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Production capacities for European supplies of protective equipment expanded (c) Oerlikon
The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. >> Picture download Innovatec commissions second Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system
03.12.2020

Production capacities for European supplies of protective equipment expanded

Neumünster/Troisdorf, Germany, December 3, 2020 – just a few days ago, the second newly-delivered Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system was commissioned at Innovatec’s state-of-the-art machine park. With it, the nonwovens manufacturer – based in Troisdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia – immediately started producing polypropylene filter nonwovens: in particular for use in protective face masks, which have been increasingly in demand since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and whose domestic manufacture is being supported by the Ger-man Government. Here, the highly-efficient Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology from Neumünster is supporting the production of these highly-effective filter media.

Neumünster/Troisdorf, Germany, December 3, 2020 – just a few days ago, the second newly-delivered Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system was commissioned at Innovatec’s state-of-the-art machine park. With it, the nonwovens manufacturer – based in Troisdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia – immediately started producing polypropylene filter nonwovens: in particular for use in protective face masks, which have been increasingly in demand since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and whose domestic manufacture is being supported by the Ger-man Government. Here, the highly-efficient Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology from Neumünster is supporting the production of these highly-effective filter media.

“Back in June 2020, Oerlikon Nonwoven delivered the first so-called 2-beam system to Innovatec”, reports Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Nonwoven. Together with the second production line, the Troisdorf-based enterprise has been able to almost double its filter nonwoven output to date. The North Rhine-Westphalian company now has filter media production capacities that can be used to manufacture up to 2.5 billion operating room filter masks or a billion highly-effective FFP2 masks per year.

The, according to its own information, leading manufacturer of meltblown mask nonwovens in Europe is participating in the German Government’s ‘Nonwovens Production’ grant program to ramp up its output capacities and has for this reason already received a visit from top German politicians, including Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier and North Rhine-Westphalia Minister President Armin Laschet. Together, politicians and industry want to ensure that the production capacities for protective equipment continue to grow in Germany and that above all critical supply chains are secured at both national and European levels. And companies such as Innovatec and Oerlikon Nonwoven are actively contributing towards this.

Oerlikon: Meltblown und Spunbond (c) Oerlikon
19.11.2020

Oerlikon: Meltblown and Spunbond technologies

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the worldwide demand for protective masks and apparel has resulted in a record number of new orders in the high double-digit millions of euros at Oerlikon Nonwoven. The meltblown technology from Neumünster is recognized by the market as being one of the technically most efficient methods for producing highly-separating filter media made from plastic fibers.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the worldwide demand for protective masks and apparel has resulted in a record number of new orders in the high double-digit millions of euros at Oerlikon Nonwoven. The meltblown technology from Neumünster is recognized by the market as being one of the technically most efficient methods for producing highly-separating filter media made from plastic fibers.

Protective equipment demands high-end nonwoven products
The rising demand for protective masks and other medical protective equipment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated global ramping up of production capacities has also resulted in an increase in the demand for nonwovens for the production thereof. Initially, this resulted in bottlenecks in the provision of meltblown filter nonwovens. To this end, there had until this point be very few producers of medical filter nonwovens outside China. Meanwhile, the demand for spunbond systems is also rising. “Due to the structure of our group, we are in the fortunate position to swiftly reallocate and free up our production capacities. This means that we are able to relatively quickly deliver not only meltblown systems, but also spunbond equipment”, explains Dr. Ingo Mählmann, Head of Sales & Marketing at Oerlikon Nonwoven, talking about the positive situation at the company.

The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon Nonwoven systems. “Our machines and systems for manufacturing manmade fiber and nonwovens solutions enjoy an outstanding reputation throughout the world. Ever more manufacturers in the most diverse countries are hoping to become independent of imports”, comments Dr. Mählmann. The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown systems are being delivered to Germany, China, Turkey, United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, France, North America and – for the very first time – to Australia until well into 2021.

Quality and efficiency in demand
Depending on the purpose of the application, medical PPE (personal protection equipment) should be breathable and comfortable to wear, protect medical staff against viruses, bacteria and other harmful substances and form a barrier against liquids. For these reasons, they are often made of either pure spunbond or of spunbond-meltblown combinations. Here, the meltblown nonwoven core assumes the barrier or filter task, while the spunbond has to retain its shape, while being tear-resistant, abrasion-proof, absorbent, particularly flame-resistant and nevertheless extremely soft on the skin.

All masks are not created equal – thanks to the ecuTEC+
Protection against infections such as coronavirus can only be guaranteed with the right quality.

The nonwovens can be electrostatically-charged in order to further improve the filter performance without additionally increasing breathing resistance. Here, Oerlikon Nonwovenʼs patented ecuTEC+ electro-charging unit excels in terms of its extreme flexibility. Nonwovens manufacturers can freely choose between numerous variation options and set the optimal charging method and intensity for their specific applications. In this way, even the smallest particles are still attracted and reliable separated by a relatively open-pored nonwoven. Nevertheless, mask wearers are still able to easily breathe in and out due to the comparatively loose formation of the fibers. To this end, it comes as no surprise that all meltblown systems currently destined for the production of mask nonwovens are equipped with the ecuTEC+ unit.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology (c) Oerlikon
The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology
14.05.2020

Oerlikon Nonwoven deliveringmeltblown technology to FleeceforEurope

Protective masks for Europe
With FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner, Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasing consultancy and Berlin-based industrial consultancy Bechinger & Heymann Holding plan to manufacture and distribute up to 50 million protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks a month exclusively for the European market from the beginning of fall. And the primary focus will be on quality.
With protective masks – including those used in operating rooms – this quality is provided above all by  virus-absorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufactured by ‘FleeceforEurope’ using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system.
But masks effectively protecting against infections can only be guaranteed with the right quality. A crucial factor in this is the inside of the mask. Because the nonwoven used in protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks plays a decisive role.

Protective masks for Europe
With FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner, Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasing consultancy and Berlin-based industrial consultancy Bechinger & Heymann Holding plan to manufacture and distribute up to 50 million protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks a month exclusively for the European market from the beginning of fall. And the primary focus will be on quality.
With protective masks – including those used in operating rooms – this quality is provided above all by  virus-absorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufactured by ‘FleeceforEurope’ using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system.
But masks effectively protecting against infections can only be guaranteed with the right quality. A crucial factor in this is the inside of the mask. Because the nonwoven used in protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks plays a decisive role.
Here, the meltblown technology from Oerlikon Nonwoven will be deployed. In a special, patented process, the fibers laid into a nonwoven fabric during manufacture are subsequently electrostatically-charged, before the material is further processed downstream.

European market for protective masks with a promising future
Those responsible at Oerlikon Nonwoven and FleeceforEurope, which will primarily focus on producing high-end nonwovens, and Lindenpartner, which will manufacture and distribute the protective masks, are certain of one thing: the market for protective masks has a very promising long-term future in Europe.
What has been commonplace in Asia for many years now will also become normal in Europe. People will be increasingly wearing face masks when venturing out, in order to better protect themselves against health risks such as the current pandemic and also against increasing environmental pollution in the form of  fine particles and exhaust fumes in the future. A

Medical face masks from a vending machine
Mask producer Lindenpartner has already secured supplies of nonwovens and will be producing face masks for the European healthcare sector over the coming weeks. To fight the coronavirus pandemic, Lindenpartner is planning to install 100 self-service face mask vending machines in Germany over the next four weeks, positioning them in publicly-accessible places such as shopping centers and airports, for example.

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Oerlikon expands labatory capacities
30.04.2020

Oerlikon Nonwoven expands it laboratory nonwovens production capacities

Materials for in excess of one million protective masks
Within the context of supporting the critical infrastructure in Germany, Oerlikon Nonwoven immediately began converting its laboratory systems in Neumünster to manufacture nonwovens at the end of March. With this, only small local businesses and companies were initially supported in the manufacture of oronasal masks.
With the laboratory system at the R&D Center material for more than one million protective masks a month can be manufactured.

The laboratory has meanwhile run out of raw materials and new orders for replacement materials had to be placed before Easter – with current delivery times of approx. 3 weeks. This will allow production to be resumed, and even considerably expanded, in May.
The laboratory system is now once again being deployed to produce nonwovens that will be used to make more than million face masks / oronasal masks a month. “We will not be manufacturing the masks ourselves. We have meanwhile found both corresponding partner companies and also private individuals demanding nonwovens”, adds Andreas Frisch, commenting on the developments.

Materials for in excess of one million protective masks
Within the context of supporting the critical infrastructure in Germany, Oerlikon Nonwoven immediately began converting its laboratory systems in Neumünster to manufacture nonwovens at the end of March. With this, only small local businesses and companies were initially supported in the manufacture of oronasal masks.
With the laboratory system at the R&D Center material for more than one million protective masks a month can be manufactured.

The laboratory has meanwhile run out of raw materials and new orders for replacement materials had to be placed before Easter – with current delivery times of approx. 3 weeks. This will allow production to be resumed, and even considerably expanded, in May.
The laboratory system is now once again being deployed to produce nonwovens that will be used to make more than million face masks / oronasal masks a month. “We will not be manufacturing the masks ourselves. We have meanwhile found both corresponding partner companies and also private individuals demanding nonwovens”, adds Andreas Frisch, commenting on the developments.

Boom in orders
Furthermore, Oerlikon Nonwoven has also fired up the production of the machines and systems used for its meltblown technology. The demand from Germany, Europe and the rest of the world has quickly
secured the company a high in orders..
We will be commissioning the first meltblown system at the site of a leading Western European nonwovens producers in the second quarter of 2020. The capacities for respiratory masks available in Europe to date are predominantly manufactured on Oerlikon
Nonwoven systems.

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Oerlikon blickt positiv in die Zukunft
23.04.2020

Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment looking positively towards the future during the coronavirus pandemic

Staggered in terms of timing and with varying magnitude, the global spread of coronavirus is impacting the development of the regional economies in the core markets of the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group.
The sales markets for manmade fiber systems and equipment have been primarily located in China, India and Turkey for many years now. Together, these markets – above all China – make up the lion’s share of the project landscape at Oerlikon Manmade Fibers. And this is paying positive dividends at the moment. Because the production facilities of the major manmade fiber manufacturers in
China have been systematically fired up again over the past few weeks, with capacity utilization increasing consistently.

Staggered in terms of timing and with varying magnitude, the global spread of coronavirus is impacting the development of the regional economies in the core markets of the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group.
The sales markets for manmade fiber systems and equipment have been primarily located in China, India and Turkey for many years now. Together, these markets – above all China – make up the lion’s share of the project landscape at Oerlikon Manmade Fibers. And this is paying positive dividends at the moment. Because the production facilities of the major manmade fiber manufacturers in
China have been systematically fired up again over the past few weeks, with capacity utilization increasing consistently.

Going against the flow
The Segment CEO, Georg Stausberg explains the reason: “Long before the coronavirus situation developed, the major manmade fiber manufacturers in China had decided to reverse-integrate their production chains to include petrochemicals in order to expand their portfolios with targeted investments, to reduce their dependence on a ,single product’, to optimize their costs and ultimately to acquire greater control over margins in a global volume business”.
Similar processes and decisions – albeit not on the same scale as in China – have also
been detected at the large manmade fiber manufacturers in India and Turkey. Even though businesses in India and Turkey are presently still temporarily severely impacted by the coronavirus situation, their long-term commitment cannot however be questioned, as the company-internally-agreed plans will be systematically implemented moving forward.

Long-term investments of global market players
All this has recently resulted in increased demand for spinning and texturing systems – just like those supplied by total solutions provider Oerlikon Manmade Fibers with its
Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven product brands.
“The investments in petrochemical systems are based on long-term strategic considerations and are resulting – even during the coronavirus pandemic – neither in short- and medium-term economic dips, nor in changed customer behavior. (...)”, states Segment-CEO Georg Stausberg.
As a result of Oerlikon Manmade Fibers delving into the digital age years ago, the segment has experienced the intensive and short-term benefit from all the measures, in part also in its processing of customer projects.

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