From the Sector

Exhibitors from eight countries have already confirmed to participate in the fair’s European Zone. They join an expected 500-plus total exhibitors from around the world. The 2018 edition of this biennial fair takes place from 4 – 6 September in halls N1 – N3 of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

While China retains its edge in terms of technical textiles and nonwovens production capabilities, in the eyes of Chinese buyers, European suppliers are still the leaders when it comes to technology and innovation. This was widely reported by European exhibitors at the previous edition in 2016 of Asia’s leading biennial trade event for the industry: Cinte Techtextil China.

“In the Chinese market, buyers want good quality products, so overseas companies, and products with recognised quality certifications, have a lot of potential,” Ms Ping Chen, General Manager of IBENA Shanghai Technical Textiles commented. “As a leading German company in the industry, our products are welcomed by many buyers at this fair. It is also important to be in the German Pavilion as this signals to buyers that we have quality products, and it attracts more attention.” Swiss firm Sanitized AG had the same experience. “As a Swiss company in the European Zone I believe it’s an advantage, as some local buyers have more confidence towards imported products,” Mr Steven Liu, Sales Manager said.

Other exhibitors commented on the long-term trends in the Chinese market. “There’s a definite shift to more high-quality machinery in China that isn’t affected by what’s happening in the overall economy. Moreover, there are opportunities for overseas suppliers as there is still a gap between us and what Chinese companies produce,” Dr Joachim Binnig, Vice President, Head of Development & Technology, Autefa Solutions Germany GmbH explained.

Mr Roger Zhang, Sales Manager for German firm J.H. Ziegler Nonwovens and New Materials commented: “Our products are mainly for high-end Chinese customers, such as BMW and Audi. The Chinese market has gradually matured, but the production capability for high-performance products which are energy efficient and eco-friendly is still developing, so there is a lot of space for overseas brands to develop here.”

European Zone highlights
This year’s European Zone will feature around 30 exhibitors from eight countries, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, while further exhibitors can be found in national pavilions from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. Some of the exhibitor highlights in the European Zone include:

• Arkema (France): with brands including PMMA Altuglas, Rilsan, Pebax, Kynar PVDF and Bostik, they will present polymer resin for fibres and yarns, which apply to a wide range of applications, at the fair.
• Dakota Coating (Belgium): specialists in thermoplastic and thermosetting adhesives, their polymer products, based on polyethylene, polyolefin or mixtures, ethylene vinyl acetates, co-polyamides, polyurethanes and co-polyesters, are suitable for automotive, building, heat transfer and sound insulation uses.
• Lenzing Plastics (Austria): a new exhibitor at the fair, they are a leading manufacturer of polyolefin and fluoropolymer products, such as Thermoplast and PTFE products. One of their core competencies lies in the monoaxial stretching of films and filaments, and they offer special solutions in the fields of construction & insulation, medicine & hygiene, packaging and cables, as well as automotive and technical textiles. They will highlight their PROFILEN® PTFE product at the fair, and with its extreme durability and very smooth surface, it is highly valued in many niche applications in the technical and medical sectors.
• Protechnic (France): leading manufacturers of hot-melt adhesives and plastic printed films, they will showcase hot melt thermo-adhesive nets, webs and films at the fair.
• Trelleborg Coated Systems (Italy): another new exhibitor this edition, they produce high-performance, engineered coated fabrics. They offer a wide variety of substrates – from Kevlar® to silk – with a choice of weaving methods.

Geleen, NL - Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, today announces that DSM-Niaga and ECOR are to start a research collaboration. The collaboration will focus on developing fully recyclable and healthier alternatives for particleboard, MDF and other panel materials which can be used in industries such as building & construction, furniture, interior decoration and displays. ECOR offers technology for circular materials and has an R&D facility in Venlo, the Netherlands.

Looking at the piles of waste generated by the interior and construction industries, design for recycling is inevitable. Both ECOR and DSM-Niaga have been redesigning products to be fully recyclable back into the same product. The irreversible combination of materials and ingredients used in most products made with MDF and particleboard is the biggest challenge for technically and economically feasible recycling. Both ECOR and DSM-Niaga want to outsmart complexity for healthier and recyclable products.

Eric Logtens, CEO ECOR-NOBLE Environmental Benelux commented: “The concept that traditional materials like tabletops are up for incineration or disposal after their life cycle will be eliminated. Combining ECOR and Niaga® technologies, the core materials of products can be made from recycled content, and can be fully recycled after use.”

Chris Reutelingsperger, Chief Technology Officer DSM-Niaga commented: “By combining ECOR and Niaga, waste becomes a treasure. I can’t stop thinking of all the possibilities, and I hope that designers will approach us for ideas to make beautiful products and challenge us to broaden the possibilities of these technologies.”

In recent months ECOR and DSM-Niaga explored a collaboration by combining each other’s technologies. The technology of ECOR can make materials from natural fibers, with water, pressure and heat alone. DSM-Niaga manufactures products by using a reversible adhesive. This adhesive enables easy decoupling of different material layers, for full recovery and high value recycling. Both technologies were combined and tested in diverse product applications, like furniture and displays. The preliminary results led to further investigating of applications and will lead to new fully recyclable products.

Both technologies combined offer a fully recyclable alternative to all products made from MDF and particleboard, without compromising on material safety, quality, and recyclability. The joint objective of both companies is to offer manufacturing processes to local companies, solving local waste problems and boosting local economies on a global scale.