From the Sector

NDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced four recipients for the Lifetime Service Award and Lifetime Technical Achievement Awards. Jan O’Regan, Seshadri Ramkumar, Jim Robinson, and Ed Thomas are being recognized for their key contributions to the growth of the nonwovens industry and INDA.

Jan O’Regan: INDA Lifetime Service Award
Jan O’Regan was the Director, Strategic Initiatives and Nonwovens Marketing, for Cotton Incorporated and retired in 2022. In this capacity, she uncovered new opportunities for cotton to bring value into the nonwovens industry. Her work included leading efforts in strategic planning, technical and market project management, and sharing new ideas and results with the global supply chain.
O’Regan spent over four decades in the nonwovens industry in various roles, including sales, marketing, strategic planning and business management. Market responsibilities included consumer and industrial markets on regional, national, and global teams. Over the most recent years, she applied these broad experiences to new markets for cotton in nontraditional applications.
Serving and volunteering with INDA for decades, O’Regan most recently chaired the World of Wipes® committee, which she efficiently organized to produce innovative conferences for the wipes industry.  She was a frequent speaker at INDA, INSIGHT, EDANA, and other events, and for nearly two decades was a go to source of information for cotton fibers in nonwovens and hygiene. O’Regan earned a BS in Textiles and Business, summa cum laude, from Penn State University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Seshadri Ramkumar: INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award
Seshadri Ramkumar has over twenty-five years of experience within the technical nonwovens space, conducting industry leading research and educating nonwovens professionals at Texas Tech University (TTU).  At TTU, he established the Nonwovens Laboratory. Many of Ramkumar’s students have gone on to become technical leaders within their organizations and the nonwovens industry.
Ramkumar has numerous patent and invention disclosures, including Fibertect® toxic chemical decontamination wipes which have been recognized by the American Chemical Society as a notable success of federally supported innovation, endorsed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and adopted by multiple branches of the military.
In addition to many peer-reviewed publications, articles, and columns collectively over 500, including one on nanofibers that has been cited over 2,100 times, Ramkumar has contributed his expertise on the editorial boards of multiple fiber, nonwoven, and textile journals. Ramkumar has also organized conferences for nonwovens and textiles and actively promoted INDA and its technical training offerings for over 20 years.
He is a longtime member of the INDA Technical Advisory Board, been recognized by TAPPI, Society of Dyers and Colorists (UK), the Textile Institute (UK), and the Textile Association (INDIA), and received numerous awards from TTU.
Ramkumar holds a Bachelors of Technology (Textiles), Graduated with Distinction, and a Masters of Technology (Textiles), University First Rank in the Discipline, Anna University, and a Ph.D. (Textile Materials) from the University of Leeds, UK.

Jim Robinson: INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award
Jim Robinson has 33 years in the absorbent hygiene industry, including 28 years as a Technical Service Manager at BASF. He led technical teams that focused on the application of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in hygiene products. Robinson has extensive knowledge of SAP applications, absorbent core formation, and hygiene article design, performance and testing. While with BASF, Robinson led efforts with multiple external companies to provide co-supplier solutions to hygiene converters.
Robinson’s extensive understanding of test methods and test method development led to his coordinating the establishment of fitness for use standards of adult incontinent products with the National Association for Continence and involvement in development and review of absorbent product test methods with INDA/EDANA. He is also an active contributor to INDA’s Technical Advisory Board and Hygienix organizing committee and was a contributing developer in establishing the INDA Absorbent Hygiene Training Course. Robinson has provided numerous presentations at INSIGHT, Hygienix, and RISE on performance and interactions of absorbent system components.
Recently, Robinson has been consulting and contributing to the success of multiple start-ups including those having been nominated for INDA product awards. Robinson has a BS in Chemistry from Hampden-Sydney College and an MS in Chemistry from Duke University.

Ed Thomas: INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award
Ed Thomas retired after 39 years, with 32 years in the nonwovens industry, and has remained active teaching the Intermediate Nonwovens Training Course for INDA and The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University, as well as providing consulting services to the industry.
Thomas’ experience includes Process Engineering Manager and Plant Management, DuPont; Technical Director, Reemay; VP of Research and Operations, VP of Operations and Technology, and Global VP of Research and Development for Fiberweb/BBA Nonwovens; and Head of Research and Product Development, First Quality Nonwovens.
Thomas holds 10 U.S. nonwoven patents and he and his teams have been awarded more than 250 patents for numerous and diverse innovations that have played significant roles in the success of the nonwovens industry. These include applications for the global hygiene market, industrial nonwovens, and filtration media.
During his career, Thomas has presented several keynote addresses and papers to industry conferences, participated in North Carolina State University’s Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC) prior to it becoming The Nonwovens Institute (NWI), INDA’s Technical Advisory Board, INDA’s Sustainability Committee, and was Vice Chair of NWI’s Industrial Advisory Board prior to retirement and remains an Emeritus member.
Thomas received his mechanical engineering degree from SUNY Buffalo.

International technology group ANDRITZ entered a partnership with Pellenc ST and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles to set up the very first industrial-scale automatic textile sorting line in France combining automated sorting and recycling technology.

The partners have expert knowledge in sorting technologies (Pellenc ST), textile machinery and processes (ANDRITZ), as well as post-consumer textile value chains from sorting to manufacturing (Nouvelles Fibres Textiles newly founded by Les Tissages de Charlieu and Synergies TLC).

The new textile sorting line being built is the first to combine Pellenc ST's automated sorting technologies with ANDRITZ’s recycling technologies. It will process post-consumer textile wastes to produce recycled fiber engineered for the spinning, nonwoven and composite industries. Starting operations in mid-2023, it will serve as a production line for Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, as an R&D line for the three partners, and as a test and demonstration center for their customers.

Nouvelles Fibres Textiles aims to become a reference in both industrial grade material production and industrial scale post-consumer textile sorting, thanks to innovative technologies with hard point removal providing pure fibers, selective colors, and differentiated fiber types.

Nouvelles Fibres Textiles’ partners also work closely together in R&D at the ANDRITZ Laroche and Pellenc ST technical centers to keep pushing technical boundaries.

The 14th in-store asia will be held in Mumbai from 1 June to 3 June 2023. The trade exhibition for retail resources and investment in store design, VM and in-store marketing gathers decision-makers from more than 7,500 retail companies, consultants, service providers, and manufacturers, bringing together over 100 exhibitors.

Since 2018, in-store asia has been a member of the international trade fair family of EuroShop in Düsseldorf. It assembles all leading retail solutions providers from India and other countries under one roof. Here decision-makers from retail, including branded product producers, retail consultants as well as providers of services and solutions for retail, store designers, architects and VM experts come together.

The 3-day event includes not only the Expo area but also a wide range of side events comprising a Convention with over 30 speakers, the presentation of the coveted VM & RD Retail Design Awards as well as the VM Challenge, a live shop window challenge for top-notch visual merchandisers that is unique for India. Furthermore, the Retail Technology Pavilion will present new tools, for instance for retail management and customer tracking as well as solutions revolving around AI & virtual reality, NFTs, smart checkout all the way down to store management, retail security and payment. Celebrating a premiere here will be the Start-up Hub, which will provide emerging, innovative companies with a stage to present themselves to the industry.

The Indian retail industry has changed drastically; being one of the fastest growing retail markets it has proven a key driver for the Indian economy. The Indian retail sector is forecast to continue posting enormous growth rates due to such factors as growing urbanisation, rising household incomes, better connected rural consumers and rising consumer spending.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) is expanding its product portfolio by adding an elastic variant of its flexible superabsorbers for modern wound dressings. These superabsorbers increase the comfort level for patients as well as enabling longer wear time, thus reducing the frequency of dressing changes. Further highlights at EWMA include components for more sustainable wound care, PU foams with directly applied silicone adhesives, antimicrobial systems and an innovative hydrophilic debridement foam. The global manufacturer will be welcoming visitors to Exhibition Stand from May 3 – 5 at EWMA 2023.

Freudenberg uses a new technology to manufacture the elastic superabsorbers. Unlike other methods, this technology does not perforate or slit the material, thus achieving a high degree of consistent elasticity. Furthermore, the technology used by Freudenberg bonds the superabsorbent fibers more uniformly with the material, thus enhancing the integrity of this layer in the wound dressing.

Further highlights
Freudenberg is also presenting the M 1714 wound pad component, one example of a sustainable solution that simultaneously delivers on performance. The dressing consists of bio-based fibers and exhibits a smooth wound contact layer. M 1714 has been evaluated for industrial compostability and conforms to ISO 13432. This enables certification of product biodegradability. Further highlights to be presented in Milan include material systems for the antimicrobial treatment of chronic wounds, including systems that do not use active substances.

Wound dressing with silicone adhesive border
With Freudenberg’s silicone coated foams, manufacturers can reduce the number of process steps, thereby avoiding waste, saving energy and simplifying the supply chain. Compared with conventional foam dressings, the Freudenberg foam product also offers higher flexibility for optimal wound bed contouring and reduces the risk of infection by preventing exudate pooling. Freudenberg is showcasing the prototype of a bordered dressing with a silicone adhesive border. In addition, the variant with an extra-strong silicone border enables longer wear time while at the same time ensuring minimal adherence to new skin that forms at the wound edges.

More effective cleansing results and greater patient comfort
Freudenberg is also showcasing an innovative hydrophilic debridement foam. It is ideally suited for use in wound cavities, offers better cleansing results and reduced risk as well as greater patient comfort.

DyStar announces the plan to restructure its Ludwigshafen facility located in Germany. The strategic decision is made by the company in response to changing business conditions and market shifts.

Mr. Xu Yalin, Managing Director, and President of DyStar Group said, “This is an important strategic move for DyStar. We will focus on developing key emerging markets, which have been shifting over a decade. In the wake of higher energy costs and inflation, DyStar is determined to further improve cost efficiency and drive sustainable productivity as we continue to deliver the highest quality of innovative products that support the global supply chain.”

Mr. Eric Hopmann, Chief Commercial Officer of DyStar Group said, “The restructuring of this facility will be carried out in a phased manner. DyStar will diversify the production activity out of Europe and start with the reduction of manpower as a consequence. DyStar’s customers can be further assured of undisrupted supply, hence their production should not be affected as we will work closely to meet their specific requirements.”

The facility has been an integral part of DyStar’s global network. DyStar inherited this facility from their founders who started the Indigo research and manufacturing more than 125 years ago.

• Spunbond, meltblown and composite structures for new market opportunities

RadiciGroup is participating with its Advanced Textile Solutions business area at Index in Geneva from 18 to 21 April 2023. Among the Group’s products showcased are spunbond and meltblown for different application sectors, such as roofing, construction, automotive, HO.RE.CA. and filtration.

“The key message we are bringing to the fair is sustainability,” noted Enrico Buriani, CEO of the Nonwovens division of RadiciGroup Advanced Textile Solutions. “Those who already know us know that, for many years, the Group has been focused on proposing low environmental impact products and processes where sustainability is scientifically measured or certified by independent third parties. Our company is dedicated to nonwovens, which, by the way, are produced using 100% renewable energy. We have expanded our portfolio of innovative solutions for customers interested in realizing projects with sustainability as an essential requirement.”

Respunsible® is a spunbond brand manufactured from recycled polypropylene. A preliminary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study was carried out by RadiciGroup to demonstrate the correlation between the reduction in environmental impact and the percentage increase in recycled material. The final results demonstrate that a variable percentage of from 50 to 70% recycled material leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions of from 30 to 40%, compared to a fabric made of 100% virgin material, without comprising high technical performance.

Additionally, since RadiciGroup has achieved ISCC PLUS certification (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), it can offer bio, biocircular or circular polypropylene spunbond and meltblown nonwovens, in which the sustainable polypropylene is biomass balanced. This certification signifies traceability along the supply chain and verifies that the certified companies meet high environmental and social standards.

“Since 2020, we have had a technologically advanced meltblown production line,” Mr. Buriani concluded. “This allows us to make composite structures, sold under the brand name Radimelt®. Now our goal is to expand our filtration applications, diversifying and developing new business, for instance vacuum cleaner bags or HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system filters, where we can meet the high efficiency and mechanical resistance demanded, thanks to our latest generation technology.”

Groz-Beckert will be presenting the latest innovations from its product area Carding to visitors at INDEX™23

The InLine card clothing series for the nonwovens industry will take center stage at the Groz-Beckert exhibition booth. A new and patented manufacturing process made the development of the innovative metallic card clothing series possible. It offers customers improved process reliability and increased uptime of the card. At the same time, the new process enables environmentally friendly and resource-saving production.

In addition to a controlled and precise hardening of the teeth, the wires are characterized by a reduced rib height and a completely scale-free surface. An exhibit at the booth will demonstrate what distinguishes the new process from the conventional production method and will highlight the differences between the new Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series and its predecessor generation.

The first special geometry of the Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series to be developed was the SiroLock™ plus worker and doffer wire. It impresses with a more effective fiber take-up, control and transfer. Augmented reality will allow visitors to experience the functionality and operating principle behind SiroLock™ plus at INDEX™23.

From April 25^th to 27^th, 2023, the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM) of TU Dresden will be exhibiting at the pavilion SAXONY! at JEC World 2023.

The ITM will provide a comprehensive overview of its current research in the field of machine and product development along the entire textile process chain.

The upcoming JEC 2023 exhibition will highlight innovative Customised Connective Cores (CCC), which are custom-made core-insert structures additively manufactured using cellular metal and a form-fit integrated insert. These CCCs can be seamless integrated either as patches or as full-surface core material into lightweight panels, offering significantly improved load-bearing behavior (especially 4 times the load-bearing capacity and fail-safe behavior) compared to existing technologies. This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for fastening lightweight panels.

Another highlight at the exhibition is the repair process for fibre-reinforced composites (FRP) developed at the ITM. Instead of mechanically grinding the damaged area, the matrix in the repair area is locally dissolved using a UV-rays-induced depolymerisation process. Damaged fibres can thus be replaced by a customized repair patch. Free yarn ends on the textile repair patches are spliced with the UV-exposed yarn ends in the repair area using an adapted splicing process. In this way, a very clean, simplified and mechanically improved repair area can be achieved compared to the state of the art.

The diverse possibilities offered by the structure and process simulation of textile high-performance materials and textile manufacturing processes will also be presented. By means of multi-scale modelling and simulation, a profound understanding of materials and processes is achieved at the ITM. Finite element models on the micro, meso and macro scale have been developed and validated for this purpose. Examples from current ITM research projects demonstrate the various possibilities and areas of application of modern simulation methods in the field of textile technology.

Moreover, an innovative process for the integral manufacturing of 3D rib-stiffened preforms with complexly arranged stiffeners in 0°, 90° and ± 45° orientation was developed and successfully implemented at the ITM. Due to the process-integrated structure fixation and the continuous fibre reinforcement between shell and rib structure, the 3D preforms are perfectly suited for the production of highly load-bearing FRP components with increased bending stiffness, which will be exhibited at JEC. Hence, the lightweight construction potential of high-performance fibres can be fully exploited.

A successfully established development are partially flowable 2D textile reinforcement fabrics that are continuously manufactured in one single process step. For this purpose, the entire process chain was developed at the ITM, which allows a cost-effective and high-volume production of load-bearing thermoplastic 3D FRP components with continuous fibre reinforcement between shell and stiffeners.

At JEC 2023, the ITM will also present a partially embedded textile latice girder as reinforcement for carbon concrete applications, which was produced by means of an innovative textile manufacturing process based on the multiaxial warp knitting technology. Through the development of a customized warp insertion, manipulation and take-off system as well as appropriate shaping methods, it is now possible to produce tailored textile semi-finished products, e.g. for use in wall and ceiling panels. These textile latice girders represent a resource-saving alternative to conventional steel girders due to the reduced among of concrete required and the additional cavity for media and cable guidance.

The integration of textile actuators and sensors in FRP provides structures with additional functionalities. The research and application of such interactive FRP with different matrix materials (e.g. with thermoset, elastomer or concrete matrix systems) for structural health monitoring or adaptive systems is one of the key research areas of the ITM.

Moreover, the development and implementation of innovative yarn constructions based on recycled high-performance fibres (e.g. rCF, rGF, rAR) for sustainable FRPs is successfully promoted at ITM. By use of a special carding machine, recycled fibres are opened up, separated and joined to form a wide, uniform ribbon. Subsequently, innovative hybrid yarn constructions made of evenly mixed recycled high-performance and thermoplastic fibres with variable fibre volume fractions can be manufactured by means of various spinning technologies. Selected yarn constructions and components will be showcased at JEC.

SABIC will present its portfolio of PURECARES™ and TRUCIRCLE™ materials for the healthcare and hygiene market at INDEX™23 from April 18 to 21 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme of ‘Collaborating for sustainability and innovative solutions’.

At INDEX, SABIC will highlight a joint project with two market leaders, using certified circular polymers from the TRUCIRCLE portfolio in recyclable films for feminine hygiene, baby care and disposable medical applications. In all of these cases from diapers to surgical drapes and medical gowns, the sustainable materials can serve as direct drop-in alternatives with no compromise in production efficiency and product performance.

Further examples on display at the company’s booth will feature TRUCIRCLE solutions for facemasks, including an N95 design that localizes the value chain with SABIC® PURECARES PP spunbond and meltblown polymers in Saudi Arabia. SABIC provides complete solutions for facemask production as part of its localization strategy and has been a key enabler of the Saudi Made initiative. Also shown will be a closed-loop facemask developed in collaboration with industrial and research partners in Europe.

The company’s PURECARES polyolefin products are based on technologies free of both tris (nonylphenyl) phosphite (TNPP) and phthalates. Consumer comfort is achieved by using SABIC polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) polymers for bi-component fibers to answer multiple needs for soft and loft handfeel nonwovens, enabling easy lamination to other building blocks on medical nonwovens or absorbent hygiene applications.

In addition, SABIC produces TRUCIRCLE certified circular polymers for its PURECARES PP and PE portfolio with feedstock based on advanced recycling of mixed and used plastic that would otherwise typically not be suitable for mechanical recycling processes. These more sustainable solutions can be adopted in downstream processes as direct drop-in alternatives to incumbent materials with no compromise in production efficiency, purity and product performance.

For the seventh time since 2017, the Discover National Fibre Initiative is inviting entries for the ‘DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award’. The purpose of the DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award is to raise awareness of exciting work involving natural fibres, and to help raise the profiles of leading researchers so as to enhance opportunities for commercial application of such work.

The DNFI Award 2023 will be judged in three categories: Innovative products/components or applications, innovative processes/procedures, research and science.
The evaluation criteria are: outstanding scientific work and technical feasibility, the extent of improvement or effectiveness of the innovation compared to existing products or processes in which the innovative product or process has been implemented and the potential for opening up new markets or sectors for products made from natural fibres.

Candidates for the DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award 2023 are requested to send the application with the appropriate submission form by email.

Closing date for applications is 8 September 2023.