Nonwovens live

Brand alignment for new Tandus

Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings based in Dalton, Georgia, has been officially renamed Tandus Flooring and is now aligned with its marketing name. 

“Customers already know us by our strong product brands such as Powerbond, ER3 and Ethos,” said the company’s vice-president of marketing Tom Ellis. “These well known brand names with their performance and environmental attributes will remain the same. It simply made sense to align our legal identity with our Tandus marketing brand.”

 Powerbond is a hybrid resilient closed-cell cushion sheet flooring which combines the durability of hard-surface flooring with the appearance and style of a soft surface. Originally engineered to withstand the unique needs of the education and healthcare markets, Powerbond products have evolved in design. Now offering advanced aesthetics pleasing to the corporate, retail and hospitality markets, Powerbond provides a high-performance solution for every space.

Powerbond ER3 Cushion has between 39-52% overall recycled content including 10% post consumer content (SCS Certified). It is 100% closed-loop recyclable in the company’s existing recycling process and its molecularly bound seams make it impermeable to moisture.

Tandus Technologies continues to search for new sciences and materials for all aspects of floorcoverings. Through partnerships such as the Ethos development with Kaiser Permanente and collaboration with Cargill and top universities, Tandus is exploring advances in floorcovering performance and sustainability including bio-based polymer extrusion and nanotechnology.

Tyvek deal for Bong

Bong, a leading European provider of specialised packaging and envelope products headquartered in Sweden, has acquired Tycon in Luxemburg from Curtis 1000 Europe, which was in liquidation.
Tycon is a specialist converter of Tyvek into different kinds of envelopes and packaging solutions. The deal is expected to contribute positively to Bong’s result from the first quarter 2010.
Tyvek is the spunbonded polyethylene nonwoven developed and manufactured by DuPont. It is light, thin and flexible but also extremely tough and durable. Tyvek is, for example, tear and water resistant and therefore highly suitable for protective envelopes and postal packaging solutions. Furthermore, it is readily recycled.
Bong has an exclusive agreement with DuPont for the converting and distribution of Tyvek envelopes and packaging solutions in Europe.
“This is a natural step in our work to relaunch Tyvek,” says Bong’s president and CEO Anders Davidsson. “Tycon is strategically located close to DuPont’s production site in Luxemburg and the staff has a unique competence to handle the special Tyvek material. Having Tycon in the Bong group helps us ensure a continued high quality level and excellent service.”
Following the takeover, the converting of Tyvek will be concentrated to Tycon and to Bong’s production unit in Wuppertal, Germany.
Bong offers solutions for distribution and packaging of information, advertising materials and lightweight goods. Two important growth areas in the group are the new ProPac packaging concept and Russia. The group has annual sales of approximately SEK 2 billion and some 1,200 employees in around 12 countries. Bong has a strong market position, particularly in Northern Europe, and the group sees attractive opportunities for further expansion and development.

Mixed fortunes for European PP

Spunmelt nonwoven fabrics have gone against the grain in the overall performance of polyolefins in the past two years, according to the latest report from EATP – the European Association for Textile Polyolefins.
Polyolefin Textiles in the Greater European Area is a unique analysis of the situation and the evolution of polyolefin fibres and textiles in Europe. It covers market developments in all kinds of polyolefin textile products in Western and Central Europe and Turkey. This includes a huge range of technologies and end-uses – fibres, yarns, fabrics, nonwovens, ropes and twine, carpets and rugs, FIBCs, agrotextiles, geotextiles, other technical textiles etc.
The polyolefin textiles industry in Europe, like all parts of the textile industry and most other manufacturing sectors, has been badly hit by economic recession. After an 8% decline in output volume in 2008, a further 7% decline is estimated for 2009.
Despite this disappointing performance, polyolefin textiles have proved to be more resilient than many other textile sectors. The market share of polyolefins in fibres and textiles has increased. In 2008, they accounted for 45% of all man-made materials used for textiles, and EATP estimates that this share increased further to 46% in 2009. Consumption of polyolefin textiles in 2009 was over  2.3 million tonnes.
Spunbond nonwovens were the star performer in 2008 and 2009, with increased output – even against a difficult market background. They grew by an estimated 4% even in 2009 and are now the largest sector in polyolefin textiles conversion.
The other large sectors of the polyolefin textiles industry are slit film and tape, staple fibres and filament yarn.
The largest end-use market is technical textiles, consuming 900,000 tonnes of polyolefins, in articles such as agrotextiles, geotextiles, strapping, packaging, construction and a wide range of other technical applications.
Carpet markets – the second largest end-use – demonstrated the difficulties of this sector, with PP consumption falling to 548,000 tonnes.
Hygiene and medical applications have continued to grow slowly, with consumption of PP in their processing reaching 540,000 tonnes.
Polyethylene usage has changed little, and is less than 10% of the total polyolefin textiles market.
Western Europe still accounts for most polyolefin textiles production, but the combined share of Turkey and Central Europe has risen to almost one third, the report finds.

Strong growth in Brazil for ACIMIT

The Brazilian market for nonwovens and technical textiles is growing at a rapid pace, according to Italy’s textile machinery association ACIMIT.
A recent survey finds nonwovens and technical textiles together accounting for well over 200 companies currently operating in Brazil, employing roughly 40,000 people.
Total estimated production for 2008 amounted to 462,000 tons, with a value of 3.9 billion Brazilian Reais (US$2.12 billion). For the same year, over 160 million Reais was invested in modernising and/or acquiring new machinery (a value of about 4% of annual revenues). Exports of products for these two sectors in 2008 totalled US$269 million.
In an effort to place Italian technology in the spotlight, ACIMIT and the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) have organized a technology symposium to be held in Sao Paolo from March 4-5 2010. Some fifteen Italian textile machinery manufacturers will present their latest technology to strengthen the growing bond between the two countries.
In fact, between 2004 and 2008, Italian exports of textile machinery to Brazil have increased by 13% annually, reaching a value of €72 million in 2008, ranking the country fourth among foreign markets for Italy’s textile machinery sector.
In the most recent figures for January to September 2009, Italian exports to Brazil amounted to €23 million. Italian technology most in demand is finishing machinery (32%), followed by accessories (26%) and knitting machines (21%).

New velour line for Rieter

NSC Nonwoven is to provide a new needlepunching line for automotive velour carpet to Rieter Automotive North America, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
This is the first such line to be purchased for a number of years, says NSC, and as such will provide Rieter with a distinct advantage in what is a very competitive market.
The line will include Thibeau Excelle batt formation with IsoProDyn, Asselin needlepunching and the latest SDV Velour needleloom for finishing.
It will offer high output while maintaining minimum weight variation and improved fibre orientation for consistent strength properties.
The equipment will be installed at Rieter’s plant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, along with Laroche opening and blending units and auxiliary equipment from Signal Machine.

Spontex purchase

Jarden Corporation has made a binding offer to acquire the Mapa Spontex Baby Care and Home Care businesses of Total SA.
Under the terms of the offer, Jarden will pay approximately $500 million in cash, less any indebtedness assumed by Jarden.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Mapa Spontex is a global manufacturer and distributor of baby care and home care products with leading market positions in Europe, Brazil and Argentina in the core categories it serves.
Its baby care portfolio includes teats, soothers, feeding bottles and other infant and health care accessories while home care products include sponges, rubber gloves, wipes and related cleaning products for retail, professional and industrial sold primarily under the Mapa and Spontex brands.
“We believe Mapa Spontex will be an excellent strategic addition to our Jarden Branded Consumables segment,” commented Martin E. Franklin, chairman and chief executive officer of Jarden Corporation. “By entering the baby care and home care markets, we believe we will achieve two major strategic objectives. First, the transaction is expected to expand our product offerings and distribution channels into new, attractive categories, and second, we anticipate it will further diversify our revenue streams and increase our international presence.”
For the year ended December 31, 2008, sales for Mapa Spontex were approximately $800 million with adjusted EBITDA of approximately $80 million. On closing of the transaction, the Mapa Spontex business will be reported within Jarden’s Branded Consumables segment. 
The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2010.

Strong quarter for Buckeye

Business is bouncing back for airlaid leader Buckeye Technologies which has reported a net income of $46.3 million between September and December, its second financial quarter.
This compares to a loss of $127.6 million in the same period of 2008 and has been achieved as a result of increased shipments, significantly lower raw material costs and other cost reductions at the company’s speciality cotton plants.
Net sales for the most recent quarter were $183 million
“We are encouraged by the improving trends in our business, as evidenced by a strong rebound in earnings,” said chairman and chief executive officer John B. Crowe. “We are benefitting from improved demand, a better mix, rising fluff pulp prices and lower interest expenses.”

New ownership at Nowo

Nowo Textile Machinery, a manufacturer of lines for nonwoven and wadding bedding products, has been purchased by Oy Brandstones Ab, a company owned by Kari Luhtanen in Helsinki Finland.
Mr Luhtanen previously represented Nowo in Central Europe with his company Scanma GmbH.
The company has subsequently delivered a new Nowo Vac line to an unspecified customer, consisting of a bale opener, opening machine, ball fibre machine Noworoll and a pillow filling unit Nowo Vac with two filling boxes.
Nowo cooperates with European thermobonding oven manufacturers, and can now provide a full turnkey-delivery that includes installation, commissioning and personnel training.
The latest Nowo W wadding line is designed to produce high quality wadding for the furniture and mattress industry, for the production of quilts and filter materials. It consists of an opening and blending system, a card and crosslapper, a thermobonding oven and a cross and longitudinal cutting and winding unit.

Expanded research in China for PGI

Polymer Group is establish a new research Center of Excellence (COE) for research in Suzhou, China.
It will focus on developing new technologies to significantly improve barrier, opacity, breathability, softness and comfort in engineered polymeric materials.
A dedicated team of PGI scientists, researchers and engineers will come together to advance these properties that are critical in providing improved performance in infection control devices, hygiene products and protective apparel.
The COE will develop a collaborative work structure with PGI’s other global R&D facilities in the US, Latin America and Europe. It will also tap into Asia’s growing research and development capabilities and leverage existing technology expertise in Europe and North America by forming alliances with research companies, universities, technology think-tanks, raw material suppliers and customers. 
The COE will support the company’s recently announced expansion in Asia and the US, where PGI is adding its proprietary capabilities to new custom-built spunmelt machines designed to deliver differentiated and innovative products to the market. Fabrics with the enhanced performance properties from these new lines and proprietary technologies will be commercially available in mid-2011.
“This latest COE in China will be an extension of PGI’s ongoing global R&D initiatives and continued investment in technology to deliver differentiated, higher-performing products to the market,” said Mike Hale, PGI’s chief operating officer.

Second SMS line for Toray in China

Toray Polytech Nantong (TPN) is to add a new polypropylene SMS line at its plant in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, at a cost of 375 million yuan (€38 million).
With an annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes, the line will bring total capacity at the plant to 38,000 tonnes. In combination with sister company Toray Saehan’s plants in South Korea and China, Toray will become the biggest producer in Asia once construction of the new line is completed, with a total annual capacity of 88,000 tonnes.
TPN started up its first Reicofil SMS line with a capacity of 18,000 tonnes in 2008 (pictured is the opening ceremony).
At that time, the company said that despite the soaring cost of raw materials which it was finding hard to pass on to its customers, its SMS sales were increasing rapidly.
In addition to hygiene end-uses, TPN has been developing other markets such as medical applications for this output, in collaboration with the Toray Fibers and Textiles Research Laboratories which are also located in Nantong.
Toray Sehan in Korea reduced its exports to China following the opening of TPN, and relocated a portion of its output to the Japanese market.