From the Sector

• INDEX™26 officially concluded at Palexpo as a successful edition, spread over a gross exhibition space of 50’000m2, the event featured 625 exhibitors from 44 countries, fully playing their part through high-quality, prestigious stands, confirming its status as a central hub for nonwovens innovation. 
• The event attracted 11,452 visits providing an important meeting place for global decision-makers to witness the industry's evolution toward high-tech, durable, and sustainable solutions. 
• A defining theme of the edition was the integration of technical excellence and environmental responsibility, with a major focus on circular design and carbon footprint reduction as primary performance indicators. 
• Beyond the exhibition halls, the strong response to the specialized seminar programme and new immersive experiences highlighted how global collaboration and smart technologies are helping to shape a path for a circular manufacturing landscape. 

INDEX™ 26, the World’s Leading Nonwovens Exhibition, officially closed its doors today at Palexpo. In a context marked by uncertainty and continued pressure, the 2026 edition of INDEX™ concluded successfully. With a diverse range of 625 exhibiting companies from 44 countries, an important number of visitors, and an expanded international reach, the event confirmed its role as a central hub for innovation and a representative showcase of the nonwovens ecosystem. 

Driven by the strong presence of exhibitors, the 2026 edition confirmed the continued relevance of the event. With 11,452 visits, the four-day event brought together a strong mix of global decision-makers and technical experts, who came to explore the sector’s evolution from mass-produced disposable items to high-tech, durable and sustainable solutions. The professional events were well attended, establishing the exhibition as an indispensable meeting place for sharing experience and passion for the industry. Magali Fakhry Dufresne, Director of INDEX™, noted: “Despite the current geopolitical context, affecting travel conditions and budgets, the industry demonstrated a strong commitment to attend. Participants were keen to meet in person, reconnect with their peers and advance discussions. INDEXTM is a great opportunity for the young generation to discover many innovations all gathered under one roof. Once again, INDEX™ confirmed its role as a key event for the global nonwovens community every three years.” She adds: “I also would like to thank the industry, and particularly the exhibitors, for their engagement and continued commitment. Exhibitors played a decisive role in the success of the edition, with high-quality, prestigious stands that reflected the strength and ambition of the sector.” 

The defining theme of the 2026 edition was the integration of environmental responsibility and technical excellence. Industry representatives demonstrated that sustainability and performance now form a unified mission that permeates the entire value chain. A key focus was the increasing significance of reducing the carbon footprint as the industry's primary performance indicator. Exhibitors presented the latest production technologies designed to increase throughput and produce finer fibres. Circular design was a major focus of these developments, with many new materials replacing complex multi-layer structures with recyclable designs made from a single material. Furthermore, the event showcased high-performance protective textiles that meet new safety standards without the use of PFAS. 

“The INDEX™26 seminar programme and products presentations showcased developments demonstrating how companies are achieving a competitive edge by going beyond regulatory compliance. It showed that it is vitally important for companies to adapt and be agile to successfully master new market challenges such as the Iranian and other crises”, added Pieter Meijer, Chairman of the INDEX™ Advisory Board. 

Networking and immersive experiences 
The exhibition offered a consistent experience-oriented approach, as evidenced by the numerous areas dedicated to innovation and technical demonstrations. The event also strengthened its networking dimension, introducing a unique 'Women's Networking Breakfast' to build mentoring networks for the future of the community. The new immersive experience, 'Nonwovens: In Every Layer of Life', was well received, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the integral role these materials play in modern society. Over four days, Geneva provided the setting for an exhibition that remains a place of discovery for current and future technologies. 

Looking to the future 
Murat Dogru, General Manager of EDANA concludes: “INDEX™26 had demonstrated how innovation in the industry is now being driven by global collaboration. The synergy between automated machinery, smart chemistry, and extreme weight reduction has pointed to a promising direction for a more efficient, circular manufacturing landscape. We are already looking forward to INDEXTM29 (15-18 May 2029), to discuss the latest developments.”

The nonwovens industry has officially crowned its new winners. Today at the opening of INDEX™ 2026, five companies were honoured with the INDEX™ Awards, the industry’s highest accolade for technical excellence and forward-thinking design. 

From high-speed machinery to breakthroughs in molecular chemistry, this year's winners were selected for their ability to merge top-tier performance with the urgent requirements of a circular economy. 

Category: Nonwoven roll goods 
Winner: Lenzing - LENZING™ Dualwipe 
LENZING™ Dualwipe is a high-performance cleaning wipe crafted from regenerated cellulose using LENZING™ Nonwovens Technology. Its innovative dual-surface design integrates abrasion and absorbency in a single material, enabling efficient cleaning without relying on fossil-based synthetic materials, binders, or chemical additives. One side features a mechanically active surface for scrubbing away dirt, grease, and residues, while the other offers a soft, highly absorbent surface for liquid uptake and surface finishing. Designed for industrial, professional, and household applications, LENZING™ Dualwipe is compatible with existing converting and processing infrastructure, facilitating rapid adoption. 

Category: Finished products made from, or incorporating nonwovens - Single-use application 
Corman - Organyc brand "Personalized Protection" Light Incontinence Pads 
Corman’s new light incontinence pads deliver personalized protection through three key innovations. The Smart-Cotton™ cover with a citric acid buffer maintains an ideal skin pH of 5.5, reducing irritation. The patented Cotton-Balanced Absorbent Core channels liquid to superabsorbent polymers that lock in moisture and expand toward the body for superior leak protection. Natural odor control uses an organic ingredient to bind ammonia and slow odor formation, eliminating odor instead of masking it. Clinically proven, the pads address the three main concerns of light incontinence: leaks, odor, and skin irritation.

Category: Finished products made from, or incorporating nonwovens - Durable application 
Winner: Confitex Technology - Reusable Nonwoven Bed Pads 
This new Confitex technology has enabled the world’s first machine-washable and tumble-dryable nonwoven bed pads, opening a significant new application for nonwoven materials. Using a proprietary fibre-stabilisation bonding technique, the innovation allows absorbent nonwoven structures to withstand more than 30 machine wash and tumble-dry cycles while maintaining performance. The fully nonwoven construction combines a fast-wicking top sheet with a highly absorbent core capable of holding over two litres of liquid. In addition, a bonded frame structure prevents leakage across the entire surface, including the edges, addressing a common weakness of stitched textile bed pads. 

Category: Raw materials or components (e.g.polymer,fibre, binder, film, tape) of special relevance to the nonwovens and related converted products industry 
Winner: Bostik - Kizen™ Miles 9.0 
Bostik - Kizen™ Miles 9.0 Bostik’s latest innovation, Kizen™ Miles 9.0, is the first adhesive designed for disposable hygiene article construction, that offers the unique feature of debonding on demand: when exposed to a specific chemical key, combined with controlled temperature and mechanical stress, the adhesive allows clean, rapid separation of plastic components in minutes. This process keeps the adhesive material on the substrate, preventing contamination for cleaner, more efficient hygiene article recycling. But during the lifetime of the hygiene article, this new material, based on up to 75% renewable materials, delivers exceptional bonding across a wide range of substrates—including PP, PE, and PLA—while maintaining stable performance over time and under wet conditions. 

Category: Innovation in machinery of special relevance to the nonwovens industry 
Winner: ZUIKO – Recloseable Baby Diaper Converting Machine 
ZUIKO - Converting machine for recloseable baby diapers 
ZUIKO has developed a converting line to produce adjustable pull on pant diapers that address the challenge of achieving a secure fit around a baby’s waist and legs while maintaining softness and stretchability. The design of such a diaper combines the adjustability of open diapers with the stretch characteristics of pant diapers. Unlike conventional pant diapers, which are processed symmetrically, ZUIKO’s recloseable diapers are asymmetric, requiring a precise, glue-less attachment process during folding. Central to the production is ZUIKO’s patented “Stretch Re-pitch Drum™,” which regulates elastic tension and product spacing, allowing panel folding in line with the machine’s flow. This system enables the production of over 700 diapers per minute without the need for multiple folding units.

With the new Type 2777 ceramic oiler, Barmag has added a solution for fine titers and microfilaments to its portfolio of original parts.

The new design, based on the proven model 2888, is significantly slimmer and has been specifically optimized for fine titers and sensitive filament counts. While the type 2888, as an all-rounder, demonstrates its strengths in the high denier range and up to 288 filaments, the type 2777 offers the long-awaited solution for the lower fineness range. This is where standard oilers often reach their physical limits, leading to uneven deposits in the corners or instability in the yarn path when processing finer titers. Here, the narrower variant excels with maximum precision in the process.

Both oiler types are designed for reduced spray-off thanks to their special geometry. In the fine-titer range, the new design reduces spray-off by a further 50% compared to the use of standard oilers. Extremely easy to adjust, the oiler impresses with its tolerance for installation deviations of ±2°. This largely prevents uneven oil application. The integrated ceramic shaft eliminates the typical errors that occur during the labor-intensive process of bonding metal shafts, thereby ensuring greater process stability.

Ceramic quality has a direct impact on yarn quality
The quality of yarn-guiding components in the spinning process is also a decisive factor for downstream processing. Inferior ceramics have a negative impact on yarn quality, which manifests itself in the downstream processing. Initial market deployments of the new oiler confirm the yarn’s improved downstream performance—a result shared by other ceramics from Barmag.

For yarn manufacturers, the ability to schedule the replacement of wear parts is particularly important: Thanks to consistently high manufacturing quality, components wear out in a controlled and synchronized manner—rather than unpredictably, as is the case with inferior components. This enables greater process stability and predictive maintenance.