From the Sector

STFI will be presenting high-end textile products and solutions at Techtextil 2024. The highlights from current research results and innovations provide an insight into the digitalisation of textile production, show applications for 3D printing and smart technical textiles and provide examples of particularly sustainably designed products as well as innovative approaches for protective and medical textiles.

The central highlight of STFI's presence at Techtextil is a robot system that demonstrates the automated processing of a bobbin frame on a small scale. The pick-and-place application demonstrates camera-supported gripping of the bobbins. The robot is part of the STFI's “Textile Factory of the Future” which demonstrates automation solutions for the textile industry in a laboratory environment.

From the field of sustainable products and solutions, a sleeping bag with bio-based and therefore vegan filling material and a natural fibre-based composite element for furniture construction, in which LEDs and capacitive proximity sensors for contactless function control have been applied using embroidery technology, will be on show. Printed heating conductor structures demonstrate current research work for the e-mobility of the future, as the individually controllable seat and interior heating should ultimately reduce weight and save energy compared to conventional heating systems.

While a protective suit for special task forces protects against the dangers of a Molotov cocktail attack, a shin guard and a knee brace with patellar ring illustrate the process combination of 3D printing and UV LED cross-linking. Other highlights from lightweight textile construction include the rib of a vertical rudder of an Airbus A320 and a green snowboard made from recycled carbon fibres.

At this year's JEC World, STFI will be presenting highlights from carbon fibre recycling as well as a new approach to hemp-based bast fibres, which have promising properties as reinforcement in lightweight construction.

Green Snowboard
At JEC World in Paris from 5 to 7 March 2024, STFI will be showcasing a snowboard from silbaerg GmbH with a patented anisotropic coupling effect made from hemp and recycled carbon fibres with bio-based epoxy resin. In addition to silbaerg and STFI, the partners Circular Saxony - the innovation cluster for the circular economy, FUSE Composite and bto-epoxy GmbH were also involved in the development of the board. The green snowboard was honoured with the JEC Innovation Award 2024 in the “Sport, Leisure and Recreation” category.

VliesComp
The aim of the industrial partners Tenowo GmbH (Hof), Siemens AG (Erlangen), Invent GmbH (Braunschweig) and STFI united in the VliesComp project is to bring recycled materials back onto the market in various lightweight construction solutions. The application fields "Innovative e-machine concepts for the energy transition" and "Innovative e-machine concepts for e-mobility" were considered as examples. On display at JEC World in Paris will be a lightweight end shield for electric motors made from hybrid nonwovens - a mixture of thermoplastic fibre components and recycled reinforcing fibres - as well as nonwovens with 100% recycled reinforcing fibres. The end shield was ultimately manufactured with a 100% recycled fibre content. The tests showed that, compared to the variant made from primary carbon fibres using the RTM process, a 14% reduction in CO₂ equivalent is possible with the same performance. The calculation for the use of the prepreg process using a bio-resin system shows a potential for reducing the CO₂ equivalent by almost 70 %.

Bast fibre reinforcement
To increase stability in the plant stem, bast fibres form in the bark area, which support the stem but, in contrast to the rigid wood, are very flexible and allow slender, tall plants to move in the wind without breaking.A new process extracts the bast bark from hemp by peeling.The resulting characteristic values, such as tensile modulus of elasticity, breaking strength and elongation, are very promising in comparison with the continuous rovings made of flax available on the market.The material could be used as reinforcement in lightweight construction.At JEC World, STFI will be exhibiting reinforcing bars that have been processed into a knitted fabric using a pultrusion process based on bio-based reinforcing fibres made from hemp bast for mineral matrices.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced that registration and tabletop exhibit reservations are open for the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference. WOW 2024 will take place June 17-20 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN. The theme for this year’s event is “Wipes Innovation & Sustainability – From Inception to Perfection.”

WOW will feature content in responsible sourcing, end-of-life solutions, and innovations in sustainability. Industry leaders, such as The Clorox Company, Kimberly-Clark Professional, and Nice-Pak, amongst others, will present their sustainability insights in formulations, industrial and institutional wipes, alternatives to plastics, production technologies, recycling options, and regulatory issues.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, connected absorbent hygiene and personal care professionals throughout the supply chain at the ninth edition of Hygienix™, the event for absorbent hygiene & personal care markets, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 13-16.

Senior-level leaders enjoyed presentations in these key topics affecting the future of absorbent hygiene:

• AHP Trends, Innovation & Market Statistics
• Redefining Absorbent Hygiene: Navigating Consumer Voice, Sustainable Innovations and the Circular Economy
• The Proof Is in the Pudding – Demonstrating What’s Possible in AHP
• Sustainability Inside & Out – Inputs & Packaging
• Words Matter! Shaping Consumer and Industry Thoughts
• Neither Fish nor Fowl: Designing Hybrid AHP Products
• There Be Dragons: Tales of Innovation

The winner of the Hygienix Innovation Award™ was the Sequel Spiral™ Tampon by Sequel. The Sequel Spiral™ Tampon features a proprietary spiral design that is engineered to be more fluid mechanically efficient, meaning it is designed to absorb more evenly and not leak before it’s full. In August 2023, the Sequel Spiral™ Tampon received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medical device and the company will now begin a series of consumer trials, with broad availability expected in Q1 of 2024.

New this year to Hygienix was Lightning Talks and pre-conference webinars. Lightning Talks are short presentations covering new trends, products and ideas in absorbent hygiene. The pre-conference webinar topics featured the new Quality Audit Program from INDA and EDANA, an in-depth look at the period care product category, and North American trends and insights in baby diapers.

Back was a hands-on workshop providing attendees with information on the various absorption systems used in disposable hygiene products. This workshop focused on the components and interaction of the absorption system in common commercial hygiene products. The workshop was led by Jim Robinson, Principal, Absorbent Hygiene Insights, LLC.

Jim Robinson received the honor of being named the 2023 INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award winner for his decades of technical advancements that have grown the nonwovens industry. Robinson has 33 years in the absorbent hygiene industry, including 28 years as a Technical Service Manager at BASF. Robinson has extensive knowledge of SAP applications, absorbent core formation, and hygiene article design, performance and testing.

Hygienix 2024 will be held Nov. 18-21, in Nashville, Tennessee.

The winners of the prestigious Innovation Award for Fibre-Reinforced Plastics of the AVK, the German Federation of Reinforced Plastics, were presented in Salzburg this year. This award always goes to businesses, institutions and their partners for outstanding innovations in composites the three categories Products & Applications, Processes & Methods and Research & Science. Projects are submitted in all three categories and are evaluated by a jury of experts in engineering and science as well as trade journalists, who look at each project in terms of their levels of innovation, implementation and sustainability.

Products & Applications category
First place: “Insulating Coupling Shaft for Rail Vehicles” – Leichtbauzentrum Sachsen GmbH, partner: KWD Kupplungswerk Dresden GmbH

Second place: “Electric Car Battery Housing Components Based on Innovative Continuous Fibre-Reinforced Phenolic Resin Composites” – SGL Carbon

Third place: “High Performance Recycled Carbon Fibre Materials (HiPeR)” – Composites Technology Center GmbH (CTC GmbH), partners: Faserinstitut Bremen e. V, Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V., C.A.R. FiberTec GmbH; partners Japan: Faserinstitut Bremen e.V., Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V., C.A.R. FiberTec GmbH; Partner Japan: CFRI Carbon Fiber Recycle Industry Co., Ltd., IHI Logistics and Machinery Corporation, ICC Kanazawa Institute of Technology

Innovative Processes & Methods category
First place: “Chopped Fibre Direct Processing (CFP)” – KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, partner: Wirthwein SE

Second place: “CIRC - Complete Inhouse Recycling of Thermoplastic Compounds” – Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation (IPA), partners: Schindler Handhabetechnik GmbH, Vision & Control GmbH

Third place: “CarboScreen – Sensor-Based Monitoring of Carbon-Fibre Production” – CarboScreen GmbH, partner: Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University

Research & Science category
First place: “Development of a Stereocomplex PLA Blend on a Pilot Plant Scale” – Faserinstitut Bremen e. V.

Second place: “Fibre-Reinforced Salt as a Robust Lost Core Material” – Technical University of Munich, Chair of Carbon Composites, partners: Apppex GmbH, Haas Metallguss GmbH

Third place: “VliesSMC – Recycled Carbon Fibres with a Second Life in the SMC Process” – Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI), partner: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT)

Entries for the next Innovation Award 2024 can be submitted from January 2024 onwards.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the conference program for Hygienix™ 2023, November 13-16 to be held at The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA.

The program details can be found on the Hygienix website.

The keynote speaker is Courtney Scharf, Chief Client Officer, Trend Hunter. Trend Hunter leverages big data, human researchers, and AI to identify consumer insights, and deep dive opportunities for the world’s most innovative companies, such as Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Georgia-Pacific, Kroger, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, Samsung, and Bacardi. Trend Hunter utilizes Artificial Intelligence and research to identify and curate top insights and trends to advise brands and businesses in their pursuit of innovation.

The Hygienix program will feature thought leaders in consumer-centric innovations, the circular economy, raw material advancements in sustainability, opportunities for advanced recycling in absorbent hygiene, optimizing the packaging footprint, new approaches for odor control, and market trends and drivers.

Experts presenting at Hygienix include:

• Aquapak Polymers Ltd. – “Creating Sustainable Nonwovens for Hygiene Applications with Thermally Processable Polyvinyl Alcohol; A Water Soluble, Environmentally Friendly and High-Performance Polymer”
• Asahi Kasei Advance Corporation – “Continuous-Filament Cellulose Nonwovens”
• Confitex Technology – “Reusables Production: It’s Not All Green”
• Egal Pads, Inc. – “Closing the Circularity Gap One Used Pad at a Time”
• Essity – “Diaper Collection & Recycling in Australia”
• ExxonMobil Chemical Company – “Innovate New Levels of Strong Comfort with Hygiene Solutions”
• Henkel Corporation – “Reducing the Packaging Waste from Personal Hygiene Products”
• INNOVATEGRN – “Accelerating Innovation / Embracing a Consumer-Centric Approach”
• Kuraray Europe GmbH – “Safe and Eco-friendly Elastics for Absorbent Hygiene Products”
• Nexus Circular – “Increasing Plastics Circularity for the Hygiene Segment Through Advanced Recycling”
• W. Pelz GmbH –“Disposable Pads Meet Reusable Underwear”
• Price Hanna Consultants – “Squaring the Circle: Why Demonstration Projects = Good Sustainability Strategy” and “Wellness and Natural Materials”
• Rem Brands, Inc. – “Effective Reduction of Material Odors, In-use Odors, and Post-use Odors”
• Sequel – “Spiraling into Business: How a Dramatic Innovation to the Tampon Met the World’s Largest Manufacturer of Feminine Hygiene”
• Sparkle Innovations Inc. – Sustainability and Circularity in the Absorbent Hygiene Products Industry”

The Hygienix program will offer a hands-on workshop as well as two pre-conference webinars. Jim Robinson, Principal, Absorbent Hygiene Insights, LLC, will lead the in-person workshop on AHP Absorbent Hygiene Systems, Monday afternoon, November 13th. This workshop evaluates SAP absorption for different SAPs and participants have the opportunity to deconstruct and examine several hygiene products including infant, adult, and period care products to increase the understanding of these systems.

The theme for the 13th edition of RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics) is “A New Era in Manufacturing for Sustainability.” Technology scouts, product managers, senior scientists, development engineers, and business developers will convene September 26-27 at North Carolina State University and The Nonwovens Institute in Raleigh, NC to discover the latest nonwoven innovations.

The RISE conference program features industry leaders from these companies: American Truetzschler, Berry Global, Dilo Incorporated, Evonik Corporation, Indorama Ventures USA, MANN+HUMMEL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NatureWorks, The Nonwovens Institute, Owens Corning, PCI Wood Mackenzie, PolyQuest, Reifenhäuser REICOFIL GmbH, and Simplifyber. These industry experts will discuss the future of nonwoven manufacturing, advances in filter media, rPolymer developments, and sustainable applications.

Innovations that advance the nonwovens industry will be recognized with the 2023 RISE® Innovation Award. Three finalists will present their innovative products or technologies to RISE participants, Tuesday, September 26th. The 2022 award winner was DiaperRecycle, cat litter made from recycled diapers.

RISE participants have the option of touring The Nonwovens Institute’s $65 million-plus, 60,000 square-foot facilities featuring state-of-the-art equipment, pilot lines, and analytical laboratories, as well as attending an evening reception at the Lonnie Pool Golf Course Clubhouse. During the evening reception, graduate students and faculty from North Carolina State University will feature their research and technical advances with poster presentations. The tour and reception will take place Tuesday, September 26th and the tour is limited to 40 attendees.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced that registration is open for FiltXPO™ 2023, Oct. 10-12, 2023, Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois USA. More than 130 exhibitors from the filtration supply chain will showcase their solutions, technologies, and innovations to over 1,200 global professionals. FiltXPO will also feature a three-day technical program covering new technology, products, and research.

Exhibit stand reservations have been brisk, exceeding the prior two editions of FiltXPO. “We are pleased to see the strong interest in exhibiting at FiltXPO. It speaks to the strength of the industry and that filtration products continue to evolve for clean air and water, as well as safer food, beverages, and biopharmaceuticals,” said Joe Tessari, Associate Director of Exhibit Sales.

An important part of the FiltXPO event is the 1.5-day Filter Media Training Course. Participants will learn about the physics of filtration, how nonwoven media is designed and used in air and liquid filtration, the latest market trends, which applications have unmet needs, as well as testing standards.

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.

The The German Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AVK) is looking for the best innovations in the field of fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) / composites covering the following categories:

• Innovative products/components or applications
• Innovative procedures/processes
• Research and science

One goal of the AVK Innovation Award is to promote new products/components and applications made from fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) and to promote new processes and methods for the manufacturing of FRP products. A further award is given to universities, colleges and institutes for outstanding work in science and research. In each of the categories special emphasis will be placed on the issue of sustainability.

Another goal is to give prominence to the innovations and also to the companies/institutions behind them, thus publicising their performance throughout the industry. The submissions will be evaluated by a jury of experts from the composites sector. The award ceremony will be held during the JEC Forum DACH event in Salzburg, Austria (24-25 October 2023).

The submission deadline for the application documents is 14^th April 2023.
Further details and assessment criteria can be found online.