Viscose specialist Kelheim Fibres will have a strong presence at this year’s Dornbirn’s Man-Made Fibers Congress.

Kelheim’s commercial director Matthew North will outline the strategy of the Bavarian fibre manufacturer in a speech entitled ‘A Specialist Specialises’ and explain how, as a medium-sized enterprise, it has gained an excellent position in an increasingly competitive global market.

Viscose fibres engineered for wetlaid nonwovens will be the subject of the first in a series of papers by Kelheim’s R&D team. Dr Ingo Bernt will explain that current research proves confirms that short fibres with flat cross sections prove particularly beneficial for the strength of a nonwoven web. The latest fibre development from Kelheim, branded Leonardo, combines both properties, in addition to having an extra smooth surface and transparency.

Viscose speciality fibres for enhanced fluid management will be the subject of Dr Philipp Wimmer, who will provide details of new fibres with increased water absorbency and the completely new possibility of producing fibre types with reduced water absorbency and even water repellence.

Dr Roland Scholz will describe work on developing Kelheim viscose fibres designed to improve the dispersibility of wet wipes. His team’s underlying research examined wet wipes for personal hygiene applications which are frequently flushed into toilets – and risk blocking the waste water system. In the course of the study important factors were discovered which result in the dispersibility of nonwovens based on 100% viscose fibres – in addition to water pressure in production and the properties of the nonwoven, the fibre geometry (titre, length and shape of cross-section) play a decisive role here.
This year’s Dornbirn’s Man-Made Fibers Congress takes place in the Austrian town from September 19-21. Details: www.dornbirn-mfc.com