From the Sector

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced three recipients for the INDA Lifetime Service Award and Lifetime Technical Achievement Awards. David Powling, Paul Latten, and Arnold Wilkie are being recognized for their key contributions to the advancement of the nonwovens industry and INDA.

David Powling and Paul Latten will receive their awards at the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, June 18th beginning at 4:30 pm
Arnold Wilkie will receive his award at the RISE® Conference, October 1st at 4:30 pm.

The Award recipients are:

David Powling
David Powling has worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation for nearly 25 years and has been a contributor to the Wipes Task Force and Technical Committees at INDA and EDANA for over 15 years. Powling served as Chairman of the INDA Wipes Task Force from 2009-2013. His work on these committees include developing the first and second edition of the Flushability Guidance Document (GD) and he was later instrumental in the roll out of the third and fourth edition GDs. Throughout this time, Powling coordinated activities with Kimberly-Clark Corporation to provide critical supporting data, as these flushability test protocols were developed.

Powling has been actively involved in collection studies where he was key in framing the work packages of those studies, collating and analyzing the data, and drafting reports. These collection studies include: Moraga, CA (advisor); Maine – Part #1 and Part #2 (hands-on); Jacksonville (hands-on); and the Northern and Southern California studies in 2023, which combined, was the largest study to date. Powling led the charge in the California study and was personally involved in identifying 1,745 samples.

Powling has been a key technical contributor to the INDA Government Relation efforts that has resulted in labelling regulations in multiple U.S. states. He has also been an active participant in efforts to develop an ISO standard for flushable products.  In this effort, he was a test method sub-team leader during the preparation of the proposed ISO standard responsible for organizing appendices of existing flushability methodologies. Additionally, Powling has been awarded, or has pending, 25+ U.S. patents, including many covering the development of dispersible wet wipes.

Paul Latten
Paul Latten has been an active member of the nonwoven and fiber industries for over 35 years. Most recently he has led innovation at Southeast Nonwovens, commercializing more than 75 new nonwoven products per year. Prior to joining Southeast Nonwovens, Latten held senior leadership positions with Basofil, Consolidated Fibers, Invista, and KoSa (and Trevira and Hoechst Celanese precursors to KoSa.)

Latten has a successful career of reinvigorating company R&D efforts by instilling a focus on customer-centric innovation. He is an inventor of record for a number of patents and pending applications. Latten has given numerous presentations on innovative nonwoven materials, at events such as INDA’s World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics), the VISION International Conference, and the Converting and Bonding (CAB) Conference.

His recent innovations have been diverse in scope and include nonwovens for use in hydrogen fuel cells, moisture detection media, proprietary wipe designs, and natural fiber-based packaging. Aside from new fiber and nonwoven products, Latten has championed process innovation that has resulted in tangible output gains that broadened the market opportunity for his current and prior companies.

Latten’s portfolio of innovations has spanned across the nonwoven markets, often involving wetlaid and drylaid nonwovens. These include materials for moisture detection, synthetic papers, fuel cell cathodes, protective covers for treats, melamine nonwovens for surface treatment, and the development of binder fibers. His work also touched upon disposable hygiene applications entailing dry-laid web containing hollow synthetic fibers to improve absorbent core fluid uptake.

Latten has been a board member of INDA for multiple terms and served as Chairman in 2008-2010. Additionally, he has contributed to many INDA conference planning committees, helping drive the success of these events.

Arnold Wilkie
Arnold Wilkie has a distinguished career in advancing yarn, fiber, and nonwoven technologies since 1970. Since 1988, he has been President and Owner of Hills, Inc. where he has sustained their innovative culture. Wilkie has over 40 patents and applications covering yarns, bicomponent fibers, ultra-fine fibers, nanofibers, dissolvable filaments, meltblown nonwovens, and polymer processing innovations. He established Hills as a leading innovator in bicomponent fiber nonwovens and in the equipment to produce these materials. During Wilkie’s time leading Hills, their pilot capabilities have become well-known and highly regarded for enabling material innovations.

Many of his patents pertain to the development of equipment solutions that enable the production of complex bi- and multi-component fiber structures. These solutions include the method of forming a continuous filament spun-laid web, the method and apparatus for producing polymer fibers and fabrics including multiple polymer components, the method and apparatus for controlling airflow in a fiber extrusion system, and controlling the dissolution of dissolvable polymer components in plural component fibers.

Arnold Wilkie, President, Hills, Inc., earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the University of West Florida. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Florida, and has been engaged in the synthetic fibers industry since 1970. The first 17 years were with the Monsanto Company, where he held positions in Fiber Process Engineering, Fiber Product R&D, and Product Management. Since 1988, he has been a majority Owner and President of Hills, Inc., a 52-year-old company located in West Melbourne, Florida, specializing in the development, manufacture, and supply of advanced custom fiber extrusion equipment. Wilkie has been involved with and supported The Nonwovens Institute, since its founding in 1991 as the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC), with Hills joining as a Member in 2001

Der Bundesverband Medizintechnologie (BVMed) fordert in seinem Positionspapier zur Europawahl am 9. Juni 2024 einen eigenen Gesundheitsausschuss im Europäischen Parlament, um den gestiegenen Stellenwert der Gesundheitsthemen abzubilden. Unter dem Titel „Medizintechnik-Standort Europa stärken“ ist es für den deutschen Medizintechnik-Verband besonders wichtig, dass Europa Lehren aus der Corona-Pandemie zieht, die Resilienz des Gesundheitssystems stärkt und damit die medizinische Versorgung krisenfest gestaltet. „Wir brauchen als MedTech-Branche vor allem einen einheitlichen regulatorischen Rahmen – ohne zusätzliche oder gar weitergehende Standards in den einzelnen Mitgliedsstaaten“, so BVMed-Geschäftsführer und Vorstandsmitglied Dr. Marc-Pierre Möll.

Um ein widerstandsfähiges Gesundheitssystem zu schaffen, fordert der BVMed attraktive Rahmenbedingungen für lokale Produktion und die Stärkung der Resilienz der Lieferketten. Eine „digitale Bestandsplattform für versorgungskritische Medizinprodukte und Arzneimittel“ könne zudem dazu beitragen, dass kritische Produkte uneingeschränkt zur Verfügung stehen. Sinnvoll sei auch eine „Whitelist für kritische Rohstoffe unter dem Critical Raw Materials Act“. Bei der Erarbeitung von politischen Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der Effizienz und Integrität von Lieferketten müssen alle relevanten Stakeholder einbezogen werden – „inklusive der Medizintechnikbranche“, heißt es im BVMed-Europapapier.

Beim Thema Nachhaltigkeit spricht sich der MedTech-Verband dafür aus, die Vorgaben des europäischen Green Deals am Wohl der Patient:innen auszurichten. „Neue oder geänderte Regulierungen dürfen niemals die Versorgung von Patient:innen gefährden“, heißt es im Positionspapier. Da Produktänderungen zeit- und ressourcenintensiv sowie in der EU-Medizinprodukte-Verordnung (MDR) streng reguliert seien, benötigen umwelt- und nachhaltigkeitsbezogene Regulierungen, die Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheitsversorgung haben, angemessene Ausnahmeregelungen und Übergangsfristen.

Ein wichtiges Anliegen sind dem BVMed die Verbesserungen der MDR, um einen effizienten regulatorischen Rahmen für Medizinprodukte zu schaffen, der die Patient:innenversorgung gewährleistet. Der BVMed fordert daher unter anderem die Abschaffung der fünfjährigen Re-Zertifizierungs-Pflicht, die Einführung eines Fast-Track-Verfahrens für innovative Produkte, Orphan Devices und Nischenprodukte, die Steigerung der Effizienz, der Transparenz und der Berechenbarkeit des MDR-Systems sowie die Zusammenführung der Verantwortung im System über eine zu schaffende Governance-Struktur. Doppelregulierungen müssten durch die Harmonisierung der Anforderungen in verschiedenen Rechtsakten verhindert werden.

Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt der Positionen des deutschen MedTech-Verbandes ist es, Innovationen voranzutreiben und Digitalisierung zu forcieren. Der Europäische Raum für Gesundheitsdaten (EHDS) lege die Grundlage für den Datenaustausch und die Datennutzung für Unternehmen. Der Artificial Intelligence Act (AI-Act) solle bessere Möglichkeiten für die KI-Entwicklung schaffen, bringe aber auch neue Pflichten für Medizinprodukte mit sich, die effizient mit der bestehenden MDR in Einklang gebracht werden müssten. Der BVMed setzt sich für die Schaffung eines echten Binnenmarkts für digitale Gesundheitslösungen mit europaweiten Zulassungen und einheitlichen Standards für Datensicherheit aus. Der EHDS müsse allen Stakeholdern einen gleichberechtigten mit geringem bürokratischem Aufwand bieten. Außerdem müsste die Interoperabilität von Daten auf der Grundlage von international anerkannten Standards ausgebaut werden – „bei weitgehendem Verzicht auf nationale Besonderheiten bei Datenstandards“.

Schließlich sei es auf europäischer Ebene wichtig, Handel auszubauen, Fachkräfte zu sichern und Exporte zu stärken. Tendenzen der Renationalisierung und des Protektionismus erschwerten Europa die Handelsbeziehungen mit Drittstaaten und sorgen für erhebliche Marktzugangshürden. „Eine offene Handelspolitik ist jedoch für die exportstarke Medizintechnik-Branche ein entscheidender Faktor. Damit die Industrie so stark bleibt, bedarf es zudem der Sicherung des nötigen Fachkräftebedarfes“, heißt es in dem BVMed-Papier.

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.

Der Abbau von Bürokratie, die Förderung des Mittelstands und die Senkung der Energiesteuern sind für die Deutschen die überragenden Themen, um die Wirtschaft zu entlasten. Das ergab eine repräsentative Befragung des Meinungsforschungsunternehmens Civey im Auftrag des Bundesverbandes Medizintechnologie (BVMed). „Der Wirtschaftsstandort Deutschland verliert im internationalen Wettbewerb an Boden. Wir müssen jetzt gegensteuern und geeignete Maßnahmen ergreifen, um insbesondere die stark mittelständisch geprägte Medizintechnik-Branche zu fördern und von Bürokratie zu entlasten. Dafür hat die Bevölkerung ein gutes Gespür“, kommentiert BVMed-Geschäftsführer und Vorstandsmitglied Dr. Marc-Pierre Möll.

Gefragt nach geeigneten Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der deutschen Wirtschaft nennen 84 Prozent der Deutschen den Abbau von Bürokratie, 62 Prozent die Förderung des Mittelstandes und 60 Prozent die Senkung der Energiesteuern. 41 Prozent sprechen sich für eine bessere Förderung von Innovationen und 33 Prozent für die Senkung der Unternehmenssteuern aus. Es folgen der Ausbau der steuerlichen Forschungsförderung (22 Prozent), die Stärkung der Gesundheitswirtschaft (21 Prozent) und ein erleichterter Zugriff auf Forschungsdaten (15 Prozent).

Während die Werte bei Frauen und Männer sowie Ost- und West-Deutschen ähnlich hoch sind, unterscheiden sich die Antworten nach Altersgruppen sehr stark. Die mit Abstand höchsten Werte gibt es in der Bevölkerungsgruppe zwischen 30 und 39 Jahren. Hier wünschen sich beispielsweise 58 Prozent eine bessere Förderung von Innovationen. Den höchsten Wert zum Abbau von Bürokratie gibt es bei Arbeiter:innen mit 92 Prozent und Beamt:innen mit 87 Prozent.

Der BVMed fordert seit langem ein zwischen Wirtschafts-, Forschungs- und Gesundheitspolitik abgestimmtes Maßnahmenpaket zur im Koalitionsvertrag von 2021 vorgesehenen Stärkung des Medizintechnik-Standorts Deutschlands. Zu den Forderungen des deutschen Medizintechnik-Verbandes gehören eine beauftragte Person der Bundesregierung für die industrielle Gesundheitswirtschaft, eine Stärkung der Resilienz und der Lieferketten, ein Belastungsmoratorium und Entbürokratisierungs-Offensive für die KMU-geprägte Branche, Fast-Track-Verfahren für Innovationen mit klaren Fristen sowie einfache Anerkennungsverfahren für benötigte Fachkräfte.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has named experienced sales and business development professional Dan Noonan as its new Director of Memberships and Business Development. Noonan brings 20 years of experience leading sales teams across the U.S. at Localedge/Hearst Media Services.

Noonan will be responsible for enhancing the value of INDA membership and its industry supporting programs. He will work with staff, leadership, and members to identify and expand opportunities to enhance our programs, services and our relevance to the industry.

INDA announces Sustainability as a primary focus for 2024. This strategic initiative, backed by resounding support from INDA’s leadership, is a direct response to feedback from association members affirming that sustainability remains one of the nonwovens industry’s highest priorities.

INDA’s sustainability endeavor will center around three core pillars crucial to the industry’s future: Responsible Sourcing, End-of-Life Solutions, and Innovations in Sustainability. This multifaceted initiative will introduce a spectrum of new and enhanced offerings, including:

• Webinars addressing sustainability issues impacting members and the industry.
• Specialized technical and government affairs committees enabling members to collaborate on sustainability opportunities and challenges.
• The inaugural release of a comprehensive sustainability report from INDA’s Market Intelligence department.
• A dedicated sustainability special edition of the International Fiber Journal, produced by INDA Media.
• Sustainability programming at INDA events, including a dedicated focus at the IDEA® 2025 conference.

This year’s edition of ITMA ASIA + CITME proved to be a success for the exhibiting VDMA member companies. Measured by booked square metres, Germany had the largest contingent, among the foreign exhibitors. More than 40 VDMA member companies were exhibiting their innovative products in Shanghai.

Dr. Janpeter Horn, chairman of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association noted: “Although facing a difficult market situation, this year’s edition of ITMA ASIA + CITME has exceeded the expectations, both in terms of the number of visitors and the quality of the talks. The significant number of foreign visitors to the fair was particularly pleasing.”

Solutions were demonstrated for more sustainable textile productions by most of the exhibitors, and here the VDMA members presented their technologies for saving water, energy and raw materials under the heading “Smart technologies for green textile production.”  

Dr. Uwe Rondé, CEO, Saurer Intelligent Technology AG explained: “Saurer is satisfied with both the number of visitors and the quality of the discussions. Our booth was full from morning to evening with customers focused on latest technologies within the three mega trends: recycling, automation and digitalisation. Although machine utilisation in the spinning mills is still well below average, people are already gathering information and thinking about what to invest in once the market recovers.”

Benjamin Reiners, owner of Reiners + Fürst stated: „This year’s ITMA ASIA + CITME has exceeded our expectations by far. Especially the first day - a Sunday - has brought many high-quality customers and exclusively decision makers to our booth. We estimate about 20% international customers mainly from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. All customers agreed that the market situation at the moment is difficult, capacity usage is between 50-75% in the ring spinning sector and improvement is expected not before the 2nd half of 2024. Nevertheless the general spirit is very positive.“

“This ITMA ASIA was a great success for Trützschler. We welcomed a large number of Chinese visitors to our booth, as well as a significant number of interested international visitors”, said Dr. Bettina Temath, Head of Global Marketing Trützschler Group SE.

Georg Stausberg, CEO of the polymer processing solutions division and chief sustainability officer of the Oerlikon Group stated: „We can look back on a successful show where we were able to meet many of our customers not only from China, but also from Pakistan, India and Indonesia, for example.”

“A very well-attended trade fair, with interesting discussions, great innovative topics, in line with the modern and rapidly developing China" noted Wolfgang Schöffl, head of product line weaving machines and member of the extended management, Lindauer Dornier.

The VDMA Textile Machinery Association and VDMA China were present at the fair, to support the members e.g. with regard to IPR. With the help of a VDMA expert and a contracted law firm, the member company Sahm submitted a complaint application for patent infringement disputes during the exhibition to the onsite IPR office. Both parties, Sahm, and the Chinese company, that used patented design without permission reached an agreement: The Chinese company had to stop displaying functions and designs involving patent infringement on site which meant the removal of some structural parts and the covering of key components protected by patent protection.

Dr. Harald Weber, managing director of VDMA Textile Machinery concluded: “Asia, and China in particular, represent the primary foreign markets for the VDMA member companies in the sector. The Chinese market is the main destination for their exports. Other major export destinations in Asia include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. ITMA ASIA + CITME provides a unique platform to showcase technologies for customers directly in Asia. The VDMA member companies are looking forward to the coming edition of the fair from 14 to 18 October 2024 in Shanghai.”

The latest survey of VDMA members' subsidiaries in China gives reason to hope that the economic situation in the Chinese textile industry could also improve significantly in the second half of the year. In addition, European textile machinery manufacturers are urged to be present on the most important market and at the trade fair and to offer Asian customers most advanced technology for their demanding challenges.

from both inside and outside of Asia. Looking ahead, the stage will be set once again at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) next year, allowing exhibitors and buyers from the industry to match their trading needs onsite. Thanks to the resumption of global travel and the ongoing industry recovery, the next Autumn edition is slated to attract even more multinational fairgoers and diverse home and contract textile collections. The fair will return in 14 – 16 August 2024.

A recent study showed a significant rise in corporate travel in 2023, driven largely by the resurgence of live business events and the easing of restrictions following several turbulent years. Adding to this, the Chinese government has announced several measures in a bid to attract more international visitors, including a simplified visa application process as the latest initiative.
 
As one of the largest economies in the world, China is renowned for producing high-value products across the home textile spectrum, making Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles an essential stop for global suppliers and buyers aiming to kick off the next business season.  
 
Emerging markets have become a significant focus for the industry in recent years. China's exports of home textiles to the ASEAN market amounted to around USD 2.09 billion in the first quarter of 2023, with an increase of 18% year-on-year; of which around USD 1.38 billion was exported in finished goods, seeing a rise of over 42% year-on-year[3]. With this growth in trade, buyers from fast growing emerging markets are expected to increasingly benefit from the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles platform to fulfil their sourcing needs.
 
The upcoming Autumn edition will continue to comprise a wide range of home textile products, including bedding & towelling, rugs, table & kitchen linen, upholstery & curtain fabrics, editors, home textile technologies and textile design.
 
Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA).

| BVMed-Geschäftsführer und Vorstandsmitglied Dr. Marc-Pierre Möll ist erstmals in den Vorstand des europäischen Medizintechnik-Dachverbandes MedTech Europe berufen worden. Der BVMed baut damit nach der Eröffnung eines eigenen Brüsseler Büros im November 2022 sein europapolitisches Engagement weiter aus. Der 21-köpfige neue MedTech Europe-Vorstand ist für drei Jahre bis Dezember 2026 gewählt.

Zentrale Herausforderungen der MedTech-Branche auf EU-Ebene sind nach Ansicht des BVMed: Eine patient:innen-zentrierte Versorgung mit Medizintechnologien gewährleisten, eine resiliente Gesundheitsversorgung und strategische Autonomie sicherstellen, die Weichen für eine besser digitale Gesundheitsversorgung stellen und die Nachhaltigkeitsanforderungen an die Branche harmonisiert und realistisch gestalten.

Die Medizintechnik-Branche ist eine dynamische und hoch innovative Zukunfts- und Leitbranche der europäischen Wirtschaft. Europa ist nach den USA der zweitgrößte MedTech-Markt der Welt: mit einem Volumen von rund 160 Milliarden Euro und einem Anteil am Weltmarkt von 26,4 Prozent. „Die 35.000 europäischen MedTech-Unternehmen investieren viel in die Verbesserung und Entwicklung bahnbrechender Technologien zum Wohle der Patient:innen. Dafür brauchen wir auf EU-Ebene ein attraktives Umfeld“, so der BVMed-Geschäftsführer. Dies beinhalte:

• regulatorisch zukunftsfähige Regelungen und einen Rechtsrahmen, der die Wirtschaft fördert,
• konkrete politische Entscheidungen, die in der Praxis umsetzbar sind sowie
• einen starken Binnenmarkt mit Förderung von Technologien und Innovationen.

Konkret fordert der BVMed die europäischen Institutionen in folgenden Feldern zum Handeln auf, um die Standortbedingungen für die innovative und mittelständisch geprägte MedTech-Branche zu verbessern:

• Stärkung der Resilienz von Lieferketten sowie Autonomie und Liefersicherheit bei kritischen Komponenten
• Weiterentwicklung der MDR und die Schaffung eines effektiven regulatorischen Rahmens
• Kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU) bei allen Regeln mitdenken
• Digital Health und Nutzung der Gesundheitsdaten-Nutzung verbessern
• Stärkung der Nachhaltigkeit und notwendigen Patientenschutz und branchenspezifische Anforderungen in Einklang bringen
• Sicherung der Exportstärke der Branche und internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit

INDA’s World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference is accepting abstracts on wipes products, markets, and technologies to be presented in Minneapolis, MN, June 17-20, 2024. The deadline for abstract submissions is January 12, 2024.

Experts in dry and wet nonwoven wipes, sustainability, end-use markets, substrate formation, raw materials and fibers, liquid ingredients, packaging, machinery, and market trends and data are encouraged to submit a brief abstract. The abstracts may be submitted via the WOW website.

Topics for consideration include:

• Dry and wet wipes
• Circular economy
• Sustainability / End-of-life implications
• Substrate formation
• Skin care formulations
• Raw materials
• Packaging
• Machinery and equipment
• Market trends and consumer insight
• Regulations
• Ecommerce / Retail channels