Valvan Fibersort AI Textile Sorting for Recycling

Valvan is a Belgian machine builder headquartered in Menen and part of the Valtech Group. It was founded in 1968 as Valvan Metaalconstructie, moved into textile waste and baling presses in 1973 and rebranded as Valvan in 2023 to reflect its sorting and automation work. It addresses the bottleneck of textile recycling: post-consumer garments must be sorted by fibre and colour before recyclers can use them.

Fibersort scans each garment with a 3D camera for size, an RGB camera for colour and a near-infrared camera, and AI models estimate fibre concentration for both pure fibres and blends. Garments are then picked by a delta picker and robotic arm and blown into category bins, such as blue cotton or red nylon. Trimclean follows to remove zippers, buttons and labels so that textile-to-textile recyclers receive purer feedstock. Customers are textile sorters, collectors and recyclers.

• Triple-camera scanning: 3D, RGB and infrared cameras measure size, colour and fibre type of each garment.
• AI fibre estimation: models estimate fibre concentration from NIR scans for pure fibres and blends.
• High-speed picking: delta picker and robotic arm developed with Siemens reach about 1.8 seconds per garment.
• Modular categories: sorting categories can be added to match customer specifications.
• Trimclean: removes zippers, buttons and labels after fibre sorting to raise feedstock purity.
• Open integration: the AI system commands the controller via MQTT or OPC UA in a plug-and-play design.

Textile recycling companies in Vietnam can install Fibersort to grade post-industrial and post-consumer textiles by fibre and colour before mechanical or chemical recycling. Garment groups and industrial parks can set up central sorting stations for offcuts supplied to recycled fibre producers. Collectors exporting used clothing can raise the value of their bales by sorting to buyer specifications.

Fibersort processes up to about 2,000 garments per hour, replacing slow manual fibre identification. AI on NIR data recognises blends as well as pure fibres, so sorters can sell higher-value, specification-grade feedstock. The modular design lets customers add as many sorting categories as they need, and new features are backward compatible with installed machines.

Since January 2025 the EU requires separate collection of textiles, creating large volumes that must be sorted before reuse or recycling. Textile-to-textile recyclers need feedstock with known fibre composition, which manual sorting cannot deliver at scale. In Vietnam, large flows of garment-factory offcuts and growing interest in recycled yarn make automated fibre sorting relevant for emerging recycling hubs.

Founded in 1968 in Belgium; headquartered at Menen, part of the Valtech Group. Took over Gualchierani Baling Systems in 2010 and Agila in 2020, and rebranded to Valvan in 2023. Half of its turnover now comes from recycling solutions. Project cases include Erdotex and the Salvation Army processing centre in Kettering, UK. Fibersort kinematics were co-developed with Siemens.