Interview with Kerem Durdag

The non-woven industry is a multi-billion dollar one with many large vertical segments. There is a significant amount of information to be absorbed and synthesised for one to determine the mechanisms of the nonwoven industry. In my opinion, the biopolymer market that will result in "green" and biosustainable products will continue to grow in the next decade with concurrently the healthcare sector also becoming a globally dominant player.

Our biggest markets are those that have a need and requirement for materials that are manufactured from biosustainable biopolymers because it is part of their value proposition.

There is a macro market trend of integrating mechanical and chemistry features in nonwoven healthcare products, inclusive of nonwoven material approved by the FDA (or CE) as a medical device. Whether this be in smart fabrics, high-strength nonwovens, barriers against hospital acquired infections, biopolymer based products that can clearly show attractive cradle-to-grave return on investment results and advanced wound-care with therapeutics, there will be movement of nonwovens having multiple performance features in healthcare. Bringing such valuable products to the marketplace will require significant leadership.

One has to be honest enough to admit that there are many situations currently where sustainable products are expected to be at price points that are equivalent to those manufactured from petroleum based polymers, but are not. Such price equivalence is sometime impossible given the state of current polymer technology (raw bulk pricing, speed of processing, freight logistics et al). This is more true given the current oil prices and global allocation of capacity to manufacture sustainable products. For us, the focus is tethered to three anchor points: a. The end customer has to be able to allow for the pricing that is technologically and operationally possible with sustainable products based on their value proposition, branding and positioning to the global marketplace. b. The performance of the product has to exactly match the end requirements allowing for not only creativity and optimisation in the design of the product, but also a very specific articulation for the value of the product (cradle-to-grave lifecycle). c. Markets have to realise that the constant commoditisation of value products has a certain "termination" point wherein the race to the cheapest erodes not only the confidence of the end purchaser of the product but also undermines efforts in place to bring next-generation products that require leadership and forward leaning attitudes.

The demands placed on us have several common themes, among which are: a. There are no performance concessions; the marketplace is focused, savvy and detail oriented. b. Pricing is always an issue. However, today's markets couple pricing with a demand to be educated about product design, test results and value proposition. This desire for education places another burden on the manufacturer that cannot be minimised. c. It is a global marketplace; the product fundamentals are common to all but geographic regions have unique and individualised needs that can't be glossed over. d. Logistics are one of the key delivery determinants; product delivery and support on a global basis affects decision making at the highest levels. e. The necessity of creating local partnerships and sales channels has resulted in a vibrant eco-system of cooperation and calibration all contextualised within cultural calibrations.

We are focused on our cost-effective but equally efficacious and high performance solutions for advanced wound-care which is predominantly targeted at markets where price sensitivity is high but the market is large and there are strong purchasing drivers. Additionally, the nonwoven materials we have developed that act as a barrier against hospital acquired infections are being channelled to the end customers. We are focused on chemistries that continue to be more natural and "green" for our next generation products.

I think it is safe to say that we expend a fair amount of our budget ensuring a steady pipeline of products for our customers and the marketplace. The nonwoven industry has a strong tradition of R&D and we aim to contribute to that.

Near future activities are in terms of wipe and packaging materials. We aim to commercialise and bring to market once the appropriate and detailed validation and customer testing is completed.