Beaulieu Fibres sets up pilot line in Terni
March 06, 2020 - Belgium
Beaulieu Fibres International, European polyolefin and BICO fibre supplier, has set up a pilot line in Terni, Italy, a state-of-the-art multifunctional production line in Terni, and a new BICO line in Belgium. The company is seeking collaboration with nonwoven sectors to accelerate the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for the global market.
“We are delighted to launch our new pilot line, extending our capabilities as a reliable partner for product development,” comments Maria Teresa Tomaselli, general manager at Beaulieu Fibres International. “It will enable us to support each customer in reducing the time-to-market of new products, clustering their requirements in new fibre solutions that can be thoroughly tested to ensure they will hit the mark in answering their end-market needs and challenges before any production is upscaled.”
In addition to speeding up developments and future production efficiency, the pilot line offers customers the chance to minimise the need for sampling on our production lines. It also opens up opportunities for them to collaborate early on with customers across the value chain to explore novel concepts or particular end-product benefits.
The company will announce the completion of the pilot line at Index20 during March 31-April 3 in Geneva. New products will also be at the show. For nonwoven converters serving the hygiene segment, Beaulieu Fibres International will unveil Meraspring to the European market at Index20. The BICO-fibres are made with polyethylene (PE) in the sheath and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the core, and are the latest addition to the hygiene portfolio.
With the trend for comfort in hygiene, Meraspring enables nonwovens to combine softness and loftiness that provides a cushioned and even a “well-being” experience for end-users of applications such as diapers and fem-pads. The fibres are available in a range from 1.7-8.9 dtex with hydrophilic, hydrophobic and wellbeing finishes depending on the properties required in the final product. To improve opacity TiO2 can be added. This gives a cotton-like appearance to the nonwoven.
“Our specialty fibres are the BICO-Trilobal versions, named Meralux. Thanks to their trilobal shape Meralux fibres provide superior opacities compared to nonwoven made with BICO-round full-dull fibres, allowing basis weight reductions without losing coverage in the nonwoven. Therefore, it is the ideal fibre for topsheets. Used as ADL it improves the liquid performance as the surface area is bigger than in a round fibre. The resilience levels compared to a round fibre are also higher, which is related to its shape,” the company said.
The fast-growing filtration market will also get high profile in this year’s Index showcase, with Beaulieu Fibres International presenting a whole new range of Mono and Bico fibres which comply with global food contact standards – a one-stop-shop offering for the filtration industry. Additionally, a new range of dry PP fibres for use in electret filtration applications will also be promoted.
The company will also display UltraBond, the fibre which enables production of a 100 per cent PP self-supporting pleatable filtration media with excellent filtration performance and that can be made fully recyclable. UltraBond is amongst the innovations shortlisted by Edana for the Index20 awards.
“We are delighted to launch our new pilot line, extending our capabilities as a reliable partner for product development,” comments Maria Teresa Tomaselli, general manager at Beaulieu Fibres International. “It will enable us to support each customer in reducing the time-to-market of new products, clustering their requirements in new fibre solutions that can be thoroughly tested to ensure they will hit the mark in answering their end-market needs and challenges before any production is upscaled.”
In addition to speeding up developments and future production efficiency, the pilot line offers customers the chance to minimise the need for sampling on our production lines. It also opens up opportunities for them to collaborate early on with customers across the value chain to explore novel concepts or particular end-product benefits.
The company will announce the completion of the pilot line at Index20 during March 31-April 3 in Geneva. New products will also be at the show. For nonwoven converters serving the hygiene segment, Beaulieu Fibres International will unveil Meraspring to the European market at Index20. The BICO-fibres are made with polyethylene (PE) in the sheath and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the core, and are the latest addition to the hygiene portfolio.
With the trend for comfort in hygiene, Meraspring enables nonwovens to combine softness and loftiness that provides a cushioned and even a “well-being” experience for end-users of applications such as diapers and fem-pads. The fibres are available in a range from 1.7-8.9 dtex with hydrophilic, hydrophobic and wellbeing finishes depending on the properties required in the final product. To improve opacity TiO2 can be added. This gives a cotton-like appearance to the nonwoven.
“Our specialty fibres are the BICO-Trilobal versions, named Meralux. Thanks to their trilobal shape Meralux fibres provide superior opacities compared to nonwoven made with BICO-round full-dull fibres, allowing basis weight reductions without losing coverage in the nonwoven. Therefore, it is the ideal fibre for topsheets. Used as ADL it improves the liquid performance as the surface area is bigger than in a round fibre. The resilience levels compared to a round fibre are also higher, which is related to its shape,” the company said.
The fast-growing filtration market will also get high profile in this year’s Index showcase, with Beaulieu Fibres International presenting a whole new range of Mono and Bico fibres which comply with global food contact standards – a one-stop-shop offering for the filtration industry. Additionally, a new range of dry PP fibres for use in electret filtration applications will also be promoted.
The company will also display UltraBond, the fibre which enables production of a 100 per cent PP self-supporting pleatable filtration media with excellent filtration performance and that can be made fully recyclable. UltraBond is amongst the innovations shortlisted by Edana for the Index20 awards.