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The United States (Miami) International Nonwovens Exhibition IDEA, sponsored by the American Nonwovens Industry Association, is one of the world's largest non-woven fabrics and processing equipment exhibitions. It is held in the United States every three years. It is also known as the world's three largest non-woven exhibitions with the Swiss non-woven exhibition INDEX and the Asian non-woven exhibition ANEX. From March 29 to 31, 2022, IDEA 22 was successfully held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The second FiltXPO, the only exhibition and conference in North America dedicated to filtration and separation, was also held during the same period. About 5000 attendees met with global leaders in nonwovens and engineered materials at the event, where companies in the nonwovens supply chain gathered to showcase their latest innovations.

Reifenh Reicofil, a nonwovens production line specialist, presents its portfolio of high-performance and sustainable nonwovens with the slogan "Living Nonwovens" at IDEA 22. From sustainable and bio-based fabrics to high barrier nonwovens with optimized performance and reliable filtration characteristics, to nonwovens made from post-consumer waste. Its state-of-the-art RF5 production line sets new benchmarks in terms of quality, performance, availability, efficiency and machine intelligence.

In terms of sustainability, Reicofil offer various ways to save materials, such as processing bio-based raw materials into environmentally friendly alternatives. The surface material made of fluffy, soft and compostable High Loft non-woven fabrics can meet the requirements of sanitary products. In the field of industrial applications, high-strength non-woven fabrics can even be processed from PET flakes that are up to 90% recycled from post-consumer waste. This is the perfect way for Reicofil to combine sustainability and high-performance nonwovens.

Disinfectant wipes produced by Andritz wet CP composite production line (image copyright belongs to Andritz)

In the medical field, Reicofil showcased its leading high-barrier medical protective clothing solutions and, together with its sister business unit Reifenh, the äuser Cast Sheet Coating, a pioneering ultra-thin coating production process that enables customers to produce film-nonwoven composites at a higher cost. The new crown outbreak and current supply bottlenecks have exposed the company's dependence on global supply chains. This situation is not only a warning signal, but also an opportunity to fundamentally strengthen the production of local semi-finished products. By eliminating the need for hot melt adhesives, this jointly developed process achieves significant cost savings and easier line maintenance. With patent-pending ultra-thin coating technology, manufacturers can reduce film grammage by 66%.

With c. Hub, the new data platform of the Reifenh Group, Reicofil offers its customers digital solutions tailored to the requirements of non-woven production. The c. Hub middleware enables customers to securely connect, centrally store and easily analyze data from Reicofil production lines, peripherals, ERP and MES systems. It can be deployed locally and kept under the full data sovereignty of the user. Through a ExtrusionOS web-based user interface, customers can keep an eye on their production and machine status anytime, anywhere.

International technology group Andritz demonstrated its innovative non-woven fabric production and textile solutions at IDEA 22, covering non-woven fabric and textile production technologies, such as hot air, airlaid, needle punching, spunlace, spunbond, advanced technologies such as wet/wet spunlace, back processing, textile finishing, fiber recycling and natural fiber processing.

Valmet launches new THRU-AIR®Bonder Hot Air Bonder (Image copyright Valmet)

ANDRITZ offers a variety of nonwoven processes to produce the best cost-effective wipes, such as spunlaced, wet and wet composite CP. Together with nonwovens manufacturers, Andritz is committed to sustainable development to reduce or eliminate plastic components while maintaining the high quality and high performance of the required products. This applies to all types of sustainable wipes, such as flushable, biodegradable, natural fiber wipes, CP composite wipes, and conventional carded hydroentangled wipes.

In fact, the hydroentangling process has the advantage of being able to entangle any kind of fibers without the use of chemical adhesives or heat fusion, thus being the most suitable entangling process for natural fibers such as pulp, cotton, hemp, flax, bamboo fibers, etc. The latest development in this field is the Andritz neXline wet CP composite line, which integrates carding and pulping processes. This is a fully designed production line that combines the technical advantages of dry and wet processes to produce a new generation of biodegradable wipes.

In order to better serve our customers and provide the latest technology research and development, Andritz warmly invites wet wipe manufacturers to visit its Spunlace Technology Center in Andritz Pavette in the south of France. It is equipped with the latest TT high-speed carding machine, water lancing machine and neXdry penetrating dryer, as well as a professional team of process engineers. The technology center recently upgraded an inline pulp molding system to become the world's most advanced testing center for non-woven wipes. The exemplary line configuration is similar to the Andritz wet CP line. The demonstration production line can be flexibly adjusted according to customer needs to produce multiple types of products. Customers are welcome to contact Andritz France Pavette factory at any time to consult the relevant sample production matters.

Andritz has an outstanding technological development in the field of spunbonding and has a patent for a nonwoven process called Spunjet Soft. This is the continuous filament in-line water piercing method, creating a new generation of high-quality spunbond nonwovens, compared with standard spunbond fabrics, with unparalleled bulk and softness. Samples of absorbent sanitary products made by the Spunjet Soft process are available at this exhibition.

In addition, Andritz will launch its adult diaper processing line, offering first-class components and innovative technological processes. The growing market for adult incontinence products has promoted the development of the highest quality standards and the most advanced processes, such as the development of ultrasonic side seam solutions, which have achieved excellent results in terms of bond strength and system reliability. Therefore, the change operation of the production size becomes faster and easier. Modern molding systems and placement systems with super absorbent polymer (SAP) concentrations guarantee maximum process stability, making the adult pants produced by Andritz customers a leader in the adult hygiene market.

In addition, by combining with Andritz digital technology under the Metris technology brand, the customer has been able to take production to a new level. One focus is the Metris UX digital platform, which provides comprehensive support for the entire life cycle of industrial plants. Professional production management, simulation and optimization using the latest artificial intelligence methods, plus network security and condition monitoring and intelligent sensors into one, integrated management functions.

At IDEA 22, Valmet Launches New THRU-AIR®Bonder hot air bonder. With this innovative technology, Valmet offers non-woven manufacturers the opportunity to produce high-quality products at a very cost-competitive advantage, which in turn increases the market value of non-woven manufacturers. Valmet has been supplying customers with high-quality hot-air bonding machines since 1968. Thanks to the design of the hot air flow and temperature distribution system, Valmet's hot air penetration system provides the highest thermal efficiency, while providing the best air temperature and hot air penetration speed control.

Lynn Violette, Product Management Manager, Valmet, said: "Our traditional hot air gluing machines use HONEYCOMB®Honeycomb roller, the best performance in the whole industry. But not all customers have such high requirements for operational performance and mechanical strength. So we saw the market demand for the development of a new product with low cost and compact design, but still comparable performance to the level of traditional hot air bonding machines."

Eric Johnson, Sales Manager of Valmet Non Woven Equipment, said: "The new THRU-AIR®Bonder hot air bonders are optimized to meet high performance standards at a lower total cost. Total costs include investment costs, operating costs, installation, maintenance, operational and reliability."

The operating speed of the equipment, the temperature and the speed of the hot air through the non-woven fabric are easy to adjust, so it is easy to optimize the bonding process. Good adhesion performance can improve the uptime of equipment, reduce the amount of waste, and also improve the operational reliability of subsequent processes (such as post-processing, etc.).

Traditional high-performance hot air bonding machines usually require large installation sites, and Vimid's new THRU-AIR®Bonder hot air bonders feature a compact structure for efficient use of space. The slide-out design of the hot air penetrating roller is easy to maintain and has strong safety. Sustainability is at the heart of Valmet's business strategy and operations. THRU-AIR®Bonder hot air bonders can use a variety of heat sources to support carbon neutral production runs.

At IDEA 22, Junfu Group presents Joform, the first wiping technology. Junfu earlier completed the construction of a new commercial production line for the production of high-quality unique wiping materials. The line is scheduled to produce commercial products in the third quarter, with commercial samples in the second quarter of 2022. Junfu's new "breakthrough" technology will provide excellent strength, absorbency and comfort for wipe materials. In addition to wet wipes applications, the technology also shows unique suitability for other applications in the hygiene and medical fields.

Junfu has launched a state-of-the-art Reicofil 5 production line in Wuxi, Jiangsu, designed for high-end medical non-woven products. The production line is currently in the commissioning stage and some products have been commercialized. This latest technology from Reicofil, combined with the company's expertise in raw materials and technology, will enable it to enter the high-end medical nonwovens market with products that provide excellent comfort, protection and cost structure.

Source: Jung-International Nonwoven Industry Business