bicomponent construction, blending two different types of nylon polymer in a single yarn. In addition, the new version uses a partially bio-based nylon, keeping the 20-year-old Primeflex line up-to-date with consumer preferences.

Toray engineers made a series of remarkable technological breakthroughs to develop the new Primeflex:

• The bicomponent structural nylon fiber (see cross-section below) bonds two nylon polymers with different performance characteristics into a single thread. The result is a hybrid yarn that possess both stretchability and soft feel, both critical elements for the sports and athleisure markets.

The cross section shows the combination of two distinct nylon polymers.

• Stretch and stretch recovery issues that used to limit nylon have been overcome by the bicomponent structure, even for the warp yarns in woven fabrics. This allows the fabric to fit the contours of a body in motion, but also to recover from stretching to its original shape.

• Toray engineers also developed a new texturizing process to solve capacity limitations and enable sales to both the European and North American markets. The new fiber will lend itself to future development applications like waterproof moisture permeability.

The performance, stretch and sustainability properties of the new Primeflex make it a logical choice for use in down products like jackets and vests, along with mid-layers, athleisure, and sports/casual wear designed for the outdoors.

These latest advances in high-performance, sustainable production are more steps forward in Toray's pursuit of materials development and diverse applications for its new Primeflex in the domestic and international markets.