R&D continuously driving growth of nonwovens sector

Radical change

While companies such as DuPont and Freudenberg continue to actively push new product development today, the likes of Akzo Nobel, Hoechst, ICI, Courtaulds and Rhône-Poulenc either no longer exist or have moved away from synthetic fibres and, as a result, considerable research and development is now carried out at universities around the world, in addition to research institutes – a number of which are specifically dedicated to the nonwovens industry.

These now include the Nonwovens Institute (NWI) – which boasts the world’s first accredited academic programme for the interdisciplinary field of engineered fabrics, in North Carolina, USA.

Based at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, the NWI has been established as a global partnership between industry, government and academia, closely linked to the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC) there

Another successful example is the Nonwovens Research Academy at University of Leeds in the UK, and its commercial spin-out company, NIRI.

Germany, not surprisingly, has a number of institutes involved in many areas of materials development and key names in the nonwovens arena include ITV Denkendorf and the Saxon Textile Research Institute at Chemnitz, both INDEX exhibitors.

The latest addition to these dedicated research institutes is CETI, a new €40 million multi-sector technology and pilot centre in northern France which opened at the end of 2012. CETI houses some 20 machines offering more than 100 different textiles and nonwoven solutions, and has just started up drylaid nonwovens production with equipment supplied by INDEX exhibitors Laroche, Andritz Asselin Thibeau and Strahm.

Since its inauguration in October 2012, CETI has hosted many international delegations and visits illustrating the interest of industrial stakeholders in the versatility of the pilot plant.

EDANA, sponsor of the INDEX shows, will host its 2013 Nonwovens Innovation Academy (NIA) – showcasing the best of current academic research worldwide – at CETI from November 27th-28th.

In addition, many nonwovens companies, research institutes and universities are actively involved in a number of FP7 projects funded by the European Union – ensuring there is still plenty of opportunity for happy accidents to arise today.

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