Nonwovens live

Moves at Trützschler

Trützschler Group has completed its takeover of John D Hollingsworth on Wheels, is running trials for Cotton Incoporated in Germany, and will now supply spares for Fleissner Nonwovens Ansbach machines.
All John D Hollingsworth on Wheels facilities, patents and copyrights were taken over in December by American Trützschler, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and Trützschler Card Clothing (TCC). This takeover will allow TCC to continue seamlessly with the Hollingsworth production programme, adding it to its existing production locations. 
Taking on specialists from the John D Hollingsworth company has bolstered the sales and marketing team in the USA and American Trützschler’s field service.
As early as 2003, Trützschler had already assumed control of all Hollingsworth’s activities outside the USA. This included, in particular, the production units in Germany, Brazil, and Mexico and various service stations. The company continued to produce and sell clothing from its headquarters in Greenville under the name of John D Hollingsworth on Wheels Inc.
Trützschler Nonwovens meanwhile, reports that Cotton Incorporated – the umbrella organisation for US Cotton producers and importers – has carried out a number of trials using virgin and bleached cotton at its technical centre in Germany, on new equipment engineered for developing spunlace cotton fibre applications for use in wipes, pads and technical textiles.
This includes the Trützschler TC-07-H card, Erko Trützschler’s 413 card and the Fleissner AquaJet, which have already proven their efficiency in respect of cotton fibre applications.
Fleissner GmbH, now part of Trützschler Nonwovens, is also now offering spare parts and service for all the drying and thermobonding lines delivered by Fleissner Nonwovens Ansbach. As agreed between the two companies, all necessary documents have been transferred to Fleissner GmbH.
Fleissner Nonwovens Ansbach, run by Gerold Fleissner since 2003, closed down at the end of last year.

Libero helps SCA grow

With Libero just named Russia’s top baby diaper brand, SCA has reported strong results for its 2009 financial year.
Libero came top in its sector in the Russia National Brand Award – recognised as the most significant brand award in Russia, since the winners are selected purely on the basis of consumers opinions.
The official and widely-recognised award label can now be used on all Libero brand materials such as product packaging, TV commercials and print advertisements until the end of 2011.
SCA achieved sales of SEK 110,857 million in 2009, compared to SEK 110,449 million in 2008, with profit of SEK 5,906 million – up 13% on the prior year.
Demand for hygiene products remained stable during the fourth quarter of 2009, and operating profit for SCA’s Personal Care business was up 27% compared to the same period in 2008, due largely to a good performance by Tena incontinence care products in both North America and Europe.
SCA CEO Jan Johansson reports that the market outlook for the company’s hygiene businesses in 2010 appears stable, with continued favourable growth expected in markets including Russia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Disposables date for TAL in Nanjing

The 17th China International Tissue and Disposable Hygiene Products Exhibition and Conference, which takes place at the Nanjing International Expo Centre in Jiangsu from April 14-16, will this year have five separate pavilions – Western, Tissue Paper Manufacturers, Disposable Hygiene Manufacturers, Raw Materials Suppliers and Machinery Suppliers.
UK-based Technical Absorbents (TAL), the manufacturer of SAF (superabsorbent fibre) is just one of many overseas exhibitors currently preparing for the three-day show.
 “The hygiene sector is one of a number of key industries for our technology,” says TAL business development manager Dave Hill. “This is a result of its superior fluid absorption properties and its ability to produce super soft and discreet absorbent core designs without the need for containment systems.
“TAL’s experience and innovation in this growing market sector has allowed it to develop fabrics which deliver improved user comfort levels, and ultra-low re-wet performance. SAF is suited to not only the femme-hygiene market but also adult incontinence pads and diapers.
“As all of these hygiene products are mainly fibrous based, SAF can be integrated extremely well throughout the final product, resulting in excellent conversion, minimum wastage and consistent performance. These are all benefits desired by hygiene product manufacturers and the end-user.
“Even though we are a fibre manufacturer, we want to promote our involvement in all areas of the supply chain. The Chinese hygiene industry is on the increase and we are keen to meet with anyone searching for a super absorbent solution.”
TAL is owned by Bluestar Fibres, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Bluestar Corporation, which in-turn is wholly-owned by ChemChina – one of China’s fastest growing chemical groups. During the exhibition, it is looking to raise further brand awareness, meet with new and prospective customers and ultimately expand its presence within the growing Chinese disposable hygiene market.
In addition to the manufacture of SAF, TAL also toll manufactures nonwovens, yarns, woven fabrics and finished consumer goods – all containing SAF.

Bad 12 months for Japan

At the first 2010 meeting of ANNA – the All-Nippon Nonwovens Association – held in Osaka, Japan, chairman Yasuo Takenaka (pictured) said that the country’s nonwovens production in the 12-month period to the end of November 2009 fell by around 18% compared to the previous year.
This, he pointed out, put Japanese output back to a level it hadn’t been at since 1997, and was largely due to the economic recession, and particularly the bad shape of the automotive sector. Total nonwovens production from November 2008 to November 2009 was 257,751 tons, with falls in every process other than spunlace, which registered slight growth of 1.8%.
 “Our continuous efforts should be made in chasing high quality, highly functional and high added value products to meet consumer expectations,” he said, “especially to keep ahead of the rapidly growing Chinese market. In order to enhance our technology, products and business activities, ANNA will continue to support collaborative work between manufacturers and academics, particularly to address what is currently the most important issue – sustainability.”
There were also signs, Mr Takenaka added, of a recovery in the markets over the past few months.

SPV adds fourth line

Lenzing’s Indonesian subsidiary PT South Pacific Viscose (SPV) is running trials on its fourth production line, with full production expected to commence in the second quarter of 2009.
The new line will produce viscose fibres for textile applications and for the nonwovens industry. Production is intended for the domestic Indonesian market as well as for export.
A $150 million investment makes construction of the fourth SPV line Lenzing’s biggest individual project in recent years. So far more than $500 million has been invested in SPV.
The project took 18 months to complete, with key components supplied by Lenzing’s subsidiary, Lenzing Technik. The additional 60,000 tons of nominal annual capacity of this jumbo line boosts total SPV capacity to 220,000 tons of viscose fibres per year, maintaining the company’s position as the leading Asian, and the world’s second biggest viscose fibre production site after Lenzing in Austria.
SPV’s sales are expected to exceed $400 million per annum in the coming years. The overall production capacity of the Lenzing Group, with fibre productions sites in Austria, Indonesia, China, Great Britain and the US, will be about 670,000 tons of cellulose fibres.
Due to the strong demand for Lenzing fibres, a further debottlenecking programme will begin alongside start-up of regular production. This will increase SPV’s total annual capacity by a further 18,000 tons to 238,000 tons in 2010.

Sunoco sells PP business

Sunoco is to sell its polypropylene subsidiary Sunoco Chemicals, to Braskem, one of the largest producers of petrochemicals and thermoplastic resins in the Americas, for approximately $350 million in cash.
The sale will include assets and inventory attributable to the polypropylene business, subject to a market-based working capital adjustment at the time of closing. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by March 31 2010.
“Sunoco Chemicals is a business that has not been able to meet its cost of capital and its sale provides us with capital to redeploy for future growth,” said Sunoco CEO Lynn L. Elsenhans.
Included in the sale are Sunoco’s polypropylene manufacturing facilities in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania; La Porte, Texas and Neal, West Virginia, which have the combined capacity to produce approximately 2.1 billion pounds of polypropylene annually. The sale also includes Sunoco’s Research and Technology Centre located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sunoco will retain its phenol and derivatives business, which has manufacturing assets located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Haverhill, Ohio.
Sunoco expects to record a pre-tax loss on the sale in the first quarter of 2010 of approximately $185-$195 million.

Meltspun nanofibre first

Teijin and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a highly crystalline carbon nanofibre (CNF) offering 30% greater electrical conductivity than existing products.
The extra-conductive CNF – which is 100-300 nanometres in diameter and 20 micrometers long – has been developed with a melt-spinning process – a world first for such a fibre.
Since melt spinning is widely used for the production of ordinary chemical fibres, the newly developed CNF can be manufactured on existing commercial technology, which will help to minimise manufacturing costs. In addition, it is possible to manufacture CNFs of high purity because no catalyst is used during the production process.
The primary application presently envisioned for the new CNF is in battery components, particularly lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, including electrodes and additives for secondary batteries and capacitors. Other likely uses include plastic additives and fuel-cell gas-diffusion layers.  Teijin aims to commercialise the new CNF in 2011.

China bounced back in 2009

China’s nonwovens industry achieved growth of almost 30% in 2009, according to the latest government figures.
The Association of China Textile Industry reports that the country’s nonwovens production was 1,309,817 tons in 2009 – the highest growth achieved in all sectors.
The production of textile fibres and yarns also bounced back to double-digit growth last year, with polyester fibre production up by 14.5% – an extra 2.2 million tons – to reach a total of over 22 million tons. Rayon production was also up by over 14%, with additional production boosting output to 1.5 million tons, while nylon fibre production growth was up by over 23% to almost 1.4 million tons.
The smaller fibre markets also grew. Acrylic production climbed to 684,000 tons, up almost 24%, and spandex to 203,000 tons, but polypropylene output was relatively flat, with 264,000 tons of production representing growth of just 1.5%.
China also produced a record 24,056,188 tons of spun yarn, growth of 12.7%. Within this figure is a surge of man-made fibre yarns – up by 20% to over three million tons.
Fabric and apparel production growth was less dynamic, with 56,743 million metres of fabric representing growth of 5.3% and 23,750 million pieces of apparel growth of almost 7%.   

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.