From the Sector

INDA and EDANA, the leading trade associations representing nonwovens and related industries, joined forces to implement and support the industry’s first Quality and Audit Program (QAP) in the United States. This joint effort will increase the reach of, and support for, the program in the North American absorbent hygiene products and wet wipes industries.

Much like the harmonization of test methods years ago, this joint program has the potential to reduce complexity for both suppliers and converters of AHP and wipes. This program grew from the inefficiency of facing multiple audits from converter supplier audit programs, often assessing similar requirements, but according to differing standards.

The program went through a rigorous testing and piloting phase before being rolled out in the summer of 2022. Initially only available in Europe, the program is expanding its reach to cover Asia and the Americas.

More information is available on the EDANA website where converters and suppliers can register to take part. The program is based on a harmonized quality and hygiene standard, which facilitates an objective third-party audit. Organizations can also register to follow a training course to familiarize themselves with the standard.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the successful conclusion of the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, July 17-20, Atlanta, Georgia. More than 495 senior-level leaders convened for new intelligence, connections, and business, which was a record turnout for the WOW event.

The 17^th edition of WOW featured almost 60 tabletop exhibits, 26 presentations, and two pre-conference webinars. The program introduced Lightning Talks, “supersized elevator speeches” covering new trends, products, and ideas, and a 1.5-day revised WIPES Academy training course. WOW also featured a mentorship program for participants new to the wipes industry.

The WOW speakers shared their expert insights in these key topics:

• Inflation, Supply Chain Issues, Capacity/Demand Balance
• Plastic Policy: Closing the Intention-Action Gap
• Sustainability and Manufacturing Practices
• Consumer Market Data and Trends
• Wipes Advancements
• Transparency in the Supply Chain
• Regulation, Innovation, Standards & Education in Flushability

World of Wipes Innovation Award^®
The winner of the World of Wipes Innovation Award was the Nonwoven Wipe Using Biotransformation Technology developed by Indorama Ventures and Polymateria. This innovative 100% polypropylene spunlace wipe utilizes advanced biotransformation technology, meeting the BSI PAS 9017 specification. The wipe is compatible with mechanical recycling however, in the event it becomes fugitive, and exposed to heat, sunlight, air and moisture, will transform into a harmless, bioavailable wax at its end-of-life, returning safely to nature without leaving behind microplastics or toxins. This polypropylene wipe represents a significant leap towards eco-friendly, sustainable nonwoven hygiene products.

INDA announced that WOW 2024 will be held June 17-20, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, was granted status last month as an accredited stakeholder with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which, among other privileges, will allow representatives from the association to observe the formal ongoing negotiations of the UN Global Plastics Treaty. INDA Government Affairs Director Wes Fisher was on site at the second session of the treaty negotiations formally titled the “second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.” The negotiations took place from 29 May to 2 June 2023 at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France.

“We are excited to continue to enhance the capacity of INDA’s government affairs department to better serve the industry on a global scale,” stated Fisher. “We look forward to working with the UNEP to provide technical input regarding ongoing plastics treaty issues specific to the nonwovens industry, and engaging with other UN processes with our new status as an accredited stakeholder.”

Accreditation provides non-governmental organizations with observer status to the United Nations Environment Assembly, UNEP, and its subsidiaries. Accreditation will bring many advantages to INDA with respect to participation in the work of UNEP’s Governing Bodies, such as the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP and the Committee of Permanent Representatives.

UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations have garnered significant attention from both industry and environmental groups. At least three more negotiation sessions are expected with the goal of finalizing a treaty by the end of 2024.

2XL Corporation, Avgol Nonwovens, and Yowel to compete for Award
INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the three finalists for the World of Wipes Innovation Award®. The Award will be presented at the 17th annual World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, July 17-20, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia.    

The three products vying for this Award are a cleaning and disinfecting device from 2XL Corporation, a wipe utilizing biotransformation technology from Avgol Nonwovens, and a reusable towel dispensing system from Yowel.

The winner will be announced on July 20th at 11 am. The three companies competing for the Award are:

Windup by 2XL Corporation
Meet the Windup: a groundbreaking new device that can clean and disinfect your home using a self-advancing microfiber roll that you never have to touch. Just one roll will clean your kitchen over 50 times. An innovative one-touch revolving roll and a versatile spray system that allows use of your favorite floor cleaner or our specially formulated disinfecting solution. No more stopping to change expensive pads or change filthy water. Get wound up for Windup.

Nonwoven wipe using biotransformation technology by Avgol Nonwovens
This innovative spunlace wipe utilized advanced biotransformation technology developed jointly by Indorama Ventures and Polymateria. Meeting the BSI PAS 9017 specification, this wipe in the event it becomes fugitive, and exposed to heat, sunlight, air and moisture will transform into a harmless, bioavailable wax at its end-of-life, eliminating microplastic pollution. Compatible with mechanical recycling and combatting ‘fugitive’ waste, this wipe represents a significant leap towards eco-friendly, sustainable nonwoven hygiene products.

The Yowel™ System by Yowel
Ready to help the earth and save money…every day? Yowel is a patented system for dispensing reusable towels. Instead of a roll of paper towels, place a Yowel full of reusable towels into your paper towel holder – or choose the countertop model, and you’re immediately reducing your paper towel consumption.  The Yowel System has 40 reusable towels and a mesh bag for used towels. Save money and help Mother Nature.

INDA’s Technical Advisory Board selected the finalists based on the creativity, uniqueness, and technical sophistication employed in finding novel ways to expand the utilization of nonwovens. Categories considered for the award were wipes related raw materials, roll goods, converting, packaging, active ingredients, binders, additives, and end-use products.

Nice-Pak’s SecureFLUSH® Technology Flushable Wipes received the 2022 World of Wipes Innovation Award for their unique, 100% cellulose nonwoven that is strong enough to clean, yet break apart rapidly, when flushed. A specialty “lock and key” design of plant-based fibers and formula leverages patent-pending technology to break apart five times faster than the leading brand of two-ply toilet paper and ensure responsible care of plumbing and wastewater. SecureFLUSH® Technology Flushable wipes are available in Walmart, Amazon, and at Nicencleanwipes.com.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwovens Fabrics Industry, announces the publication of a new study, North American Nonwoven Materials Annual Study 2022.

Based on actual surveys and interviews with producers, enhancing the accuracy and relevance, this study tracks machine additions, closures, and productivity improvements. This study is the industry benchmark for capacity and production information for North America and the only publication that provides an estimate of operating rates, based on nameplate machine capacity, through the year 2022. The 72-page study contains 43 figures and 11 tables.

“An element of INDA’s mission is to provide credible statistics to the nonwovens and engineered materials industry,” said Tony Fragnito, INDA President. “Our objective is to continually improve the quality of data and industry information. We feel the industry will greatly benefit from this in-depth resource for strategic planning and investment purposes,” Fragnito added.

The complete study is provided to producers who supplied key metrics. The Executive Summary, an overview of the findings and implications, will be offered to current INDA members on a complimentary basis.

The detailed study is available for purchase, with members receiving a discount.

Findings from this year’s study include:

• North American capacity continues to increase with investments being made across all the processes and for a variety of end-uses. The industry’s nameplate capacity utilization has increased year-over-year, for the fifth consecutive year.
• In 2022, capacity of nonwovens in North America reached 5.565 million tonnes, an increase from the previous year of 2.4% (net growth of 128,700 tonnes) and an improvement over the previous year’s growth rate of 1.8%.
• North American imports, in tonnage, decreased 24.3% in 2022 and exports decreased 16.3% due to market stabilization after COVID. Nonwoven production tends to stay within the region, so the net trade balance (imports less exports) accounted for less than 5.5% of the region’s capacity.

“2022 was a period of economic adjustment and stabilization,” said Mark Snider, Chief Market & Industry Analyst. “We’re seeing a controlled and consistent transition back to pre-pandemic levels of nonwoven growth.”

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, welcomes six new members to its 2023 Board of Directors. The Board of Directors are responsible for contributing to INDA’s strategic focus in support of the industry. They inform INDA’s policies and programs to ensure the association meets the needs of their more than 360 corporate members.

The Board is comprised of elected Board Officers. One-third of the entire Board is elected each year for a three-year term by a majority vote of INDA’s general membership. INDA’s Executive Committee, empowered to act on behalf of the Board between meetings, consists of the Board Officers plus four appointees.

The new board members are:

Ricardo Fasolo, Managing Vice President, Fitesa Inc.
Ricardo Fasolo is Managing Vice President for Fitesa in North America. He is responsible for all operations, sales, business development and P&L activities for the region. Mr. Fasolo has been with Fitesa since 2005. During this period, he has worked in various roles from leading the supply chain management in Latin America to Sales in the USA. Prior to joining Fitesa, Mr. Fasolo worked for a Tier 1 OEM supplier responsible for producing assisted steering gear systems.

Neil Johnson, President, AstenJohnson
Neil Johnson is President of AJ Nonwovens, a division of AstenJohnson Holdings, a multinational private technical textiles company. AJ Nonwovens is a newly branded entity that includes Foss Performance Materials, Eagle Nonwovens, and a new greenfield site in Waco, Texas. As President, Mr. Johnson has responsibility for all aspects of AstenJohnson’s Nonwovens business. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Johnson regularly updates the Board of Directors on matters of strategic significance and has a proven track record of leadership and broad business experience.
Mr. Johnson has spent 33 years with AstenJohnson in a variety of roles. These include VP of business development, VPHR, and General Management. A dual US / Canadian citizen, he has lived and worked in both countries and had global leadership responsibility. Outside of work, Mr. Johnson has had experience on several boards.  He has served as treasurer of a $10 million charitable foundation, served as President of the Board for a large non-profit in Charleston, SC and served on the Board of the Charleston youth hockey league. Mr. Johnson graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada with a Bachelor of Commerce and an International MBA from the University of South Carolina.

Chris Roeder, Director – Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, Global Cellulose Fibers, International Paper
Chris Roeder joined International Paper (IP) in 1996 in Kansas City, MO, as an engineer for IP’s Consumer Packaging business. Over the next 20 years, Mr. Roeder held a variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibility in Beverage Packaging, Foodservice and Coated Paperboard, where he focused on business and product development as well as sales management. In 2016, Mr. Roeder was named Marketing Director for IP’s Containerboard business and was responsible for a number of key strategic initiatives.
In 2020, he was named Regional General Manager for IP’s North American Container business, and later that same year, he was named Director – Strategy, Marketing & Innovation for IP’s Global Cellulose Fibers business. In his current role, Mr. Roeder is responsible for collaborating across the business and enterprise to develop IP’s go-to-market strategy. He and his team work closely with the Sales team to drive successful innovations for IP’s customers.

Paul E. Rollin, Jr., Ph.D., Senior Principal – Global Hygiene, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company
Paul Rollin earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and his Ph.D. in Polymer Science from The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. Dr. Rollin began his career with E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. developing “Flashspun” nonwoven products in the Tyvek® Business. He later transferred from Richmond, VA to Old Hickory, TN where he provided technical support to manufacturing, as well as led product development efforts for bi-component spunmelt fibers and fabrics.
For the past 11 years, Dr. Rollin has worked for ExxonMobil in Baytown, TX. During this time, his roles and responsibilities have included developing new products based on polyolefin resins, customer and application development. In 2018, he became the Global Nonwovens Team Lead at ExxonMobil. Dr. Rollin has several patents and has contributed to the nonwovens industry for more than 24 years.

Jodi Russell, Vice President R&D, Cleaning Innovation, Packaging & Sustainability, The Clorox Company
Jodi Russell has spent 25 years leading global innovation across multiple categories in the consumer-packaged goods industry. She began her career at P&G after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. Chemical Engineering, and has continued for 20 years at Clorox creating consumer-winning products in Cleaning, Foods, Litter, Trash, Natural Personal Care and Water Filtration. Ms. Russell is an innovation leader, with a proven track record of driving profitable growth, with current R&D responsibility for >$2B product portfolio including the company’s flagship Clorox Bleach™ and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes™ businesses. Ms. Russell excels in setting vision for R&D that leads to breakthroughs and in collaborating with industry partners to create leading edge technology for the Clorox global portfolio.

Julie Schertell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mativ
Julie Schertell is Mativ’s President and Chief Executive Officer and serves on its Board of Directors. As the former Neenah Inc. Chief Executive Officer, she held numerous leadership positions within the company over the last 14 years, including Chief Operations Officer, Segment President of Technical Products and Fine Paper & Packaging and Vice President and General Manager of Fine Paper & Packaging.
Ms. Schertell began her career at Georgia-Pacific in 1992 as a Cost Analyst in a plant supporting Consumer Products. She served in several roles over her 16-year career there, all within the Consumer Products Division, including Vice President of Sales and Marketing Strategy, Vice President of Supply Chain, Director of Sales Operations and Director of Financial Planning & Analysis. Ms. Schertell graduated from Florida State University’s College of Business in 1991 with a BA in Accounting and received her MAcc degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business in 1992.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has named Mark Snider to the position of Chief Market and Industry Analyst. Snider brings more than 30 years of nonwovens & engineered materials expertise with a strong background in market and industry analysis at both the macroeconomic, industry and segment level.

Before starting his consulting firm sixteen years ago, he supported three divisions as Technical Marketing Manager for Nordson Corporation, and as European and Latin American Regional Manager for J&M Laboratories.

Snider’s industry knowledge, and extensive network combined with his research and analytical skills will provide decision-making data, reports, and presentation to INDA members and the industry.

Snider will expand upon INDA’s membership outreach and research initiated by MaryJo Lilly, INDA’s Market Intelligence Leader, to realize INDA’s new vision for industry intelligence. Lilly will continue to assess strategic market research initiatives and special projects.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has named MaryJo Lilly as its new Market Intelligence Leader. Lilly brings more than 20 years of nonwovens & engineered materials expertise with a background in the disposable, medical and specialty materials industries.

Before starting a consulting firm two years ago, Lilly was Regional Commercial Director of North America for Tredegar Film Products and before that, spent more than a decade as Vice President of Sales at Berry Global in the Health, Hygiene, and Specialties Division growing the personal care and medical markets.

Additionally, Lilly’s leadership experience includes Global Business Director at Clopay Plastic Products and Director of Sales and Marketing for Absorbent Materials at Rayonier Performance Fibers. Lilly holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

With her industry knowledge and extensive network, Lilly will develop, issue and present reports, presentations and data to support INDA, member decision-making and the industry. She will, through collaboration with market participants and subject matter experts, develop and maintain relevant industry statistics, reports and surveys on the North American and worldwide markets by major segments and processing technologies.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announces new dates for the 22nd edition of IDEA® – The World’s Preeminent Event for Nonwovens & Engineered Fabrics. Originally scheduled to take place April 23-25, 2024, IDEA® now will be held April 29-May 1, 2025, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, FL.

In 2022, IDEA® attracted 5,000 participants from across the global supply chain to engage with nonwovens & engineered materials senior-level leaders at the Miami Beach Convention Center. IDEA® 2022 was co-located with the second FiltXPO™, an exhibition and conference dedicated exclusively to filtration and separation.

• DiaperRecycle Wins RISE® Innovation Award for Technology that Transforms Used Diapers into Cat Litter

Product development and innovators in nonwovens & engineered materials gained expert insights on material science innovation and sustainability at the 12^th edition of RISE® — Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics conference, organized by INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, and The Nonwovens Institute, North Carolina State University, Sept. 27-28 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

More than 20 industry, academic, and government experts from across the globe presented technical developments in sessions focused on circularity and sustainable inputs from such sources as Polylactic Acid Polymers (PLA), natural fibers, biofibers, and waste products.

Highlights included presentations on Achieving Supply Chain Circularity, by Kat Knauer, Ph.D., Program Manager – V Research, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL; The Global Plastic Crisis: Winners/Losers in the Marketplace, by Bryan Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Technical Director, Global Nonwovens, Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Sustainable Fibers – Development and the Future by Jason Locklin, Ph.D. Director, University of Georgia – New Materials Institute; PLA & PLA Blends: Practical Aspects of Extrusion by Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor, and Executive Director, The Nonwovens Institute, North Carolina State University; and Mitigation of Quat Incompatibility with Cotton and other Cellulosic-based Substrates, by Doug Hinchliffe, Ph.D., Research Molecular Biologist, USDA-ARS.

RISE® Innovation Award Winner
DiaperRecycle was awarded the RISE® Innovation Award for its innovative technology to recycle used diapers into absorbent and flushable cat litter. The annual award recognizes innovation in areas within and on the periphery of the nonwovens industry that use advanced science and engineering principles to develop unique or intricate solutions to problems and advance  nonwovens usage.

By diverting used diapers from households and institutions, and separating the plastic and fiber, DiaperRecycle strives to decrease the climate-changing emissions of diapers from landfills.  “I am thrilled and grateful to win this award — as it proves we are on the right track,” said Cynthia Wallis Barnicoat, CEO of DiaperRecycle.

Other award finalists included Binder BioHook® by Gottlieb Binder GmbH & Co. KG and Sero® hemp fibers from Bast Fibre Technologies, Inc. (BFT).

The 13^th edition of RISE® — Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics conference will be held Sept. 12-13, 2023 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.