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, said the company. Small yarn capacity meant low production quantities, so available inventory was quickly purchased.
Now, manufacturers around the world will have access to the four-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, explained Toray. 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 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. 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

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

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 such as 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.