Back to the chips
A new €700,000+ regranulation unit at its plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is allowing the highly efficient re-use of materials rejected from the production process for Freudenberg Nonwovens.
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Record quarter at Oerlikon
Having exited the business of machinery for carded and needled drylaid nonwovens while retaining its spunmelt technologies, in addition to shedding its Textile Components business, Oerlikon Textile achieved record sales, order intake and operating profit in the first quarter of 2013.
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Huntsman victory in China
In a significant case illustrating that the Chinese courts are now fully committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of both domestic and multinational companies, Huntsman Textile Effects has obtained a judgment against Shanghai Colva Dyestuff Industry from the Intermediate People’s Court in Shanghai.
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Bio-based bico spunbond
Global hygiene nonwovens giant Fitesa has announced the development and commercialisation of a new 100% sustainable and bio-based spunbond fabric for the hygiene and personal care markets.
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Andritz needlepunch showcase
Asselin-Thibeau of the Andritz Group has opened its new technical centre in Elbeuf, France, giving nonwovens producers the opportunity to test the neXline needlepunch pilot line which unites all of the latest technology developments by Andritz for this market on an industrial scale.
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EC seeks entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs
A long term strategic plan by the European Commission (EC) to rebuild the European economy by investing in the development of new technologies has now reached the stage where it will start to have an impact as it reaches the commercialisation phase.
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Fiberweb expands in Tennessee
Following £14.5 million in expansion programmes during 2012, Fiberweb has announced a $15 million expansion at its US plant in Old Hickory, Tennessee.
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ADL expansion in Italy
Italian hygiene nonwovens producer Texsus is to invest €25 million at its plant in Pistoia, Italy, as part of a strategic plan to expand European production.
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Voith Paper teams with Trützschler
Paper machine manufacturer Voith Paper and nonwovens technology specialist Trützschler are joining forces to offer a complete production line for the manufacturing of wetlaid and hydroentangled nonwovens.
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Needling efficiency
As the world’s leading provider of industrial machine needles Groz-Beckert will unveil a number of new developments at the forthcoming IDEA13 show in Miami.
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Lean thinking at Ahlstrom
Nonwovens leader Ahlstrom’s just-released 2012 Sustainability Report shows solid environmental progress and in 2013 the company is embarking on a Lean programme, with four initial pilot projects.
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New alternative to solvent adhesives
While many adhesive users have been underwhelmed with water based products in the past, 3M’s 1000NF new fast tack water based adhesive is poised to change perceptions.
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Fully wrapped bales at lower cost
Autefa’s new fully automated Uni-Fork fibre baler system has the capacity to handle the logistics for six fibre lines, including fibre bale packing, weighing and labelling, and replacing all of the individual manual units that would be required for such a plant.
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Asahi's local shop in Thailand
Asahi Kasei held a grand opening ceremony for its a new spunbond plant in Thailand on February 12, 2013.
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Airlaid advances at Glatfelter
Glatfelter Advanced Airlaid Materials ended 2012 on a high, registering a 30.4% increase in operating profit in the three months to December and a 34% increase for the year overall.
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Pegas powers up in Egypt
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PET recycling in Uzbekistan
Starlinger, the Austrian-headquartered recycling machinery specialist, has recently supplied equipment for a pioneering PET recycling project in Uzbekistan.
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Filament first for Trützschler
Following its acquisition of manmade filament technology specialist SwissTex in November last year, Trützschler reports that it has secured its first order for the proven symTTex technology.
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War on waste at Web Industries
Following a highly successful 2012, Web Industries has begun the New Year with a further expansion at its plant in Dallas, Texas, where it is upgrading converting equipment to add high-speed flexographic printing and precision inline slitting for nonwovens customers.
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Freudenberg know-how for finishing
The finishing of textiles for sport, leisure and work is a key prerequisite for ensuring clothing has the required functional properties such as weather resistance.
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Agru blazing a trail
Having purchased the former needlepunch nonwovens plant of Performance Fabrics and Fibers in Andrews, South Carolina, in January 2012, Agru America has announced plans to substantially expand there, with an investment of $19.
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Carpet backing technology patented
Propex has secured a US patent for the yarn manufacturing technology it developed and currently uses in its proprietary EX3 lightweight carpet backings.
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New meltblown filter media addition
A new meltblown production line has been installed at Sandler’s Schwarzenbach/Saale plant in German in just four months.
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Seeking solvent solutions
Ecofriendly polymer solvents are required if solution-based processes such as the electrospinning of nanofibres as layers for nonwovens in filter media are to be more widely employed in industry.
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Trützschler takes over SwissTex
The Trützschler Group is considerably expanding its manmade fibres range and the potential for supplying highly-integrated lines by taking over SwissTex Winterthur AG.
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Solid progress for Buckeye
Leading airlaid nonwovens producer Buckeye Technologies has released its 2012 Sustainability Report highlighting continuing efforts to reduce fossil fuel and water usage, solid waste production and air emissions.
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Autefa expands in Europe and Asia
Autefa Solutions – the developer of highly efficient advanced nonwovens technology – is expanding its headquarters in Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany (pictured).
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New Sulzer technology for Ingeo
PLA fibres and nonwovens with reduced shrinkage and improved dimensional stability will result from the proprietary production equipment that is currently being shipped from Sulzer Chemtech in Switzerland to the NatureWorks Ingeo plant in Blair, Nebraska, USA.
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Cutting waste and water use at Mölnlycke
Single-use surgical products manufacturer Mölnlycke Health Care has opened a new production line at its plant in Waremme, Belgium, which is bringing substantial environmental benefits.
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100% effective nanocoating
The nanocoating technology of Delaware-registered US company XTI is believed to be the first in the world to achieve an antibacterial efficacy rate of 100%.
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Spunmelt drives European growth
The latest EDANA statistics show a growth in European nonwovens production volume for 2011 of 5.7%, with several market segments recording their best output ever in both tonnage and square metres, including those for baby diapers, medical products, personal care wipes, civil engineering, automotive and agricultural applications.
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Next step for extruded Tencel
Lenzing has made a rapid and significant breakthrough with its TencelWeb project to process Tencel in solution form directly into nonwovens via the meltblowing route.
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Major gains for Toray
The environment, specifically in respect of water-related and energy issues, is one of four key business fields Japan’s Toray Group is currently chasing growth in.
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Healing materials
The first meltblown nonwovens manufacturing line capable of handling a wide range of new and high value fibres has recently been shipped from the UK to a specialised medical products manufacturer in the USA.
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P2i allows more with less
While it has now secured widespread success in the huge markets of electronic devices and footwear, P2i can also provide a number of significant advantages for manufacturers of filter media based on nonwovens and membranes with its liquid repellent nanocoating technology.
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Asia nonwovens top 3 million tonnes
KOREA – Asia’s nonwoven production reached 3.09 million tons in 2011, said Wang Yanxi, chairman of ANFA, the All-Nippon Nonwoven Fabrics Association, at the opening ceremony of the ANEX 2012 exhibition in Seoul, Korea on Wednesday (June 13).
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Peak performance with ACS
In drylaid nonwovens manufacturing, the evolution of batt forming technology over the past 20 years has focused on the development of dynamic batt shaping to optimize weight uniformity across the width of the finished felt at the winder.
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Durable distinction with spunbond
The spunbond technology of Oerlikon Neumag now enables producers of durable nonwovens such as geotextiles, roofing materials and carpet backing to reduce energy costs and expand their capacities – with the added security of a reliable after sales service.
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More with less in Europe
The combined efforts of European nonwovens producers to continue to achieve comparable performance with lower weight products are evident in the latest statistics from industry body EDANA.
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Positive benefits for spunmelt
At the recent EDANA Eurasia Nonwovens Symposium in Istanbul, David Whiteman, technical service manager for Imerys Minerals, outlined the positive outcome of trials of the company’s FiberLink ground calcium carbonate (GCC) with spunmelt nonwovens.
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Scaffolene for new surgical procedures
The Freudenberg Group – which has just posted record turnover of over €6 billion – has developed a new technology platform for applications such as surgery, wound treatment and regenerative medicine – bioresorbable nonwovens for medical applications.
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Increased throughput for spunbond
XZ 89461.00, a new experimental polyethylene fibre grade resin from Dow, extends the company’s Aspun resin portfolio for mono and bicomponent spunbound nonwovens for hygiene and medical applications.
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PGI’s Arium advantages
During 2011, Polymer Group (PGI) started-up new lines at Suzhou in China and at Waynesboro, Virginia, USA, to bring its proprietary spunmelt equipment to nearly 80% of total nonwovens capacity.
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Neumag line for India
Goldman Sachs has famously predicted that India’s economy will exceed that of Europe and Japan by 2030 and that of the US by 2045, as a result of the increase in household incomes and predicted growth in the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors.
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Like ducks to water with Ecorepel
Ducks can dive under water and re-emerge with their feathers still dry as a result of an oily secretion that makes their plumage repel water.
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Nanospider makes cleanroom setting debut
The National Tissue Centre (NTC) in Brno, Czech Republic, has become the first cleanroom to employ an Elmarco Nanospider industrial scale nanofibre nonwovens system.
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Cleanroom installation at National
National Nonwovens has installed a new 2.4-metre-wide airlaid needlepunch nonwoven line in a contained, cleanroom environment at its plant in Easthampton, Massachusetts, USA.
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Airlaid gains, but little weight loss
The latest Freedonia market report on the global nonwovens industry predicts only a modest decrease in the average weight of materials over the next few years.
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Projects boost for UCMTF companies
The French manufacturers of machinery for nonwovens production represented by the UCMTF report major new projects secured at the recent ITMA trade show in Barcelona.
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New small batch process for tissue growth
An advantageous new semi-continuous web-formation process with the ability to produce small batches of even fibre nonwovens for use as human tissue scaffolds has been developed in Germany.
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Submicron fibres for new benefits
Polymer Group (PGI) has initiated a new platform technology for the production of nonwovens containing submicron fibres that can deliver improved performance properties for healthcare, industrial, filtration and new emerging market applications.
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Regranulation for greener productivity
At the recent ITMA textile machinery show in Barcelona, Spain, Austria-headquartered Starlinger was promoting its recycling equipment for fibre and spunmelt nonwoven production scrap.
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Waste-free functional nanocoating
A new range of high performance, durable and conformal nanocoatings for nonwovens and technical textiles and an atmospheric pressure plasma liquid deposition technology are being introduced by US organisation Triton Systems.
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Big names bowled over by new technology
At the recent ITMA show, a nonwovens machinery builder has attracted enquiries from the likes of IKEA, Nike and Patagonia – while already supplying to Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Teijin – for its ability to create new value-added products from both staple synthetics and natural fibres like flax, hemp and PLA.
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Strong new partnerships for Alexium
Alexium has signed new development partnership agreements with Bruck Textiles, Australia’s biggest textile manufacturer, and Wilbur Ross’s International Textile Group (ITG).
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Streamlining for cost savings
At this week’s ITMA textile machinery show taking place in Barcelona, Trützschler Nonwovens has introduced its new Streamliner drum dryer which achieves much higher specific evaporation capacities than has previously been possible.
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Certain growth in an uncertain future
Nonwovens will account for at least a quarter, and maybe as much as a third of all global textile production by 2050. This was the prediction of Friedrich Weninger, president of the Austrian Manmade Fibres Institute in his opening address at the 50th Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress (Dornbirn-MFC) on Wednesday (September 14th).
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Energy efficiency for BWF Protec
A special Montex gas powered stenter line with heat recovery for added efficiency has been supplied to Germany’s BWF Protec by Monforts.
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Spunlace savings with the Supra-Flow
In the manufacturing of spunlace nonwovens, drum-type dryers are usually employed after hydroentanglement. The unmatched temperature accuracy across the fabric width provided by Brückner’s new
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All-change for European technology
There is major movement in the European nonwovens machinery industry, with Andritz AG in talks to purchase NSC nonwoven and Oerlikon Neumag proposing to sell its significant carding operations to Chinese company Zhengzhou Hi-Tech Nonwoven Technology.
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Ingeo expansion in Nebraska
NatureWorks has announced a major capital investment project at its plant in Blair, Nebraska, USA, for the production of new grades of high-performance Ingeo PLA biopolymers – including a product that will reduce the shrinkage and improve the dimensional stability of nonwovens.
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Ram Stuffer excels at fibre recycling
As the demand for recycling efficiency continues to grow, Davis-Standard’s ram stuffer extruder has proved to be a cost-effective solution for fibre waste.
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Low energy Andritz Perfojet spunlace
Low energy consumption will be a chief characteristic of the new high speed spunlace line which is being supplied by Andritz Perfojet to Mogul, based in Gaziantep, Turkey.
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