From the Sector

Originally conceived as a low-cost, high-volume alternative to knitting and weaving, nonwovens was already expanding its market boundaries by the 1970s with new applications in ‘disposables’ such as diapers, hygiene and teabags.

In the past five decades, the nonwovens business has exploded in all directions, reaching a global market worth USD 40.5 billion in 2020, projected to grow to USD 53.5 billion by 2025. This annual growth rate of 5.7% (MarketsandMarkets, Nonwoven Fabric Market Report) is based on countless new applications and expansion into durable, as well as additional disposable, products.

Major growth drivers include the hygiene sector, and filtration media for power plants and air conditioning systems. Especially during the peak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, demand in the hygiene sector multiplied. Worldwide capacities for both meltblown and spunlace production rocketed compared to a normal business year. Swiss Autefa Solutions, for example, significantly benefited from this trend, notably with the launch of a fully-automatic machine for producing face masks.

The automotive industry is the second big growth area, with many new applications being pioneered. The trend to electric and hybrid vehicles has helped this, as nonwovens reinforced with carbon fibres are widely used as battery housings.

Swiss nonwovens competence
Innovative applications across all sectors have driven the rapid evolution of sophisticated nonwovens machinery. Today’s trends demand higher productivity, sustainability and Industry 4.0 compatibility – demonstrated by the full equipment portfolio of Swiss Textile Machinery member Autefa Solutions. With V-Jet Futura, the company recently sealed the link in its product range between web forming and drying technology. This latest Hydroentanglement Machine, together with the SQ-V Square Drum Dryer, embodies advanced technology combined with significant reductions in energy consumption compared to other process solutions.

A vital contribution to nonwovens production is offered by Rieter subsidiary Graf, a leading supplier of clothing and combs for carding and combing processes in spinning and nonwovens. Graf's Hipro card clothings – suitable for any man-made fibres in the nonwovens sector – are focussing on higher productivity. Their superior performance delivers up to 10% higher throughput and greater carding efficiency compared to conventional clothings. These reliable card clothing elements also ensure a consistently reproducible high web quality, as well as 20% fewer failures in the web, thanks to the precise fibre transfer to and from the cylinder.

Another constant trend in nonwovens today is the drive for better quality. Manufacturers want to take charge of contamination levels in their processes, as well as eradicating defects which may arise during production. Uster Technologies, a leading provider of quality management solutions from fibre to fabric, offers a combined solution to achieve both these required quality standards. At the fibre preparation stage, Uster Jossi Vision Shield N ensures the best possible initial inspection and removal of contamination. Then, at the end of the production sequence, Uster EVS Fabriq Vision N handles automated detection and marking of all the main defects caused during production. This combined solution avoids material waste and takes full advantage of the potential for process optimization.

The pandemic shows the importance of single-use nonwovens for disinfectant and other wipe application. Therefore Truetzschler focuses on both high-performance solutions for an efficient production of disinfectant and biodegradable wipe materials.

It’s the classic combination of polyester and viscose fibers which combines exceptional good wipe characteristics with affordable raw material costs. For such high-speed carding/spunlacing processes Truetzschler Nonwovens offers production line configurations with three roller cards. Such an extended carding section not only enhances web quality but also fully utilizes AquaJet’s spunlacing power to deliver up to 4 tons of nonwovens per hour.

Line concepts for eco-friendly baby and body wipes are another focus at booth 1J20. The latest hot topic: Truetzschler‘s proven CP (carded/pulp) nonwoven line concepts with built-in flexibility. The machinery is able to process various pulp types for the wet-laid layer and various fiber types for the carded layer.

Topics at SINCE also are technologies for pulp-based WLS (wet-laid/spunlaced) nonwovens, cotton nonwovens and nonwovens made from 100% viscose or lyocell fibers. Truetzschler Card Clothing introduces a new generation of condenser wires.

Truetzschler Nonwovens will deliver equipment to enlarge an existing spunlacing line - put into operation in 2015 at the Turkish Eruslu Nonwovens Group - into a flexible, state-of-the-art production line for various light to heavy weight sustainable nonwovens.

Last year Eruslu decided to broaden its portfolio in the wipes segment by adding biodegradable products from renewable resources. The group took full advantage of the 2015 small capacity line and went for:

• a second NCR random and a NCA airlay card
• fiber preparation and card feeding equipment for the two new cards
• more hydraulic power to reliably and efficiently hydroentangle multi-layer webs
• an extension to the dryer for increased evaporation capacity

After starting up in the second half of 2022, Eruslu will be operating an ultra-modern, highly flexible NCR-NCA-NCR spunlace line, the first of its kind in Turkey. The line is tailor-made to process virgin cotton fibers, comber noils and short fibers at high speeds. End products are top-quality, lightweight natural wipes or heavy-weight, three-layer nonwovens for cosmetic pads.

International technology Group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production and textile solutions at ANEX/SINCE 2021 in Shanghai, China, from July 22 to 24, 2021. The product portfolio covers state-of-the-art nonwovens and textile production technologies such as air-through bonding, needlepunch, spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid/Wetlace, converting, textile finishing, airlay, recycling, and bast fiber processing.

Among the largest end-use markets for nonwoven products are materials for durable uses. Interior linings for cars, materials for construction, geotextiles, synthetic leathers for clothing and furniture, carpeting, filtration and many other industries rely on the use of nonwovens produced using the needlepunch method.

ANDRITZ Nonwoven’s processes play a pioneering role in the production of biodegradable materials. For many years, ANDRITZ has offered different processes, like spunlace, Wetlace and Wetlace CP, all with one goal in mind: Elimination of plastic components while maintaining the high quality of the desired product properties. Such processes achieve high performance entirely with plastic-free raw materials. The added benefit of using a blend of fibers, like wood pulp, short-cut cellulosic fibers, viscose, cotton, hemp, bamboo or linen, without chemical additives results in a 100% sustainable fabric, thus meeting customers’ needs exactly as well as supporting the strong tendency to move away from plastics and synthetics.

The latest development in this field is the ANDRITZ neXline wetlace CP line. This process combines the benefits of two forming technologies (inline drylaid and wetlaid web forming process) with bonding by hydroentanglement. Natural fibers, like pulp or viscose, can be processed smoothly and generate a high-performance and cost-efficient wipe that is fully biodegradable and plastic-free.

• Xinfengming Group invests in innovative staple fiber technology from Oerlikon Neumag

Neumuenster/Shanghai – In the context of the ITMA ASIA + CITME currently taking place in Shanghai, Oerlikon has now announced that it has concluded the largest staple fiber plant order in the history of Oerlikon Neumag with the major Chinese group Xinfengming in the run-up to the trade fair. This involves eight complete staple fiber lines with a total of 320 spinning positions for the production of synthetic staple fibers. Oerlikon will not only supply the technology, but will also take over the engineering of the lines. Delivery is scheduled for 2022.

With a total capacity of 1,800 t/d, the project is Oerlikon Neumag's largest staple fiber plant order to date. The eight two-step lines will produce cotton-type staple fibers in a titer range of 1.0 - 1.4 denier. With this investment, the Xinfengming Group is expanding its product portfolio. As one of the world's leading FDY and POY polyester filament yarn producers, the Chinese company has relied on Oerlikon Barmag technologies for decades and now also on those of Oerlikon Neumag.

The new, industrial, entry-level EFI™ Reggiani BLAZE scanning printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. is making its debut at the ITMA Asia tradeshow, 12-16 June in Shanghai, China. The high-quality printer is an easy-to-use, smart solution to help textile companies blaze their successful trail into the world of efficient, sustainable industrial inkjet printing. It is equipped with EFI Reggiani’s state-of-the-art technology, offering high quality, reliability and flexibility on the widest variety of designs.

Cutting-edge technology in a compact footprint
The EFI Reggiani BLAZE printer is designed to give textile companies the opportunity to enter the digital textile printing market with a compact solution. The new, 1.8-metre wide printer offers an innovative, low-maintenance, continuous recirculation ink system equipped with a level sensor and degassing as well as a printhead crash protective system for longer printhead life and superior uptime.
 
Thanks to its cutting-edge printhead reliability and low maintenance costs for a competitive TCO (total cost of ownership), the BLAZE printer can produce up to 125 linear metres per hour with a printing resolution up to 600x1200 dots per inch (dpi). The printer – which delivers excellent productivity as one of the fastest digital inkjet solutions in its class – has eight 300-dpi dual channel printheads and can print in up to eight colours with full variable drop size.

Flexible fabric feed and handling for higher productivity
The EFI Reggiani BLAZE is equipped with a continuous and switchable belt washing unit to remove water and fabric hairs. An embedded device for adhesive application offers the possibility to use thermoplastic, resin and permanent adhesives.
 
The printer also includes other features for enhanced productivity and value, including a 400-mm roll unwinder, expandable shafts, an air gun and a pneumatic bar for standard fabrics.

Efficient software and electronics technology
The Reggiani BLAZE printer offers a friendly and intuitive user interface with real-time image processing and flexible queue management. The software also runs a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) job editor, as well as tools to accurately predict printing speed and ink usage.

EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver enhancement
EFI has also released an enhanced version of the EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver printer, a 1.8-metre wide printer operating with EFI Reggiani’s unique TERRA pigment ink with binder solution for high-quality, highly sustainable, direct-to-textile printing without steaming or washing.

Features:

• A new recirculating ink system for superior reliability and minimum maintenance at start up and during production
• Several printing modes to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of design capability
• New, real-time image processing that eliminates time spent in image pre-calculations
• A user friendly, intuitive interface
• A more-efficient polymerisation process that takes place as printed textile goes through the printer’s on-board dryer.