Oerlikon Nonwoven will be exhibiting at the world’s leading nonwovens trade fair – the Index in Geneva, Switzerland (October 19-22, 2021) – with one of the market’s broadest portfolios. The Neumünster-based systems constructor will be focusing on market- and customer-oriented system solutions for filtration, hygiene, medical, geotextile and other industrial applications.

Trade fair visitors can delve deep into the company’s comprehensive product and process know-how both live at trade fair stand no. 2314 and via the Index online platform, the company said in a media release.

Unique and highly sophisticated nonwovens for filtration, insulation and sorption applications can be simply and efficiently manufactured thanks to Oerlikon Nonwoven’s meltblown technology. The polymers used to produce the filter media and membranes are as diverse as their applications. The spectrum ranges from classical polyolefins (PP, PE), PET, PLA, PBT and PA all the way through to special plastics such as PPS and TPU. All these and other raw materials can be reliably processed using the Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown procedures.

The ecuTEC+ electro-charging unit electrostatically charges filter media in order to further increase filter efficiency. It distinguishes itself from other concepts currently available on the market as a result of its extreme flexibility. Users can choose from numerous possible variations and hence set the optimum charge intensity for their respective filter applications.

For industrial nonwovens, Oerlikon Nonwoven systems are capable of high production capacities and yields with simultaneously low energy consumption. To this end, geotextiles made from polypropylene or polyester can be efficiently manufactured with running meter weights of up to 400 g/m² and filament titers of up to 9 dtex, for example. And Oerlikon Nonwoven also offers specialised spunbond processes for producing nonwoven substrates for roofing underlays (PP or PET spunbonds) and so-called bitumen roofing substrates (needled PET spunbonds) for bitumen roofing membranes.

Furthermore, spunbond products are also becoming increasingly important in filtration applications – both as backing materials for filter media and as the filter media themselves. A flexible nonwoven structure permits the inclusion of customer-specific requirements for various functions. It is Oerlikon Nonwoven’s many years of core-sheath bi-component experience in particular that enable the creation of completely new nonwoven structures and hence the incorporation of various functions in a single material. The core-sheath bi-component spinning process permits various combined fibre cross-sections and also simultaneously different fibres to be produced from a single or different polymers. The spectrum ranges from core-sheath and side-by-side bi-component filaments, splitable fibres all the way through to so-called mixed fibres.

For manufacturing hygiene and medical nonwovens, the QSR (Quality Sized Right) technology offers a financially-attractive solution for producing these highly-diverse spunbond and meltblown composites (SSMMS, SMMS, SSS, etc.) in accordance with globally-accepted standards. As a result of intensive collaborations and partnerships, close-knit quality assurance measures and extensive interaction with its technology partners, Oerlikon Nonwoven can equip this type of system with unique features that enable producers to distinguish themselves within their respective markets with special nonwoven properties such as higher volumes, softness and customer-specific embossed patterns, for example.

With its Phantom platform, Oerlikon Nonwoven offers an alternative coform technology for manufacturing various wet wipes from pulp and polymer fibres. Here, the spunmelt and airlaid processes are combined in a manner that perfectly unites the properties of the starting materials. The material mix can comprise up to 90 per cent cellulose fibres. Alternatively, cotton or synthetic fibres can also be added.

Compared to processes such as classical spunlace (hydroentangled carded nonwovens) produced to date, the Phantom technology offers ecological, performance and cost advantages. Dispensing with hydroentanglement renders subsequent drying of the material redundant. Product parameters, such as softness, tenacity, dirt absorption and liquid absorption, can be optimally set. The Phantom technology enables the manufacture of both flexible and absorbent structures and highly-textured materials.

Pulp or cellulose fibres as raw material for manufacturing nonwovens are currently virtually unrivalled with regards to sustainability and environmental compatibility. The Oerlikon Nonwoven airlaid process is the ideal solution for processing this raw material into high-end products for a wide range of applications. Today, there is huge demand for manufacturing solutions for high-quality, lightweight airlaid nonwovens with economically attractive production speeds and system throughputs.

Here, the patented Oerlikon Nonwoven formation process is setting standards – for homogeneous fibre laying and superb evenness even for nonwovens with low running meter weights. Furthermore, it permits the homogeneous mixing of the most diverse raw materials, including pulp, short- and long-staple natural and manmade fibres (up to 20 mm) and powders, as well as the utilisation and combination of the most diverse mechanical, thermal and chemical tangling methods for creating the requisite product properties.